Indepth Review: Zeller-H Advanced Sniper Rifle

[古強者死神]

This is probably one of the most asked about weapons in the game, alot of confusion surrounds it in exactly what it is in game, and its weapon description from EA. Its also very debated on if its an upgrade or a downgrade from the previous stock sniper rilfes.

This is my in depth review of the weapon having been using recon since day one for all of my ranks (currently silver sergant)


First the description presented to us:

A significant upgrade from the Morretti SR4 and Park 52 Sniper Rifles, the Zeller-H Advanced Sniper Rifle features state-of-the-art targeting precision, resulting from a series of enhancements including computerized stabilization and advanced muzzle-brakes for recoil dampening. The Zeller-H's higher caliber ammunition gives this anti-material sniper rifle a highly enhanced stopping power, especially against lightly armored targets.


lets break this down and desolve some myths.


1.) state of the art targeting precision - From what I can tell this is no more accurate than the stock rifles. Was playing some guild mates and sniping them at max range (the range just before they vanish into thin air wich is just above 200 meters) and it still hit the same and gave headshots in the same area so I belive its exactly the same or so small a diffrence that it would not matter.

2.) computerized stabilization and advanced muzzle-brakes for recoil dampening - Again false on all accounts I sat there and let this thing go thru the full range of motion and it has just as much sway as the normal sniper not one bit diffrent. The recoil seems the same as well, you dont have much time to tell only 3 shots...


3.) The Zeller-H's higher caliber ammunition gives this anti-material sniper rifle a highly enhanced stopping power, especially against lightly armored targets - Here enlies the Zellers only true perk, the ability to kill a light armor target in just 1 shot anywhere on there body, the main reason it was so talked about and wanted however its not so great at all I used this rifle for 6 rounds straight and noticed NOBODY was wearing light armor maybe 1 or 2 people I still required a 2 shot kill in the body for almost everybody and this leaves you in a horrible situation, 1 round left in the chamber so your next kill has to be a headshot your you fire once then have to reload and thus let them get away or possibly kill you.

More information on that later, lets get down to the pictures:

Normal scope:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/2032BF2142Pace_2006-10-20_18-31-21-07-med.jpg

Zeller scope:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/2032BF2142Pace_2006-10-20_18-26-09-34-med.jpg

Overlay:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/2032scopes.jpg

As you can probably tell from the pictures... Yep the Zeller scope that alot of us heard was better is actually worse!

Same type of aiming crosshair as the other rifles but it has a red tint to the outer layer and as you can easily tell from the overlay picture its actually a smaller scope so you lose some of your viewing angle... Advanced Rifle?? I think not!


So what else is important to a sniper besides his rifle? how about his stealth? Im not talking about active camo I am talking about the firing noise from your weapon. Well this is yet another myth to desolve. So many people thought this weapon was nearly silent wich is great for a sniper.... Well think again this is the freakin M95 of BF2142, it has a loud and very distinct firing noise much louder than the other 2 stock rifles, one shot from this and sombody knows exactly where you are at.

So what are we left with after all of this?? One big over hyped weapon thats not even worth the unlock slot in most cases. I still like it, but I can tell you now you wont ever see me use it unless I just feel froggy and want to get the dust off of it.


Some personal stories of when this thing let me down:

1.) I had just unlocked this when my ranks caught up (was 2389/1000 points :P) up against some clan mates on the berlin map they were on a catwalk across the stage just barly in sniping range 3 of them. I had to use 3 clips and take forever to kill them because 2 of them were assult and all of them had heavy armor. got the 2 shot kill one one guy, then my 1 shot damage to another, and while I was reloading they revived, so then I had to take my time and aim for the head to get a 1 shot kill on all 3 wich didnt work too well as they were so far away they randomly vanished from my vision... long story short if I had a 5 round rifle it would have been easy to score 2x2 shot kills and finish the last guy with a well aimed headshot but the zeller made going up against multipe enemies a very hard thing to do.

