Remove or limit range on Sniper / Marksman Rifle

[NotKempi]

Simple suggestion, 

Snipers and marksmen's rifles create an unfair gameplay environment, being the only weapons able to shoot above ranges of 120m ( All other GTA weapons will not register hits beyond this range ). This also means that snipers can be used at ranges where objects don't load in, meaning players with a sniper can shoot through said objects that don't load in. ( LEO Factions have rules on their side to combat this, but should still be considered.) 

While Rifles and Pistols have a maximum range of 120 meters, snipers can shoot as far as 1,500 meters, effectively creating a 1,380-meter range where they can shoot you, but you cannot shoot back. An example of this would be during the Jewely Heist event yesterday, where several criminals were fighting PD inside a hangar at LSIA. During the shootout, a sniper rifle was deployed from the LEO side, with the sniper parking their car in the middle of the runway and standing in complete open and firing with a gun that can one-shot us while we can't shoot him back in return without pushing out through 20 cops to get within range. 

The stats on the Heavy Sniper Mk 2 are already insane on their own, being able to kill a person in one or two hits, while having a firing rate of 1 shot/3 seconds. Making the TTK above anything else accessible to the general playerbase.

On top of this, the Heavy Sniper Mk2 gets access to a Thermal Scope, which is capable of reading thermal signatures through walls and while there are OOC regulations against using this to the player's advantage, during a heat of the moment gunfight, it's hard to "forget" you saw a person at X or Y location or how you can see them moving ready to peek. 

This creates an unfair game environment where there is barely any counterplay, with the only option available being to run into the sniper who can take you down in one or two shots. Supply of these weapons is next to none to the general playerbase, while an unlimited number are spawned in for SWAT & SED, who also have the weapons stored away in the trunk of their cruisers at all times for when they're needed, meaning they can be deployed at any time from anywhere. 

While having sniper rifles is realistic, a sniper rifle in real life carries a lot of downsides that simply aren't represented in GTA, They are heavy and burdensome to carry and hold, and even harder to steady and shoot from the shoulder. They require the user to be kilometers away to truly be "safe" from small arms or rifle shots. None of these downsides are accurately represented in GTA, and as such, make the implementation of the weapon itself unrealistic

While I also understand there are faction-bound regulations and OOC rules to the usage of the snipers, I believe that the weapon is simply too powerful in it's current state, even with those limitations in place. The usage of the weapon creates an unfair environment which makes fights feel unfair and unfun for anyone except the person using it to their advantage. As such, I believe that the weapon should either be removed or have the range of usage ( if possible ) limited to 120m to match that of other guns in GTA. 

[Hubie]

Amazing suggestion, myself and I'm pretty sure the entire criminal player base have had to deal with this for far too long. Cops going on roofs miles away, where rifles won't reach and you cannot get on without a helicopter, or cops circling an active shootout in the heli, flying around sniping anything that moves, and yet there's nothing you can do to stop it or counter it. I wouldn't say remove the sniper completely, but something should be changed. 


+1. 

[Bala]

What about not making locations out of objects that have limited levels of detail distance in the first place?

[aleks]

Thanks for bringing this up in a constructive way and laying out your concerns.

At this time, the sniper rifle will not be removed. The weapon is already heavily regulated both in character and out of character by both law enforcement factions and recently removed from the San Andreas State Government (GSB) faction, as I do not see a need for them here. Its deployment is limited and tied to strict internal policies.

If someone is found abusing the weapon such as thermal abuse due to render issues with the admin built labs, they will receive a faction punishment, potentially a staff punishment and Legal Faction Management will review the situation. If it’s serious or repeated, the weapon can and will be removed from that faction.

I understand the concerns around range and balance, and LFM will continue to monitor how the weapon is used in major situations and events. If the usage starts causing consistent issues that are measurable across the wider playerbase, we’ll revisit it. For now, the current regulations in place remain, and misuse will be handled through faction leadership and LFM.

If you have clips or examples of someone misusing the weapon, go ahead and create an OOC IA report with the law enforcement faction so they can review it. If you feel like your report wasn’t taken seriously, you can reach out to Legal Faction Management directly. Also, when the next round of bug fixes is being looked at, I’ll see if the development team can review the weapon and check whether any adjustments are possible around the thermal scope behaviour and admin built structures.