What's the point of a sniper?

[Demonic]

Let me make it clear that I am definetly not against sniping, as I love the weapon. But what else is there to love? There's no point of having a sniper in the team.

In guides and stuff, they say the role of a sniper is to do recon for the team, lase targets, and take out enemy officers.

1. Recon for the team is useless without a commander, which is most of the time.

2. Jets and choppers aren't in the air long enough for target lasing to be effective.

3. You can't see kit details at sniper rifle range, which I would say is upwards of 350 meters.

So we're stuck with the problem of sniper being a really useless asset to the team, even though 1-2 men aren't that much.

We're also stuck with the inherent weaknesses of the sniper, which is: flanking, being spotted. If you've ever played as a sniper before, you know how easy it is to be flanked, because you only ever have a view of one area, and you probaly aren't paying too much attention to what's behind you.
And to spot a sniper, all someone has to do is pop up with binoculars and see you instantly. There's rarely enough time for a sniper to take out someone who just pops up with a set of binoculars, sees you, then pops back down.

So, ask not what the Team can do for the sniper, but what the sniper can do for the team.

After all, the goal of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bast*rd die for his!

A sniper in real-life is meant as a support tool for the troops. They will take a distant building for example and take out all enemies on the roof of a compound that the troops are attacking to limit there ability to ambush the troops. Also if they get into a fire-fight, the sniper can cover them from a distance.

The snipers other jobs are to recon which is a important job and intel is a huge advantage on a battlefield. They also can take out enemy squad leaders and medics preventing that squad from setting up rallies or healing there teammates and the sniper can defend bases.

As for the lasing, most maps don't even have air assets that need lasing. So the sniper still has all the roles listed above which is enough roles. However on a map with air assets, you don't require a commander to laze targets. The laser is intended for the air assets so they can get a lock on the target. Mostly for Apaches or Jets. The only thing you need a commander for is for somebody to call in a motor strike which has to be accepted by the commander.

Snipers are very usefull tools so long as they be in a completly different squad than all the infantry squads. Which most of the time they do. Last night I was playing on the TG server before I got kicked for a supporting member. Me and my squad got dropped off near Jabal to setup a firebase and capture it. We captured it however the enemy over ran us shortly after and we had to re-capture it. Our advance was halted because the enemy had a sniper team on-top of the hotel that was picking us off pretty good. They killed us atleast 15 times before we decided somebody had to get a sniper kit of our own and take them out.

[[T]waylay00]

Well, I think a lot of the problems with the sniper lies within how BF2 is made itself, as well as the limitations of the maps.

It's already been mentioned that snipers are easy to see on hills because they "float" in the air when viewed from a distance. Also, grass doesn't render when viewed a far distances, making it worthless cover. I think the kit would be far more interesting if the terrain were more varied and more buildings were able to be entered (of course, this would require a lot of work). After all, even on big maps like Muttrah and Kashan, there are limited places for optimum sniping, so people always know to look there.

[Solid Knight]

Oh, here's a tip. If have a field of fire that is 360 degrees then you also have 360 degrees of potential return file. If you go to the highest point on the map to see everything then everything can also see you.

I actually prefer very narrow fields of fire as it allows me to safely have "tunnel vision". I depend upon my allies to keep enemies off my flanks.

[unrealalex]

Oh, here's a tip. If have a field of fire that is 360 degrees then you also have 360 degrees of potential return file. If you go to the highest point on the map to see everything then everything can also see you.

Except on Muttrah. Those mountains are awesome for snipers.

This is a stupid discussion. If used properly, snipers are very useful, just like any other asset in the game. How often are HAT kits wasted? Maybe we should remove those too? I dont remmeber when was the last time I saw an infantryman use one on a tank. Maybe we should remove marksmen as well? They are useless when used incorrectly also.

[scope]

Not sure about AAS, but the role of snipers in an insurgeny map is of vital importance. The sniper rifle is like crack to insurgents...once they hear the shot they must have it for themselves. One shot from the rifle will draw at least mmmm....31 insurgents away from any and all exposed caches in hopes of becoming the next tom beringer for allah. Thus leaving the cache an easy target for the Blufor team.

Mr. Sniper, we salute you for being the bait.

[Punkbuster]

waylay00;1053224']Well, I think a lot of the problems with the sniper lies within how BF2 is made itself, as well as the limitations of the maps.

