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Best Sniper Rifle Class in Black Ops 2

I am directly involved in the industry of streaming devices, customer support and advisor to app sales and app research and development.

how-to-create-a-good-sniper-class-character-in-cod-black-ops

Call of Duty; Black Ops 2 (BO2) is a most awesome game. The story isn't bad either, but I know a ton of people who have never seen the storyline because they have gone straight to the online game where all the action is. There are hundreds of thousands of BO2 players all around the world that are playing online at any given moment. You can see how popular the game is around the world by checking the world map—illuminated sections on the map indicate people that are playing the game.

This article will be covering the Black Ops 2 game for sniper guns and classes. Although I am not an expert with the sniper rifle, I have used them quite extensively, and have used all the classes with different set ups for each rifle. The information offered here is gleaned from hundreds of hours of online gaming.

You should realize that there are too many variables in guns, maps, game rooms, personal style, etc., to list one superior class for snipers. What I hope to accomplish in this article is to arm you with information that you can use to better your game. Here are a few topics that I will cover.

  • Play Black Ops On-line
  • Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Gun
  • Black Ops Best Sniper Class
  • Call of Duty black Ops 2 Strategy

Are You Hooked On Video Games?

Sniping Extreme

how-to-create-a-good-sniper-class-character-in-cod-black-ops
Express; Los Angeles bullet train station.

Express; Los Angeles bullet train station.

Play Black Ops Online

I should tell you that playing Black Ops 2 (BO2) online is not for the faint of heart. The play is hard and fast, and if you're on a team with players that hate to lose, they will get after you if you're not helping the team. Players online like to win, so if you're not up to par on your play, you can play against the 'Bots.' 'Bots' are the computerized players provided by the game under the 'Custom' games heading—you can choose the level and the amount of 'Bots' to play against, from 0 to 11. Playing against 11 'Bots' on the Veteran level can get pretty hairy—this will get your game play up to standards right away. If I haven't scoped for awhile, I'll play against 11 of the bots on the lower levels to warm-up before going into a public room. This way, you'll be able to get used to centering your enemy, and scoping in quickly.

Team Death is one of the most played games of the BO2 game list, and competition can get pretty fierce. There are a lot of players that are very, very good... and not so surprisingly, some of them are very, very young. There are a lot of tournament players online, and by sliding over their call names, you can see what level ranking they're at. But not to worry, BO2 does a pretty good job at trying to balance the level of players, but sometimes, it's just a blow-out.

A skilled sniper, coupled with the ability to 'Quick Scope,' could actually run away with the game. 'Quick Scope' is a term that used to describe not scoping all the way in—you would fire before actually seeing your target while the scope sighting was still black on earlier games such as Modern Warfare 3. Since BO2, quick-scoping as it was became unusable since bullets would drift inconsistently every which way. On BO2, the term quick-scope changes to describe actually scoping in, and as soon as you see your target, you fire. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the term 'Hard Scope,' which means to eye your target through your scope, line up your target with the cross hairs, then firing. Another term used in sniping is 'Drag Scope,' which means to hard scope in, and quickly drag your cross-hairs over your target and shoot. It's done very quickly, and demands a lot of skill to get really good at - but a heck of a lot easier to do than Quick Scoping. The last type of sniper shot is the no-scope. This is used when the enemy is sudenly in your face. No-scope is just lining up the cross hairs with your enemy. If your opponent is close enough, you have a very good chance of surviving.

Since having to face more realistic sniper rifles focus times and gun damage, the playing field is a little more leveled, and fair. The sub-machine guns (SMGs) are still very dangerous, but players have to contend with recoil which can really be a challenge if you're not used to it. The shot guns are very powerful, pistols are dangerous, even guys zipping through the map with nothing but knives—the field is very competitive.

If you are a sniper, get the kill however you can, it's all fair game. If you have to 'camp' (A negative term used to describe gamers that hide around the corner ambushing rushers) in your favorite spot and pick off your opponents, have at it. Get a win for your team the best way you know how, even if you have to hard scope all your kills. You don't have to answer to anyone that gets upset with you, and if you don't want to hear the chatter, you can always mute the whole room. I do.

