I was wondering if any of the veteran infiltrator players who use Semi-Auto Snipers would like to share tips for using them effectively? Also does the forgrip do anything for semi-auto snipers and it the suppressor recommended? Thanks in advance for any responses!
I'll warn you in advance, there really isn't a lot of love for SASR's around here. They're better than they were previously, but still nowhere near as useful as a bolt-action. Because, why kill someone in two headshots when you could kill them in one? Having to shoot twice = more time exposed = more likely to get shot at.
That is true, the main reason that I'm looking for some tips for using SASR's is because although I can kill stationary targets with BASR's pretty well I have little to no success hitting moving targets and because SASR's have easier follow up shots I should have an easier time learning to compensate for movement using and SASR than a Bolt action.
Thing is, at long range you most likely won't have time for a follow-up shot. If you must use a semi-auto, you may want to consider the ironsights variant. The semi-auto favors a closer engagement range than bolt-actions, and the lower-powered optics will help to complement that. A semi-auto scout rifle might be worth looking into as well for the faster fire rate and tighter hipfire.
Foregrip wont be useful under most circumstances, it's more of something you'd use if you planned to use the rifle like a battle rifle or scout rifle rather than a sniper rifle. For the semi auto snipers, at actual semi auto sniper ranges, it's all about the rhythm of the scope reset - you can almost always get off a second shot before the first connects once you know the rhythm of the gun you're using. For tracking moving targets... it's really not any better than a bolt action, the sway on bolts and semi autos is the same, and that's the primary limiter on followups, unless you equip a short range scope (4x and below), in which case you've entered a more scout rifle range... though if you've got solid aim and high resolution it still works at longer ranges than what a scout rifle can reliably be accurate at (scout rifles are unreliable past 70m). Edit: oh yeah and as for the silencer, the effect will be similar to what you'd get on a bolt action. I do silence my spectre, but only when operating inside a pack of enemies, which is probably the most amusing way to snipe.
Let me ask this first; how do you plan to use it? As a sniper rifle or a line support weapon (battle rifle). That really changes my answer and tips.
Semi auto snipers are more noob friendly. The playstyle is the same as bolt action. Prioritize targets, kill the easy ones first those that dont move of course and aim for head. They are not better than BASRs but they are more forgiving with missed shots. However you cant expect to be shooting a whole clip to someone without getting shot. So you have to be careful when spamming. My advice is aim for head and shoot as slow as the recoil doesnt hurt your aim for still/easy targets. For moments that you feel that you cant do 2 headshots in a row go spam mode and learn to control the recoil. This has a learning curve you can shoot faster if you learn to control the recoil better. One funny thing I managed to do with Imptetus was to learn the recoil when shooting 2 very fast shots so that i can aim chest for first shot and then the second would go to head because of the recoil. Its not easy and I havent mastered it but its almost as fast as BASRs headshots. There is one thing that Semi auto snipers can do better than BASRs... Murder multiple people on chokepoints. Spamming chokepoints, combined with an EMP grenade can be lethal.
If you're going for accuracy realize that these guns have a downright insane cone of fire bloom, a poor recovery rate and a slow projectile velocity. It makes for a pretty terrible combination so you'll have to be patient with these rifles. There will be many situations where you simply do not have the ability to finish a kill and you'll be outgunned in a lot of head on situations. Choose your targets and range carefully and you'll likely be able to get enough kills for that auraxium before throwing them away. How I used them: The key here is mitigating their poor accuracy so there's two stages I would go through. Ambush and Shotgun. Ambush is the ideal opener and is more akin to sniping. You want to choose a target that's not to far away ( ideally within 30-40m for the close range semi-autos or within 50m for the long range) and either stationary or running in a path which you think is easy to hit (Directly at or away from your for example). Start stationary, preferably crouched, aim for an opening headshot, decloak and shoot. If your first shot is a headshot either finish with another headshot or two more rounds to the body. If that fails you have two options, retreat or begin shotgun mode if they're at the right range.. Retreating is straightforward, run away and try to fight another day. Shotgun mode meanwhile is what I wound up relying on a lot. If you look at the stats you'll find that the closest comparison you can make to the semi-auto sniper rifles is actually the shotguns. Specifically a shotgun with slugs since we're dealing with single bullets. Of course the semi-auto snipers have worse accuracy and lack the raw damage output of shotguns, but that's the best comparison I can make. With that in mind I essentially wound up using them as a close-mid range shotgun as often as I tried ambushing people. If a target was at the right range with either of the semi-auto sniper rifles (10-30m for the close range ones and 15-40m for the long range) then I fell back on the tried and true method of bullet spam. At close enough ranges you're mitigating the effects of the poor accuracy by ensuring that the massive cone of fire you'll have after the first couple shots is still able to cover most of your opponents hitbox. By the time you empty your mag at these ranges you should have been lucky enough to land the 3-4 shots needed to kill any standard infantry and in many cases the 6 it'd require to take down a nanoweave HA. Just don't try and use them too heavily as a slug shotgun and get too close or go head to head with someone unless needed. They don't have the raw damage output of shotguns, so a head to head engagement could very well be the end of your run.
