Difference between revisions of "Sniper rifle"

Revision as of 12:04, 3 November 2018

The sniper rifle is a slightly heavier, single-shot firearm in RimWorld which deals a high amount of damage per shot; a long time between shots; very long range and high overall accuracy.

Acquisition

Sniper rifles can be crafted with skill level 7 at a machining table once the precision rifling research has been completed; with 60 steel, 8 components and 45,000 ticks (12.5 mins) of work. Sniper rifles can be purchased from outlander and orbital combat suppliers, outlander settlements, or from raider drops:

Raider Kind	Chance	Average Quality	Health
Mercenary Sniper	99.89%	Normal	70-320%

Analysis

The sniper rifle has the longest range out of all ranged weapons in the game, along with excellent long-distance accuracy as well as a high per-shot damage. Stopping power is also high enough not only to stagger humans, but also slightly larger targets such as cougars and all insectoids. Like the pila and charge lance, the sniper rifle has somewhat of a reputation of maiming or even outright killing its victims.

However, the sniper rifle has a very slow rate of fire, resulting in it having the lowest sustained damage output out of all firearms except the incendiary launcher; it's only on par with higher-tier neolithic ranged weapons like the greatbow. Its accuracy at shorter distances (especially close) is also weak, making the sniper rifle one of the most skill-heavy weapons in the game - even the average shooter will struggle to use the sniper rifle effectively within its optimal accuracy range. Sniper rifles are also somewhat difficult to acquire unless you get raided by a group that solely consists of mercenary snipers.

Given its characteristics, the sniper rifle is undoubtedly very well suited as a medium-to-long distance support weapon, or for field combat (e.g. harassing siege camps) due to its unparalleled range and good stopping power. This weapon's also arguably the best choice for hunting due to its range and per-shot damage, with the only other hunting weapon rivalling it being the charge lance.

On average, the sniper rifle is best paired with a careful shooter up to level 14, then with a trigger-happy shooter beyond that point.

Compared to the bolt-action rifle, the sniper rifle trades firing rate and accuracy at shorter distances for additional range, extra damage and improved long-distance accuracy.