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Written by Palasilva Hi there! This is my first guide, and I hope it helps you fellow snipers out there. This is sort of an all-encompassing sniping guide, filled with useful tips that have saved me many times. Please tell me if I've left anything out. I myself became a sniper when I fell into the no-money-no-licenses-no-weapons pit. The only weapon I had left was the RailGun....so I had to rack up around 70k to get a melee weapon, and I still haven't gotten a shooter. So I have the perfect sniper set-up, melee and sniping.
Introduction to Sniping Don't you just love being that annoying guy who picks people off from a distance? And then they get so worked up about how cheap you are with a laser, and how snipers are wimps and they hide, etc...It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
First of all, sniping is an "asshole tactic". So be prepared for various insults and derogatory remarks. Having said that, it takes a great deal of skill to snipe properly. It's great if you want to keep randomly blasting enemies who are standing still, but you're not going to get a lot of kills that way. Learn to kill moving targets and other snipers, and learn to use the RG at close range.
Another thing. Sniping is hard, grueling work, and it's really hard on the eyes. When you have the time, look away from the screen for a moment and realize that a non-pixelated world exists for two seconds. Then turn back to owning the reloader.
Finally, sniping isn't very rewarding. When you're going all-out melee, you'll get more kills, guaranteed. You're mindlessly spraying bullets and mashing the mouse with CS/Storm Bat. Strangely, this works to get you a lot of kills.
But when you're sniping, you won't get many kills, because you actually have to pick a target and aim carefully, as you pretty much only have one shot. If you miss, the target will realize that a blue, sizzling lightning bolt just missed his cranium and GTFO of there. So if you want to snipe, consider the reduced kills. Dummy Tips Ok, this is really sad, but I've seen people who don't realize this. Only read this if you: A. Are new to sniping. B. Don't read tutorials.
- Tip one: There's a scope. Right-click. Aim. (No, seriously. I once saw a guy in Highway trying to snipe without the scope.)
- Tip two: ALWAYS keep the Railgun charged (Unless you are recharging or being attacked at close-range), as an unexpected easy kill may pop out of nowhere and you won't have it fully charged.
- Tip three: If there's nobody around, reload. It doesn't matter if you have just one bullet gone, reload. You never know when that extra shot could come in handy. If someone appears while you reload (and have lots of bullets anyways) then quickly switch to another wep and back, then snipe the **** out of them.
- Tip four: Okay, the Z key. This is absolutely essential to snipers. It will change your view from the right side to the left side. You know when you barely expose any body parts, and seem to shoot through a wall? Well, don't keep doing that to one side. Switch to your left, too.
General Tips - Tip one: When shooting a moving target, aim a fully charged shot where they're going. Tunnel is the easiest map to do this in. When an enemy is going down one of the sides, they're going basically...vertical. So aim the mouse directly ahead of them, and wait until their head is in the cross hairs, and fire.
- Tip two: When in the Tunnel map, aim for the spawners! You get so many points this way...so look through the scope at the enemy spawn place, and wait till somebody spawns. Position your mouse on them, but don't shoot. Wait a few seconds, and when someone drops down in that exact same spot, BOOM. Don't reload. Keep your mouse on that same position until you're outta bullets. Then repeat.
- Tip three: Remember, the highest ground isn't always the best sniping spot. You are very exposed and vulnerable to other snipers. Some of the best sniping spots are underground (E.G. Neden-1, the slope on the front side, also a spawn area.)
- Tip four: People seem to think if they see a mid-range target, they have to immediately produce a mid-range gun. Keep your calm, aim, and shoot.
Your Sniping Arsenal Railgun: - A great sniping weapon, my weapon of choice. It can kill people with full health in one, fully-charged hit. It doesn't take overly long to reload, and is quite deadly at close range, too, if used right. A non-charged hit will take out a weakened enemy, and will shred about 30% of your opponent's health. A disadvantage of this is the fact that the charging laser-beams are so bloody bright that another sniper will notice you in an instant. Also, a full charge will take up to four seconds. Doesn't sound like much, but every second is precious when you're sniping. Keep in mind that if you shoot their head or torso, fully charged, they will be obliterated. But pelvis/leg shot, the damage is halved. A headshot with half-charge or over is an insta-kill.
Cannonade: - A deadly weapon in the right hands. A huge disadvantage, however, is the fact that it will not kill an enemy with HP mastery. It specializes in destroying walls/blocks/other such obstacles, making it an excellent weapon in TD. The charge/reload time is approximately the same as the Railgun. Also, THIS GOES THROUGH SHIELDS. For 50% damage.
Semi-Rifle: - A great sniping weapon, as it can be either a sniping or mid-range weapon. If someone comes up to kill you with an HMG, you'll be ready and still have room for a sentry. It is also very useful for moving targets, as it has the rapid-fire system and doesn't require charging. The scope doesn't zoom in as much as the Cannonade/Railgun, though, and the spray rate is a bit wide.
