A couple of things

[Humility The Humble]

First of all, I apologize for the thread title, couldn't come up with a better one to describe what I wanted to do.

I didn't feel like trashing up the forums with single question threads, so here's a big one for all of them.

1. What is your sniper loadout?
I recently got back into TF2 and started playing way more sniper and I just wanna know what you guys use.

I personally use the AWPer Hand, Jarate, and Frying Pan. It feels better that way than with Bushwacka.

2. Do you have any good sniping tips?
I feel like I need to improve my sniper gameplay at least slightly. Right now, my sniping is basically just waving my scope around at short range and trying to somewhat aim at longer ranges.

3. This is a pretty straightforward one. Why do some people play with viewmodels turned off? Is it because they block part of the view?

4. This man deserves a hat.

Spoiler

Not exactly a question and sorta offtopic, but I wanted to share it ( in response to number 4 )

 

[War Rabb]

To address the potato salad thing...the internet is a very weird place.

 

[Puliping]

1.Sniper (Headclicker's Glasses) / Hitman's Heatmaker (Headclicker's Laserpointer); Jarate (Bromine) / Self-Aware Beauty Mark / Festive Jarate; Bushwacka / Ham.

2.Have high ping => Click their heads a bit late.

3.I really don't know.

4.Maybe a certain Potato Powered Mining Light?

 

[Idol]

1- standard rocket launcher, gunboats, market gardener. You will positively own other snipers with this loadout.

2- once you know the opposing sniper's names, sm_beacon is your friend.

3- That's exactly right. Some people go so far as to make minimal HUDs and custom crosshairs so they know which weapon they have equiped.

4- that makes me want to start a kickstarter project to buy out Kickstarter so I can shut it down.

 

[Mister36]

1. Spec. Killstreak Machina, Jarate, spec killstreak Bushwacka. (I main Sniper). It's still powerful even after the wacka nerf (sobs). Also hilarious finding out which people complain about "bodyshots"

2. Kinda hard for me to give tips as it's such instinct for me now (sniping on fps for ~10 years), but Tf2 sniping is inherently different than most sniping mechanics in games. Basically the "pro" snipers all use stock rifle and go for instant headshots, no charge. I can't tell you what to do after all, but I advise against this method. It reeks of style and flash and not real sniping, which is finding a good spot and covering it, then moving occasionally to avoid hunter-killers, who at this point are locked into your position after you have dominated them (lol). Of course the way tf2 and the maps are made make this hard to master.

Apart from those techniques, a lot of sniping is practice and reflexes, and I can't just bestow that upon you.

My style is odd, as my sniping roots come from a game in which sniping means walking 1200 meters away from everyone else and nailing headshots, with bullet drop and everything. Meanwhile, no tf2 maps are over 100 meters end to end .

I wish Valve would just add realistic sniping mechanics like wind and bullet drop and watch all the "Tf2 snipers" have a fit and be about as useful as a fish on dry land. A man can dream....

Anyways, hope this helps. A lot of it is practice and finding out what works for you of course. Headshots are important of course, but never sigh away from a sure kill if it's just the body.


3. Don't know. I've seen lots of variations of view, but I don't like any of them for tf2. None of the models are too constricting for me.

4. I actually just heard about this, and a friend of mine asked if he had to make $30000 worth of potato salad, or just the initial amount.

 

[jhnsn]

4- that makes me want to start a kickstarter project to buy out Kickstarter so I can shut it down.

You should do it, I would back it

Also, this:

 

[Rawburt]

1. I use stock rifle, jarate, and stock melee. Which is, I suppose, the same as yours.

2. 3 tips to being a brilliant Sniper your whole team and yourself will love: first, don't be afraid to take shots that may seem difficult. As long as you can accurately predict player motion while keeping aim on an enemy's head (or where it will be), almost any shot is possible. Scoping in and firing on a Scout two feet away is quicker and cleaner than unscoping, pulling out jarate, throwing jarate, pulling out melee, fumbling with the melee, and then taking a chance by engaging the enemy in melee combat. Second, and probably most obvious, make shots that you know will benefit your team. As amazing as quickscoping an unsuspecting and distracted F2P Sniper is, you're still part of the team and you want to help them beat the enemies. Go for an Engineer reparing his sentry gun, and always always take down Medics, even if it means having to wait for full charge so that if you miss, at least you bodyshot him down. Finally, practice. MGE with friends, visit a Valve server, or go ahead and load up tr_walkway. And remember the words of the Sniper himself: "Be efficient, be polite; have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

3. Some people prefer better framerate and a wider and more open field of view. I personally have my viewmodels visible. It's really all preference though.

