Here's some interesting news for all you virtual snipers out there looking to wreck players online when Call of Duty: Ghosts arrives later this fall. It seems that the future of "quick-scoping" may be in jeopardy for the latest CoD game.
Developer Infinity Ward's own Executive Producer Mark Rubin penned a post over at TwitLonger, saying how the feature could be affected by changes the team has made to sniping overall, by way of creating the new Marksman class. Rubin writes, "
Update/Clarification regarding Sniper Rifles:
One of the areas that is getting lot of love in Call of Duty: Ghosts is the Sniper Rifle. By creating the Marksman class we were able to focus the Sniper class on really powerful high-caliber weapon systems. We feel, and many of the pro players who have played would agree, that sniping has never been better.
The changes we've made, like dual render scopes and increased damage really make snipers a great competitive class to use. We've also done a lot with map design (sight lines and cover) to ensure that all classes are viably effective. Both short range and long range classes will be effective on the same maps.
However in re-envisioning sniper rifles some aspects, such as sway timing, have changed the way sniper rifles function and so traditional "quick-scoping" has been affected. Is it gone completely? Maybe. It certainly won't be viable in the way it previously was. Can't wait for you snipers out there to get your hands on these new sniper rifles and try them out for yourselves.
See you in game!
-Mark
For those not in the know, "quick-scoping" refers to finding an enemy on screen, centering them best as possible, then using the gun's scope to essentially "lock on" then blast away as soon as the cross hairs are visible. Many of the sniper rifles in modern FPS games feature an almost auto-aim ability, and quick scoping tends to exploit that. As such, a lot of gamers who play online tend to look down on it, viewing it as a cheap tactic. Opposite these players are others who are quite reliant on the feature, even looking down on players who use the sniper rifle in the more traditional manner, arguably, the way it was intended.
With the two schools of though, it'll be interesting to see what Ghosts has for the future of "quick scoping," and how it will affect the game's multiplayer modes, and possibly even other FPS titles in the future.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is scheduled to release on Nov. 5.