So, I’ve run into several newer players over the past few days (some in-game, some on forumside). These players were just getting their feet wet, and drawn to the cloaker class. So, I did what any experienced player should do, and offered some help. By no means is the cloaker class restricted to sniping, but those guides are for another day. This guide will focus solely on our role as the sniper. The Mindset Planetside is a unique game with a unique combat system. When sniping in a typical FPS, the sniper wants the enemy to think, “Where did that shot come from?’’ However, due to killcams, bullet tracers, and our cloaking noise, this is not a realistic goal. What a Planetside sniper has that other snipers do not can be summed up in one word: mobility. Our goal is not to make the enemy think, “Where did that shot come from?” Rather, our goal should be to make the enemy think, “Where will the next shot come from?” We are a class that fights with our brains, not our giant muscles and machine guns. If the enemy is smart, we outsmart them. Situational awareness is our most important tool. If you run in front of a ScatterMax, odds are, you will die. If you run in front of a shotgun-wielding Heavy Assault, odds are, you will die. Being aware of our surroundings is a very important aspect of sniping, as it is the key determinant of our survival and effectiveness. It is better to let a target walk away unscathed, and live to take that shot later, than to kill your target while revealing yourself to 7 countersnipers that you can’t handle. The Mechanics Once you get yourself into the proper mindset, you can practice the mechanics of sniping. Above all else, discipline is the most important thing to master when shooting. It’s far better to have both the enemy and yourself alive, than for just the enemy to be alive. Avoid taking shots you aren’t confident in. Positioning is another key aspect of sniping. You’ll want to be higher than the enemy (although eye-level shots are easy to learn with a little experience, so don't rule them out). However, it is important that you pick your positions carefully. Avoid hilltops, obvious roofs, ledges that leave your back exposed to countersnipers, or any area that restricts your mobility. When moving from cover to cover, use your cloak. You are relying largely on being undetected, so do whatever it takes to keep from being detected. (Pro-Tip: ESFs with max rank Stealth, Afterburners, Racer Chassis, and Ejection Systems make excellent tools for dropping onto hard-to-reach prime locations). The basic steps of a well-placed sniper shot are as follows: cloak, position, aim (remember to take into account your range and elevation), decloak, shoot, recloak/move away, repeat. Getting greedy and going for more shots will end in you being either jumped or countersniped. No matter how bad you want to grab that extra headshot, remember that mobility is more important. Knowing what to shoot is just as important as knowing when and how to shoot. If you want to be helpful to your team, prioritize your targets. If an engineer is suppressing an area with a turret, take him out so your team can advance. If the enemy is trying to form an armor column, set up shot within line-of-sight of a vehicle terminal, and prevent them from doing so. If a medic is reviving half a platoon of troops, do your best to take them out. The Tools A large part of being an effective sniper is finding a weapon that works for you and your playstyle. The basic snipers include a long-range Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle (SASR), a mid-range SASR, a mid-range Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle (BASR), and three long-range BASRs. Each of these rifles also includes several options in terms of optics as well. With such a wide array to choose from, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Take a deep breath, head into VR Training, and test the waters a bit. Let’s talk about the SASRs first. There are two of these per faction, one designed for long range, and one designed for mid-range. The only difference between the two is the optics that can be equipped. The mid-range SASR is able to equip optics with 1x-4x magnification, whereas the long-range SASR can use optics with 6x-12x magnification. These rifles are designed for a faster-paced, more aggressive player. They cannot one-hit-kill (OHK) an enemy, even with a headshot. They also have a fair amount of recoil per shot. However, their follow-up shot capabilities make them ideal for finishing off enemies at a distance, or for more aggressive mid-range confrontations. Once the recoil patterns are learned and able to be compensated for, the SASRs can unleash a small hail of high-damage rounds able to reach out and touch someone. The other class of sniper rifle is the BASR. These weapons are known for their ability to OHK with a headshot out to a certain range. These rifles are also able to (typically) kill a target with only two bodyshots out to their effective range. Each faction has four of these as standard issue. The mid-range BASR can use optics with 1x-4x magnification, and has the slowest bullet velocity, along with the shortest effective range. However, this rifle has the fastest reload speed and follow-up shot capability of the BASRs, making it an effective tool for the aggressive sniper. This rifle is ideal for dropping mobile targets with two bodyshots in rapid succession. Because of their slower velocity, they will have substantially higher bullet drop at range. The three long-range BASRs are divided into three ‘tiers’. The Tier 1 rifles have the slowest velocity of the three, and shortest range. They also have the fastest reload and chamber time. Tier 3 rifles have the highest damage, fastest velocity, and least bullet drop of the BASRs, but they also have the slowest reload times and chamber times. The Tier 3 rifles are also able to OHK with a headshot out to render range (if you see them, and hit them in the head, they will die). The Tier 2 rifles offer a middle ground in terms of velocity, damage, and reload/chamber times. BASRs are also able to equip straight-pull bolts. These are to be used responsibly, and the user should never forget to remain greedless. Finding the right rifle for your playstyle is vital, and finding the right optic to use is just as important. Try the optics and rifles out in VR Training, and ask for the help of some veteran players. Spend some time getting the feel for the mil-dots of the scope and learning the bullet drop at different ranges with different rifles. Never forget, practice makes perfect! *Empire Specific Sniper Rifles were not discussed, nor were the Auraxium Sniper Rifles. **By no means do I claim to be a master sniper. If I claimed to be a Mustarde or an Elusive1, I would be lying. This is only my take on the matter, and this guide is designed to ease newer players into the niche.
