Section 3- Using the Terrain

 

            Sniping is all about using the terrain and cover to your advantage. A sniper uses the element of surprise as his primary tactic, and in order to surprise your enemy you must remain difficult to find, and difficult to hit. At the same time you must be able to strike back effectively. The terrain in PlanetSide offers many ways to conceal and protect your sniper.

 

Mountains

 

            Mountains are the best way to gain a position from which you can locate and hit just about any target. If you can get to the top of a mountain overlooking a base, you can often fire down into the courtyard of the base, fire at enemies on top of the walls, etc. It is absolutely the BEST place to be if you want to be guaranteed a good shot. HOWEVER, a sniper sticks out on a mountaintop like a sore thumb. Usually you can only get off a shot or two before your position is discovered. Mountaintops also provide very little defense against enemy aircraft. It is a relatively secure position against vehicles, and since it takes enemy infantry a while to climb up the mountain to attack you, you can usually snipe them before they get close enough to hurt you.

 

            A mountain is not the place to be when you are fighting against enemy snipers. Usually the enemy snipers can find cover to hide behind, leaving you at a distinct disadvantage. If you find yourself in this position, you can do one of two things. You can position yourself on the very top of the mountain, and then back up so that only your weapon is pointing out over the peak. This way you can fire a shot and then move backwards out of view, on the opposite side of peak from your enemy, using the peak as cover. Another thing you can do is attempt to move to a position in which you are not standing out against the sky. If possible, find a position that has higher terrain behind you, but still provides cover. This way you won’t be quite so easy for the enemy to spot.

 

Using the tip of a peak as cover.

 

 

            Some mountains have plateaus on which you can land a small aircraft. This allows you a quick getaway in the event that you are discovered, hurt, or run out of ammo. I recommend using the Mosquito in this case because it has a small profile, is easier to land in small places, and will not show up on the enemy’s radar when parked*. If you have access to an aircraft but cannot land on the mountain, you may want to consider dropping out of your aircraft onto the peak. It is usually wisest to drop on the opposite side of the peak from your opponent, and as low as possible to avoid being noticed. Be careful not to drop or land on terrain that is too steep, as you or your aircraft could slide right down the side of the mountain!

 

A peak that I was able to land on.

 

 

Towers

 

            More often then not, you will find yourself in a battle in which you are defending your tower against an enemy attack. If the enemy has an AMS near the base of your tower, sniping is usually not an option. However, if the enemy is spawning at a distant location and traveling on foot to your tower, you have an excellent sniping opportunity. Keep in mind however, that the enemy knows your tower is hostile and may be prepared as a result. Towers are often targeted by enemy snipers just waiting for you to walk out of one of the doors. Keep this in mind, and if possible always head outside of the tower on the opposite side that the enemy is coming from. Then proceed to find cover, whether it be a doorway, a turret, or a corner of the tower. It is usually wisest to go to the highest floor of the tower to fire from, but if you are in a watch tower, and being fired back at by enemy snipers, a useful trick to head to the middle floor. Enemy snipers usually watch the top or bottom of the tower, so sometimes you can surprise them by returning fire from there.

 

            Another trick is getting on top of the roof of the tower (provided it’s a Gun Tower). This can be kind of tricky, but is achieved by standing next to a turret, on the collar piece that is slightly elevated above the floor. You then run at the tower railing (make sure you run at it edge-on) and jump. If you are successful, you will be standing on the railing. Travel along the railing until you are near the lower side of the roof. Then you turn 90 degrees so that you are facing the roof of the tower, and jump forward. If you make this jump you will be standing on the rooftop. From up here you can snipe just about anything. However you have almost no cover and tend to stand out against the sky pretty well. You will most likely be instantly noticed by any enemy aircraft, so be careful. If you come under attack, drop down off the roof near a doorway and duck inside. If you are in an Agile suit, you can get on the roof of watch towers as well, because you can jump right up onto a rail without having to use a gun turret as a springboard when in Rexo.

 

 

The jump onto the railing…

 

…and the jump onto the roof.

 

Once up there, use the only cover you’ve got… the flag.

 

 

            If you are firing from a doorway, be cautious. The enemy can see the tower doors open from a fair distance and will target you, whether they are enemy snipers, tanks, or aircraft. Reavers love to spam rockets through doorways. Opening a door is like setting off an alarm saying "I'm here!", so only fire through a doorway if you have to. Also be mindful of friendly troops passing through the doorway, they won't appreciate you accidentally hitting them with a sniper round.

