Sniper has always been a support role; you either eliminate a single hard threat to your team (usually enemy support), soften targets to reduce friendly casualties, or harass them into hard cover.
The various races should prefer one or another of these based on their philosophy.

For example:

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Amarr

Scrambler GÇô Harassment:

- Shortest effective range.
- Highest proportional optimal range.
- Fastest bullet travel time.
- No drop.
- Shots lose damage beyond optimal range and dissipate entirely at effective range.
- Excellent Shield damage, medium Armour damage.
- Lowest recoil.
- Lowest damage.
- Fastest rate of fire.

An Amarrian scrambler sniper rifle would fit very well when it comes to harassing enemies into cover. A combination of extreme projectile speed, low recoil, and the ability to put many shots down range in short time - despite low damage and reach - would enable the user to fill much the same role as the Laser Rifle at sniper ranges but without the same level of sustained fire or crowd control.

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Minmatar

Artillery GÇô Anti Materiel:

- Medium effective range.
- Shortest proportional optimal range.
- Slowest bullet travel time.
- Extreme drop beyond optimal range, bullet falls straight down at effective range.
- Damage does not decrease at any range.
- Excellent Armour damage, medium Shield damage.
- Highest recoil.
- Highest damage.
- Lowest rate of fire.

A Minmatar artillery sniper rifle would be unmatched at the GÇ£one shot one killGÇ¥ mantra, but sacrifices almost everything else to do so. The extremely low rate of fire means that priority targets are prefered (indeed, users would need to endure slow reloads between shots); the high recoil makes even the models with 2 shots unwieldy; the extreme bullet drop requires significant skill to use on moving targets; finally the mediocre range requires the user to get somewhat close to the target. The upshot is that these rifles can even pose a threat to lightly armoured vehicles.

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Caldari/Gallente

Railgun GÇô Target softening.

- Farthest effective range.
- Medium proportional optimal range.
- Medium bullet travel time.
- Medium drop beyond optimal range.
- Damage decreases beyond optimal range, 25% at effective range.
- Medium Shield and Armour damage.
- Medium recoil.
- Medium damage.
- Medium rate of fire.

Both the Caldari and Gallente employ Railgun technology with regards to sniper rifles. Both racial variants focus on softening targets but are generally flexible. The Caldari version trades some rate of fire and damage in exchange for range and faster projectiles with less drop; making it more suited to finish off wounded or weak targets. The Gallente version leans the other way: sacrificing range and projectile speed for increased damage and rate of fire with increased drop; for applying initial hits on general infantry, or additional support against hardened targets.

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This leaves us with a bunch of sniper rifles of varying calibres for various uses and with different types of tactics incentivised. This also prompts a change to sniper rifle stats, as right now snipers are constantly in their optimal range.

Thoughts? Are these acceptable compromises? Would it reduce the amount of sniper spam?

Sniping is not as easy as it should be. You have to be on the exact pixel the character is or you miss. The damage is laughable. Lots of times when I hit some one they just move back let their shields regen then go back to what they were doing. Even crouched the controls are horrible. --snip AR rambling--

A sniper is by definition difficult to reach, and difficult to counter.

The previous suggestions (flanking, HAV, DS, counter Sniper) are exactly how we remove enemy snipers in real life. I'm sure we would love to remove/nerf sniping in real life, but since that's not an option, we kill them using other more reasonable tactics.

Also I believe over half the other team in the current actual wars are snipers... nerfs would make cleaning out Afghanistan so much easier.

I would like to see some bullet drop though. That's just fun

A sniper is by definition difficult to reach, and difficult to counter.

Sniping is not as easy as it should be. You have to be on the exact pixel the character is or you miss. The damage is laughable. Lots of times when I hit some one they just move back let their shields regen then go back to what they were doing. Even crouched the controls are horrible. I turned the x and y and dead zone as low as the go and barely press on direction and i jumps over way too fast. I love to snipe in games like this it takes more talent then the pray and spray is see soo many doing. How is infantry any fun just run around and spray bullet you will get plenty of kills. I don't even really have to aim most of the time just point and spray and woot +50 kill.

One thing that could be done is to give snipers the highest scan profiles instead of the lowest.

You guys revived a threat, that hadnt been dealt with for 3 months(november). I take in 3-4 months time, you wont whine about snipers, because you all got better gear and know how to count them.

When all comes to all, half of you are annoyed, that you are getting shot by snipers behind the redline, in a skirmish match, after your team has all the objectives and are winning, but which isnt enough for you, you have to go camp the MCC area.

I'm not saying, I dont think its common logic to move on and prevent the enemy team from reaching the objectives, but I sure as hell dont whine about snipers needing a nerf, when I get shot by a sniper, while im "camping" the redline

How big of a drop are we talking? Sniper Rifles are basically rail guns so I don't imagine they have travel time and drop. That being said I don't mind them making snipers more skill (personal skill) intensive.

This isn't real life, it's a game. One which is not meant to simulate real life. So no, by definition they aren't anything. They're whatever they need to be in order to make them a fun and worthwhile addition to the game.

I do crouch but the controls are too sensitive and jumpy to dial in on a character. If they made the scope move at 1/4th or even slower when zoomed in that would be amazing. That and hitting a moving target on the exact spot they seem to want is ridiculous. If they opened up the target area just a bit more it would be much more fun to snipe. Just would be nice if a person shot with a snipe rifle would actually die instead of having to get 2 lucky shots on them. Specially if you get a head shot. I can get a decent score normally playing sniper would just be more fun if we did better damage and had a better chance to hit. The close range weapons do not seem to have to be nearly as accurate as the sniper rifle.

yeah i will be off to say the left like 2 pixels then i just barely try to move left 2 it jumps like 10. then i try to swing back over the other way and it jumps again.

32 Players - 17 Snipers. Counted. It's not even fun anymore. And don't tell me it takes skill, I've gone 12-0 with a militia sniper rifle, all you do is crouch, wait for dot to run red and fire. It's not even kitten funny anymore.

Sorry Archon ur one of the good ones.