Are snipers the most harmless thing in DayZ?

[bauertschi 254]

Snipers - everyone fears those slimy strange players that lurk somewhere in cover and kill you from far away. But are they actually that dangerous? I keep track of my PvP encounters and found a funny thing. I died 27 times due to other players. In 26 cases not a single death was caused by a player further away than 40 meters. The one I am not sure about was a mosin from behind in Svetlo, but the terrain suggests that it was from 20 or 30 meters and the shot was really loud. I have killed up to 150 - 200 meters, not quite sure (mosin). Btw, I would count being shot unconscious and being finished from closer, but the worst that happened to me from far away (no idea how far, did not hear shots) was getting shot twice. Once with a mosin at the neaf through an upper floor window, once from an m4 at the nwaf tenttown. I actually fell unconscious there, but I woke up again and ran for it.

 

A few things that may be important for this discussion:

- I am NOT a PvP god

- most hours (and deaths) were as a (I think careful) lone wolf

- I do not know a lot about preffered sniper spots, besides the obvious areas, for example the hills and tree lines at the neaf...

- I almost exclusively play hardcore (I think 3rd person gives additional advantages to snipers)

- I avoid places like formerly Electro and now northern Berezino like the plague

- I try to go west pretty early. I'm usually somewhere between the three airfields and look for PvP in military areas when I am geared up

- I don't take every shot. When I think I am at a disadvantage, I evade.

 

Can't think of more that seems relevant. I just think the above points are somewhat important. Of course you will get sniped some time from farther away when you look out of the apartment windows in Berezino with your preffered gun shooting at bambis that run into the police station... .

 

I am sure there are some now affronted, proud and actually quite skilled snipers, but please let's look at this from a victims view. How deadly are snipers for you?

 

Edit: concerning the thread title, I actually died though zeds, hunger and environmental things like ladders, so...don't take it personal ;). Also forgot to mention that group events with my ppl on regular are not counted here, but I also never died from a long range shot there... .

Edited May 26, 2014 by bautschi

[Steak and Potatoes 13480]

A good sniper who knows the map terrain well is extremely dangerous.  Snipers in training especially ones who are new to Arma mechanics I just blow past their shots.

[Jvalor 59]

Not counting my past experiences with the Mod, I have encountered 2 snipers in my 3 days playing SA. The first one was at Berezino and he was in the tree line and I was with my two buddies. I think the "sniper" shot at us about 15 times, give or take, and didn't get one hit.

The second sniper was at NEAF (of course). And I have no idea where he was, but he dropped me with one round.

So...it all depends on who is behind the scope.

[bauertschi 254]

A good sniper who knows the map terrain well is extremely dangerous.  Snipers in training especially ones who are new to Arma mechanics I just blow past their shots.

 

I definitely expect that, but either I am quite lucky or there are not really many around. Also I decided to learn that craft and admittedly s*** at it, I especially miss the bullet impacts in the current stable to adjust my shots... . Do you have any idea how often you actually died through a long range attack or got hit and died later because of it compared to other PvP deaths in SA?

[Duasov 3]

I'm assuming this is in question because there is doubt about whether or not this is true. If a sniper isn't dangerous in DayZ, the player doesn't know how to perform as a proper and skilled sniper. If a sniper is dangerous, the player is smart and skilled at playing as a sniper. The harmlessness of the role depends purely on the player.

 

This isn't Call of Duty; real physics and what not applies and takes more than a few days of gameplay to learn how to play a sniper role in DayZ.

[wacktopia 57]

I've never died to a ranged snipe to my knowledge.  

 

Sniping a moving target at ranges over 300m is a real skill in DayZ I'd argue.  It's not an easy shot and you need and LR scope and a compensator on a mosin to make it.  

[wacktopia 57]

The most dangerous I would argue are those who hide in common loot locations with a shotgun.  Pretty hard to dodge a shot gun in a building and the only skill you need is being able to click before the other person does.  

[Steak and Potatoes 13480]

I definitely expect that, but either I am quite lucky or there are not really many around. Also I decided to learn that craft and admittedly s*** at it, I especially miss the bullet impacts in the current stable to adjust my shots... . Do you have any idea how often you actually died through a long range attack or got hit and died later because of it compared to other PvP deaths in SA?

