Health: 125
Type: Support
Description: The Sniper, as the name suggests, uses a sniper rifle to kill enemies at long range, but makes up for this in low health and poor close combat skills.
- Primary Weapon: Sniper Rifle - Max Ammo: 25 - 1 second cooldown between each shot
Unlike most shooters, the Sniper Rifle in Team Fortress 2 requires a charge up time to be fully effective. While zoomed, you will see a little meter to the right side of your screen which shows how much your shot is charged. After about four seconds the shot will be fully charged for the most damage possible. You can still shoot your rifle without being scoped, but it will do less damage than being charged. Shooting your target in the head will deal a lot of damage. If you hit someone with a fully charged headshot, that person will die immediately. Even Medic-buffed Heavies will be taken out in one hit by a fully charged headshot. Often times, just a half-charged headshot can kill a low health class such as the Scout. When you fire a shot while scoped, by default you will break out of your scope to reload then return back to zoomed mode. There is a game option that will prevent you from automatically zooming back in after reloading in the Advanced Options.
- Secondary Weapon: Sub-Machine Gun - Max Ammo: 75 - Max Clip: 25
The SMG is a fairly inaccurate weapon that is best used in short range. While it is generally a bad idea to take people head on with this weapon, it gives you some chance in close combat. The SMG fires fast, but also deals a low amount of damage, it is best used when your enemies get closer to you.
- Melee Weapon: Machete
The Machete deals about as much damage as other melee weapons do. When all else fails in close combat you can always switch to this. Generally you will use this to deal with enemy Scouts and Spies, but it can also be useful to kill other classes that are at low health.
Using the Sniper
Your job as a Sniper is primarily to take down other Snipers and Heavies, then any other major threats you see, such as a Medic or Soldier. As a Sniper you need to have an open area to use your sniper rifle, you will not be very successful in cramped areas. In general, you will want to stay as far away from the combat as possible, but don't be afraid to step in if you need to stop a point from being captured. When you are getting set up in a new area, quickly spy-check the area first. When you are zoomed you are easy prey for spies because you likely won't see them coming. There's no sense in zooming then immediately getting killed by a spy because you didn't see because you didn't spy check the area. Don't be afraid to un-zoom every now and then to check for spies, especially if you're by yourself. Also pay attention to who's getting killed. If someone is getting killed by a Spy nearby, then take note of that and prepare for it.
Don't always snipe from the same spot! Killing someone, specifically an enemy Sniper, will alert them to where you are thanks to the kill-cam. Moving around will keep your enemies constantly guessing. Also, having good communication helps. If you know where an enemy Sniper is or an incoming threat is coming from, you'll have a better chance at stopping them.
On some occasions you will be able to take out enemy Sentry Guns. If the Sentry has an Engineer by it, kill the Engineer then proceed to take out the sentry. Two fully charged shots and a weaker shot will kill a Level 3 Sentry. Doing this while your team is trying to destroy the sentry will make the process go a lot faster.
Defeating the Sniper
Because Snipers stay in their scope the majority of the time, they're easy to sneak up behind with the Spy and killing them. Snipers can easily take out other Snipers, but this will depend on the skill level of the enemy Sniper. Soldiers can cause Snipers a lot of grief. Firing rockets at them will force them to move away, and the splash damage from a critical hit will kill them instantly. Demomen can also do well by firing grenades into the Sniper's area to disrupt their aim. Scouts can be good against a Sniper if you can manage to get in close range, otherwise you're at the mercy of their aim.
In general, keep moving. A moving target is harder to hit than one that is standing still. If you can manage to get into close combat against a Sniper your chances of killing them are much higher.