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He's a dead man.
—Sniper about to attack

The Sniper is a European infantry specializing in taking out enemy infantry from a distance without exposing their location by their high-caliber bolt-action rifles.

Official description[]

To face the threat of the vast manpower reserves of the Soviets, the Euro Alliance found a resolution that fits within their defensive strategy during the conflict. Knowing that during the Second Great War the Soviets were simply sending hordes of badly trained Conscripts together with NCOs that had little to none knowledge about commanding and operating on the field, it became clear the infantry hordes were vulnerable to attacks from hidden positions and great distances.

Skilled Snipers have no problem dealing with the Soviet troops, causing panic and fear in their lines, making them chaotic and unorganised on the field. After the war, the countries of Euro Alliance decided that there should be one Sniper in an infantry company. The best marksmen in the companies who had the highest score during the basic and advanced training, were granted advanced sniper rifles, a weapon feared among even the most armored of Soviet troops.[1]

Overview[]

For a detailed list of changes from the original game, click here.

Equipped with a long-range sniper rifle, the Sniper specializes in taking out enemy infantry from distances exceeding the retaliation or detection range. However, they are completely useless against vehicles and buildings.

The Sniper can deploy a ring of sandbags around itself to improve its range and rate of fire. It is recommended to deploy the Sniper on high ground for further range increase. When loaded into an AMC, it enhances its mobility, survivability and rate of fire. The Sniper does not reveal its position when attacking in the shroud, which can be advantageous, especially when the enemy has poor scouting capabilities. Together with Gap Generators, Snipers can be well hidden from the enemy's sight while sniping infantry.

Snipers are most effective against basic infantry with little armor such as Conscripts, Flak Troopers and Archers. They are also excellent counters against lone Epsilon Adepts or Attack Dogs, killing them off instantly from a distance. On the other hand, better armored infantry such as Tesla Troopers, Brutes and Knightframes require several shots. Although most infantry cannot survive being in a sniper's sights for long, it lacks the power to quickly kill those with exceptional durability. Examples such as Volkov, Zorbfloaters and Giantsbanes are very difficult to take down by a lone Sniper. However, unlike Viruses, multiple Snipers can work together and attack the same target in attempt to remove such threats.

Regrettably the Sniper has other drawbacks as well. Its slow rate of fire makes the Sniper disadvantaged in close quarters, where it can be swarmed. A couple of Attack Dogs can easily overwhelm the lone Sniper. It is also very fragile, and completely defenseless against vehicles or air units. In addition, the Sniper is only available at Tier 3 and has limited effectiveness in the late game, unless massed in numbers.

AI behavior[]

Snipers controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

Medium/Hard[]

  • 1x loaded inside an Archon AMC, then proceed to target infantry
    • This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Archon AMC with the same passenger
  • 3x guarding Patriot Missiles or Prism Towers
  • 3x targeting infantry, accompanied by 4 Navy SEALs and 3 Attack Dogs
  • 4x targeting infantry

Appearances[]

Use Snipers to quickly eliminate enemy infantry from a great distance.
—Allied intel during Operation: Wrong Side

In the following missions, Snipers appear among United States and Pacific Front forces in limited numbers:

Special Ops[]

  • Snipers are first encountered as enemy units in Archetype. If the Terror Drone prototype is destroyed or the second objective is completed, a squad of Snipers will be paradropped into the area.

Act One[]

  • The Sniper first appears as a controllable unit in Wrong Side and becomes trainable in Panic Cycle.
  • In Human Shield, eliminate Snipers is the first objective to complete.

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Effective against basic infantry.
  • Attack range far greater than that of standard infantry units, longer than that of the Virus when deployed.
  • When deployed, its sniping capabilities improve.
  • Does not reveal position when attacking.
  • Faster rate of fire and greater mobility when loaded into an AMC.
  • Useless against vehicles and buildings.
  • Very fragile, easy to kill with anti-infantry weapons.
  • Very slow rate of fire.
  • Lacks firepower to kill infantry with high amount of health or armor.
  • Cannot attack air units.
  • Mediocre movement speed.
  • Only available late in the game, after building a Shield Command and a Tech Center.

Behind the scenes []

  • In version 3.0, Sniper was a campaign-only unit, untrainable and owned by all three Allied subfactions. However, during the mission renewing of 3.3, it didn't change at all: Euro Alliance cannot train them in any Act One missions until version 3.3.4, and the United States still have large amount of them even they're initially having the similar infantry Riot Trooper. Snipers appear widely among the Americans while appearances of Riot Troopers in Act One are few. These laggy and old design weren't changed at all until in version 3.3.4.
  • The Sniper's deployed sprite is a public asset and can be used by other modders. The link can be found here (named Deployable Sniper).

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

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