MAG – A Beginner’s Guide Part 1: The Sniper

How do you survive as a sniper in MAG and get a better kill to death ratio?

Introduction

This is a guide aimed at the beginner, but even as a combat veteran you might pick up a few tips.

In part one, I will take you through some of the tactics required to become a better player. I will cover the best equipment and the best way to approach what may the loneliest role, but one that can turn the tide of battle.

Next generation of online shooter?

Before we start though, you should probably know that playing as a sniper won’t get you as many kills as an assault rifle toting madman, but then you will also not spend every 30 seconds waiting to respawn. This improved kill/ death ratio will greatly help your team, especially on the suppression game mode, where the objective is to kill their reserves before they kill your reserves.

Load out

You have a number of slots for your load out and here is my top pick for the sniper roleL

Not the ideal load out for a sniper

Primary: You will obviously need a sniper rifle and to start with you only have access to a basic version with a stock low-power scope. This is perfectly good enough to start with though, especially on the suppression map, which is a good place to learn the ropes and start gaining experience.

Backup: Don’t forget a sidearm and although you might start out with a pistol, don’t forget to use it if cornered. A sniper rifle is your long range friend, but difficult to use for close quarters combat. With a good handgun, you will be able to fire off 10+ rounds and easily give your opponent something to think about.

Gear 1: Smoke grenades are a useful thing to have for times when the enemy has spotted you and is moving on your position. A carefully placed smoke screen will let you withdraw and live to fight again. Your other option, is the claymore, which if placed around you can surprise and kill and unwary knife wielding hoodlum.

Gear 2: I like to make sure I have some way to repair myself in case you take a bullet. Often you’ll find yourself taking non-lethal damage and so the chance to patch yourself up and find a safer place to snipe from is invaluable.

Heavy: save up for an Acoustic detector, which is available for just 2 skill points  and would be my advice for this slot – see below for why you want this piece of equipment

Armour: to be honest, I just carried on using the basic armour figuring that my best chance of surviving was moving fast and not getting shot. Once you rank up you get access to different camouflage options, so some of these may make you a little less visible.

Upgrades

Acoustic locator: this is the first upgrade I bought giving you long-range detection of anyone firing their weapon without a suppressor. It really is useful for spotting people over the other side of the map and will take your Heavy Slot

Suppressors: It’ll probably take you a while before you can equip a suppressor or silencer for your weapons, but they will give you an advantage as those using an accoustic locator won’t be able to pinpoint you.

Improved scopes: again it will take you a while before you can equip a long range scope, so perhaps concentrate on honing your skills and using your other tools instead of forlornly waiting until you can read the newspaper being carried by the enemy on the other side of the map

Staying Alive

Where would you choose to be as a sniper?

This should go without saying, but a sniper rifle will give you an advantage over distance. Your job as a sniper is to stand off and assist your squad by taking out the enemy snipers and targets of opportunity, before they hit your front lines. You need to stay alive, which means avoiding standing out like a sore thumb.

To be an effective sniper you need to know your maps and have a few sniping spots planned out. Try to avoid the obvious places such as windows in high buildings. Instead, choose the less obvious places like a pile of rubbish bags or between the concrete blocks that seem to litter the maps. Going prone presents the lowest profile to the enemy, so is the position to take, but you can also crouch behind the scenery, which is still a 50% lower profile than standing. Remember not to stand on ridges or high spots as you may as well paint a target on your chest. Situating yourself in front of a broken up background will make you much more difficult to spot. Be sure to move between your sniping spots on a regular basis, sprinting and moving as quickly as possible. Once you get a suppressor it will help protect you from people using an acoustic locator, making you an even more potent weapon.

If you are spotted, get moving and if things have got really hairy use your smoke grenades to cover your tracks. If you don’t think you can make it to your next spot, be prepared to use your sidearm and try to move and retreat, hopefully drawing your attacker into the scope of someone else.

Taking out the Enemy

To understand how to get the highest kill/ death ratio, once again you need to know your map. You should also know where your enemies tend to come from and where their snipers tend to congregate. If you have your acoustic locator equipped, this will help you pinpoint the enemy’s position.

I like to sprint to a spot and then scan for telltale enemy movement or fire. I will then zero in on those targets and take my shots, being careful to fire just a few rounds before then decamping to my next sniping position.

If the enemy is stationary you have a chance to take your time and try and get that one hit kill, i.e. a headshot. If you don’t see any stationary targets, don’t blindly fire at the first thing that moves, but patiently wait until a target runs into view and keeps moving on a predictable path. At this point, you should place your cross hair along the path and wait for them to run through it, pressing the trigger at that critical moment; trying to track a moving target is incredibly difficult and much less likely to result in a hit. Using this tactic, you will often wound the soldier and it’s here that you need to be careful. Take one or two more shots, but if you miss then it’s time to move.