User talk:Lordofhyphens

Sniper Abilities

After playing around with Snipers in XCOM:EU for a while (the game seemed to want to give me an endless supply of them), I think I've figured out some of the tradeoffs and (at least for me) what are the "more useful" highlights.

Headshot
- You don't get a choice about this, and that is quite all right. It's fine on its own.
Snap Shot/Squad Sight
- I rarely found myself in the position where I needed to fire the Sniper Rifle in a turn where the character moved. Squad Sight, on the other hand, gave my primary Sniper character the ability to make kills almost every turn. I also think Squad Sight affects Overwatch, but I can't be sure.
- My recommendation is Squad Sight every time.
Gunslinger/Damn Good Ground
- I mostly picked Gunslinger. The main reason for this was that I didn't get Skeleton Armor until I already had Titan Armor. Additionally, since I had picked Squad Sight instead of Snap Shot, the upgrade to pistol damage gave them almost as much firepower as a Support character at short ranges (particularly with captured plasma pistols).
Disabling Shot/Battle Scanner
- I honestly didn't really use either ability much; this choice is strictly preference. My only 'knock' against Disabling Shot is that it requires the use of the Sniper Rifle. At higher tech levels, a Headshot or normal fire will kill most aliens outright (except for Sectopods).
Executioner/Opportunist
- Take Opportunist. You won't need the +10% Aim bonus anyway, and most things you shoot at later in the game will be killed in one hit anyway. Just put a S.C.O.P.E. on.
Low Profile
- Low Profile is awesome. That is all.
In the Zone/Double Tap
- I only got one Sniper to Colonel rank, and chose Double Tap. Double Tap is wonderful, and when combined with Headshot can give you that 1-turn kill on the toughest enemies. Double Tap also works with pistols. The only "uncovered" enemies I tended to run into were Sectopods (which aren't going to go down from a single rifle shot), Chryssalids, and Berzerkers. Most enemies are good enough at finding cover that getting them flanked is sufficiently dangerous to not be worth it. I can see where going on a murder spree on Chryssalids would be useful, though.