The AWP is undoubtedly the most destructive weapon in CS Portable. As such, 90% of maps have at least one guy strolling around with a sniper rifle. Some maps, like snipertowers or Sniper Duel, require you to have an AWP to survive for more than 3 seconds. Some, like rats_v6 or battlefield, are good spots for sniping, though you can still do moderately well with a Deagle or AR.
Regardless, the fact remains that lots of maps feature sniping spots and such. Learning how to use the AWP is crucial to mastering the game. It’s the hardest to learn, but the most rewarding.
On more practical terms, the top-tier clans’ recruitment matches often are in the format of “first 25 kills assault rifles, next 25 kills sniper rifles”, so learning how to snipe is useful to join top clans.
This guide does not claim to turn a complete newbie into a rank 1 methodical sniping machine. However, if you follow this guide I see no reason why you shouldn’t consistently get a positive K/D. Remember it’s a guide. I’ll teach you that camping is not a good idea, but in certain situations(particularly on the toystory map) camping can be very useful.
And now, without further ado, let’s begin.
Mouse Sensitivity
Mouse sensitivity is not nearly as important as some would have you believe. However, it’s still crucial for success in sniping. I find slightly more sensitive than default works well for me, but you should experiment with different sensitivities and find your own “magic number”.
Be warned. Too low a sensitivity may mean that your sniper rifle is unable to shoot effectively at fast moving targets. This is more common than you might think, as people moving across surfaces ripe for sniping often equip knife to move faster. Too high a sensitivity and you might “overshoot” your target, shoot the air next to your target instead of at him.
Physical Surroundings
This is not the most important of factors in the “who is the best sniper” competition. Still, between two snipers of the same skill, whoever is more comfortable at their computer will usually win.
Have a good internet connection-no point playing CSP on a laggy connection. Your mouse should be good and sturdy, as should your keyboard(especially the 1, 2, 3, W, A, S and D keys). The mousepad should be smooth and padded. Thick, but not too thick. The speakers should be clear, though some prefer to turn the sound off as the new sounds are grating to the ears and throw you off your aim.
Again, don’t buy a new router just because you lag now and then. It’s not that important. I’ve gotten a gold medal with 7 deaths on a 12 player TDM snipertowers on a computer with no sound, that is 3 years old and with a folded and taped sheet of newspaper as a mousepad. Skill is everything.
Get Money!
Sniper rifles are the most expensive weapons in the game. Each AWP costs $600, which, though a laughably small expense for experienced players, can be quite a pinch on the wallet for new players(which this guide is aimed at).
Some tips to conserve money:use your Deagle instead of buying weapons. You’ll be surprised how many weapons you can pick up, and how effective your Deagle is. A Deagle can be a mini-sniper in its own right, especially on maps that don’t focus entirely on AWP like Lego or Stalker.
Another way to get a lot of cash REALLY fast is to go Singleplayer and create a map on Survival. I suggest football_v3. Set the map to either Monsters only or Fatties only(you choose, I prefer Monsters). Set your guns to unlimited ammo and quick reload.
Then, lower the stats of the Monsters/Fatties to the lowest amount allowed by the game. You get 10 dollars for every bot kill, regardless of how weak the bots are. However, remember to set their spawn rate to as high as possible. Scatter medkits around the map and increase the player health for easier farming. Finally, get an assault rifle; either AK47 or M4. If you don’t have an assault rifle, spawn a couple of terrorists and take them down with Deagle until one of them drops an AR.
Now you are ready to enter the game. Spawn and use your fast-reload, unlimited-ammo assault rifle to knife through the zombies. Just stand there and fire at the large horde. If you’re a good grenadier, a well-placed grenade can take out lots of zombies-I’ve actually gotten 17 zombie kills from one nade. Remember a grenade costs $50, so you have to be confident you can take out at least six zombies with that grenade or it’s wasted.
If you have $10000 or more(it’s really not that hard to achieve if you use my method; you can get like $3000 in five minutes), then you have enough cash to start sniping.
Stop Camping
Don’t camp. If you camp, many bad things will happen to you. You might get flanked or out-sniped. People know your location through kill-cam so they can blind you with a flash grenade and move in for the kill or take you out directly with an explosive one. There is nothing more unpleasant than sitting snug as a bug in a rug in your camp and then having the wrong end of an AK47 shoved down your throat without warning.
Instead, keep moving. Camping is called “hard scoping”, while stopping for a few seconds to land a shot and then moving on to the next spot, quickscoping and so on is called “soft scoping”. If you follow my advice on quickscoping and “knowing thy map” in the next two sections, you’ll know how to quickly cycle through the good sniping spots in the map.
Note that spot scoping is perfectly fine. Spot scoping refers to going to a particularly obscure, hard to aim at or otherwise particularly good sniping spot in the map and camping there for much longer than a soft scoper would. This is acceptable, because though all sniping spots are equal, some spots are more equal than others.
However, please remember this is spot scoping, not camping. After you kill one or two enemies from that position, they’ll be on the lookout and alert from possible shots from there, so do move to the next viable location. And only spot scope in genuinely good sniping positions, like for example on the little platform above a stack of crates in cs_battlefield.
And don’t spot scope all the time. Do it once in a while. Usually each map has only a couple of good spot scoping places, so maybe once every two or three minutes you’ll return to the same place. This means that people who are wary of snipers from there will shoot you, so there are risks to this method.
Quickscoping
Quickscoping refers to the art of quickly zooming in on an enemy, usually at close range, and then instantly killing him with a single fatal shot. You have to practice your reflexes for this one.
I suggest practicing quickscoping on terrorists and kamikazes in survival mode. They’re relatively harmless(due to their stupidity) so there’s not much chance of you getting killed.
Adjust your mouse sensitivity to be slightly more sensitive if you’re having problems quickscoping. Some people just can’t quickscope. It’s genetic or something. If you’re one of those people, don’t try and try in vain. Just give it up; quickscoping can be very useful, but not at the expense of frustration and misery.
Know Thy Map
Seriously, know your map well. This is very important. Not only is it crucial to identify possible spot scoping locations, you also need to know the tricks on the map. For example, if you hop from can to can when traversing down the kitchen drawers in rats_v6, you’ll get down the drawers twice as fast. And there’s a place in de_dust2, where if third person view and shoot through walls are on, a clever player with an AR can get lots of kills safely.
This will come with experience and watching other players through kill-cam, but also, try to play the same maps repeatedly. I play rats, de_dust and battlefield much more than awp_lego, q3dm or Sniper Duel. That’s why I get lots of gold medals in the former, but not the latter.
Sniping Myths
Common assumptions made by newbies are:
-The High Ground is good.
-Camping is good.
-Nobody will bother to flank me if I camp.
-If I can’t see anybody when sniping, it doesn’t mean the players are hiding or flanking me.
-I don’t need to worry in close-range locations if I have an AWP instead of an AR.
-I can quickscope well.
-I can use an AWP in all maps.
Please do not make these mistakes. Just don’t.
Finis
Hope you have fun and…
Happy sniping!