Socotra; Urban streets of Yemen.

Socotra; Urban streets of Yemen.

SVU-AS Sniper Rifle.  Semi-automatic with very low recoil.

SVU-AS Sniper Rifle. Semi-automatic with very low recoil.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Guns

Let's zero in on our four sniper guns and take a look at them individually. They all have strengths and weaknesses just as any gun would under variable conditions, map, and gameplay. Of the four sniper guns available on Call of Duty; Black Ops 2 (BO2), two of them are the slower bolt action guns, while the other two rifles are semi-automatics.

Below you will find a listing of each rifle, and the expected characteristics of the gun:

SVU-AS

The SVU-AS, also known as the Russian Dragunov in earlier Black Ops games, is a semi-automatic weapon with very low recoil. It is designed as a lightweight sniper rifle and is the weakest of the four sniper rifles in the class. The SVU-AS is a great weapon to use because of the very low recoil. It is capable of one-shot-kills but only if the shot is a head-shot. You will appreciate the low recoil when you miss a shot, and have to send off more shots to finish off your opponent.

Unless you are very good at dialing in head-shots, I would send off two quick shots for every target that you aim at. This way, if it is a one-shot-kill, you will still get the credit for the one-shot. It's also good insurance just in case you miss, and your opponent is already sending a barrage of bullets your way to say hi.

I would say that this is probably one of the hardest guns to 'gold' because of the amount of one-shot-kills that you need to achieve the gold camouflage.

Read More From Levelskip

DSR-50

The DSR-50 is my personal favorite because it is such a lethal sniper rifle. As with earlier games, the DSR-50 is a one-shot-killing king. It's one-shot killing range is from the waist up - even the arms are considered to be above the waist. If you can ballpark a shot on your opponents from the waist up, then the DSR-50 is the sniper rifle for you.

The DSR-50 is a favored gun by many gamers when it comes to quick or drag scoping. The bonus of having only to hit the upper body to accomplish the one-shot kill coupled with the fact that there is almost no 'hit markers' when it comes to using this gun. The balance to this is having only five shots in a magazine; gamers often use the Extended Clip because you normally need the first five kills to achieve Blood Thirsty, and you don't want to ruin your streak by fumbling a reload while SMGs are in the vicinity.

To give balance to the raw power of the DSR-50, you have to compensate for the slower bolt action shots from this rifle - but it only matters if you miss. With opponents running with Sub Machine Guns (SMGs), you only get one shot—two if you're very lucky when it comes to close quarters.

Ballista

The Ballista sniper rifle is also a single shot, bolt action rifle. It's not as deadly as the DSR-50, but will one-shot-kill an opponent from the chest up. The bolt action is a little faster than the DSR-50 - that may not sound like much, but it makes all the difference when it comes to a show down between you and an opponent.

A lot of gamers prefer the Ballista over the DSR-50 just because of the faster handling speed - to each his own. The balance once again, is having a smaller 'kill-box' than the DSR-50.

XPR-50

The XPR-50 is also a semi-automatic sniper rifle with it's one-shot-kill range from the chest up. This is a very popular rifle among BO2 gamers because it gives you the chance to pull off that all important second shot, which could mean all the difference in where you end up in the stats at the end of the game.

To give balance to this rifle, the XPR-50 gives a decent kick when it recoils. You can learn to control this as you get use to rifle, but long shots will be most affected by the recoil. The secret to getting around the recoil is to scope-out, and scope-in again. Think of it as a bolt-action rifle, but with a faster fire rate.

Sniper tips

Perks Quiz

For each question, choose the best answer. The answer key is below.