2.) The last console just got destroyed in our titan, im up in the vents and just waiting for everybody to rush into the core room. Sure enough like 10 people ran by me, I had the zeller and before I know it I shoot 3 people all 3 of them are alive and im out of ammo (reloading) and one of them stops to gun me down and I die. I felt if I had my 5 shot rilfe I could have easly killed the guy that shot me down, or atleast scored 2-3 kills on the runners as they went by, again it would have been harder to trace my location too.


Just a final breakdown on all the information:

Zeller is 3 shot @ 100 damage
Stock is 5 shot @ 80 damage

that ratio leaves the stock rifles with a much better advantage


Zeller is loud and distinctive very easy to trace
Stock one of them is prety quiet the other one is abit louder but still not as bad.

that leaves the stock rifles with abit more of an advantage


Zeller has a small and unusual scope view
Stock is bigger and does not have any coloration

that leaves the stock rifles scopes easier to use and more effective



The Zellers perk of one shot kills to light body armor is null by the fact that probably 95% or more people are wearing heavy body armor, and still when you have 3 rounds vs 5 you can just 2 shot sombody light armor or not with the stock rifle and kill them flat out rather than worry about running out of rounds.

I hope this article has distilled all the false data surrounding this gun, its cool and all but it definitly needs some sort of upgrade before it can be a better rifle than what you start off with, also last thing that crosses my mind is that the non zoomed textures for this weapon seem bigger and more obtrusive to me, I will have to come back with more screenshots to confirm this.

-Vicious

[imdead]

Thanks that was awesome. I will not be unlocking the Zeller. as with any weapon unlocks as I am also disappointed in the Supports unlock.

[AlphaNut]

Thanks for this detailed and well written review.
I was looking into gettin this rifle for my next unlock.
Will have tho think about it a bit more I guess :)

[pyrpieman]

Who gives a $hit? i dont, i dont care its still a unlock! when you get head shoted by me with the zeller, youll understand that its just a game wont you?

[AlphaNut]

:confused:

huh?

[Sir. Chauncey]

Thank you for this thread. Unfortunatly I mad the mistake of using my first 4 unlocks to reach this gun. I'm thinking about making a new soldier and starting over. :|:

[AlphaNut]

Thank you for this thread. Unfortunatly I mad the mistake of using my first 4 unlocks to reach this gun. I'm thinking about making a new soldier and starting over. :|:

Why would you want to do that? You will get so many more unlocks within no time at all.

[古強者死神]

yeah dont start over, I am still glad I have it and still use it once in awhile. I was mostly disolving the myths of this gun being the end all sniper rilfe.

A good sniper will do better with the stock rifles. Even our out of place friend above who said he kills people with headshots on the zeller would be better with the stock sniper for 5 headshots instead.

You will think its a strong weapon if your a light armor person and get killed by it ^^ but using it is another story.

[tantric132]

Sucks I read this AFTER I unlocked it =/

[kakeashi]

Sucks I read this AFTER I unlocked it =/

yeah same here. but i like either way since i headshot people lol. it does piss me off about the true facts though >.< oh well. i can live with it and i also have my other gun

[UnrealAlex]

Yea good review I really dont get why people like it.
Small view (compared to the default rifle with the rectangle view..what a joke), unique sound makes it stand out like hell, 3 bullets...not worth the ability to shoot out c4 and kill light armor.

They should give it 4 bullets, a larger view and a faster reloading time.

[Fraz86]

I feel that the Zeller is such an obviously weak unlock that it will almost certainly get improved in a patch. This is why I intend to unlock it regardless of its inferiority to the stock weapons.

[Raidyr]

Very nice review, it would be nice if you could do a review of every unlockable and put it up as a guide.

Sticky that :D

[古強者死神]

yeah I was going to do somthing similar but I cant unlock everything :P

[Saze101]

Agreed it sucks, along with many other unlocks. Heavy armor btw does not give you any more protection then light armor does, I tested it with clan mates. So what ea needs to do is fix the armors and the details on the unlocks because 70% of them are false.

