Section 4- Sniping
Ok, so now we get to the good
stuff! Now maybe you’ve sniped in other games, but PlanetSide
is a totally different experience. If you are new to sniping in PlanetSide, there are a few things you are going to have to
realize.
Basic Sniping Concepts
First, there are NO one-shot kills in this game UNLESS you shoot an infiltrator. No matter WHERE you shoot someone, it will always do the same amount of damage. Yes it’s a little unrealistic, but in PlanetSide, that’s the way it works. Shoot me in the finger or the head; it’s the same amount of damage. Deal with it.
Second,
shooting rapidly moving targets in this game is VERY difficult and will take a
lot of practice if you want to get any good at it. If you move the Bolt Driver
even a little, the cone of fire rapidly blooms and suddenly you become quite
inaccurate. Most of your kills are achieved against enemies that are either
moving straight towards or away from you, moving slowly, or not at all. If you
want to become good at hitting moving targets, you need to be skilled at moving
your Bolt Driver slowly and smoothly. Don’t jerk it around. It doesn’t like
that.
Third, you only have
ONE shot before you have to reload. One, uno,
"1". That’s it. Reloading isn’t quick either,
it takes about 3 seconds to place a new round in the chamber. Knowing this, you
have to carefully pick your shots. This isn’t Rainbow Six 3. There is no “’BamBamBamBamBam!’ Yes I got him with that last one!” (Not that I’m saying anything bad about Rainbow Six, I love the
game). But you have one shot so you need to make sure it hits, or you
are looking at a few seconds of reloading while the enemy figures out he is
being shot at (instead of figuring it out because most of his health is gone).
Lastly, if you don’t crouch to fire, don’t expect to hit something unless it’s a few feet away from the tip of your Bolt Driver. When standing, the cone of fire of the weapon is just plain huge. Crouching will cause the Bolt Driver’s cone of fire to shrink dramatically however, turning it into a precise, lean, mean killing machine.
Picking Your Targets
One of the most important aspects of sniping is knowing WHO to shoot. You will be a lot better sniper if you can choose the best target. Sometimes, only one target will present itself, but due to the large amounts of players in a typical PlanetSide battle, you will usually have more than one target to pick from. If you can quickly choose what target you are most likely to be able to land 2 consecutive sniper rounds on, you will definitely rack up more kills.
Pick the target that looks really busy. Whether he’s hacking open a door, using a med applicator on someone, or repairing a turret, most likely he’s not expecting to get shot. If you can catch him completely, totally off guard, he will usually panic, giving you that extra second or so you need to reload and pump another one into him before he figures out what is going on. Also, the opposite is true. Sometimes the best target is an enemy that is doing absolutely nothing. If you see an enemy that isn't moving at all, and seems to be staring off into space (especially if he has no weapon equipped), you might have just caught the player while he’s taking a sip of his coffee, fiddling with his options settings, or (most commonly) chattin' it up with his teammates. Yes, I know it’s cruel, but it's their fault for not being on guard. Take the opportunity and make the shot. If you get lucky, you get to reload while the enemy player juggles his coffee, mashes his Esc key, or inserts a long line of "w"s into his chat bar. Hey, it’s a cruel, cruel world.
Shoot the
guy with his back to you. If you see an enemy who isn't
facing you (or your general direction), go for the shot. He will have a
lot harder time figuring out where you are, and thus where he should run to
find cover. Yes, the little red indicator flashes when you've been shot that
shows where the shot has come from, but a lot of time the enemy will miss
seeing it and have no clue. All too often I've shot an enemy in the back, and
he thinks that I hit him from a different position. He will then move to what
he thinks is a safe location, but in actuality is still wide open for my
killing shot. Even if the enemy DOES see the indicator and realize what general
direction you are firing from, if he had his back to you he still won’t know
exactly where you are. Most likely (especially if he is a sniper too) he will
find cover, and then peek out to look for you. If he does this, hit him again
while he searches. If he hasn't managed to get his health back up enough since
you hit him with the first shot, you'll get the kill. Curiosity killed the cat!
Er… enemy… whatever...
Kill the weakest target. If you just saw an enemy receive a bunch of damage, most likely he’s hurting. Try to determine if he has taken enough damage that you can drop him with one shot. If you think he has, try to make the shot before he heals himself too much. If you have the Enhanced Targeting implant this is easy. It will show you how much health your enemies have, and so you can just pick the enemy with at least 1/3 of his health bar gone and you have yourself an easy one-shot kill. Also, if you see an enemy infiltrator who has decloaked, you have yourself a great opportunity! He can be killed in one shot even if he’s at full health.
Now, it is entirely up to you to decide which target is the best. Sometimes you will have to ask yourself something like “should I shoot the guy who has his back to me or should I kill the guy who just got hit by a grenade?” Don’t spend forever choosing though, because if you wait too long the opportunity will often pass you by. Make a quick decision and act on it. A sniper who does nothing but analyze his targets won’t make any kills, but a sniper that can quickly and wisely choose his targets definitely will.
Sniper Squad Tactics
A sniper can become even more destructive when working alongside other infantry in a squad. Whether the squad is supporting the sniper, or the sniper supporting the squad, the outcome usually remains the same; more kills. Here are a few tactics that can be used when you are in a squad and/or platoon.
Tag-team Sniping- This is when 2 snipers squad together, and then work together to quickly kill targets. Usually this works best with good communication, and thus TeamSpeak is a very useful tool. Advanced targeting is also recommended for both snipers to have, so that they can see target names and health, and agree on which target to focus on. Essentially, a target is picked and confirmed between the two snipers. They then both fire at the one target. Needless to say, if both shots hit, the target is neutralized. Even if one of the snipers miss, it is likely that one of the two snipers will hit the target with a second round. Tag-team sniping can be VERY effective when done properly.
