DUST Search - In Defense of Sniping

Fivetimes Infinity wrote:

Khabarakh Khimbar wrote:

1. The easiest way to deal with a sniper is to snipe them right back.

2. Assault rifles will tear up snipers in a heartbeat.

3. LAVs are cheap (or free), fast, and practically un-snipable.

4. Tanks. Lol. I think we all can imagine what a tank can do to a sniper, and vice versa. There is no skill (or honor) involved here.

5. Dropships are probably the safest way to deal with snipers.

First, I'm going to say that the fact that you felt the need to write this is evidence enough of snipers being out-of-line and overpowered. That we should require special techniques to deal with, when we're sitting there with a minimal investment of ISK and SP, is dumb. Dropships and tanks, they require special tactics because they've paid a lot for a method of fighting, and if they are successfully countered they take a big hit. Even if a sniper is countered somehow, who cares? A single fit is pocket change. You've accomplished nothing but a brief reprieve.


Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 0 post(s)
Cross Atu Conspiratus Immortalis 775	Posted - 2012.09.11 02:08:00 - [1] - Quote Fivetimes Infinity wrote: Khabarakh Khimbar wrote: 1. The easiest way to deal with a sniper is to snipe them right back. 2. Assault rifles will tear up snipers in a heartbeat. 3. LAVs are cheap (or free), fast, and practically un-snipable. 4. Tanks. Lol. I think we all can imagine what a tank can do to a sniper, and vice versa. There is no skill (or honor) involved here. 5. Dropships are probably the safest way to deal with snipers. First, I'm going to say that the fact that you felt the need to write this is evidence enough of snipers being out-of-line and overpowered. That we should require special techniques to deal with, when we're sitting there with a minimal investment of ISK and SP, is dumb. Dropships and tanks, they require special tactics because they've paid a lot for a method of fighting, and if they are successfully countered they take a big hit. Even if a sniper is countered somehow, who cares? A single fit is pocket change. You've accomplished nothing but a brief reprieve. Fivetimes, I've seen some of your other posts and clearly you're a skilled sniper but there are two aspects in all your posts about sniping (that I've seen/read) which you overlook. #1. Define "minimal investment". Minimal for who? In what context? As compared to what? Now granted I'm still new to the beta so I certainly don't have the SP bank that some players do but I have yet to even finish out my basic sniper skills much less support skills that would allow me to use better gear etc and I've already put over 4 million SP into being a sniper and I haven't even maxed out all the skills with sniper in their name yet. Then there are the general weapon skills which apply to sniping and again all of that is excluding the support/upgrade skills which unlock gear or give a little bit more durability. So how many million skillpoints invested does it take before, in your estimation, the SP investment is no longer "minimal"? #2. And frankly this may be more important so I'll be marking it out clearly you are NOT the standard the very fact that you're near the top of the leader board when it comes to sniping means that you shouldn't, and cannot be the correct metric for game wide class balance. Just because someone can go 30-0 in a given role or with a given fit/skill spec does not mean that fit/skill spec is imbalanced. Those conclusions have to be drawn game wide and based on a *cross section of data* not the experiences of one player. Certainly not the experiences of one player who's at the top of the heap when it comes to performance/player skill. Just because Michael Jordan could play circles around most other players in the NBA does not make the number 23 overpowered or imbalanced, and while that is clearly not an exact parallel the reasoning still applies. In conclusion, thank you for your high quality of sniper know how it's been a help in finding some direction as a sniper new to Dust (and a player who's not a "FPS guy"), but you are not the average and shouldn't be the balance point. My 0.00 ISK Cross
Cross Atu Conspiratus Immortalis 775	Posted - 2012.09.12 00:19:00 - [2] - Quote mikegunnz wrote: This sums up my feelings perfectly...not just about snipers, but on tanks, last build's REs, EVERYTHING! What makes something OP isn't when a small percentage of the player base can be beastly with it... it's when even an AVERAGE player, can dominate with it. Not to get off topic, but this is why something like the SR and snipers aren't really OP, but tanks are. Why REs were OP last build, why Heavy with HMG was OP two builds ago, etc ,etc. +1 it's about the cross section of data and the average player. Also I'd like to open my earlier question up more generally to everyone, what do you beta vets consider to be a minimal (and for that matter a sizable) SP investment? I know what it is from my context but according to the game start readout 'Cross Atu' is only 12 days old so I feel my context (i.e. wet behind the ears) lacks a little something in long term perspective. I do know that according to fanfest maxing all skills in game (at that time) would take aprox. 7.5 years, so what's a significant SP investment? (Obviously this is going to differ player to player as how much incoming SP per match avg. and how many matches per day/week avg will differ player to player, but I'm curious to gain some context)