Difference between revisions of "Sniper (Highlander)"

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As that [[Highlander]] is a format with 1 of each class, both teams will have one [[Sniper]] at all times.
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[[File:SniperIcon.png|200px|right|link=http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Sniper]]
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In [[Highlander]], both teams will have one [[Sniper]] at all times. As the most powerful [[Glossary#Metagame terms|Pick]] class, it's often up to Sniper to initiate a fight by killing a key enemy player.
  
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By killing a combo class such as [[Medic]], [[Heavy]] or [[Demoman]], Sniper can start a push for his team or stop an enemy push in its tracks by reducing a team's offensive or defensive capabilities. This is Sniper's main responsibility, and most of his other goals are directly tied to this objective.
  
== Gameplay ==
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In higher levels of play, many teams' play-styles tend to revolve around Sniper, with Medic overhealing him and Engineer setting up a Sentry Gun to protect him from enemies. Sniper is greatly valued in Highlander, and with good reason; many Highlander maps have long sightlines that make him near-impossible to fight against; sometimes, the only way to kill him is with another Sniper.
  
=== Getting picks ===
 
  
It's usually up to the Sniper or one of the other [[Glossary#Metagame terms|Pick]] classes such as [[Scout]], [[Spy]], or [[Soldier]] to initiate a fight. The Sniper can be used to help either begin a push or make sure that a push doesn't begin by securing an important kill such as the [[Medic]], [[Heavy]] or [[Demoman]]. This key pick helps reduce the resistance or offensive capabilities of the enemy team during a push or hold. This is the biggest responsibility of a Sniper, and most of the Sniper's other responsibilities are directly tied to this.
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== Gameplay ==
 
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=== Pick Priority ===
==== Pick Priority ====
 
