You have fitting slots. Put some tank in them. Your qq has been duly noted.

Potential for 15 kills before you need to replenish your ammo, is actually about the same as the Burst HMG. (To put it in perspective.) Unless you snipe in a Sentinel suit with no Nano Hive, it should not be a huge problem.

With the TacSR, would it make sense to make that weapon more viable for body shots? It could have the highest base damage but a comparatively low headshot bonus to balance that out? Since it is for shorter range engagements it would make sense that it would be designed for reflex shots more so than precision.

In which I said this promotes more eHP chasing I appreciate you proving my point

Base damage values aren't listed as changing in this post. Personally, I feel base damage is too low, and needs a buff upwards, but I think the concept of not buffing too much too fast will win out here. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Since hotfixes are somewhat frequent, balance passes don't need to be 'one and done' like they used to be.

I like the proposed changes, however Im not sure you will ever see a sniper getting close (without intentionally yoloing himself into it) until you change sway.

Currently if Im at (for example) 100-150 meters or so, which is a pretty long engagement range for a sniper that isnt sitting on the redline or on some obscure hill, I have about 5 seconds or so at best before someone Im engaging can move into effective range and kick my ass. To add to that, to fire my weapon with any kind of accuracy, I have to stop my character, kneel down onto the ground, and zoom into ADS, and stand dead still for those 3-5 seconds + however long it takes me to kill or give up on killing my target. This means that if the guy Im shooting at (or anyone around me when I do my preshot routine) sees me, Im screwed big time.

Until the pre-fire routine is removed or drastically reduced, snipers will never want to enter the battlefield proper, because its just stupid to do so.

I know you dont intend to touch sway/stability/etc with this hotfix, but in the future just consider the above. And consider maybe changing the tactical into a very low sway rifle so we can actually use it with tactical movements to get a quick kill and move on, because the biggest achilles heel of a sniper in close range is that requirement to stop, drop, and die just to get an accurate shot off.

If it does insane damage then the charge needs to have a mandatory charge cycle to prevent quick follow up shots. if the main focus of the charge is high alpha damage, else we will see a huge hard hit charge and then a tenth of a second later the quick follow up shot.(less damaging sure...but probably enough to finish most not all suits.......THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.

In which I said this promotes more eHP chasing I appreciate you proving my point

All the changes seem to be good, but one.
The zoom level.

The only SR with a actual sniper rifle zoom level was the Thale.
Even if i like the changes and i really want more active snipers, the zoom level is needed, for physical reasons (not of the game), my eyes, i can't see a damn thing with the current zoom level.
Also the game from sniper eyes is flat, it's 2D, only the Thale have enough zoom to see 3D shaped objects.

Please do it for our eyes, increase the zoom.

I snipe in the Squidmando ck.0 with a compact (for the smaller visible bloom, as previously stated, because I don't want every Tom, **** and Mary to see my nanohive from all the way across the map). As you know, the compact offers a limited replenishment resource. With lag offering me short-burst teleporting targets (of all frame sizes), faulty hit detection frequently giving me the blue shield shimmer of hits with zero damage and now the increased emphasis on headshots - I'm going to have more misses than I already do, I'm sure. Now that a headshot will actually be reliable, of course I'm going to attempt them much more often.

i don't care how many guides you write, mate, you're not hitting every headshot you attempt, either. And if you're setting up with overwatch over a high-traffic area, 18 total shots are going to be gone pretty quickly.

Some will like the reduction in range but Im sure it wont be snipers. I dont foresee snipers coming down from the hills .Youve only managed to reduced the amount of targets a sniper has and considerably weakened the ability to counter snipe by reducing range.

Some will like the reduction in range but Im sure it wont be snipers. I dont foresee snipers coming down from the hills .Youve only managed to reduced the amount of targets a sniper has and considerably weakened the ability to counter snipe by reducing range.

Snipers arent interested in moving closer to the battlefield. The longer range shots is what makes a sniper a sniper. I know this will fall on deaf ears and the range reduction is already set in stone but thats a snipers best asset...the long head shot.

