give me your best ideas

[RocKwell]

Originally Posted by VentuSag3

I fugure I should actually propose a real non-QQ idea.

Right now the current problem with snipers in competitive play comes down to this IMO:

1. The best scouts can conc past the best snipers 3/5 times.

2. One word: TIME. Even when snipers DO kill incoming offense, it isn't that big of a deal because snipers are only killing midmap. They spawn instantly to try to get past the sniper seconds later. Take this in contrast to a soldier who kills offense while they have already wasted all the time needed to actually get to were they need to be in the base. A scout that dies to a sniper has only lost maybe 4~10 seconds of his time. A scout that dies to a solly or demoman has lost 30~40 seconds of his time.

3. These two problems together creates the problem why snipers are often considered underpowered by top players: Soldiers, HW's and demomen STOP offense, while snipers only temporarily slow them down.


So what I would do is this:

-Split the current sniper rifle into 2 different weapons.
-Remove the nailgun. Snipers dont need the nailgun.
-Give them more Shotty ammo, 150 max.

Rifle #1: Assassin Sniper Rifle. This is the one snipers will actually use to kill with.

-Bullet hitbox: Same size as the currently implemented Sniper rifle.
-Forced to walk stance while zoomed in
-Remove all abilities other than doing damage. No more tag, no more cripple, no more needing to hold down the button.

-Round size: 1 shotty
-Reload time: 1 second
-Damage: 125 to body, Instant kill to head.


Rifle #2: Trick Sniper Rifle. This is where it gets interesting.

-Bullet hitbox: about 4 times bigger than the currently implemented Sniper rifle. This makes it much easier to hit with. Good snipers will hit much more concing enemies with it, however...
-Forced to walk stance while zoomed in
-Hold down completely removed

-A buffed form of tagging. Sentry guns are able to lock onto them 80% faster. Range buffed to 1500m. This would also come with a change to fortress points. Whenever an enemy tagged by a sniper is killed by one of the snipers allies, the sniper would get a "Tag assist" bonus of 50 points.

-Can also cripple via leg shot, so the prospect of crippling a target with this rifle and then switching to the Assassin rifle for the kill exists.

-"Armor crack" A body shot causes this effect. Causes the targets armor to absorb 10% less damage.

-"Dizzy" would be the same as conc effect but only lasting 9 seconds to all classes. Caused by headshot.

-Round size: 2 shotty
-Refire rate: 0.7 seconds
-Reload time: 1 second
-Damage: 25 to body, 50 to head. Ouch! big nerf, but consider how easy it is to hit with and all the special effects.



My reasoning for this is something I noticed when playing Sniper during some OvD CTF play. Tagging targets seemed more helpful to the team than actually killing them, because it gave my teamates a huge advantage to snuffing them out in base. Tagged targets would sometimes hide or be more careful and in the end this actually caused the scouts/medics to lose more time than they would have if I had killed them.

Well thats an idea from off the top of my head. Don't know if anyone else cares.

Devs, please use this for the next patch.
Not only will this allow the class to be a pub favorite like always with the insta-kills, the trick rifle could allow some different strategies in competitive play, maybe making the class a kind of "debuffer" before the enemy reaches the core defense. Like what was said, completely eliminate the nailgun. Maybe reduce the frag grenades to two (is it four right now? I forget) and give him 2 flashbangs or caltrops for additional debuffs.

Before someone comes in and explains that snipers aren't supposed to be played like that, remember that the class has been crap in competitive play, for what, ten years now? Change him up a bit and make him adjust to the flow of the game.