[Elit3_Hawkins]

I find that since OVER 95% of the hostiles will be wearing heavy armor,(2 hit kill). It desent matter, if at LEAST 5% of damage is done to them, it is a one hit kill.... ONLY 5%!!!!!

[古強者死神]

Are you just saying that or have you tried it? Everybody I shoot is left with about 10% hp on there bar and almost never have I gotten a 1 shot kill due to sombody being damaged except in a titan.

[Flux]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't kill assists 1 point?

I've had situations where I racked up insane number of points simply putting one bullet into every target in an infantry-heavy area with the Zeller. Yes, it's slow, and I could have done the same with a Moretti. However, leaving each guy in their base with 5hp almost guarantees death when orbital strikes, falling damage, and your teammate's gunfire.

One out of three times the guy will die in a single shot (already damaged, or headshot).

I guess I'm defending the Zeller too much, and a bit unrealistically. I've been playing with it for as long as I've had it, and I've actually grown acustomed to it's loud sound, slow reload, and tiny catridge. It's not bad, but you're right... it's definitely not much of an improvement over the stock rifles (if at all).

Like someone else said in this thread, it's one of those weapons that's so rediculously underpowered as an unlock weapon that I really think they will fix it in a future patch.

[Knife1313]

realy nice review i was going to get it but thanks to u ill spend my unlocks somewhere else

[古強者死神]

No kill assist are only .5 points now so you need two to get just 1 point.

and its ok to defend the rifle if you like it, im not here to tell anybody how to play just pointing out some facts and eliminating some myths.

I still use it alot in the titan when I know I will be in the vents, just for that odd chance the extra damage does lead to a 1 shot kill since in the titan alot of people are wounded and I have cover to reload. But out in the open getting silo's or in conquest mode I will almost always use the regular sniper it really helps keep you from geting caught with your pants down, and any target thats stationary and not aware of me is going to die in 1 hit reguardless. I got 3 infiltrator pins in one round once :p so I am not all to bad at getting headshots and I dont usually try for them I go for a quick easy 2 shot body kill most of the time, esp on moving targets.

[mav3n]

isnt there a thing where you have to press shift to activate the controled stabelization?

[Alpha_Gator]

isnt there a thing where you have to press shift to activate the controled stabelization?

yes, and is that screen shot of the Zeller scope with the unlocked scope? If so, is it zoomed? I'd like to know because I was considering the tree next, but if it's not much of an upgrade, I may go elsewhere.

A good review BTW. Thanks for the information.

[古強者死神]

the unlock scope doesnt change how it looks it just lets you zoom in with your mouse wheel further than stock.

[Alpha_Gator]

the unlock scope doesnt change how it looks it just lets you zoom in with your mouse wheel further than stock.

Could someone post some screenshots of the effects of the scope normal and magnified 4x? I've looked around, but have yet to find one.

[dotswarlock]

I could use some feedback on the stabalization addon myself. I have unlocked the anti-personel mines and the other branch of the recon class but with this very nice review I am considering going for the general burst of speed enhancement unlocks instead of going for any other weapons.

[Variatas]

i dunno as i'm not a sniper, but it seems to me that the zeller is made for longer range engagements, and is actually a lot more versatile, as its one of only three things that can take out mines, and is probably the only one people will be using most of the time. personally, i hope they dont give it one-hit kill capability for heavy armor, as one-hit kill weapons are really lame. (stupid awp) also, can't the zeller shoot through the support's deployable shields?

[Lenok]

I could use some feedback on the stabalization addon myself. I have unlocked the anti-personel mines and the other branch of the recon class but with this very nice review I am considering going for the general burst of speed enhancement unlocks instead of going for any other weapons.

the stabilizer is nice for very long ranges or if you only see like 2x2 pixels of your enemy crouching behind cover, but you don't really need it.

i find the zeller is quite nice. sure the scope and small mag sucks, but if somone is running at you, you just put one shell into his body and switch to your sidearm. mostly you only need one or two more shots and he goes down. so at short ranges i prefer the zeller to the standard rifles simply because it does more damage.