It's already been mentioned that snipers are easy to see on hills because they "float" in the air when viewed from a distance. Also, grass doesn't render when viewed a far distances, making it worthless cover. I think the kit would be far more interesting if the terrain were more varied and more buildings were able to be entered (of course, this would require a lot of work). After all, even on big maps like Muttrah and Kashan, there are limited places for optimum sniping, so people always know to look there.

you are right, on muttrah they are usually on the hotel roofs or the hills and on kashan they are always in the hills

[rory34]

tbh, it depends how you play the sniper, many of times i seen snipers just play in the obvious place and are easy to spot and call in support to take them out. i like the sniper on PR since you can hit targets over 600m.

its best to play as a sniper as a pair so you both looking out for enemies and each other covering alot more ground in a shorter time and being able to get your selves in a nice position to take out lonewolfs or support squads who are under fire.

also some of the maps aint sniper friendly but there are usally good spots to pick enemies from afar jus depends how well your side is doing and your not just running about and being spotted by the enemy remeber snipers are for support and not ment to be seen

[TF6049]

If your good at sniping and you don't take out anyone from closer than 330 meters, you can rape a whole squad.

Exactly. I once knew a whole bunch of vBF guys who could just sit there and pick people off from 350+m away, headshots easily. That should be a sniper's goal - find a relatively inaccessible spot, and just pick them off.

[LokoX]

Hello all =)

just thought i'd jump on this thread, i've been reading a few sniper threads, and i think a lot of people are forgetting that even though this is a war simulator, it's also a game! There doesn't "need" to be a point to sniping, when i snipe, i do it because i love it, yes i help the team out and do a bit of recon, but when it's me and a buddy out in the mountains, it's just a big thrill, setting up a position and just waiting and ambushing a full squad, individual efforts can win or lose battles, and whilst it might not reflect on the scoreboard, everyone plays there role

[Oddsodz]

Not sure about AAS, but the role of snipers in an insurgeny map is of vital importance. The sniper rifle is like crack to insurgents...once they hear the shot they must have it for themselves. One shot from the rifle will draw at least mmmm....31 insurgents away from any and all exposed caches in hopes of becoming the next tom beringer for allah. Thus leaving the cache an easy target for the Blufor team.

Mr. Sniper, we salute you for being the bait.

So dame true. I Love that. Nice lines there.

[John-117]

snipers are like ratlings( warhammer 40k anyone). they take the **** off everyone yet they can save countless lives and dont get anything. a well placed sniper and do lots of damage no matter what. They have more ball than anyone cos they are very vunerable.

[Blade]

Not sure about AAS, but the role of snipers in an insurgeny map is of vital importance. The sniper rifle is like crack to insurgents...once they hear the shot they must have it for themselves. One shot from the rifle will draw at least mmmm....31 insurgents away from any and all exposed caches in hopes of becoming the next tom beringer for allah. Thus leaving the cache an easy target for the Blufor team.

Mr. Sniper, we salute you for being the bait.

I lol'd so hard because everyone knows it's true.

[Tomato-Rifle]

I usually grab the sniper when i just feel like taking it easy and walking all over the map.

Just relax and snipe..

[Kirra]

Had a blast with the sniper kit on Fools Road yesterday. Was really fun when some technicals were starting to look for me after a while (After some CATA guys got murdered in the forest N of me by me). Its so insanely easy to hit them in those things. Boom, driver dead. Boom, .50 cal gunner dead.

Got the kit 1/3 into the round and finished with 16 kills

[Cassius]

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f138-i ... tives.html

[ma21212]

what do you want from a sniper? take out the whole enemy team for you so you can land with out firing a shot? hell shoot a few targets for you to keep them down, when you come to attack he gives you more support.

[arjan]

i think sniper should operate together with the main force, like you see in afghanistan with the british.
they operate a precision rifle to take out targets with more precision and tag along with the normal infantry.

[badmojo420]

I think the best use of a sniper is as an insurgent sniper. When i pick up an SVD or Enfield kit on any insurgent maps i try my best to not get killed. But, still disrupting the enemy as much as i can. Killing the coalition soldiers is really the ideal goal. But killing 2 of them is not worth dying for. In my opinion, nothing is worth dying for as an insurgent sniper. They are such a valuable tool to the insurgents that they should stay alive at all costs. Not to mention when the coalition kill an insurgent sniper they love to run up and steal your kit. Which then doesn't respawn.

I may write up a whole thread about insurgent sniping, but here is a brief summary of my strategy. I'll use Fallujah west as an example, since a lot of people don't bother sniping or simply run off to the cache and die with the kit. So, you spawn on the main base to get the kit, i would recommend the SVD on this map since it has such a low view distance, and the SVD is great for firing while crouched or standing. First thing you do is observe the map, check where the caches are located. If theres a cache between your main and theirs, don't go north, if they're all on the other side of the map, go north. It's all about staying away from the caches as a sniper. You don't want to draw attention to a cache, or kill troops that were headed towards an ambush. Best bet i find is, if there are friendly troops within 100m, move somewhere else.

