This high-muzzle velocity sniper rifle with a 10x scope is a lethal weapon at any range, especially if you can land a headshot. -- Official description

The Sniper Rifle appeared in the original Unreal Tournament, but was replaced by the Lightning Gun in Unreal Tournament 2003. For the newest incarnation of the game, Epic has decided to leave the Lightning Gun in, while also giving the Sniper Rifle a return. Just like the Lightning Gun, you should only use this weapon for long distance sniping. The recharge rate is slow, and is useless when fighting one-on-one.

The primary firing mode is a standard bullet. Unlike the Lightning Gun, it isn’t an instant hit, although the difference is barely noticeable.

The secondary firing mode brings up the scope, which allows you to get a bead on your enemy. The longer you hold down the alternate fire button, the further in you will zoom. Keep in mind, however, that when you are zoomed in, you cannot see immediately around you, so an enemy could be doing a little dance behind you before finally deciding to kill you and you’d have no idea.

If the Sniper Rifle has any weaknesses besides the recharge rate, it is the puff of smoke that shows up after every shot. Whenever you fire, you will see a cloud of smoke temporarily cloud your view for five seconds. This may not have any immediate effect, but if you weren’t aiming for the head, it is hard to track the enemy with a puff of smoke blocking your view. Because of this, make sure you go for head shots, and only head shots.

The strategies are the same as the Lightning Gun. Get the Sniper Rifle, find a good area to snipe from, and grab a vehicle, preferably a Raptor, although a Manta may also work. You use the Raptor to fly to the destination, and then park it while you’re sniping at your enemies. When you are spotted (or if, depending on good you are), you can jump back into the Raptor, and retreat to safety, or to another sniping location. I call this a “hit & run”.

Whatever you do, please don’t camp near a respawn point and kill people after they spawn from a death. This is not only a cheap way to get kills, but it ruins the game for everybody. How do you improve your skill if you kill people before they have a chance to do anything?

If you are, unfortunately, on the receiving end of a spawn camper, you can hold down your move forward button (default Up Arrow/W), and hold it down as you spawn. This gives you a chance to run as soon as you appear, possibly avoiding the sniper.