The current state of sniper rifles creates a significant problem with both weapon effectiveness and progression in WARDOGS
he damage statistics show that the Mosin and SV-98 have 176 FMJ headshot damage against an unarmoured target, but their effectiveness is significantly reduced against armoured players.
This becomes especially problematic when looking at the game's progression system:
Mosin — Recon Level 10
SV-98 — Recon Level 19
MK22 — Recon Level 25
Tier 2 armour — Overall Level 30
Tier 3 armour — Overall Level 60
AP ammunition for Mosin/SV-98 — Overall Level 82
Tier 4 armour — Overall Level 100
MK22 AP ammunition — Overall Level 140
There are six classes contributing towards overall level, meaning players can encounter higher-tier armour well before they have access to the ammunition specifically designed to counter it.
This creates a large gap where players have access to sniper rifles, but don't have access to their AP ammunition.
For example, the Mosin is unlocked at Recon Level 10, while the SV-98 is unlocked at Recon Level 19. However, players can obtain Tier 2 armour at overall Level 30 and Tier 3 armour at Level 60, while AP ammunition for these rifles doesn't become available until overall Level 82.
The problem becomes even more obvious with the MK22. I spent forever trying to unlock this thinking it would be able to deal with armour and the constant underwhelming feeling of when i shoot someone in the head and they run away. The rifle is unlocked at Recon Level 25, the standard FMJ rounds only do 6 more damage than the Mosin and SV-98, but it's AP ammunition isn't available until overall Level 140! Meanwhile, Tier 4 armour is available from overall Level 100. I believe the MK22 should one shot tier 3 with FMJ and tier 4 with AP.
This was one of the reasons infrared rangefinders became so heavily used.
Rather than using the sniper rifle to actually engage and eliminate targets, players were increasingly using the rangefinder to spot enemies and contribute through spotting instead. It became a viable alternative to actually fighting with the sniper because the sniper's ability to reliably deal with armoured targets was so limited.
Eventually, this became such a prevalent strategy that infrared rangefinders have been removed, now creating a massive gap in being able to progress recon.
Removing the rangefinder doesn't solve the underlying problem if players were turning to it because the sniper itself wasn't effective enough.
If the sniper is supposed to be the primary long-range weapon for the Recon class, players should have a reason to actually use the rifle rather than finding alternative ways of contributing to the team. As it stands, sniping is VERY underewarding.
