Sniper (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format. For the generic article on this topic, see: Sniper.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

The Sniper is a situational utility class sometimes used in the standard competitive lineup, valued for his picking and area denial capabilities. He is mostly used as a far ranged class and can be deadly from far away in competitive.

Information

Health

Class	Health	Overheal	Quick-Fix Overheal
Sniper	125	185	158

Speed

Condition	Normal	Backward	Crouched	Swimming
Sniper	100 %	90 %	33 %	80 %
With any Rifle, except the Classic, zoomed in	27 %	27 %	9 %	21 %
Charging the Classic at either zoom level	27 %	27 %	9 %	21 %
With the Huntsman drawn	53 %	53 %	18 %	N/A

Weapons

Main article: Sniper weapons (competitive)

The Sniper uses his Sniper Rifles to deal huge damage on headshots, and otherwise deal large damage at long range.

Primary

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Stock Sniper Rifle		25	N/A	Base: 50–150 Headshot: 150–450	Charges while zoomed.  Critical hits are guaranteed for headshots.  No random critical hits.
Promotional / Craft AWPer Hand
Unlock Huntsman		1	12	Base: 50–120 Headshot: 150–360	Bullets replaced with an arrow projectile.  Hold primary fire to draw (and charge) the arrow; press secondary fire to retract the arrow.  Critical hits are guaranteed for headshots.  No laser pointer indicator.  Friendly Pyros can light arrows to add fire damage.  -70% maximum charge time.  +96% charging movement speed (total of 53% movement speed while charging)  -20% maximum charge damage.  Base damage unchanged.  -48% total ammo.  No random critical hits.  Arrows can be reflected, shot down, and vaporized.  Arrows lose their accuracy if the bow is drawn for more than 5 seconds.  Arrows can pin enemies to a wall upon being killed (purely cosmetic feature).
Promotional Fortified Compound
Craft Sydney Sleeper		25	N/A	Base: 50–150	Charges while zoomed.  On scoped hit, applies Jarate effect to the target for 2 to 5 seconds based on amount charged.  Charge rate increased 25%.  Nature's Call: Scoped headshots always mini-crit and reduce the remaining cooldown of Jarate by 1 second.  Scoped shots extinguish flames on wielder and allied players.  Headshots do not crit.  No random critical hits.
Craft Bazaar Bargain		25	N/A	Base: 50–150 Headshot: 150–450	Charges while zoomed.  Critical hits are guaranteed for headshots.  Each scoped headshot kill increases the weapon's charge rate by 25% up to 200%.  No random critical hits.  -50% base charge rate penalty.
Promotional / Craft Machina		25	N/A	Base: 50–173 Headshot: 150–518	Charges while zoomed.  Critical hits are guaranteed for headshots.  Fully charged shots deal +15% damage.  Fully charged shots penetrate players and damage enemies behind them.  Only fires when zoomed.  Shots leave a bright, easily traceable team-colored line behind them.  No random critical hits.
Uncrate Shooting Star
Craft Hitman's Heatmaker		25	N/A	Base: 40–120 Headshot: 150–450	Charges while zoomed.  Shots are more quiet.  Critical hits are guaranteed for headshots.  Gain Focus on kills and assists.  Press 'Reload' to activate focus.  When Focus is active:  Doesn't unscope between shots.  +25% faster charge rate.  Shots leave a bright, easily traceable team-colored line behind them.  -20% damage penalty on body shot.  No random critical hits.  Headshot kills cause decapitation.
Craft Classic		25	N/A	Base: 45–135 Headshot: 50–450	Does not automatically start charging when zoomed.  Hold down fire button to charge, release to fire.  Doesn't unscope between shots.  Critical hits are guaranteed for headshots.  Can charge without zooming.  Cannot headshot unless fully charged.  -10% damage penalty on body shot.  Shots leave a dim, clear line behind them.  No random critical hits.  Charged shots will gib victims.

Usage

The role of the Sniper is simple: Kill key enemy targets. Every pick that a Sniper makes will reduce the enemy's numbers by one, which is significant in competitive Team Fortress 2 due to the role that every team member plays. The enemy Medic will always be the highest priority target for Snipers. A fully charged Sniper Rifle bodyshot and an uncharged headshot are the preferred methods of killing Medics, as both shots deal exactly 150 damage. A team that runs a Sniper will generally swap out a Scout for one, though on specific maps where Scouts are important, the roaming Soldier may change to Sniper instead.

Common Tactics

The kill order in competitive TF2 is slightly different from the kill order in casual play.