@Lightwolf I generally plan on using it when the enemy not standing still long enough for me to make accurate shots with my BASR, generally when they are advancing on a base and are far enough away to make using other classes to deal with them unfeasible. So I think that I would be using it a little as a Sniper rifle and a little as a Battle rifle.
Long time SASR user here, and I'm NC, which means I actually had to go out of my way to buy the damn thing First, yes, the foregrip does help you out on an SASR. Both with horizontal and vertical recoil. This was confirmed in some patch notes way back when they were refining the attachments. You won't always push through recoil but if you want to go for a double-tap headshot every little bit helps. If you don't mind the equip time being a bit longer (if you switch back and forth between pistols a lot) then there's no real reason not to use it. As far as suppressors go, keep in mind they only help you out to 40m. Beyond that you won't show on the map regardless. With the scoped SASR you're better off going without and keeping a buffer. If you're working close with one of the iron rail variants it's a much more reasonable attachment. Now on to some tips. Avoiding the big mistakes 1. DON'T SPAM SHOTS. You may want to, but don't. You lose accuracy too quickly. When firing rapidly you get roughly 2-3 shots before luck becomes more important than aim, and you have to pause to regain accuracy. Now, keep in mind that you CAN kill ANY infantry target with 2-3 rounds (shielded heavies take 3 headshots), but that's the absolute ideal, and failing that you're just beating a dead horse and rolling dice. Spraying half your mag or more at a target this way is just simply doing it wrong. This is BY FAR the biggest way people fail with these weapons, grow to dislike them, and grab the first available BSAR. 2. Drop your scope regularly. Before straight pull bolt only SASR users had to be mindful of this. Tunnel vision is a bad habit all around, but with SASRs especially because of the multiple shots you're going to be easier to locate, and you'll want to know where the threats are and when you have to move. 3. Don't start holding your breath until you're about to shoot. A lot of sniper hold their breath way too early when they're still zeroing in, and this is fine with a BASR because you're only firing one shot. You're not. Aim with sway, and start holding just before fine tune your aim and open fire. This way you'll have ample time for comfortable follow-ups. Hold breath implants help a lot but you shouldn't come to rely on them. Naturally this isn't a problem if you're using the lower scope rifles. No sway on 1-4x scopes but if you want more zoom you'll need to learn to maximize your steady time. 4. You don't always have to push recoil. Sometimes it's better to let the weapon settle before taking the next shot. It's something you no doubt want to improve on, but not every shot demands it, and acting like it does will probably lead you back to making mistake #1 Improving SASR's have a wider skill gap. It's not a simple pass/fail like making a BASR where you either kill or don't with a single bullet. You can drop your target in any number of shot combinations, and this is fine, but be mindful of how you're killing targets, and try to always improve. Any infantry target can be dropped with 2 rounds, 3 for a shielded heavy, (Note how this plays into tip #1) but you're not going to be there on day one. I personally took a lot of pleasure in this particular meta game of trying to always do it better and seeing my skill improve. Tactics Shoot the fatties. Compared to the BASRs you can do a significantly more damage in a shorter amount of time to a MAX with an SASR. You won't kill it unless it's already a bit damaged, but it's a great help to your buddies that suddenly have a much easier time disposing of the threat. Also they can't fight back well at range. EMP ambushes are hilarious. You can throw one of these out to about 40ish meters. At which point effected targets become a OHK headshot, and you have a rifle that doesn't have to wait a second or two between shots, and a 10 round mag. Happy times. It probably goes without saying but you're better off with your pistol in close quarters. Yeah, it's a semi-auto and all, but with movement penalties and the CoF bloom, it's just awkward as hell when you're suddenly fighting up close and personal, especially if you're using the scoped SASRs. It CAN work, but you'll stand a better chance of not dying if you just switch to your side-arm. Anyway hoped that that rambling helped some.
I think i'm not the only one who loves the weopon. Here are some guys who make very good vids. But it need some skill and a high FPS to do those quick headshots.
I absolutely HATE using the Semi-Autos. If it wasnt for my attempt to auraxium all the primary infiltrator weapons, I wouldnt use them at all. I did hear a suggestion from someone to use them in CQC like a shotgun, and it worked great for a little while, but I think they've nerfed it somehow. I dont seem to be as successful with it recently as I was in the past. Basically, unless you are trying to get auraxium with all weapons, I wouldnt bother with SASR's at all. There are much better weapons available.
