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For me, I tend to be an area denial type of sniper. I usually hand cannon until I get a good lane, and then I switch to my sniper (Praedith's Revenge or Icebreaker most of the time) and hold the line until they (eventually) kill me. It's fish in a barrel, and I usually don't die at all unless I get flanked or my teammates run in front of me and block my shots (happens more than you might think).

If you're playing with me, and you see me lurking near a control zone, you don't have to worry about the path I'm shooting down. Counter-snipers don't do well against me, either. I'm already zoomed in, so my shot is going to hit them first.

Of note: Chain of Woe and Gunslinger's Trance mean I'm a headshot machine, and it takes only a split second to reload my weapons. This is another drawback of NLB for me as a Gunslinger... I gain a much higher benefit from a high rate of fire sniper than a slow one.

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But yes, obviously you need to take cover if your shields are down! And not like, duck to the side cover. You have to move far enough away that a grenade won't kill you while you face a wall for 3 seconds.

Interesting how the tactics of sniping are so modified by class.

I find on the shores of time I can often snipe B from over by C for a long time without having to move. There is a very thin line of sight there which I think helps. People who want to snipe me back have to expose themselves pretty much exactly where I know they are going to be and that usually means I can react faster than they can. Of course, I do try to move around left and right slightly and I do move over to snipe C occasionally too so I'm not completely stationary.

Yep. It's extremely hard to snipe from B to C down that line because they don't so much need to aim as to pull the trigger when you move into the only viable firing lane. You pretty much need to come at them from B's heavy ammo if you want a real shot at removing them...

I also found a nice spot only accessible to Titans outside of A that has decent sight lines down on B. You jump on a short pillar by the edge of the map, then double jump up to a railing along the tall pillar at the back corner. You can also get some nice kills on people as they run out of A and falling off of that spot gets me out of trouble very quickly in most cases. I can usually get at least 3 kills before I have to abandon that spot for a while. It seems like it takes people a long time to realize where they are getting shot from.

That map is the one map where I snipe instead of using a Fusion rifle consistently.

I've only tried it a few times in PVE and didn't enjoy it much (though I was still fine with the purchase just because it looks so damn cool on my back, like a katana or something), but you guys have got me all excited to go try it in Crucible. I love killing folks with unconventional weapons...

Try it out if you must, just to get an idea of how it performs, but be ready to be disappointed because it is truly rubbish in PvE.

...Which is why I was excited to try it in PvP. :)

You are right, of course, a high sniper is extra dangerous. I know I've been embarrassed a few times to die to someone who seemed to keep hitting me no matter what I hid behind only to see that they were up on something. It happens a lot more with people using normal guns though since its easier to see and track a sniper by the contrail and by the scope light. Do you have any favorite locations where you can hover and it from above cover? (I'd like to know so I can avoid them! :p)

Heh, unfortunately no. I consider myself an "aggressive sniper." In that I like to move all around the map and I don't mind getting up close for kills. I play mostly Control, and I love getting the Hat Trick and Objectively Correct medals. So in constantly running around from point to point.

I'll tell you though, my playstyle emphasizes height... above all else... (hue hue hue) and so rarely is it that I'm running along the ground. More likely to be gliding around or jumping from tall thing to tall thing.

At the same time I think snipers can also get overconfident. Too many times I'll ping them once or twice with a four shot kill gun and they'll step back out before their shields are recharged. Or they take one too many shots and flee way too late. It's especially silly when they do kill me... and then stay in the exact same spot. I don't care if I have the best line of sight in the world, if I kill you from somewhere you will not find me there next time. Maybe I'll just move one field of view to the left or maybe I'll be at a completely different angle, but sniping from the same spot is a death sentence no matter how good your location is.

I know I'm especially guilty of peaking, but what I always kick myself for is not changing my engagement point after I've broken cover to fire my sniper. Just moving twenty feet to the left can make a huge difference when sniping. I actually like that about NLB; you have to spend a few seconds chambering a round, so it's a nice reminder to move and take your next shot from anywhere else.

At the same time I think snipers can also get overconfident. Too many times I'll ping them once or twice with a four shot kill gun and they'll step back out before their shields are recharged. Or they take one too many shots and flee way too late. It's especially silly when they do kill me... and then stay in the exact same spot. I don't care if I have the best line of sight in the world, if I kill you from somewhere you will not find me there next time. Maybe I'll just move one field of view to the left or maybe I'll be at a completely different angle, but sniping from the same spot is a death sentence no matter how good your location is.

You are right, of course, a high sniper is extra dangerous. I know I've been embarrassed a few times to die to someone who seemed to keep hitting me no matter what I hid behind only to see that they were up on something. It happens a lot more with people using normal guns though since its easier to see and track a sniper by the contrail and by the scope light. Do you have any favorite locations where you can hover and it from above cover? (I'd like to know so I can avoid them! :p)

I CAN say that I don't spend a lot of time zoomed in. I zoom for shots and sometimes to use it as binoculars to see the other side of he map. As an aggressive dedicated sniper, I probably spend about one third of a match zoomed, and the majority of that is when I'm Angel of Lighting above the battlefield.

I fire, take cover to rechamber, pop out an fire again for the kill. While they wait to reacquire target once I've broken line of sight.

