Section 2- Implants
There are
several implants in PlanetSide that are very useful
to snipers. Since you can only have 3 implants (when BR 18+), it is up to you
to decide which ones best suit you. Here I do my best to highlight the
advantages and disadvantages of all implants that a sniper might find useful.
Audio Amplifier- This implant allows you to hear the footsteps of an
enemy, and displays their location on your radar, given that they are within a
certain range. Certainly one of the most useful implants when
you are sniping in an area that contains enemy infiltrators. It consumes
stamina at a very slow rate when crouching, so it can be used for a long time
while sniping. However this implant can be countered with the Silent Run
implant employed by many infiltrators, so be warned.
It is also quite useful in indoor combat, as it can alert you to incoming
enemies, or allow you to get the jump on someone.
Darklight Vision- This implant allows
you to see an enemy infiltrator when activated, but lowers your visual range
dramatically. It consumes stamina at a fair speed, so it should only be used
when you suspect there to be an infiltrator nearby. Used in conjunction with
Audio Amplifier, you can be quite effective in combating infiltrators.
Enhanced Targeting- A very useful implant that will allow you to see how much health an enemy soldier has, but only up to medium ranges. This can help you pick targets that are already damaged, and kill them in one shot. It can also useful in other roles, helping you decide whether to run away from an enemy tank (it’s at full health and coming straight at me, I’m NOT messing!) or to blow it up (only a hair of health! Eat my Decimator!). It also doesn’t consume stamina at all, so it can easily be used in combination with any other implant. Very handy.
Personal Shield- Personal shield creates a field around you when
activated that blocks incoming fire, and drains stamina slowly while activated.
When crouching, stamina actually increases at a very slow rate, and thus it can
be used indefinitely while sniping. While this implant is active, damage
inflicted upon you drains your stamina at a rate of a stamina point for every
damage point received. This can be useful in blocking a shot by an enemy
sniper, but you will be left with no stamina, which can be dangerous because
you will become fatigued (and thus have trouble moving to cover quickly or
avoiding fire). This is a useful implant but must be used with caution.
Range Magnifier- To most, this is considered THE sniper implant. It
increases your zoom levels, allowing you to zoom to 4x, 8x, or 12x
magnification, instead of just the standard 2x, 4x, and 8x zooms that the
sniper rifle scope provides. Also, you do not have to be looking through your
scope for these zoom levels, they are implanted into
your character’s eyes, and thus can be used at any time. Also, this implant
does NOT drain stamina, or need to be activated. It still takes some time to
activate after respawning however. This implant can
allow you to outrange other snipers, and be more accurate at longer ranges.
Despite this it does NOT increase your maximum visual range, so if an enemy is
far enough away that he fades from your view, you will not be able to see him,
implant or not. However since it does not drain stamina, this implant can be
used at the same time as other implants without leaving you fatigued within
seconds.
Regeneration- Regeneration is an extremely useful implant that
essentially allows you to restore your health when activated. It consumes 2
stamina points for every health point it regenerates however, so a full stamina
bar will only provide you with 50 health points. This may not seem like much,
but it can be quite handy when used in conjunction with med packs, a med
applicator, or when you are safely behind cover. If an enemy sniper shoots you
while you are in Rexo (inflicting 65 damage, reducing
your health to 35) and you activate a med pack (boosting it back up to 60) you
can activate this implant and rapidly restore the 5 health points you need to
survive another hit, instead of having to apply another med pack. Also, having this implant means that you typically won’t need to
carry as many med packs, as you can heal minor injuries using the implant
instead of having to use a med pack. This can free up some of your
inventory space, or just improve your survivability. A good
implant to have.
Second Wind- This implant automatically restores health to safer levels
by consuming stamina when you are near death. It takes quite a while to activate
after respawning, but does not need to need to be
turned on nor does it consume stamina. This implant only boosts your health a
limited amount however, and only when you are very low on health. Thus it will
not likely save you from being killed by an enemy sniper. However it can be
useful in close-combat engagements, giving you a small health advantage over
the enemy.
Surge- While it might seem strange, Surge can be quite a useful implant
for a sniper. Snipers typically have to travel long distances to find effective
sniping locations, and Surge can help them traverse these distances more
rapidly due to its ability to increase the speed at which your character can
run. It drains stamina relative to the armor your character is wearing, so a
character in Agile armor can run longer (and faster) with Surge than a
character in Rexo. It also is very useful in
relocating your sniper when your position has been compromised (discovered by
the enemy). Just activate Surge and take off to another location. By the time
the enemy has arrived at your position, you are long gone, setting up a new
location from which to strike.
All of these implants are
useful in their own ways. Depending on your play style and the number of
implant slots you have, it is up to you to choose the implants that will suit
your sniper best. Personally, I typically use Darklight
Vision, Regeneration, and Enhanced Targeting, but I often change these
depending on my mood or the situation. Remember, unlike certifications,
implants can be switched as often as you like, as long as you have access to an
Implant Terminal (at a Bio Lab or Sanctuary). So if those infiltrators are
driving you crazy, or you are sick of taking hours to run back to your sniping
location, don’t be afraid to switch implants and experiment a little.