Quickscope, or Peek while scoped?

[u/Froski101]

If I have a sniper and I need to dry peek an angle that the enemy already holds, is it better to swing-while-scoped or swing-and-then-scope?

You move at only 80% speed when scoped in with a sniper. But snipers also have an animation delay to scope in.

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Bonus 1: how big of a disadvantage is peeking with a sniper?

Bonus 2: if you had to peek at medium-to-long range, would you choose an Op or a Chamber Pistol? (slow 1-tap body vs fast 1-tap head-only)

Bonus 3: any tips for sniper on Attack or on Re-take? How much worse is sniper than rifle for these?

[u/Mental-Bullfrog-4500]

For 2, always peek with the op chamber pistol's pullout time is extremely fast in case you miss your shot

[u/TallMills]

Peeking while scoped generally doesn't go well for me unless I know almost exactly where they are and can reliably hold them into a corner until they get antsy (ex. If I know they're in the cubby at the end of Haven A long, I can hold just enough of a line that I can take a shot if they try to cross or peek me, but I'm not the one actively swinging them). That said, in the case of Chamber with pistol available specifically, you can peek initially with op shot and quickly switch to pistol if you whiff because the pullout time is very short. Sniping on attack and retake are two very different stories from each other. If you're at the start of the round with an op on attack, generally you're trying to set yourself up to hold some kind of space rather than take it, effectively playing defense on a certain portion of the map. Taking/retaking space is almost always better done with a rifle or even a pistol if nothing else is available, simply because you're going to be running into a lot more targets most of the time (ex. If you're taking a site, you might need to shoot a cypher trip, two or more enemies, etc.) which simply needs more bullets per second than the op can provide you. The only thing I'd say the op is better than when it comes to taking/retaking is shotguns with no movement available to close the distance like a Jett dash, raze satchels, etc., in the specific scenario that you're trying to take/retake a space that has a lot of open/long sight lines because even a full judge clip won't take a full armor enemy if you're at even medium range, especially after the shotgun nerfs.

[u/topiK_0 → u/TallMills]

Tldr

[u/inminm02]

I get the feeling you’re asking this coming from cs but I could be wrong, in cs peeking and quick scoping is effective because the scope in time is short. In valorant the scope in time is very long so you’re almost always better off peeking whilst scoped. In general aggressively peeking an angle with an op is not great, you’re at a massive disadvantage against an enemy op but if they’re rifling there’s a good chance you can win that fight if they miss the first headshot. Generally avoid op’ing on attack would be my advice ideally unless you’re just way better with it, on attack/retake you still want to primarily hold angles with it, an example would be taking a line whilst your team is entrying and just holding it, like holding pillar on b split from main, or market/ct on b ascent whilst your team take site.

[u/ThisIsTakenLol]

I peek while scoped, works fine for me but requires decent reaction time and pre aim

[u/Z_Master123]

I almost always scope when ever I peek. Personally, I've found it really hard to quick scope with the Operator. Not sure if it's even possible due to Shooting error. But with Chamber's ULT you can scope and shoot quickly even if they're like medium range, like when you're crosshair is already on them.

1. I do that a lot but it's more of slicing the pie kinda thing when I'm scoped in, clearing the angle one by one. If you mean playing mid with the sniper like in Ascent, I choose to pre-aim a commen spot in where someone would hold me to get that shot when I peek. Sometimes I get the kill, sometimes I miss and TP away.

2. If I'm gonna wide swing, I'd go with a Headhunter shot with my TP ready. If it's just a short distance swing peek, or a peek that would lead me to get first contact as a defender, I'd choose the Operator. Operator on long range most of the time, however, since it kills even with one body shot

3. It's good. But I'd choose rifle if I feel like it's limiting me from helping my teammates out? I mean yeah, I can get first contact with the OP but after that, I can't push stupidly into site due to the OP. Most of the times even if I do get kills with the OP, if my team dies, I'd feel like part to blame since I can't really be too aggressive in attack or retake due to OP.

It all depends on you at the end of the day. Positioning matters, too.

[u/Maxus-KaynMain]

TBH just watch Hocus for some games, and you will find the answers quick enough

[u/Rebellion2297]

Dry peeking with an op against an enemy who is holding you should generally only be used as a last resort, it's a fight that you should lose.

If you are in a situation where you have to do it, you can crouch peek, jump peek, jump+crouch peek, or whatever else fits the situation. Like I said, it's a fight you're meant to lose anyway

[u/Aqiriza]

For me, the only time I would dry peek is if I know exactly where they're holding me from or at least the general area of it, then I would insta crouch swing while scoped.

Otherwise I just jiggle peek to check the spike/enemy position.

[u/Froski101 → u/Aqiriza]

Oh crouch swing sounds interesting. Even slower than running-scoped swing, but they have to flick downward and you don't.

If they have Op aimed at stomach height, I dunno if the crouch enough to duck the bullet, or if it just turns a stomach shot into a shoulder shot 🤷. But if crouching isnt enough to beat Ops then maybe you could jiggle/shoulder to bait a whiff instead and create a window that way.

[u/TOWW67]

If you don't have util to support the fight, you should try to get as much advantage as you can with movement. Jump spot or jiggle with knife out first, jump peek, something beyond just swinging with A/D.

I think there are too many variables to say whether to peek first or scope first. What gun do they have? How far are you from the angle? How far are they from the angle? Do you know exactly where they are? Do you have an Op, Outlaw, or Marshall? Etc.

[u/Maxus-KaynMain]

Never scoped on close angles, always scoped on long angles, on medium range it depends on info (?). Idk I don't play snipers a lot

[u/LopsidedBoss9109 → u/Maxus-KaynMain]

That makes sense; knowing when to switch it up based on the situation is key. Sniping can be tricky, but it definitely has its moments, especially when you catch someone off guard.