Page 2 – Running
Versus The Scout
You might not be a slow class, but you’re no match for a Scout on the move. You can try to spray him with the sub-machine gun, but you won’t usually land a ton of shots before he’s behind you with a scatter gun to your back, smearing your intestines all over the battlefield. You can try to slice and dice him with the kukri if he feels adventurous and goes for you with the bat, but since he’s so much faster than you, he has a far better chance of leaving that battle as the victor. All in all, if you don’t want to end up in respawn, your best bet is the traditional backpedal-and-fire-wildly until you can find some friends to help fight him or a safe-zone to hide from him. This should go without saying, but DO NOT ATTEMPT TO POT-SHOT A SCOUT ON THE MOVE – your speed will drop to nothing, and his will stay the same, allowing a big can of whoop-ass to be opened on your head in the form of his bat. As when roosting, if he chooses to bat you, get out the kukri instead of the sub-machine gun – your chances for survival will, surprisingly, go up a notch or two.
Versus The Soldier
Without cover, a Soldier can really mess up a Sniper on the run: his rockets have splash damage, he’s not a whole ton slower than you are, and your sub-machine gun runs out of ammunition like it’s going out of style. My favoured strategy is to take one pot-shot with the rifle and then quickly switch out to the sub-machine gun, running directly toward the soldier while using the ’serpentine’ technique of strafing repeatedly back and forth while moving forward. Like you, a soldier will have a hard time aiming rockets at a quickly-moving target, so the key is movement – you should be just fast enough to intimidate him. Careful, though: if your sub-machine gun runs out of ammo, and it will, you need to push even harder and use the kukri (machete) to take him down.
Versus The Pyro
If you’ve run into a Pyro on foot, chances are you’re going to be respawning shortly. There is little a Sniper on the run can do against a Pyro, so we’ll stick to what we all know works: backpedalling while firing the sub-machine gun like it’s 1999. DO NOT attempt to make pot-shots on a Pyro, as his speed will usually overtake your ability to bring up the scope and hit him before he’s within flamethrower range, and your speed drops to snail-level when your scope is up. This is one situation where you should really be trying to find friends to deal with him for you, but if you’re all alone or feeling brave, I wish you all the luck in the world. Just remember these three words: run, backpedal, escape!
Versus The Demoman
While a Demoman has an excellent chance against you while you’re roosted, his chances often go down instead of up when he catches you on the run. His grenades, while powerful, are inaccurate – strafing takes care of his ability to hit you with those; his sticky bombs, while accurate to a degree, require time and finesse to detonate in a timely and deadly fashion; his whisky bottle, though, poses problems if you actually get that close to him. Therefore, the Sniper’s best bet against a Demoman while on the run is to stay on the run, using the sub-machine gun to whittle away at his health as you avoid his various explosive attacks. If he’s primarily using stickies as you run after him, though, you really do need to strafe far more often, as his chances improve drastically by laying down a line of bombs that you will sometimes unknowingly follow directly, leading ultimately to your splattery demise. If he lays down a long line of bombs and you decide not to follow, a quick pot-shot from the rifle can be a great equalizer and chance to escape.
Versus The Heavy
Honestly? I wish you luck. You’re not a Scout, so running actual circles around him is a difficult prospect, as you can’t just run like mad straight at him leaping wildly to avoid his minigun; you’re not a Demoman or Soldier, so you can’t waste him with explosive splash damage; you’re not a Spy, so sneaking up on him is a rare opportunity that will usually end in your death unless he’s very weak. Your best bet in my opinion is to, once again, take a pot-shot or two from behind a corner while he’s slowly plodding toward you, switching to the sub-machine gun when he’s too close for the scope. NEVER assume your kukri will do enough damage to kill him at close range!
Versus The Engineer
If you catch an Engineer by surprise on foot, or vice versa, get out your sub-machine and backpedal. He’s not quite as fast as you, but his shotgun’s spray effect means he can cover a small hallway with buck-shot and almost always hit you while your sub-machine gun requires a bit more finesse to work properly, so take care. Now, some people don’t like to backpedal, so if you feel like running right into battle with him, beware: he’s often out poking around to bait people like you into the range of his sentry gun; if he backpedals without being overly aggressive, it’s sometimes best to run for a second to get him backpedalling, and then stop to take out your rifle and quickly end his career before he can run toward you again. If he does manage to bait you into sentry range, I hope your life insurance is paid up, because up close you don’t stand a foreigner’s chance in the outback against even a low-level sentry with its Engineer standing right behind it unloading his shotgun.
Versus The Medic
On the run, a Medic has similar attack capabilities to the Sniper, with the exception of your long-range rifle. His needle gun and your sub-machine gun are almost at par damage-wise, but you have the smaller clip; his bone saw and your kukri (machete) are similarly close in damage ratios, but he’s the faster of the two classes; you require health packs to heal, he does not necessarily. If you catch a Medic alone, try a pot-shot with the rifle and then quickly switch to the sub-machine gun – odds are he’ll run toward you instead of away from you, which would increase the effectiveness of your rifle – strafing and keeping your gun-sight on him as best you can, since he’ll be doing the same. If you catch him with friends while you’re on foot, well…I’d say go find some friends of your own unless you’re feeling really, really brave.
Versus The Sniper
Stop me if you’ve heard this one, alright? So, two Snipers run into a large open area with sub-machine guns ready and spot each other. One says to the other: “This bar-bee ain’t big enough fer the both of us!” The other says to the first: “Too right!” Thus, their battle begins. If you’re caught running by another sniper who’s also running, your chances for survival increase exponentially, as you’re both at the same disadvantage. If there’s enough space between you, you should end up in a tight rifle fight from across the room by default; if there isn’t, it’s sub-machine gun time. Sometimes, though, a Sniper will go crazy and run at you unloading his sub-machine gun only to switch to the kukri as he approaches melee distance and runs out on his first clip; in this case, you’d better do the same, as one or two kukri hits can end your career if you’ve been in a sub-machine gun fight and are reloading when he approaches. Be careful: even in a hallway, if an enemy sniper backs up far enough to use his rifle in a safe manner, it could be curtains for you; also remember, though, that this tactic works both ways.
Roosting vs. Running, and Vice Versa:
A special situation that usually only occurs between two Snipers, finding a roosted Sniper while you’re on the run is a situation that can often end with you dead before you know what happened. If, however, you spot him and successfully hide, try to pick an entirely different position from the one he first spotted you in and go at it as if it were a regular Roosted battle, assuming always that he already knows you’re there. In this situation, it is also helpful to let your teammates flush him out or back him into a corner for you to pull the trigger and give the final blow.
If you’re roosted and he’s the one on the run, though, there’s a similar type of strategy involved. You’ve got the drop on him, and I advise popping off a shot at him before he ducks behind a corner, even if it’s not charged – it’ll make the fight tip in your favour before it begins. Once you’ve made that shot, though, MOVE; move into a doorway, move out of a doorway, move behind a pillar, around a box, ANYTHING – it’s one more advantage you can always use. Be vigilant in your roost, though, since his teammates will do their best to help flush you out as yours should help you when the situation is reversed.
Versus The Spy
I find that Spies are in love with two class disguises: Engineer, and Sniper. Why? Snipers are almost always behind the lines, allowing Spies easy access to your control points, and they have the same running speeds. Always be on the lookout for other Snipers, especially ones with your name, or those who are moving to areas that you wouldn’t think usable to your class. If you do bump into a Spy on the run, it’s sub-machine gun time; his reload on the six-shooter is about as bad as the reload on your sub-machine gun, so just keep on him until he’s so full of lead his only disguise would be as a human-sized bullet.