• Immediate threats: Any target immediately trying to kill you (generally a Scout), and particularly enemy Snipers.
• Medics: A fully charged bodyshot will work just as well as a headshot in taking out the most important class on the enemy team.
• Demomen: Snipers can cripple the enemy's damage output by killing their Demoman. A pick on him is also an efficient way of removing his stickies.
• Soldiers and Heavies: Big heads and slow movement speeds make Soldiers and Heavies rather vulnerable to the Sniper Rifle. A pick on these players is important due to their ability to tank damage.
• Engineers and their buildings: Usually, a team's Demomen or Soldiers can easily take care of Engineers and their Sentry Guns, but a Sniper can work just as well, killing the Engineer with a single headshot or charged bodyshot.
• Scouts: A fully charged bodyshot is probably the most reliable way of taking an enemy Scout out of the game. A pick on them takes pressure not only off the Sniper himself, but also off his team's Medic and Demoman.
• Other Utilities: Another player dead on the opposing team is always good. Snipers should target the more important players first before spending the time and effort to kill other utilities.
• Stickies: If the Demoman is absent, a Sniper can safely remove his sticky bombs from a control point and possibly allow a back-cap. This is particularly useful on the last points of 5-CP maps, which cap very quickly.

5-CP Push Strategies

The Sniper's inability to defend himself is one of his key impediments to seeing regular use in competitive play. This is especially evident on 5-CP maps, where it is somewhat difficult to stay far enough behind the team to safely eliminate key players while keeping up closely enough to prevent getting picked by enemy Scouts as they run off completely unharmed. Utility players should make sure that they chose the right time and place to switch to Sniper, because if a team decides to push forward quickly or desperately hold an area, it may be doing so without the help of one of its Scouts.

If attacking the final point, Snipers should not hesitate to use their Sniper Rifle to eliminate sticky bombs covering the point. If the enemy is unaware, this could easily lead to a back-cap by a friendly Scout. This is especially useful on maps with enclosed final points such as Badlands. The Sniper is often used to get a pick when the team is pushing the enemy's last point: this makes it easier for them to cap due to the sudden player advantage. Even if the Sniper doesn't manage to kill anyone he can still force the enemy team to adapt and ensure that they play more passively in order to reduce the risk of getting sniped.

Attack-Defend Strategies

Attack/Defend maps are where Snipers can truly shine. Gravel Pit is really the only Attack/Defend map that sees a good amount of competitive play, and relatively long sight-lines at points B and C allow both attackers and defenders to get the most out of running a Sniper.

In particular, if an attacking team moves on to attack B via the rooms from point C, a Sniper can take advantage of the long open area around B and get a few picks. In general, Snipers defending on Attack/Defend maps should have an easier time than they do on 5-CP maps. Sticking behind the team allows a Sniper on Defense to safely charge up a shot, without too much harassment from Scouts, especially if their team is using an Engineer, as the Sentry Gun provides a fine defense against enemy Scouts. Hiding in buildings and behind props the map has can also help a sniper make an essential kill. If the enemy team does not see a sniper, they are more likely to be vulnerable and careless.

One tactic that may be useful for defending Snipers is attempting to get a pick at the very beginning of a round, right when setup time ends. Defending Snipers have the option of placing themselves so that they can see the gates from the BLU spawn area to point A and can potentially score a pick in the first seconds of the match. While this strategy may be a major boon to the defending team if the Sniper manages to kill the enemy Medic and deprive attackers of an ÜberCharge, it is also incredibly dangerous for the Sniper, and will most likely result in his death. This can be problematic if the attacking team decides to push on B first, while the defending team is at a numerical disadvantage, lacking one of their utility players.

Capture-the-Flag Strategies

Due to his tendency to get picked easily while advancing, a Sniper may prove more useful defending his own team's intelligence than he will attacking the enemy team's, but he shouldn't hesitate to move up and pick a key player when his team pushes into the enemy Intelligence room.

If the Sniper happens to pick up the enemy intelligence himself when there is a teammate nearby, it may be wise to have him drop the intelligence (default key "l") and allow the friendly player to take it back to the Intelligence room, due to the ease with which enemies can kill a fleeing Sniper.

When defending his own team's intelligence, a Sniper should remain in a safe area where he can see the intelligence and most incoming threats. This way, he will be able to charge up a shot without being attacked and bodyshot a Scout or Medic going for the intelligence, killing them before they reach it. This is easier in a Capture-the-Flag game than in other game types, due to the long, unobstructed hallways and relatively open center area in Turbine, the most played competitive CTF map.

See also

• Sniper weapons (competitive)
• Pick
• Sniper
• Classes (competitive)
• Standard competitive lineup