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This topic has moved here: Subject: Lesson of the week- Hikaru 119's Sniping Guide part 1 of some n...
  • Subject: Lesson of the week- Hikaru 119's Sniping Guide part 1 of some n...
Subject: Lesson of the week- Hikaru 119's Sniping Guide part 1 of some n...
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Not much for me to say here, but I got a few. Reading the guides Bungie gives you at their website helps a lot in multiplayer. Along with reading stuff in the forums (such as this.) If you're ever like me and research a lot about sniping even if it's just for Halo gaming you might have realized that sniping in Real Life is far different from Halo experiance. A way to fix that is to somehow convert it into your own style. What look sensitivity would you recommend to use in multiplayer matches, especially if you like sniping a great deal?

  • 10.20.2004 9:18 AM PDT
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one thing i'd like to add about that AotCR idea is that if you get yourself a rocket launcher and head out the door you can stick a nade to the banshee, fall down directly to the left, find cover from the tank and kill it with the rockets, as well as the elites down there if they get in the way. THEN you fly up to that spot on the wall, and you can get twice as much sniping in. Only problem is that you gotta fly down there again to activate the hunters. After you go through the elevator to the bottom level u can go back up to your sniping spot after you got more ammo from one room in there. THEN after you kill everyone on the pyramid you can kill the hunters and grunts at the top then open the doors and fly away. Now if you go back to the bridge you can snipe more with ammo from that crevace. also you can fly up above them and snipe if you run out of targets.

  • 10.20.2004 12:24 PM PDT
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I think people need to get comfortable with the idea of moving and sniping at the same time: it gives you a great advantage over the one who doesn't move. He gets off one shot, you dodge, look up the trail and fir from either x2 or x10 mode. Oh, and have your sensitivity on 10 if you don't already. Play a bit of Sp to get used to it, but once you have got the hang of it its invaluable.
Tanks: easy, just aim for the cockpit area and wait for the reticule to go red. UNLESS he in't facing you and you just get the heavily armored back of the tank in which case HOLD YOUR FIRE or look for another, more viable target. Now, if you NEED to take him out, then you've got two advantages: He can shoot at you and not face you at the same time, but he cant move because otherwise the tank will straighten itself out. If he moves, it's an easy kill and you just aim at his exposed head. If he's clever, he won't move. Ok for this example I'll say you were in the cave at the back of blood gulch behind the, errr, blue base i think (where the tower is, just further back) and the tank is around the middle somewhere. Heis generally bombarding the area and causing havoc in your team, killing almost everyone as they spawn (the bastard). Hopefully he hasn't noticed you and you can run to the side of the base which he can't see (there's always one ramp up the abse that isn't covered) and go up there. Attract his attention - ie fire a couple of shots. move through the teleporter and ask your teammates to carry on firing at him, or just hope he still thinks you're on the base - either way, you should be able to walk up to him. if possible, nab that invisibility - sniper's best friend - whilst you're at it. Then just lob 2 grenades. OR, as you come out of the the teleporter, walk along the edge of the map and get further back, then aim at his head and kill him.
Ghost: No point firing when he facing you, bullets just ping off. When he's going past aim a bit ahead of the ghost and shoot till he dies, usually 2 or three shots because of unexpected terrain. If he's in the air, the trajectory is piss easy to predict and you jsut fire a bit ahead of that. easiest of course is when he's driving away in a straight line: then you just pick him off his seat.
warthog: Basically similar to ghost in that you have to aim a bit more ahead (just more with the hog). You've got a problem here in that people usually drive like maniacs and its quite hard to get a predicted route, but geneerally wait until the left side of the hog is facing you and aim for the exposed body. If he's coing towards you and you're on the floor, either throw a plasma grenade before you dodge/die or have that trusty rocket launcher handy.
Don't be afraid to die, I'm often not the bottom of the list for deaths but also don't be careless.
Trust me :)
Last but not least, I disagree with the whole stalking business, and taking your time. If you can do it quickly enough, you can dispatch 2 or even 3 guys with one mag without too much trouble, and if not then you take cover and start again (NEVER have just 1 bullet left in a mag - always reload at that point if the shootout is finished or you've taken cover). Taking your time in a team slayer match is unwise, especially if there are more than 5 players because people will be firing madly and getting kills VERY quickly around the bases.. Otherwise of course... Also, If you're a sniper in a CTF match then it's ok to wait too, but I tend to find it amusing to kill people at their base and they get another penalty time :D
just my way of playing added to the equation.
Oh one last thing: i would only spend a very short period of time doing "battlefield analysis". It's dangerous to be someone who isn't shooting when there's other snipers about, besides which a quick look is all you need.


