Guide to Sniper

[Metis-M]

Someone know how to shoot at kashan on long distances?
Maybe ake a little picture about that, because i often miss there, but on other maps no problm, maybe because of longer distance on kashan.

[JDFryer]

Possibly. The trick is to know the range to target or at least learn to guess it a little bit. The Sniper Rifles are zeroed at 600m. That means that if you put the crosshairs over someone's head at 600m and pull the trigger thats where it will go. The view distance on Kashan is extended up to 1000m I think so you just need to factor in the bullet drop at ranges over 600m.

I just use the scoped G3 instead of the Sniper Rifles as I still get kills at 600-800m and its a bit more useful but thats my personal opinion.

Just get some practise and if possible learn by using the SLs move marker/SOFLAM to give you a range to target while you learn. Should help you guess the distance when you are on your own or the SL is busy.

Range < 600m: Aim slightly low as the bullet will actually hit above the crosshairs.
Range = 600m: Aim using the centre of the scope crosshair
Range > 600m: Aim above your target slightly as the bullet will hit below the crosshair on the scope

[[R-DEV]Jaymz]

@ the guy who wa asking what DMRs are zeroed at. It's 600m but keep reading as I will explain what "zeroing" mean in terms of the BF2 engine.

Originally Posted by JDFryer

Range < 600m: Aim slightly low as the bullet will actually hit above the crosshairs.
Range = 600m: Aim using the centre of the scope crosshair
Range > 600m: Aim above your target slightly as the bullet will hit below the crosshair on the scope

Actually, that would be the case in RL but unfortunately the BF2 engine doesn't allow us to alter the travel path of bullets. It only allows us to change the linear angle at which it drops. So in PR you will hit dead-on up until your zero point, then you will have to start aiming above to compensate.

It's unfortunate because we can't have simulation level bullet travel paths but it at least allows us to have a calibration point and enables us to make carbines CQB only and give a realistic limit to the range of standard rifles.

ps: On a funny side note, whie I embarkd on calibrating all the rifles in PR I found out that every single weapon had the same zero point which I worked out to be 100m. So just imagine playing on Kashan with every single AR, Sniper Rifle, DMR all being the way they were before 0.6. Hillarity would ensue....

[DeePsix]

Wow, interesting. So even back in Vanilla, the weapons were all "zeroed" to about 100m? Thanks for clearing that up Jaymz. Too bad the engine limits what you guys can do with ballistics, I'd really like to see what you guys could do windage, humidity, bullets ricocheting off armor and walls.

Again, thanks for clearing that up Jaymz.

[[R-DEV]Jaymz]

Ballistics wise it's actually better than it's made out to be. It allows us to set values as to what distance a projectile will begin to lose damage at and, like I said, allows us to change the drop angle but I don't think ricochets or windage can be done.

[Drakenberg]

When i have the luxary to have a spotter or when i am one myself, the spotter is normaly a marksman (long ranges) Rifleman (mid ranges) Specpos (urban, or short ranges) The spotter is a squad leader... his or my task is to give target locations to the shooter by giving him orders... to be efective look at your map at all times when someone spots a soldier, apc, tank or whatever give it an attackorder so the sniper knows... This also means you are resposable for tks since the sniper cant allways tell if its a friend or a foe. so if you see someone far away look at you map and check if its a enemy or not...

There should also be a distance between you and the sniper AND your task is not to shoot, standing up or whatever. you need to be just as steathly as the sniper and you should only shoot if someone comes up close of if the sniper tells you to engage enemys... mostley in situations where he cant take all the shots himself.

If you act as a sniper you will tell the enemy "hey, im here look there are 2 sniper kits layiung here waiting for ya Go get them"

As for the sniper, dont shoot unless you will hit... Dont stress if you miss DO NOT shoot right away, wait atleast half a minute, or more before taking a shot again... if not being engaged ofcourse... If you shoot to often the enemy can easily tell where you are and then you are no more.

If you act as a lone wolf sniper be a squadleader in a locked squad... It might sound dumb and maybe you think these arent teamplayers, but they are why do you lock the squad? It isnt fun when a rifleman spawns at you and starts to shoot alot. Why should i be a squadleader? To tell the ranges, and if you se a spotting on the map just give it an order and you knwo where they are... The commandmap is your friend.