 

They are hard to find, like Jvalor said its whos behind the scope.

 

For instance watch nugo's sniper shots from the mod, insane he was one of the best Arma snipers I played with.  Mind you its a .50 not a mosin.

 

Edited May 26, 2014 by Steak and Potatoes

[energeticsheep 95]

Usually, when I find a Mosin in DayZ I would use it, I hardly ever skip by on a Mosin because they're almost perfect.

Personally, I always have a notepad by my side in real life, and I'll write down range tables, a brief description of the surroundings and grid co-ordinates (taken from dayzdb.com map) and keep jotting them down so when I go back to that location after sniping there once, I can easily get the range.

 

I'm not sure if many other people do this, but it's my personal specification and it makes sniping a lot easier.

It's definitely the person behind the rifle which matters, if you have no experience with a weapon, even if it is in a game, the likely scenario is you're not going to be very effective with it.

Edited May 26, 2014 by EnergeticSheep

[Loam 3]

Loam's sniper simulation, *crack* Loam: OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITAKE-MUSHROOMS! *epic zigzag*

Sniper: hold still........*crack crackty crack cack*

 

and so loam died horribly.

[Ozelot (DayZ) 394]

Well, I am a good sniper and if you walk into my kill zone, you will die, simple as that.

 

But if you just happen to be outside of it, it is not possible for me to kill you, because you are 1000 meters away and I cannot maneuver in a way that I can chase you down and kill you.

 

This is why someone with an m4 or a pistol or something up close who knows where you are is a lot more dangerous. There is a chance they will chase you.

[nexventor 429]

Sniping is an interesting aspect of the game and being very average at it, I definitely respect a good sniper. In saying that, because of the ability to instantly end another players life from the safety of a bush over 800 kms away I don't want or think it should be easy. It should take time and practice to properly acquire the skill set need to be good at it.

 

I like to be proficient in all aspects of the game and after spending a huge amount of hrs with my trusty m4 I decided recently to start practicing my long range skills. I found that hitting people from a far was no easy task. Even once I got my range sorted I had to wait for them to stop bloody moving and if I missed the shot, in most cases I had lost the kill. But then I noticed something, I started getting players returning to loot bodies of the dead after just being shot at. Time and time again, players would see the pile of bodies outside the door, run up to loot them, I would miss the shot, they would run off... but only for a minute or two. Sure enough they would sneak back up, usually on their bellies this time to try and get the treasures and now the are a sitting duck.

 

To hit a moving target is increasingly more difficult especially with the current and only LRS.    

 

So to the OP, I am not sure what you are suggesting here. Are snipers useless? Certainly not in the right hands but there is very few of them. Should they be given some sort of buff, HELL NO!

 

I can't wait for the introduction of wind etc to make it even harder.

[bauertschi 254]

Well, I am a good sniper and if you walk into my kill zone, you will die, simple as that.

 

But if you just happen to be outside of it, it is not possible for me to kill you, because you are 1000 meters away and I cannot maneuver in a way that I can chase you down and kill you.

 

This is why someone with an m4 or a pistol or something up close who knows where you are is a lot more dangerous. There is a chance they will chase you.

 

I think I read somewhere that the mosin has more spread than (the) sniper rifle(s) in the mod. Is it really still accurate over 1000 m or is it a lottery over that distance?

Maybe you can actually answer the (in my group) long debated question, if mosin attachments and LRS conditions actually matter. Once I tried to shot a stationary zed with a badly damaged LRS in about 400m distance and no matter how high or low I aimed, I did not hit it. I actually tested with adjustments from about 2m below it's feet to 2m above its head. Stopped after 20 rounds. Then I had a pristine LRS and shot a zed behind a wall with less than half of its head showing on the first try, the distance being 320m. So I think it matters, but plenty of ppl say, that different conditions are not really implemented yet... .

[-Gews- 7443]

I think I read somewhere that the mosin has more spread than (the) sniper rifle(s) in the mod. Is it really still accurate over 1000 m or is it a lottery over that distance?

