By Milky's
If there is a love/hate relationship somewhere in this game, this is where it's at.
Some love it, some hate it, and you can't go one game without someone complaing about it.
It's probably the only weapon in the game that has a number of servers and clans placing restrictions on it.
Some servers will kick you for O-sniping, some for Vpad sniping and there might be some that don't allow it at all.
Some people call it a 'cheap, no skill' shot. Some think it's a worthless position. Some think it's an effective tactic. Some think it's a necessary position.
Now, before I write another book here, lets start with the basics:
* The game developers put the sniper rifle in the game. You paid for the game. There are plenty of servers that put *no* restrictions on the sniper rifle. You can, and *should*, play 'guilt' free on all of these servers. You don't need to defend yourself against the constant borrage of "You cheap newbie!" comments in the chat box.
If you can ignore the people giving you a hard time, you'll save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress. On occassion, you may even be kicked unfairly from a server where all sniping is totally legal. Blow this off too. It's not worth getting pissed off (like I do sometimes
).
* Now, it's not 'right' to badger a sniper when it's legal, but it's also not 'right' to play on a sniping restricted server and complain about the restriction, or harass the players there. If you play on one of these servers, just respect the rules. Simple as that.
Some of the people (maybe many) running servers are paying a sizeable chunk of money for the bandwidth. Keep this in mind before you complain about the server rules, whatever they may be.
We all have a certain style of gameplay that we like best, and fortunately, T2 allows us to modfiy the game in many ways and have our own house rules. We wouldn't want it any other way.
Defensive sniping is widely accepted as a very effective position for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because you work, die and respawn in the same general area so you can be back in posistion very quickly.
As a D sniper you can:
* Kill cappers before they get to the flag (important when grabs win a game) and kill them as they are running off with your flag.
* Finish off enemies, including heavies, as they are roaming around your base, especially as they are just about to enter the base.
* Pick off enemy O-snipers, especially those very effective Vpad snipers.
* In some situations, you can spot and kill cloakers by watching for footprints and zooming in and looking for the ripple effect.
* Destroy any enemy deployed assets around your base.
* Play midfield D sniper; sort of a last ditch effort at stopping the capper (or just as a general support role).
________Offensive sniping is not so widely accepted, escpecially Vpad sniping.
Many hate it because they like a fast paced game, and Vpad sniping in particular can really slow down the game for their team. Many fear it, because they don't like being hunted on their own base and they don't want to stop what their doing and chase them down. Also, some call it cheap for obvious reasons. They would prefer to duel, or really, fight any other way where it would be a 'fair' fight.
Once again, the thing to keep in mind here, is that this is a futuristic *WAR* game! I'm no history buff, but I'd say the idea that 'style' wins wars went out with the RedCoats, and with a bang, at that!
If you like O-sniping, it is your *duty* to shut that Vpad down ASAP! Incredibly, when you snipe the Vpad, many times you will see 10 different people complain about you, but not _one_ of them will come after you!
The only thing you have to do to stop Vpad sniping is make the sniper move. That's it. Just make him move. And keep him moving. You don't even have to fire a shot; just chase him around, and your team can spawn all the vehicles they want.
Now, if you and 5 of your teammates get angry and chase after him, that is almost as effective, and maybe more, than sniping the pad! The sniper still wins! You only need one person to go after him, not 5.
As an O sniper you can:
* Impair or completly shut down the enemie's Vpad giving your team an enourmous advantage.
* Be the last chance your team has to stop a flag capper.
* Intice 2 or more enemies to come after you, effectively off balancing the team count temporarily.
* Achieve the dreaded 'one shot one kill' damage level by working as a team of 2 or more snipers.
* Destroy remote dep. assets.
* Assist in picking off defending enemies as your team is launching an assault.
* Be in a position to paint targets for your incoming teammates.
* Protect your flag capper by killing the chasers (this is a HIGH skill position).
* Destroy flag D assets, including mines and especially satchels.
Now, a little more in depth on the above.
* Obstructing Vpad operation should be a no-brainer. Almost all of the time, the team with more vehicles out will win the game.
* If you are keeping an eye out for the enemy flag capper, you can hit him as he comes your way. Sometimes, when they get close to home base, they get lazy and take a straight path to the flag base. This is the gravy shot you've been waiting for.
If you can't get them as they are coming towards you, then hit them from behind. Easy money!
* If you are able to draw 2 or more enemies to your position, I would suggest that your primary goal should not be to kill them, but to stay alive as long as possible. Focus on dodging shots and finding cover behind terrain. Only fire back when it won't affect your ability to dodge the next shot.
You'll get good at this after awhile. Nothing is more satisfying than keeping 4 enemies busy for 30 seconds or more. And sometimes, you'll actually kill them all too!
* O-sniping is *much* more effective in teams (as well as D sniping). In the base rules set, a 'head shot' will *not* kill a light armor with no shields; there are no 'one shot one kill' shots with the sniper rifle.
But, 2 or more snipers can kill a light instantly (maybe assualts too, not sure). Assaults and heavies without shields can be ripped up very quickly.