Squad support for Sniper- Usually this consists of one or more squad members supporting a sniper. Typically this consists of a medic to repair the health of the sniper, and/or an infantry/MAX who protects the sniper (usually against vehicles, aircraft, or infiltrators). A sniper with a medic healing him will last a lot longer when fighting against enemy snipers, and a sniper with an infantry/MAX covering his back will likely last a lot longer against any other enemies that may consider targeting a sniper.
Sniper support for Squad- This is when the sniper is in a position that allows him to support the squad. For example, the squad may draw the enemy’s attention by attacking their AMS. While the enemy is distracted by the squadmates, the sniper is free to pick them off while being relatively safe from return fire. Usually the sniper can also relay helpful information to the squad using his scope, as well as attempt to protect squad members by targeting enemies who are a threat. Again, TeamSpeak is useful in this role, as it allows the sniper to quickly inform the squad of incoming threats. (Tip: if you are a squad commander, this is a very useful role. You can support your squad effectively while maintaining a good overview of the situation.)
Aiming and Firing
There are quite a few little tricks you can use to help yourself be more accurate as a sniper. A few can be taught, but for the most part you need to learn through practice. Here are a few tips I know that might help you out.
When aiming at a target from behind cover, always fire from the right side of the object you are using as cover. All snipers in PlanetSide fire their guns from their right shoulder, so if you stay to the right when behind cover, you minimize your exposure to the enemy when you move out to fire.
Use the upper-left dot of your reticule to aim with. While it may seem that your shots land in the center of the targeting reticule, they usually actually hit in the upper-left corner of the reticule on the small dot there. While this level of precision isn’t needed for most sniping, it is useful to know if you have the Enhanced Targeting implant.
Aim using the upper-left dot of the reticule. I took this screenshot just as I fired, and if you look carefully you can see that the orange bolt tracer has just hit right next to this dot.
Don’t you hate it when you are a HAIR away from having the enemy in your sights, but as soon as you move your mouse that tiniest little bit, you are aiming 3 feet to the other side of the target? Sometimes the mouse can be a bit too sensitive, but if you turn down the sensitivity, you often cannot aim quickly enough. This is when you need to move your character, not your mouse. If you are aiming right next to the enemy, don’t move your mouse and mess up your shot. Strafe to the side a little bit until your reticule is aimed properly. Or sometimes moving backwards or forwards will help if you are aiming a little too high or low. Instead of spending forever trying to get that distant enemy within your sights, just nudge your character over a little bit until you have that clean shot. Just be careful that you don’t venture too far away from your cover!
Don’t be afraid to throw off a desperate shot. Sometimes you get lucky. There will be situations in which your enemy is rapidly disappearing behind cover of some kind, and you don’t have a good shot. Perhaps they are moving too quickly, or your cone of fire hasn’t settled down enough. However if they escape to cover, they will most likely heal themselves to the point that you cannot one-shot kill them, they might yell out a “V-W-S” (“Warning, Sniper!”) to alert others (which is not good) and then come after you, perhaps with a few buddies this time. If at all possible, we want to prevent any of these events from occurring. So don’t hold your fire, pop off a shot at him. Just because your cone of fire is the size of a grapefruit doesn’t mean you will miss, it just means you are unlikely to hit. Every now and then you will get a lucky shot! (Tip: only do this if you can afford to reveal your position. If you are trying to stay covert it is best to hide instead of fire a chancy shot.)
There will be times in which you find yourself facing an enemy sniper, and have absolutely no cover at all. This is when you need to learn the art of dodge-sniping. If you simply crouch and fire back at the enemy, you will most likely die. You need to keep moving to avoid being shot. The best thing to do is to strafe sideways (while standing, not crouching) while you zoom in on the enemy with your scope. Alternate the directions you strafe at random intervals to keep the enemy sniper guessing. Aim your reticule next to the enemy sniper and strafe sideways so that your reticule will pass over the target. Briefly before your reticule intersects the target, crouch while continuing to strafe. When you are aiming directly at the enemy, stop for the briefest of moments (until your cone of fire has settled down enough to fire accurately) and send a bolt off into the enemy. As soon as you’ve fired, stand and continue to strafe back and forth unpredictably while reloading. This is, as far as I know, the best way to avoid being hit while allowing you to still strike back.
Hitting a moving target is one of the biggest challenges for a sniper in PlanetSide. Moving targets can often be a real pain in the rear, especially those enemies that seem to enjoy moving about in seemingly random patterns; it can be quite frustrating. So, don’t fire at those enemies who are hopping around this way and that. If you must hit a target that is moving, try for those that are moving in a steady direction at a steady speed. Now place your reticule in front of the enemy so that the enemy is approaching your line of fire. Do this quickly and smoothly to ensure that the cone of fire settles down as quickly as possible. Then, right when the enemy touches one of the horizontal bars of your reticule, fire. While the Bolt Driver’s rounds often to appear to hit the target instantaneously, they actually just travel at a very high speed, so you DO need to lead your targets slightly. Do not try to move your Bolt Driver along with the target, as this will cause the cone of fire to expand and you will have a great deal of difficulty in hitting your foe. Instead do like I said, move your reticule so that it is in front of the target, and fire at just the right moment, as the target hits the edge of your reticule. If you get it right, your shot will hit a very surprised infantry! (“What?! How did he hit me, I was running full tilt!”) Now the tricky part is landing that second shot, however it can be done. Reload that Bolt Driver, line up another shot, and good luck! Keep practicing and you’ll improve. If you make 2 successful shots on a moving target in this manner, give yourself a pat on the back. You’re a skilled (or damn lucky) sniper!