The Art Of Sniping

What is a sniper? A sniper is someone who eliminates enemies over a distance from cover. There are many important aspects to being a sniper in Jedi Outcast. A sniper should be:

• Patient
• Able to quickly get in and out of locations without being noticed
• A good marksman
• Efficient
• Quiet
• Able to use Force Powers effectively
• Fast
• Able to focus in on individual players while not losing track of the big picture
• Equipped with a full knowledge of the map
• Able to come up with new strategies to cope with opponents
• Equipped with a full knowledge of the guns
• Able to learn from their mistakes
• Good at looking for others battling
• Knowledgeable in the advantages of a sniper
• Able to locate a good sniping position
• Able to counter enemy snipers

Patience

Patience is probably the single most important aspect of being a sniper. You must being willing to wait for your opponent, get them square in your sights, and then fire. If you aren't willing to wait, you won't be a very good sniper. I like to think of a sniper as someone who is removed from the action, but directly affects what is going on. Instead of going into the fray and fighting it out with everyone, you distance yourself and pull the trigger.

Getting in and out without being noticed

A sniper must be able to efficiently move around without being noticed. Know the map and the locations of the weapons, power-ups, and bottlenecks which players frequently visit. Find the less used paths and use them to get around. Use these paths to get to sniping positions or to get the drop on unsuspecting players. Force powers are also useful in this area. Use Force Mind Trick to make yourself invisible to others. Note however that Mind Trick is countered by Force Sight. Be able to move around the map quickly and to get in and out of positions where you have the advantage. Also use these routes to escape and give other players the slip if you are being followed.

Marksman

A sniper, obviously, must be a good shot. They must be able to hit their target most times. Only release a shot when the enemy is dead in the sights. Remember to account for the movement of the target if using slow-moving guns. (i.e. the Merr-Sonn Missile System) Timing is everything. It is very important to hit the enemy the first time. If you miss, they will know they are being fired upon and take evasive action such as using Force Speed and zigzagging which makes for difficult shooting. You must sink the first shot, or you can almost be guaranteed that your opponent will escape. Your first shot is also the only time you have the element of surprise, which is one of a sniper's greatest assets. While shooting, don't bother aiming for the head. Instead, aim for the largest target area for an easier shot. This is especially true when shooting saber wielding enemies. Since the saber can absorb the shot, aim below the saber, or the player's back or non-saber side. This way, the saber can't defend the person. If a person has Force Sight on, they can be difficult to hit. There are certain times however that will usually get you a kill. Shoot them below the waist because the dodging move only moves the top half of the body. Shoot them when they are switching weapons or if they are in the middle of an attack. (especially true of the saber) A last good time to shoot them is when the are in the air, as they have no dodging abilities. If your first shot doesn't sink the enemy, quickly fire a non-charged shot to finish them off. Sometimes the person has only a small amount of health left and a non-charged shot is all it takes to do the trick. The point is, take your time and hit your shots.

Efficient

Efficiency is very important in the work of a sniper. A sniper must be productive enough to keep up with the rest of the players in the game. Sure, you can just pick up a gun, stand around, and get a few kills, but you probably won't be anywhere near the head of the scoring list. You need to know what you are doing. As I already stated, patience is important, but so is knowing when to move on to a new location. If nothing is happening in your area and the other players are racking up kills somewhere else, then go hunt them down. They are probably so involved in a massive firefight that they won't notice you enter until they start dropping dead. Know when to stay, but also when to move. If they aren't coming to you, go hunt them down. Also, if you still can't keep up, consider a change in your overall battle plan.

Quiet

By quiet, I mean not just the lack of noise, but also the style of play. A sniper shouldn't be the one charging into the room full of people with a machine gun blazing. A sniper should make their kill or two in an area and then disappear. A true sniper knows how and when to appear and disappear. If two people are battling and you eliminate one, the other one will look over and they should find one of two things. Either the sniper should be charging up to take out the other player or should have disappeared. If people don't know your location, they don't know which way to run. You should be able to locate the target, get your job done, and move on to a new vantage point. You should also be quiet in the true sense of the word. Try to keep noise to a minimum when moving around. Don't run around with a drawn saber which gives off noise and a bright glow. It gives your location away instantly. Don't fire guns off unnecessarily. They just point to your location. Another way to reduce the amount of noise that you make is to walk instead of running. Hold down the shift key to walk. Crouching, although it slows you down, makes your movements silent. Be as quiet as possible when moving around so no one knows where you are.