[Edited on 10/21/2004 2:56:34 AM]

  • 10.21.2004 2:38 AM PDT
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Posted by: Captain CheeZ
Nothing about taking on tanks, thous things are big scary and pack a punch!
also ghost. how do i take them out? and warthogs, what if i need to claim my wheels back?
And how about how to avoide been shot at by snipper. Anti Snipper stuff would be good too, still great addition to the library! this is the stuff the library needs, more pros like us teaching the ways of the halo muiltiplayer to the lesser mortals!

again, GREAT snipper guide!


I can give u a couple of tips on those. I have been playing this game for years.... The tanks, nothing like a good old sniper rifle, or pistol to take on of those out...if u are really good with nades, u can stick it with 2 plasma and its gone. Ghots are an effective way of gettting rid of em, u just have to get behind the tank and start shooting and not stop.

Ghosts are little sons of B****'s. A tanks, would definatly get rid of one. ONe of the most effective ways I have seend to get rid of a ghost is to let it come at you while u strafe left and right, when it gets close enough get a plasma nade on it, then duck under it as it flys by. THey hover high enough so u just duck and u are home free....U do have to be careful on where u duck the terrain plays a big part on weither or not u can duck.

Thats all for now...dont know if I helpled anyone out or not, see ya

  • 10.21.2004 6:51 AM PDT
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they key to taking out vehicles: You need to aim for the person, not the vehicle.

Scorpion tank: (easiest to me) notice the place where the person gets in, and notice that there are bars covering the head. Make sure to shoot at this area; nine times out of ten you will get a head shot.

Ghost: simple in concept, but hard to put into action. You just have to wait until they are not comming at you. when they turn for someone else, or hop a hill shoot at the head to get an instannt kill, or 2 body shots. It is easiest when they are at a 90 degree angle to you, and the head is fully exposed.

Warthog: this one is easiest when the warthog is just speeding up, sloowing down, or spinning. It is very hard to get a head shot, but sometimes it is necessary to expose yourself for the benefit for the team. You just need to wait until you have a shot at the driver. never shoot at the windshield. shoot at the door area, and it will do normal damage, and you can possible shoot through the back, and get a lucky headshot. If you take out the driver, then the people in the other positions will get in a panic and be more worried about getting away (especially in ctf) than taking out a sniper. First take out the driver, then the person that hops out to get in the driver seat, and finally take out the gunner, because he is the least important.

  • 10.27.2004 6:23 PM PDT
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by my signature you can tell that i like snipers and know what im doing, im not sure if you said this, but ONLY make one kill in a certain position, as soon as you fire a rifle, your position is compromised and you must moove to find another position to shoot from, and also, it does pay to have a spotter, or someone who follows you, tells you where people are, from their point of view a short distance away, and has the exact opposite weapons you have, i.e. Shotgun and Rocket-Launcher, or shottie and AR, or a good heavy weapons combo, thats my two cents on the issue

P.S. read all of Stephen Hunter's books, because they are awesome, and the Dark Tower series by Stephen King while your at it, because they have the best stone cold killers ever


[Edited on 10/30/2004 8:05:43 PM]

  • 10.30.2004 8:04 PM PDT
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Sniping rules!!!!!!! This is a really goood forum on sniping. Sniping takes some real skilll to execute a well placed shot.

  • 10.31.2004 1:02 PM PDT
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Yep all that stuff you said was exacly right I've been doing that since I got Halo and once you've got it you are pretty much invincible in multiplayer. I snipe all the time and its great to rack up the kills I've tried so many times to teach my friends but they just don't get it, yet some people can just do it. Anyway your guide is ace and is exacly the same stuff I would have put.

  • 10.31.2004 1:50 PM PDT
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Thank you very much, Hikaru119. I'm eleven years old and I can, for the most part, kick my sibling's and siblings friends butts when it comes to run and gun, but I could never get the sniping down. Thank you very much. I appriciate it.

