Sniper
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[edit] Sniping 101 by Tycho Celchuuu
There are, when you get down to it, really only 2 things you will be doing as a sniper: attacking or defending. Attacking can be divided into these 2 categories:
[edit] Covering a squad assaulting a flag
This is what you will often end up doing if you're a sniper in a normal squad. Your squad leader will tell you guys to attack a flag, and you'll park yourself up on a building somewhere and shoot stuff. If your team has been attacking the flag for a while, then go ahead and start shooting. You want to take out as many people as possible to let your squad get in close without having to fight anyone. If the flag you're trying to take hasn't been attacked for a while, hold off until an enemy sees your squad coming. You don't want your sniper fire to tip them off to the fact that the flag's about to be attacked. The key is to stay pretty hidden; it's often worth it to sacrifice a great view of the flag if instead you get a good shot at a few defenders' positions and stay out of sight. You want constant fire, and that doesn't work if you're spotted after the second kill.
[edit] Attacking a flag without a squad
This would happen if you're in a sniper squad and are ordered to attack a flag, or if your squad got wiped out but you want to keep the pressure up (in pub servers, it would also happen if you're just running around sniping people). This is great for diverting the enemy. If there's a squad on defense that you're worried will move out soon and take a flag, a sniper hitting them before they move out will give them second thoughts. Since your goal is really just to kill as many people as possible, get a good vantage point first and foremost. Cover will be important once you're spotted, but the key is to take out 3 or 4 people before they know what's happening. Once you've stirred up the hornets nest at the flag you want to attack, go ahead and relocate. Nothing messes up people more than thinking a sniper has left only to watch their squad members start to die again. Go for people on AA turrets or TOW rockets first, since they're easy targets, but leave the guys at machineguns for last. They're likely to hold their posts and try to get you. This is a mistake, since their head is nice and shootable. Medics should be your first priority, although this is for just about everything.
For defending, you've also got a few categories.
[edit] Defending a specific flag
This can be troublesome, since with many squads their method of assaulting the flag is to run in facefirst and start shooting. For a sniper, this can get a little close for comfort. After you've dropped your claymores in obvious points of entry (this is to help your squad defend, not to protect you personally) get to a building or hill that's removed a bit from the flag. The most important thing is range of vision. Nobody attacking that flag is going to be looking for you; they'll be focused on the immediate threat of your squad members. Your first task is to spot the attacking squad(s). Once your team knows where it is, they'll move to engage. You have two choices. You can hurry up and shoot the attackers before your squad gets there. This can kill a few of them and drive them into cover, stalling their attack. The only problem is that this makes it harder for your squad to take them out, since the attackers will be in cover and ready for people coming. Your other option is to wait until the shooting starts to take out enemies. I prefer this, for a few reasons. First, if your squad can shoot someone, there's no point in wasting your time and bullets on them. Second, once the two sides engage, you'll be able to tell who are medics and who is the squad leader. Bang the squad leader, and all the medics are out of the fight while they try to revive him. Bang the medics, and the attackers are pretty much done for. The only reason you wouldn't hold off on the shooting until your squad engages is when you have some really good shots and the enemy is moving in an area with no cover. There are some places on maps that are just wide open, and for some reason people cross these. This is sniper territory, so get to work.
[edit] Just defending in general
This is rather counterintuitive since there's no "defend the map in general!" order on the squad leader commo rose. What this entails is a degree of freedom where you're not stuck to your squad like glue. This is basically how snipers on ranked servers work. You find a comfy spot (my favorite is the crane on Sharqui Peninsula over the construction site) and shoot targets of opportunity. You'll be doing this if your squad is hoofing it to the other side of the map or is running around or basically doing anything really mobile. Snipers aren't so great at fast attack so you're better off just staying put and doing some good for your team.
Your first targets should be anyone shooting your squad members or teammates in general. They're easy to find because they're holding pieces of metal that make "Bang" noises and they will often be spotted for you on the minimap. These are super easy targets. They won't see you, and often won't even have the time to look for you once you shoot them. You should be able to wrack up quite a few kills by targeting the hotspots on a map, the chokepoints where fighting goes on. Every person you take out of action helps, so don't feel like you're being useless. Assuming you're out of firefights to help out in (there's no better feeling then being pinned down by a few enemy soldiers, then having a sniper from across the map save you), your next duty is going to be spotting.
Enemy flags close to friendly flags are a good chance for this. If you see a squad or two moving up uncontested, spot those suckers. Often you don't have a good enough view to take many people out, since they'll be sprinting and going in and out of cover and stuff and you won't have positioned yourself specifically to get them. That's alright; a sniper is as much a spotter as a shooter (say that 3 times fast). Your best shots will be against stationary targets, either in firefights or defending. The most you'll really be able to do against mobile squads is to call them out and make sure your commander knows they're there.
[edit] Conclusion
Hopefully this has been helpful. A lot of snipers I see have trouble determining what they should be doing, and even more people avoid the sniper kit altogether, not because of lack of skill but because they feel that another body on the flag is more important. You're not letting your squad down when you choose a sniper rifle over an assault rifle: a sniper can do things that no other kit can do, and a team without them will suffer. Battlefield 2's maps have many, many areas where it simply isn't feasible to shoot someone unless you've got a scope, and once you've played enough as a sniper, you'll realize the difference you can make on the battlefield. Also, there's nothing more fun that hitting someone in the head when they had no idea you were there.
[edit] Further Discussion Threads
All singing all dancing sniper thread