Force Powers

Choosing the right Force Powers is essential to being a sniper. Force powers are a personal choice, but there are some that I consider necessary.

Force Speed is essential for a sniper. Use it to get into position or away from enemies in a hurry. Since speed is a requirement for a sniper, Force Speed is a must. It is useful for many things such as getting to power-ups or following enemies.

Force Jump is another must have. Use it to get to out-of-the-way places, such as most sniper positions. It is also useful in moving around the map, escapes, dodging, showing off, and much more. This is probably the most important one.

Force Heal is a nice power to have in your pack. Since snipers need to do everything on the go, you may not have time to get the extra med pack. Use heal to avoid detours or if you are getting low on health during a confrontation.

Use Jedi Mind Trick to keep you opponents confused and wondering where you are. How can your enemies run away when they don't know where you are? Although it sound like a pitch for a bad horror movie, that is an important point. Keep your enemies confused and they are all but yours.

One last important Force Power is Force Sight. Use it to know where your opponents are. It surrounds your opponents in auras, making them easier to spot. You can also see them through walls. Force Sight also negates Mind Trick so no one can fool you. Another nice feature is that on level three, it makes you automatically dodge fire from other snipers. Note that while you dodge most sniper shots, they must be charged shots to be avoided. Also note that Sight cannot protect you against multiple snipers. If you are under fire from lots of snipers, your best choice is to just get out of there. This power is great because you can know where everyone is. Then you just move in and fire away.

Fast

A sniper is fast. You must be quick to make the kill and then quickly move on. Move across the map quickly. Quickly get into position and fire, then blaze out of there. The whole point of sniping is to stay protected from enemies while destroying them. If you just stay where you are, people will shoot back and you will end up dead really fast. Use the Force to help and be quick when on the hunt.

Focus on individuals, but see all

Your job as a sniper is to break down the battle into individuals and eliminate them. A good sniper can find a battle and zoom in on one person, follow them, and then fire. That is a very important strategy, but while focusing on detail, but sure to notice what is going on in the big picture. Have the other players moved? Has someone spotted you and is getting ready to eliminate you? Who is winning the battle? Remember that while you are zoomed in and picking people off, other people are still moving and fighting and may have spotted you. Don't stay in zoom mode too long or else someone may come up to your side or be locking on to you behind you. Concentrate on detail, but see the larger picture as well.

Know the map

A full, complete knowledge of each map will greatly assist you in sniping. You should know the good positions where you can safely shoot at people and where they will have difficulty firing back. Know where to move and where the power-ups are. Know the main paths and the less traveled ones too. Find ways you can travel in relative safety while still seeing where others are going. Experiment with the Force Powers to find what new places you can go. Force Jump for example lets you go many places that would otherwise be inaccessible or would take a long time to reach. In general, know the best way to get from point A to point B on any map. Some things to take in consideration while choosing a path are time, safety, power-ups, traps, and how frequently traveled the path is.

Trying new strategies and coping with opponents

After practicing with the bots in the game, you may think you're pretty good. And you may be. But there are definite differences between bots and humans. Humans can think up new strategies. They can figure you out. You can develop a good strategy and beat the bots repeatedly. Take that strategy to humans and they will figure it out eventually. Repeating one strategy over and over just won't work. If the strategy you are using isn't working, try thinking up a new one. If you know your opponents' weaknesses, strive to exploit those weaknesses to your advantage. There is no one strategy that will always work 100% of the time. So think up new ones. Sometimes the best thing to do is to mimic your opponent's style. Think on your feet and get back into the game.