  • 11.08.2004 5:56 PM PDT
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I agree with HolyDude, this guide helps alot. My friends taught me how to snipe, but my little brother and little sister had no concept of it whatsoever. I let them read this site and *poof* suddenly they're getting better

  • 11.09.2004 2:29 AM PDT
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a good strategy for killing covenant is to toss plasma grenades at grunts.the grenades will stick, the grunt will run away with its fellows, and kill its friends when the grenade detonates

  • 11.12.2004 11:05 PM PDT
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That was a good guide indeed, but iam still good with the sniper! It aint that hard to kill an l337 soldier, just aim on the head and he will go down... Well still good guide, dont stop learning us about the game.... Bye

  • 11.17.2004 3:31 AM PDT
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That's a great Guide, as countless have stated before, but i would like some anti sniping tips, because most of my freinds camp and they camp well......really well. Anyways, thanks for the tips!

[Edited on 11/18/2004 3:08:54 PM]

  • 11.18.2004 3:07 PM PDT
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you sound like a good sniper. but exactly how good are you. your stalk and kill tactics are good to. but did you menchin the invisibility. to be good at sniping you must learn to use the invisibility camao thing properly. to do so just activate it then move slower than usaully and at some points not even at all(unless being fired upon then get the hell out of there.) to be even more affective hide infront of rocks, in bushes, in the shadows, and everything hikaru said. and again be good at long range shots, such as lenght wise of blood gultch wall to wall. yeah at least a good 1200 yards or more players very hard to see. when you can kill them pretty easily and with 1 to 2 shots then you pretty good.

  • 11.19.2004 10:53 PM PDT
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I've known about the AotCR for a while now. This is a great sniping guide it and one more hint; Since the sniper rifle can penetrate skin try get two people lined up and you get two of them for the price of one!

  • 11.20.2004 2:53 PM PDT
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Very well put.
Posted by: Hikaru 119
Okay then let us begin.

Now before you can effectively operate on the field of battle in the realm of Halo mulitplayer you must first get excellent accuracy. Which means one thing. Target practice. Now I have a nice spot for you to do this at extreme range. In AotCR there is one spot in particular. Towards the end of the level when you are near the Control Room itself, there is a bridge. When you first get on this bridge immediately throw a plasma grenade to get a banshee down for yourself. Kill all enemies on the bridge and go across. Move your way inside, kill everything, and come out the bottom where your banshee should be. Grab the nearby sniper rifle(it's in the pit if you did not know) and grab your ride. Now fly up and you should find a platform on the canyon wall. Go up there and snipe down at the Covenant below on the pyramid. Do this alot until you can kill Elites with one to two shots (did I mention that this was Legendary mode? You should practice on this) at extreme range (this is some 350 meter shooting up here, great for training your eyes in MP). Do this a bunch until you are comfortable with your accuracy.

Then there is what I call "Battle Field Analysis." This basically means that you must take in EVERYTHING. Troop movements, the weapons you have, the weapons your team has, the weapons the enemy has, locations of vehicles, what is and is not flipped over, flag location, health levels, motion tracke ractivity, repeated tactics that are being used by either team, etc. A good way to do this is to find cover, I recommend a bush or rock to hide behind, and then look around at an area. Get everything in your head and move to the next area. Thne use that info to your advantage. Tell your team what is going on and maybe even use vehicles for cover. I don't know how many times hiding behind a Warthog has saved my ass from destruction.

Now for the next aspect of sniping, the stalk. No sniper is complete without his ability to track his target. Okay then stalking really isn't that hard, it's just that people are too dumb to realize it. To stalk is really simple. Taking cover and taking your time. People are always ina big rip to get things done, whcih is why they have a poor kill to death ratio. A sniper generally will move along the edges of the map. I recommend using the caves in Blood Gultch alot as well as the tunnels inside Sidewinder. Telelporters are handy inside Sidewinder, but people over use them. So in that level I say stay on the low ground and along the edges. Believe or not, but this is a very safe tactic. There are tons of spots to just hide for a bit and for you to take in all of the battlefield information. Also move slowly across the map. I can't say that enough. Take your time or die alot. Simple as that. Bushes, vehicles, rocks, caves and such are great cover for yuo to move around from. Go from point to point scanning the area in 2x scope mode, a quick scan in 10x and move from there.