Some people say that you are wasting your time hitting heavies. I disagree. One sniper hitting a shielded heavy is certainly a waste. But 2 or more snipers hitting an unshielded heavy can make him run in for a recharge very quickly. 3 or 4 snipers can wipe out unshielded heavies lickity split, and make the shielded ones run inside.
Remember, a heavy armor reduced to the health level of a bleeding light, isn't worth very much to his team. IMO, team O-sniping heavies ROCKS!
* TIP: A nasty, but effective sniper tactic is to fire a disc at the feet of an idling enemy, and then lazer snipe him right before the disc hits. This will give you the 'one shot, one kill' effect!
Something else that I haven't yet explored (just now thought of it): If your range to target is pretty far, then you may be able to fire 2, or possibly even 3 discs, with just the right amount of time between them, at 2 or 3 different targets.
The time between disc shots, would be your lazer recharge time, plus a little bit of leeway.
For example, you could fire one disc, wait @4 to 5 seconds, then fire the second disc, quickly switch to your lazer, snipe the first victim right before the disc hits and then quickly do the same for the second victim. I'll have to try this one out. If it works, then you should be able to get more kills in a shorter period of time.
Since a direct disc hit takes off a lot of health, you won't need a fully charged lazer shot for each person, in order to get the kill. Keep this in mind when determining your lazer recharge time (time between disc shots). Also keep in mind, that your first lazer shot may be noticed by your upcoming second victim, and he may decide to move. It might be a good idea to choose secondary targets that will be less likely to notice or respond to your first attack.
Another variation would be to just fire several discs at mulitple targets or target areas, such as base entrances. Even if some of your targets move before the discs arrive, you'll increase your chances of getting at least one person with mulitple discs.
I'll repost more info after I have toyed around with this a bit.
* Basically, everything you can do as a solo sniper, can be done much quicker and deadlier in teams: Take out dep. EQ instantly, kill Vpad users instantly, clear flag D instantly and take out low health heavies as your team assualts the base.
O sniping is very effective, but not in every situation, in every map and against every team. Some of the time it simply won't be the best choice, but you've got to find that out for yourself.
I have stated before in the forums that, one of the reasons why people say O-sniping isn't effective is simply because they haven't seen it work! Really, the only person that knows how well it is working is the sniper himself. Even the enemy team won't be able to grasp the extent of the damage unless they are just standing around watching people drop like flies!
Unfortunately, O-sniping is sort of a thankless job, except amongst fellow O-snipers. It's still a lot of fun though. Happy Hunting!
If there is a love/hate relationship somewhere in this game, this is where it's at.
Some love it, some hate it, and you can't go one game without someone complaing about it.
It's probably the only weapon in the game that has a number of servers and clans placing restrictions on it.
Some servers will kick you for O-sniping, some for Vpad sniping and there might be some that don't allow it at all.
Some people call it a 'cheap, no skill' shot. Some think it's a worthless position. Some think it's an effective tactic. Some think it's a necessary position.
Now, before I write another book here, lets start with the basics:
* The game developers put the sniper rifle in the game. You paid for the game. There are plenty of servers that put *no* restrictions on the sniper rifle. You can, and *should*, play 'guilt' free on all of these servers. You don't need to defend yourself against the constant borrage of "You cheap newbie!" comments in the chat box.
If you can ignore the people giving you a hard time, you'll save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress. On occassion, you may even be kicked unfairly from a server where all sniping is totally legal. Blow this off too. It's not worth getting pissed off (like I do sometimes
).* Now, it's not 'right' to badger a sniper when it's legal, but it's also not 'right' to play on a sniping restricted server and complain about the restriction, or harass the players there. If you play on one of these servers, just respect the rules. Simple as that.
Some of the people (maybe many) running servers are paying a sizeable chunk of money for the bandwidth. Keep this in mind before you complain about the server rules, whatever they may be.
We all have a certain style of gameplay that we like best, and fortunately, T2 allows us to modfiy the game in many ways and have our own house rules. We wouldn't want it any other way.
Defensive sniping is widely accepted as a very effective position for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because you work, die and respawn in the same general area so you can be back in posistion very quickly.
As a D sniper you can:
* Kill cappers before they get to the flag (important when grabs win a game) and kill them as they are running off with your flag.
* Finish off enemies, including heavies, as they are roaming around your base, especially as they are just about to enter the base.
* Pick off enemy O-snipers, especially those very effective Vpad snipers.
* In some situations, you can spot and kill cloakers by watching for footprints and zooming in and looking for the ripple effect.
* Destroy any enemy deployed assets around your base.
* Play midfield D sniper; sort of a last ditch effort at stopping the capper (or just as a general support role).
________Offensive sniping is not so widely accepted, escpecially Vpad sniping.
Many hate it because they like a fast paced game, and Vpad sniping in particular can really slow down the game for their team. Many fear it, because they don't like being hunted on their own base and they don't want to stop what their doing and chase them down. Also, some call it cheap for obvious reasons. They would prefer to duel, or really, fight any other way where it would be a 'fair' fight.
