Sniping (computer gaming)

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Sniping, in computer gaming, especially FPS multiplayer games, is the tactic of using a very accurate, powerful weapon to kill other players or other targets at long distances. Sniping weapons can usually kill players with one hit. It is also normal for them to have a scope magnification that can be used to look across the map and locate other players or aim with precision at another player's head.

The behaviour of a player who is sniping often emulates that of a real sniper, meaning they tend to hide themselves in strategic, often high-up spots - and if they are good shots, they can kill opposing players with one shot (especially in games where especially lethal headshots are possible).

[edit] Criticism

Snipers often get accused of cheating in online games, or if not, of ruining the game for other players - mainly because the killed person may not even have realized an enemy was anywhere near. If the sniper is detected, he may be still be mostly invulnerable due to the great distance at which he can attack. As such, the argument goes that this makes the game less fun for others, and less about skill. In some games, it may also be about who manages to get one of the sometimes quite rare sniper weapons.

Proponents of the sniping playing style argue that it is a realistic, viable tactic, that it takes a lot of skill, and that accusing them of cheating, either by unfair behaviour or by using software cheats, is simply the complaining of players who cannot accept the fact they got killed.

Ultimately, the real power of snipers depends on the settings of the game, and the style of play to be encouraged (for example a fluid type of movement by all players, or a more cautious, realistic approach). Some games lower the power of headshots or of the sniping weapon to discourage the 'chilling' effect snipers can have on the gameplay, or have optional multiplayer settings which disable or weaken (nerf) these weapons.

The sniping controversy is strongly linked to the camping dispute.

[edit] Examples

• The Lightning Gun in Unreal Tournament 2004
• The Imperialist in Metroid Prime Hunters.
• The crossbow in Half-Life 2.
• The multiple sniper weapons in the Halo series.
• The AWP in the Counter-Strike series, often banned due to its high single-shot lethality
• The M82A1A or the M87ELR in the SOCOM series, lethal when shot at chest or head