Only if you have no bipod or compensator. Otherwise it should be even more accurate.

[bauertschi 254]

Sniping is an interesting aspect of the game and being very average at it, I definitely respect a good sniper. In saying that, because of the ability to instantly end another players life from the safety of a bush over 800 kms away I don't want or think it should be easy. It should take time and practice to properly acquire the skill set need to be good at it.

 

I like to be proficient in all aspects of the game and after spending a huge amount of hrs with my trusty m4 I decided recently to start practicing my long range skills. I found that hitting people from a far was no easy task. Even once I got my range sorted I had to wait for them to stop bloody moving and if I missed the shot, in most cases I had lost the kill. But then I noticed something, I started getting players returning to loot bodies of the dead after just being shot at. Time and time again, players would see the pile of bodies outside the door, run up to loot them, I would miss the shot, they would run off... but only for a minute or two. Sure enough they would sneak back up, usually on their bellies this time to try and get the treasures and now the are a sitting duck.

 

To hit a moving target is increasingly more difficult especially with the current and only LRS.    

 

So to the OP, I am not sure what you are suggesting here. Are snipers useless? Certainly not in the right hands but there is very few of them. Should they be given some sort of buff, HELL NO!

 

I can't wait for the introduction of wind etc to make it even harder.

 

I simply find the fact that (with one death of mine not 100% confirmed) every single PvP death of mine was from close distance very interesting. I really don't want to suggest changes here, just want to know, how often others die because of snipers compared to "normal" PvP deaths. What do I know, there might even be some SKS specialists out there that go for ranges of about 200 meters in sniper style and like the high fireing rate...well DMR would better describe that, but I would also count it.

 

The wind discussion is interesting for sure, as far as I know there is wind in Arma III for things like smoke, but it does not change ballistics, right?

[Jfiles 439]

A good sniper who knows the map terrain well is extremely dangerous.  Snipers in training especially ones who are new to Arma mechanics I just blow past their shots.

Ive been playing too long. Group of 8 guys in Cherno with snipers tried to take me down. Ended up getting into their building and killing them all with a new spawns Axe I found down the stairs. People need to learn.

[nexventor 429]

I simply find the fact that (with one death of mine not 100% confirmed) every single PvP death of mine was from close distance very interesting. I really don't want to suggest changes here, just want to know, how often others die because of snipers compared to "normal" PvP deaths. What do I know, there might even be some SKS specialists out there that go for ranges of about 200 meters in sniper style and like the high fireing rate...well DMR would better describe that, but I would also count it.

 

The wind discussion is interesting for sure, as far as I know there is wind in Arma III for things like smoke, but it does not change ballistics, right?

 

All my deaths are from close qtrs bar one as well but I would put that greatly down to knowing the game. There are a lot of players who just don't learn. For example last week there was a guy sniping on the factory roof in berezino killing anything that moved. I shot at him, missed, again missed, third time missed. Now at the first missed shot I would have stood up and started moving round, he just stayed in the prone position as slowly crawled. My fourth shot didn't miss and he was dead instantly. If you understand the mechanics and learn from your mistakes (which I did in the mod), majority of snipers are not a great threat at all, especially ones like me lol. I dare say though as more and more players become proficient with them and new better weapons and scopes are introduced it will start to become harder to dodge  

 

No wind does effect ballistics in Arma II, well not without a mod but no one plays arma II in vanilla. Hopefully the add it to DayZ

[Crazy_Spider 235]

Snipers - everyone fears those slimy strange players that lurk somewhere in cover and kill you from far away. But are they actually that dangerous? I keep track of my PvP encounters and found a funny thing. I died 27 times due to other players. In 26 cases not a single death was caused by a player further away than 40 meters. The one I am not sure about was a mosin from behind in Svetlo, but the terrain suggests that it was from 20 or 30 meters and the shot was really loud. I have killed up to 150 - 200 meters, not quite sure (mosin). Btw, I would count being shot unconscious and being finished from closer, but the worst that happened to me from far away (no idea how far, did not hear shots) was getting shot twice. Once with a mosin at the neaf through an upper floor window, once from an m4 at the nwaf tenttown. I actually fell unconscious there, but I woke up again and ran for it.

