Snipers continue to get nerfed
First, i just want to point out graphic changes to operation firestorm. Making the hills less visual ruined the map for snipers. Its not that snipers changed the outcome of games in the first place ...
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The problem here—and I say this with all due respect—is that no one is a god capable of consistently landing headshots with sniper rifles. The fact is, these rifles have had limitations since the game launched, such as the "sweet spot" mechanic. That mechanic is supposed to balance snipers and cut down on complaints. We’ve already endured a massive nerf, yet people still aren't satisfied. They want snipers to be so weak that they keep pushing to limit the sweet spot—as if automatic rifles didn't have their own sweet spots, on top of the advantage of being automatic. The limitations imposed by that major nerf were already severe enough; they shouldn't have to suffer another one. What do they want—for us to shoot air pellets or something?
They'll never be satisfied, because the complaints are rooted in pure sentiment, not facts and logic. I've seen the 🤡logic complaints myself, and I still see them almost daily both here and on the discord channel. A summary of the most ridiculous ones I've seen:
- Sniper rifles should be suppressed whenever shot at and should not be able to aim accurately, but all other weapon classes should not suffer any such penalty and should remain accurate well beyond their optimal range.
- Snipers should flinch whenever they get hit, because it's crazy how you can hit a sniper and he still manages to shoot you, but never mind the fact that this is the case for all other weapon classes too, only snipers should suffer flinch.
- Sniper rifles should not be good at their optimal range, because it's "too easy" and "not fun". Meanwhile all other class weapons can easily be good at their intended ranges because that apparently is "fun".
- Sniper rifles should only deal damage when landing headshots, meanwhile all other weapons can shoot limbs all day and still do great.
- Sniper rifles should only be good at long range, but snipers at long range are "useless" yet also "too easy" to kill the enemy so nerf their muzzle velocity so that they're not good at long range.
- Sniper rifles should not be able to ADS whenever a bullet comes near them.
I hope the developers come to realize that sniper balance is one of those topics where community feedback should be very heavily filtered on common sense, statistical data and logic.
The fact is, these rifles have had limitations since the game launched, such as the "sweet spot" mechanic.
That's not a limitation, that is something that has been added from previous iterations and is clearly a buff - you get to one-shot opponents under certain circumstances even when missing the head.
as if automatic rifles didn't have their own sweet spots
They don't. Unless you're trying to make a parallel with other guns going to the head? With the mechanics as they stand, at most distances most guns need two shots to the head to make any difference in how many bullets it takes to kill. That's hardly the same.
The limitations imposed by that major nerf were already severe enough; they shouldn't have to suffer another one.
To be clear, I'm not of the opinion that sniper rifles need more nerfing right now. But the question of whether sniper rifles are too strong or not are not just linked to whether the guns are good or not, but rather, as I was saying below, how they fit in the overall game flow.
By their nature, sniper rifles have always been a bit apart in BF games. To put it bluntly, many snipers play a complete separate game: they engage at distances where no efficient return fire is possible, but as a cost, they often don't play with their team and don't go for objs.
This is not bad in small doses. It's an alternative that players enjoy, an additional wrinkle. It's a problem when it takes over the game. When BF6 released, sniping was so easy that I had games where a full third of my team were snipers camping on roofs. While that may have been fun for those 10 players, it was miserable to everyone else. To the opposing team, who kept getting killed by people they could nothing about unless they switched themselves. And for their team mates, who were now trying to capture objs with considerably less man power.
Let's be clear: it did not feel good to too many players, and when that happens, something has to change. There's no choice here.
What limited the number of snipers in previous games was simply how technical it was to be a good sniper. That may sound elitist, but it's not particularly exceptional in BF games. Not everyone is good in a tank, or a chopper, or a jet: there are many aspects of the game that everyone can dabble in but are ultimately the preserve of those that know how to do it well. It's not a bad thing for sniping to be in that category.
This is what we are back to. It of course feels like a complete nerf to anyone who started sniping in BF6, but really, it's just a course-correction after a bad experiment. How far it should go from here is merely a question of if snipers are still overtaking games. I really don't think it's the case anymore. Sure, some maps are really poorly designed in this regard, Liberation Peak will always be sniper paradise, it's an original sin that would require serious rework. But overall, snipers are still killing well enough but are not overbearing right now.
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