Help with snipers

[u/Instruction-Worldly]

So it's my first time playing through Enemy Within, and every sniper soldier that I have ends up underperforming terribly. The only use I have found for them is headshotting an uncovered target (no one is ever out of cover), and even then they either can't shoot or have reduced hit chance because of the snap shot debuff. Is there something I'm missing? They also don't really feel like they can shoot any farther than the other guns.

[u/Dorago1991]

Stop using snapshot, you should almost every time be taking squad sight. If you are moving your snipers to shoot every turn you're using them wrong. Find some high ground, get set up, and pull enemies back towards them.

[u/Instruction-Worldly → u/Dorago1991]

Do you still need to be in range and have a firing angle to use squad sight?

[u/Dorago1991 → u/Instruction-Worldly]

You need an angle to actually shoot but there's no range limit, as long as a squad mate has eyes in the target and you have a clean shot you can shoot.

[u/Flameball202 → u/Instruction-Worldly]

Squadsight removes range restrictions, all you need is a visual on the target and nothing in the way (this is why high ground is ideal, especially with the grappling hook)

[u/RedTheAloof → u/Instruction-Worldly]

To add what other people are saying, one penalty to Squadsight is the lack of critical hits unless using the Headshot ability.

Exposed enemies within Snapshot range (or just regular range for all other allies) with the Squadsight perk can land free, but weaker* critical hits. When enemies are far enough that Squadsight kicks in, exposed enemies are no longer susceptible to regular critical hits unless you use Headshot.

*Critical hits scored by the sniper rifle are weaker compared to critical hits scored using the Headshot ability. I think crit damage from Headshot increases as you improve your Sniper Rifle.

[u/vitrum_analytika → u/Instruction-Worldly]

Squad sight is broken because there is no range limit. You can set up an ambush, the take one guy to reveal your enemies and then fall back asap and let the sniper deal the damages and then they'll fall into the ambush range.

In XCOM2, because there is a squad type that has a default ability that they do not get spotted if the team does, sniper becomes broken right from the second upgrade, they'd be sniping across the realm if the squad has eyes on enemies.

And in EW the sniper becomes broken after the Icarus suit upgrade(the one with unlimited flying) because you always have high ground no matter the terrain. But that's late game. Sniper does suck in early game even with the squad sight upgrade and you have to compensate for it by adding better scopes and stocks, all the best scope and stocks goes to sniper in my runs.

[u/Rico_Rebelde → u/Instruction-Worldly]

Sniper rifles have effectively infinite range. I think some of the gigantic maps might be longer than the Sniper range but you will probably never run into an issue of an enemy being too far away to shoot with a sniper

[u/Rico_Rebelde → u/Dorago1991]

Snapshot can work and be very effective with the right build/map and good play. But yeah Squad sight is much much more noob friendly and generally useful in most situations

[u/1sinfutureking]

Squad sight for snipers in enemy unknown is so powerful that they introduced a new enemy type in enemy within to nerf it. Snap shot is a niche ability

[u/Mediumtim → u/1sinfutureking]

Seekers are my BANE ... untill get the chitin plate or electric skin gene mod.

[u/Rico_Rebelde → u/1sinfutureking]

they introduced a new enemy type in enemy within to nerf it

On top of actually nerfing it by removing regular crits from squadsight shots

[u/J0esw]

A single sniper can be the MVP a lot of the time. Just give them high ground and a good position with squad sight and you can’t go wrong

[u/Interracialpotato]

You have to baby them their first couple missions until they get squad sight. Even then their aim is just ok at first. Add a scope, damn good ground perk at next rank and that's about when they can hold their own. Later down the tree they can clean up the scraps with Executioner and In the Zone. Or you can mess up a Xeno with Double Tap.

[u/Gumboot-Coffee]

I never took snap shot. 

With squad sight, they double your firepower in my view, because if anyone sees an alien he can shoot it but the ay is out of range for everyone else. But the sniper can cover the whole squad,  and if anyone stirs up an alien then there are two shots coming its way not one. Its not just gunner or infantry or medic, its gunner+ sniper, infantry+sniper, anywhere he is needed. There is a reason snipers get the most kills by far.

[u/illarionds]

That's because you're taking snapshot. Don't do that, or at least, not for most of your snipers.

Squad sight is the class ability. They can reach out, pretty much anywhere on the map that anyone can see, and just delete a target.

They get better and better as your aim increases, and your weapon tech improves.

Much later on, when you get flying armour, they're just stupid. Hover in the air, raining devastation down.

[u/itsacutepanda]

In addition to the tips about squadsight, you can give snipers aim medals. I give them the urban combat and international service medals, for example. Urban combat helps with shooting targets in cover.

[u/Fishyblue11]

I got confused with this as snipers to me are regularly my units with the most kills

All of that is possible thanks to squadsight, one of the no brainer skills of xcom

[u/Instruction-Worldly → u/Fishyblue11]

I think what messed me up was my early game snipers either dying or just being useless and subjected to augmentation afterwards. They pretty much left my lineup before I even had the grapple

[u/NeJin]

Snipers suck very early on, but quickly become powerhouses.

As others have said, don't take Snap Shot. Take Squad Sight. Squad sight means your Sniper has to move very little on most missions, and lets them back up every other member of the team.

Sniper has the largest aimgrowth out of all classes, and scopes are the only useful item at long range, so they tend to become your most reliable hitters very quickly, and lategame they get ITZ or Double Tap for multiple attacks per turn - which coupled with the high crit damage of sniper rifles and snipers ease of getting crits turns them into killing machines.

[u/RedTheAloof]

I'm not sure what difficulty you are playing since its your first time, but as others have pointed out, Squadsight is better than Snapshot. The ability to shoot an enemy from afar without risk of being shot back is extremely powerful. One thing that can help with early game is Squadsight with Gunslinger, which will reliably kill Sectoids and Thin men on Normal and can potentially kill Thin men and Floaters on Classic. Sometimes, a Squadsight sniper has a bad line of sight and must waste their action moving to a different position. However, assuming you blue move, you can overwatch with your pistol and still gain the benefits of Squadsight from afar.

I would also recommend at least getting one Snapshot sniper for the sake of a different playstyle, but priority should be the Squadsight snipers. Personally, I like Snapshot snipers more since they can utilize their high crit rate and high aim to score reliable kills, but this comes at the cost of having less hp. I generally equip additional armor and a scope to reduce the possibility of being one-shot.

[u/SemajLu_The_crusader]

they make the best covert operatives IMO because of rhe g7nslinger perk or whatever it is

also, take bloody squadsight and then they can shoot a hell of a lot further...