Team Fortress 2 Sniper Guide
January 31, 2008
When killing from afar, you can always enjoy laughing at the unsuspecting enemies running around in strange patterns, trying not to become your next target. Snipers tend to cause a lot of hysteria in enemies, and for a good reason too: Snipers are deadly. Every bullet that you shoot can deal tremendous amounts of damage to enemies, and often kill them in one hit.
1. Sniping 101
Your Sniper Rifle is equipped with a powerful scope, and has a laser sight for aiming. Your bullets aren’t instantly powerful though, they take about four seconds of being zoomed in to get to 100% power. You can kill anyone if you hit them in the head with a 100% charged shot, but you can still deal enough damage to take out one of the classes that has 125 health (Scout, Engineer, Sniper, Spy) with a hit to the torso. You can take out a fully upgraded Sentry with a 100% shot followed by a regular shot. Your laser sight is visible to enemies and will let them choose another path to take, so if you keep your dot out of sight, like on a door frame, you can quickly aim at someone when they walk out. Keep your back to a wall or corner to prevent Spies from backstabbing you. Be sure to keep an eye out for rushing Scouts, and if one starts getting close it’s best to run towards a safe place or to take out your other weapons. Never try to shoot your rifle without the scope, because it deals very little damage, is hard to aim, and has a horrible reload time. Whenever you get damaged you should find a Medic, Dispenser, or Medkit. Often, you’ll find that an enemy sniper leaves you with only five health, so being at maximum health is always important. You don’t want to be exposed to enemy Snipers, Soldiers, or Demomen that you didn’t see, so always hide behind cover, like a wall or a rock, and only pop your head out when you want to shoot. Every time that you shoot, go back behind cover, look around for any Spies and Sticky Bombs, and then go back to your zoom. When you die, go to a different sniping location to avoid the half dozen enemies who will be waiting for you to return, unless you were sniping near a Sentry or your own spawn.
2. Other Weapons
I know that they call the class a Sniper, but you do have other weapons at your disposal. The Machete deals decent amounts of damage, and it can deal with those pesky Spies in two hits. The Sub Machine Gun is a deadly weapon, but too many people treat it like a Medics’ Syringe Gun, and spray it from side to side. The SMG fires rapidly, but not fast enough for you to just think that sweeping it will kill anything near you. You have to actually aim, and then shoot. While Scouts are going to be near impossible to hit, you can use your SMG effectively on any other class. Keep in mind that since you never use your Rifle without the scope, it’s a good idea to have the SMG equipped when you run across the map. When enemies pop out, you shoot your SMG, and if you see someone far away, you take out your rifle and shoot.
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