NOTHING
Contents
1. Squad Layout
2. Shooting Location
3. General Camouflauge
4. Movement and the Stalk
5. Evasion
6. Overall Battle Map
7. Counter-Sniping
Preface
Few things to note. I am not going to teach marksmanship, either you have it or you don't. And if you don't, you can learn to shoot by simply playing the game. Also hard to type exactly where to shoot, how much to lead, etc. Good news is there's no wind, heat, or humidity levels. Only you yourself can account for distance, your computer specs, and ping. What this guide will present to you is mainly centered around terrain usage and movement. This guide is also made for two-man teams. You can have 3 if you wish, but it isn't exactly effective. Some very similar principles will be used in this guide in comparison with the Insurgent Tactics guide.
Also, I will be presenting simple contour maps to show how stuff is done. I'm also going to assume some of you have no idea how they work so here's a link to a picture: http://www.uml.edu/tsongas/activities/i ... opomap.gif
[1] Squad Layout:
The Shooter
It is not necessary to have a sniper kit, but I'll be damned if you don't. You can use a marksman kit if you wish. I have done the work using both weapons quite successfully.
The Spotter
Ideally, your spotter should be using the marksman kit, but you also don't want to tie up your teams kit resources. Thus the rifleman kit will suffice with it's scope, binoculars, extra ammo, and smoke. It is also possible for your spotter to be a medic. However, neither of you should be taking any serious damage nor should there be enough death around you for the spotter to need it. Having a SOFLAM would be nice to measure range, but you will have to scrounge for that.
It would also be very beneficial for the spotter to be the SL. The basic logic behind this is the Q-Spotting mechanism does not always work and the relative ease of using the marker. Being the SL allows the spotter to place a marker down on the enemy position who's result is two fold. First, is the shooter knows exactly which direction it is in. Second, depending on the actual distance and draw distance, you can measure the range.
The downside to the spotter being the SL is that the spotter is supposed to present some amount of security for the bolt-action hero, and if the spotter dies, he cannot respawn on the sniper. In contrast again, the shooter and spotter are going to be within a very close proximity to each other. The suprise by an enemy is very likely to kill both.
[2] Shooting Location
Field of Vision
There are two schools of thought when your team is in the general area of the hunt. The first school is to attain a large field of vision, which enables the most time to shoot as well as most chances of sighting an enemy. The second school is to have a small, but efficient field of vision. A large field of vision is beneficial, however, as there is no true camo as well as drawing distance issues, you will be sighted easily. With so much location to cover, your team might not see the enemy. This fact is also compounded by many kits having binoculars and the insane zoom of armor. In contrast, a more narrow field of vision protects the team more. Generally, only the area your team can see, can the enemy see back. However, a narrow field of vision generally requires quicker shots and less sighting of enemies. Most importantly is to choose which field of vision you want for each specific location. For instance, utilizing a narrow field of vision which watches a common avenue of approach, that would be optimal.
Location, Location, Location
I feel these MS paint pictures shall describe better.
Figure 1. X represents bad locations, Arrows point toward good locations. For this photo imagine you are the enemy facing the sniper
Depending on how the hills look from a map view, the team could hide more inset into the hills to limit their field of vision and being seen. If a large field of vision is necessary, I would advise on being on the military crest(slightly below topographical crest) of the hill and to the side. That is to say, when shooting, do not be infront of the crest(full exposure to target) and do not be behind it(this will mean you are on the topographical crest), due to drawing of seeing the team more easily. Utilize the left or right military crest points. This has a similar premise to figure 2, in which the team is protected towards at least one other direction, yet providing a decent field of vision.
Figure 2. Bird's eye view, shooting towards the green line. Blue O represents a good shooting location, Red X represents a bad location. Giant black square can be a building. The red and blue lines represent angles that the team may be attacked from.
The Blue O has the greatest amount of security in such situation. If the enemy along the green line returns fire upon Blue O, Blue O can run south and pop off another shot or simply relocate. In contrast, Red X has to either run perpendicular or parallel to the gunfire. This exposes Red X for a longer duration to the gunfire, and an enemy shooting upon Red X will have a better idea of where he is going.
[3] General Camouflage
As stated before, the camouflage system in BF2 is pretty horrible. However, it is important to use it as much possible in picking a shooting location. On a game of Daqing Oilfields(I think it was that, USMC vs PLA), I was spotting for a friend and had advanced to flush out the enemy while my friend, who was the shooter, remained at his location. After I dealt with the enemy, I went to return to the shooter. However, this was when I realized I could not find him! I look on my minimap and it appeared that I was looking DIRECTLY at him. But I still could not find him. Thus I took out my binoculars and took a brief scan and still could not find him. Eventually I found him. Note that it was not the doing of his ghillie suit, but the generic infantryman's uniform(the one where it is drawn at a distance without a weapon and additional gear). It camouflaged him VERY well.