Mindset: 1. I disagree on one thing. The thing that makes PS2 snipers special is the cloak. It allows for a style of sniping that would get you countersniped in any other game. Namely I can snipe in full view of enemy snipers so long as I only uncloak to shoot and then move and recloak immediately. 2. This one I agree with but it outsmarting your enemy is always useful. 3. If you are close to anything with a shotgun either the enemy really wants you dead and made it his mission to walk 200m to you or you are doing it wrong. And again. Through the cloak I am able to snipe any target even with 7 snipers looking for me. Unless they are very skilled. Most snipers are bad. Really Bad. Which is why your guide is needed even though I may disagree with some of it. Mechanics: 1. Good for beginner snipers but once you get good you can snipe in the face of enemy snipers quite easily. But for this you have to be paranoid and behave as if there is always someone who knows where you are and wants to countersnipe you. 2. Positioning is key indeed. In any decent sized battle there are plenty of people standing still. It is your job do find a position where you can snipe these people from. 3.Cloak, aim for target, decloak, fire, cloak and move a couple of feet. Rinse and repeat. This will keep you safe from 99,9% of threats when sniping at 100m+. 4. I would add enemy snipers to the list. The Tool: I got nothing to add here except that my preference is BASRs.
This will likely end up being a draft, as I would already like to revise a few things. And most snipers are bad, can't agree more to that xD. Not sure how adding enemy snipers to that escaped my mind, since they're the biggest threat to a sniper, they should've been mentioned before the others. Open-style cloaking is amazing once you get the hang of it. I can't agree more. But, I thought it would be most new-player friendly to leave that aspect out. I've seen too many BR<10s try to countersnipe me like that, and fail miserably. If you're a BR2, you likely don't have the experience to take out a sniper that knows your general vicinity, so sticking to some cover is always a good habit to learn. Sniping in this game is something that you either spend a good deal of time learning and being good at, or being awful at. Not a whole lot of grey area when it comes to PS2's cloaker class xD
Couple of more things I want to add. Mostly from my personal experience with my NC alt. If you think you need to stay in place for a long time, make an exit plan. Place mines where an enemy is most likely to sneak up on you. As soon as you hear your mine explode it means your cover is blown and you need to relocate. Better yet use the motion detector and keep an eye on your mini-map between shots and reloads. If you're using a radar dart, for the love of god support your team mates by spamming those darts. You have no idea how much XP you get through motion detect assists.
Going to throw my survival list up because I disagree on some stuffs. 1. Tier 1 bolts are king. Explanation: Fast bolt, CQC efficiency. People argue that things like para/longshot/ram are best, velocity is nice on them, thats all. Can pretend like the damage will help, or "effective range" is needed. In a large fight you arent going to render infantry that far and against other infis if you die at those ranges there is something really wrong. 2. Ignore the cloak, use it sparingly. Explanation: It makes you "feel" safe, not BE safe. Experienced players know where you are or can literally still see you. The sound can be heard at quite a large distance as well. Using it will drain energy, and if you are using it a lot when sniping and then need to displace quickly then well ****, not going to work so good now will it? Last on this one is the 'blinky infiltrator" Decent camo in decent light with NO silhouetting is at times mildly hidden, someone turning on and off a cloak I can see from hundreds of meters away. 3. If you are in the same spot and fired off more than one clip, ****. Explanation: If the peoples heads exploding, streaks of light, loud noise, radar hits or death screens didnt attract enough attention then its at this point that one of your victims is going to try and grudge kill coming at you in a lightning or ESF. Its good to assume that youre never really "hidden". Dont have to displace after each shot, but in most cases me and others will find you in about 20 seconds from just about anywhere. 4. Save your mines if using them. Explanation: Might be fun to throw at common spots or in places you think someone will come at you. However, the later will again make you "feel" safe. Not make you safe. If they person coming after you knows what he/she is doing, its not going to work. If they dont then you dont need the mines in the first place. 5. Sensors. Keep at distance for the love of god and as with mines use when absolutely needed. Explanation: Amazing CQC tool, but theyre basically little suicide notes a lot of 'snipers' leave for me and others. Nothing says "Hey! Infiltrator in the area". That being said they can be great "bait" if fired where neither you nor the enemy are immediately occupying. 6. You see a ESF or liby, assume they have Heat vis and/or radar. Find a tree/bridge/base and bunker down. Explanation: Me and many others specifically run esf's with radar and heat vis, for clipping infiltrators and straggler infantry for fun. Since I mentioned bridges, gotta know you can get on the support frame of the bridges. Well known knowledge but after talking to my friend,... he had no idea so might as well say it. 7. Cert a wraith/radar flash. Not going to explain this one. 8. Realize that your contributions to a battle will never be praised, because well, it shouldnt most of the time. All personal opinion, might be valuable to some others out there. To each their own.