--> if you are no die hard recon fan just get the x4 scope and skip the two unlocks afterwards imo. i unlocked both branches and really like to combine but then i hardly play any other class :D


btw hello totalbf forums :)

[ali3nwar3]

isnt there a thing where you have to press shift to activate the controled stabelization?

are you sure? since i've locked Shift to be my prone button, and when i press it...i either lie down or get up.

[Lenok]

are you sure? since i've locked Shift to be my prone button, and when i press it...i either lie down or get up.

it's not the shift button, it's the button bound to run when in scope mode (well yeah in default config it actually IS shift, but who uses that config anyways ;) )

[ali3nwar3]

it's not the shift button, it's the button bound to run when in scope mode (well yeah in default config it actually IS shift, but who uses that config anyways ;) )

so how do one bound it though? i can't see anything in the control options...

NVM: i found out its bound to the sprint button....

[Flux]

Sigh.. I agree with you now.

I've been practicing getting headshots (very successful now) the Moretti / Park 52 is simply more powerful and useful than the Zeller. I can get four headshots in a row on average with the default snipers (this is on the move while attacking enemy bases) but with the Zeller it's painfully slow and I have to always reload, which is also slow.

Default snipers FTW.

[kein]

Sigh.. I agree with you now.

I've been practicing getting headshots (very successful now) the Moretti / Park 52 is simply more powerful and useful than the Zeller. I can get four headshots in a row on average with the default snipers (this is on the move while attacking enemy bases) but with the Zeller it's painfully slow and I have to always reload, which is also slow.

Default snipers FTW.

Hey guys while were on the topic... mind sharing any sniping tips? I just got a logitech G5 and was going to try out sniping.

[Flux]

I have a big thread about it here:
http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4779

I won't mind if people revive it :)

[FireSoul667]

Yup, I hate the Zeller. You know why? Because YOU CAN'T SEE IN SNOWY PLACES!!!!

The moretti is the best sniper in the the game, I love it :D I mean, the scope is so much clearer, meaning it is really easy to get headshots. In fact, when I'm playing Belgrade, I can't even use the zeller! But when I use the moretti, I may get 10-12 headshots each round.

[Flux]

You're right. It's very difficult to use the Zeller on certain maps due to the atmosphere. The Zeller scope makes things look brighter but paler at the same time (kills the contrast). No idea why any futuristic scope would do this. Perhaps the Zeller would be great for night maps, but there aren't any to prove this in!

[AlphaNut]

I picked up the Zeller a while ago, but threw it away again in exchange for my good old Fockets :D
Funny thing is that I get shot by the Zeller all the time. Unless I serve him my Fockets first...

[wolfi]

I cant confirm your text, I love this weapon. The tweak files say its an 1:1 copy of the Morretti SR4, when it comes to accuracy and deviation. Just more damage, less shots per clip and a smaller scope.. read above. But I love this baby. Since I unlocked it I do headshots in 90% of the time. I get 2-3 infiltrator pins every round I play with the Zeller, never got one with the stock sniper rifles. I tried to work with the Morretti again on thursday with no luck. It keeps missing the targets, lol

I will stick with the Zeller. Best sniper rifle ever if you ask me :p

[Amerion]

From a purely support perspective, as compared to just sniping, can't this rifle also snipe apm mines and destroy them? The answer is yes. :P

[Flux]

wolfi: I think you are now getting more headshots not because the Zeller gives you more headshots, but because you are actually getting better :D

Try going back to the Moretti or Park52, you'd be surprised...

[wolfi]

Try going back to the Moretti or Park52, you'd be surprised...

