How Team Snipers Makes You Worse

Alright, I like to think of myself as a fairly decent sniper. Especially way back in the day when I played hardcore. I remember when a sniper would spawn we would actually protect it until I could get there and use it sometimes. Those were the days. Anyway, not too long ago they decide to add a team snipers playlist. At first, I was excited about it. Whenever you were lucky enough to come across the rare team snipers game in the team slayer playlist, it was always a good time. However, now that the playlist has been around awhile, I am noticing a trend among players and I think it is ruining the art of sniping. Here's why:

1. The sniper rifle is the key weapon on most maps. Controlling it (or both if there are two) typically means it's lights out. Especially if you can make most of the shots count. That isn't the case anymore. Now that people play team snipers, everyone thinks they are great with the sniper rifle. People no longer have patience and will waste all the ammo in a minute or less. It's nothing to see somebody fire all four shots of a clip off trying to hit someone that is an extremely difficult kill, and then not even hitting them once. The damn snipers playlist has ammo everywhere, so it's fine and dandy to spam bullets. Howerver, in team slayer games, the sniper rifle is a gift from god. Cherish it god damnit!

2. I already slightly mentioned this above, but now everyone thinks they are the pwnzor with the sniper rifle because they get 8-10 kills in a sniper game on people that are easy shots. 9 times out of 10, the kills you get in a sniper game are on someone standing still or barely moving looking through their scopes. That isn't skill, it's luck coming across targets like that. Skill with a sniper rifle is picking off someone running perpendicular to you on non-flat terrain shooting a friend and headshotting him to conserve ammo/time and saving your friend. Skill is stepping out and popping a guy who is coming at you with a BR and downing him before he knows what the hell just happened. If there is a good sniper in your game, give him the damn gun. Don't be one of those arrogant 10 year old kids and take the damn thing from him. A good sniper can change a game from being close to pure domination.

3. This also ties in with the issue of spamming bullets. I get very tired of watching people try to pull off no scopes in open areas and wasting even more ammo on top of all of their other missed shots. Unless it's a tight walkway or something, don't be a hero and try to no scope anyone. Switching to your SMG or BR is more effective most of the time anyway. Granted, the no scope is one of the most gratifying things in the game, but it's not easy to pull off. Especially in an area where the other guys has plenty of room to dance around. You will be a better player if you just switch to your BR, grab a melee or two (jump melee if you can do it), and pop off some rounds. You stand a much better chance that way. Now don't get me wrong, some situations are perfect for no scoping. Like ascension, if you are in either one of the towers, players are forced to run in a straight line up the ramps at you. If you can't at least shoot/beatdown the guy you need to practice. But more often than not, you can get the kill much better with weapons designed for short/mid range.

Okay, my rant is over. But seriously, haven't you guys noticed this trend as well? The sniper gets tossed around like it's a plasma rifle. Give the damn thing to your baby's daddy, and let him rock some shit.