Playing as a Sniper in ArmA2

[JaXxe 10]

Hello all, and thank you BI for this fantastic, epic title.

I am wondering which things I should consider while playing as a sniper in ArmA2.

Rifle Question:

For instance, I can't find any controls of the Elevation and Windage. For more than one target at different distances I just aim above the target for elevation, but since the normal indicators for wind (flags flapping more or less, trees budgin more or less, smoke from chimneys and so on) are not accurate ingame, I have not yet found how windage is shown - is there an indicator?

Rifle Suggestion:

It would be sooo great if one could make a sniper team, with an AI spotter on your side, whispering distance and windage when pointing on a target. Then optional controls to set those dials correctly before taking the kill.

Positioning Question:

I never go where I would brake the skyline as this would very much give away my position at once. Is this also true in ArmA2 (that staying below skyline on for instance a hill top or whatever will give you a better chance of not being detected)?

Also, I never position myself in sunlight from my 10 to 2 as this would show a light reflection on the optics of the scope giving away my position. So is this also true in ArmA2?

On a note of positioning, I find that once I am spotted I can rarely slip away into the forest and disapear from my pursuers. It is like once they have seen me, they can easily track my every move, even though I am in solid cover making evasive escape maneuvers (normally you could walk straight past a prone sniper in guilesuit within few meters and not know he is there, if he was lying in a good spot). I could understand this if they had dog patrols with them. But without dogs they should go to my last seen position and scan the area. Am I not being careful enough when falling back or is the AI a tad psychic?

Positioning suggestion:

Add optical lense effect if sniper points at you with the sun beaming into his optics. Even at great distances its a dead giveaway.

Concealment Question:

In ArmA2 if I crawl towards a good position and spot an enemy that has not spotted me. Even though I lie completly still the enemy would often spot me anyway. Now thats eagle eyes for you Is this the same psychic abillity as before, or is my camouflage inadequate?

Concealment suggestion:

One could interact with the local vegetation, making the guilesuit the correct color for the coresponding surroundings (giving the sniper a nice concealment bonus avoiding detection more effectively).

[Pain0815 10]

Try Ace2

[Murklor 10]

Concealment Question:

In ArmA2 if I crawl towards a good position and spot an enemy that has not spotted me. Even though I lie completly still the enemy would often spot me anyway. Now thats eagle eyes for you Is this the same psychic abillity as before, or is my camouflage inadequate?

Oh? How close is that, exactly. Sure the AI will spot you at <100m but at like 500m+ I've never been spotted before firing (unless in a vehicle vs other vehicles). The problem is when you shoot that lone infantryman in the back, an entire city returns fire on an area 1x2m where you're laying and kill you within 0.5 seconds.

[beagle23 16]

I didn't think the Ghillie suit actually worked in ArmA 2 against bots.

As for sniping, I usually take the biggest, most powerful rifle available, find a spot at LEAST 700m away, and only open fire by myself if there are no vehicles. If there are vehicles, I wait until someone else attacks so the AI is preoccupied.

No matter how well concealed you think you are, vehicles will always spot you and machinegun your ass.

[JaXxe 10]

Oh? How close is that, exactly. Sure the AI will spot you at <100m but at like 500m+ I've never been spotted before firing (unless in a vehicle vs other vehicles). The problem is when you shoot that lone infantryman in the back, an entire city returns fire on an area 1x2m where you're laying and kill you within 0.5 seconds.

See that's another thing. Imagine you where standing in some base in a valey in a wood somewhere, with nice hills and what not surrounding the area. You are talking to a mate and suddenly his head explodes.

Well...

1 - panic!

2 - seek cover while shouting SNIPER!!

3 - hope to live while scanning the forests for any sign of said sniper

The thing is, you would almost never see the sniper unless he fires again and you happen to see his mustle flash.

So when I position myself x hundred meters from my target in a good spot, fire one shot and then get killed within 2 seconds, that seems a bit off.

Even at 6-900 meters distance, they won't spot me but still after a while a patrol will come looking for me (if they are just VERY lucky every time or they have a lot of available patrols I don't know). Vehicles will, on the other hand often spot me at once though!

That should be dealt with somehow. Unless its a cold night and they have good IR equipment mounted :/

---------- Post added at 03:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:06 PM ----------

I didn't think the Ghillie suit actually worked in ArmA 2 against bots.

As for sniping, I usually take the biggest, most powerful rifle available, find a spot at LEAST 700m away, and only open fire by myself if there are no vehicles. If there are vehicles, I wait until someone else attacks so the AI is preoccupied.

No matter how well concealed you think you are, vehicles will always spot you and machinegun your ass.

Nice tip on the vehicles being engaged, thanks.

[Evil_Echo 11]

IRL - engine noise would make it hard for anyone nearby to localize you by sound.

[skooma 10]

Stealth and CQB in this game is really hit and miss as far as the bots go. It is probably one of its greatest weaknesses.

If you play MP with ACE2 you'll probably have a better time of it.

[maturin 12]

Imho stealth and detection work quite well. Rudimentary, but well. It's stealth mixed with engagement and hiding that's the problem, as shooting any unsuppressed weapon will give the enemy not only your position but you shoe size and blood type. It is very possible to hide once spotted, but you really do have to be completely concealed, because the AI switches from tunnel vision to biotic scanners once they are alert.

Once you run behind something, the AI have a habit of mathematically predicting your position over the next few seconds and filling the wall or bush with bullets. Sometimes this happens even minutes after you have disappeared over a ridgeline. If they lack the motivation to chase you they will stand there sending rounds over your head just to keep you running scared.