Know the guns

Know what nasty piece of weaponry you're toting around before you get in the middle of battle and try firing it off. A sniper's weapon of choice is the Tenloss Disruptor Rifle. A fully-charged blast from the secondary mode can take out an unshielded enemy in one hit and a shielded in two. Use this weapon correctly and it will love you right back. Zoom in, charge up, and fire. A fully charged shot will make the enemy disappear. The Tenloss is a hitscan weapon which means the shot instantly arrives as soon as you release. There is no need to aim ahead as with other guns. The Tenloss gives off noise when being charged and fired. People may locate you from the noise, so be ready to move on. Other sniping guns are the Merr-Sonn Missile System and the Wookie Bowcaster. The secondary mode of the rocket launcher seeks. The tracking of the secondary mode is silent, which you can use to your advantage. Other players won't hear anything while you are targeting them. Be sure to fire ahead in primary mode if your opponent is moving. The same holds true with the bowcaster. Use secondary mode for sniping.

Learn from mistakes

This is true in just about everything. Don't repeat the same bad moves over and over again or you will just keep adding to your body count. As I said earlier, change your approach if one isn't working. Know where your opponents are strong or weak. Use your mistakes to help you understand where you need improvement, then go practice. 'Nuff said.

Look for others battling

Look for groups of people and pick them off. They will already be weak from fighting each other. Taking them out will be fairly easy. If there is a group of them, feel free to send some rockets their way. No doubt they will appreciate it. Depending on your own personal honor code, you can shoot people in lightsaber duels. Since people dueling are so close together, its easy to hit them both. It's especially easy with a large gun like the Merr-Sonn Missile System.

Advantages of a sniper

Surprise is your advantage. Nobody expects a sniper. (or the Spanish Inquisition for that matter) Use surprise for your benefit. Your victims shouldn't see anything coming. Use Mind Trick or anything available to keep people confused. A good player confuses people and finds flaws in their game. If you keep them expecting you, they will start second guessing themselves and their game will fall apart. A very good sniper controls the tempo of the game while quickly going about their business.

Choosing a good sniping position

A good sniping position should have a superior position over most other spots in the game. It should have a good view of most of the map. It should have at least two quick escapes. A good spot should have fast, easy access to shields, health, and ammo. You do not want to be very exposed in your position. You want as much cover as possible to keep you in relative safety. Don't overuse the spot or else others will know where you are and be ready to attack. As a sniper, you should always be in an advantageous position to your opponents.

Once you find a good position, you will want to defend it. Try placing trip mines near your location to help tip you off if someone is coming. Place them in a corridor leading to your spot and people will have to slow down and shoot them or take damage. Once you hear or see the explosions, you will know someone is coming. Then you can either prepare to defend yourself or make a quick escape. Sentry guns could also be used as an alarm or defense system. Use them to supply cover fire as you make an escape. Another good thing to use is the stationary shield. Use it to seal off a corridor so no one can get to you, but you can still use the hallway. If someone spots you and begins firing to flush you out, lay down a shield to create a wall to stops the shots. Then step back behind the wall and fire away from safety. Although the large shield gives away your location, you have temporary safety. These shields are also great in making escapes.

Countering a sniper

To counter a sniper, I would recommend having all the same Force Powers as a sniper has so you can get to the same places and do the same things as a sniper. Try to sneak up behind the sniper and use a powerful weapon for quickly eliminating them. Remember, if they have the scope on, they have a very limited vision range. If you are quiet, they won't hear or see you coming.

If you can't sneak up behind them, try to get to a counter position and pick them off with a Tenloss of your own. They may be focusing somewhere else and never see it coming. Also to flush a sniper out, you can fire some rockets their way. If they are zoomed in, they can't move. The sniper will then either have to get out of their position in a hurry or face the consequences. Once they are back on the ground, they no longer have the advantage. A sniper's main weakness is that they have such a limited range when zooming in. If you do have to go into the open where the sniper can hit you, remember to turn on Force Speed and Sight to move faster and to dodge sniper fire. Also carry the lightsaber which can block some of the shots the sniper will undoubtedly be firing at you. Remember to keep the blade aimed right at them.

Article by sith.