  
# '''Anybody who's attacking you'''. While your life isn't valued as much as demo or medic you are still a vital asset to the team fight so protecting your own life is placed before picks.
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# '''Nearby enemies'''. Depending on the map, your life may be more or less valuable than Demoman or Medic. However, you are still a vital asset to a teamfight, so defend yourself from attacking enemies before going for picks.
# The other '''[[Sniper]]'''. The enemy's sniper is your counter, your Kryptonite, your nemesis. You two will be locked in a duel until you or him are dead. The other sniper poses such a threat as he can everything you can and he is a danger to your team as you are to his. Eliminating his ASAP is advised but if he's nowhere in sight thats even more worrying...
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# The other '''[[Sniper]]'''. The enemy Sniper poses the greatest threat to your life; often, he will be the only enemy who can even attempt to kill you. Thus, you will be locked in a duel with him until one of you is dead. Even if he isn't shooting at you, he can kill your team from a distance. Shoot him as soon as possible; if he's nowhere in sight, ask your team to locate him - he may be attempting to flank you.
# The '''[[Medic]]'''. Killing the medic is relatively easy as he can be killed with an uncharged headshot or a fully charged bodyshot, when the medic is killed this means that it will be have to be another 40 seconds until the enemy team can have an Ubercharge giving your Combo the advantage. this also means that the enemy team is denied healing on the frontline of battle meaning the flanking classes should get some easy picks or at least they will have to retreat.
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# The '''[[Medic]]'''. A good Medic will rarely step into your sightline, but if he overextends, killing him is relatively easy - an uncharged headshot or a fully charged bodyshot will send him back to respawn, giving your team about a minute until an enemy Ubercharge is ready. Without healing, the enemy will usually be forced to retreat, allowing your team's flank to land an easy pick.
# The '''[[Demoman]]'''. The Demoman's area denial is frustrating as passages and vital points can be blocked by stickies and grenade spam can deal up to 400 damage per clip. By killing the Demo all stickies set up are destroyed and your team is free to move in.
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# The '''[[Demoman]]'''. Demoman's area denial is a formidable defense against your team; he can easily block your flank routes and choke points with Stickybombs, and his grenades can deal 400 damage in a few seconds. Taking him out destroys his stickies and prevents him from spamming explosives, allowing your team to move in.
# The '''[[Heavy]]'''. The Heavy is the meat shield of the team and nearly always has overheal from the medic boosting him to 450 health. Despite his large hitbox and slow movement speed professional heavies have learnt to duck and weave out of sniper shots. With the 20% resistance he receives from the Natascha and the Brass Beast he can survive fully charged headshots when fully buffed to 450. However when he is killed the team is more vulnerable to spam and flanks as a core element to the combo is dead.
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# The '''[[Heavy]]'''. Heavy's job is to block attack intended for his teammates and grind down overextending enemies. He will almost always have overheal from the enemy Medic, making him very difficult for the rest of your team to fight. Despite his large hitbox and slow movement speed, a good Heavy will duck and weave out of your shots, causing you to waste time charging shots to try to hit him. However, when he is killed the enemy team becomes more vulnerable to spam and flanks, and the enemy Demoman will lose his main defense.
# The '''[[Engineer]]'''. The humble Texan on his own is nothing to you but with his buildings he is much more of a threat as he stops your team from pushing. His death means that his buildings are not getting constant healing (or wrangled). However gunslinger engineer doesn't deliver as much denial as a wrench Engi so picking him of isn't as vital. But taking shots at his buildings when he's six-feet-under his advisable as every bit of damage helps for your team.
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# The '''[[Engineer]]'''. Without his buildings, Engineer doesn't pose much of a threat to you or your team. However, his nest makes a stellar defense, as long as he's maintaining it. Once he dies, his buildings are much easier to demolish - if you have a sightline, shoot them. If Engineer is running the Gunslinger, picking him off isn't as high a priority, as Mini-Sentries have fairly little area-denial capability.  
# The '''[[Pyro]]'''. The pyro has limited range (even with the flare gun and other projectile weapons) but can air blast projectiles, harass with after burn and protect the combo easily. In short he is the bodyguard of the combo. But when he/she/it is dead your team's Spy as a lot more breathing room as his main counter is dead. Soldiers and Demos are free to spam as much as they like without the worry of their ammo being chucked back at them.
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# The '''[[Pyro]]'''. Pyro has very limited range (even with the flare gun and other projectile weapons), but makes for a effective bodyguard for the enemy combo; they can airblast projectiles, harass with afterburn and ignite approaching flank classes. While they don't pose a massive threat to your team, they can deny projectile-based classes from pushing in. Killing them gives your team's Spy as a lot more breathing room, and your Soldier and Demo are free to spam explosives without the threat of them being reflected.
# The '''[[Soldier]]'''. The Soldier acts as an effective suicide bomber willing to place his life on the line for a valuable pick following more or less the same order of picks like you. Soldier tends to do the "Hit and Run" technique similar to Scout but at the cost of his own health when he rocket jumps. However when not bouncing round the map with his RPG he is rather easy to kill with a medium-sized hitbox and a slow movement speed. But practising how to air shot, headshot can make quick work of Soldier and giving the upmost pleasure when you achieve that.
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# The '''[[Soldier]]'''. In most Highlander matches, Soldier will suicide-bomb valuable classes like you in order to  open up room for his team to move in. While rocket jumping, he is difficult to hit, but on the ground, he is easily headshot thanks to his slow movement speed. Unfortunately, when attacking you, he will often rocket jump - practicing airshots is the only way to counter this strategy.
# The '''[[Spy]]'''. The Spy is deadly to you as you are to him. The Spy like you is also classified as an assassin being able to get kills regardless of enemies health but his strength weakens with proximity (the spy excels at close range while the sniper excels at long). As his revolver and knife are much more dangerous at close range keeping your distance is advisable. Your kukri deals considerable damage and jarate and the SMG can be used to track him when he cloaks but your ears must be alert at all times.But when killing him your team can be consoled that their spines are safe from being penetrated.
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# The '''[[Spy]]'''. Spy is deadly to you as you are to him. Thanks to his on-demand Invisibility Cloak, you will rarely get the chance to pick him before he attacks you. Always listen for the sound of his decloaks, and alert your team to his presence - Spy is weak in direct combat and is quickly killed once he loses the element of surprise. If no fighting is going on, you occasionally may hear his footsteps. Keep your distance from Spy and try to avoid engaging him; unless you can headshot him at close range, he can gun you down with his Revolver.
# The '''[[Scout]]'''. the Scout is rarely a threat to you unless he attacks you head on and killing him isn't game changing  but his 2x capture rate speeds up capturing time so denying a scout the objective is necessary.
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# The '''[[Scout]]'''. Scout is rarely a threat to you unless he manages to flank your team and attack you head on. Killing him won't turn the tide of a game, but his double capture rate speeds up capturing time in Stopwatch Mode so denying him the objective is helpful.
  
 
=== Countersniping ===
 
=== Countersniping ===
  
Snipers tend to try and have long sight-lines due to their ability to utilize these positions to create an advantage based on their long-range capabilities; these sight lines mean that the two Snipers can often see each other. Typically, Snipers attempt to shoot each other in order to become the dominant force between the two, because killing the other Sniper opens up an opportunity to safely [[Glossary#Metagame terms|Pick]] without the risk of taking a headshot. However some Snipers choose to ignore the enemy sniper and move to other sight lines to avoid the risk of dying.
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As Sniper, you are strongest when you have access to long sightlines that allow you to see the enemy team. Often, these sightlines can be used the enemy Sniper, which typically leads to Sniper duels. The Sniper that wins gains a significant advantage - he can [[Glossary#Metagame terms|pick]] important enemy players without fear of being headshot. If you can kill the enemy Sniper, do so. If he is too protected by his team, consider utilizing a different sightline, or try to flank him - shoot him from an unexpected position and then retreat.
  
