I made this post in another thread, and thought the information listed may be useful for others who also wanted to improve their sniping and general PvP skills. So without further adieu, here it is. I'm not a pro, and I don't snipe as often as I used to these days in PvP, however, I do have some tips that may help. Brace yourself, this is going to be a [b]LONG[/b] post. You've been warned. There are two facets that make a good sniper (Or just a better player in general), in order of importance. [b]- Positioning/Game skill - Gun Skill[/b] As it is with most things regarding Destiny PvP, to effectively fight enemy players, it's all about location, location, location. Positioning is key, and requires you to understand where the common "sniper" lanes are on a map. Even semi experienced players will know some of the more common/obvious areas where snipers like to take up perch (A good example is the ruined building close to B flag special ammo spawn on Widows court. From this spot, you can head glitch and have a decent LoS to A flag's heavy spawn) You want to limit how many angles the enemy has on you, and force them into a "cone" out in front of you if at all possible, effectively creating a "beaten zone" or "kill zone" where the enemy must challenge you while entering your scopes field of view, and only that field of view. How you maneuver around the map is extremely important for you to improve both as a sniper and just overall as a player in PvP. [b]Truevanguard[/b] has two excellent videos talking about this, which you may watch here. [spoiler] [b]Controlling the Engagement:[/b] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7rqEXYhGEE [b]Movement is key:[/b] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zd1N006qdk[/spoiler] [b]Mtashed[/b], while the video is pretty dated, covers the idea between Game skill vs Gun skill quite well in this video, which you may find here. [spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvzcbHKOpfs&index=13&list=PLVHacqixRV3Eo83gPpSesKjfkzlFRLwK1[/spoiler] Once you have this, you can develop tactics, know when it is wise to push and when it is time to flee. Players with higher "gun skill" can push aggressively with a sniper rifle, and still come out on top, since they have the "mechanical" skills to do so (ie. Quickly scope in CQC, and land a head shot). Nothing we advise can help you develop your gun skill in a meaningful way per say, however, there are things that you CAN practice doing on your own. The first I recommend is learning how to "pre-aim". What do I mean by this? Pre-aiming is when you visually center your target on your screen, or as close as you can, before you Aim Down Sights (ADS). This reduces the time it takes for you to acquire, line up your reticule and take the shot. [b]Coolguy[/b] covers this very topic in a video of his, which you may watch, here. [spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ78viT0c8U[/spoiler] To get acquainted with this, I recommend going to Venus. Once you spawn in, head directly left from the spawn to the "Ember Caves". Try to practice landing only head shots while scoping in on the Fallen here. The Fallen vandals especially, are roughly the same height as a Guardian, and both the Dregs and Vandals heads are about the same size as a guardians as well. I like this area since it offers a wide variety of different sight lines, and the mobs spawn relatively quickly with minimal movement between "pod" to "pod" of enemy mobs, making grabbing extra special ammo between them easier. Once you have the idea of HOW to "Pre-aim", the only way you can reliably do this is to just practice it in the Crucible.[b] I repeat; no amount of PvE practice will ever truly prepare you for the chaos that comes while playing real players. Only repeated failures and practice will make you better at doing this (Like just about anything in life, hard work, dedication and knowing what you did right/wrong is the only way to improve in any meaningful way.[/b] It has taken me countless hours of playing, analyzing and playing some more to get where I'm at now. Even so, I'm just average at best. [u][b]Weapons[/b][/u] As far as weapons are concerned, the current meta favors Sniper rifles that fall within the 31 Impact 19 ROF. This includes the infamous 1000-Yard Stare, LDR 5001, Y-09 Lonbow Synthesis and to a lesser extent, the Eirene RR4 Why these specific rifles? They all strike a good balance between Rate of fire, impact, and aim assist. (The exception going towards the Eirine RR4, which has the lowest base aim assist between the 4 rifles of 21, as opposed to AA values of 56 (1k stare), 64 (LDR 5001) and 68 (Y-09 Longbow Synthesis) respectively) Further more, if you get into game modes that have the option to revive players, you can perform the infamous "res snipe", since their impact values are high enough to do this. (The minimum impact required to res snipe is 16) This does [b][u]NOT[/u][/b] mean the lower Impact varieties such as Weylorn's march & the Uzume RR4 (Both of which fall under the lowest Impact archetype of Sniper rifles with a rating of 13) are bad weapons, but for the sake of consistency and reliability between both PvE & PvP, the rifles listed are by far the most sought after archetype you could go for. [b]***NOTE***[/b] Something to note about Weylorn's March. Out of ALL the Sniper rifles available, this Iron Banner exclusive sniper rifle comes with the HIGHEST base Aim Assist value of ALL legendary sniper rifles (Higher than even the exotic sniper rifle Hereafter, which has an AA value of 75 or the Y-09 Longbow Synthesis) with an AA value of 79. This means, that if you so desired, you can have more flexibility for other perks that boost this weapons utility in other areas such as having Outlaw, Firefly or Mulligan if you so desired. Ultimately, [u][b]PICK WHICHEVER RIFLE/ARCHETYPE THAT WORKS FOR YOU![/b][/u]. You may look up the specific weapon stats and what perks are possible to roll on them at Planet Destiny's database or the Bungie armory [b]1000-Yard Stare[/b] Planet Destiny: [spoiler]http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/1703777169[/spoiler] Armory: [spoiler]https://www.bungie.net/en/Armory/Detail?type=item&item=1703777169&itemname=1000-Yard%20Stare[/spoiler] [b]LDR 5001[/b] Planet Destiny: [spoiler]http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/1200540134[/spoiler] Armory:[spoiler] https://www.bungie.net/en/Armory/Detail?type=item&item=1200540134&itemname=LDR%205001 [/spoiler] [b]Y-09 Longbow Synthesis[/b] Planet Destiny: [spoiler]http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/1200540135[/spoiler] Armory: [spoiler]https://www.bungie.net/en/Armory/Detail?type=item&item=1200540135&itemname=Y-09%20Longbow%20Synthesis[/spoiler] [b]Eirene RR4[/b] Planet Destiny: [spoiler]http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/3629543169[/spoiler] Armory: [spoiler]https://www.bungie.net/en/Armory/Detail?type=item&item=3629543169&itemname=Eirene%20RR4 [/spoiler] Fallout plays has an excellent video that shows which snipers can and cannot res snipe after the April 2016 Patch, which you may watch here. [spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMmiBJjscXs[/spoiler] For perks and general suggestions, about scopes, Patrick Casey (Holtzmann) from Planet Destiny covers this admirably in his "State of Sniper Rifles" video, which you may watch here. [spoiler]https://youtu.be/ad1PoKnzJgQ?t=2m31s[/spoiler] Phew, hope this helps. GL;HF!