New Sniper Attachment & Bow

[CMart13]

I see there are many topics on creating a bow, but I wanted to create a new post breaking down some of the viable reason for the implementation of one. 
Sniper gun types have been extremely pointed towards only long range combat.  I would love to see the implementation of a mid to close range sniper gun type.

This game currently leans towards the spray and pray mentality with limited weapon choices for the precise shooter.  Once combat get to close range your options are extremely forced requiring the use of a SMG or Shotgun to survive the engagement.  If that wasn't bad enough the dynamics for gunplay boil down to a rock-paper-scissors format that encourages a 1-dimensional format.  Engage, Push, Win.  Even with the current diversity of character abilities facilitating defensive strategy, the chances of being able to halt an enemy push are next to none.

Given the combat format engrained in the meta of this game sniper weapons often do not have a place.  Any push team can out flank and maneuver a defensive or sniper team so easily that snipers are almost obsolete in the current meta.  Between the difficulties of landing a shot & the mobility of player avatars the use of snipers has become an outdated strategy that rarely seems to spearhead a path to victory.  What is often experienced when engaging from long range is the abundance of third party teams swarming to the sound of gunfire.  Because of the current meta, snipers aren't really a tool for engagement & more of a third party gun used to poke two teams that are currently engaged in combat.    

What is missing is a high risk high reward mid to close range sniper, or bow.  Something that can bring sniper gun types back into the lime light.  Something that can spice up and suppress enemy teams from mid range and can also be used at close range for a quick peak and shoot.  IMO the weakest and most 1-dimensional aspect of gunplay in this game is in mid range encounters.  Hemlock, R301, Spitfire, and Flatline are all spray weapons leaving the scout, wingman, and longbow to do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to heavy hitting mid range guns.  The sad truth is that there isn't a viable option for mid range engagements that results in damage above 50ish.  These dynamics result in stale mid range combat & often are a transition into close range combat before anything definitive can be obtained.

First Suggestion:
Snipers are lacking is a cool attachment that changes the dynamics of the gun & combat.  Imagine snipers not being used to just shoot directly at enemies but displace enemies from cover.  Something like an explosive round or ability to launch a throwable from the gun.  Maybe this new attachment could add a 2ndary fire rate that allows for snipers to shift from long range to mid range.  Would love to see some kind of adaptability given to snipers that would make them more viable in the meta.

Second Suggestion:
Imagine a gun/bow that can hit for 70+ on body, but winds up like a triple take.  A sniper that really thrives on the 3x or 2/4x and maybe can't utilize the 4/8x or 6x.  Maybe this bow has a cool attachment that allows it to shoot explosive or shock arrows that detonate within a certain radius upon impact, or a short duration after impact.  Something that players could shoot at their feet when retreating to create space from a push or shoot at the feet of an enemy behind cover that would displace enemies for fear of damage.  maybe a cool navigable bolt that the player could shoot and control for a more precise shot (crypto drone mechanic).

I hope something said might inspire and encourage the creation of such a weapon.  This game is great & has a lot of potential for growth.  I hope to see such a weapon in a future patch and wish the team at Respawn the best of luck!  Thanks for listening!  

[Sir_Named]

@CMart13 First of all, how long did you spend on this? “... rarely seems to spearhead a path to victory.” I mean, good to know you put effort in, but that might be too much honestly.

Yes, there is a lot more focus on automatic weapons, but if you want a precise close range weapon you still have options. Most of the shotguns, as well as the Wingman offer good close range utility, although they have a few range constraints.

You won’t be able to fully halt a push, but that’s fine. If they’re pushing towards you, you have more info on where they’ll be, which still gives you an advantage. It’s not huge, but as long as you are aware, you can probably land hits as soon as the enemies pop into the vicinity of your sniping spot. Also, camping has been an issue in the past, and I think currently, so it definitely is possible to successfully defend.

Last couple of seasons, snipers might have been out of the meta. This season though, they should be pretty close to meta, if not already in it. (Because Olympus is such an open map.)

You aren’t really helping your point either when you wrote “ What is missing is a high risk high reward mid to close range sniper, or bow.” At that point, it’s not a sniper, it’d be more like the G7 as an assault rifle. Or the Hemlok. The Hemlok is pretty good for mid-range, it’s burst, so it is kind of a precision weapon.
Another thing, teams running snipers also have the option to use a closer ranged gun as their secondary weapon, so they shouldn’t be at that much of a disadvantage there. Also, the Triple Take works for long range and pretty close range.

Depending on the gun, explosive rounds could be balanced or kind of op. There’s a few balancing issues with exploding rounds though. If they are too good at flushing people out of cover, then snipers might become op. You could take two people with snipers, have one get the enemy out from cover, while the other just immediately shoots them for fairly high damage.


The bow is a cool idea, could be used for some weapon comparable with supply drop weapons.