Uniform Camo
For those of you who "missed" part of the story, I shall turn away from the story and spell it out. When you are playing, it is important to remember what your team's basic skin/uniform looks like. With this, you can hide along areas which have similar color and shading. For instance, USMC on Daqing Oilfields is amazing in places with shadow.
Stillness
Another way to prevent detection is to move LESS. Yes, I said less. Unless you already have been spotted and compromised, moving is one of the last things you want to do if you are well hidden. The human eye detects movement very well(such is the eye of the hunter!). If you're constantly moving, swinging your binoculars or rifle around, the enemy has a better chance of noticing you. In most cases, moving would be beneficial due to terrain drawing issues at longer distances and will be seen easily. But if you apply the uniform camo or have found an object to hide against(such as ramps on rooftops), not moving comes into play. Sometimes being still is good, most of the time it is not. Imagine being an infantryman and walking down the killzone to figure out your plan. And then imagine an infantryman walking perpendicular to the first guy and if he will spot you or not.
[4] Movement/Stalking
This is where most people get the idea of a sniper wrong. They think the sniper plainly sits around in one spot shooting at people hundreds of yards away. While this is true in some regards. Another very important element to the sniper is his ability to move. During the Vietnam War, one of the men responsible for bringing the sniper back into the field again, Carlos Hathcock, slowly inched through hundreds of yards, covered by only high grass to kill an enemy general in his own back yard.
Basic Stalking
We in PR however, do not have the luxury of camouflage. Thus our main ally will be the total blocking of sight. To be successful, one must be able to not only predict the enemy's movement, but move relative to the movement and act upon it. For instance, assume a standoff battle. Both you and your opponent are equally situated, behind a small hill that stretches parallel to each other. There are also small hills between to provide some level of cover. It is very likely that one could kill the enemy target with a quick shot. However, if the enemy is reinforced, a head on battle will not work.
Without such long range equipment, the enemy squad will send its troops forward to engage. An even smarter one will engage and send flanking troops. As you are less inclined to close range combat and do not have the luxury of more than a squad, you must either not engage instantly and take advantage of surprise(if you haven't shot yet). Remember, fire discipline is very important. Even if you bag a couple enemies, your death will certainly hold the team back. Especially if you are capable. But I digress. In this case, you must stalk your opponent, shoot when it is beneficial. You must also predict the enemy's approach. If it is a head on assault or simple trek, the sniper team can follow their own hill line in either direction to a new shooting location. This is very important as the enemy CANNOT see you nor harm you with direct fire(stray or not). The shooter can pull off a few shots until the enemy recognizes the teams location. In this, the team can simply back off again behind the cover of the hills and move in a direction parallel to the hills and repeat.
[Picture when I get off my lazy ***]
[5] Evasion
When people hear the distinct sound of a sniper or marksman's rifle, they will react in two fashions. The first is to take cover and hide. The second is to pinpoint the location of the shooter, and kill him. The team's friend is camouflage and distance. As stated before however, camouflage only works so well.
But now that you've been spotted(confirmed by returning fire or not), you have to leave your hide, unless you're baiting into a trap. As stated in the movement section, your best ally will be to not be seen by the enemy. It is up to the team if they should relocate to defeat the oncoming enemy or to simply run to another area on the field of battle. Either way, if the enemy cannot see you, they cannot chase you. One popular tactic is to use a smokescreen. However, the downside to this is the enemy can more easily predict your movement, so throwing it in the opposite direction(feigning) works very well. The best possible action in my opinion is to drop the smoke between you and the enemy(or nearly on top, but not exactly on top). This tactic blocks a lot of more of the enemy's view and actually forces them to change location to see you.
In tighter areas such as being trapped in an urban setting, the spotter will prove much more worth. A good way to retreat without being over run and shot in the back would be to leap frog. Who should move first, depends on varying situations. If the shooter moves first, he can be mowed down and possibly the loss of the kit for your team. If the spotter moves first, the shooter cannot provide adequate covering fire, especially at block to block combat. If the team is closer to the enemy, but there are none to be seen, it is best to send the shooter first. The greater the distance, the better the chance the shooter has to survive.
This usually occurs when the team is moving perpendicular to the frontlines. If the team engaged stationary and had to evade the enemy, the team theoretically could move left and/or right before retreating to the rear.
[6] Overall Battle Map
The sniper, while not very popular amongst your average GI, is a very useful addition to the commander's arsenal. When used properly, the only problem for snipers would be armor and aircraft. However, the problem only occurs in engaging such opponents by the team. In such situations, the sniper team's other role comes into play; the scout. In a good situation, the team can pass along information to the commander who can redirect troops, armor, or aircraft. As most kits in PR now have binoculars, the sniper team's scout role is less glorified, though very useful.