Once again, the thing to keep in mind here, is that this is a futuristic *WAR* game! I'm no history buff, but I'd say the idea that 'style' wins wars went out with the RedCoats, and with a bang, at that!
If you like O-sniping, it is your *duty* to shut that Vpad down ASAP! Incredibly, when you snipe the Vpad, many times you will see 10 different people complain about you, but not _one_ of them will come after you!
The only thing you have to do to stop Vpad sniping is make the sniper move. That's it. Just make him move. And keep him moving. You don't even have to fire a shot; just chase him around, and your team can spawn all the vehicles they want.
Now, if you and 5 of your teammates get angry and chase after him, that is almost as effective, and maybe more, than sniping the pad! The sniper still wins! You only need one person to go after him, not 5.
As an O sniper you can:
* Impair or completly shut down the enemie's Vpad giving your team an enourmous advantage.
* Be the last chance your team has to stop a flag capper.
* Intice 2 or more enemies to come after you, effectively off balancing the team count temporarily.
* Achieve the dreaded 'one shot one kill' damage level by working as a team of 2 or more snipers.
* Destroy remote dep. assets.
* Assist in picking off defending enemies as your team is launching an assault.
* Be in a position to paint targets for your incoming teammates.
* Protect your flag capper by killing the chasers (this is a HIGH skill position).
* Destroy flag D assets, including mines and especially satchels.
Now, a little more in depth on the above.
* Obstructing Vpad operation should be a no-brainer. Almost all of the time, the team with more vehicles out will win the game.
* If you are keeping an eye out for the enemy flag capper, you can hit him as he comes your way. Sometimes, when they get close to home base, they get lazy and take a straight path to the flag base. This is the gravy shot you've been waiting for.
If you can't get them as they are coming towards you, then hit them from behind. Easy money!
* If you are able to draw 2 or more enemies to your position, I would suggest that your primary goal should not be to kill them, but to stay alive as long as possible. Focus on dodging shots and finding cover behind terrain. Only fire back when it won't affect your ability to dodge the next shot.
You'll get good at this after awhile. Nothing is more satisfying than keeping 4 enemies busy for 30 seconds or more. And sometimes, you'll actually kill them all too!
* O-sniping is *much* more effective in teams (as well as D sniping). In the base rules set, a 'head shot' will *not* kill a light armor with no shields; there are no 'one shot one kill' shots with the sniper rifle.
But, 2 or more snipers can kill a light instantly (maybe assualts too, not sure). Assaults and heavies without shields can be ripped up very quickly.
Some people say that you are wasting your time hitting heavies. I disagree. One sniper hitting a shielded heavy is certainly a waste. But 2 or more snipers hitting an unshielded heavy can make him run in for a recharge very quickly. 3 or 4 snipers can wipe out unshielded heavies lickity split, and make the shielded ones run inside.
Remember, a heavy armor reduced to the health level of a bleeding light, isn't worth very much to his team. IMO, team O-sniping heavies ROCKS!
* TIP: A nasty, but effective sniper tactic is to fire a disc at the feet of an idling enemy, and then lazer snipe him right before the disc hits. This will give you the 'one shot, one kill' effect!
Something else that I haven't yet explored (just now thought of it): If your range to target is pretty far, then you may be able to fire 2, or possibly even 3 discs, with just the right amount of time between them, at 2 or 3 different targets.
The time between disc shots, would be your lazer recharge time, plus a little bit of leeway.
For example, you could fire one disc, wait @4 to 5 seconds, then fire the second disc, quickly switch to your lazer, snipe the first victim right before the disc hits and then quickly do the same for the second victim. I'll have to try this one out. If it works, then you should be able to get more kills in a shorter period of time.
Since a direct disc hit takes off a lot of health, you won't need a fully charged lazer shot for each person, in order to get the kill. Keep this in mind when determining your lazer recharge time (time between disc shots). Also keep in mind, that your first lazer shot may be noticed by your upcoming second victim, and he may decide to move. It might be a good idea to choose secondary targets that will be less likely to notice or respond to your first attack.
Another variation would be to just fire several discs at mulitple targets or target areas, such as base entrances. Even if some of your targets move before the discs arrive, you'll increase your chances of getting at least one person with mulitple discs.
I'll repost more info after I have toyed around with this a bit.
* Basically, everything you can do as a solo sniper, can be done much quicker and deadlier in teams: Take out dep. EQ instantly, kill Vpad users instantly, clear flag D instantly and take out low health heavies as your team assualts the base.
O sniping is very effective, but not in every situation, in every map and against every team. Some of the time it simply won't be the best choice, but you've got to find that out for yourself.
I have stated before in the forums that, one of the reasons why people say O-sniping isn't effective is simply because they haven't seen it work! Really, the only person that knows how well it is working is the sniper himself. Even the enemy team won't be able to grasp the extent of the damage unless they are just standing around watching people drop like flies!
Unfortunately, O-sniping is sort of a thankless job, except amongst fellow O-snipers. It's still a lot of fun though. Happy Hunting!