I think it's just about official that I am discontinuing updating/writing guides for MvM. MvM Solly most likely won't see the light of day. Thanks again to everyone who viewed and I hope the guides helped you. They were great practice for me and I had a lot of fun, but now, I'm moving on. I hope the information will still be relevant at the time you are reading, and good luck on those Aussies or whatever is the next big thing on TF2 at the moment.

- Knight (formerly "Upsilon Force")

Hey there! The name's Upsilon Force (with some variants, but always "upsilon"). If you don't know me, I write guides for MvM and game reviews as a little hobby. I made my debut by challenging the community's meta with the now-mildly-famous Spy MvM guide. Yeah, it was gutsy, but it really payed off.

Anyone who has played games with me knows that I used to LOATHE Snipers in MvM. I'd give anyone who even clicked it a piece of my mind. After some time though, Valve gave Sniper some massive buffs! Now, Sniper is DANGEROUS! He's now on-par with Demo and Spy.

If I made Sniper easier for you to play, please rate up the guide by clicking the thumbs up button and/or leave a comment, and tell anyone you know who might be interested!

(Update: A common concern is being kicked instantly. Direct your teammates to this guide! Maybe it will change their minds!)

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=148119190
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=153553501&insideModal=1
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=150296100
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=152626791
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=152068821
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=156320959

(Note: I'm not adding the Pyro guide because it is outdated, and the Medic's new shield ruins the role that I invented for him. Some have argued that Pyro can still be good as a fighter, I just haven't really seen it unless he pumps a TON of money into canteens.)

Sniper here in MvM takes the place of Demo or Spy in the recommended meta as the crowd thinner and Medic hunter. With the right weapons and upgrades, HE CAN DO 900 DAMAGE TO GIANTS PER SECOND! That's insane!

What makes him a Medic hunter is an upgrade ability called "Explosive Headshot" which - to put it bluntly - means that every headshot causes an explosion on the main target to largely damage nearby targets. Once maxed out, the only thing that can survive the headshot explosion is Heavy bots (even then, not by much) or giants.

I hated Sniper back in the old days because his explosive headshot was a DoT (damage over time) instead of a real explosion. This meant that it only succeeded in scaring medic bots to use their ubers, instead of getting them to drop harmlessly i.e. Demo/Spy. You also heavily depended on your teammates to protect you from spy and sniper bots. By changing the DoT to a one-hit explosion and adding the Hitman's Heatmaker, Sniper evolved to be the most praised giant-killer of the 9 classes.

Sniper is very under-estimated mostly because the obvious is true: many just aren't good at him. It's not what FPS narcissists would lead you to believe "SKILL ITS ABOUT SKILL SNIPING TAKES SKILL BLAH BLAH SKILL BLAH BLAH SKILL" like they're some kind of super-human race of higher beings because they move PC mice and right-analog sticks in different speeds, killing players in 1-2 shots from MILES out of their weapons ranges, and there's no way you will ever "ascend to their level".

Build, positioning, weapon choice, target selection, anticipation, and teamwork all play a part in being a good MvM Sniper.

I'm hoping to do the same/nearly the same with Sniper as I did with Spy in MvM. People will go from this:

















TO THIS!

The weapon you choose here will be the most important weapon decision you will make, and none of the others even compare to Hitman's Heatmaker (click the white text for more information!) (You can also click images to zoom in) If you don't have this weapon, I HIGHLY recommend that you get one from a friend or buy one from the store (warning: weapons bought from the store have notably lower value in community trading aka "dirty items". If you don't know what that means, just don't craft it into anything and don't sell it to anyone, and you'll be immune to any drawback).

The Heatmaker gains a meter called "Focus" whenever you kill or assist. At max, the meter will glow bright red accompanied with a brief chime. Your next shot will give you a buff that lasts for a short time. This buff increases the weapon's "charge speed" by 25%! Whoa! Better yet, you don't un-zoom from the scope's vision when you shoot during "focus mode", so you just shoot and shoot and shoot uninterrupted by leaving the scope! Even better: as the meter depletes, GETTING KILLS WILL SUSTAIN THE DURATION! (Edit: a recent update changed the activate to the "reload" key when the meter is full. Thank you, Lost in Narnia! Additionally, the meter can be used at any charge at all; it no longer has to be full.)

