Sniper Rifles in General: These weapons have a simple purpose.. to kill at the longest of ranges. They all have max range and they all shoot straight since the patch debugged them. Since all of the sniper rifles shoot at what you aim at zoomed out, this essentially makes the accuracy ratings for them pointless. This also makes the balance between the weapons poor as well.
Positives: Longest range. Best zoom. High power. Easiest to headshot.
Negatives: Low fire rate. Bad on the hip accuracy. Low mobility.
Why use Sniper Rifles: You'd want to use these when you're in a position to attack the enemy from long range, and aren't being attacked from flanks or from close range. They're also the best option to directly counter other snipers/stationary shooters without flanking.
M40A3: This is the first rifle available. This has mid range damage and recoil. It is however a bolt action, and while it's rated for the highest accuracy among the sniper rifles, this doesn't matter since they all hit what you're aiming for anyway. This will do the job when it's the only rifle available, but once you unlock other guns, this shouldn't be used. 5 round clip.
M21: This is a semi automatic and has the lowest damage of the sniper rifles. It also has the lowest recoil and good rate of fire. It is the best weapon in the game to hit stationary targets at range. It's best used to headshot as it's lower damage doesn't allow it to 1 shot below the head often. It's decent against moving targets as well, since you're able to shoot multiple shots quickly with the very low recoil. 10 round clip.
DRAGUNOV: This is the middle option in the semi automatic sniper rifles. It provides better damage than the M21, but with a bit higher recoil. This does allow you to 1 shot below the head, and it's decent recoil allows you to get multiple shots off fairly quickly. Very good gun, maybe the best of the group. This has the same damage and recoil as the M40A3, making that weapon obsolete once this is unlocked. 10 round clip.
R700: This has the highest damage of the sniper rifles (same as .50 cal), and good accuracy. The recoil makes you think you're shooting a cannon. Again, since accuracy doesn't matter, there is no reason to use this once you have the .50 cal unlocked, however.. if you don't yet, and prefer to 1 shot on a larger area of the body, then this can be used. 4 round clip.
BARRETT .50CAL: This has the highest damage of the rifles, and as such.. gives you the best chance to 1 shot away from the head. It's recoil is high, but it is semi-automatic and you can still retarget fairly quickly. This is best used against moving targets where you can target the chest over the head and still kill. Also provides the best of the group w/ on the hip shooting when necessary since it has the highest power along with being semi-automatic. This has the same damage and recoil as the R700, making that weapon obsolete once this is unlocked. 10 round clip.
PERKS: Perks are pretty straight forward imo. While you can use some explosive perks, maybe rocket launcher to help defend against copters.. I would suggest the following most of the time. Since you're often living for long periods of time, you want the extra ammo, the extra power helps 1 shot on non head shots, and iron lungs is generally superior over deep impact since you're often targetting heads when people are using cover and not shooting through walls. Sniper rifles are also not the greatest at penetration and the low rate of fire allows people to move making it unlikely you'd get enough shots off to kill anyway before they moved. Juggernaut is rather pointless since you're undergunned if flanked anyway, and you're mainly going to be killed by headshots from others where this wouldn't help you. UAV jammer is also not very good, because you don't have the silencer options and are generally best with your teammates surrounding you to protect from flanks. Claymores and crap like that are easily countered and shouldn't be a replacement for your own awareness.
Bandolier, Stopping Power, Iron Lungs.
Attachments: Don't use them, use the default scope. I have tried to find a good reason to use the other scope and there simply isn't with the sniper rifles.
USING THE SNIPER RIFLES: Generally used one of two ways. To either hit targets at range that are behind cover/stationary, or to hit moving targets where there's high traffic/or protecting flanks. I would suggest zooming out often to check map status, and see both teams positioning. Even in a no kill cam area, people are going to figure out where you are, so stay mobile and stay aware. Picking some spot, laying claymores down, and spending 20 minutes zoomed out is about as noob as it gets. Take a couple secs every few shots to check your hud if available and see if something requires your attention. You don't want to be one of those snipers that is knifed in the back constantly by enemy flankers.
Cliff Notes: Use any of the 3 semi-automatic rifles, balanced between power and recoil depending on preference and what you're targetting. Take bandolier to give you the freedom to take tough shots without worrying about ammo and last longer, stopping power to help 1 shot away from the head, iron lungs is the best available 3rd perk. No attachment as the main benefit of the sniper rifles is shooting at very long range.
(Guide by
|V|)