4. wat

 

[Nix]

I wish Valve would just add realistic sniping mechanics like wind and bullet drop and watch all the "Tf2 snipers" have a fit and be about as useful as a fish on dry land. A man can dream....

There isn't much wind/bullet drop under 50 meters. So any change to bullet mechanics in that regard wouldn't really do much, since most shots in TF2 are under 20 meters.

The way the "normal" TF2 sniping technique has evolved comes from the fact that if you stay still, you're probably going to get shot. Sniping mechanics in TF2 are fairly easy. So to counter this disadvantage, TF2 snipers usually learn to hop, wasd, and how to twitch aim to get the jump on other snipers.

1. Stock, Jarate, Bushwacka. Hasn't changed in two years.

2. There's not much to say you don't already know. Just practice. A lot. Eventually you'll get to know how the hitboxes move and be shooting pyros with their backs turned to you while they run off a cliff.

3. Yeah, they block a bit of the view. Some people also find it distracting.

I find it rather calming.

4. Yeah I saw that. I wonder how he'll get those bites of potato salad to those people?

 

[Jawneh]

1) Stock - Razorback/Jarate - Pan

I tend to roll out with Razorback just because I don't know what kind of Spies there might be on the server if at all. If I only see horrible ones or none at all, I switch to the jar of liquid gold.


2) Aim at the head and click? Map awareness, knowing good sniping spots for both teams, get a decent mouse, play around with mouse speed to find your comfort zone.

No seriously. Getting a decent gaming mouse will already make you a better sniper. Or in general it'll make playing easier. Stock crap $1 suck bad. And almost on the same subject, play with the mouse speed settings in TF2 (and/or the DPi on your mouse) and see what works for you the best.


3) Some people don't like them. Plus some viewmodels are kinda big, they might have very weird FOV, and want the viewmodels off.


4) I prefer pasta salad.

 

[Ezekiel]

1) Huntsman, Jarate, Bushwacka

 

[Mr. Monday]

or go ahead and load up tr_walkway

Did they fix tr_walkway, or are the hitboxes still stuck in idle mode when they're moving?

3. This is a pretty straightforward one. Why do some people play with viewmodels turned off? Is it because they block part of the view?

I play with viewmodels off for Scout, Solly, Engy, Sniper and Spy (barring knife. Pulling out my revolver turns off the viewmodels).

Why? A couple reasons.

1. It blocks the screen. You can see more with them turned off.
2. It lets you focus on the reticule. Back before I started turning them off, I would sometimes use both the reticule and my weapon muzzle to determine where my shots would go. That doesn't work for a lot of stuff. Turning them off makes you focus in on the crosshair, where your shots will actually land. Makes you more accurate.
3. Minor one, but it gets rid of reloading animations. That can be distracting.

 

[Rawburt]

Did they fix tr_walkway, or are the hitboxes still stuck in idle mode when they're moving?

I was actually messing around on tr_walkway last night and if you want to headshot train, I believe there is a button in the control room for it. I don't know anything about any fixes, I rarely load it, even though I probably should. Even with the hitboxes screwed up, it's good for beginners regardless of whether you use the headshot training option in my opinion.

 

[freshmeathead]

I use the strange stock most of the time, but I have a strange of everything else that I am cycling through to add some kills to it. But, on a active server, I like the stock rifle the best.

My strange Jarate, name "R. Kelley's Sheets" - a must have.
My strange Tribalman's Shiv, because I like the after-bleed.

No idea how to get better. It is my main class, but I only seem to get worse with age.

I have never turned off the models. I may try it to see if it is less distracting.

 

[River_Ratt]

Strange Huntsman (fun to use), Strange Jarate, Strange Kukri. Or if I want a rifle ill use the Strange Machina.

 

[Nix]

It lets you focus on the reticule. Back before I started turning them off, I would sometimes use both the reticule and my weapon muzzle to determine where my shots would go. That doesn't work for a lot of stuff. Turning them off makes you focus in on the crosshair, where your shots will actually land. Makes you more accurate.

Huh, I never had that problem. I just made my crosshair bright green

Having my viewmodels turned off really trips me up. I guess it's just habit.