If you get an enemy sniper and you are able to get his kit, take the chance.. Me and alot of other players can tell witch weapon is being shot, if i am a usmc soldier and i hear a m40 go of i think "Thats one of our snipers". Why this is great is because you can get up behind the enemy lines and take the out one by one BUT be carefull, just take shots once they reach out their heads or doing anything that could have meant a shot from an enemy sniper in this case they think an enemy sniper shot him... Most wont think, hey that shot came from behind and i died at the same time. Well maybe after i wrote it (sry all snipers)

About camoflage, as said before the more you see the bigger the chances are that your´re being spotted. If however you want a big visual area it is advisable to have something behind you this should be a rock or a hill, just make sure its the same color as yourself, if you se a tank just run, or stalk away.

Sorry for my bad spelling, i might have forgot alot of stuff to.

// Carl Johannes Drakenberg Aka SwVoip.Drakenberg

[[R-DEV]fuzzhead]

Sniper Tactics by Hardtman


The '''Sniper''' is a limited kit in Project Reality. He is usually equipped with a long-range and high-power bolt-action rifle. Because he has no means to directly support other people and cannot be used in short-distance fights, he appears to not be very teamplay-compatible and therefore rarely used correctly in PR.

In the following guide we will go through the tactics of how to survive as a sniper, obtain kills with him and above all, be of significant use to your team.

==The Basics==
I think it should be clear for you how to request special kits. Since the Sniper plays a specialised role, he is also quite rare. There is one sniper kit available for a team with 16 players and another one if the team has 32 players.

==Equipment==
1) Knife
2) Pistol (2+1 magazines)
3) Sniper Rifle (40 rounds)
4) Smoke Grenade x 1
7) Binoculars
8. Field Dressing x 1

As one can easily see, the focus of his equipment lies on his main weapon. Though the pistol is a weapon not to be underestimated, it serves only as a backup weapon. The Smoke grenade will be needed when you have been spotted and need to retreat and relocate and the binoculars serve for the acquiring of targets.

==Positioning==
No matter what your task is, you will always need a good position. Since you have a high range, you have a wider choice of places to go to, but still there are some basic rules:

==Concealment==
Because a Sniper does not have a medium/short range fast-firing weapon, he does not fare well in an open fight. Usually your aim is not to be hit, but as a Sniper it is not to be fired upon. To aid you with this problem you are outfitted with the practical ghillie suit which is basically an overall covered with artificial grass to help you to vanish in the right surroundings.

Let's start with the easy question, where not to hide: do not hide anywhere you would ''expect'' a Sniper, because these are the positions where people usually look for Snipers while passing by. This includes Towers, Hilltops or Chimneys. These positions have another disadvantage: You form a silhouette. This means that the shape of your body is seen in front of a background with a differing color/brightness. If you're on a hilltop you might be lucky and the enemy mistakes you for a bush or something against the horizon, but on a rooftop you can easily be seen from afar.

Of course if something solid is between you and the enemy he can't see you, so it will come in handy if you have a stone or something ready to hide behind. While bushes and grass might seem like good concealment, keep in mind the fact that undergrowth (bushes, shrubs, grass, etc.) does not render at longer distances. Therefore, the bush that might seem like perfect concealment from where you're sitting might be worth nothing when the enemy is sufficiently far away from you.

So the basic rules are:
* Make sure the ground you are hiding on has roughly the same color/brightness as you.
* If this is not possible try to get into some bushes.
* Never, ever, position yourself so that the sky is behind you.
* If possible, stay near something solid to rule out that the enemy spots you when you hide behind it.