           

            A turret often makes great cover, but it is also a target to the enemy, and an explosive one at that. If you use a turret as cover, you need to keep track of how much damage it is taking, and get away from it if it becomes too badly damaged, or it will explode, killing you if you are too close. Also keep an eye out for Reavers, as they don't like turrets, and will rocket spam it (and you) into oblivion. While a live turret can be useful in deterring nearby airships and vehicles, a dead turret makes even better cover because it is no longer a target to the enemy, and won't explode.

 

Use a turret as cover, but keep an eye on its health!

 

 

            Using the tower itself as cover is usually the best tactic. This way you are not as exposed and are able to quickly retreat to a doorway if the situation gets sticky. Simply peek around a corner of the tower, fire, and duck back to reload. Always keep an eye out for enemy Liberators when fighting from a tower though, and if you know that there are bombers in the vicinity, stick near by a door so that you can get to cover if bombs start to fall. If you are at an Air Tower, some relative safety from bombs can be achieved by crouching under a landing pad on the roof. This is also a pretty good sniping spot, as well as on the landing pads themselves, but there you risk being squashed by friendly aircraft. When sniping from towers, generally it’s smart to use as much cover as possible, and keep a doorway handy.

 

Using a wall corner as cover (with nearby doorway).

 

Crouching under the air pads at an Air Tower affords some protection from bombs.

 

 

Bases

 

            Very often you will find yourself sniping at the enemy from within a friendly base. There are 5 types of bases in PlanetSide, each with a different layout. I will do my best to highlight the advantages of each of these bases for a sniper.

 

 

Basic Base Concepts

 

Despite the fact that all bases have a different layout, they each have many things in common. There are some techniques you can use at any base. You can always use gun turrets as cover just as you would at a tower. You can fire from within the doorways of the wall stairwells, retreating into the stairwell if necessary. The bulwarks on the wall tops provide excellent cover. You can also use for cover any of numerous crates stacked in defensive positions throughout each base. There is also a thick band that runs around the main building of each base, which can be hopped onto and used as an unconventional sniping spot. It is also possible to jump onto the roof of the stairwells, providing you with a higher perch and a nearby doorway for escape. Please see the pictures below for examples of each of these.

 

Firing from a stairwell doorway can provide you with a quick escape route. However, because you can only fire at a horizontal angle, expect only to hit distant targets.

 

One of the most common sniping positions is on the wall top itself. Use the bulwarks placed at intervals around the wall as cover.

 

Crates can also be used for cover. Try crouching behind the right-most bottom crate to fire, and simply strafe to the left when cover is needed.

 

Every base has a band that travels around its main center building. You can hop onto this band and travel along it until you find a location suitable for sniping. Walk around outside on the second floor of a base until you find a spot where you can jump onto this band.

 

It’s possible to get on top of a stairwell’s roof simply by jumping onto the inside edge of a walltop, and traveling along this edge until you get to where the roof of the stairwell meets it. Jump onto the roof and walk up to its highest point. If you get in trouble, jump off and head into the stairwell for protection.

 

 

Now, I’ll move on to the base-specific sniper locations.

 

Amp Station- This base is rather wide open and doesn’t provide much cover compared to some of the other bases. However, if you are in Agile armor, you can actually get up on the roof of the station. Locate the area you need to jump up on top of the building using the picture below. Then jump forward and you will be almost on top of the building. Jump again and you should be standing on the roof! Use the dome and niches in the roof as cover. From up there you can hit anything! It is also possible to jump onto the top of the block-like building near the vehicle pad via the nearby catwalk.

 

Jump up to the ledge, as shown. Then jump again and you will be on the roof!

 

Aerial view of an Amp Station.

 

 

Bio Laboratory- The Bio Lab is the only base that houses it’s generator above ground. It is located on the second floor of the base, in a small building on the roof. You can use this building as cover, and also retreat inside if the base is bombed. A band travels around the outside wall of the center stairwell of the building, and makes for a pretty good sniping spot.

 

As soon as you exit the stairwell onto the roof, turn left. You can hop onto the band here, and travel around it until you find a suitable sniping location. If you get in trouble, drop down off of the band. Then head indoors and into the medical bay for healing.

