Boom Headshot!

As most of you may know, I am a very experienced sniper in Gears of War 2. I spent a lot of my days sniper dueling in the first Gears of War and carry a lot of that over into public matches in Gears of War 2.

For starters, if you plan on sniping often I recommend changing your sensitivity level to your liking in the menus. After a lot of tweaking, I found it to be more reliable to have my look sensitivity set to medium of which I thought was a good balance for maneuverability purposes, Zoom set to low for stability, and aim set to medium for speed as well as consistency. Although it can vary depending on the person, I feel this sensitivity is good for most.

LONGSHOT STATS

- Bullet quantity – 11

- Bolt action rifle

- Active reload difference – 10% damage increase, Headshot accuracy improved.

- Long/medium range

- Very High accuracy (inferring that there is no lag)

- About 50% damage per shot (unless you shoot them in the head)

ADVANTAGES

- Great support weapon

- Very powerful at any range

- Easy weapon to use if your playing with inexperienced players due to lack over cover usage.

- Feared weapon by competitors.

- Great melee

DISADVANTAGES

- If not used carefully, you are left vulnerable from behind.

- Lag issues can vary headshot detection greatly.

- If you don’t take advantage of it’s melee, you are vulnerable at close range.

BASIC TIPS

The most important tip to this weapon is to always go with your first instinct.. meaning if you see a good opportunity to take a shot, fire  with the least amount of hesitation as possible. Also, try to lead the opponent and fire when his head reaches the cursor.

I would also like to mention that when your teammate is in trouble and needs some help in a shotgun battle across the map, try to at least make contact with the shot to give your friend that extra momentum in battle to give them that little bit of help they may need.. You may not get the kill, but at least you will help your team little by little to get the win as well as a  500 xp bonus for the time being.

TEN USEFUL SNIPING TECHNIQUES IN GEARS OF WAR 2

Technique 1: Lead Shot
The lead shot is one of the easiest techniques to master and should be one of the first ones you learn. As a general rule with sniping you should always around the opponents body at head level, then make it more accurate. By placing it at head level and then leveling it off at their head you will get your shots faster before they have a time to react at you aiming the sniper at them. This technique involves placing your cursor in front of them in the direction they are moving at head level. As soon as they move into the cursor, fire and you should get a headshot. Remember to compensate for lag. Unless your hosting you will always experience some lag and you should make sure you adjust accordingly.

Technique 2: Sweep Shot
The sweep shot is a branch off of the lead shot. This involves taking your cursor at head level and sweeping it left or right with your right analog stick and firing when it crosses over their head. If they are moving around you should lead a little bit. For instance don’t fire when it crosses over their head if they are walking right. Instead you should fire a little bit in front of them.

Technique 3: Pop Shot
The pop shot is a good technique to use for short range shots. When someone is directly in front of you place their head in the middle of your screen, tap the left trigger, and fire. This is pretty easy if you have a shot at their head at close range when they are in cover. If they are moving then you have to lead them a little bit in the direction they are moving, as you have to do with any shot you take. Remember to aim at their forehead or a little above their head. When your close to your opponent and shoot directly at their face it will sometimes hit their shoulders and will not register. If you are having trouble then using the next technique can help you learn this technique a little faster.

Technique 4: 2 Piece
Two piecing involves meleeing then pop-shotting their head when they are stunned. Make sure you don’t shoot too soon and make sure that you aim a little bit above their face, around the top of their skull. This technique will make some players mad because it involves meleeing and then shooting while they are stunned. Players don’t like this because they feel it is not fair. But just remember if they got close enough to you so that you can melee them then its their fault anyway and they should watch out for melees when at that range.

Technique 5: Rolling Shots
Killing players when they are rolling seems tricky but if you do it right then it become second nature. Front rolls and back rolls are easiest to master. When your opponent comes out of a roll they don’t move for a split second and during that time you take your shot. Remember to aim at head level where they are going to come out of the shot and shot when they are done rolling. Side rolls are a bit harder but you use the same rules to get headshots when they’re side rolling. Depending on lag you might want to shoot a little bit before they are done with their roll.

Technique 6: Side Roll Shot
This technique involves rolling to the side and while rolling keeping your opponents head in the middle of the screen. When you come out of the roll you pop shot and should get a headshot if you keep their head in the center of the screen the whole time.

Technique 7: Over Cover
This technique is very similar to rolling shots except instead of shooting when they’re rolling you shoot when they’re hopping over cover. You aim at head level and when they are done squatting after going over cover you shoot. Pretty easy if your good at rolling shots.

Technique 8: Zoomer
The zoomer is a technique of which zoom in for a split second and shoot as your letting go of the trigger. This is a confusing shot and very hard to use but helpful.

Technique 9: Multi-Kill
This isn’t necessarily a technique, just some advice. After you get a headshot don’t get all excited and lose focus. Look for your next target and take your shot. If you get too distracted you could lose your chances at kills.

Technique 10: Spider-Man/Super-Man
When supermanning, you want to aim at their waist and shoot while they’re diving. If you get a headshot they will fall to the ground while in mid air. To spider-man you must aim at their feet and shoot when they’re halfway through the roll. The will fall upside down and do a handstand.

(More pictures to come on some of these topics)