In my humble opinion, this weapon was added solely for Sniper in MvM. FIND A WAY TO GET IT!

In the hands of an expert, the Bazaar Bargin can prove almost as lethal, but still slightly inferior when it comes to raw DPS. This one gains charge speed with headshots, not kills or assists. If you miss the head, it deducts 1 point. The cap is 6. Not quite as good as Heatmaker, but the increased charge speed on a skilled player can almost break even.






2 others are Machina and stock sniper rifle. I'll include them together because they are nearly indentical in stats. Stock's only edge vs Machina is it can shoot without zooming in, which is negigable. The Machina has a few extra tricks. When fully charged, shots will fully penetrate any target in the bullet's path and do extra damage. Neither are recommended.

The WORST gun you can take is the Sydney Sleeper. People might try to justify it because it can coat everything in jarate on headshot, but that's nothing the soldier/scout/your jarate can't do. Most notable of its drawbacks is THERE IS NO DAMAGE BONUS TO HEADSHOTS! No matter where you hit them, the damage is the same. So for Sydney Sleeper; absolutely not.




Huntsman..... don't even think about it.

UPDATE: Due to popular request, I'm adding this section. Since I am a long time veteran and a little forgetfulness plus a PC crash (vets sometimes forget there's new stuff), I omitted the rifle known as "the classic" (very poorly named, if you ask me). This rifle is complete and utter garbage. It's terribly underpowered mostly due to having to fully charge it for a headshot. No matter the opinion, the Heatmaker remains unbeaten. Avoid this gun like the plague until Valve catches on that it's a piece of s***.

Your secondary won't do very much as Sniper, so a good choice would be Jarate. Whoever is covered in jarate will take 35% extra damage from all sources. Although easily out classed by Soldier's Buff Banner and Scouts Fan-o-War/Sandman (upgraded), Jarate can also be upgraded to slow on hit. It's not awesome, but it's pretty nice in a pinch. I've been glad I've taken jarate to several games. Sometimes your team just needs that one extra slow or minicrit boost while Soldier is down. It's also a powerful utility against spy bots who WILL target you.



Remember: your teammates can BLOCK your jarate if they are in the way. Hesitate before every throw and DON'T MISS! (Edit: Enemies doused in Jarate also generate assists for our Heatmaker! Thank you, Lost in Narnia, for the comment!)


Stock SMG might kind of help vs spy bots, but don't upgrade it. It's not worth the money.

The other is the Cleaner's Carbine. It's special ability doesn't work in MvM, so it's just a down-graded SMG. (Update: It does get minicrits on kill. It's ok, but Jarate still out classes it, and if your team relies on you using an auto weapon, you shouldn't be Sniper in the first place. Thanks "Frustrated Scout" for pointing that out to me.)

Darwin's Danger Shield only gives you a small bit of health, Cozy Camper makes you take additional damage with the plus of not flinching when struck (which can be fixed another way), and Razorback? Good thing they send 3+ spy bots at a time!

The only melee even worth mentioning is either stock kukri or Bushwaka. This weapon has an AMAZING ability to have 100% CRITICAL CHANCE ANYTIME IT'S BOOSTED WITH MINICRITS! You name it: Scout fan, Solly banner, jarate, Heavy using GRU, ect you are guarenteed a critical hit! When you max out the melee speed, this is potentially the most powerful melee weapon in the game! It's only drawback is negligable: you take extra burn damage from fire. Any minor healing can negate this entirely. Just as the Heatmaker, FIND A WAY TO GET THIS WEAPON!

If you're stuck with stock kukri, just make it work. You'll be fine.

Other melee isn't even worth the typing.