I did. And I didnt hit things like I do with the Zeller, lol
Funny, because the values on deviation and such are the same.. Silly me :laugh:

[Flux]

That's fascinating. I think it really comes down to how comfortable you are with the gun. I got used to both, but still find the Moretti/Park52 more versatile.

If you're making headshots though, and you can make it with the other sniper rifles, then the Zeller won't do anything for you. To each their own :D

[ThirtyOughtSix]

You want misconceptions? Saying that 95% of the people use heavy armor. LMAO. This is not true.

There are 4 kits....
• assault? yea probably wears armor 95% of the time.
• engineer? yea same thing, though I can see NOT wearing it with engineer, because that tank will kill you either way... but yea more often then not, heavy armor.
• support? yea... most definately probably wearing heavy armor.
• recon? AHHH now you've gotten somewhere. I'd say maybe only 50% of the time they are wearing heavy armor. Why? Because why do you need it? Only people that should NORMALLY be shooting at you while your sniping are other snipers... and if they hit you your probably dead anyways. The armor won't make the difference reguardless unless they are using a zeller. So it would make sense NOT to wear armor so you can get around quick... as to keep them guessing where your shots are coming from. A discovered sniper doesn't live long unless he bugs out. The other side of the recon tree is spec ops stuff... even with that I can see wearing no armor.... there's been PLENTY of times where I went active camo and with no armor so I could run like a bat out of hell past the enemies and take thier flank from them. That's what spec ops does... gets behind enemy lines. But since they will end up in a firefight more then a sniper... I can see them wearing heavy armor when needed.

Ok now that we've figure it out... for the most part, assualt uses heavy armor... engineer uses heavy armor.... support uses heavy armor.... and probably about half the time recon would. (and I've confirmed this by killing recons with my zeller btw... it is about half the time). ok so thats 25% (assault) + 25% engineer + 25% support + 12.5% for recon. That leaves around 12.5% of the people using light armor at any given time. Remember, I'm talking as a whole... certain maps lend themselves more to other kinds of kits... and certain players favor certain kits... so if those ratios change, so do the number of people probably in light armor.

Still, on average... 12.5%. Not 5%. That's double what you think it is.


Ok, I'm not finished just yet. Another thing you MUST realize is the regular sniper rifle does only 80 damage to lightly armored infantry... less to heavy armor... probably like 65 damage per shot. The zeller does 100 to light armor and probably like 85? or so to heavy armored infantry. If they are hurt already, say like 20 health down, the regular sniper rifle WILL NOT down them in one hit on the body if they are donning heavy armor. The Zeller WILL. It makes finishing them off much easier if they are hurt.

Also, if they are not hurt, it makes them VERY easy prey for somebody to kill unless they get healed. It's one point for a kill. It's also ONE POINT for a kill assist. Same difference. I can't tell you how many times I've shot somebody with the zeller just to see them get wasted by somebody very quickly. Point for me! YAY!

Oh did you know that you can destory Demopacks? APM mines? Landmines? with the zeller? There's a plus. I know it's not SUPER useful, but it's something.

There's also less time going from a wider 'moving' reticle to a tighter reticle for accuracy then the standard rifle. I think they might be less sway as well, but I'm not sure on that one.

Ok all that aside... I agree about the scope size. And I feel that maybe giving it 4 rounds instead of 3 would make it more worth while. Wouldnt object to a slight increase in the speed of the reload either. Other then that... it's FINE. It would only need slight tweaks to make it feel VERY worth using.

[Flux]

You have good points.

From pure experience alone though, headshots are absolutely more advantageous than shots to the body. For one, they can't look for you when they are dead.

Since both types are capable of one-hit-kill headshots, it makes sense to make 5 headshots (potential) than 3. It also gives you wiggle room when you miss, because it will happen.

No matter how you argue it, if you are going for headshots, which by the way you can easily rack up on infiltrator pins for even more points, the standard snipers win hands-down.

