Great title, right? Don’t worry. I’m not going to be talking down at anyone during this guide. If anyone is a dunderhead at sniping of any kind, it’s me. So how does a D-head like myself go about telling anyone else how to do their job? Simple: I’m not going to.
I said “effective” huntsmanning, not “pr0″ or “1337″ or any other superior-sounding, number-infused adjective. Once you read my guide, you’ll know how to make yourself felt on the battlefield, and maybe get a kill or two.
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Point Numero Uno: The Huntsman is… different.
The first and most important thing you can do as a huntsmanning Sniper is to Lead Your Targets. In fact, I could just copy those three words until they were big enough to fill an article and you would know roughly 90 percent of what you need to know to function with a bow. It’s that important.
And the very fact that you’re using a projectile weapon leads to some very different methods of execution. As a general rule of thumb, if you see a Sniper-prone target (Heavy, Medic, Engineer, etc) and a bit of cover, aiming between the two will give you an almost certain hit.
Also, the Huntsman has a much wider hitbox, and thus can be spammed much easier than the Rifle can. Not to the extent of any sort of explosive, but generally you only have to aim in the direction of anything colored different to you. You’ll hit something. I promise.
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Point X+1: Get in close.
Not melee range, lord no. I mean around the effective range of the SMG. You remember that tiny number, don’t you? Keep it in the back of your brain. We’ll talk about it later.
Closing the gap gives you a few advantages over everyone else in the field. Rifle-using Snipers (the pansies) don’t react well to an invasion of their personal space, and tend to swing their machete wildly at anything that intrudes on their personal bubble. Panic, of course, leads to disorganization, and while he’s beating the crap out of an imaginary Spy and looking the other way, you can bow and arrow him to death.
While no one else will be quite as discomfited at having a Sniper getting up-close-and-personal, it does help you in a way that kind of negates Act I of my first point: you don’t have to lead as much. So we’re back to the classic Monkey Island formula: Point, hold, and click. Of course, don’t hold too long, or some Scout with half a brain will bring you up-to-date on modern technology. Violently.
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Point Number the Next: Know how you’re going to kill them.
While a long stick with a pointy bit on the end is no doubt impressive, sometimes it’s just not enough. Sometimes, you need to use your secondary weapon to augment the murder a bit. Ignoring the Razorback for a minute (because that’s only for Rifle-users who willingly give themselves tunnel vision), you have two very good choices.
S.M.G.: The Finishing Move
Similar to a hunter in the wild, you use your tradition-laden longbow to tag the brute you’re aiming at, and then end him with a bullet (or 25) to the brainpan. The trick here is to start far, and then move in for some better shooting. This works better on larger, isolated prey, such as a straggler Heavy or Soldier. Just make sure to approach from a direction different from the one you shot him in. An arrow in the liver is a quick attention-grabber.
Jarate: The Boosted Attack
This one’s sort of the opposite to the SMG philosophy. To pull this off, you need to start close and Jarate all over your quarry, then backpedal and snap a shot at him while he pursues you for showing him who truly is the boss. As with the strategy, you also should target the opposite kind of class. This one works best on the lighter enemies who you can’t be asked to get a headshot on, like Pyros and Medics.
Of course, Scouts are a variable in all of this. In any case, the buggers don’t warrant either of the secondaries, because a snapshot will either randomly hit their head, ending the threat, or impale them so bad that they run all the way back to the resupply room, crying for mommy. Unless they’re not sissies or have been drinking extract of Saxton Hale, in which case you should head straight for your own lines posthaste, only turning around to try and nail the little squirt again.
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Point Second-From-the-Last: Huntsmen’s advantages and why the Razorback is rubbish.
Let’s count out the myriad ways The Huntsman is better, shall we?
- It lets you move faster, which anyone who’s ever died by Pyro will appreciate.
- You keep that wide field-of-view your dad paid so much for.
- It gives you limited indirect fire.
Now let’s see the Rifle’s pros.
- It flat-out does more damage, always a plus.
- You don’t have to lead, because nothing slow enough to be hit at that distance would need to be.
- It’s way more accurate.
- People won’t accuse you of being a “huntspam noob” if you use it; instead, you’ll be “a f*king hax0r, admin ban nao plzz.”
- You know what, that’s all I can really think of.
And all joking aside, that may be enough to give both of these a good niche on the battlefield. But that’s not what we’re here for, so let’s focus on using the Huntsman’s boons to their booniest.
The most obvious is to constantly check your flank and never let a second pass without either killing someone or knowing everything about your surroundings, all the time. If a Spy cloaks in the corner of your vision while you’re lining up a shot, just swivel your view down to him and take him out. You’re doing everyone on your team a favor.
The Razorback was made for traditionally thinking (yes, thinking) Snipers who can’t be asked to move from their designated campgrounds to check for spies. Since you’re a Hunterman, you’ll be on the move and constantly aware. Therefore, it’s worth little to you.
There’s one last thing, although not an advantage, that you really need to know. Nocking the arrow and charging your shot slows you down, though not as much as scoping in with the rifle.
Charge shots have a few advantages: besides the higher damage, the arrows also move faster. A caveat: if you keep the huntsman charged for too long, the accuracy decreases (when this happens, the sniper’s arms shake slightly from the exertion of holding the drawn bow). Fear not, though! Instead of wasting the shot, you can de-nock the arrow by pressing the right mouse button.
Charging a shot is analogous to spinning up as a Heavy, and as such, you need to know when to pack it up and head for them there hills. If you’re faced with more than one fast mover, or a boatload of high-health classes, you’re probably better off living to fight again than holding your ground. It wasn’t terribly nice ground, anyway.
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Point Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Practice.
No amount of me telling you what to do will make up for not going out there and doing it. Believe me, I read up on the latest in TF2ology before I even bought the game, and I was still a newbie, come Day One. You’re going to get out there, you’re going to kill, and you’re going to get good at it. On that day, you’ll look back at this Complete Dunderhead’s Guide and remember how far you’ve come. And on that day, I hope you’ll write in and thank me.
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In conclusion, and without a moment to spare:
- The Huntsman is inherently different from the Rifle. Embrace that, and you’re a step closer to victory.
- You’re better off being closer to the target than normal Snipers need to be.
- Your secondary weapons have their place. Use them.
- Keep moving, keep alert, and keep away from the Razorback.
- Get out there and play!
A special thank you goes to Tygrys for the illustrations.
