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Quick tips for Allied Snipers to deal with invading Sniper Jaegers.
Foreward
Hello Snipers!
I’ve played around with Invasions on both sides, I feel I have a decent winrate and victory count (100+ for the Jaeger and 16+ for the Allied Sniper, 1 Defeat for Allied, 5-10 for the Jaeger).
I find invasions pretty fun, it’s a real thrill to go up against a thinking opponent, however in particular I find being the Allied Sniper to be more of a thrill. Having to hunt down, and sometimes pick out the enemy sniper from the NPCs, then kill them before they find you while an army is at their disposal to be their eyes and ears.
I’ve noticed a lot of people struggle as the Allied Sniper and do not find it fun, so I’m going to offer up what I hope are helpful tips for people hunting themselves a Sniper Jaeger.
Tip One – Focus mode
L-ALT on the keyboard, unsure of what it is on the controller.
Focus mode will first and foremost, give you a direction indicator on your compass if a Jaeger has invaded. Flashing red it will give you a rough direction to focus your attention in. You can use that plus any other clues (or by seeing how the indicator moves as you move) to narrow down where the Jaeger is.
Once the Jaeger gets close, the indicator will surround your compass and flash.
Once close enough the Jaeger’s outline will be displayed in the same way NPCs will. Some Jaegers will try to mimic NPCs, check the outline of the weapon if you are unsure, NPCs rarely have funky, modified rifles. However being able to see their outline is an incredible advantage that the Jaeger does not have. You can use this to track their movements inside buildings or other tight quarters and ambush them as they round a corner. You can also use this to see them even if they are laying prone in grass.
Tip Two – Binocs first, scope second
I have had several kills as a Sniper Jaeger where the allied sniper was scouting for me or using his rifle carelessly and gave his location away with the scope glint. Much like the NPC snipers, your scope gives off this glint that is clearly visible to the Jaeger and will not only warn them you are aiming at them, it will give your position away. If you’re not about to end this startling revelation by shooting the Jaeger in the head, you’re in trouble.
So, when searching at longer ranges, use the binoculars, take care not to accidentally tag the Jaeger as it will warn them they have been tagged. Jaegers will rarely be so careless as to remain stationary if they get that notification. Once the Jaeger has been located, freely swap to your rifle and engage, unless they’re too far away to engage in this manner.
Some scopes specifically do not cause scope glint, as well I would assume that removing the scope entirely will also remove scope glint.
Tip Three – The invasion phone and the camping penalty
Invasion Phones – Do not, for the love of god, use one if you think the Jaeger is anywhere near you.
Several times I have ran up to the Allied Sniper and melee’d them as they were locked in the animation of using the phone because I could hear Karl asking about the Jaeger and realized immediately where the allied sniper is.
Secondly, the intel you get from phones is, while more exact than the indicator in focus mode, only going to be good for the thirty seconds it takes for the Jaeger to be somewhere else. Only use it if you’re certain the Jaeger is far away from you and you need to narrow down what general area they’ll be in.
Now, the Jaeger using the phone on you or getting the camping penalty, will give your rough position to the Jaeger. While this may seem like a bad thing it can also be a very good thing, if you relocate quickly and pay attention to the direction they’re in in focus mode, you can almost certainly ambush the Jaeger as they go to search where you were. I have taken out a couple of Jaegers just for them looking at where I was instead of where I am. I will go into detail on ambushes later.
If you have gotten that camping penalty you -must- relocate, otherwise the next penalty will be that you’ve been tagged and it will be much harder to shake that.
Tip Four – Tall grass and you
Crouching in tall grass is only good for the NPCs, a Jaeger and yourself will see enemies, including other players, crouched in the grass as clear as day.
However when prone you are nearly invisible, if you need to hide from NPCs and a Jaeger both, laying prone in grass and turning on focus mode to watch the enemies around you is the way to do it.
Focus Mode is also advantageous for being able to see Jaegers even when they are also prone in the grass, make use of this!
Tip Five – The NPCs
The Jaeger can tag NPCs and buff their awareness, when tagged (the buff tags them automatically) they will report all sightings of you to the Jaeger.
This can work for you and against you, Jaegers setting up their information network sometimes stand still in daft places, if they do and you see it then you should be able to kill them there and then.
In addition the location they get from the NPCs is the same as the red/yellow triangle displayed on your minimap. If you can break contact with the NPCs and get to a position overlooking that spot, you can ambush the Jaeger as they come to investigate.
You will also be warned if the NPC that is spotting you is part of the Jaeger’s information network as they will have an iron cross symbol as part of the detection indicator instead of it just being a white/yellow/red curve.
Tip Six – Traps and you
Often a clever Axis sniper will lay landmines, sometimes to cover a shooting position they have taken but also to booby-trap objectives.
These mines serve three purposes, first is obviously to try and kill you.
Second is to provide a loud audio warning of your location that they can quickly react to if they’re nearby.
Third is area denial, if the mine is laid out in an obvious spot but would involve a lot of noise in dealing with.
When dealing with mines take care to be aware of where the Axis Sniper is most likely going to be and how long it’ll take them to investigate an explosion. Or if they’re watching the mine waiting for you to try and do something about it or set it off so they can finish you off.
Alternatively you can turn this around on the Jaeger by laying your own mines to hinder them in return, or for an NPC to step on to create a distraction, or a lure.
Tip Seven – Laying an ambush
If a marker of any kind giving your position away has gone down or you have done anything, intentional or otherwise, to attract the Jaeger’s attention to a certain area, (Gunfire, objective completion, explosions), it is more than likely the Jaeger is on the way to try and turn you into sausage.
Ideally you will have moved away from where they are going but in a position to overlook it, what’s the ideal position?
Ideally it is somewhere that overlooks where the Jaeger’s attention will be, somewhere NPCs will not stumble upon you and ideally somewhere you are completely hidden. Consider being behind cover and using the third person camera to look past it, or in a nook concealed by foilage where you can scout with binoculars inconspicuously. Dark areas are also good as they will help conceal you.
Avoid obvious spots like towers, balconies and rooftops are to be avoided at all costs. As well, do not wait in the open or crouched in grass as you will be alarmingly visible. Your background is important too, if you’re silhouetted against the horizon you will be VERY easy to see. Most definitely do not stand in an especially well-lit area in an otherwise dark part of the map.
Most importantly when you are in your spot, do not get tunnel vision, regularly check focus mode and make sweeps with your binoculars for the Jaeger as they approach where you think they will be.
Keep in mind smart Jaegers will not run into the open and will likely pick a spot overlooking the point of interest as well. So try and look for other spots that overlook where their attention will be, particularly if it’s in the direction you last had for them.
Lastly – Know your Enemy
More than anything what will help you survive against invasions as the Allied Sniper will be to know how it works from the Invader’s perspective.
To that end, it will be worth playing some rounds of invasion yourself to get a feel for how it works. (As well as how often you sneak up on an Allied Sniper that isn’t paying attention.)
As well, check out the following guide written for invaders, while invaders will differ in playstyle, it highlights how some of them will be coming at you:
https://www.yekbot.com/sniper-elite-5-road-to-100-invasions/