DrakenViator

First off sorry to throw my hat in to this debate rather late in the game, but I would like to say something about 'stats' as this has become the central theme this past page.

Stats can be a base line, yet they don't tell an always perfect picture.

For example, my stats as they stand are rather weak. BF2142 is my first real FPS title that I have played, and it shows. Yet I were to create a new character here and now, a new profile, I would have crap for time yet hours of experience that I can build from.

Just my two cents; please take all stat talk with a grain of salt...

~ Draken

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|TG-55| Infantry Division

LordKelvin

Again, I would kindly ask that this discussion be carried elsewhere. While I love debate, this is not the place for it. If you have suggestions or critiques of my guide, feel free to post them, but this discussion is both off-topic and volatile, and has no place here.

Thank you.

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SharinganTH1422

Guardianx11x (Nickname - Headshot) - A (ex?)member of the 3rd SFD

A favourite old quote of mine from him:

Quoting other's:

And that's just a handful of quotes I dug up from really old threads I remember.

Apparently he was up to about 60th in the world with the Zeller at one point - and bear in mind that he played a lot of time on TG servers (hard place to snipe - no sniper servers 24/7), didn't camp - moved with a squad and took out enemies with pinpoint headshots, and mostly (from what I remember) a lot of SLs still asked him to go assault a lot, so it wasn't like he went sniper every time he played. Impressive skills, dontcha think?

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Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

Thesleeper01

Keeping in mind that Guardian was around 60th over all for I think all sniper rifles he had doubts about the merits of him playing a sniper because of the advantages of playing a medic, I heard him say it a few times in TS.

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SharinganTH1422

Indeed. An excellent and dedicated sniper realised that the game mechanics of this game put marksmen at a disadvantage to assault medics - especially in a squad-based place like TG where the squad had to be consistently on the move when attacking.

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Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

Anospa

Late to this thread, because I generally try and stay away from them as much as possible, due to way the topics usually flow.

Before I came to TG, I mostly played with my roommate, and went sniper 90% of the time and was a bit less of a lone-wolf than most stereotypical snipers. After finding TG, I still stuck with sniper for quite a bit of time, sticking with squads and whatnot, but could definitely notice that I wasn't nearly as effective as I could be.

Taking the aiming skill and knowledge of the game mechanics from sniping to assault really helped me to excel and up my skill level. My accuracy stats were always very high due to a lot of time played as sniper, but my assault kit started picking up quite a lot of play time and pretty sure now its moved ahead. Yet, this whole time, my accuracy has remained a steady number hovering around 33%. I've looked in the past, and nearly everyone I've run into or been shown a stat page of barely peaks above 25%. My K/d used to hover around probably a very low 1.1-something back before TG. Since getting here over a year ago, I'm pretty sure its around a 2.5-3.

What I'm saying is that the strengths and skillset that one needs to be a good sniper will definitely carry over and add to assault in a very strong way.

Recon is definitely my favorite kit and I play it at every opportunity I can.

My personal opinion, snipers are useful 60% of the time, and really should only have a few (no more than 3) per team on most maps. I know I've personally stopped a cap out or prevented the enemy team from gaining bleed on maps like Tunis countless times with RDX/APMs and hanging back at eastern/junkyard. A recon with lambert could also have done this and stuck with his squad, but hanging back with the sniper will also take you out of the immediate battle and be able to take some work of the CO.

As a sniper, you have to keep yourself updated to whats happening on the map. Your minimap is an indispensable tool. The main things to look for that wouldn't already be spotted: empty buggies, signaling an enemy squad has possibly just rushed past or snuck by unnoticed; enemy armor spawning in the UCB and then disappearing from the minimap, this signaling that its now occupied and moving out into battle. These things can also be done by an astute assault/support/engineer.

There are only a few maps/flag areas that I would personally rarely play a sniper. People can argue that other kits can fill a sniper's role with ease, and in some instances, its true. But, can you justify positioning yourself away from your squad/team and committing to that role when you know that you'd be more useful back with the others? The simple truth of the matter is that the sniper loadout is specialized to fulfill this role.