If you are going for body shots, then like you said, even at 87.5% of the time you're going to be having to make two shots for a kill. At worst if you make all body shots, you will make two kills with a standard vs one kill with the zeller before you have to reload.

Speaking of which, reloading for any of the sniper rifles are awfully slow. Reloading is horrid because you lose track of your target, and are unable to zoom/recon/scout when you are doing so.

That is my 2cents.

[molokovellocet]

You only get .5 points for kill assists.

[TooL-46and2]

im a big fan of the zeller since i got it and really havent given the old rifles any thought since i started using it, i pick up 2 to 3 infiltrator pins a round and never thought i could be getting more by going back to the old guns thanks for the stats uv helped snipers every where

[Zargon]

Since I unlocked it I do headshots in 90% of the time. I get 2-3 infiltrator pins every round I play with the Zeller, never got one with the stock sniper rifles.


yeah, its the same for me, i hated the zeller at first when i unlocked it, but one thing ive learned using the zeller is to value my bullets, i aim more carefully, cause i know i only can miss once if i land a body-shot, so almost all my kills with the zeller is headshots. i've gotten like 3 ranks with zeller-kills alone ^^

i havent tried switching back though, will try it later on :P

[古強者死神]

I didnt see anybody on the zeller fan side mention the fire noise it makes, thats gun is so easy to trace down. When I play a sniper... the first thing thats going to happen to you as a zeller sniper is you find my knife in your back or a bullet in your head :P

I never can remember wich team has wich but one of the standard snipers has a even bigger scope than the one I posted (its a rectangle) and it also has the most silent fire sound. Makes it the best sniper hands down. Not sure why it would have the biggest scope AND the quietest sound but thats how they have it setup....

Of the late I found myself getting rid of my camo and getting the APM instead and droping my sniper rifle for a carbine. More kills this way and lets me take a hands on role so I can capture silo's and be a good squad leader.

I still play sniper now and then, but the points are not as great. When I get my gold recon service badge im going to a full time support role, then when i have that gold probably going engineer.

[Daz]

Im sure people probably know but I dont feel like skimming through 5 pages.

In the news ticker it said that the zeller could destroy explosives such as RDX packs, claymores and mines.

[古強者死神]

Yep it does that, one of the reasons I take it into a titan somtimes.

gets the obvous claymores out of the way but a good recon guy places them where you cant see them so that ability becomes usless.


I just have to blow up a recon guy placing C4 in the open one day... its a goal of mine

Also maybe see if shooting a hover mine that a engineer is placing will kill him. They are anti vechile so they normally never blow up by a person... so not sure if it will kill them or not.

[Shad0wbl1tz]

Will an apm/c7 ect. explode if shot(Zeller) while being carried? (selected and in hand)
i.e before its placed , id love to take out some guy before he even got it down lol

[古強者死神]

I highly doubt it, while its in your hands its probably nothing more than a texture, not actually an "item" yet.

[Flux]

The Moretti has the rectangular scope. It's on the EU side, and it's pretty silent, although I think the Park52 has about the same sound.

[nimski]

I think the Zeller has some nice features.

- The Zeller audio cue is unmistakable. This is good for general sniper fear factor, but be weary of undue attention from sniper hunters. This means don't hide in the middle of an enemy base with a Zeller.

- The ability to shot mines is great. Several times I've killed a floater chasing a teammate's tank. Not to mention clearing a flag before the tanks roll in.

- The added damage really brings an enemy down to the last threads of life. The likelihood of running away from a Zeller and surviving long is much less than running away from the default gun.

[古強者死神]

- The added damage really brings an enemy down to the last threads of life. The likelihood of running away from a Zeller and surviving long is much less than running away from the default gun.


I find that more people get away from the zeller because you may only have one shot left :p or 2 and miss one. This gives them time to take cover and heal or sombody else kills them and you only get an assist.

You have much less chances of getting away from me with a normal sniper with 5 shots.

5x80 dmg = 2 shot kill just like the zeller is most of the time
or 5 x headshots. it doesnt matter how but your going to die eather way.

