Hello Snipers!

I've played around with Invasions on both sides, I feel I have a decent winrate and victory count (100+ for the Jaeger and 20+ for the Allied Sniper, both with kill ratios heavily in my favour)

I find invasions pretty fun, it's a real thrill to go up against a thinking opponent, however in particular I find being the Allied Sniper to be more of a thrill. Having to hunt them down, and sometimes pick out the enemy sniper from the NPCs, then kill them before they find you while an army is at their disposal to be their eyes and ears.

I've noticed a lot of people struggle as the Allied Sniper and do not find it fun, so I'm going to offer up what I hope are helpful tips for people hunting themselves a Sniper Jaeger.

The number one thing I feel many Allied Snipers often miss out on is how vital Focus Mode becomes when a Jaeger is in your game.



Focus mode is an incredibly useful tool for the purposes of hunting a Sniper Jaeger, in the first picture (left) above you can see on the minimap that when I am further away I get a red pulsing marker around the minimap in the direction the Jaeger is in. By regularly checking this I can get regular updates on what general direction the Jaeger is in which dramatically decreases how much of the map I need to search to find him.

The second picture (right) shows what happens when the Jaeger is close but not close enough to see his outline, instead of showing the direction the marker will pulse all round the minimap. Indicating he is very near to my location. If I have been paying attention to the direction the Jaeger is in up until now I will have a VERY good idea of where he is and can set up behind a wall or cover in order to ambush them.



In this last picture you can see the final, vital element of Focus mode, when the Jaeger is in range of Focus mode, a white outline is displayed around him in the exact same manner as the NPCs. With this you can track the Jaeger through walls, the advantage this provides you in close combat cannot be overstated. Enabling you to ambush him near-perfectly in nearly any scenario, making it deathly dangerous for the Jaeger to chase you into close confines.

Here's one of the number one things that will get you or the Jaeger killed, scope glint.



The scenario above occured as a Jaeger took a shot and missed, the game warned me I was tagged so I took cover behind a wall until the tag wore off (around 20-30 secs is my ballpark guess there). The Jaeger kept scouting for me with his scope, this results in him getting shot.

To break it down, when you aim your sniper rifle with a scope, with exception to one or two scopes that explicitly say they do NOT have scope glint, you give off an impossible-to-miss scope glint in the same fashion as the NPCs. This makes it near-suicidal to scout for the Jaeger with the scope of your rifle.

If you want to search a distant location for signs of the Jaeger, it is strongly advisable to use your binoculars instead as they do not give off the glint. They also have good zoom functions and a very wide field of view compared to a scope.

Last but not least, it is possible for the Jaeger to tag you or for you to tag the Jaeger, however doing so -warns the other player-. If you see a warning pop up that you've been tagged do not stand still, prioritise getting into cover, waiting for the tag to wear off, (you will not be told it has so wait 20-30 secs) then carefully move into a different position.

The Jaeger will also be warned if you tag him and all Jaegers have the skill that immediately tags enemies that damage them, this applies even to traps so be mindful.

Where we have focus mode and immediate access to the invasion phone, Jaegers will be hunting with a different set of tools.

NPC Status



The very first thing a Jaeger will do when they get in is check their surroundings, particularly the minimap. Above we can see on the minimap how suspicious (yellow) NPCs show up as yellow circles even without being marked and in combat ones show up as red. Immediately I know where to start my search and if the allied sniper is in combat and doesn't break off or finish it in a hurry I will be upon them and will kill them in short order.



The danger is further enhanced if I mark NPCs, the Jaeger can see marked NPCs the same way you do, across the map. They will notice if they start to vanish, if they're suspicious or if they in combat as above. What's worse is that if they are in combat the red triangle that shows where the NPCs see/last saw you will be visible to the Jaeger as well. Which makes it paramount to avoid being in combat with the NPCs.

If you are being spotted by an NPC that has been marked by the Jaeger you will notice a little iron cross symbol by the detection marker, warning you of the danger. These NPCs becoming even yellow will warn the Jaeger.

Jaegers searching for an allied sniper will notice if NPCs are suspiciously absent from an area and will investigate. Be mindful of areas you have cleared of NPCs as the Jaeger will know you have been there. Jaegers will particularly notice if NPCs they have marked start vanishing, especially if they flash yellow/red briefly.

Alarms



Jaegers will, regardless of what they have tagged, be immediately informed of an Alarm going off, if an Alarm goes off you need to prepare for the Jaeger to start searching the area of the alarm. However if you are not in combat and your position hasn't been marked in any way your exact position will still be unknown to the Jaeger.

NPCs aiming at a certain area

Ever noticed they all point their guns at the spot they think you're at when they're yellow? The Jaeger will notice too.

Camping Penalty and the Invasion Phone

If you have been in the same spot for a certain amount of time, have used the invasion phone more than two or so times or the Jaeger uses the phone, a marker will appear on your approximate location. The approximate location is small so it is important for you to leave that spot as soon as you can.

This goes two ways, you can use the invasion phone to have the Jaeger's position marked and if they use the phone you'll see a marker appear on the phone they used. However be careful using the phone as if you use it when the Jaeger is close, they will find you in short order.

Objective completion



Particularly if the Jaeger has high knowledge of a certain map, an objective being completed will give them the same cutscene you get if a cutscene plays. (E.G: The radar masks getting yanked down by their one remaining cable.)