Enemy weapon-specific sniping
Melee: Countersword/Stormbat/Plasma Sword:
- You see a CS spammer blasting your teammate to hell? A spinning Storm bat user? A stunning PS wielder? Don't try to hit these guys when they're attacking, because the movements and the follow-ups are fast and unpredictable. Wait till they are recovering, and then snipe them. When a CS/PS user finishes a jump attack/series of flurries, he/she will spend an entire two seconds getting up again. Use this time to laser them to Timbuctoo. A warning, though, when they complete the jump attack, they'll probably do the follow-up uppercut move, so wait for half a second before you snipe them. Also, if your teammate and an enemy are locked in a CS duel, be an asshole. If your teammate stuns him, take the kill. He won't thank you for it, but hey. And if your teammate knocks him back, take the kill, too. Another thing to try. Before the enemy does a jump attack, he'll hang in the air for a quarter-second. If you can anticipate this, hit him in mid-air. Not only is it freaking pro, it looks epic, and you just saved your teammate a severe thrashing.
Shooting: HMG, SMG, Revolver, Gauss Rifle, etc.: - These are by far the most common, and the hardest to get. They're usually hopping around like jumping beans on crack, because they're avoiding enemy fire anyways. Occasionally, though, one will stand still to get the best accuracy possible with their spray-y HMG. This is when you take their heads off. Now, unlike the CS/PS/SB, guns actually propose a danger to you. (Although you could probably pick off a sniper from across the map, considering CS's ridiculous range.) Especially the Semi-Rifle, but we'll come to that later. These little bullets will come out of nowhere, really fast, and take away your HP without you even noticing it. So if you see someone shooting at you, take cover, because if you try to snipe them you'll be blown to bits while standing there like an idiot, trying to lock on to them.
Sniping: RG, Cannonade: - Ah yes, one of the essential things that needs to be covered; the other sniper. There usually is one. You find out when your head gets blown off when you're reloading, or sniping someone else. Well, there's very few ways of dealing with other snipers permanently, as they'll just come back and try to snipe you, usually. But there's many temporary measures for getting rid of them.
- Ok, first solution, most obvious one. Snipe them. Remember, there's always a part of them exposed when they're sniping. Zoom in, kaboom.
- Second solution is to go over there and blow their brains out with a shooting or a melee weapon. It takes too much time and energy, though.
- Remember, don't spend all your time trying to kill the sniper. If he/she is quite good, change sniping spots, and kill other people. And for god's sake, keep moving, and be unpredictable. If you keep going left, you're going to walk into a laser beam. Make sure your movements are unpredictable, and jump around like a rabbit who drank too much coffee. There are two ways of doing this.
- Option A is when you're zoomed in and fully charged. For whatever reason, most of the snipers I encounter stay still when I move around. DON'T. If you see another sniper with a fully charged weapon, aiming at you, hopping around, don't say "Oh, he won't get me if he moves about. I'll just stay still." Chances are he already has his cross hairs positioned over your head, so when he lands, he'll blow your brains out. Something to keep in mind, the laser beam from the rail gun has some lag. So if you keep walking in one direction, and the other sniper shoots two inches left of you, you're dead. The laser beam is pretty long, and it'll take a while to go completely past you. Same goes for jumping up and down in one spot. If they shoot under/over you, you'll still die. So keep mashing keys and leap around like the aforementioned caffeine-filled rabbit.
- Finally, CROUCH. Some walls are not enough to completely protect you from a laser beam (E.G. In Tunnel, the lesser walls of the platforms in the middle of the map) so you have to press Ctrl to get down. Keep in mind that you cannot crouch while charging.
Installation: Sentry Gun, Sentry Nell: - These are bloody annoying. Take them out if there's nobody else to kill, or if they're killing your teammates. If possible, though, always kill the person who created it. They might've made others, and you'll help more that way.
Mental: Mind Shock, Mind Energy: - Mindshock users are very few, but they do exist. They're quite hard to kill, because they jump around a lot to avoid being owned by any weapon, because Mindshock drains enemy health very slowly. If, however, you see a red line connecting a Mindshock user to your teammate, he probably won't be hopping. So snipage.
- Now, Mind Energy is a different story. Healers should be among your top priorities to snipe. They're quite vulnerable, though they usually hop around to avoid bullets, but they usually only heal when they're out of a battle. Kill these guys, especially in DM. Several almost-dead people is very, very good for your team.
Semi-Rifle: - Yes, this deserves its own section. It is quite an effective anti-sniper gun. Not only does it do a lot of damage and bullets, it has a zoom-in feature to end the inaccurate spray and blow off all your exposed parts. If you see one of these aimed at you, GTFO. You can snipe the user unawares later.
Hah, I found you! Don't you hate it when some angry noob that you sniped comes over to you and smashes the hell out of you with a melee weapon, or riddles you with bullets? Fortunately, there are ways to avoid this. - Okay, first of all, don't get completely involved in your scope. Pay attention to the game around you, stop playing a video game within a video game! When you're reloading, do a proximity check. Make sure nobody's around, stalking you.
- Also, pay attention to your scope's peripherals. If you check the sides, and someones sneaking towards you, get ready.