  1. Which Perk will prevent you from flinching while aiming?
    • Toughness
    • Ghost
  2. Which Perk will make you invisible to enemy targeting systems?
    • Dead Silence
    • Cold Blooded
  3. What Perk allows you to sprint twice as long as normal?
    • Lightweight
    • Extreme Conditioning
  4. What Perk will allow you to survive most explosives?
    • Flak Jacket
    • Tactical Mask

Answer Key

  1. Toughness
  2. Cold Blooded
  3. Lightweight
  4. Flak Jacket
Hijacked - fighting aboard a super yacht

Hijacked - fighting aboard a super yacht

Turbine; wind farm in the steep hills of Yemen.

Turbine; wind farm in the steep hills of Yemen.

Black Ops Best Sniper Class

Choosing the best sniper class is like searching for the Holy Grail. Is it attainable? A sniper class would consist of the best perks, attachments, secondary weapon, lethal, and tactical, for your style of gameplay and for your type of sniper rifle.

Sometimes, depending on what game you're playing, and what the opposing team is composed of, and what map you're playing, you need to make adjustments. You may decide to be a rusher, or sit back, camp and play defensively. This changes, from game to game, and whenever you see a better opportunity to exploit a weakness.

There is so much to cover, and so many different variables as to what you want to accomplish in a class, but if we concentrate on creating a sniper class that's suitable for your style of play, all we can do is to explore the possibilities. The simplest way to formulate a class, is to catergorize by playing style. Only you can choose the sniper class that's suitable to your style of play, but this will give you an idea about what direction you run with. Here are the three styles of sniper play that this article wil be covering.

how-to-create-a-good-sniper-class-character-in-cod-black-ops
how-to-create-a-good-sniper-class-character-in-cod-black-ops

Rusher

The Rusher is always running, but not necessarily foolishly and aimlessly. Rushers try to flank the enemy, or try to get back to an area quickly to do the most damage. Don't be confused about the pros that like to run through the map, they have an agenda. Good rushers develop a sixth sense about where the enemy is, they'll stop suddenly to check a certain area where the trail bottle-necks and start picking off the enemy. Rushers need to be light on their feet, and because they are in constant movement, they don't really care who knows where they are, they are not hiding. Their focus is on their weapons and in the speed to get them where ever in a hurry.

Just because you have three empty tiles for perks, it doesn't mean that you have to fill them, you could just use two, or double-up on one of them. Go wild, try something new. This follows the first photo above where only two perks are used to accomplish speed. Fast hands to swap between weapons; secondary is a pistol which is always the fastest switch over weapon, attachments is FMJ for wall penetration and Fast Mags to decrease down time fumbling with reloads. Shock charges to stop a moving target, or to give you a heads up when someone enters an area, and a wildcard Tactician incase you need to adjust for insertion.

The second shot uses the Overkill wildcard and backs up the DSR 50 rifle with laser and fast mags with your choice of shotgun. Lightweight and Fast Hands for perks and utilizing gernade and charges.

Socotra; Urban streets of Yemen.

Socotra; Urban streets of Yemen.

Area Patrol

When you are taking one particular area, path, room, etc., you will be patrolling from one end to the other very quickly. It doesn't mean that you'll stay there throughout the game, it just means that you will be there for a few kills before moving on to the next area.

You need to balance between rushing, and having some kind of protection because you will be moving around the map to re-position yourself. In the first photo, the XPR-50 sniper rifle coupled with CPU and Extended Clip is backed up by duel KAP-40s. For perks we have Flak Jacket to lessen the effect of explosives, Toughness for less flinch when shot, and Tactical Mask which take the sting out of shock, stun, and flash tacticals. Back your asenal up with a 'nade and concussion and you've got a pretty good chance at holding down a nice piece of land.

Campers

Again, I have to say, there is no wrong in camping, if they get irritated with you enough, they'll come for you. So with that, we need to protect your camp-sight as best we can. The class selected for this set up is pictured above, and is designed to protect you as much as possible while you pick off easy targets from across the map.

Weapon of choice is the XPR-50 semi-automatic with eight slugs in the mag, and CPU and Fast Mags as attachments. Your secondary is a KAP-40, doubling up on Perk 1 with Hardline and Blind Eye - Hardline will give you that extra pump for your Score Streaks, and Blind Eye keeps you out of trouble from enemy above if you're moving outdoors. No Perk 2, but you do have a Tactical Mask in Perk 3 to help protect against Tacticals when the enemy comes rushing. Claymore mines will seal your backdoor, and a Trophy will protect you from projectiles.

That's a good camp sight. With this set-up, you are doubled up on protection from projectiles with Flak Jacket and Trophy because the 'nades will come.

Socotra; Urban streets of Yemen.

Socotra; Urban streets of Yemen.

Final Kill Cam

Final Kill Cam
Aftermath - Los Angeles ruins.

Aftermath - Los Angeles ruins.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Strategy

The game comes down to skill and strategy. We could shotgun it and say to just go out and shoot anything and everything that moves, but the game as you know it is much more than that. Playing Call of Duty; Black Ops 2 (BO2) becomes a thinking game as soon as your skills are adequate to land you in the upper bracket of the team stats as far as points are concerned.

Out Thinking Your Opponent

Out thinking your opponent's next step is a huge factor in this game, but more important is the ability to react quickly with an offensive plan. While your opponent may be thinking what he should do in reaction to your next move, you are already steps ahead in your assault.

For example, you're running across a map when you see an opponent on your peripheral, you continue your run behind a small truck that hides your body - an opponent approaching you might aim to the other side of the truck where you would be running if you continued to run straight. You have three options; 1. Continue running straight and out shoot him when you came out from the truck. 2. Stop, double back and surprise your opponent while he is aiming at the other side of the truck. 3. Do not come out from the truck at all - your opponent will be aiming at both sides of the truck, until he either runs away, or just has to come back and see what happened to you. He goes into defensive mode, while you can go on the offensive.

Check the Map Often

Always have one eye on the map, and one eye on where you're going. As much as possible, you want to flank your opponents. A sniper can do serious damage from behind, and with the right class set-up, they won't even know you're there until they are all shot.

You should be aware of where the spawn points are, because you don't want to be surprised if your opponents spawn behind you. Whenever you look on the map and see either your team, or your opponents, you want to travel towards the area where there are no dots. This gives you a better chance at being able to flank your opponents - and as always, the best route to get from one end of the map to the other is NEVER straight up the middle where everyone travels. As a sniper, you need to take the road less traveled, and be able to flank your opponents whenever possible.

A Sniper is Rushing, Holding Down an Area, or Camping

When you're a sniper, you're either rushing - running everywhere as if you're rifle was an SMG, holding down an area that gives you good cover and good line of sight, or you're camping where you can pick off the enemy as he runs by.

Running is a good way to get yourself killed. Period. Walking will not only keep your rifle up and ready to focus, but it will also keep your dead count from getting out of hand. Knowing that you shouldn't be running around will save you from running into 'bettys' and campers. Knowing that you shouldn't be running around, will help you be more selective in choosing perks and attachments.

Holding down a specific area will keep you moving in a circular motion—always checking from one doorway, taking a shot, then quickly moving to the other doorway. A sniper is always moving, and because he/she is moving, becomes a harder target. If you pick off three or four opponents from the same area, it's time to move onto another area because you can be sure a few pissed off gamers with 'nades' will be gunning for you.

Camping - a term which loosely means to hunker down in an area or spot that would give you almost total advantage over opponents. Campers used to have a bad rap, but I think it's become accepted because almost everyone does it at one point or another, and it is a real-world tactic that soldiers have to deal with.

Becoming a Harder Target

There are a few things that a sniper should get used to doing to keep your enemy adjusting their shot - step and shoot, dropping down, and using your environment for cover.

The Step-and-Shoot when squaring off against an opponent is taking a step to the left or right, fire, step, fire. This keeps the bullets whizzing by instead of hitting you.

Dropping-Down is when you are standing, shoot once, and drop into the prone position and continue to shoot again.

Using your environment for cover is just smart. Once you have your enemy lined up on your scope, step behind the obstacle, step out shoot, step back behind and continue.