They are not that bad, but my personal opinion is that supposedly mid/long range semi-auto weapons with their current recoil and muzzle velocity don't really work in PS2. Semi-autos, both sniper and scout, are annoying to use. At closer ranges full auto spray is clearly superior, because it's precise fire trying to go against flinch + near misses ruining your aim vs high raw damage output of 10bullets/s dump. When you need to land 3-4 bullets minimum at a fraction of theoretical RoF to maintain accuracy, things don't look pretty. On the other hand in long range they are rather easy to evade by erratic movement after the first hit and BASRs simply work better there. Being unable to secure a kill is par for the course. Also SASRs draw much attention with their spam and countersnipers ruin your day with ease. When i farmed aurax medals on SASRs i mostly maintained the airgap of about 70m, double tapped people (sent 3+ bullets downrange just in case i miscalculated the HS trajectory) plus some opportunism here and there. I think it's the general population bumping their gfx to med+ thanks to o:mfg and learning to see/hear cloakers, which makes setting up advantageous positions much harder than in the past. Once the surprise is not there all you have is a gimped dude with a subpar weapon. Huge 48+v48+ battles (lattice + cont lock + optional server merge) don't do you any favors either if you are playing what is esentially a finesse class with a not so straightforward boomstick.
Right, you'll be wanting your short range semi, maybe a semi-scout. The sniper is far more demanding and deals more damage. The scout is more mobile and doesn't call for so much control on your part. Judgment call. I'll write up my advise on the sniper for you. For your purposes you'll want the short range semi, the lower scope magnifications make recoil control and situational awareness easier to maintain. The zero scope sway is a big attractant as well. Keep your scope between 2x and 4x. Lower makes recoil control easier, higher makes first shot placement easier. The foregrip does reduce all kind of recoil and is recommended. Some say it reduced flinching, I personally don't see much of a difference. The suppressor is good for flanking, but the hit to drop and velocity is pretty steep. Step 1) setting up your SSR. You'll be spending a long time in VR, deal with it. Pick up your rifle with no attachments or sights. Just get a feel for it. Spend some time getting to know the recoil, the weapon quirks, and your own tendencies. Do you sight on hips naturally? Center mass? Shoulders? Head? How's your recoil control? Do you tend to overshoot/overcorrect when changing targets? Fine tune your mouse control and mess with your sensitivities. Practice your fire rates and recoil control, drop mags and watch the spread. Use the metal targets to make it visible. Next throw on attachments and scopes to compliment your strengths or level your weaknesses. I'd recommend spiking your strengths. Step 2) Get your groove on. Figure out your own firing pattern. At most ranges you'll be firing two rounds at maximum speed, pause, then finish. "Bang-Bang-pause-Bang". Where you place those is your business. Personally, I go head-chest or head-head on immobile targets, and chest-head-chest on mobile ones. Figure yourself out, the best range for different speeds and patterns, etc. Step 3) Go for a hike. Go for a hike in VR with as much ammo as you can carry. Kill targets as you see them, but only once. It'll give you a more realistic arena to work in. There's targets scattered all around VR for you to work on, not just the part near the spawn. Step 4) Combat. First equip the battle hardened implant. That's go fight. But repeat after me. "I will die and that's ok". It's a tough to use weapon and you're just getting into it. Keep your head, keep steady, and take breaks. Step 5) Dominate.
I'll post a proper response to this thread later tonight. In the meantime.... This is my most recent video, it might give you some insight into how I use the SASR's
Both vids are using bolt-actions. OP's asking about semi-autos (you're NC right? That'd be the Impetus and whatever the other one is called)
I disagree. It depends on which SASR we're talking about: if you're going for long range sniping then yes, BASR are probably the best choice. But some SASR can be used like some kind of battle rifles for mid-short range fights and they are extremely effective. They basically cover the same niche as semi-auto scout rifles but they do that even better than many think. Most of players just think they're garbage, but they're not. TR side just consider the KSR-35 (SASR): put a compensator and X2 scope on that and you have an excellent battle rifle: bullets are very fast, damage is more or less 2,5x than the semi auto scout rifle HSR-1 and believe it or not at close quarter you can also dare to fire from the hip. And it cost less certs than a scout rifle. Personally I think SASR KRS-35 was the easiest auraxium I got since beta after the SOAS-20. Those are not semi automatic sniper rifles, they're bolt action
He said ''I'll warn you in advance, there really isn't a lot of love for SASR's around here.'' so I just wanted to say him that it is not like this ^^