They will also scour the map for signs of completed objectives, (or for the Radar on the first map, just look at the horizon). They will be able to get a good idea of where you might be on the map by the state of the objectives, which could bring them running up behind you in short order.

Gunfire

Automatic gunfire, rifle shots, explosions, these will attract a Jaeger's attention rapidly. Unsuppressed gunfire in particular can be heard across the map well beyond the advertised sound distance on the gun. Suppressed weaponry can still be loud so when using your firearms keep in mind that unless the weapon is especially quiet and the Jaeger is far away, you could be providing a loud audio clue to your position.

Damaged vehicles/generators

The little generators and the vehicles you can damage to create noise suppression can be heard from VERY far away. The NPCs might not investigate but the Jaeger will definitely notice if that starts up suddenly.

Karl's extremely loud monologues

This has been patched out BUT there is still one caveat:

The invasion phone operator

Invaders can hear him when he talks to you on the phone and if you've been spamming the same phone every so often they know which one to hang around.

As in the picture above, traps can be all but invisible to a Jaeger moving through close confines. The critical thing is to make sure they are not placed in the open where a Jaeger can see and avoid them. (Unless area denial is the intent, or you're trying to get advanced warning of their approach if they shoot a mine.)

Traps should be placed where you expect a Jaeger to be, on the approaches to an invasion phone or to an objective they may be coming to check on, or somewhere you have deliberately lured them. (More on that later.)

Be sure to place a block of TNT with your mine or use two mines in the same general area as one mine is not enough to kill a Jaeger and by damaging them you will be tagged for them automatically.



Above: The result of a mine that failed to kill me as Jaeger, not only am I not dead but the allied sniper has been tagged.

If placed properly a Jaeger will most certainly stumble on one, if properly set up the combined mine+TNT or double mine setup will kill the Jaeger immediately.



Keep in mind, the Jaeger will do this to you as well, be cautious when you approach objectives or invasion phones in areas the Jaeger has been around.

The NPCs in SE5 are a dim bunch, they don't notice a hulking American commando crouched in the grass, nor do they notice a rifle sticking out from behind a wall. They're pretty short-sighted too, unable to see you if you're more than fifty-odd meters away as long as you crouch or crawl.

The Jaeger however absolutely will see you, do an evil laugh and then come over to turn you into bratwurst.

Grass

Crouching in grass is insufficient, you will be seen. However laying prone in grass suddenly turns you into a near-invisible predator. You can use focus mode to see through the Grass, the Jaeger cannot. Keep in mind any obstacles like walls/trenches if a Jaeger gets near, if they stand in the open and get near you can fill them with an SMG's magazine faster than they can realise you're there.

Low walls

'Slung' weapons on your back, or even ones in your hands, will often poke above low walls. While that on its own won't necessarily be seen immediately it is to be watched out for. When possible try and combine low walls with darkness or foliage to help break up/hide the shape of yourself and your weapons.

Silhouettes

If the Jaeger is looking to you and there is a brightly lit area behind you, the sky or even the sea, you will show up extremely easily as a painfully obvious silhouette. Keep in mind what the backdrop is for the position you are hiding in from where the Jaeger is.

Moving

Moving in areas you think the Jaeger can see should be done cautiously, ideally have solid objects between you and the Jaeger as you move. You can see the Jaeger through walls with Focus mode if they get extremely close, the Jaeger cannot. You can also get a directional indicator with focus mode that the Jaeger cannot get. Having a wall or a hill between you and the Jaeger as you move works in your favour, allowing you to relocate completely unseen.

If your Jaeger isn't the type to blindly run across a field in full view of you, nor are they the type to stand in a painfully obvious position (like a tower) or isn't searching with their scope to give themselves away, odds are you will have to be very pro-active about finding them.

Often though it is better to lure them to you. We have covered what they will look and listen for, as well as how to hide, now we combine this knowledge to lure a Jaeger into a trap.

By deliberately giving your position away (or even accidentally) you can, with some certainty, be sure the Jaeger is coming to search a particular point. Odds are they will be smart enough not to go exactly there but will be moving to a position overlooking the spot they'll be searching.

With Focus Mode you have the powerful advantage of being able to tell where they're coming from, which lets you set up in a good position in advance.

Be sure that the position you pick:

• Has a good view of both the position you are luring the Jaeger to as well as spots the Jaeger might choose to observe the position himself.
  
• Lets you slip away from unseen if needed.
  
• Is not obvious. [Do not set up in a tower or a bunker.]
  
• Offers good to excellent concealment.
  
• Is not between the Jaeger and the position.

As the Jaeger approaches, use Focus mode to tell the direction they are coming from, as well as if they have gotten exceptionally close.

If you have lured the Jaeger into grass, a building or any other tight quarters and are planning an SMG ambush, Focus mode lets you safely observe them through any object, provided the Jaeger is close enough to be outlined enabling you to pop out and ventilate them at the perfect moment. SMG ambushes in close quarters are especially lethal for Jaegers.

More than anything what will help you survive against invasions as the Allied Sniper will be to know how it works from the Invader's perspective.

To that end, it will be worth playing some rounds of invasion yourself to get a feel for how it works. (As well as how often you sneak up on an Allied Sniper that isn't paying attention.)

As well, check out the following guides written for invaders, while invaders will differ in playstyle, it highlights how some of them will be coming at you:

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2813639816

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2814521274

I'll update this with more tips as things occur to me or are suggested! Please feel free to offer your recommendations in the comments.