On a different note... why do posters that claim not to snipe feel compelled to propose changes for a class they dont use.

I actually watched symbiotic forks recent videos and I paid close attention to the ranges he used his rifle from. -Very- rarely did he go outside 400 meters..even when he was using a sniper from atop the MCC he was mostly shooting inside 300.

Perhaps only 10% of my shots are from outside 400m, and most maps I am quite safe in the redline shooting targets under 350m.

Yeah, most people donGÇÖt get 15 kills before having to find more ammo with the Burst HMG either. Potential kills and Expected kills are not the same thing.

When I sniped I used a standard NanoHive much of the time, unless I had fitting issues, but I placed it about 20m behind my position behind a ridge or wall so it would not give away my position.

Are you saying you expect to be able to sit in the same spot for the entire game without moving?

Also, as an aside, some jerk that throws an uplink on a tower and then 6-8 people spawning up there with sniper rifles is far more annoying than redline snipers. The number of people sniping from the redline is usually insignificant or came from already being forced back to their red-line spawns. Uplink + tower is just a guaranteed way to lose the match.

All right, this may get interesting.

First let me thank the CPM, Barbershop, dedicated snipers and Iron Wolf Saber for a lot of feedback and information gathering. In the end, it's going to be CCP, that makes the most informed decision we can, so please don't blame them for the bad things, and pat them on the back for the good things.

The intent is to bring snipers closer to the battle, and specifically not have to rely on countersniping a Thale's with a Thale's. Boosting headshot damage modifiers will reward skilled snipers, and make countersniping and heavy take-downs way more feasible.

We think these are moderate proposals and are intended to be buffs to the role, but will also increase the risk of the sniper, and that is intended. We want there to be a proper range progression from novaknife to sniper rifle, and a place on the battle field for each range bracket.

Now to the design goals/intent. Please try to frame your feedback so it is relative to these roles.

Sniper Rifle - the Suppressor, enough firepower to line up enough bodyshots to suppress, kill stragglers and countersnipe

Highest range, medium clip and medium ammo, sustainable dps
High damage - High headshot modifier 300% (from 196%)
New Effective range - 450
Reticule - New Sniper reticule based on Plasma cannon

Charged Sniper Rifle - the Executioner, one shot-one kill type

Trades range and ROF for alpha damage, high headshot multiplier and highest native damage, smallest clip and ammo
High damage - Very high headshot modifier 350% (from 196%)
New Effective Range - 400
Reticule - New Sniper reticule based on Plasma cannon

Tactical Sniper Rifle - the Rifleman, stand and shoot, and has enough ROF and damage output to effectively take down approaching enemies. (basically super TAR)

High damage - high headshot modifier - 250% (from 196%)
Main change - Increased ROF, clip size and ammo, direct damage
New Effective Range - 350
Reticule - the current circle to allow shorter range engagements and snap shots


Keeping all ranges well out of Forge gun ranges and retaining enough range to be effective.

The Thale's zoom and range will be adjusted properly to fit thes design goals, ie. the zoom will be adapted and the current zoom reduced.

We do not want to touch stability, sway, nor accuracy in this pass, so please refrain from posting such comments.

Please try to keep this civil and constructive, and to the point. There will be no ranting tolerated here, we have had enough in recent threads. Talk about the points, what we missed, what we did right and do not project what you think other people or CCP know or think about snipers. Just your personal feedback.

Thanks!

All the changes seem to be good, but one.
The zoom level.

The only SR with a actual sniper rifle zoom level was the Thale.
Even if i like the changes and i really want more active snipers, the zoom level is needed, for physical reasons (not of the game), my eyes, i can't see a damn thing with the current zoom level.
Also the game from sniper eyes is flat, it's 2D, only the Thale have enough zoom to see 3D shaped objects.

Please do it for our eyes, increase the zoom.

