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A case for Sniper. So, you think he’s OP eh?
There are some things that the TF2 community has and always will contend with for as long as Valve keeps the servers running. Should we kill friendlies? Should we nerf the phlog? How to rocket fast as American Patriot man?
But there is one question that plagues this subreddit and the in game chat more than all of them.
“Is Sniper overpowered?”
Well, in my opinion, no, but I’d like to go into *why* that is and, respectfully, why people might think he is when he really isn’t. Note that this is a *long* and *thorough* post so if you’re allergic to reading or your attention span is of the average redditor’s then click away here.
Now opinions aren’t worth shit unless they come from somebody worth having an opinion so the first thing I gotta do is introduce myself -
Hi, yes I’m one of the snipers ruining games. I have 15k hours on record, but removing AFK time it’s probably realistically more like 6-8k. Regardless, I’ve had my fair share of being called a hacker, being told I ruin the game, getting asked for Sniper tips etc etc and I’d like to think I’m at least decent. I’ve been playing since 2013 and I don’t just play Sniper, you’ll find me rocking Demo, Heavy, Soldier or Spy just as often. TF2 and it’s gameplay has been somewhat of a passion for me, I truly think no other shooters come close and you can find me in comments here discussing gameplay and improvement stuff often. I like improvement strategies and detailing the game mechanics and I’ve made a few other posts like this before on different topics and for different games (Although TF2 is my one true love).
TOD: TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
- Context
- Skill level
- Frustrations
- Actual Counters
- Secret Bonus Topic
Regarding Sniper’s OP-ness status, I think there is a LOT of dimensions to consider that get somewhat ignored. Obviously Snipers can die and they don’t dominate every game so what is it that causes that to happen? If Sniper is op, then why don’t we see him in every competitive match? He has extremely limited use in 6’s, the gamemode where you’re allowed to pick any character to use so shouldn’t we be picking Sniper if he’s so good?
Let’s start with what Sniper IS good at, because I won’t argue that he isn’t a strong class, he absolutely is.
*CONTEXT*
In competitive Highlander, matches are basically a glorified Sniper MGE (1v1s). The Medics pocket the Sniper and the Pyro’s main goal is to keep Spy off, among a couple other things, Sniper. It is true that, in this context, Sniper is overpowered.
The keyword there is context. The “context” of Highlander is that it is a very slow gamemode. Defensive classes like Heavy, Pyro and Engineer create a sort of “Do Not Cross” line where attempting to move past results in almost certain death by Sentry, Heavy, Pyro and the rest of the team that happens to be present.
In this context, it makes sense then that Sniper is overpowered because he’s the only one that isn’t following this rule. He’s the only person who has meaningful impact on the game state until Medic gets Ubercharge. Calling him OP in Highlander is fair because the entire game is resting on which Sniper creates the advantage first.
But this reveals Sniper’s biggest weakness, when the game speeds up. Why doesn’t he see much use in 6’s? Because the game is extremely fast. No sentry, no Pyro, no Payload, rarely ever a Heavy, smaller amount of opponents to die to, there is nothing stopping you from picking the fastest classes and diving right into the back line. No matter how good a Sniper you are, if someone rocket hops into you at Mach 5 and you didn’t charge the shot, even if you hit them, you’re dead. In this context Sniper is below average and maybe sometimes useful depending on the map and if he can get a pick on the Medic.
So what’s the situation with pubs, the thing most people play? Well, as chaotic as pubs are, the situation changes a lot based on a lot of different factors. What map? What skill level? Does the enemy team have a counter sniper? Does the enemy team have someone who knows how to rocket or sticky jump? Does your team have a solid frontline you can stand behind? Etc etc etc. In general, the faster the game gets, the less viable Sniper really is. Something I’ve noticed in particular is that the lower the overall skill level, the slower the game is so Snipers can dominate. I think there is also just a general trend for people to play classes that haven’t been picked yet, which as shown in Highlander just makes Sniper more powerful since the defensive options are a little too good at being defensive. The difference between casual and community servers is palpable. The last time I touched a casual server as Sniper I was up 6 dominations and a 54/11 K/D. In Skial or Uncletopia that number is much more modest and sometimes only breaks even where as I could play Soldier and maintain a constant lead on the scoreboard as usual.