[The Cow Goes Moo]

thanks i wont unlock it now :)

[Hptm.Akira]

Yeah, I'm rather dissapointed with the Zeller. I unlocked it and it was all cool for a bit, sounds nice etc. But I found myself drawn to the Moretti much more (guess it looks cooler in my books and thus I sorta preform better :P ).

Oh well. wasted unlock, I'll live. At least I can say I've fully unlocked recon :D

[AxMiLLi]

The Moretti has the rectangular scope. It's on the EU side, and it's pretty silent, although I think the Park52 has about the same sound.

The PAC has a higher-pitched sound.

[nimski]

I find that more people get away from the zeller because you may only have one shot left :p or 2 and miss one. This gives them time to take cover and heal or sombody else kills them and you only get an assist.

You have much less chances of getting away from me with a normal sniper with 5 shots.

5x80 dmg = 2 shot kill just like the zeller is most of the time
or 5 x headshots. it doesnt matter how but your going to die eather way.

I know what you mean, I was talking about general combat situations though. If you're firing into a fire fight then the guy that just took the Zeller hit is going to fall with the next explosion, grenade, bullet, etc. It doesn't have to come from my gun.

The nice thing about sniping fire fights is that everyone stops moving to aim and shoot. This makes for a nice collection of Infiltrator pins, and that can be done with any rifle. :)

[dotswarlock]

Personally I use light armor a lot on infantry based maps so snipers that use the zeller can shoot me in one shot while those that do not still need 2. I realize that I go down a lot easier that way but on the other hand with both speed bursts unlocks I reach flags - often those that are far away instead of the first obvious one - a lot more quickly with squad members spawning on me the whole way.

I think the Zeller will only truly shine when players realize how much light armor can be useful on certain maps.

[Flux]

I think the Zeller will only truly shine when players realize how much light armor can be useful on certain maps.

Ofcourse the players who realize how much it can be useful are realizing how much it can be a pain to die from one hit of Zeller, then go back to heavy armor... :)

[dotswarlock]

Ofcourse the players who realize how much it can be useful are realizing how much it can be a pain to die from one hit of Zeller, then go back to heavy armor... :)

I'm sticking to it when I play recon even if it means 1 shot kills :p.

Worst case scenario: I die (which I would not be far off even with heavy armor anyway).

Best case scenario: I move undetected at a flag behind enemy lines and completely screw over the enemy's defense, get a lot of points from hitting them in the back afterwards and win the game :p¸

I've managed to turn a few games around where we were losing by more then 40 points by simply capping a flag behind enemy lines and having squad members spawn in my area ;)

[Flux]

Oh totally. Playing as a Recon sniper means you'll need to get around a lot faster on foot. The light armor + stam unlocks become invaluable, and I'm totally with you on that one.

However I simply faily to see Assault or Support ever taking up the light armor en masse.

[Haemogod]

2.) computerized stabilization and advanced muzzle-brakes for recoil dampening - Again false on all accounts I sat there and let this thing go thru the full range of motion and it has just as much sway as the normal sniper not one bit diffrent. The recoil seems the same as well, you dont have much time to tell only 3 shots...


You have to actively* use it - Run key.



I unlocked the maginfier, and i get the stabilizer as a field upgrade, i think that if you go for headshots all the time the magnifier is a must have, but the zellar, i doubt it(i played recon for 20 hours and i have 3 unlocks), Being able to kill claymors MUST be usful tho, shame it uses ammo :D


*I thought this was obvious as there are 2 passive unlocks on each class and this is not one of them.

