Capt. Lortie Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 Hello, I would like to submit the the CM community some problems I encountered while practicing my skills as a German sniper. It seems my snipers are just not able to kill infantry troops now matter what I do. I have tried everything; from green to crack, from range of 50 meters to 600 and from firing to an enemy exposed on a road to firing on an enemy well hidden. So far, in no less than 15 CM games, I have yet to see ONE kill credited to my snipers. Do you guys have any hints on this matter? I would really appreciate any tips, as the only competence of my snipers lies in their suppressing fire. Thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mr. Johnson-<THC>- Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 I have the same problem. Sometimes I get them to nail a Tank Commander, but suppression seems to be their thing. When I have them hidden they let the enemy get on top of them before firing. I just played a GB with a Fuisler company which comes with six snipers and I placed 4 off with the company commmander, but did not have enemy attack that position, but I will try again, maybe that CO can get them all to ambush for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 I've had *very* effective use of them against tank commanders as have others. There's another thread open right now that discusses this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holman Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 Remember that "credited" kills in the unit info display only mention kills that were seen and confirmed. Think of all the kills that you know your mortars cause, but that don't show up because they were not seen and confirmed. Perhaps the fact that snipers fire at long range means that few of their kills are confirmed and listed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brethon Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 martyr, i was thinking the same thing, but 50m away on an open road? ------------------ The worst part of any conflict is peacekeeping, it is the time when only one side may fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 A sniper might not fire on a target at 50 meters because he doesn't want to give his position away. Units do have a sense of self-preservation. Try placing your snipers where the nearest enemy units are 150-200 meters away. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolGotha999 Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 In my experience (that is all I can comment on), snipers seem to be UNREAL at creating suppression within a squad. Yes the ability to kill is there, but I've watched a sniper from a few hundred yards pin an entire squad with his FIRST SHOT. Once the squad is pinned and searching for the sniper, flank in another to clean up. Remember the sniper scene in Saving Private Ryan? - ok in that instance, one man was shot and eventually died, but that lone German sniper in the belltower pinned that entire squad from over FOUR FOOTBALL FIELDS AWAY until he was taken out (which if the US sniper wasn't JUST SO BAD ASS in that movie), that whole squad could've been pinned for MUCH LONGER. Now imagine if there was a German infantry squad waiting on the Ami's flanks - does that make sense? Gol. p.s. - again, this has been my experience, but it may prove useful?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAZ NZ Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 I had the same problem, but i figured it out real fast. When in combat i give them max elevation and try to keep them concealed till the last moment. **Give them a good position.** A good range 150-200, with good visibilty All it takes is some supressing fire and they can be toast and may not want to fire. Even the threat of being shot at seems to cause them to not try for a shot. Remember they are a one man unit. Use them with other troops covering them if u can. I too try to pick off tanks commanders but infantry can do it just as well ive found. Its strange u havent killed anyone, but u will get there, just try differnt approaches. I know its strange that they may not shoot at an open target clsoe by, by logic comes in here. Would u a sniper open up on a group of guys who have submachines guns etc close by, sure u might get one but they may rush u and kill u. I think the commands they follow may be based on stealth and self preservation. Just for the record I knocked out a Marder II with me crack sniper the other day. Lucky shot. Good luck. ------------------ Lo there to i see my father, Lo there do i see my Mother,and my sisters and my brothers, Lo there do i see the line of my people back to the beginning, Thou they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla where the brave may live forever.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiJoe Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 I had a sniper kill 2 of my TC's and basically force me to keep my other 2 tanks button for most of the game. Its all about placement. If you can keep their location hidden they run riot and zap anything of value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Brizee Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 I found a good use for snipers. Put on on a hill behind a patch of trees. Put an infantry platoon in the trees. Make the snier fire, and maybe retreat A PBEM opponent will sometimes rush him, walking into your infantry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacestick Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Von Brizee: I found a good use for snipers. Put on on a hill behind a patch of trees. Put an infantry platoon in the trees. Make the snier fire, and maybe retreat A PBEM opponent will sometimes rush him, walking into your infantry<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks for the tip Breezy I will keep that in mind in our pbem and make sure I do not fall for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Brizee Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 lol Damn! Giving information to the enemy!!! I am incredibly surprised my jeeps are stil living! I thought they would be dead by now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacestick Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Von Brizee: lol Damn! Giving information to the enemy!!! I am incredibly surprised my jeeps are stil living! I thought they would be dead by now!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Believe me , I have been trying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 What I've found as an effective tactics for keeping snipers alive in village-type maps. You take your sniper and a half squad along with it. You put the sniper in the top floor of a tall building with a good view, and keep the half squad on the bottom floor in "Hide" position. If anyone sees the sniper, retreat to the back of the building where fire can't reach you. If the enemy infantry decide to rush the sniper after he capped a few of their buddies, they run into the building and there's your half squad. Chances are, you'll kill those guys thank to the element of surprise, and give your sniper time to get away to another position. So what if you lose a half squad for the price of most of his full squad and a few sniper shots? Hope that helps. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanachai Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Capt. Lortie: Hello, I would like to submit the the CM community some problems I encountered while practicing my skills as a German sniper. It seems my snipers are just not able to kill infantry troops now matter what I do. I have tried everything; from green to crack, from range of 50 meters to 600 and from firing to an enemy exposed on a road to firing on an enemy well hidden. So far, in no less than 15 CM games, I have yet to see ONE kill credited to my snipers. Do you guys have any hints on this matter? I would really appreciate any tips, as the only competence of my snipers lies in their suppressing fire. Thanks for the info <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'll pass on to you what I've seen in other posts on the board, as well as what I've seen myself. First, remember that you're soldier is not a sniper, but a sharpshooter(this distinction has been discussed extensively elsewhere, including good comments from BTS). What this basically boils down to is they are very good, but not magical, marksman. One shot does not equal one kill. That said, they are still very good marksman. Next, they do better if you leave them alone, rather than issuing them orders. When I first used them, I kept assigning them targets, many of which were pointless or stupid. I (and posts I've read from others) suggest letting them pick their own targets, just get them into a place (elevation, good cover, great field of fire, etc.) where they can do their stuff. Given that they have an ammo load (somewhat abstracted) of '10', is it really all that useful for them to knock off 1-2 guys in a squad? Far better for them to kill mortar crews, MG crews, HQs units, Tank Commanders, etc., rather than knocking off a few infantrymen. Next, their stealth and the difficulty of spotting them is what makes them very effective. Firing on close by infantry squads, or assigning them targets that will get them excessively noticed is a good way to destroy their effectiveness. They draw fire, get suppressed, etc., and they, as an individual without support, are much more likely to seek new locales when they start drawing fire. Finally, in my personal opinion, the 'identified kills' section of your unit info screen is fun, but pointless. Do not rely on it for real information about how well a unit has done. It will not show kills that took place before a unit reached the 'fully identified' state (except for the vehicles when you get 'unknown vehicle' destroyed) where you know how many men, etc there are in the unit fired upon. If you are using this as an accurate indicator of how effective certain units or troops are, you are going to be led badly astray. Use it to check out who did well when things got up close and deadly, but chances are you'll already know who did well. Occasionally it can be a good way of determining which unit managed to kill and AFV when you had a couple it could have been and can't tell from the playback. Also, don't always assume that a unit is merely being suppressed. I think sometimes these 'suppressions' are actually the result of a unit taking a casualty. No hard proof, in many cases, but just a gut feeling. ------------------ After witnessing exceptional bravery from his Celtic mercenaries, Alexander the Great called them to him and asked if there was anything they feared. They told him nothing, except that the sky might fall on their heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts