This perspective changes completely in games like
Tribes and
Tribes 2. In
Tribes, the increased mobility given by the
jetpacks (especially to
snipers who are necessarily in
light armor w/ an
energy pack) means that
offensively-positioned snipers are not
sitting ducks. In fact, a standard sniper
loadout (
chaingun,
spinfusor,
laser rifle) differs from the standard
dueler loadout (
chaingun,
spinfusor,
grenade launcher) by just one item. They are also
well-equipped in the fastest armor/pack combo to make
flag support/
capping a standard part of the sniper's duties.
Whereas in
other games it's the sniper's job to sit down, pick a
field of fire, and cover it (and die if they get attacked), the sniper in
Tribes is an extremely
flexible offensive/defensive player. They are useful for tracking down enemy
cappers,
capping themselves, helping the capper, stopping
heavy offense, softening defense, and causing
disarray in the enemy. Many
good teams have several
dedicated snipers positioned in
midfield to handle tasks as they come up.
Therefore, snipers in
Tribes are not so much concerned with
surprise and
stealth. Surprise is not usually useful since they cannot inflict
instant lethal damage. The
sniper philosophy in Tribes is to foster
chaos among the enemy team and to play the
janitor of the playing field, picking up
loose flags and such.