How to be a sniper

[Herr-Berbunch]

Don't let the calls of 'camper' from the dead and dying get you down.

Move after each shot, seriously. Especially in games like battlefield where if it isnt set to show the player who killed you, it will pan over that direction. But seriously, the tips you wrote down are pretty much spot on.

That and knowing the difference of when to wait for the perfect shot and when to squeeze off the shot because you are losing your opportunity fast.

Also survey the area you are going to be sniping, and if bullet travel is a thing, take shots at static objects to get an idea of how long it will take for your rounds to travel that distance. Helps with leads if you need to.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by USNSRCaseySmith

Move after each shot, seriously. Especially in games like battlefield where if it isnt set to show the player who killed you, it will pan over that direction. But seriously, the tips you wrote down are pretty much spot on.

That and knowing the difference of when to wait for the perfect shot and when to squeeze off the shot because you are losing your opportunity fast.

Also survey the area you are going to be sniping, and if bullet travel is a thing, take shots at static objects to get an idea of how long it will take for your rounds to travel that distance. Helps with leads if you need to.

Somebody has definitely played a round of Battlefield.

I don't play many things online....but for a while when we got our new(er) ISP, I played a lot of Battlefield 3.

Just some things I picked up from there...

Moving=Important. If you're in a game with a bunch of sore losers, smartasses, etc. They'll come after you with all the firepower they can if you don't move. There's a map in Battlefield 3...Kharg Island....it's got an abundance of hiding spots in the mountains.



On the left side, near the boundary in that empty space, is a long ridgeline with ditches running perpendicular to the ridgetop. Usually I get in a small buggy (USMC) or an F-18 (for an improvised HALO jump), and I drop in there and pick a ditch. It gives you a huge view of the entire combat zone. For a while there, I got dang good as a Marine sniper. I'd get 4-6 kills in a game and maybe die once or twice....but even in one of the biggest maps with a lot of brush and concealment...they will find you....and they will kill you. I shot a guy at something like 593 Meters (remembered because it was my longest shot for a while, eventually broke it) and he came back with a T-90. He just started pumping rounds in my direction until he found me.

There's one other map that has a similar possible setup. Operation Firestorm. You can hide out on a mountain, along a ridge and there are even some buildings (but I'd be careful...T-90s and stuff)

Urban sniping hasn't lasted long for me because there's always some guy with a rocket who figures out where you are and blows a hole in the building.

Something I found invaluable is being able to eyeball distances based on your mil-dots/dashes in your scope. That saved me from wasting ammo and possibly giving away my position to dial in my shots. I always hated playing as the Russians because their starting sniper rifle didn't have Mil-dots/dashes.

So...basically this...

1. Movement
2. Accuracy
3. Proper concealment
4. Common Sense

I say common sense because as Dowly said....there are many obvious spots. And the obvious spots will kill you. The small pile of rubble has done better than the water tower.

[Jimbuna]

Never fire more than once from any position.

Don't be greedy, patience is a virtue.

Don't get over confident, your opponent is probably as skilled as you are.

[Gargamel]

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

Don't let the calls of 'camper' from the dead and dying get you down.

This.

Fixed, defendable positions, be it a chokepoint, bunker, or sniper's nest, are an essential element of warfare. If the territory you can cover from these positions holds an advantage for you or your team, do it.

[Dowly]

I'm quite surprised how little whining there is about sniping or generally defending an area in Battlefield 4. So kudos for that to the community.

EDIT: Example of a great defensive position is in BF4's Zavod 311/331 (whichever). Is it US' first flag, with the tower, F? Anyways, in that map,
both sides do lots of helidrops on each other's first flag (F and A). Usually the attackers on F go to the tower and either look through the windows
or go all the way to the top. Unfortunately for them, the tower is visible from the US spawn and the small buildings at spawn are good places to
sit in and wait for any attacker to raise his head enough to get shot through the window.

Flag A is very similar, just no tower. I always get a medium range scope (x4) and sit near the Russian spawn that has great visibility towards A.
Last night, joining midgame, I ended up with 19/3 stats simply defending A as a short/medium range sniper.


I have to disagree about relocating after every shot. Of course, there are situations where that is necessary, if for example the game has a killcam.
Doing so unnecessarely heightens the risk of being visually spotted.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Dowly

I have to disagree about relocating after every shot. Of course, there are situations where that is necessary, if for example the game has a killcam.
Doing so unnecessarely heightens the risk of being visually spotted.

I'll go back on what I said and revise it to this: Read the situation. Move if it's necessary.

Killcams make me angry. If you got shot, you got shot fair and square. It doesn't matter exactly how.

Yes, it increases risk of being spotted....but in smaller games with not as many players, you can only shoot at so many people before they all figure out there's a sniper and come after you.

I don't usually move after EVERY shot...but after 7-10 shots I'll move over the next ridge or something. Far enough to be hidden but close enough to have the same view of the combat area.

[Penguin]

If you happen to find yourself in some early/mid 20th century conflict, don't forget that many modern sniper weapons derive from anti-tank rifles...

[Aktungbby]

INDEED! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_anti-tank_rifle "used by the US Marine Corps in early 1942 on the Philippines against dug in infantry positions; it was also used by Marine Raiders During the Korean War, The Marine Corps borrowed some Boys rifles from Canadian troops, strengthened the action and mounted them with scopes. They were used as long-range sniper rifles on an experimental basis, firing double charged .50 BMG ammunition. These rifles had a range of over 2000 yards." I recall from my years of reading (WWII Magazine?) that the Boys Rifle(occasionally misspelled Boyce) was equipped in the Bay of Bengal with 1/2 of a naval binocular to facilitate inter-island sniping against Japanese fishing at a safe distance on neighboring islands but cannot find the old magazine. This was my first intro to the Boys Rifle so I'm pretty sure of the fact. YIPES what A monster...caused considerable back/ shoulder & neck injury to fire too! Can't imagine the target's ergonomicsMust a been a winner: Swedes on skis don't mess around...I'm part Norwegian-trust me.

[Arclight]

Don't miss.

Better to wait for a good shot than start blasting when you spot someone. A missed shot means an alerted enemy, and he's not likely to present you a good shot at that point.

Also, engage targets who are already engaged. People getting shot at tend not to think about the possible sniper on their flank.

Of course that last one doesn't really apply to videogames were everyone is running around like a moron rather than taking cover when engaged, but there you go.