UKTerrorist

CS Sniper Guide

First up I recommend you read CS Sniping. It will introduce you to the basic concepts of sniping, as well as some more advanced ones. I hopefully won't be repeating much from that article so I do strongly suggest you read it. The information that I will be repeating is there simply because I disagree with Raven on some minor points, and have some things to add.

Counter-Strike is a team game, with room for all styles of play, from rusher to camper to sniper. Sniping is essential to victory on a lot of maps, and even if it isn't a sniper can do several important things:

• Firstly, knowing there's a sniper will make the opposition more hesitant.
  
• Secondly, killing or wounding the enemy.
  
• Thirdly, winning the round

Essentials

A good sniper needs a few things going for them:

• Aim
  
• Good Reflexes
  
• Situational and Tactical Awareness
  
• Cover and/or Camouflage
  
• A Good Secondary Weapon

If you have a poor aim, sniping isn't for you.
You need reflexes for making those snap shots, when you don't have time to decide if he's friendly or not - if you know they are hostile on the radar, you just need to shoot.

Situational and Tactical awareness in my opinion are two different things.
Situational awareness is general - i.e. how many enemies are left, how many rounds you have, where the enemy is likely to be. Tactical awareness is knowing what the enemy is going to try and do, and how to counter it.

Cover and Camouflage are essential.
Good cover won't restrict your mobility, and will absorb any rounds thrown your way that are not properly aimed. Camouflage is self-explanatory, it makes you harder to pick out, if you're well hidden don’t move. The Human eye is attracted to movement and it will make your hiding place known.

You’re A Sniper, so why do you need a good pistol?
Simple, if your getting rushed by multiple enemies, or can’t make a shot or someone is circling you, you need a backup weapon that allows you to take them out. I would recommend a Desert Eagle, an AWP sniper with a desert eagle, who is talented is a fearsome opponent. If you have a good aim (necessary for snipers), the Desert Eagle is a great choice if you've already hit someone, 2 shots will often finish someone and if you can get a headshot they're gone in one. If you hit someone with a rifle and fail to kill them, getting out your pistol can dispatch them more quickly and easily and with less risk than taking another shot.
If you’re a CT, then the default USP is a solid weapon, it’s fast firing and packs a punch. You can easily get away with just keeping the USP rather than buying another gun.
If you’re a terrorist, I would strongly recommend getting a replacement as I find the glock a poor weapon. I would recommend any other gun :)

Weapons

• Arctic Warfare Magnum
  
• Steyr Scout
  
• H&K G3/SG-1
  
• Sig SG-550 Sniper

Arctic Warfare Magnum
First up the AWP (even though the name got changed in 7.0/1.0 it’s still the AWP to vets). If you hit an opponent in the chest or head they are dead. If you hit them in the leg or arm areas they will be on around 20 hp (perfect for pistoling no?). This is one of the most used weapons in the game and the most hated. You need to learn how to use this gun. It’s highly accurate, very powerful, but has a slower bolt action than the scout, and slower than the semi-automatics.

Steyr Scout
The Steyr Scout has a fast bolt action; a scout can shoot almost twice as fast as an AWP.
Its also a very quiet gun, possibly the quietest un-silenced gun. In the heat of a fire fight scout shots go unnoticed, it will also not give away your position like the boom of an AWP. It kills with a single shot to the head, and will take over half damage to the head. (Using cannon fodder’s weapons matrix apparently it does 75 to the chest and 55 to the legs/arms)
The scout allows you to move the same speed you would whilst carrying a pistol (good for retreating and firing). And probably the best thing going for the scout is its price, half the price of the other sniper rifles, which makes it available if you win the pistol round.

The Semi-Automatic Rifles
I rarely use these weapons for sniping; if you have the cash go for the AWP, I only use these if I’m low on ammo or have a c**p gun and pick one up. They will do high damage if you get a headshot, but only 20 or so damage to legs/arms and take 3 chest shots to kill. They are however more useful than the others up close if your being rushed, as you can get more shots off, and if they are already wounded you have a better chance of killing them. I have seen people who swear by these guns, so give them a try.

The AWP Vs. The Scout

There is a permanent dispute over which is a better gun, the AWP or the Scout. The main differences (ignoring the price - purely gun to gun) are the damage, the rate of fire, mobility, and often ignored - the sound. There are various situations that dictate which is better:

First up against people without sniper rifles
At long range I'd go for an AWP. It’s trickier to aim at range, so the chest kills with the AWP will increase your kill rate.