==Line of Sight/Fire==
As a Sniper one of your tasks is, surprisingly, to actually shoot stuff. A higher position is useful most of the time, since you can look (and shoot) over low objects such as sandwalls and such which would block out a quite big chunk of your FoV if you are prone at the same height as they are. In a normal round,enemy forces often have a usual route where they come through frequently. This of course requires possible targets pass through your area of effective fire as long as possible. If you are guarding a crossroads it is of no use if you can only see half of it, i.e. You only have about 1 second to identify a target, line up the shot and fire. The first shot will possibly need more than one second since you don't want to give your position away for a mere footsoldier and alert his squad, but more of this in the combat section.
Also think of the Line of Fire/Sight of your enemy. Even at high range, it is usually not desirable to have the enemy moving directly towards you, as you may be easily located by the first shot you fire or even before that.
When you're positioned at a 90° position to the enemy route you are more or less safe as long as you don't shoot.
The most desirable position for a good shot is directly behind an enemy, but this requires most of the time that the forces are running right over you. This is still possible if their route takes a 90° turn somewhere, e.g. at a crossroads. Then you can position yourself at the opposing side and have an excellent Line of Fire.

==Combat==
Here we will go through the means of a sniper when he is doing what he can do best: shooting things,but also how you should react if you are fired upon or if yuo are in other combat situations.

==Using the main rifle==
So, lets have a look at your sniper rifle: It is bolt action, which means you can only use single shot since you have to use the handle after each. It has also awesome accuracy; a shot will nearly always hit where you aimed, not taking bullet drop into consideration. Also, it has a hell of a blast. A head shot is lethal, no wonder, and a body hit can kill instantly if the target does not wear body armor, or in the long run if the target has body armor, but the bleeding caused by the bullet is not tended to. The .50 cal anti-material rifles always kill with just one hit.
One basic rule as a sniper is: '''Every shot counts!''' When you are not near your own troops, which may happen if you have a special assignment, is that you will quickly run out out bullets if you do not maintain firing discipline. Even when ruling out the ammo count, any shot fired will bring the enemy closer to discovering your position and you do not want that. This brings us right to another rule:

'''Important''' : Sniper Rifles in Project Reality are "zeroed" at 600m. With the BF2 engine this means that you will only have to compensate for the bullets trajectory at distances greater than this.

'''Only shoot if you are sure to hit''' What applies to the usual grunt also apply to the sniper. Do not fall into "fire fever". If a nice target crosses your firing range but you have not the full time to line up the shot, because you just reloaded or whatever, then let the target pass rather than fire a too hasty shot. The same applies if you have missed your target. Do not shoot again immediately as it will be hurried. If the shot did land close by your target, he'll know that someone is shooting at him and may wait for another shot to determine the position of the attacker.
But enough of the basic rules, let's do some shooting. The easiest targets are stationary ones, followed by those who are moving directly towards or away from you. The hardest ones are when the enemy is moving in a 90° angle to you.
A shot is not just achieved by putting the cross hair over the enemy and pulling the trigger, you have to take two things into account: Your bullet needs some time to reach the target, so you will need to lead it if it's moving in an angle to you.
Also, your bullet drops over distance so you will need to aim above the target.
Alas, although some scopes may give you an impression, there is no way to exactly know how far you have to aim above and lead than experience. You cannot really teach somebody how to aim, you must learn it by first-hand experience. But if you are staying at one position for a longer time, you can at least range yourself in on the usual distance the enemy passes you.
When shooting at moving targets there are mainly two methods to achieve a hit. I have seen both be successful, which to use is mainly a personal preference.
The first of these methods is to predict the route of the target, align the sights to hit a point it is likely to pass and wait until it crosses the point, then shoot. This works well if you are good at predicting movements and have fast reflexes.
The other one is to move your aim with your target. While your target is on the way, move your sights with about the same speed while making small adjustments until your shot is likely to land. When you have achieved this, move on with your aim a little bit longer, then shoot. DO NOT stop to move with the target when you fire. The whole process of shooting should be one fluid movement with the shot just an event somewhere in it.
But remember always, assault rifles are quite accurate too. This means that the enemy can shoot -and kill- at the same range you can shoot him(assuming you ar not operationg at extreme distances like 800+ meters or so).This means: '''Change Position''' ASAP after a shot. You do not have to go to the other side of the map, but you should put at least hundred meters between you and your former position. Experienced Snipers can give two or even more shots between moving, but for now stick to ''One Shot - One Move''.
So,to sum this up:
*Indentify your targets
*Choose your target(more of priority in the Teamplay part)
*Aim carefully
*Shoot
*Get away

