Semi Auto Sniping Notes and Vid

Discussion in 'Infiltrator' started by RockPlanetSide2, Jul 3, 2013.

  1. RockPlanetSide2

    Forgive me I'm only average and the character is new so it does not have any bells and whistles yet.

    I don't see too many semi-auto vids, I think because people just prefer the BAs or the SMGs these says.

    1) I only know about the Vanu variations so I will comment on those.
    2) There is nothing below that seasoned players won't know so feel free to just skip it i guess.

    I think the most common misconception is that the Specter and the Phantom are the same weapon, they just have different scopes. This is completely inaccurate. (IMO) the Specter is 100% a long range weapon, the Phantom is 100% a medium range weapon.

    The Specter has a much more massive recoil than the Phantom. The Specter IMO is designed to get two head shots and move on at max-medium to long range. Pulse firing the Specter even when you have good mouse control is still an uncontrollable mess compared to the Phantom at anything less than maximum range. A simple Virtual Training Center session will show you what I mean when shooting a wall with both weapons. The Specter also has more bullet velocity which gives it the longer range leading ability over the Phantom (which at really long ranges you have to lead by 2-3 inches sometimes).

    The forward grip does make a huge difference for these weapons. Unlike the Bolt Actions these 2 are pulse fire weapons (I mean you pulse the mouse to get an even stream of accurate shots) and the forward grip does lessen the kick back, and makes the gun coil go straight upwards instead of random.

    I think the main thing that throws newer players off of the Specter and the Phantom is the breath and scope sway. This is only overcome with practice. As I said above the Phantom does suffer less from kick back so at closer ranges you can pulse fire it even when your breath is on cool down and maintain a decent spray pattern with mouse control, it is much harder to do this with the Specter (as I said before the Specter is designed for a 2 head shot then moving and looking for a new target, not medium range combat). You cannot pulse fire the Phantom as fast as you can, the bullets will fly all over the place when your breath is down, but if you maintain a steady half second pulse on the mouse you can maintain decent accuracy with no breath.

    What I do like about the Phantom (the gun in the video) is that it still fires shots that do 25-33% of a persons life total, often times nobody can react to that at all AND often times you will get a person in the leg as they are running around a corner much more easily than with a carbine as the shot does a huge amount.

    I also like the Phantom/Specter because the shots do sound like sniper rounds and it causes a lot of panic when you just rain on a squad of enemies.


    Summation:
    Specter is for long range (1) high zoom optics (2) higher bullet velocity for leading at long range (3) worse at pulse firing for medium range.

    Phantom is for medium range (1) medium zoom optics (2) better mouse control for pulse firing than the Specter (3) slower bullets make leading harsh at longer ranges.

    _______________________________________________________________________

    Here is the video. It's not meant to really show off much skill (as I said I'm not that great and there is a massive luck factor in the vid), but it does show what you can do undetected at medium range without the aid of an SMG or a bolt action. (Phantom with forward grip and 4x OG scope).

    I hope it might get some more people back to using these good weapons (granted you have to buy the Phantom, but it's really good, I assure you).



    Thanks.
    • Up x 4
  2. CuteBeaver

    That is impressive footage. Thanks for breaking down how you use semi auto sniper rifles. Its not very common you see people using them. However with nanoweave on the rise it makes sense to learn how to as a counter.

    Id encourage you to post this video in TWC #1 Watch Tower Challenge:

    https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/twc-infiltration-assignments-week-one.137698/

    What your doing here is incredibly helpful for your team. Grievously wounding and killing enemies on their way up the tower means your defenders up there have better odds. I also like how your able to do well sniping OUTSIDE the typical areas of the tower and using lower ground cover. Normally the BASR would have difficulty in this type of setting because of the speed the players travel. They do not typically linger and making headshots is difficult. However using your semi-auto sniper your able to lay down fire and go for shots without having as much follow up time. Its a perfectly viable playstyle and I think it needs to be showcased in the above thread.

    I counted 21 kills included a MAX kill.
    You also clearly survived for more then 5 minutes.
  3. Snotgurg

    Great vid, excellent shooting, far above average skill I say. Your observation with respect to the recoil difference between the Phantom and the Spectre is surprising though, as both guns have identical recoil stats in the game files (look them up in the linked site below). Stat wise they are identical guns except for the bullet velocity, where the Spectre has a 50 m/s advantage.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...OSWNaanFqSUVxLWc&f=true&noheader=false&gid=12
  4. RockPlanetSide2

    It could just be in my mind (optical illusion with different zooms), but when shooting at walls or in general combat it feels like the Spectre just has more "wild shots" where even if you are controlling the gun a shot just goes off at random. It could just be that I'm used to the 4x scope range and that style of combat and when I use a 6x plus that the Spectre has it appears to be all over the place, although I honestly don't think that is happening.
  5. Snotgurg

    I just did a wall test with the NC equivalent guns (Impetus and Gauss SPR) and the recoil pattern was identical. It's probably the 6x zoom causing more screen displacement for the same amount of recoil. Not saying your observation is invalid though, high recoil and high zoom can make it harder to follow up shots. At your engagement range the Phantom can be the better choice because of that.