- Now, in the case that someone catches you unaware, but you realize that someone's there, here's what you should do. First of all, you have a fully charged shot, right? USE IT. I've seen way too many people switch to another weapon and try to kill their enemy. If you already have a shot that will kill them in one hit, then try to aim at them and hit them hard. I've been saved so many times by this. Get your cross hairs on them while backing away, and fire. If they die, good. If they don't (Not charged, not charged enough) then quickly take out a melee/shooting weapon and blow them up. If you're up against a wall, either wall jump and jump attack, or dodge and head for cover.
A sniper's backpack
Weapons:- Okay, the best thing to use here is common sense. Don't be a moron and pack 3 railguns, or two railguns and a cannonade...really, you shouldn't need more than one sniping weapon. But if you REALLY think you're going to need two, go ahead...not very smart, though. There are a few essential weapons for a sniper, depending on what type of build you're going for.
Sniping weapon: - Yeah, this might be useful, huh? Railgun/Cannonade/Semi-Rifle. I'm just putting this here to be thoroughly...thorough. We'll get to different combos with these later.
Installation weapon: - Sentry gun, maybe Nell. These are pretty nifty. If you place them in the right spot, they'll warn you when somebody's coming to kill you, so you're not completely unaware. Not only will it shred about 50% of the intruder's health, it'll warn you when he's coming with it's combos on the top right. However, very few good sniping and sentry spots coincide, so you'll have to improvise with the placement.
Melee Weapon: - Counter Swords, Plasma Swords. You'll probably need this when you're sniping. Not for the sniping itself--although the Counter Sword would probably be a good sniping weapon--but for when someone finds you.quickly do a jump attack and the follow up, stun them, kill them. Then get outta there.
Shooting Weapon:- Gauss rifle, Semi Rifle, HMG, SMG, Submachine guns, etc. These are another essential, for both sniping and retaliation at discovery. If there's a mid-range target who keeps moving, make him look like Swiss cheese. If someone comes and finds you, shoot at them while backing away.
Mental Weapons: - I don't know why you would want to pack either Mind Energy or Shock, but hey, be creative. Mind Shock can be pretty sweet in the right hands, and it's always nice to get extra points and your teammate's gratitude by healing them, if they happen to step by you.
Skills: - Some skills are great for sniping, and will prove to be your best friends. Skills are, obviously, not as important as a weapon, but as a secondary resource, they work wonders.
Flying: - Definitely among the top three. This will not only elevate you to good sniping spots, but assist you in killing. IF there is absolutely NOBODY in sight, fly up in the air and try to snipe someone. Then tap shift and drop like a stone. Mind you, only try this when you're an EXPERIENCED sniper, as it is generally scorned by the public because you'll probably get shot down. However, I myself have gotten countless kills from this, especially in Neden-1. It is very useful for picking off an enemy who has taken cover behind the gentle slope of the roof, to reload. A few hundred feet, and boom. Flying is also useful due to the fact that it helps you get out of a situation where somebody finds you. Fly as high as you can, try to shoot the enemy with the fully charged shot, as chances are he/she tries to melee you.
Shield: - Quite a useful skill, for obvious reasons. It protects you from enemy fire while you can still snipe. However, keep in mind that it annoyingly obscures your vision, and therefore proves to be a slight hindrance when aiming. It eats SP quickly, though, and even more so when absorbing bullets. Beware Gauss and Cannonade users, as they can penetrate shield for most of the damage. A rail gun will use up most of the SP, rendering you helpless for a while.
Block: - A curious skill with hidden uses. The first, most obvious one: it provides good cover from which sniping is possible. However, it is easily destroyed, in a mere two seconds by a mid-range weapon. Fairly easy to reconstruct, though.The structure of it also makes it beneficial to snipers. It has a slightly protruding wall on either side, protecting the lower body and giving a nice opportunity to corner-snipe. Another use for this skill is also very useful. If one jumps, and presses shift in mid-air, one can create a sniping platform, as the wall somehow remains in a a state of suspended elevation. This is really useful for forming sniping spots in awkward places. Keep in mind that the wall eventually expires, and one has to easily repeat the jump for the top of the wall.
Invisibility: - It's not very beneficial to sniping in itself, as you cannot use it while charging (Well, it does, but only for a few seconds). However, it's great for getting to sniping spots undetected, and avoiding another sniper with ease. It's also useful to get into a better position to snipe a hider without being seen.
Anchor: - Not much use for sniping, really. However, it will elevate you to higher sniping spots, via latching on/walljumping there. Also, strange things happen when you use anchor with a fully charged Cannonade/Railgun.
SP Mastery: - It's alright, as skills go. You can do a lot of extra walljumps to get to a sniping spot. For example, in the highway stage, five walljumps are required to get to the good sniping spot on top, and you might have ran all the way there. It's not very helpful, though.
HP Mastery: - Again, it's okay. More as a defensive thing, though. A headshot from a Railgun will still kill you, but a Cannonade won't. You also have that extra time to get away while taking a few shots.
Detect: - A thoroughly useless skill, for sniping. The range of Detect extends to only three boxes on every side, and when you're sniping, you're usually aiming at someone far away. You could, possibly, use it to find an ambusher at your favorite sniping spot. Or an invisible user who tries to kill you.
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