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EVE New Citizens Q&A

 
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How viable is sniping?
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jon zollinger
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#1 - 2011-10-21 04:49:53 UTC
Sorry if this is in the wrong place but I can't get to the store tell tomorrow to buy game time! So for now I'm stuck on trial! Anyway is sniping a viable battlefield niche? Are snippers actually in realistic demand? For example your a snipper in a largish scale pvp battle, can you effectively hang back and pound on the enemy with artillery?
Orlacc
#2 - 2011-10-21 04:59:02 UTC
Yes.

"Measure Twice, Cut Once."
Habba'al Zebul
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#3 - 2011-10-21 07:05:26 UTC
And long range ECM is also very useful. A squad of scorpions for example can easily change the outcome of the battle.

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Louis deGuerre
The Dark Tribe
#4 - 2011-10-21 08:06:22 UTC  |  Edited by: Louis deGuerre
A large battlefleet generally uses a small number of identical fits so
a) The Fleet Commander (FC) knows his fleets capabilities.
b) The various ships work well together (armour buffered DPS ships with remote armor repair logistic ships for example).

Sniping, or at least fitting for long range damage, is a common tactic in large fleet battles.
A major advantage is that if you outrange the enemy you can 'reach out and touch' while they can't touch you. The second advantage is that you can easily escape if you start to lose the range advantage.
The downside is that range fitted ships usually work terribly at close range so if they get the drop on you you're toast. You also do much less damage than with close range weapons. The other problem is that if you want to stop the enemy from escaping you'll need someone to close in and lock them down or have a trap waiting for them or they can easily escape you.
Aston Bradley
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#5 - 2011-10-21 08:06:52 UTC  |  Edited by: Aston Bradley
You have at least 3 scenarios where sniping is viable :

- PvE : You want to kill your targets before they can even hit you

- Gate camping : To stay out of range of the gate's sentry guns

- Large Scale pvp battles : Targets are scatered everywhere so unless you are in very fast boat, having a sniper boat will make you very effective. Also, a large scale pvp fight mean that anyone that get's to be a primary target will go down fast, and i mean really fast. Having a sniper boat is safer as you can stay out of arms way while dealing damage. Usually you want a good mix of short range ships and snipers. Too much of the first means too much damage on the fleet, and too much snippers means not enough web, points, ect...


So yes it is more than a viable option. i wouldn't use it in small gang pvp, and in solo pvp while range is important it's better to have the best dps burst to finish of your target quickly before helps arrives. Honestly it also depends of the racial ships you fly. Gallentes for exemple are much more effective with blasters which dosn't make them the ideal choice for sniping.

[i]FiS should be the priority, but WiS should not be burried!

Don't encourage CCP to make empty promises or Incarna will happen again![/i]
Ines Tegator
Serious Business Inc. Ltd. LLC. etc.
#6 - 2011-10-21 09:36:24 UTC
It's so viable its a standard fleet tactic. It takes a bit of coordination and depends on using artillery for that first alpha strike to kill the target before it knows it in danger, removing the need to get up close and tackle it. This means it's not really a viable solo technique. IMO it's very boring, since all you do is shoot at the target your FC commands, and I prefer to fly fleet support like ewar, scout or tackle when I can.

Overhaul Dscan!
Jenn Makanen
Doomheim
#7 - 2011-10-21 10:19:44 UTC
Take a look at the I was there video. apparently it's from a real(eve) fleet battle.
Mara Rinn
Cosmic Goo Convertor
#8 - 2011-10-21 10:32:26 UTC
Just be aware that with the updates to probing in Apocrypha, it is now possible to probe down a warpable hit on a sniper gang within about 5 seconds. So while the fleets in that "I was there" video had to approach the sniper fleet using afterburners and microwarpdrives, a modern gang would get a warpable hit and simply warp on top of you.

Sniping does work for PvE, and for certain PvP situations where the enemy did not bring a prober, or is focussing on the ships that are closer to them.

Day 0 Advice for New Players
Louis deGuerre
The Dark Tribe
#9 - 2011-10-21 12:43:38 UTC
Jenn Makanen wrote:
Take a look at the I was there video. apparently it's from a real(eve) fleet battle.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSxSyv4LC1c
Ines Tegator
Serious Business Inc. Ltd. LLC. etc.
#10 - 2011-10-21 22:18:33 UTC
Mara Rinn wrote:
Just be aware that with the updates to probing in Apocrypha, it is now possible to probe down a warpable hit on a sniper gang within about 5 seconds. So while the fleets in that "I was there" video had to approach the sniper fleet using afterburners and microwarpdrives, a modern gang would get a warpable hit and simply warp on top of you.

Sniping does work for PvE, and for certain PvP situations where the enemy did not bring a prober, or is focussing on the ships that are closer to them.


True, but IMO tactics will adapt and sniping ranges will close to the 100-140km range so warping can't be done easily. The main tactic of hitting them hard from where they can't you is not going to die.

Overhaul Dscan!
Tamiya Sarossa
Resistance is Character Forming
#11 - 2011-10-21 23:31:56 UTC
Mara Rinn wrote:
Just be aware that with the updates to probing in Apocrypha, it is now possible to probe down a warpable hit on a sniper gang within about 5 seconds. So while the fleets in that "I was there" video had to approach the sniper fleet using afterburners and microwarpdrives, a modern gang would get a warpable hit and simply warp on top of you.

Sniping does work for PvE, and for certain PvP situations where the enemy did not bring a prober, or is focussing on the ships that are closer to them.


Sniping gangs just require a hell of a lot more bubblers now - both to bubble the enemy fleet and to bubble around your fleet (but not on it) to prevent on-grid warps.

But yeah, the probing changes made them much less viable.
jon zollinger
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#12 - 2011-10-22 04:23:49 UTC
Thanks for all your replies, I appreciate it. See you all I'm space!
Baneken
Arctic Light Inc.
Arctic Light
#13 - 2011-10-22 14:33:02 UTC
Yes sniping fleets are less common now because of probing mechanics as it takes a little under 10s for a skilled cov ops pilot to have a warp-able reading from a scan (100%) ...
And after that your sniper fleet is butchered by that close range fleet you happened to be shooting 10s ago. Roll

So tactics based solely on sniping aren't that useful in the current game environment.