The Sniper versus Sniper fight is a very detailed one, with many servers hosted that are solely dedicated to letting Snipers fight each other at long range to help people refine their Sniper killing strategies. Some Snipers prefer to strafe around quickly left and right while out of scope and wait for the other Sniper to scope in before taking a shot. This is due to a few factors such as the extremely slow speed at which the Sniper moves while scoped in; he is unable to dodge a shot and is a standstill target while scoped in, meaning that the Sniper who scopes last will have the upper hand in a fight. Another reason why a Sniper may elect to shoot second is the fact that scoping in shows the enemy where you will be standing to take a shot - the enemy Sniper has an advantage here because he can choose where he stops and retains a small element of surprise due to being able to relocate himself. Other Snipers decide to disregard the "second scoping" tactic and decide to shoot first every time. This can be a hindrance to Snipers due to the difficulty of hitting shots on a randomly strafing target.
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While Sniper battles boil down to shooting the other Sniper before he can shoot you, there is a great deal of nuance to this particular interaction. Many servers are dedicated to letting Snipers fight each other at long range to refine their aim and techniques. Some Snipers prefer to strafe around quickly left and right while out of scope and wait for the other Sniper to scope in (slowing his movement speed to a crawl) before taking a shot. Other Snipers decide to disregard the "second scoping" tactic and shoot first every time. Both techniques have their benefits and drawbacks; second-scoping allows for an easier kill should the enemy miss, but risks being killed if the enemy has excellent aim.
  
 
=== Area denial ===
 
=== Area denial ===
  
The Sniper can effectively shut down entire attack routes with his innate ability to kill nearly anything in the game in one shot, given proper preparations and steady aim. Even without good aim the sheer presence of a Sniper can help to lock down an area. Snipers can ensure cart lanes and control points are clear, and can also help make sure flanking classes are kept away from important core classes.
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Sniper can shut down entire attack routes with his ability to kill every class in the game in one shot, given proper preparations and steady aim. Even his mere presence can cause enemies to back off - Spy may opt to use a friendly disguise to keep the enemy team guessing at Sniper's real position. Sniper can ensure cart lanes and control points are clear, and can shut down flanking pick classes before they can attack his team's combo.
 
 
Areas of interest on most maps are important areas for Snipers to focus on; for example, Snipers should focus on shooting near the cart on Payload maps as it is usually an area saturated with easy kills in the form of light classes who are pushing the cart to help their team advance. This is one way that the Sniper can contribute to his team easily, by slowing down the enemy team's objective taking power.
 
  
== Highlander Sniper Guides ==
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The objective is of particular interest to Sniper; he should focus on the cart on Payload maps and control points on Attack/Defense and KOTH maps. Important classes tend to gather around the objective, and killing them slows down the enemy's progress and opens up opportunities for your team to push in.
* [[Liquid's Sniper Guide]]
 
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
* [[Highlander]]
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* [[Sniper]]
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* [[Sniper (6v6)]]
  
 
[[Category:Classes in Highlander]]
 
[[Category:Classes in Highlander]]

Latest revision as of 21:36, 4 June 2022

SniperIcon.png

In Highlander, both teams will have one Sniper at all times. As the most powerful Pick class, it's often up to Sniper to initiate a fight by killing a key enemy player.

By killing a combo class such as Medic, Heavy or Demoman, Sniper can start a push for his team or stop an enemy push in its tracks by reducing a team's offensive or defensive capabilities. This is Sniper's main responsibility, and most of his other goals are directly tied to this objective.

In higher levels of play, many teams' play-styles tend to revolve around Sniper, with Medic overhealing him and Engineer setting up a Sentry Gun to protect him from enemies. Sniper is greatly valued in Highlander, and with good reason; many Highlander maps have long sightlines that make him near-impossible to fight against; sometimes, the only way to kill him is with another Sniper.