At Medium and short range I would go for a scout, simply because it is likely they are already wounded, so the scouts rate of fire enables you to get more shots in. With an AWP if you missed, you would probably die, as you cannot retreat quickly, and probably won’t get a second shot. With a Scout you can get 2-3 shots off, and retreat quickly, and hopefully get within range of backup.

Sniper to Sniper

Nothing is more challenging in CS than two good snipers going head to head, and it’s usually over within a shot or two if either is talented. Now most of you are saying "Hmm but if the AWP'er gets a shot off first then the guy with the scout is dead". Well yes, but if you’re a dedicated sniper and snipe the majority of a game, you can probably get headshots quite easily. If both snipers get headshots nothing separates the scout from the AWP. Also, if one sniper has located the other, a Scout shot can go unnoticed if there are other noises around, an AWP shot resonates across the map, notifying all of ones presence. If the AWP'er misses, he is slow to retreat and as both guns can shoot through scenery, the scouter will hurt him, possibly kill him. If the Scouter misses he can move quickly, and he can also risk strafing in the open, something an AWP cannot with their slow moving speed (and survive at any rate).

Against an average sniper I'd take a scout, against a good sniper an AWP, and against a talented/elite sniper I’d probably take an AWP. Simply because if your good enough that you don’t miss, they are dead.

The Scout is a good weapon, and I do like using it on public servers, but you will rarely if ever see a scout used in a clan game with the possible exception of a dedicated sniper who buys it in the second round after winning the pistol round. If you’re good enough to be in a clan, then you’re probably at least ok with sniper rifles.

General Tips and Tactics

Your Mouse Sensitivity
There is a cvar zoom_sensitivity_ratio. When you zoom this will automatically change your zoom sensitivity. As the name implies it changes the ratio, lets say your normal sensitivity is 10, and your "zoom_sensitivity_ratio" is "zoom_sensitivity_ratio 0.5", your sensitivity whilst zoomed will be 5. I strongly recommend tweaking this against bots to find the perfect sensitivity for yourself.

Grenades - A sniper can never have enough
HE grenades can finish off a wounded opponent who is hiding/retreating. Flashbangs are useful if your getting rushed, they can disorientate the enemy, cause them to retreat, but either way they give you time to get out of a bad situation. Smoke Grenades can be useful if you want to move, or half your team is down and there’re multiple enemy snipers.

Scripts
Very Important to snipers, whilst not used all the time for sniping, at medium/short range I’d recommend it. My sniper script works thus – On a key press, it selects my primary weapon if not already done, zooms in twice. On the key release it shoots and swaps to pistol. Saving you valuable time.
Use hud_fastswitch 1 - it changes weapon immediately on keypress - great for saving time.
Use hud_centerid 1 - great for looking into dark places where the enemy could be lurking, if you see a name appear, just shoot.

Pair up with someone
If you have someone with an automatic weapon they can provide suppressing/supporting fire, and prevent you being rushed. Pairing up is also a great tactic for scout snipers, as if you hit the enemy your teammate can finish them or vice versa.

Listen very carefully
I use headphones to minimise out of game noise, and also to avoid the parent’s wrath. If you hear footsteps check your radar, if there isn’t a friendly about switch to your pistol and be ready. You can also hear grenades being thrown, if you see or hear something coming in your direction and it wasn’t thrown by a team mate (you wont hear the FIRE IN THE HOLE!) then back off, if you’re flashbanged, you’re useless as a sniper and can’t fire blindly like those with automatic weapons.

Radar
Pay very close attention to this. Be aware of your teammates positions at all times. That way, if someone appears in the distance you won’t hesitate whilst he launches a bullet in your direction. Radar when combined with sound is very effective in knowing an enemies position.

Get a *bead* on the opponent if they are strafing/rushing
Line up where you think they will move between the time you click the mouse and the time it fires, this could be the difference between a headshot and death. If the opponent is stationary this isn’t very important, but you have to be aware that there is a natural lag between clicking and firing, that you must compensate for.

Height is important
If you know anything about angles you will know that if your higher than your opponent you have an advantage. You have a great area in which to get a headshot and chest shot, and their angle on you is minimised. Make yourself as small a target as possible, this means just being visible behind a crate ( so you can just cover your designated area ), crouching (crouching improves accuracy with all guns) and if you’re at range its well worth it. It makes you a smaller target and therefore harder to hit.

If I've missed anything out that you feel isn’t covered in Ravens or my guide, then email me and I’ll be happy to add to it.

Additional Resources:

• CS Tactics Sniping guide at PHL - A good resource for snipers, has some good info and also has sniper positions for maps!
  
• Sniper Tactics on CS Nation - Has some good sniper positions for maps, and links to other sniper guides.