Now onto the thing with motion trackers being on. If you can see the enemy on your tracker, they can see you. So play it safe. As long as there is cover nearby, you can run over to it real fast(most people won't notice you doing it quickly), duck behind it, and STAY STILL. You can look around, but you can not afford to move unless you are being shot at. Since you are behind your cover now, you can whip out either your S2 AM or your M6D and sight in on the enemy. When he is at a comfortable range, peg him. Another alternative to this is when they pass you by run out and whip him in the back. You'll show up out of no where and it'll scare the hell out of people.

Next rule. NO CAMPING. Camping is not sniping, it is the coward's way out. You also become very obvious. Campers are not snipers, they aren't even sharpshooters. Okay then, nect topic.

Then there is the supposed problems with the contrails. Easy solution. Fire when you are ready. If you can't make a good shot, don't take it. If there are tons of enemies around your target, wait for them to disperse and then fire at the people that don't see you. Also fire one, maybe two shots at most. It'll keep you safe from being seen easilly. Or if the enemy is close enough, use your M6D. They'll never know what hit them, but don't become obvious to your spot. Pretty much don't reveal yourself all that much making it one shot one kill sort of deals and you should be fine.

The following is a sniper's biggest nightmare. Being found and being found by a lot of people....this can be a problem. There are three solutions to this sort of dilemma. The first is you die, kinda obvious, but yeah. The next you fight it out. You can sharpshoot (you're found, sniping no longer exsists at this point) your incoming opponents. Aim for the closest guy first and work your way back, maybe even use your grenades. Take out as many as you can before you die. The last option is run and gun. Meaning you are jumping, ducking, side stepping, while you re hauling ass backwards towards friendly units. Not the best of options, but when a sniper is found his death is almost assured in reality.

Well I think that covers most of it. If I missed any details or was too vague go ahead ask. I have no problem with explaining things again in a different way. Good luck with you sniping people.

  • 11.24.2004 11:50 AM PDT
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What is technicaly considered camping? I like to snipe, but I don't want to make people mad by camping. And do you have any suggestions on how to play when you're out skilled? If that makes sense. Ya, I play with my friends alot and they out skill me by alot! I was wondering if you had any advice as to how to kill them while at the same time improving my game.

  • 11.24.2004 1:05 PM PDT
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Keep up the good work! Thanx 4 da tips man!

  • 11.24.2004 1:16 PM PDT
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I couldnt said it better my self! Works like a charm!

Happy Snippin'

  • 11.24.2004 5:02 PM PDT
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I have a few tips too.

1) Be patient. You'll know when the right time to put a bullet through someone's head is.

2) Campers are easy targets. If you happen to be a camper whore, stop being stupid.

3) Don't snipe exclusively. You need to be able to take people on at close to medium ranges too. Besides, although sniping is fun, it's also a tad cowardly.

[Edited on 11/25/2004 6:36:20 PM]

  • 11.25.2004 6:31 PM PDT
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i find it best on large levels to snipe and move on a little down the road

  • 11.25.2004 6:40 PM PDT
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This is EASILY the biggest crack pot post I've ever read. I'm now 10% dumber and 50% less accurate after reading this inane dribble.

  • 12.12.2004 4:49 AM PDT
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hhmm interesting

join group undenbergen frauline (no we r not german) we like talking bout stuff like the latest news on games like halo and halo 2 and we like to hear ne strategies u might have just incase we dont know it....we have 2 seasond halo veterans and an xbox live junkie...a nother guy i dont like and my girl freind that makes 5 members......pls join

undenbergen frauline

nice strategie

  • 12.12.2004 7:14 AM PDT

fire one shot only if u snipe and hope for a head shot, because the vapor trail could come from two places, but if u snipe at a movin target, your vapor trail becomes a big v wich points directly at you.

  • 12.12.2004 7:14 AM PDT
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Listen I may be repeating but I don't have enought time 2 read all of the pages. sorry. I'm not an expert but I know this stay calm If u don't u will
1. misfire which could result in a death of a team mate
2. over fire giving your position away
3.Become impatent and take a shot that doesn't have a chance in hell of hitting the target.
4.camp without knowing it
5. not pay attention
6. combi
7.and basically just screw up
If ur not relaxed then relax do some deep breathin or somethin.

  • 12.16.2004 10:56 AM PDT