Gameplay[edit]

Pick Priority[edit]

  1. Nearby enemies. Depending on the map, your life may be more or less valuable than Demoman or Medic. However, you are still a vital asset to a teamfight, so defend yourself from attacking enemies before going for picks.
  2. The other Sniper. The enemy Sniper poses the greatest threat to your life; often, he will be the only enemy who can even attempt to kill you. Thus, you will be locked in a duel with him until one of you is dead. Even if he isn't shooting at you, he can kill your team from a distance. Shoot him as soon as possible; if he's nowhere in sight, ask your team to locate him - he may be attempting to flank you.
  3. The Medic. A good Medic will rarely step into your sightline, but if he overextends, killing him is relatively easy - an uncharged headshot or a fully charged bodyshot will send him back to respawn, giving your team about a minute until an enemy Ubercharge is ready. Without healing, the enemy will usually be forced to retreat, allowing your team's flank to land an easy pick.
  4. The Demoman. Demoman's area denial is a formidable defense against your team; he can easily block your flank routes and choke points with Stickybombs, and his grenades can deal 400 damage in a few seconds. Taking him out destroys his stickies and prevents him from spamming explosives, allowing your team to move in.
  5. The Heavy. Heavy's job is to block attack intended for his teammates and grind down overextending enemies. He will almost always have overheal from the enemy Medic, making him very difficult for the rest of your team to fight. Despite his large hitbox and slow movement speed, a good Heavy will duck and weave out of your shots, causing you to waste time charging shots to try to hit him. However, when he is killed the enemy team becomes more vulnerable to spam and flanks, and the enemy Demoman will lose his main defense.
  6. The Engineer. Without his buildings, Engineer doesn't pose much of a threat to you or your team. However, his nest makes a stellar defense, as long as he's maintaining it. Once he dies, his buildings are much easier to demolish - if you have a sightline, shoot them. If Engineer is running the Gunslinger, picking him off isn't as high a priority, as Mini-Sentries have fairly little area-denial capability.
  7. The Pyro. Pyro has very limited range (even with the flare gun and other projectile weapons), but makes for a effective bodyguard for the enemy combo; they can airblast projectiles, harass with afterburn and ignite approaching flank classes. While they don't pose a massive threat to your team, they can deny projectile-based classes from pushing in. Killing them gives your team's Spy as a lot more breathing room, and your Soldier and Demo are free to spam explosives without the threat of them being reflected.
  8. The Soldier. In most Highlander matches, Soldier will suicide-bomb valuable classes like you in order to open up room for his team to move in. While rocket jumping, he is difficult to hit, but on the ground, he is easily headshot thanks to his slow movement speed. Unfortunately, when attacking you, he will often rocket jump - practicing airshots is the only way to counter this strategy.
  9. The Spy. Spy is deadly to you as you are to him. Thanks to his on-demand Invisibility Cloak, you will rarely get the chance to pick him before he attacks you. Always listen for the sound of his decloaks, and alert your team to his presence - Spy is weak in direct combat and is quickly killed once he loses the element of surprise. If no fighting is going on, you occasionally may hear his footsteps. Keep your distance from Spy and try to avoid engaging him; unless you can headshot him at close range, he can gun you down with his Revolver.
  10. The Scout. Scout is rarely a threat to you unless he manages to flank your team and attack you head on. Killing him won't turn the tide of a game, but his double capture rate speeds up capturing time in Stopwatch Mode so denying him the objective is helpful.

Countersniping[edit]

As Sniper, you are strongest when you have access to long sightlines that allow you to see the enemy team. Often, these sightlines can be used the enemy Sniper, which typically leads to Sniper duels. The Sniper that wins gains a significant advantage - he can pick important enemy players without fear of being headshot. If you can kill the enemy Sniper, do so. If he is too protected by his team, consider utilizing a different sightline, or try to flank him - shoot him from an unexpected position and then retreat.

While Sniper battles boil down to shooting the other Sniper before he can shoot you, there is a great deal of nuance to this particular interaction. Many servers are dedicated to letting Snipers fight each other at long range to refine their aim and techniques. Some Snipers prefer to strafe around quickly left and right while out of scope and wait for the other Sniper to scope in (slowing his movement speed to a crawl) before taking a shot. Other Snipers decide to disregard the "second scoping" tactic and shoot first every time. Both techniques have their benefits and drawbacks; second-scoping allows for an easier kill should the enemy miss, but risks being killed if the enemy has excellent aim.

Area denial[edit]

Sniper can shut down entire attack routes with his ability to kill every class in the game in one shot, given proper preparations and steady aim. Even his mere presence can cause enemies to back off - Spy may opt to use a friendly disguise to keep the enemy team guessing at Sniper's real position. Sniper can ensure cart lanes and control points are clear, and can shut down flanking pick classes before they can attack his team's combo.

The objective is of particular interest to Sniper; he should focus on the cart on Payload maps and control points on Attack/Defense and KOTH maps. Important classes tend to gather around the objective, and killing them slows down the enemy's progress and opens up opportunities for your team to push in.

See also[edit]