 

A few things that may be important for this discussion:

- I am NOT a PvP god

- most hours (and deaths) were as a (I think careful) lone wolf

- I do not know a lot about preffered sniper spots, besides the obvious areas, for example the hills and tree lines at the neaf...

- I almost exclusively play hardcore (I think 3rd person gives additional advantages to snipers)

- I avoid places like formerly Electro and now northern Berezino like the plague

- I try to go west pretty early. I'm usually somewhere between the three airfields and look for PvP in military areas when I am geared up

- I don't take every shot. When I think I am at a disadvantage, I evade.

 

Can't think of more that seems relevant. I just think the above points are somewhat important. Of course you will get sniped some time from farther away when you look out of the apartment windows in Berezino with your preffered gun shooting at bambis that run into the police station... .

 

I am sure there are some now affronted, proud and actually quite skilled snipers, but please let's look at this from a victims view. How deadly are snipers for you?

 

Edit: concerning the thread title, I actually died though zeds, hunger and environmental things like ladders, so...don't take it personal ;). Also forgot to mention that group events with my ppl on regular are not counted here, but I also never died from a long range shot there... .

    Snipers who know their gun well, many of them I know, can be the most deadly players in the game. Once you figure out how to zero your gun by eye, not using the DayZDB map, and when you can learn to lead your shots to hit moving players, you become the most dangerous person on the map. I guarantee a seasoned Arma sniper could beat a veteran Arma player who is using an M4 at over 200m ANY DAY. Also, seasoned Snipers would normally be so good that they would take the victim out before they even heard the shot.

[DemonGroover 8836]

They aren't the most harmless but they are the most boring.

 

Sitting in a bush for 2 hours waiting for a player to come by? Yeah....fun times.

 

Btw my best experience in the mod with a sniper was spotting one on Sniper Hill overlooking Elektro, hiding in a pine tree.  Unluckily for him a passing heli flew by.  I noted the snipers position on the map with a big X, called up the Heli (on Sidechat) and told him to spray the zone. No more sniper.

[Mancomb 131]

I pretty much agree with everything above. That being said, I think that skills and tactics obtained from sniping in other games, as well as IRL, can definitely help; granted, the actual mechanics differ quite a bit from other games, but acquired knowledge such as leading targets, using cover and observing from a safe distance are fairly universal in the world of sniping. The more experience with these types of things someone has, the more lethal they're likely to be, especially when combined with what can be learned from DayZ itself.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Mancomb

[Mos1ey 6301]

I've still never died by sniper in DayZ mod or retail, aside from being sprayed down at point blank range in the .50cal days of course.

[nazar.nk90@gmail.com 11]

They need to fix bullet splashes first...so you can adjust accordingly.

[Daemonkid 493]

Couple of 800 meter kills from the Balota apartments to the airstrip a few days after launch. Haven't sniped to often in DayZ SA after though, just way too boring. 

Did however steal my buddies sniper trying to get some guy 500 meters away ontop of a building, but that was when they removed the bullet splash, so correction is really really hard to do, since I can't see the impact point in relation to my crosshair so I can adjust accordingly. 

Like others have said, it's all about who is behind the scope, their patience and skill are a huge factor.

[Korsbaek 1778]

Ive been playing too long. Group of 8 guys in Cherno with snipers tried to take me down. Ended up getting into their building and killing them all with a new spawns Axe I found down the stairs. People need to learn.

 

This happens when the snipers panic and start shooting each other.

[Santa fox 53]

I have never been killed by a sniper, unless you count <50 meter hits by M4 spraying. I have, however, taken down quite a few people with my trusty Mosin when the need arises for it. The most deaths I have died by is CQB related, so I make sure to always carry with me at least one pistol and keep it ready when I go into buildings. Managed to mow down a few people in this fashion, as well. I don't play a stationary role as a sniper, either, but rather I move around with the rest of my group, and when the need arises for a long shot, I do it, while the rest of the guys handle CQB, either with SKS's or M4s.