Overview
For people who like to eliminate their enemies from far away, or people trying to deal with a enemy that is to dangerous to approach.
Introduction
This guide is here to help you understand the basics of sniping, from getting the right ammo to getting a good position.
This guide will go through the most important rules to sniping, as it can be hard sniping in fallout because most of the enemies only spawn when you are close, making long range sniping almost useless, however it makes it easier to get a good shot because whatever you want to kill is closer, unless its a deathclaw, which in that case you want to stay away from it.
Equipment
Getting the right equipment can be sometimes difficult, expensive or requires a high skill level, but they are very rewarding. To start off sniping you probably want to get a small sniper, easy to find but will only have low damage so it would be recommended to try it on a giant mantis or a boatfly, since they are weak. The first sniper rifle may very well be the Ratslayer, it uses 5.56 Ammunition as Bullets or Rounds and only weighs 4.5kg. It can be repaired by Varmint Rifles. But dont think just because you have a sniper rifle you can snipe. I would recommend atleast having around 5 simpaks and a backup weapon incase things dont go well, you should also bring some Steady’s with you, as they steady the camera when you aim. These two things are very helpful and will make sniping easier for you. As well as having the equipment mentioned above, you should probably carry more ammo than you need, incase you left your steady at Goodsprings, you will probably miss one or two shots for each enemy, unless your a good sniper and can keep your aim right.
Aiming
When it comes to aiming, you dont want to be using V.A.T.S. This is because VATS has a chance to miss at long distances. With sniper rifles crouch and right click to aim (or whatever your aim button is) this is so you get a more accurate shot because the game realises that its bullets it will travel far, where as in VATS it makes the bullet miss at long distance, says 0% but when you aim using the scope (right click or whatever its bind to) as long as the cross is on the target, you will hit it. Also it makes it much easier to hit the head, as the head is targeted as a “difficult” spot for long range weaponry. This is why VATS is useless in sniping.
Location
Before you go rushing into that mantis you have been annoyed at for just being there, consider finding a nice safe place to do your sniping, such as a small hill so you can see above some objects, such as fences or anything else in your way. Make sure there is nothing around you that could attack you and put you off before you kill that mantis staring at you. So keep an eye out for Giant rats or bark scorpions, or if your deep in the mojave look out for Deathclaws or Giant radscorpions, while radscorpions you may be able to deal with, without armor a deathclaw will rip your butt apart with two or three hits, and cheap armor doesnt help much either, so before you go near their camps get a better sniper rifle, which is discussed later in this guide :). Always remember, when sniping choose a high up place than the target, make sure there are no other creatures around, aim as quick as possible and try to get a headshot.
Groups
Getting your groups (or factions) just right can be tricky, since you can’t like two factions that are at war (Such as the NCR and the Legions) you want to get a mutual feeling between them, this is because whatever faction you choose to support, will require you to lower the opposite factions respect for you, and this can disturb your sniping because when a faction hates you a large amount they will send assassins/Mercenaries after you. Although 5 Legions or NCR Soldiers may sound easy, they are not, they come at the most annoying times and have powerfull amor and weaponary. So beating them is tough and they can normal kill you within just a minute or two. Also please note they spawn close to you AND behind you, so going to the highest location probably wont help. So try to stay friends with both factions to increase your chance of “wiping” the floor with him/her.
Upgrades
So you have learned the basics of sniping, what you need, where to go, what to avoid and how to kill, but wait, the weapon you have is taking more than 4 shots to kill your target, you need a better sniper, and so this section is going to help you get a better sniper rifle than you have. Please note, Most of the snipers past this point will require a high skill or a large amount of caps. If you want the Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle you should level up your lockpicking skill to 100 and your gun skill to 75, after you have done that go to the location called Sniper’s Nest. Its in a Very Hard footlocker, it is a good sniper rifle and has a higher damage than the ordinary sniper which is found within the mojave, but hey, no-one want the original design right? Its boring. It fires .308 rounds and has a magazine capacity of 5 which is the smallest magazine for a sniper rifle. But if that still isnt enough then you better start saving your caps, you will find out below. (Next Section)
One of the Best
So you have saved your caps, and you are ready for one of the most powerful guns in the game, it requires a 100 gun skill and strength of 8 for optimal use. The Anti-Materiel Rifle, can literally kill the most powerful enemies within two or three perfect shots. But dont use it often, Although powerful the Anti-Materiel Rifle is very expensive to buy and repair, you can buy it from Gun Runners. The if you find one off a corpse, it will probably be in bad shape. But if you do find one of these rifles in good condition, then you still need to save your caps, The ammunition for this gun .50 MG, Which is very expensive but can be bought in most places, at low quantity, gun runners will only sell a few of these Rounds, but you can still buy the other types of .50, Such as Armor piercing, Incendiary or Explosive for the real Difficulties.
For the Lazy
So your to lazy to go get the gun and ammo for youself, so if you really want there is another way, cheats. Personally i dont like to use cheats and i get my guns for myself, but incase you are to lazy to go find the stuff for yourself, here is the instructions to get the items without moving on the spot.
Step 1: Pause the game (Use Tab)
Step 2: Press the ` button (to the left on 1/! and above the Tab button
Step 3: Type this code and it will show up at the bottom:
player.additem
Hope this Helped!
I hope that now you have learned the basics, you can go on and take out literally anything that you come across at far range in the mojave, but before you do, here is just a few tips on what to use the guns on (Most effectively)
Anti-Materiel rifle
If shot at the head, a single perfect shot at a stationary enemy through its brain is enough to kill a DEATHCLAW with one shot, although please note that an angry deathclaw chasing you will take more shots, so its probably best to have a very good backup weapon, (Something that is firing Armor Piercing rounds.
Also please note the Explosive .50 MG bullets are included in Gun Runners Arsenal and not the game itself.
Stealth
Using stealth while sniping is also extremely useful, this can be because of the Critical Sneak Attack Bonus or just because whatever you are sniping doesnt know where you are. When sniping you should if possible try to stay stealthy, if your waiting for a deathclaw to come into sight or just avoiding the Bandits your shooting at. [NOTE] For people who own the DLC/Expansion Old World Blues in one of the Testing Facilities is a stealth suit, it increases stealth and speak to you occasionally, although you do become stuck in Old World Blues until you complete the DLC, It is a very good piece of armor to use if you are sniping.
[I literally just typed this and its 5 in the morning, so please point out information i have missed]