*SKILL LEVEL*
Speaking of skill level, Sniper’s performance varies pretty hard depending on it and it’s another large part of the context. Of course, the performance of any class gets better with skill, but Sniper’s is exponential because of how headshots are a all-or-nothing gambit.
The issue here is how many of us are really truly good enough to be dominating games so hard to make Sniper look OP? I’ve sunk a high school diploma’s worth of time into this game to be only somewhat aggravatingly good since I don’t practice competitive. I can’t say I know the exact number of people with my hours, but I highly doubt there’s enough of them to be on every server all the time clicking your head the exact nano-second you move from cover. Realistically, I think there are very few players that could truly make Sniper reach bot levels of unfair. There is a human limit, humans don’t have instant reaction speeds and with enough advanced movement you can force the Sniper to start guessing. Sometimes they’ll guess right, sometimes they won’t, and that uncertainty is the window of opportunity to counter a good Sniper.
*FRUSTRATIONS*
Now, a class being overpowered is very different from a class being frustrating. Something can be perceived as unfun while still being kinda shit. Frustrations with Sniper are understandable, but to ask for nerfs because something is unfun is silly for the reason that frustrations are often perpetuated by things other than the game itself. For those frustrated with Sniper, have you ever heard anyone else express how frustrated they are with Sniper? I guarantee you have since you’re on this subreddit, and it likely helps continue that frustration.
The frustrations with Sniper aren’t unfounded and I want to make a case as to why they may be perceived as frustrating by using the same frustrations with the Phlog and Spy, two objectively awful classes that never ever see use in any competitive setting that lets you not choose them, yet still get commonly shit on in this subreddit and others.
TF2 is, for the most part, a very forgiving shooter. For most classes it takes a lot of damage to kill them so when you let yourself get bounced around by four rockets you can go “yeah, that death was fair because I got outplayed several times”. Being able to see your opponent and be given time to react is a pretty big staple of this game, having to plan ahead isn’t as important a factor as it is in other shooters.
Where this becomes a frustration is when this aspect isn’t in play. Phlog, Spy and Sniper can all kill you in an instant, in fact that is Spy’s entire gimmick is he DOESN’T let you react to him at all. The counter to these things are to play as if you already know they’re there and that is a level of engagement people aren’t really looking for on a casual Saturday afternoon.
I would even agree that a good Sniper is frustrating, but for someone like me who’s been on this game loop thousands of times I’d be frustrated by a good *anything*. Vaccinator Heavy thats impossible to kill without coordination because he’s immune to headshots and has a medic calling out spies for him is infinitely more annoying to me than Sniper because I, as an individual, have no way to counter him.
100% I think it’s fair to be annoyed by Sniper because he is breaking a fundamental aspect of this game, but don’t let those frustrations convince you that he has no counter because you’re only doing a disservice to yourself when you stop thinking and start coping.
*ACTUAL SNIPER COUNTERS*
Now, if you are someone to think Sniper has no counters and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about them, let me offer some actual ways to deal with good Snipers, because they do have weaknesses and often can’t stomp pubs if you employ the right tactics:
Bombing them works really well. Of course you might have to throw away your life sometimes, but if you’re on BLU then that’s a net positive since they take longer to respawn and you’re playing a class that has a faster rollout. Sticky Jumper, regular stickies, or good rocket hopping all work for this category.
Advanced movement. As stated, humans aren’t bots. Our reaction speed works as a limiting factor to what movements we can hit without completely guessing. Good Snipers aren’t just moving their mouse to your head and clicking, most of the time they’re using your predictable walking path to just put their crosshair where your head goes. Because of this, if you have to cross a sightline you can do things such as:
- shifting your mouse around to bob your head since your model moves with the direction you’re facing
- fast strafing with random intervals so there’s no predictable headshot interval within their reaction speed.
- crouch spamming in the air since it shifts your head really fast.
