Frost's Sniper's Guide

So, I’ve run into several newer players (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. You'll have to forgive the extended amount of time the revision process took, but I finally have it done!

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 two words: mobility and cloaking. 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. It’s never a bad idea to take a few seconds to analyze your surroundings before you head into combat.
  

• Team orientation is another important part of our role. A team-oriented, forward-thinking sniper is vital to many team-based operations. It is important to remember that you shouldn’t be sniping to farm mindlessly. You should always think to yourself, “What targets are the highest priorities?†or “What targets benefit my team most?†rather than “What targets are the easiest kill?†Communicate with your outfit/squadmates!
  

• Target Priority Is also very important to remember. This relates to team orientation, in that you should trust your squadmates’ ability to take out fodder. Unless you are asked to snipe at a group of enemies for morale or suppression purposes, your mindset should always be “What target is the biggest threat to my teammates?†and focus on taking them out. If there is a sniper giving your teammates hell, then they should be placed at a higher priority than the fodder-like Light Assaults standing around on the ground. 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.
  

• Together with team orientation, target priority is what separates a useful, reliable, forward-thinking sniper from an accurate farmer.
  

• 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 Jackhammer-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. If you are isolated in a ‘hot’ area, then playing it safe is likely to give better long-term results than grabbing a couple last-second kills before a gank-squad of heavies starts coming after you, and you are unable to escape. It is also better to let a target walk away unscathed, and live to take that shot later, than to kill your target while revealing yourself to 8 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. If you are aiming for a moving target, there is no harm in taking multiple confident bodyshots rather than banking on headshots you aren’t comfortable with.
  

• 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. It is vital that you do not ‘skyline’ when sniping, meaning you should never stand on top of a hill or other object with your back against the sky. This makes your silhouette easy pickings for other snipers. When moving from cover to cover, use your cloak. It never hurts to lay some mines down in your general vicinity to act as early-warning alarms. Use your best judgment of the situation to determine if radar devices are appropriate to use (does the enemy already know you’re around? If so, knowing where they are is important. If not, radar alerts every enemy who can see the minimap of your presence). 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. Wraith-enabled Flashes also make great insertion tools.)
  

• The basic steps of a well-placed sniper shot are as follows: cloak, position, aim (remember to take into account your range and elevation, hold your breath, and adjust for bullet drop), decloak, shoot, recloak/move away, repeat. When moving between shots, it is important that you sidestep, rather than backstep. Moving to the side upon cloaking ensures that a survive-able countersniper’s bodyshot does not turn into a non-survive-able countersniper’s headshot. 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.
  

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 (along with a directive BASR and an empire-specific sniper rifle. Neither of which will be discussed here). 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 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, however, these aren’t normally the most ideal weapons for many sniping situations, as they have a steep learning curve and can be extremely punishing if shots are missed at closer ranges.
  

• 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 near 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 (able to OHK with a headshot out to 200m). 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. This rifle is well-suited for environments like tech plants that have battles taking place primarily at closer-medium ranges. Because of their slower velocity, they will have substantially higher bullet drop at range. The three long-range BASRs are divided into three ‘tiers’. These tiers tend to be based upon the velocity of the rifles.
  

• The Tier 1 rifles have the slowest velocity of the three. They also have the fastest reload and refire time. They are superior at taking out multiple medium-ranged targets in rapid succession. However, they have the highest amount of drop of the ‘tiered’ rifles, along with a OHK range of 250m with headshots.
  

• The Tier 2 rifles offer a longer reload time, along with a bit lower refire-rate than the Tier 1 rifles, but they have a faster bullet (and as a result, less bullet drop). The Tier 2 rifles also have a OHK range of 250m with headshots.
  

• The Tier 3 rifles are the slowest in terms of reload speed and refire time, but have the fastest velocity (and the least bullet drop) of the three tiers. They have a OHK range of 300m with headshots.
  

• All BASRs are also able to equip straight-pull bolts, which allow the sniper to chamber the next round without leaving the scope, but often promote tunnel-vision habits in newer players. These are to be used responsibly, and the user should never forget to remain greedless. There is no stat-based drawback to equipping them, but it is important that a player remain situationally aware and mobile, rather than stationary and in ‘farm mode’.
  

• 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. Most veterans agree that, rather than trying to master every sniper rifle at once, it is best to pick a rifle and learn it inside and out. A large part of successful sniping comes from muscle memory, so sticking to one rifle at a time promotes a higher success rate than swapping around.
  

• Never forget, practice makes permanence! It’s important to learn good habits and stick to them, rather than practice the same bad habits continually.
  

Credentials and Thanks!

To start off, I’d like to give a huge thank you to those of you that helped me proofread this, and those of you that offered your input.

First, I’d like to thank my fellow GOTR members:

-Bulvej

-FroZown

-UnknownShooter

-Geminosus

I’d also like to thank you forumsiders for helping me out as well:

-MarkAntony

-ItsDangerous

-Geekrider

Lastly, I’d like to list my credentials. This is only for the sake of the “Why should I listen to this guy?†argument, and my ego is set completely aside.

-Ranked 3rd worldwide (2nd on Emerald) for Parsec VX3-A kills

-Well over 700 hours as Infiltrator

-All Auraxium medals were obtained using the Infiltrator class alone

-Have a sniping KD of around 9 (I’m actually proud that mine isn’t in the 20s (and no disrespect to those that are), having a sniping KD of 9-10 reminds me that I’m not here to farm and grind kills uselessly. It reminds me that I play for my team, regardless of my stats).

Have a c0ld, c0ld Day!

-MisterFr0st