Also people don't know how big their bodies are, heh. Often if they DO take cover, it's not good enough, they still leave a toe, or elbow out in the open, and I can still get the kill.

Also, almost NOBODY looks for flying snipers! That's solution three for getting the two-shot kill. Aware players get hit and take full cover. I quick glide straight up and Angel of Light ABOVE their cover, then rain down fire from on high.

To be fair, years of FPSing has kinda trained us to not look up, so when threats come from way up high in PvP a lot of people are slow to adjust.

Then again, I use my sniper rifle early and often. In reality, it's my preference to sniper first and use other weapons later. Maybe that's why I hate NLB so much. For a sniper that goes in the primary slot, it's far from a weapon you would primarily use. It's a backup to your primary use shotgun or fusion rifle (two weapons I almost never use).

And I would say that's the main reason you're so adamant that it never has any use. I always struggle choosing between all three special weapons since they all have great uses in PvP. I'm also a more careful sniper anyway. Even with a much faster firing sniper rifle if I miss with my first shot I often run, which makes the NLB just as useful as any other sniper rifle, only now when I run I have a one-shot weapon for a shorter range on me. The NLB will never be for everyone (even when they DO buff it) but it definitely has its place in the Crucible if it fits your play style.

Okay, back to using it in the primary slot: You can use ANY primary in the primary slot and still favor a fusion rifle in crucible. So why would you choose NLB?

Name a single primary weapon that can kill in a one headshot and your point is true. Otherwise it can be quite desirable to have even a bad sniper in addition to a different special as I've already said. As long as your aim is good for the most part you don't need more than a single shot which doesn't make the NLB that much worse than any other sniper rifle, of which you wouldn't be able to use in this situation anyway.

It's not about having a primary that can kill in one headshot. It's about having a primary that is an effective backup to your other sniper rifle that can kill in one headshot. I'd take a sniper secondary with almost any primary weapon over NLB + any secondary, all day every day. Praedith's Revenge + The Last Word, Hawkmoon, or Thorn is amazeballs. Icebreaker or Patience and TIme + Timur's Lash. SUROS + LDR. The Stranger's Rifle + any of the aforementioned snipers. All of these weapon combos are way more deadly than NLB + anything.

Likewise, let's say you're using NLB. You're secondary weapon then would be either a legendary shotgun or a legendary fusion rifle. So would you rather have Secret Handshake + NLB or Secret Handshake + MIDA, Thorn, Hawkmoon, SUROS, The Stranger's Rifle, Timur's Lash, etc..? The *possibility* of a 1-shot kill with NLB is not the same as a guarantee of it, and if you don't hit the head with the initial shot, your time to kill goes from instant to 2 or 3 seconds, which is the same as never, since every other primary weapon has a time to kill of less than 2 (if they're close enough to shoot back) or because it gives them plenty of time to run and hide (if they're too far away to engage you). Even in situations where you do get that first 1-shot kill, you're then defenseless as other players swarm you because of the round chambering animation.

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Think of it another way: If you're imagining your perfect two weapon combo, regardless of limitations, what is it? Mine is Sniper Rifle + Hand Cannon or Sniper Rifle + Auto Rifle. So I wouldn't want NLB blocking out my hand cannon or AR choices. But let's say yours in Sniper Rifle + Shotgun... Wouldn't you rather have Universal Remote + any other decent sniper than have NLB + a different shotty? I would. So the only situation where NLB is preferred would be if you absolutely insist of playing sniper + fusion rifle. Or if you prefer a better shotty with your worse sniper rifle.

And I ask... Is it worth having a terrible sniper just for the opportunity to use a fusion rifle at the same time? I don't think it is.

Then again, I use my sniper rifle early and often. In reality, it's my preference to sniper first and use other weapons later. Maybe that's why I hate NLB so much. For a sniper that goes in the primary slot, it's far from a weapon you would primarily use. It's a backup to your primary use shotgun or fusion rifle (two weapons I almost never use).

Hmm... I'll have to switch to snapshot and see if I like it any better. My biggest problem is that if I don't one-hit kill with it on the first shot, I'm probably dead before I ever get that second shot off.

Aye, that was part of the learning curve for me. Now when I engage targets, I have to gauge whether they've spotted me or not. If not, I can take more shots. If they have, however, I IMMEDIATELY break line of sight after my missed shot. Now, you could do this by strafing behind a wall, but I prefer to fast-glide straight up and hide behind low ceilings and the like.

I employ a similar method when tossing fusion grenades. Toss and break line of sight. With NLB it's all about map knowledge and ambush tactics.

It's fun with Ward of Dawn, Blessing of Light, Iron Harvest, Helm of Saint-14, Hive mooks rushing you, and your Force Barrier is on cooldown. Hitting the Dawn counts as a miss. I like moving between the Dawn barrier spraying fire everywhere.

I've only tried it a few times in PVE and didn't enjoy it much (though I was still fine with the purchase just because it looks so damn cool on my back, like a katana or something), but you guys have got me all excited to go try it in Crucible. I love killing folks with unconventional weapons...

Try it out if you must, just to get an idea of how it performs, but be ready to be disappointed because it is truly rubbish in PvE.