- walking backwards as Demo since he has a serious hunchback that genuinely makes it harder to hit his head lol
- stopping very briefly between sniper shots so they can’t get a read on which direction you might move (if you even move at all)
- jumping as Soldier because he puts his hand in front of his face which actually blocks headshots for some reason
- disguising as classes with extremely displaced hitboxes as Spy. I myself have created a muscle memory for headshotting Spy through Scout disguise because of how often they use it to jank up hitboxes.
Counter-Sniping is also a really easy option if you’re willing to tunnel. Just charge a machina bodyshot and slow creep around a corner. Of course, really good Snipers are actively positioning so you can’t just do that, but Sniper is his own biggest counter in Highlander type situations.
Playing as if there is a Sniper is also just a general awareness that helps deal with them. If you know where they are, know what sightlines they’re watching, then you can limit how often you let them even interact with you in the first place. It counters Sniper for the same reason it counters Spy. They want you to forget they’re there.
*BONUS SECTION: THE ACTUAL OP CLASS*
Now, to call something Overpowered is to compare it to things that are considered average. Sniper is crazy in Highlander and not used that often in 6’s, so is there a class that’s crazy in Highlander, Prolander AND 6’s? Yes, Medic. Medic is, undoubtedly, overpowered. Whether you can consider that fun or not, it is absolutely true that Medic is an irreplaceable slot in any team that wants to win. Most people don’t seem too upset with this since he’s a supportive role and I’d agree although it’s frustrating when no one wants to play him in a pub.
The main point of this section is to make the distinction between perception and viability. Medic is undoubtedly overpowered, but the general perception is that it’s fine since he’s not particularly frustrating to contend with.
*CLOSING REMARK*
I think that Sniper hatred is the result of the same frustrating mechanics that Spy and Phlog engage in, only it gets more traction since Sniper is actually good in some situations. As frustrating as it is though, it’s not strictly overpowered. Evidently it is strong, but it has its weaknesses as much as any other class does and learning those weaknesses will help you 10x more than learning to cope with losing to them.
*tl;dr*
There isn’t one. Read it or don’t.
Author: Hide_yo_chest
http://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/tzdleh/a_case_for_sniper_so_you_think_hes_op_eh/
There are some things that the TF2 community has and always will contend with for as long as Valve keeps the servers running. Should we kill friendlies? Should we nerf the phlog? How to rocket fast as American Patriot man?
But there is one question that plagues this subreddit and the in game chat more than all of them.
“Is Sniper overpowered?”
Well, in my opinion, no, but I’d like to go into *why* that is and, respectfully, why people might think he is when he really isn’t. Note that this is a *long* and *thorough* post so if you’re allergic to reading or your attention span is of the average redditor’s then click away here.
Now opinions aren’t worth shit unless they come from somebody worth having an opinion so the first thing I gotta do is introduce myself -
Hi, yes I’m one of the snipers ruining games. I have 15k hours on record, but removing AFK time it’s probably realistically more like 6-8k. Regardless, I’ve had my fair share of being called a hacker, being told I ruin the game, getting asked for Sniper tips etc etc and I’d like to think I’m at least decent. I’ve been playing since 2013 and I don’t just play Sniper, you’ll find me rocking Demo, Heavy, Soldier or Spy just as often. TF2 and it’s gameplay has been somewhat of a passion for me, I truly think no other shooters come close and you can find me in comments here discussing gameplay and improvement stuff often. I like improvement strategies and detailing the game mechanics and I’ve made a few other posts like this before on different topics and for different games (Although TF2 is my one true love).
TOD: TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
- Context
- Skill level
- Frustrations
- Actual Counters
- Secret Bonus Topic
Regarding Sniper’s OP-ness status, I think there is a LOT of dimensions to consider that get somewhat ignored. Obviously Snipers can die and they don’t dominate every game so what is it that causes that to happen? If Sniper is op, then why don’t we see him in every competitive match? He has extremely limited use in 6’s, the gamemode where you’re allowed to pick any character to use so shouldn’t we be picking Sniper if he’s so good?
Let’s start with what Sniper IS good at, because I won’t argue that he isn’t a strong class, he absolutely is.
