I need tips for playing Sniper.

How the heck do experts make those headshots look easy. My hand is quite shaky, and I can barely get a headshot on a Tank standing still. Any tips on improving my aim.

Right click, hold, drag your crosshair over the enemy head, left click.
Do that a bazillion times and you'll be a godlike sniper.
Well, actually, if you can't shoot at the moving target try trap gaylording. Place a trap, wait for someone to jump in and work on it until you get like 95% headshot rate on these.

Find a mouse sensitivity that's comfortable to you.

Disable Mouse Acceleration on your system/mouse, on by default, aim will result in inconsistent aiming. Some people can aim like this, but up to preference.

Focus on the head, and only the head, if on level ground, all you have to do is pan horizontally.

Let the target make the mistake and make them suffer for it. I.E: Getting caught in ice-trap, deployed gunner/tank, people standing still.

If attempting to snipe a strafing/moving target, let THEM walk/fly/charge/jump into your reticule, so all you have to do is focus on the timing of the shot and not aiming.
Focus on learning their playstyle/strafing, the less-intelligent players(lol majority of players in pugs) will almost always do the same thing, once you learn it, exploit it and benefit from it. The smarter ones will change their playstyle and try new things, take this opportunity to learn and get better.

Keep in mind that you can adjust your aim not only with the mouse but also by moving.

Don't move your mouse.

This is hard to do, but it actually helps. Moving yourself instead of your crosshairs will allow you to stay lined up for certain targets. Sometimes you can't help it, but strafing a bit to get a shot usually results in better accuracy.

Point, rightclick, point more, left click - DING!

Just keep trying and failing through it until you get a natural feeling for aiming properly. Experience is king.

Tanks and Gunners seem to have their hitboxes for their head a little low. I always aim for their mouth or chin and seem to get a lot more headshots. Anyone else experience this?

Yes. I find gunners easier to shoot than tanks, though. Too much space at the same level that is not-head.

I get a lot of head... Shots!

Point and click they're dead...

I play the sniper class like once a week, because instagibbed by facegrapple dagger (no lunge needed) is really stupid, especially with silver armor.

If your hand is really shaky, I suggest maybe trying to roughly aim with the mouse and then using your WSAD keys to help you get your target in your sights. Not a great strategy since it isn't very quick (but you may become epically good at it, so who knows), but maybe it's something to explore until you figure out a way to relax your hands ?

This. By definition I'm a terrible sniper, my aim on moving targets is horrible, yet I still top frag most games from trapping strategic locations (The landing area on Steel Peel's ball ring jump pad for example) and hitting the free shots.

If your hand is shaky, then maybe sniper isn't the class for you...

BUT!
If you feel like you need/have to play it and under no circumstances any other class (like me) the best advice is to set your mouse's sensitivity really low (taking into consideration your unsteadiness) and set it at about head level for most pros. This (the "scythe", I call it) has helped me get those clutch headshots on the assault or assassin charging directly at me.


Another helpful tip, and this is just an opinion here, is to prepare to be hated. People absolutely loathe me in games. I've been called almost every dirty word in the book for, well, doing my job and keeping teams on their heels.

I thought good snipers don't get called names. They just simply get called hackers. :lol:

But yeah, on a more serious note, I find low sensitivity almost essential for a sniper, or otherwise the cursor just gets too jittery. Makes tracking much easier.

Zodiark. You traitor, you're supposed to be killing them, now you're ONE OF THEM!? :lol:

I have the exact same problem and the simple answer is likely that your mouse is set too sensitive. The reason your hand shakes is you're trying to make small, controlled motions with the mouse and you're straining to do it - because a small movement too far moves you well off target.

Drop the sensitivity a couple of notches and practice on say, slims and blackjacks from the upper level of the blitz arena. You'll get a "feel" for following your targets and a better idea of how your sensitivity is changing your aim. Also - grimbar has a solid point. Don't always have to move your aim if moving your body will do the job. This is how most console snipers fine-tune a shot and it still translates well to the M+K.

I leik being hated.

Get some pills that eliminate your hand shaking.

nice necro bro

Get some of these...

...and put them in one of these (take your pick)...

...and wala! You are set, a la MGS style.

Seriously though, don't.