Why Sniper?

Why do I play Sniper?

Is it because of the thrill of precision elimination, of taking out a valuable target in a single hit? Is it the excitement of facing another Sniper, where a slight deviation on aiming or a slight hesitation on strafing will lead to your death? Or is it the small joy of picking off enemy players, who think themselves to be safe, untouchable, up until your bullet penetrates their cranium? Or could it just be the simple pleasure of taking out enemies one by one, showing the server your mastery and precision?

Trick question, I don’t play Sniper.

Or, more accurately, I don’t snipe. I much rather use the Sniper Rifle as a bludgeoning stick instead of a high-power precision firearm.

Thing is, as I said in my shotgun article, I’m not exactly a good shot. Aside for that, when I play TF2, I like flanking and ambushing people. I adore the life-or-death encounters that you get when you are up in someone’s face. I love the brawls, the delicate footwork to weave in between gunfire, and looking into my enemies’ eyes as we wrestle with lead and fire. In short, I much rather engage in close-quarters combat than perch in a corner somewhere taking potshots at people. Thus, you can see why I’m not sniping material. To make it more clear on my view of things, here’s a simple image to illustrate my view:

However, I did played Sniper before. And it’s not just the time I picked up a Sniper Rifle when I first joined TF2, fumbled with it for a few moments, then tossed it away for a Rocket Launcher. There was a period of time in 2013 when I usually goofed around with a friend, running around with the SMG and wondering why Valve won’t let me dual-wield it…

But seriously, there was a period of time I actually worked on playing Sniper. I still wasn’t going to touch any of the Sniper Rifles with a ten-foot pole, given my preference. I was practicing how to use the Lucksman, which I later replaced with the Fortified Compound because it looks way cooler. I alternated between using the Jarate/Bushwacka combo, or using my default SMG with the Tribalman’s Shiv. In essence, I was playing as budget Rambo. I do wish for Rambo’s explosive arrow tips, but for that I can just play Soldier or something.

I didn’t stuck with it for long, though. After all, if I want to play a direct combat class, I could’ve played anyone else except for Engineer, Medic, and Spy. I can’t remember what I went for afterwards, either Scout or Demoman, but either way, I gave up on playing Sniper. Sorry Mun-dee, it’s not you, it’s me.

Still, it might be just me forgetting some key details of the bad experiences of that brief excursion, but after writing all that, I feel like going Australian Bowman again. The fragility and lack of escape options, balanced by the ridiculous burst damage of the bow’s headshots and its locomotive-sized hitbox, makes Sniper a rather promising mid-range pick class. In fact, my hands are already twitching out of eagerness to do this.

You know what? I might just pick up the bow again.