Overview
spent 5 hours writing a long as guide to make it look like he knows what he’s talking aboutwho tf would spend 10,000 years writing a 30k words essay??? LOLhttps://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1669272022
sweaty nerds
ATTENTION !
This guide is not completely finished yet. Later on, some new sections may be added or the existing ones may be expanded. Major changes will be mentioned in the “Changelog” section.
This guide is quite long. I do not expect anyone to read it in one sitting and strictly from top to bottom. It has a modular structure which makes it possible to read it in whatever order you desire and skip sections you have no interest in. However, I would still recommend reading the topmost things first, as the most important aspects of playing Sharpshooter have been placed above the secondary content.
Numbers, loadouts and strategies provided in this guide are oriented at fully populated (6-player) “Hell On Earth” difficulty matches and level 6 Sharpshooters unless otherwise noted. “Hell on Earth” is the highest standard difficulty in the game. The maximum standard player (at which all the enemies get the highest health pools) count is 6. Level 6 means that the perk is fully levelled and its full potential is unlocked.
This guide is not concerned with:
Various methods of levelling the perk.
Optimization of the loadouts and strategies for difficulties below Hell on Earth (Beginner, Normal, Hard, Suicidal)
Obtaining achievements related to the perk, its weapons and various official maps this game has to offer.
Zed health levels pushing over those that are provided for the standard limit of 6 players per server.
Custom modifications which fundamentally alter the base gameplay and/or mechanics of the Sharpshooter perk.
Meme loadouts and strategies unacceptable for players who are both informed and trying to win (the opposite of fooling around).
Feel free to point out typos and inaccuracies in the comment section.
Introduction
Sharpshooter is an aim-intensive, headshot-oriented perk which can effectively deal with every single zed the game throws at them.
With most of the optimal loadouts listed in this guide Sharpshooter becomes a generalist – a player properly equipped to deal with lower trash zeds (Clots, Stalkers, Crawlers, Gorefasts), medium trash zeds (Bloats, Sirens, and Husks), as well as large zeds (Scrakes and Fleshpounds). Generalist Sharpshooters can be stacked fine – having multiple Sharpshooters in the team does not hurt the team’s trash cleaning or large zed killing potential (this is not the case with stacking Commandos, Medics and M99 Sharpshooters, for instance).
The only exception from this pattern is the loadout centered around M99 which turns the Sharpshooter into a designated large zed specialist.
Sharpshooter is also one of the most effective perks for the Boss Wave thanks to spike damage weapons and long effective range.
Sharpshooter has the longest effective range out of all perks, as well as consistent access to the best incapacitation mechanic in the game – stun – which can completely immobilize Scrakes and interrupt Husk’s attacks.
Many Sharpshooters start their journey with the Crossbow because of its ease of access to newcomers, low recoil, strong damage per shot, ability to stun Scrakes earlier than other weapons, huge zooming capabilities and effectiveness at lower difficulties. Unfortunately, this is where some of them stop and assume that Crossbow-oriented weapon combinations are the best Sharpshooter can offer (especially when the maximum perk level spawns them with a Crossbow). Some of them may or may not transition to M99 to make the game a walk in the park.
I strongly encourage you not to commit these mistakes. Do not consider ease of use the determining factor for the playstyle and loadout choice. Sharpshooter has a great loadout diversity, and nearly every single weapon has its place in the optimal loadouts. There exist loadouts and strategies with a higher skill ceiling and challenging risk/reward combinations. Spend some time playing the perk and exploring the depth it has to offer.
Sharpshooter training
1. Large zed takedowns
In multiplayer matches, Sharpshooters are expected to deal with large zeds (Scrakes and Fleshpounds) quickly and efficiently. The concept of killing large zeds is referred to as “large zed takedowns” or, alternatively, “large zed speedkills”. Unless Sharpshooters use loadouts centered around Crossbow or M99, large zeds cannot be killed as trivially as Clots, Crawlers, and Gorefasts. Sharpshooter’s takedowns typically require a high degree of accuracy, timing, and leave little room for error.
Proficiency in large zed takedowns can be achieved by training in maps designed specifically for this purpose – Test Maps such as:
SteamyTestMapV3 by Skell
Unfortunately, it has been removed from the Steam Workshop, but it can be downloaded from an alternative resource – [link] . Search for “Testing Mode” and reveal the spoiler (“Спойлер”). “D/L” links are the ones I’ve listed further.
Steam’s link filter hides MediaFire links, so I’m going to list them the dirty way.
[ [link] .com/file/5y6j4dckbs9bnx7/KF-SteamyTestMapV3.zip ] (remove the space between “mediafire” and “.com”)
SteamyTestMapV3RodeoMod
Can be found in the same place as SteamyTestMapV3. Direct download link:
[ [link] .com/file/65pjdgww109c4dl/KF-SteamyTestMapV3RodeoMod.zip ]
TheTestmap-2 by Mutant
Steam Workshop Link.
Tweak the zed health levels by adjusting the amount of faked players. SteamyTestMap variations usually start at full 6-player health levels, and TheTestMap-2 starts at 1-player health levels (+0 faked). After that select the perk and adjust its level.
Sharpshooting, however, doesn’t end here.
2. Lane holding
In multiplayer matches, Sharpshooters usually hold lanes on designated holdout spots with teammates or by themselves. In order to successfully hold a lane, it’s necessary to kill all the zeds that attempt to enter the area before they’re able to deal damage. This requires proper target prioritization and shooting things in the head (the smallest hitzone).
2.1 Head hitbox placement
Head hitbox placement in this game may be counterintuitive at times. For instance, on dedicated servers a stunned Scrake’s hitbox does not immediately align with its head model and remains above the head for some time. In order to see where exactly the hitboxes are located and study their behavior when the zed is hit or is under a certain affliction, use the Test Maps linked above.
SteamyTestMapV3 and SteamyTestMapV3RodeoMod
ESC -> Commands -> Misc. options -> Check “Draw head hitboxes”.
The color of the hitboxes can be customized in the “Display” tab (“Head Hitboxes”).
TheTestMap-2
ESC -> Testmap -> Generic -> Check “Display headzones” (head hitboxes) and “Display Hitboxes” (other hitboxes).
ATTENTION !
Hitboxes in Solo mode and on Listen servers are going to be different from the ones on Dedicated servers. If you’re going to play multiplayer matches at some point, chances are they’re going to take place on dedicated servers, and not all hitbox-related habits you acquire on other kinds of servers will be transferrable. For this reason, I recommend getting adjusted to hitboxes the right way from the start by using dedicated servers for everything, even solo games.
The process of setting up a dedicated server is pretty straightforward. It’s described in the respective TWI Wiki page[wiki.tripwireinteractive.com]. However, I’d like to note the following:
You should use the following SteamCMD download link for Windows (instead of the one the Wiki suggests): [link] .
If you’re running the server from the same PC you’re playing on, make sure to start the server after starting the game.
If you’re not planning to invite players located outside of your home network, you don’t need to forward any ports.
2.2 Single-lane solo maps
blah blah blah
who tf would spend 10,000 years writing a 30k words essay??? LOL
[link]