*CONTEXT*
In competitive Highlander, matches are basically a glorified Sniper MGE (1v1s). The Medics pocket the Sniper and the Pyro’s main goal is to keep Spy off, among a couple other things, Sniper. It is true that, in this context, Sniper is overpowered.
The keyword there is context. The “context” of Highlander is that it is a very slow gamemode. Defensive classes like Heavy, Pyro and Engineer create a sort of “Do Not Cross” line where attempting to move past results in almost certain death by Sentry, Heavy, Pyro and the rest of the team that happens to be present.
In this context, it makes sense then that Sniper is overpowered because he’s the only one that isn’t following this rule. He’s the only person who has meaningful impact on the game state until Medic gets Ubercharge. Calling him OP in Highlander is fair because the entire game is resting on which Sniper creates the advantage first.
But this reveals Sniper’s biggest weakness, when the game speeds up. Why doesn’t he see much use in 6’s? Because the game is extremely fast. No sentry, no Pyro, no Payload, rarely ever a Heavy, smaller amount of opponents to die to, there is nothing stopping you from picking the fastest classes and diving right into the back line. No matter how good a Sniper you are, if someone rocket hops into you at Mach 5 and you didn’t charge the shot, even if you hit them, you’re dead. In this context Sniper is below average and maybe sometimes useful depending on the map and if he can get a pick on the Medic.
So what’s the situation with pubs, the thing most people play? Well, as chaotic as pubs are, the situation changes a lot based on a lot of different factors. What map? What skill level? Does the enemy team have a counter sniper? Does the enemy team have someone who knows how to rocket or sticky jump? Does your team have a solid frontline you can stand behind? Etc etc etc. In general, the faster the game gets, the less viable Sniper really is. Something I’ve noticed in particular is that the lower the overall skill level, the slower the game is so Snipers can dominate. I think there is also just a general trend for people to play classes that haven’t been picked yet, which as shown in Highlander just makes Sniper more powerful since the defensive options are a little too good at being defensive. The difference between casual and community servers is palpable. The last time I touched a casual server as Sniper I was up 6 dominations and a 54/11 K/D. In Skial or Uncletopia that number is much more modest and sometimes only breaks even where as I could play Soldier and maintain a constant lead on the scoreboard as usual.
*SKILL LEVEL*
Speaking of skill level, Sniper’s performance varies pretty hard depending on it and it’s another large part of the context. Of course, the performance of any class gets better with skill, but Sniper’s is exponential because of how headshots are a all-or-nothing gambit.
The issue here is how many of us are really truly good enough to be dominating games so hard to make Sniper look OP? I’ve sunk a high school diploma’s worth of time into this game to be only somewhat aggravatingly good since I don’t practice competitive. I can’t say I know the exact number of people with my hours, but I highly doubt there’s enough of them to be on every server all the time clicking your head the exact nano-second you move from cover. Realistically, I think there are very few players that could truly make Sniper reach bot levels of unfair. There is a human limit, humans don’t have instant reaction speeds and with enough advanced movement you can force the Sniper to start guessing. Sometimes they’ll guess right, sometimes they won’t, and that uncertainty is the window of opportunity to counter a good Sniper.
*FRUSTRATIONS*
Now, a class being overpowered is very different from a class being frustrating. Something can be perceived as unfun while still being kinda shit. Frustrations with Sniper are understandable, but to ask for nerfs because something is unfun is silly for the reason that frustrations are often perpetuated by things other than the game itself. For those frustrated with Sniper, have you ever heard anyone else express how frustrated they are with Sniper? I guarantee you have since you’re on this subreddit, and it likely helps continue that frustration.
The frustrations with Sniper aren’t unfounded and I want to make a case as to why they may be perceived as frustrating by using the same frustrations with the Phlog and Spy, two objectively awful classes that never ever see use in any competitive setting that lets you not choose them, yet still get commonly shit on in this subreddit and others.
TF2 is, for the most part, a very forgiving shooter. For most classes it takes a lot of damage to kill them so when you let yourself get bounced around by four rockets you can go “yeah, that death was fair because I got outplayed several times”. Being able to see your opponent and be given time to react is a pretty big staple of this game, having to plan ahead isn’t as important a factor as it is in other shooters.
