Forum: gaming.stackexchange.com
Tags: <team-fortress-2><tf2-sniper>
Title: Should I fully charge my sniper shot?
Question: Is it prudent to fully charge my sniper rifle in most cases?  If an enemy gets up close, am I better off trying to scope-n-shoot, no-scope, or try some other weapon?

Answers:
sents: text: It depends on the particular target you are going for.
text: For a Heavy, often times you need to charge up, even if you are going for a head-shot.
text: If, however, you are going for a faster enemy (e.g. a scout or medic), your best bet is to go for one uncharged headshot, or two quick body shots.
text: And finally, charging up when you don't have an enemy in sight is usually a good strategy, because you can usually one-shot any non-uber'd enemy with a full-charged head-shot.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/91/John Gietzen
score: 11
sents: text: This info from the TF2 Wiki seems pretty relevant to your question.
text: The only classes that you can't kill with a zero charged headshot with the sniper rife are Solider, Pyro, Demoman and Heavy, with each of these requiring 17%, 9%, 9%, and 50% charge for a one shot (headshot) kill.
text: Also worth noting that you can oneshot kill (bodyshot) a Scout, Engineer, Medic, Sniper and Spy with a 100% charge if you think it's a better bet than the head.
text: All of this goes out the window if a medic is charging, but the above link has info on that too.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/719/Jon McAuliffe
score: 8
sents: text: Personally I no-scope when they are really close or it's a scout.
text: Otherwise I try to scope them with a headshot.
text: I'd say I get fairly decent results, but not great.
text: I'd love to see some other sniper responses here, as I'm not totally confident that's the best method.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/35/Jon Mabe
score: 5
sents: text: It is for this reason that I personally prefer to use the Huntsman.
text: It has a faster charge up, but smaller zoom.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/306/Albort
score: 1
sents: text: I would say do a quick scope uncharged headshot if the scout is going to get close to you, I would go for that than regular body shot.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/34181/Set
score: 1
sents: text: An acceptable strategy: Don't scope until you see a target.
text: If it's a Heavy, scope and fully charge a shot (being careful not to let him see you or your dot).
text: They're not likely to reach you in the time it takes to fully charge.
text: If it's a Soldier, Demoman or Pyro, charge about halfway before taking the shot.
text: If it's anything else, an unscoped headshot will do.
text: Don't even bother with a Scout unless you're very sure of your aim.
text: If you're not sure, charge up and go for a bodyshot.
text: This keeps you out of scope most of the time, allowing you better situational awareness and target-picking.
text: This also depends on what KIND of sniper rifle/bow you have, whether or not they know you're sniping, whether or not they're being overhealed/ubered, the skill of the player you're sniping at, and whether or not the Soldier/Demomen know how to rocket/grenade jump.
text: If you're using a bow, you don't need to worry as much about when to charge.
text: The bow charges pretty quickly, and is better suited for mid-range fire anyway.
text: If the target knows there are snipers, be prepared to take a less-than-ideal shot as they weave and dodge your fire.
text: Any damage is better than no damage.
text: If they know where YOU are specifically, move somewhere else.
text: There's a high chance they will focus you down and make your sniping position undesireable.
text: If they're overhealed, be prepared to charge a bigger shot for them.
text: If they are ACTIVELY being overhealed, try to aim for the Medic first.
text: Even if you don't kill him, making him flee for health is a victory in itself, and will make future targets softer.
text: If there is an uber, don't waste a bullet.
text: If they know how to rocket jump/grenade jump, aim for the spot where they intend to land, or at the peak of their jump, where their horizontal mobility is at its lowest.
text: Be prepared to no-charge this shot, or charge it just long enough for them to reach their peak/bottom.
text: If you're lucky, they'll kill themselves with their own jump.
answer_details: author: gaming.stackexchange.com/users/55285/Zibbobz
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
Do a quick uncharged headshot with a faster enemy or charge up and go for a body shot. 
You can carry out a quick scope uncharged headshot if the scout is going to get close to you, but for a Heavy, often times you need to charge up, even if you are going for a head-shot.  On the other hand, if you are going for a faster enemy your best bet is to go for one uncharged headshot, or two quick body shots.  The only classes that you can't kill with a zero charged headshot with the sniper rife are Solider, Pyro, Demoman and Heavy. You can also oneshot kill a Scout, Engineer, Medic, Sniper and Spy with a 100% charge if you think it's a better bet than the head.  If it's a Soldier, Demoman or Pyro, charge about halfway before taking the shot.    If you're using a bow, you don't need to worry as much about when to charge.  Basically, if you're not sure, charge up and go for a bodyshot.