We've all met them in our First Person Shooters (FPS). Whether online or beside us on the couch in a splitscreen match. They're looking down the scope and you're praying they don't see you. And then...CRACK. You've been sniped. Snipers, deadly, effective, and on the decline. Now, I am not a hardcore gamer by any means, but I have always kept up to date on FPS's. And over the years I have noticed a severe decline in multiplayer maps where a sniper, such as myself, can play effectively. Instead the FPS industry has increasingly catered to large fire fights where subtlety is a thing of the past. I recall in one eventful match with my friend years ago (I forget the game) there was a map called Sniper Square. It was the ideal map for picking off anyone who decided to run around the square. So, what is the ideal map for a sniper?
The Ideal Map
-Lots of open space -Places of high elevation -Cover in those elevated places
The problem with most maps in multiplayer these days is that snipers are hardly catered to. You may get a map with two or three places that are ideal for sniping, but they often lack cover or high enough elevation. This causes a problem, because without the cover or elevation snipers risk being slaughtered by opposing players.
What a Sniper is NOT
-A Camper -A direct fighter
Snipers, are NOT campers. Yes they will lie in wait for a while to make that perfect kill or two, but the moment that happens a true sniper packs his things up and hauls ***. Preferably to a different spot. This is particularly important since "kill cams" have come into play. Kill cams are a sniper's greatest enemy, because they may have found a perfect place, but the kill cam gives away their position. It's annoying, and ridiculously irritating having to move around a map relying on a sniper rifle for close range combat.
Why Create Ideal Sniper Maps?
Ever play capture the flag? Ever have someone gun you down once you get that flag and move two feet? Annoying, isn't it? Snipers are useful for picking off those pesky defenders and clearing up a sourounding area. They're the perfect cover. Snipers also keep in check those maniacs who love running and gunning. You know the ones who run around the map shooting anything that moves? They would think twice if they knew someone had they're head lined up for a shot. Snipers provide a more tactical edge to games. Sniper hunting requires patience and the ability to move quickly. An FPS that doesn't cater to all classes is a poor FPS. That means any recent FPS that supports multiplayer and provides sniper rifles yet no sniper worth map. Think recent Call of Duty.
I love to snipe, there's almost nothing more satisfying than dropping an enemy from a long distance, knowing that he's wondering what the f*ck just hit him...oh, boy, that's a good feeling.
I'll justy use Black ops for this entire posts' reference. Black Ops isn't completely unfriendly to Snipers, I almost always go positive on maps like Array, WMD, Firing Range, and all of the First Strike DLC maps. It really isn't that hard on maps like those, there just are no truly ideal spots to stay in the same spot, shoot, and keep going. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when I snipe, I just kind of follow my teammates around instead of camping and waiting for someone to pop up. This strategy works perfect for me, because while people are shooting and being shot at, they tend to not be sprinting or moving around too much, nor are they paying attention to you whille battling with your teammate, so you can easily get an assist or just a lot of kills. I remember on Array, there was a huge firefight on the Left part of the map with the SUV, and I got something like 7 kills just picking people off. before death. Being a Lone Wolf is hard in BO, but being the Cleanup crew or fire support is so much easier.
And here's a Sniper trick that ALWAYS works and creates a lot of raging at you if you do it a lot: Note: Black Ops Equip a Claymore and Decoy grenade for your Sniping or camping class.Find a nice cozy spot that has maybe a few windows but only one way into the room. Snipe anfd get a few kills, then set a claymore by the door , throw the decoy in and crawl out through the window (This ALWAYS works on Nuketown, though I don't snipe on that map.) Somebody comes up because they saw you on the killcam or just saw you shooting, they hit the claymore and BOOM, a kill and one pissed off gamer.