So lets assume there are two caches, one by the gas station, another on the far west side. You'll want to move up to the big apartment building south of the US main. Obvious position, but a useful one. While moving there, you want to either drive near then walk the rest of the way, or walk the whole way. Taking a dirt bike and zooming towards your sniping location will get you killed faster than anything. Once you get to the building, go to the top floor, keeping low when passing any windows. If ANY coalition see you moving they will 90% of the time kill you before you can take a shot. Their weapons are superior, don't forget that.

So when you reach the roof of the apartment building, don't peek out the balcony looking for targets. Instead crawl up to the balcony facing the US main, wait about 10seconds and crouch. You should be able to just see the top of the H building in their main. 75% of the time there will be a saw gunner and sniper up there. Take aim on the sniper and wait for the perfect shot. If he goes down, take aim on any other remaining soldiers. But, if you miss, and heres the big one, take maybe one or two more shots in rapid sucession, and watch their movements. If they even so much as peek in their scope facing your direct you get out of there ASAP. If they're oblivious to your location, try to fool them into thinking you are somewhere else. This can be done by waiting for them to stand up facing another direction, then fire at them. Making sure not to fire at them if they're laying down. People are smart, if you kill them while they're hiding behind cover, they'll know you're behind them.

Anyway, thats the basic plan of attack from that building. But the most important part of insurgent sniping is falling back or hiding. As soon as you've been spotted and you've got SAW fire smacking the wall above you, fall back and leave the area if possible. Otherwise hide. In the apartment building you should go to a middle floor maybe 2 below the top, and hiding in a balcony facing south. You can keep your rifle aimed towards the door and listen for footsteps. When you hear footsteps, dont move at all. When they look in the room where they saw you, and find nothing, they will assume you've moved on.

If you have time to fall back, the best thing to do is get a good firing position on you last location. So for example if your fleeing the apartment building, there are several enterable buildings south where you can peek out a window or door and fire on them in that building. You want to repeat this process, luring them further and further away from either your friendlies or your caches. A squad whos chasing down a fleeing sniper is exactly what you want from a coalition team. They're not worried about caches, or mines, or ieds, they just have tunnel vision for you.

That is why I said it is best to disrupt the coalition, not always kill them. They've got medics, so even when you see one drop, theres a good chance you won't get the kill, and they won't lose the ticket. Protecting your kill as a sniper is extremely dangerous. You are 1 guy facing off against 6 who mostly all have scopes. The best course of action when you spot a squad moving, is wait for one to stop and offer you a clean kill, take it, wait a second, then fire at the rest, if they flee, fire off a lot of rounds and do the same. If they drop down trying to find you, carefully aim and fire, making every shot count. The worst thing to do would be firing in quick succession at people who are looking for you. After, no matter if they're all dead or not, move positions. If their numbers are overwhelming, present yourself to them, stand up and fire a couple shots, then duck behind cover. Then move away without letting them see you retreat. 9/10 they will come to your location. Combine forces with a sapper and this could be a deadly trap.

The golden rule of insurgent sniping, if the enemy is taking cover, or coming to find you, your helping your team.

[Wh33lman]

1. theres this wonderful new thing called "Team Chat".

2. my first comabt flight on Kashan Desert, made no more then 4 hours after i learned to fly a jet(not fly a jet in PR, fly a jet period), i scored 10 ground kills, and 1 air to air kill. I was in the air almost the whole round, i only got shot down because i ventured a little to close to the MEC main.

3. If your only looking at their kit geometry, your not a very good sniper. Weapons are drawn for the full distance, if he has no scope, he probably a medic or HAT. If theres a bulge in the foregrip, hes a grenadier. Then you have to analize their behavior. if hes out in front of the squad, hes probably the SL.

[Mattinit]

Sniper is a very effective kit if used correctly, lasing recon and can be used to completely wipe out squads. In one round i managed to kill 23 priority targets, this includes SL Medic HAT LAT and AR, all kits that could seriously harm your teams tickets. You can make a squad redundant easily, Locate the SL wait for an easy open shot, take him down and keep eyes on for the medic, kill the medic when he goes for the rev' again keep eyes on till the kit goes then bug out. In that round I unfortuneately got flanked at the start and knifed, and then i got a 23 kill streak before at the end of the round a squad and APC finally came for me and my spotter. I was also calling in enemy APC locations and tech movement to our tank and APC squads.

I will agree that you can have people that get a total eboner when they get a sniper kit and are utterly useless and a waste of the asset.