[19:44] Person A: how do i make scope stabaliser work on sniper unlok?
[19:44] Me: press the run key
[19:44] Person A: cheers
[19:44] Me: while scoped

lol, just after posting

[YourMessageHere]

I'm still not convinced it kills light armour in one. I always go for light armour when sniping (got no stamina unlocks yet, so need all the bonus I can get, plus the light armour has better camouflage) and some sniper hits I take leave me at ~30% health (which I take to be body shots with stock rifles) while others drop me to ~10% (which I take to be body shots with the Zeller). In some sniping duels I've had and lost, my opponent definitely had a Zeller, cos that's what the death message said, and definitely took 2 hits to off me. Maybe it's the range modifier, but I just can't see it being as good as its in-game write-up.

[古強者死神]

Yeah I already said that it doesnt seem to do a 1 shot kill on light armor all the time, I know for a fact I have been hit with it before and didnt die myself.


I heard there is a bug where light armor gives just as much protection as heavy armor... not sure if thats the case since I never use heavy armor but I know I have lived thru zeller shots.

[Svartberg]

nice review man, so i guess that makes the Ganz & Zeller as the downgrades to avoid.

So far i have played with all the other weapons and think they are all cool and have some sort of purpose (all of them, even the SAAW), so i'll be optimistic and say at least the stock LMG and Snipers are good :)

[古強者死神]

The stock LMG and Snipers are GREAT!

those are my 2 main kits.

I dont have the ganz so cant speak for it presonally (its a few unlocks away getting the H AVR first.

Like I said the zeller has a purpose (much like how I think the ganz has one too) but its just a small portion of the time that it would be a benifit rather than a hinderance.

in this case I like the zeller in the titan most of the time since you may only get 1 shot on a guy beforey our dead down a hallway, and he may have taken a shot or two from sombody before you, its the highest chance to get that 1 hit kill, and I use it to blow up mines/rdx.

All other times the regular sniper is definitly better tho.

[Raidyr]

Since I mastered Support, I am now advancing on the sniper tree, and after reading your guide/review, I kinda regret it. Tell me, is the Zeller TOTALLY and utterly worthless? I have the Ganz, and while some people say it sucks, I think it is awesome...

[古強者死神]

Even in the post right above you, I said it does have a purpose and some people love the zeller. I think the "pro" level snipers avoid it like the plauge tho, and the carbine is very very good on the other side of the tree.

[Haemogod]

I think the basic rifles are better, and you only need 3 unlocks to be successful (RDX,APM Mine,4x Scope).

[Striker]

Holding "Shift" or Sprint button while selecting the stabilizer unlock makes sniping more accurate...

Q: has anyone tested this improved accuracy?? Was this included in the testing that was done?
[basic sniper with VS basic sniper without stabilizer; Adv sniper with and without..]

Nice review otherwise :)

[古強者死神]

It just stops the sway, it doesnt make it more accurate in the sense that your thinking.

[Comassion]

Yeah, when I started using it I realized that I'd gotten used to the sway, so why spare the equipment on it when I can take APM's or RDX instead?

[Haemogod]

It just stops the sway, it doesnt make it more accurate in the sense that your thinking.

So to speak, it makes you more accurate, not the gun :)

[Striker]

wow, then yea, until its passive then dont waste the space- save it for demo charges :)

[UberStrWarsFan]

I am not a big time sniper anymore (BF2) but I do like the zeller for when I am on Overwatch with a squad. I have gotten at least 20 kills by shooting the enemies AP mines and RDX when My squadies are busy looking the other way.

[MistenTH]

Killing explosives give you points?

[LECHIP]

Its a good weapon, hits harder, more precise, you cand kill em w 1 shot more often than usual rifles.

[AlphaNut]

It definately is a lot more effective then the default sniper rifles imo.
I've picked it up a few times, and every time I did I would get a lot of kills.

[Djchicken]

Good thing I went special forces branch then. Hehe well the unlock towards getting the Zeller arn't useless. And I strongly recomend not using light armor, you should get the sprint unlocks instead.

[DiggerDagger]

ive found a great way to check the difference between the two rifles; go to this thread

http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8598

and dl the mod to allow you to check out all the upgrades on single player, kinda like a 'try-before-you-buy'. will not affect your online status (as far as i can tell....)