A Snipers Secondary Weapon

The fastest secondary weapon to swap to from your sniper weapon, is a handgun. Each pistol has it's strengths and weaknesses, and you can always add a secondary attachment to enhance your particular style.

Whatever type of pistol you choose, a sniper needs to be prepared to switch out his rifle for a pistol or knife when an opponent gets close. It's much harder to shoot an opponent when he is in knife striking distance - a burst of an automatic pistol usually does the trick. However, if things get hairy, don't be afraid to use your rifle without scoping - a term called 'no-scope'. This can work for you, takes some practice to get used to, but you would still prefer to have a pistol because of inaccuracies.

The real test starts as soon as you are facing off with an opponent, and both of you drain your guns without killing each other. You are in close quarters, and the knives come out to play. At this point, you really would like to go to reload but you might get knifed as soon as you commit yourself to reloading. Do you continue trying to out-knife your opponent, do you take off running, or do you pull your pistol. Sometimes it's always a matter of being unpredictable, and have had lots of playing time so that you have developed your strategy from past failures.

Floating resort in the Indian Ocean

Floating resort in the Indian Ocean

Slums map; run down section of Panama.

Slums map; run down section of Panama.

The Last Word on Sniper Class

Although there are tons of more information that you could use, I think we've covered enough to give you a good idea of what you can do, and how to go about achieving the best sniper class for your style of playing COD: Black Ops 2.

Just a final note of advice, and a few things that you need to turn your attention to...

Connection speed is everything. The better your connection, the better your play. Checking your game systems connection and 'NAT' level is crucial. If you see that display towards the bottom of your screen read NAT Open, you're good. If however it reads NAT Strict, that means that you won't be getting the best feeds, and play may be marred by lost links delaying your game, or losing connection altogether. Fixing this may be as easy as turning off your wireless router for 10 seconds and back on. Check on-line for your best fix.

Another option you need to do that most people don't is to switch your gaming to BEST. As you enter into Public Match, Find Match, then when the Core screen comes up, press X to move into Search Preferences; Select BEST. This will ensure that you only play games with the best connections - this will be possible only if you have a high speed modem.

Now that you're running on optimal connection, lets take a quick look at your Options. Vibrations may be a cool thing, but it only hampers your aim when you are taking aim across the map. Turn Vibrations off.

If you're not using Tactical, get used to it, it will help you in becoming a harder target - you can't panic knife, but you can drop leaving the offending rusher wondering where you went.

Sensitivity is a pretty crazy subject—pros and cons alike. You need to play at the level that you're comfortable with, but higher sensitivity (if you can control it.) means a march harder target to hit. It also allows you to follow your targets more quickly when you hard-scope

With that, all I can say is, play smart, play hard, and play nice to the 'noobs.' We were all 2 and 25 once upon a time. Keep war in the video games. Peace. Kawi.

Using pillar for cover.

Using pillar for cover.

Kawika Chann (author) from Northwest, Hawaii, Anykine place on May 09, 2014:

Thanks for dropping by Sandranil and leaving a comment - yes, deep, but so true. Peace. Kawi.

Sandranil on May 08, 2014:

The last part was deep....

Kawika Chann (author) from Northwest, Hawaii, Anykine place on February 02, 2014:

That is an awesome set-up - like you, I will give up everything to get exactly what I want out of my guns... XPR50? I can dig that - sometimes I'm partial to how a gun looks and sounds rather than how it actually performs... but, that's just me. Still loving it - keep on snipin! Peace, until war. Kawi.

Kody on January 27, 2014:

I believe the best sniper set-up is the XPR50 with FMJ, extended clip, and fast mag with the b23r with FMJ and reflex. And deAd silence. You'll have to get rid of your grenades and flashes to get primary and secondary gunfighter. And 2 of your perks.

Best Sniper Rifle Class in Black Ops 2

Source: https://levelskip.com/first-person-shooters/How-to-Create-a-Good-Sniper-Class-Character-in-CoD-Black-Ops