==When the enemy engages you==
Sooner or later the enemy ''will'' learn your position. If you have a position which is hard to reach without crossing your field of fire he will be forced to engage you at some range.
So, how to react now? If it is just one enemy and he has not yet hit you, keep calm, zoom in, align your shot and down him, then '''Immediately''' change position.
if there are more enemies and/or he/they are likely to hit you/already hit you, then your best chance is to run away. There is no shame in that, see it as an assault into the backward area .
First, use your smoke-grenade. If the enemy is close enough then put it close to him, if not, near to yourself. If you can afford it, wait some time until the smoke builds up, then get on your feet and move away. Do not try to find cover with the intent to fight back, a good squad will easily down you in open combat. If available, get to friendly forces nearby. Try to get out of their line of sight sooner than to make for distance. The longer they can't see you the longer you have time to get another position to hide and wait until they go away again.

==Fighting at short distances==

Every once in a while you will happen to meet an enemy at a short distance and won't be able to hide yourself quickly enough. This may happen when you are changing positions or are engaged by an enemy who has discovered you or just stumbled upon you. If it is a squad you'll most likely be dead in seconds. But if it somebody alone (maybe a scout, somebody hanging back or just some never-learning lone-wolfer), you have a fighting chance to survive this.
I'm talking now about a situation where you are roughly looking at each other and there is not much cover available, so it is all about speed.
First, if you have it ready, fire your rifle. Don't bother using the scope, just try to be as accurate as possible from the hip. This will put the enemy into a state of haste and stress, and this is when humans make mistakes and put them at a strong disadvantage. Do not wait for another shot with the rifle; immediately pull out your pistol. Start firing while you bring up the iron sights, not so much to hit but more for the psychological impact. As soon as you can make accurate shots, take some time to aim and shoot carefully. This might sound contrary to the aspect of speed, but look at it this way:
The enemy is stressed. He is like: ''Oh Crap, if I do not kill this guy ASAP I will be dead meat''. So send as much lead in his general direction at possible, and he will most likely miss with most of it. This is the time to stay calm while he near panics. The importance of this psychological aspect is higher than one might think, because the enemy has superior weaponry for this range and probably body armour while you might have none (depending on what kit you spawned with).

==Teamplay==
Soooo.....now for the premium part of this guide. I have told you something about how to survive and how to kill, but how to put these skills to good use? After all, PR is still a team game, and a class who is based on staying away from the battle (but not too far) surely is no help for anyone?
Wrong.
It definitely is possible to help your team not only to survive, but even to win the game as a whole.

==Teamplay Basics==
Okay, usually you make a squad just for yourself and for your spotter. Wait, spotter? What's that?
A spotter is somebody who basically watches your back and checks for new targets. In 0.5 the Spec-ops made a great spotter. In 0.6 this will be somewhat diminished since the Spec Ops lose their SOFLAM and now "only" have normal binoculars. But a Spec Ops is still a good choice. So, what should he do? First, he provides good CQC capabilities with his carbine if you happen to come against an enemy at close range. Secondly, he watches your back while you focus on targets. Third, he spots targets for you. The spotter should be positioned somewhat away from you, so he can see people sneaking up on you and has another angle of view on targets. He provides you with further information of possible targets via the binoculars and tells you which target you should shoot first.

Another option (in 0.6) is to use a Rifleman as your spotter. The Rifleman is issued the same binoculars as the Spec Ops. Only the U.S. Rifleman doesn't have a fully automatic rifle, and unlike the Spec Ops, the Rifleman also has an ammo bag for resupplying both the sniper and himself with ammo. The other major difference between the Spec Ops and the Rifleman is that the Rifleman has a 4x scope mounted on his rifle, for longer range engagements. The choice of spotter kit will thus vary with the situation. If you find yourself in an urban scenario where there are many possibilities for resupplying ammo (cars, APCs, etc.), you might want to choose the Spec Ops, especially if you play as U.S. and want the full auto capability. On the other hand, if you are in a desert, where engagements are bound to take place at long ranges and there is far between the ammo resupplies, you'll probably be better off having a Rifleman as your spotter.

