CrimeCraft Sniper Guide

CrimeCraft Sniper Guide by Kanzi

If you’ve played with or against me you know I like to use the sniper rifle. In my opinion it takes the most skill out of any of the skilled weapons but in return it’s the most powerful weapon in the game. The reason I am writing this guide is to maybe inspire someone who isn’t, to start using the sniper rifle and trying to become really good with it. Also, I’ve recently been accused of hacking, something that usually only happens to me in public CS servers. In my opinion I’m the best sniper in the game (which isn’t saying much since only 100 people log in daily). So take these tips from me, an experienced FPS gamer with 10 years of serious competition under my belt. :)

Game Settings

Options -> Game -> General Tab -> Enable Aiming on touch

I enable Aiming on touch. It allows me to zoom in and out quickly. (I also enable crouch on touch).

Keyboard Config

Maybe a bit unrelated to sniping but I bind as much as I can to mouse buttons. I have sprint and melee bound to the left side button (mouse4) and the mwheel button (mouse3). This allows my left hand to stay on the movement keys giving me better overall control of my movements. It’s also a good idea to bind the two primary and the secondary weapon to keys close to your movement keys, for example q,e,r if you use wasd. You should also bind a few of your ability keys to something close to your hand.

Mouse Sensitivity

I play with a pretty high sensitivity most of the time; this will increase your zoom sensitivity since it is a percentage of your regular mouse sensitivity. I will actually change my sensitivity around a lot depending on the mood I’m in, and how well I’m aiming at the moment. Usually when I’m fresh and ready to try hard (lol), I play with a lower sense and really get into hitting every shot. As I get tired/bored I turn the sensitivity up and do more flick shots.

A good way to get a baseline sensitivity that isn’t too high is to progressively turn up your sense until it feels uncomfortable, then turn it down just a little bit.

Video Settings

This isn’t entirely necessary but I play with everything on low and low quality checked. I could run things higher but I prefer to have the highest possible framerate in all situations making for smoother gameplay. I would reduce your resolution if your game still slows in firefights even with everything on low, it will be harder to see things in the distance but worth it for the smoother gameplay.

Gaming Hardware/Environment

I use a Logitech G3. I’ve tried many other mice and this one is the most comfortable for me. I swear by this mouse, I’ve used G5s and other Logitech and Microsoft mice, and nothing can compare with the simplicity and light weight of this mouse. It’s still a “gaming mouse” so it has the high DPI and a DPI toggle button as well as two side buttons but it’s pretty cheap.

I also use a large mouse pad on a flat desk, not one of those trays that roll out with your keyboard and mouse on it, that doesn’t provide enough room.

My monitor is a 22″ Samsung Syncmaster226BW and I sit way too close to it….

CrimeCraft Sniping Strategy

Ok here we go, most of the time I am doing what I call “quick scoping.” You do this by having the enemy lined up in the middle of your screen (or close to it) before you zoom. After you zoom you quickly make small adjustments and fire your shot and zoom out. It’s really important to have the enemy lined up before you zoom since your FOV is cut down considerably and your sensitivity is cut way down. It can be really hard to get your crosshair on the enemy after you zoom if he wasn’t close to the crosshair to begin with. Also, the whole quick scope is very quick; you line up, zoom, and make a small adjustment then fire. Don’t hesitate; it should be more like a reaction than actually aiming. If you miss then just try again. I can get two quick scopes off very quickly and if they both hit, I can drop any opponent, even a decked out level 50 with the heavy resist drug (I’ll explain how below).

NOTE: If you’ve played counter-strike 1.6 or source then you know the sniping in this game is similar to the AWP. There is a big difference though, when you zoom in this game the center of the screen will actually shift (down and to the left I think), this makes a true “quick scope” or “no scope” (since in CS it looks like they didn’t scope at all), almost impossible unless the enemy is really close to you. Also there is a small delay between when you zoom and when you can shoot the gun.

If you’re having troubles aiming the rifle while zoomed then try to just pay attention to the center crosshair bar (the one on the bottom) and try to line that up with the enemies legs or feet depending on how far away he is. Don’t even wait for the red dot to appear, just line it up and shoot. Sometimes the dot won’t appear if a guard rail or something else partially blocks your shot, in this game bullets go through many surfaces so you might score a hit anyway.

A lot of people have trouble keeping an enemy in the center of their screen without a crosshair (some even with a crosshair). This comes with practice. A trick that some people do (I don’t though) is to use a marker and put a dot in the middle of your monitor. You may not want to ruin your monitor so a finger smudge could help also (an old trick from my CS LAN tourney days :). Either way eventually you’ll get used to/better at keeping the enemy lined up if you actively try to.

Character Setup

I use the Exeter Marquis (the 120 damage sniper rifle) with at least one slot. If you can’t find a 2 or 3 slot sniper for sale then just buy the 1 slot (Exeter Marquis B2).

The first thing I always put on a sniper rifle is a trigger since it has the highest damage add of the modifications. I would say the next most important thing would be a module for the additional damage and penetration (which I guess increases the damage of your wall shots?). If you have a third slot I would put on a shell for run speed. I’ve never tried a barrel or sight; they’re probably useless on the sniper rifle.

Get the best damage add serum you can find. I’ve been using the Betadyne Ampliflex A+35 which is the +35% damage serum from the gold bar vendor dude.

With that serum and a rifle with a trigger (the trigger may not even be required) you will one shot everyone in the game except for some level 50s with good gear and/or people using a +resists/+hitpoints drug. Those people may require two shots but trust me, the majority of the time people are dropping in one hit.

I use the Gonzo 3 skill which increases my drug duration by 30%. This gives me more time to get off shots while my damage is at its highest. Other skills I use are Liquid Armor 3 and the NBR Grenade (heal grenade). I don’t use stealth since it cuts down on the amount of time I’m able to shoot my sniper rifle, and I think it’s boring and cheap but weaker players may find its utility useful.

General Tips

I figured I’d add some things that help me in general to be a good FPS player.

1. Exercise – LOL I know exercise for video games. But really it’s a good lifetime habit anyway and I swear when I’m in shape my mind reacts way faster.

2. Relax – It’s just a game, try not to let it get you too worked up. When you’re in a clam state you’re much less likely to make mistakes and you’ll be landing those shots left and right. It’s easy to get worked up in a fast paced FPS game. It really helps to consciously try to clam yourself down, take deep breaths. You’ll feel better and play better.

3. Limit your game time – Humans can really only concentrate on a task for 3-4 hours at a time maximum. After that (and probably well before for most people) your performance will deteriorate. If you keep on in that state you may begin to do weird things to compensate. It could result in you developing bad habits that are hard to shake.

Feel free to comment, discuss, and criticize what was said here!