Prof. NiceHeart’s Guide to SMG Sniper

Prof. NiceHeart was a short-lived SPUFer who got himself banned when someone realized he was an alt of Dr. EvilBrain, a prominent user who got himself banned for creating the shortest-lived itsurblog in history following the messy closure of the original. NiceHeart’s other claim to fame was being SPUF’s resident SMG-maining Sniper, and recently he set some time aside to advise others on how to improve at this oft-maligned subclass.

One final note: At the time this interview was done, the Cleaner’s Carbine had these stats. 

Welcome! Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m Professor NiceHeart and I main Sniper for pubstomping, and I’m here to answer your SMG Sniper questions or die trying. Whether you’re asking about cosmetics, taunting, bursting, or rifles, I’ll give as much info as I can. One note: This is a SMG Sniper advice thread. I am truly awful at Sniper as a sniper, so don’t expect much help there.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: SMG or Carbine? And what should I equip in my other two slots? Depends on your playstyle. I prefer the stock SMG since the higher mag is essential for SMG Snipers. There are so many times I have gotten screwed over by the shorter mag. However, the one situation I find it useful to use the Carbine is if you can finish off someone and whip out your Kukri. For primaries, the Huntsman is the only thing you should be using. Otherwise, the Machina is useful if you don’t want to accidentally fire your rifle. For melees, all Kukris are fairly good besides the Bushwacka. Each of them are good in different situations but I find the Shiv to work best for me.

Kukri – Decent all around melee. Nothing really special about it. Can be paired decently with the Cleaner’s Carbine.
Shiv – Situational side grade to the Kukri. I personally use the Shiv for its Spychecking ability. It can be paired effectively with the Cleaner’s Carbine for critical bleeding.
Shahanshah – As an SMG Sniper, you will almost always be on the frontlines. This weapon works well for those who don’t quite grasp how to use the environment to your advantage. If you can’t fire from cover effectively, you may want to consider using this. Also works decently with the Cleaner’s Carbine for 200 damage crits.

I’m actually abysmal at using the SMG in combat. Any tips for using the weapon? Here is a complete guide I wrote a few years back.

1) Try to stand strafe aim as much as possible
2) Burst fire. Short controlled bursts are essential for this
3) Do not try to twitch aim. This will get you killed
4) As most people will try to jump around, try to slightly bob your mouse up and down. Doing this side to side will also work against Scouts.

How does SMG Sniper match up against other subclasses such as fat scout, battle medic and gunspy? Shotgun heavy wins 80% of the times. As long as he can get in close, the Heavy will dominate with overwhelming health and with the Shotty. The only way a Sniper can win is if he gets the jump on the Heavy and uses range as an advantage.

With enough practice, the Syringe Gun can hit from extreme ranges and is devastating in the hands of a good Medic. Medic will almost always win if he spots the Sniper first. Even if the Sniper finds the Medic first, the fact that the Medic has innate healing and a larger ammo mag and pool makes it unlikely for the Sniper to get them without taking considerable losses.

For a Gunspy, the Spy will have range but the Sniper will have fire speed. Though the Spy will only need 5-6 shots, the Sniper has supperior fire speed and can do everything a Revolver can but better. If you are fightng an Ambassador Spy, your only hope is to try to take use of your SMG‘s fire rate. The gun will cause slight flinching and you can take advantage of that.

If there was a hypothetical 12 v 12 Highlander mode where the extra three classes are Bootieknight, Trolldier, and SMG Sniper, what role would the SMG sniper fill on his team? The SMG Sniper would be a harasser of the team.While they won’t get much kills, they can become a harasser without getting much in the way. Especially if you get extremely good at situational awareness and using cover, you can finish off enemies that rockets or pipes won’t get. However, I don’t know much about Comp, so I can’t really provide you with more than that.

Thanks for your time with us today! Got any last pieces of advice before we sign off? You should taunt with caution. Excessive taunting makes you turn into another Sniper archetype, the #MLGPRO420BLAZEITHARDYOLOSWAG SNIPER ELITE COD PRO. When you need to taunt, you should do the SMG one if you killed them at close range, Rifle for long range (the SMG has a fairly good range and should not be underestimated), and Melee for Spies, Scouts, and Snipers.