I'm tossing this together in a hurry because I forgot it. Bear with me.

First thing you buy is 1 point of explosive headshot, then 1 +25hp on kill. Steadily max explosive headshot and charge speed (if you need it, get the Jarate slow whenever). Max damage last. Build defenses depending on what you need in your tour inbetween any of these. If you are on the last 2 waves or so and tanks are about to spawn, max your melee swing speed.

(Update: Some have disagreed at not including reload speed. I tested it a few times, but never got it to work. A few comments are suggesting that it's great, but I don't know for myself, yet.)

Update 2: After finally getting it to work, reload speed is phenominal! You should max it right after explosive headshot.

VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO Windaar FOR WARNING ME OF THIS BLUNDERING, DERP-UP! I can't believe I forgot the upgrade build!

I won't go into too much detail here or post a bazillion screenshots because positioning as Sniper is common sense: get way the hell away from the robots and still have a clear shot. The only other thing is MAKE SURE COVER IS NEARBY!

Remeber that aggro system I talked about in the Spy guide? Well, - out of observation - Sniper seems to be runner-up in aggro; he'll be targeted A LOT. Keep close to cover because you'll be showered in projectiles!

There are also times when cover at chest-level will block robots, but giants will still poke up over it, and you can hit them. The Bigrock screenshot is a good example.

< use max jump height to reach these barrels and shoot down the way. It's nice vs spy bots.










^Only make this move if you have to go for a really aggressive headshot vs medic bots.

You undoubtly MUST PRACTICE IN BOOT CAMP!! I would recommend starting at Intermediate. Why? Good question.

The smaller bots are referred to in other games as "trash mobs" or lots of easy, little enemies. Unless it's a Heavy bot, it can be frustratingly difficult to snipe them. Your main target is giant bots. They're huge, move slowly, and unless targeting your team's Scout, won't turn/move around too much. In tougher difficulties, you will fight more giants. In, say, normal mode, almost no giants will spawn; trash mobs will instead. Generally, as a Sniper, you aim for giants, and bots with the bomb.

What will help you target properly is a little knowledge of the A.I.

First, there's "bomb A.I." (these aren't official terms, I'm just naming them for simplicity). As soon as a bot takes the bomb, THEIR MOVEMENT SPEED IS GREATLY LIMITED. Know what a slower bot means? That's right: an easier-to-hit target. Additionally to this "bomb A.I." is they will "taunt" if they carry the bomb long enough. You see, there are 3 different buffs given to bots depending on how long a single one carries the bomb in it's lifespan. Think of it as the bomb carrier getting "a killstreak buff". After some time, the bot will taunt, receive a buff, and you're teammates might say something like "THE BOMB BOT IS GETTING ANGRY/MEAN/STRONGER!" Taunting robots stand perfectly still for a brief second. Easy headshot, though you might have to memorize the taunt animations to find out where the headshot "box" is. (Side note: giants do not taunt)

The other is the bots seem to follow a sort of "escort A.I." where they bunch up with other bots and move with them in formations. The 2 most common of these occurences is 1) when a bot in front of them has the bomb or 2) sometimes an escort team will be "assigned" to a giant. With maxed explosive headshot, you can take advantage of them teaming up, and wipe them out in groups with single headshot!

Aim for who is being "escorted"!

If you're pressed against the bomb score point and it's all up to you, try to body block and use jarate+melee to bring them down. You can't always save the day, though. You are the Sniper after all. Sometimes, you just gotta watch as the team loses and try again.

I call them weird because you probably won't see these anywhere else.

The biggest reason why you need to practice is lag compensation in your shots. Until you play on a LAN game, hit detection of your shots will be unique to every Sniper. You might have to aim high, or low, or lead the target, or trail it. The mark of a good Sniper is one that knows how off-center his shots will be, and compensating to hit targets anyway.

Sure, this sounds a bit silly. You might be thinking



but when you are in game, you'll see what I mean.