 

Aerial view of a Bio Laboratory.

 

 

Dropship Center- Dropship centers are large open bases with a separate building to acquire aircraft from. It is a tall base with 2 roof stories. It also has a radar dish much like the interlink facility, and a set of stairs on the second roof that lead up to this dish. This is a nice high-up location from which to snipe. Beneath the dish is a small room with several equipment terminals which you can use to reload or use as cover. It is also possible to get on top of the aircraft building. See the picture below for details.

 

To get on top of the aircraft building’s roof, walk over next to the creation pads. Jump onto the top of the outside tunnel wall and walk along it until you reach the low end of the roof. Jump onto the roof and walk up onto the top of the building, jumping again onto the highest part of the roof (this jump can be tricky).

 

Aerial view of a Dropship Center.

 

 

Interlink Facility- Compared to many other bases, the interlink facility is relatively small. Its core building is designed in almost exactly the same way as the Dropship Center, so similar tactics can be used. Like the Dropship Center, it is quite tall and so the second roof is a nice place to snipe from, especially from under the radar dish. As mentioned above, there is a small room under the dish that can be used to reload or find cover.

 

This is an excellent sniping location. Circle around the radar’s base, using it as cover. A small room with a few equipment terminals is located underneath, with a door on the other side.

 

Aerial view of an Interlink Facility.

 

 

Technology Plant- This is a good base for sniping; it provides cover in numerous locations, as well as having a high aircraft creation pad that can be used as a great sniping spot. The vehicle tunnel roof can be used as a sniping location by jumping onto the roof via the landing pad on the catwalk.

 

The vehicle tunnel roof can be used as a great sniping position by jumping from the landing pad as shown. If you get into trouble, drop down and use the sides or interior of the tunnel as cover.

 

Aerial view of a Technology Plant.

 

 

Trees and Rocks

 

            If you aren’t defending a base, tower, or climbing a mountain, you will usually have to resort to using trees or rocks as cover. Some rocks and trees can even be climbed on top of, giving you a higher vantage point and the ability to drop down behind cover if necessary. Some trees have steep sloping trunks, and can be climbed by crouching and walking up the trunk. I find it is easiest to do this in 3^rd person view. Once you’ve climbed the trunk, you can jump into the branches of most trees, giving you an even higher vantage point. However the camera can get to be a little messed up or the view obstructed when in branches. You can also bail out of your aircraft into a tree if you time the drop just right.

 

Most trees cannot be climbed, and many of them are extremely difficult to drop out of an aircraft into. However there are forests on some continents such as Cyssor or Forseral that have trees with a large amount of branches and often packed close together (so if you miss you may land into another tree.) These make for excellent sniping positions as most enemies won’t even think to look into a tree if they are shot at. The only difficulty is dealing with the fact that the foliage often cuts into the camera when crouched. If you can position yourself properly in the branches of a tree, you are assured a great sniping location. If you become hurt, drop out of the tree on the opposite side of the enemy and hide behind it while you heal yourself. If possible, retaliate with your Bolt Driver (provided the enemy is an infantry). If the enemy is a tank or aircraft, either run into densely packed trees (to avoid being followed) or fire back with AV weaponry if you have it while using the tree as cover. (Tip: Do NOT drop from trees, especially tall ones, if you are very badly hurt. The fall might kill you! I’ve done it more than once…)

 

Make sure you don’t lose track of what’s going on around you while you’re sniping. I made this mistake while sniping from a tree and found myself looking down at a Lightning and a Scattercannon MAX. I died about a second after taking this picture…

 

 

Much the same is true about rocks. There are many that you can climb up onto, and some that must be dropped on via an aircraft. Some are extremely large, almost mountains in their own rights. Typically these plateaus (as I refer to them) cannot be landed on, but are great sniping locations. Typically the trouble with these (especially the larger ones) is getting down without dying. Also, you have no cover from aircraft so it is not wise to snipe from these when there is hostile air traffic in the vicinity. Also, these plateaus, being such obvious sniping locations, are the first place an enemy looks when hit by a sniper round. The height advantage from these plateaus are usually a big bonus though. You can usually hit just about anything from one, and you are at almost no risk to vehicle or enemy infantry attack.

 

A plateau that I dropped out of my aircraft onto.

 

 

Back to Table of Contents

 

Section 4- Aiming and Firing