Overview
Sniper rifles are grouped by caliber, then by cost. Formatting for magazine capacity is Standard/Fast/Special/Extended. The zeroing entry is a visual representation of where the scope can be zeroed to, measured in 5 meter increments.
7.62mm Rifles
7.62mm rifles are short range, low power in this game. They can dispatch all but the heavy armored enemies with a single headshot, and are even capable of double headshots within a medium range. However, they cannot kill anyone in a single bodyshot, and do not have access to AP rounds. However, two of the three rifles in this caliber are semi-automatic, allowing for some more interesting tactical options.
All 7.62mm rifles share the same zeroing options of 0/50/75/100/120/140/160/180/200/225/250/300/400/500, visually represented as |.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................|...................|
Tactical XCR 700
Best scope: 2x-10x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/10/15
Available Special Ammo: EMP, Tagging, Luring
Price: Free (Default)
As the only bolt-action rifle chambered in 7.62 in this game, the XCR is not that great. However, it does have a suppressor by default, and suffers no loss in magazine capacity when using the special mag. EMP, Tagging and Luring rounds offer a good slection of utility. However, the low zoom on the scopes combined with the low damage output makes me want to upgrade as soon as possible. I've found it difficult to land double headshots beyond about 80 meters.
OFB SVDM
Best Scope: 2x-10x
Magazine Capacity: 15/15/10/20
Available Special Ammo: EMP, Tagging, Luring
Price: 66k + 5 Contract Tokens
This rifle is more or less a direct upgrade to the XCR, with the same scope zoom and special ammo options. It is semi-automatic and has the largest magazine capacities of all sniper rifles, which can be handy in a pinch, but isn't that important for a good sniper. It shares many of the same drawbacks as the XCR as well, such as low damage and low zoom.
Madison EMS 25
Best Scope: 6x-14x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/5/15
Available Special Ammo: Tagging, Luring, DARPA
Price: 103k + 12 Contract Tokens
Arguably the best of the 7.62mm rifles. The stronger scope allows for more precision when lining up double kills. However, the special magazine is rather shallow, only holding half the rounds compared to the 10 that the regular magazine, or even what the other two 7.62mm rifles' special mags can hold.
.300 WM Rifles
.300 WM rifles are medium range weapons that, unlike 7.62mm rifles, can kill with bodyshots as far as 200m away. However, they still struggle against heavily armored enemies as their standard ammunition cannot kill these enemies with a shot to the neck, though a well placed shot just behind the hinge on the visor will work.
All .300 WM rifles share the same zeroing options of 0/50/75/100/120/140/160/180/200/225/250/300/400/500, visually represented as |.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................|...................|
Blower R93
Best Scope: 6x-14x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/5/15
Available Special Ammo: Tagging, Explosive, Luring
Price: 35k
This rifle is very easy to acquire since it does not require any contract tokens. It offers a good upgrade to the XCR, still bolt-action, but unfortunately can only hold 5 rounds when using the special magazine. That said, the ability to kill with bodyshots this early in the game is appealing, though heavies will still require very precise aim.
NOTE: Don't be fooled by the loadout screen, the special magazine only has 5 rounds, not 10, and the fast mag has 10, not 5. It's currently swapped in the UI, and I have checked in-mission.
SOO-KSV 2020
Best Scope: 2x-10x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/5/15
Available Special Ammo: AP, Tagging, Luring
Price: 73k + 5 Contract Tokens
This is a very usable rifle. The AP rounds allow it to handle heavy enemies, and the semi-auto firing is slow but still faster than a bolt-action rifle, and retains the bodyshot killing potential of the other .300 WM rifle, the Blower. The only drawback is the low power scope, maxing out at 10x, and therefore running into the same issues as the XCR and the SVDM in terms of lining up double kills. It's worth noting that this is the quietest sniper rifle available, though that doesn't mean too much in my experience.
.338 LM Rifles
These rifles are the most powerful rifles capable of using a suppressor in this game. They allow you to eliminate heavies with a single well-placed shot anywhere on the head other than the visor. In addition, they can all be equipped with armor piercing ammo for when you're unsure if you can land kill with the standard ammo, though this is rarely the case due to their powerful scopes. In addition, they can eliminate targets with a bodyshot at any range.
All .338 LM rifles share the same zeroing options of 100/150/175/200/220/240/260/280/300/325/350/400/500 for the best scope, visually represented as |...................|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................|
Reese ESR 2020
Best Scope: 8x-22x
Magazine Capacity: 7/7/5/12
Available Special Ammo: AP, EMP, Explosive
Price: 58k + 3 Contract Tokens
Even though it has both the smallest magazines and the lowest damage out of all the .338 rifles, the ESR is a very good rifle. It possesses the highest stability of any sniper rifle in the game, meaning that it has almost no sway, even while standing. It only loses 2 rounds when using the special magazine, and has access to my two favorite ammo types, AP and EMP. It is also relatively inexpensive. The only real drawbacks are the small magazine sizes, but that isn't much of a problem.