The problem with the Thale's zoom level, is it allows them to very effectively operate outside the render distance of pretty much everyone. It's why Thale's users are essentially invisible, and impossible to locate and counter.

I think it may evolve into that, let's see how this urban tactical sniper works damage wise, and then we can look at sway and "stand and shoot". Soraya actually reprimanded me in skype just now, "it's not stand and shoot, just crouch and shoot" :)

Can I get confirmation from Appia or Fox on that point? (I haven't had one in several weeks, so I may be misremembering)

You aren't going to be finding those people running Solo. If you have squadmates that are engaging enemies within Line of Sight past 600m they will render.

1) Increased headshot values aren't enough to change the dynamic that requires snipers to stack damage mods to have an effective weapon. Every other weapon (less Swarms, Ion Pistol, and Flaylock Pistol) are all viable in their own rights and can be used effectively against people with higher level of SP investment than them. With post proposal values, the Sniper Rifle still needs 2 complex damage mods and proficiency 5 to carry any weight as a threat.

2) I have a BPO LAV and an Ishukone Assault Forge Gun. This is far superior combo than a worthless Tac SR with 350m range


This needed to be stressed.



Because it's an underused weapon, looking for opinions from people that don't use it and seeing what changes they would like to see for them to become interested in the weapon are important. However, most people know this and end up cleverly disguising their malcontent for whatever the subject is at hand and say thing that make other believe that certain changes would get them to use it.

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Taken from Jathniel's thread [Inquiry] Sniper Rifles



His MCC sniping video was on Manus Peak - Domination, the area of play on that map is under 300m^2. I'd be impressed by anyone using a Sniper Rifle that got a kill over 300m on that map & mode combo. I'm capable of taking out the majority of redline snipers there with the Forge Gun.

I've got proficiency 4 in Forge Guns and I always play in a squad. I either get a constant resupply of ammo because I've asked someone beforehand or I'm next to an uplink and ask for someone to drop me a hive after their next death. Or I just run around with Vipers and Blood Raider Sagas.

Unlike Symb, the only time I snipe from within 400m is when I'm squad'ing with him. If someone is within 300m I'm going to be more effective sniping with my Ishukone Assault Forge Gun. -Something I really like to stress, I am sniping infantry with the assault variant- Just yesterday a squadmate pulled out a Thale's to clear infantry off a high platform; I re-positioned myself with my forge gun and started killing people, with direct hits mind you, and at the end of the game I had more kills than him. WP too, because I could chase off any dropships that wanted to take me off my perch.

From my point of view, it's easier to hit someone with the Assault Forge Gun than it is to get a headshot with a Sniper Rifle. Ignoring the fact that the reticle change will stop the majority of the false positives, hit detection is still a huge issue for the weapon.

Reducing the range of the sniper rifles just made it a hell of a lot easier to drive around in an free LAV counter-sniping people with a forge gun, something guaranteed to kill any sniper in 1 hit.

All in all, sounds like you've never used the sniper rifle yourself and only pay attention to people whining about the weapon, feeling the need to nerf an under perfroming weapon because of complaints and throwing an insignificant change as "compensation."

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Also, as an aside, some jerk that throws an uplink on a tower and then 6-8 people spawning up there with sniper rifles is far more annoying than redline snipers. The number of people sniping from the redline is usually insignificant or came from already being forced back to their red-line spawns. Uplink + tower is just a guaranteed way to lose the match.

appia no offense I usually agree with you on sniper related subjects , but have you done the math ?? std snipers can OHK heavies (mlt/std) and thats assuming they don't buff direct dmg...... snipers inherently have a huge advantage over forge gunners in head to head fire fights at almost all ranges and the added ability to OHK will make taking forges out easier

trollface.jpg or efg.gif?

At Prof 3 with the Charge and 3 complex damage mods on a 'Neo' ck.0 commando at CalMando level 3, you don't OHK a militia heavy on a headshot - you're not even close enough to OHK for me to buy doing this at Prof 5 with CalMando 5. Where the hell are you OHK'ing heavies with the STD sniper rifle?