This is targeted specifically to you Uranium:

Stats do play an important role in these types of discussions. You mention Crux calling you out months ago for having more time played and thus having a stronger opinion and perhaps more truth on his side of the argument. The simple fact is, having more time clocked in any type of thing in life will generally garner an individual more experience and knowledge about whatever it may be, video game, carpentry, etc. Someone brought up your stats again and made a comment, and perhaps not entirely a just one. Stats only tell the figures, not the actual experience. Statistically , I have a K/d ratio in this game of 1.61. In TG-reality, my K/d should be somewhere between a 2.5-3. Perhaps you only have a fraction of play time compared to me, but maybe you've had a history in other games and your skills have carried over, I'm not sure, rarely have I played with you. You have less than half the amount of posts than me; does this mean I have more to say or more worthwhile things to say? Hell no! It means I have a boring job and way too much free time here!

All things considered, there's a fair amount of good info in this thread, not entirely sure how much of it is useful. I'm slowly piecing together info/experience of mine and others in the hopes that I can put together a workable TGU sniper/Recon course. If anyone wants to help out or thinks they have some good info, shoot me a PM and I'll gladly listen to what you have to say and share.

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Rob

Nice thread, Kelvin. However, it might take less time to just say that successful sniping really boils down to three things: overall game experience, map knowledge, and really, how good a shot you are (or how good you become) with a sniper rifle. THere are numerous "sniper tactic" threads written in forums all over the place, even a series of very educational movies ("sniper tactics episodes" by Soane, previously world's best with the Moretti SR4 sniper rifle), but in most cases, sniping just takes practice, patience, and determination.
btw, I usually pack the Gruber and RDX as a sniper, and for anyone who says the stabilizar is junk, ther'es a quote from Guardian about it somewhere around here

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BF2142:|TG-Irr|Robb_the2nd
Cod 4:|TG|Rob

Anospa

Heh, in Guardian's defense, it was from a time period when he and I were dicking around shooting people far off almost into the fog. I still say its useless, and if I were to do the long distance thing again, I'd probably not take it.

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Razcsak

From the...almost no times I've sniped, I found the Gruber to be worthless. It takes a bit of time to activate, first, so you're stuck there for longer. Second, when you scope in, you start directly centered for a split second. You should be, in my opinion, already aiming at them before you scope and using that incredibly short time to adjust for the headshot. Unscope, look around, and scope-click almost in one motion.

At least, that's what I do the only time I ever am anywhere approaching good at sniping. When I sit still and peer through the scope, headshots are harder.

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Gillespie

Try this on for size:

Play the game how you wish to play it. Conform your chosen playstyle to the rules and methods of the server you're playing in. If you're having fun, and you're not causing anyone else grief, then have at it. After all, it's your free time. Utilize it however you wish.

This min/max "this is how an effective squad is configured" is stupid, and leads to completely stale rounds. Try forming a cohesive squad of just engineers. Or run around as a cohesive squad of six snipers, all running around hunting together. Sure, you may not be as multi-talented as that squad with 4 assaults, one support, and one recon, but so what? Are you having fun?

It's just a game. Stop being so serious about it. I feel like I'm cruising the Armored Core forums (another site) watching people argue over the stats of various AC parts. Just play the damn game and stop worrying about what is "effective" and what's not.

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<ArmA Information/SOPs> <ArmA Admin Team> <TG Req. Reading>

Rob

In the defense of the mighty Gruber, I have shot exactly 2,017 people with sniper rifles, and though that is not a very good stat, Soane (a MAFIA clan player) at one time led the leader boards with at least one SR. He used a Gruber, too.

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BF2142:|TG-Irr|Robb_the2nd
Cod 4:|TG|Rob

pred011586

I don't think the benefits of the Grubar for sniping are in question, as much as the pros and cons of taking it over one of the other Recon kit pieces. Personally, when I find myself sniping, I take the Grubar, but that's to help compensate for non-superb reflex aiming.

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[T-BAGZ]Pred011586

SharinganTH1422

As far as I remember Guardian hated it. In fact, 1 minute of digging found...

Sorry Rob...try again .

Edit: Haha, ran past this too:

__________________
Anger is a gift - Malcolm X

...If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same...

LordKelvin

Not everyone has snap reflexes like Guardian. The rest of us need it to be effective. Plus, I'd rather have the Gruber, which gives a constant (almost) benefit to my aim, instead of APMs, which I only have two of, and don't really have much of an effect on the outcome of a battle.

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Anospa

The thing about the stabilizer is that it takes about a 1/4 to a 1/2 second to come active. The sniper rifle, if already sighted in roughly on the target, will not have any type of movement for the first moment or so when zoomed in. So, by that point, I barely ever find any type of use for the stabilizer.

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