    My favorite semi-auto is the scout rifle Shadow at the moment. It has a more controllable handling overall, higher ROF, but obviously less damage per shot. If you like semi-auto battle rifle-style gameplay I suggest you try the Nyx. Throw on a compensator, foreward grip, 6x scope (or lower if you want) and let me know what you think.
  6. Plague Rat

    Nice video. I'm glad to see more infiltrators using semi-autos and sharing how effective they can be when you actually play to the weapon. Especially since most ditch them the second they can afford a bolt action and never look back (or in the case of many NC, never try them in the first place)

    Were you using camo or a silencer? (not familiar with VS gun sounds from the 1st person perspective) You definitely positioned yourself well by being off to the side of the attacker's focus but it's still pretty impressive that it took that long for someone to try to flank you, and he didn't really seem to be looking for you specifically. (nice Manticore kill BTW)
  7. RockPlanetSide2

    Ive used the Nyx quite a bit, the popularity of Nanoweave has made it miserable IMO.

    I really don't like silencers because they make the bullet velocity so bad, you have to lead by about 3 feet, and most of the time adjusting for that loses you a kill (IMO).

    I don't have any camo, I cant stand how they make you look in game.
  8. Tnsr

    Impetus is my main weapon. I use it without any scope, the sway becomes much too high for the ranges it is useful.
    If you can handle the fact that you have to play ALWAYS aiming down the sight, as the bloom and CoF is a bad joke when hip firing, and if you have good eyes, the long range semi snipers without a scope can become a powerful weapon. Even after months of using it, it still can be a very frustrating weapon because of its bloom. You can miss shots in melee range even when you aim down the sight. Bad gun design. But hell... if it hits, it really hurts!
    • Up x 1
  9. Xocolatl

    They both still kinda looks like crap, so I still won't touch 'em.

    I hate VS Infiltrator weapons. The phallic end really needs to go. Here's to a future NS semi-auto sniper rifle.
  10. OldMaster80

    Another semi-auto sniper rfile addicted here.

    First of all I would say that the reason why this weapon is so effective is that Vanu have very reduced bullet drop (if no drop at all?). With TR weapons HSR-1 and KSR-35 I have to aim way higher than my targets in order to hit, otherwise gravity will drive the bullet to the ground.

    Then it's very interesting to see which scope you are using. Is that a x4 or a x6?
    Because of the bullet drop I mainly use my KSR-35 at mid range with x3.4 but ironically I get better results at close range with no scope at all.

    Then an advice for TR Infiltrators: KSR-35 is almost the same as HSR-1 but it's much cheaper. And Please avoid the SOAS-20: despite recent buff is still a terrible weapon at every range.
  11. zaspacer

    I have been running almost 100% with the Artemis (VS Auto Scout Rifle) currently (trying to give it a through test across a variety of engagements) and it's been a great weapon for me.

    The loadout I ended up liking the best was the 2x Reflex + Suppressor + Laser Sight. Because it allows me to effectively cover a very wide range:
    0-8 very good, 9 good, 10-35 very good, 36-60 x

    In my initial testing, the 2x Reflex Scope for the Artemis tested out as follows:
    Aims Well: 35m
    Too Close: ~<10m (scope has minimal obstruction which allows better firing during "overzoom")
    (1) "Aims Well" = max range for putting lethal bullets on target fast and reliably
    (2) "Too Close" = ranges at which overzoom or obstructing scope graphics became a problem to keep lethal bullets on target if the target is moving

    Regular Hipfire is reliable at ranges up to 5 meters (which is extremely close range). A Laser Sight extends that reliable range to 8 meters, and provides weaker but usable Hipfire up to 10 meters:
    ==Regular Hipfire==
    5 meters: 19/20 (95%), 20/20 (100%)
    6 meters: 15/20 (75%)
    7 meters: 14/20 (70%)
    ==Laser Sight Hipfire==
    8 meters: 19/20 (95%), 20/20 (100%)
    9 meters: 18/20 (90%)
    10 meters: 18/20 (90%)

    In this case, the Laser Sight makes a big difference in combination with the 2x Reflex because it helps me fill the gap in effective range between 6-9 meters. And this is a major boost if operating in those ranges.

    In terms of Ideal Damage/Second, SMGs outperform ASR in damage 0-25 meters (but the ASR can still put out solid CQC damage, especially compared to the other Infil guns), then ASR outperforms in damage from ~25+. The ASR also has a superior Aimed COF at 0.1 vs. the 0.3 of the SMGs, and it's horizontal recoil is better than all the SMGs (though the Cyclone SMG is very close). These factors make the ASR great for putting down foes with precise, easy to manage Aimed fire from longer ranges than an SMG with no need for burst fire (just hold down the trigger, it's an easy weapon to keep on target while aiming with a 2x Scope up to 35m away).

    The SMG does have better TTK in CQC and it has better Mag size. Where I've noticed the SMG > ASR is specifically for dealing with CQC targets that are hard to hit (using evasion so you a missing more shots) or for dealing with multiple enemies at the same time (where an ASR's Mag is in danger of running out of Ammo)

    The Artemis "VS no bullet drop" is a neat feature but has not been much of a factor for me since I run the 2x Scope and at most I can harass enemies from long distances and distract them from whatever they are doing, so it would not matter to me vs. using the TR/NC ASR. The biggest bonus the Artemis has over the SOAS-20/Stalker is the sound with a Suppressor: Artemis is whisper quiet and the TR/NC guns are VERY LOUD. (this I would definitely miss if using the TR/NC ASRs)

    Ongoing thread on Auto Scout Rifles here:
    https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/scout-rifles.136753/page-2#post-1924329