As you can see, I was milliseconds too slow.

I read the math recently, Ambush is -5 on aim assist and if I remember right, Longview is +25 aim assist. Probably why you're finding it easier to hit headshots with it.

Ambush = -10
Longview = +30
Short-Gaze = +20

Base 1ks: 57 stability
Perfect Balance: 74 stability
Hand-Laid Stock: ?? stability
Injection Molded: ?? stability

I think my perfect roll would be short-gaze scope, last resort/eye of the storm, perfect balance/injection molded, unflinching.

If you are not doing trials and don't care about res-sniping someone then maybe look at some other snipers? the raid sniper has the same base stability but also has more aim assist (69) compared to the 1ks at 56. Hopefully one day I'll get Weyloran's March (IB Sniper) to drop with a great roll. It has the highest aim assist of any current snipers at 79.

one thing I've noticed when sniping is that the left-right motion works way better than standing still and sniping. If you can get strafing and sniping down then that will help a ton. the way aim-assist works on snipers you'll find moving your body also for the aim assist to really help out. This works with twitch reflex sniping also on your right thumbstick, but it's extremely easy to overpower the aim assist doing that method.

At least for me. I was noticeably getting more consistent headshots when I chose range over stability during IB this past week. I made 2 somewhat drastic perk changes on my 1000 yard stare. First, my scope changed from:

TACSYS SLS15 ("Mid-zoom scope. Useful for unpredictable situations.") to
LONGVIEW SLR10 ("Low zoom scope. Improved range and handling.")

The longview apparently doesn't have a long view scope, it's just about right. Can't really tell a handling difference, but that may be not looking for it. Range and shorter scope view is better with this one.

Also I went from perfect balance to reinforced barrel, directly trading stability for range.

I am a mediocre sniper. But this was a noticeable improvement for my (probably still) mediocre sniping ability. =) I'm now a believer in range over stability.

I, too, recently switched to the Longview scope (from Ambush) - I don't know if I get more headshots, but the added contextt available in the lower-zoom scope definitely gets me more hits.

I guess I'm gonna have to try hand-laid stock and see if I do better or worse - this thread is making it clear to me that there's no single answer to the question. :)

TACSYS SLS15 ("Mid-zoom scope. Useful for unpredictable situations.") to
LONGVIEW SLR10 ("Low zoom scope. Improved range and handling.")

The longview apparently doesn't have a long view scope, it's just about right. Can't really tell a handling difference, but that may be not looking for it. Range and shorter scope view is better with this one.

Also I went from perfect balance to reinforced barrel, directly trading stability for range.

I am a mediocre sniper. But this was a noticeable improvement for my (probably still) mediocre sniping ability. =) I'm now a believer in range over stability.

Just remember, Aim Assist is hidden in the range stat. You may be trading off a several points of aim assist with lower range for added stability. Just something to keep in mind when evaluating a gun.

Just adding to this...
The way Aim Assist works with snipers is a bit different than some other guns. With most weapons, there is a certain amount of reticle magnetism. Say you're sidestepping and your crosshair passes over a target; the magnetism will cause you're reticle to "stick" slightly to the target, or slow down as it passes over top of them. In effect, this widens the window for you to pull the trigger while you're still on target.

There is also a certain level of bullet magnetism on som guns. This is where your bullet doesn't fire exactly where you aimed it, but rather it bends ever so slightly to hit the target.

Sniper Rifles don't benefit from billet magnetism. But they do benefit from reticle magnetism.

Knowing that, Cody's advice about sidestepping becomes extra important. You benefit the most from reticle magnetism (aim assist) when you are sidestepping and your crosshair passes over a target. If you are relying completely on moving the right stick to aim, you will overpower most of the aim assist. But if you touch the right stick as little as possible and instead use the left stick to adjust your horizontal aim, the magnetism will kick in and help you out.

I just remembered to watch a clip from a couple of days ago, and I learned a few things:

- I like sniping people in the elbow, apparently. (Three elbow shots in 3 seconds, with a miss in between.)
- Sniper kills are registered by in-game text in as little as 8 frames (on a 30fps recording), or as many as 28 (lag?)
- My 1000 Yard Stare has a hell of a kick (each pair of images are sequential frames)

It's the third point I'm looking to rectify; I never noticed that before. My 1ks has only one stability-related perk - Hand-Laid Stock. My question is: will the penalty to range nullify the usefulness of the boost to stability, at the range shown in these shots? (This is typical of my sniping distance. I'm on the teleporter exit platform of Vertigo, firing into C.)

Yes, I could simply try it out - but I figure some of you have already done that. :)

I'm generally not a great sniper... I have moments where I get into the zone, but for the most part I'm pretty mediocre. Knowing that, I always go for max stability because I know I'll usually need to fire 2 or 3 shots to down a target.

You look like you could benefit by strafing right a bit between shots more than tweaking your rifle though.

Heh - that would just mean missing shots altogether, I think. :) (I mean, if I could strafe right a bit and still keep on target, sure. But this is ME we're talking about. :) )

Just switch to a fusion rifle.

You look like you could benefit by strafing right a bit between shots more than tweaking your rifle though.

Heh - that would just mean missing shots altogether, I think. :) (I mean, if I could strafe right a bit and still keep on target, sure. But this is ME we're talking about. :) )