Alright, back to the squad. A squad solely consisting of a sniper and a spotter is better than them being in a larger squad because the commander (assuming he knows how to put a sniper to good use) can more easily bring you where you are needed.
There are situations where you are of better use in an usual infantry squad, most likely in pure defense-situations, but those are rare.
So, now to the actual methods of helping:

==Covering==
Imagine a CP in wide open desert. Some distance away from it, out of the capture area, is a wall surrounding it. Inside this wall is virtually nothing. The wall has 4 openings, one in each direction (north, south, east, west). This isn't an easy place to defend from inside the walls while capturing the flag. The people capturing have to watch 4 places at the same time.
Here is where you come into play: You choose an entrance that the enemy is not too likely to use. You put yourself in a good position to observe it from outside and let the team inside know you are watching it and that they can detach someone from it. You are now responsible for all their lives, so stay sharp. As soon as enemy forces approach the entrance you are covering, alert your buddies inside and start picking off some of the enemy.
I admit, this is an example which you will hardly find in PRM but it's good to explain this. You are basically watching another squads six, three, nine or whatnot, so that they can focus on other things.

==Barring==
A sniper can block something, e.g. a crossroads very thoroughly. Sometimes even better than a tank. If there is a tank on the street then you just have to destroy it or bypass it. But if there is a sniper guarding the street you can't do either because you don't know where he is.
Blocking a crossroads for an extended time can be quite tricky. You need the enemy to know you are present, but not exactly where you are. To let them know you are present you need to shoot them. Here you have to break the routine somewhat. Do not wait for the perfect shot or let targets pass if it doesn't present itself. Shoot at least one member of every group that is passing through. It doesn't have to be lethal, just hit. While they are confused, shoot on. You want to scare them, you want the passing of this crossroads to be a vivid memory so they will think twice before attempting it again.
It pays if you switch your position regularly. Firstly it minimizes the chance you'll get spotted and killed, and secondly you have other angles of shooting, which makes for a nice surprise if an enemy thinks himself out of your line of fire.
If you can pull this off for some time you can really make a difference that influences the battle.

==Supporting==
This just means supporting your comrades while they are in a firefight with other infantry. Pick targets of high priority, e.g. other Snipers, Designated Marksmen, Heavy AT if you have friendly armor in the area, Support, Medics and SL's. The priority of the targets changes, e.g. H-AT is likely the highest priority if a friendly tank or APC is in his range. If there is a firefight with good cover go for medics, then for DM's. If they are retreating, go for the SL to hinder their regrouping.
Because of your high engagement range, you can flank the enemy and engage from another direction, rendering the cover the enemy has useless.
Try to time your shots so that the enemy could also have been hit from your buddies. If you do this well, the enemy will never suspect there is a sniper until it is too late and they are forced to retreat. Then you can freely choose any target and try to inflict the highest possible damage while they are still in sight.

==Conclusion==
All in all the sniper can be a very useful class, but alas most of the time smacktards which only go for the best K/D ratio get this kit, making it look bad in the eyes of most of the other gamers.
Do not let this discourage you to at least try this kit out, you might well be surprised how fun it can be to see your shots counting and feel the pleasure of accomplishing difficult shots while knowing that you also bring your team closer to the goal.
In 0.6, there is enhanced sight range. This can make the sniper a good deal more useful, since he can take most advantage of it with a powerful scoped weapon. But on the other hand, it makes him easier to spot since there is currently no way to enhance the rendering range of grass and the Ghillie suit, making it notably harder to find good cover.
Please excuse my sometimes awkward sentence-structure, since I am not native English-speaker.

[[R-CON]MrD]

Hardtman has made up a huge list of just how incompatible the snipers role is in many, many situations. Luckily the 1 in 16 ratio for sniper rifles is preventing certain gameplay degenerating. Education is the best tool for anything.

Want to topple a dictatorship? educate the people slyly and they will eventually bring in democracy. Want to change a games gameplay? Well, that's a little harder and a total berenger of a job.

[LtSoucy]

i will use this guide next time i snipe.

[OiSkout]

Ugh one huge problem I've come up on with sniping these days: the incompetent team. It used to not be a huge issue, but the more I go to snipe on large maps, the bigger the problem. A sniper team is quite useless if the rest of the team cannot step up.

Time to update parts of my guide.