Uncharted 3 – Guide to sniping

Note: This guide only applies to the Uncharted 3 Beta. For the retail version of Uncharted 3, please read The Ultimate Uncharted 3 Dragon Sniper guide.

So the Uncharted 3 Dragon Sniper sucks. Or does it? After a whole week of running nothing but DS on the Airstrip, I have come to appreciate it as an underrated weapon and excellent tool in team games. I have written this short guide to share some tips and technology, and hopefully spread some love for the Dragon Sniper!

Note: This guide applies to Uncharted 3 Beta 1.04 and is subject to change in the final game when all boosters are available.

Why should I use the Dragon Sniper?

A few reasons:

• You are getting sick of dominating with AK spray and it’s getting boring
• GMAL is a soul-less gun
• M9 plain sucks!
• Dragon Sniper the only gun in the game which takes finesse to use
• Nothing beats that fuzy feeling as you pop someone in the head
• As a skilled sniper you will strike fear into your enemies and make them play an off game!

I thought you said the Dragon Sniper sucks?!

My initial reaction was that yeah. The DS is back to a 2 body hits or 1 headshot for a kill. It also has horrible recoil after shooting and an extremely slow scope.

After some time playing the beta I decided to give the Dragon Sniper another go. While it’s not the best gun I find it to be very rewardng and enjoyable, especially when you pop heads with 1 shot. This guide is intended to give some tips on overcoming the DS’ weaknesses and becoming a better sniper.

What’s my role as a sniper?

• Make campers with sniper rifles or turrets pay
• Pop enemies shooting from cover. This can be really easy, as the head is usually the only exposed part.
• Pick off enemies going for the treasure in Plunder or defend your own team carrying the treasure

What boosters do you recommend when running Dragon Sniper?

Slot 1 – Weapons Expert if you have at least Level 2. I’ll explain more of this later. Otherwise Cloaked.

Slot 2 – Daredevil is handy for getting back Sniper ammo. Otherwise, down to personal preference.

What are good mods for the Dragon Sniper?

If I had to pick one, it would be Max Ammo. There’s never enough ammo for the Sniper rifle. With 2 mods, I’d add in Call Out, which is excellent for team games.

What sidearm is good for pairing with the Sniper?

Ever since the 1.03 Arm Micro nerf, it’s pretty much down to your personal preference now. I like Para-9 since it’s much better at Steel Fisting than the Micro now.

The scope moves too slow! By the time I have my sights set I’m dead!

Keep your chin up.

What?

In Uncharted 3, there is no unzoomed view for the sniper rifle anymore. The scope also moves really slowly when zoomed in.

To counter this, you have to prepare your aim before you hit L1. See that white dot in the center of the screen? Use it to center your aim before pressing L1. What also really helps is keeping your ‘chin up’. This means when you are running around, try to keep this dot at head level so you can try for headshots.

This by the way, is pretty damn hard in a 3rd person game like Uncharted. Props to you if you can do it.

I keep hitting people one time but they don’t die/keep getting away!

Sniping is about keeping calm and understanding the rhythm of the recoil. You might notice that the Dragon Sniper has massive recoil after taking a shot (especially at level 2 zoom), but if you wait for the recoil to finish, the scope will generally end up where it was when you took the shot. Just wait longer before shooting again. Spamming R1 will only make your aim go to shit.

You’re also going to have to accept the fact that some people are just going to get away. Due to the extremely slow rate at which the scope moves, shooting at moving targets is nigh impossible. If you land one hit but they get away, at least the enemy is 1/2 dead and not shooting at your teammates.

I’m not getting many headshots.

Sniping is not all about getting headshots, but it helps. Sometimes headshots happen because that’s the only part of the enemy you can see, or because your scope just happens to be at that sweet spot/level. Just keep using the Sniper rifle and you’ll get a feel for things eventually.

What are some situations to avoid?

• You don’t want to be caught running around with your Sniper Rifle. Use your sidearm instead until you find an opportunity to snipe.
• You don’t want to engage a GMAL user 1v1. Getting shot wrecks your aim.
• You don’t want to engage an AK user at mid range IF they hit you first.
• You don’t want to be camping in the same place too long. 5-10 seconds MAX

Where can I best practice sniping?

Play plunder. You have the luxury of not having all the enemy team shoot at you all the time and there are many excellent opportunities for sniping when defending your teammates. Airstrip and Yemen are good sniping maps. Chateau is a horrible map as most of the action happens in the house.

You mentioned Weapons Expert booster before. What about it?

Weapons Expert level 2 unlocks a very useful ability that allows you to overcome some of the limitations of the U3 Dragon Sniper. This booster lets you change between your rifle and sidearm instantly and lets you do what I call ‘Pistol Scoping’.

Pistol Scoping?

Here’s how it works.

• Switch to your sidearm.
• Once you see an enemy, you aim at them with your sidearm.
• As you are holding L1, press triangle. Notice how it scopes in instantly on your target?
• R1 R1
• Profit!!

Using this method you can easily aim at your enemies before scoping in, therefore emulating the behaviour of the U2 Dragon Sniper! Even better you can piano in Triangle then R1 quickly and get instant zoom snipe!

I keep getting ganked from behind when sniping!

Uncharted maps are set up to deter camping. Most locations have at least 2 or 3 access points, so it’s important to keep moving and never stay in the same spot too long.

I keep getting killed at close to mid range!

As a sniper, you just going to learn that there will be fights you cannot win. This includes 1v1 against a GMAL or AK user at mid range, unless you get lucky with a headshot off the bat, you’ll most likely lose. In cases like these the best thing to do is run like hell.

It also helps to keep your sidearm equipped at all times so you can at least Steel Fist if you run into someone at close range. This also allows you to Pistol Scope if you do see someone at long range.

I keep running out of Sniper ammo!

Story of my life. Just pick up another gun until you can find another sniper rifle or respawn with a new one.

Videos

Here are some videos of me running Dragon Sniper/Para-9 on the Airstrip map. Click through to watch the videos in HD.