Where this becomes a frustration is when this aspect isn’t in play. Phlog, Spy and Sniper can all kill you in an instant, in fact that is Spy’s entire gimmick is he DOESN’T let you react to him at all. The counter to these things are to play as if you already know they’re there and that is a level of engagement people aren’t really looking for on a casual Saturday afternoon.
I would even agree that a good Sniper is frustrating, but for someone like me who’s been on this game loop thousands of times I’d be frustrated by a good *anything*. Vaccinator Heavy thats impossible to kill without coordination because he’s immune to headshots and has a medic calling out spies for him is infinitely more annoying to me than Sniper because I, as an individual, have no way to counter him.
100% I think it’s fair to be annoyed by Sniper because he is breaking a fundamental aspect of this game, but don’t let those frustrations convince you that he has no counter because you’re only doing a disservice to yourself when you stop thinking and start coping.
*ACTUAL SNIPER COUNTERS*
Now, if you are someone to think Sniper has no counters and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about them, let me offer some actual ways to deal with good Snipers, because they do have weaknesses and often can’t stomp pubs if you employ the right tactics:
Bombing them works really well. Of course you might have to throw away your life sometimes, but if you’re on BLU then that’s a net positive since they take longer to respawn and you’re playing a class that has a faster rollout. Sticky Jumper, regular stickies, or good rocket hopping all work for this category.
Advanced movement. As stated, humans aren’t bots. Our reaction speed works as a limiting factor to what movements we can hit without completely guessing. Good Snipers aren’t just moving their mouse to your head and clicking, most of the time they’re using your predictable walking path to just put their crosshair where your head goes. Because of this, if you have to cross a sightline you can do things such as:
- shifting your mouse around to bob your head since your model moves with the direction you’re facing
- fast strafing with random intervals so there’s no predictable headshot interval within their reaction speed.
- crouch spamming in the air since it shifts your head really fast.
- walking backwards as Demo since he has a serious hunchback that genuinely makes it harder to hit his head lol
- stopping very briefly between sniper shots so they can’t get a read on which direction you might move (if you even move at all)
- jumping as Soldier because he puts his hand in front of his face which actually blocks headshots for some reason
- disguising as classes with extremely displaced hitboxes as Spy. I myself have created a muscle memory for headshotting Spy through Scout disguise because of how often they use it to jank up hitboxes.
Counter-Sniping is also a really easy option if you’re willing to tunnel. Just charge a machina bodyshot and slow creep around a corner. Of course, really good Snipers are actively positioning so you can’t just do that, but Sniper is his own biggest counter in Highlander type situations.
Playing as if there is a Sniper is also just a general awareness that helps deal with them. If you know where they are, know what sightlines they’re watching, then you can limit how often you let them even interact with you in the first place. It counters Sniper for the same reason it counters Spy. They want you to forget they’re there.
*BONUS SECTION: THE ACTUAL OP CLASS*
Now, to call something Overpowered is to compare it to things that are considered average. Sniper is crazy in Highlander and not used that often in 6’s, so is there a class that’s crazy in Highlander, Prolander AND 6’s? Yes, Medic. Medic is, undoubtedly, overpowered. Whether you can consider that fun or not, it is absolutely true that Medic is an irreplaceable slot in any team that wants to win. Most people don’t seem too upset with this since he’s a supportive role and I’d agree although it’s frustrating when no one wants to play him in a pub.
The main point of this section is to make the distinction between perception and viability. Medic is undoubtedly overpowered, but the general perception is that it’s fine since he’s not particularly frustrating to contend with.
*CLOSING REMARK*
I think that Sniper hatred is the result of the same frustrating mechanics that Spy and Phlog engage in, only it gets more traction since Sniper is actually good in some situations. As frustrating as it is though, it’s not strictly overpowered. Evidently it is strong, but it has its weaknesses as much as any other class does and learning those weaknesses will help you 10x more than learning to cope with losing to them.
*tl;dr*
There isn’t one. Read it or don’t.
Author: Hide_yo_chest
http://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/tzdleh/a_case_for_sniper_so_you_think_hes_op_eh/