Soris T50
Best Scope: 8x-22x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/10/15
Available Special Ammo: AP, Explosive, Luring
Price: 86k + 9 Contract Tokens
Possessing the highest damage of all suppressable weapons in this game, the Soris is quite a nice rifle. It notably has the highest capacity special magazine of the .338 rifles, allowing for more endurance when dealing with a large number of targets. Not much to say other than it works and it works well.
Sturm - Precision
Best Scope: 6x-24x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/5/15
Available Special Ammo: AP, Tagging, Explosive
Price: 125k + 13 Contract Tokens
This is the most expensive rifle in the game, though I'm not sure it warrants it. It has a wider scope power range than the other .338 rifles, which can be handy when lining up extreme range multikills. While the standard and fast mags have good capacity at 10 rounds, the special mag is limited to 5 rounds, which is not that great, especially when compared to the Soris.
DLC Weapon: SV AMUR
Best Scope: 8x-24x
Magazine Capacity: 10/10/5/15
Available Special Ammo: AP, EMP, DARPA
Price: $2 (DLC)
This is the only semi-automatic .338 rifle in the game, and costs an extra $2 for those of you who didn't pre-order. It has a problem where it makes absolutely no sound when suppressed, though I'd guess that's just missing or misplaced audio files. Nothing that special, and not really satisfying to use given the audio issues. Even unsuppressed, the weapon sounds kinda meh.
.50 BMG Rifles
These are the biggest, loudest, and most powerful rifles in the game. But they're HECKING LOUD. In a game where stealthy sniping is the focus, they give away your position far too quickly, unless you're 200m away from anyone who could possibly hear you. The major advantage of these rifles is that their standard ammo is about as powerful as a .338 AP round, and when using the .50 AP rounds, they can bodyshot heavies.
All .50 BMG rifles share the same zeroing options of 100/200/250/275/300/320/340/360/380/400/425/450/500 for the best scope, visually represented as |...................|...................|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|
Ron Model B82
Best Scope: 12x-24x
Magazine Capacity: 5/10/5/10
Available Special Ammo: AP, Explosive, DARPA
Price: 45k
The (marginally) quieter and semi-auto option of the .50 rifles. Yes, the fast mag really does have the same capacity as the extended mag, and the regular and special mags really are 5 rounds. Kinda odd. Probably will be fixed at some point. Anyway, not a whole lot to say other than it's really loud and will probably result in you getting mortared.
B95 Chris
Best Scope: 12x-24x
Magazine Capacity: 5/5/5/10
Available Special Ammo: AP, EMP, Tagging, Explosive, Luring, DARPA
Price: 93k + 11 Contract Tokens
This rifle can use any of the special ammo types, but suffers from, like the Ron, being extremely loud. It's louder than the Ron and causes the same problems as a result. I haven't found much use for it.
A Comparison Of Scopes
All scopes have 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 marks, with an "optimal" range bracket of 100-200 for 7.62 and .300, 200-300 for .338, and 300-400 for .50. The first scope adds 3 evenly spaced zeroing marks in the optimal range bracket at x25, x50, and x75 meters, the second scope adds 4 evenly spaced marks at x20, x40, x60, and x80, with the final scope having two marks at 25m increments on either side of the "optimal" bracket
Comparison by caliber
|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................|...................| 7.62mm
|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................|...................| .300 WM
|...................|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................| .338 LM
|...................|...................|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........| .50 BMG
Comparison by scope (.338 as an example)
|...................|...................|....|....|....|....|...................|...................| Scope 1
|...................|...................|...|...|...|...|...|...................|...................| Scope 2
|...................|.........|....|....|...|...|...|...|...|....|....|.........|...................| Scope 3
Special Ammo Types
AP - Deals more damage, more usable vs vehicles.
EMP - Disables cameras, turrets, vehicles, CCTV boxes, and other electronic devices that are within 5m around the impact site, even through walls. Impact does not alert enemies beyond 1m from impact. Deals reduced damage to enemies, but still kills with headshots.
Tagging - Tags all enemies within 25m of the impact point. Impact does not alert enemies. Deals reduced damage to enemies, but still kills with headshots.
Explosive - Explodes and deals damage within 2.5m. Alerts pretty much everyone in the area that didn't die in the explosion.
Luring - Lures 1 enemy within 15 meters of the impact point. Basically a precision rock throw at very high speed. Deals reduced damage to enemies, but still kills with headshots.
DARPA - Ignores wind and gravity. Mostly useless if you can use the DRS well, but can be useful when you have to thread a few narrow openings in a row.
Final Thoughts
Each weapon is slightly different, and while there are some that are extremely situational, none of them are really bad choices. Maybe the .50 rifles, but even then, they are situationally very effective. That said, unless you really need a quick firing weapon, the .338 rifles are the most versatile. The ability to silently kill heavies from long range with standard ammo is invaluable. And yet each of the rifles is unique and fun to use, except for maybe one due to audio issues. Props to CI for that.
One more thing, this is my first guide. I tried to make it as cleanly formatted and accessible as possible but any constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1966690389
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