Another odd tip is the pace which I shoot. Most people might think to wait for a fully charged shot before they fire. Everytime I do that, I always miss. After I scope in, I fire after about .8 seconds. The idea is to crank out minimum-charge headshots. Not only do I hit more often when I shoot like this, but it also means more explosions! I almost never fire fully charged shots unless my charge speed is maxed and the Heatmaker's meter is being used, but even then, not often. Shooting like this should increase accuracy and increase frequency of explosions.

Any bot killed by the sniper rifle will drop RED money. This money will collect itself automatically if left alone. Thank you Lemon for reminding me!

This money will ONLY appear on headshot/explosive headshot kills.

When spy bots spawn, drop EVERYTHING you are doing and protect yourself until they're all dead.

Your first move should be to run straight to the Engi's sentry.

If your Solly is good, he will follow you two and should clear out the spy bots in less than 10 seconds unless more than 5 spawn. By gathering onto the sentry, you have three people fighting off the Spy bots and protecting each other.

If a spy bot is amongst your group and you see it but they don't, jarate it. It will glow an obvious "SHOOT ME" yellow glow and it won't last long after that.

Our first instinct of a sniper bot's appreance is "oh i better counter snipe him", but you might be wrong. There's a trick in the A.I. when dealing with a sniper bot.

After the sniper bot chooses a target, it will "home-in" on it. Once it fully "aquires" the target, it will shoot. So, if their target is standing still, they will shoot it, do a Crazy-Legs McGee side step routine, then shoot it again.

See, if the sniper bot targets someone else, yeah, shoot him but if he targets YOU, you have 2 options. 1) if you are very confident in your accuracy, you can attempt to shoot it while it does it's crazy legs routine or 2) the most recommended, TAKE COVER. BREAK LINE OF SIGHT AND LET IT CHOOSE A NEW TARGET. If you don't, after it's crazy legs dance, it will insta-scope-in-and-shoot-you-again because you aren't moving, then repeat until you die.

TL;DR if the sniper bot targets YOU, DON'T CHALLENGE IT! Take cover and let it choose another target, then flank it.

Pro tip: a minimum charge headshot is enough to bring an enemy Sniper down.

Since you brought your trusty Bushwacka, tanks fear the sight of you! Bushwacka gets 100% crit chance when ever the attack would normally mini-crit. Know what that means? That means when a Solly uses his Buff Banner, YOUR MELEE HAS A 100% CRIT CHANCE UNTIL IT ENDS! With max melee speed and a Solly nearby, you are a tank eater!

While swinging, try to be aware if any other bots are around. Strafe around the tank to block enemy fire.

If Spy bots spawn, the same rules from above apply: drop everything and protect yourself/your team.

There's no doubt you need Uber canteens. Many a time I have made huge plays with them when I otherwise would not have.

When the bots spawn a rapid fire crit Solly giant with Medic bots all over him and he reinacts D-Day, you still gotta get those Medics.

Strafe left or right (or maybe both) to see around the smoke and barrage of missles, then activate the canteen, and land that golden bb.

There are times when you have to make aggressive headshots during a chaotic scene to clear Medics. Use canteens, but use them wisely; they're expensive and you get 3 at a time! When used correctly, you can make game-changing plays with a single shot where you would otherwise just be gib bait.

It's like turning down the volume, everything goes in slow motion, then.....pppeeeeeewwwwwwwww..........BOOMHEADSHOTOMGROFLPWNDWIN!

I published the Sniper guide! Hopefully now I'll get more comments besides


"Make a Sniper guide."
"Make a Sniper guide."
"Make a Sniper guide."
"Make a Sniper guide."
"Make a Sniper guide."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9gfUTNsey8


Remember: start by playing an Intermediate game in unranked boot camp or if you are with friends, you can dare to take that on, too.



Dare to be Sniper, dare to break the meta.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9t6IqYtccs

Remember: I am open to critique, just please be polite about it.

Thank you for reading!

Sniper image from[th09.deviantart.net] cwegrecki.deviantart.com (accessed 6/10/2014 and edited by me)