KZ2 maps are well designed. There are no places where a sniper can sit around without being countered in some way. There are a few spots on Phyrrus which are un-spot-n-markable from certain positions. You can see the blue or red glow, and they can shoot you, but only a miracle would lead your bullet to them. In those cases, you have to move to another position where the line of sight is clearer. You just have to know where these especially dangerous spots are, and avoid getting hit, or take effective countermeasures.
There are many nice spots on Phyrrus which are useful to a sniper. The back row, to the left of the Helghast spawn has a few prime spots for sniping. Mafiawerks showed me how to use that one. The building on the Helghast side of the bridge closest to the ISA spawn is awesome for sniping, as long as you watch your back now and then. The building beside the ISA spawn has a nice little spot on the roof, between two steel panels. This is one that is practically impossible to snipe head on. You have to go down the Helghast bridge. I figured this out one from Play_-_time, PJC. A really nice double spot for Helg is the building on the ISA side of the Helghast bridge. Everybody knows about that. But it's great to pair with another sniper. The better sniper should go down to the end of the wall that peers over the ISA spawn and do a lot of spot-n-mark cover work, taking ISA out right in their spawn. The one in the building should clear out any dangers that come too close to the first sniper, and watch for countermeasures from down the Helg bridge. Two good snipers can effectively spawn camp a much larger force, especially if an eng has repaired the ammo box near the building.
Most of the secret spots noobs like to use are actually worthless. Standing without cover on the top of the two gas canister / towers right in front of the Helghast base is pointless since spot-n-mark will find you out. Same with standing in the clear on the top of the bldg across from the ISA spawn. The "secret" spot on top of the building in front of the Helg spawn is good, but you have to know its sweet spots. I find it doesn't have great coverage, but some excellent players make good use of it.
The key thing is to know how the cover you are using works. Where does it protect you? Where does it leave you open? Don't rely on your team mates to watch your back. Spend 1/8th of your spot-n-mark watching your back. Many noobs also do not realize spot-n-mark pretty much negates the cloak against other snipers. Keep that in mind when you assess cover.
One of the best sniper strategies is to get in position on the opposing team's side, inverse sniping. Most people do not expect sniping from the wrong direction. But then you've got to watch your back doubly, as your dead opponents respawn near and behind you. (If you're good you can single handedly take the pressure off the other side of the map by "announcing" your presence and sucking respawned opponents into a game of find the sniper. M4 comes in handy here.)
I helped steal a game recently on P.R. with the strategy of inverse sniping. After our side owned the map for 3 games, the opposing team got their sh.t together and started working together, coming up the ISA bridge in squads to spawn camp the Helg. By the half-way point, they were owning our team, and luck was not on our side. We managed to pull it in closer for a bit, but then lost our gains. All seemed to be lost, and our team was frustrated by the camping. (I think it's a legitimate strategy; others don't.) In the last 3 minutes of the game, I realized they'd left the Helghast bridge unprotected. I went up to that building on the ISA side of the Helghast bridge, and SnM'd them all sitting like ducks on the Helg side. I got maybe 5 or 7 kills in a matter of seconds. With a softened ISA, my teammates got some last second kills and we beat them by a very narrow margin. It was a fun, well fought match!
I like the sniper rifle but getting a good shot off seems beyond hope can anyone help me?
Or is it back to the old Rifle, SMG or Heavy Machine Gun for me?