A properly placed team can essentially hold off entire squads flanking with ease, requiring a change in the enemy's battle plan. Take EJOD Desert as an example. The east and west side of the map provide very good locations for the sniper. Especially the east side. While the city itself is also sniper-friendly with it's high rise buildings and long perpendicular streets, a majority of the objectives lie within the city. During an assault on the city from both sides, more tactically adept squads will realize the necessity to flank from the east or west to gain an upper hand. But, this is where the sniper team comes into play. Without having to commit, at minimum, another full squad, a mere party of two can be committed to hold off the enemy. Upon succeeding, the results can be two or even three fold.
1. The enemy is forced to simply lose their tickets until they overrun the team's position, or must provide additional support to obtain the area(which is not essential to capturing the objectives, but helps).
2. The enemy withdraws totally. In this situation, the team can turn their attention toward the city and take advantage of what is essentially a shooting gallery(when placed on the east side of EJOD Desert). But do not forget to relocate once in a while! The enemy will still be aware of your position and will send troops your way.
3. You now hold a position which is beneficial, though not essential, to the progression of the game. A smart commander or squad leader will set up rally points and be able to launch assaults on multiple flags from such position.
(Also note that EJOD Desert's east side has many elevation changes, so it is very good for stalking and evasion. Which also means the enemy can sneak up on you)
The sniper kit is an asset to the team. In a public game, once the sniper dies and the spotter cannot pick up the kit, it is very possible an inexperienced or unintelligent sniper will come along(as in requesting the kit). It is like losing a tank or aircraft, although the detriment will not be noticed by man. I'm not positive, but I think it takes 30 seconds for a kit to return to the quartermaster after it disappears from the field.
As I have stated multiple times, communication is most important. Even if there is no commander, using the boat to spot enemy rallies as well as simply typing in team chat the movements of the enemy is greatly beneficial. Not only do you kill the surprise of the enemy, it allows your team to possible set up an ambush or obtain AT kits to annihilate armor.
Sniper Woes
No matter how good you are, there will always be problems. Even if you perform your movement and stalking skills to the finest, it doesn't mean you're going to have much to do if your team is incompetent in any aspect of combat. It is very important to see the sniper team as a force multiplier, NOT a small elite squad that can take out a vastly numerically superior enemy(although quite possible, just not in this game).
One of the best tactics is to move your team behind the enemy and shoot them. This is efficient a majority of the time. The biggest problem of a sniper is armor. Armor has much more zoom, a powerful cannon, and a machine gun that is quite accurate. All these can kill the team. In contrast, the team can do nothing in response, except call for support.
Now the problem is if your team cannot provide armor support. If that is the case, there is absolutely NOTHING you can do in response except hide and evade. However, this is pretty hard in almost all situations. The only good news is that one can tie up the tanks.
Another problem can be teamwork or coordination. Even if your squad is mainly doing recon, an unresponsive team in the form of air support is a problem if the air support cannot respond quickly enough to take out the threat.
[7] Counter-sniping
Another thing the team should pay attention to when not enforcing death on their location is enemy snipers. Speak/type to the team that if they think they know where a sniper is or need counter-sniping to ask for your help. Or if a sniper-spotted call appears. If it isn't very far, make your way towards the enemy sniper's location. Also be very wary that they have a very long killing distance, such as your team(longer if you only have a marksman kit). Imagine your team is up against a sniper threat as great as you and your shooter/spotter. Thus one must predict the enemy's kill zone, their escape plan, and if they have any other support. A very important task is to find your perfect shooting location. Also note on certain maps, in long distances, hills and mountains are not drawn exactly as they are(depending on the player's rig). So you may think you're hiding behind some terrain, while the enemy sees you as exposed. If the enemy shoots, it will hit the terrain, but your position is already compromised.
When possible(if someone can traverse the distance within 20-30 seconds), it is always fun to have the spotter make a mad dash for the enemy's rifle. Not only is it a great trophy, it takes away one more rifle from the enemy AND your team is now a larger threat. If one of the snipers with the enemy's sniper rifle dies(in a close enough distance), the other player should be advised to take the enemy's rifle. This way, the enemy will still be short the sniper rifle, and your partner(or any other player) can requisition the rifle that was just relinquished. However, note that it is almost NEVER worth your life to attempt a pickup.
In a similar situation, if your partner is dead and there is no more threat from the enemy(and you are the SL), you can simply have your partner spawn on you. I don't know how long this will work for, but you can continue to change kits to hold BOTH items. If SL spawn is removed or changed(such as requiring an officer's kit to be spawned on), then this tactic won't work anymore.
Soon to come:
-General additions to already posted ideas
-Squad sniping
-PICTURES
-more organization
which I worked out to be 100m 
. So just imagine playing on Kashan with every single AR, Sniper Rifle, DMR all being the way they were before 0.6. Hillarity would ensue....
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