Vanguard players claim snipers are worst in CoD history

Luca Di Marzo
Vanguard snipers

Vanguard devs have missed the mark when it comes to balancing snipers causing players to demand a significant buff.

The complaints and concerns surrounding Vanguard’s multiplayer experience keep rolling in. This time, players are focused on voicing their opinions on Vanguard’s Sniper Rifles. According to players, Vanguard snipers are the worst iteration of the weapon class in Call of Duty history.

Since launch, players have been able to choose from the Type 99, 3-Line Rifle, and Kar98k. Even the iconic Kar98k is failing to satisfy Call of Duty sniper enthusiasts. Due to Vanguard’s mechanics, only the most experienced sniper players are dabbling with the weapons in question.

Why Vanguard snipers need a buff

Vanguard Kar98K sniper rifle

Vanguard’s powerful flinch mechanic that kicks your weapon up considerably when being fired at is a large part of the problem. When attempting to aim a precise Sniper Rifle, flinch can seriously impact your ability to secure one-shot kills.

This brings us to the next issue. Players have claimed that the time to kill for Sniper Rifles is slower when compared to other weapons.

Most of the weapons in Vanguard boast a fast TTK. Understandably, this fast TTK that is synonymous with Vanguard’s automatic weapons cannot transfer over to Sniper Rifles.

Instead, players are not receiving their one-shot kills as often as they would like. In addition, much has been made about the slow aim down sight speed of the weapon class.

In the past, snipers would ADS at a faster pace. The poor selection of weapon attachments for snipers is another negative aspect. Most weapons reach their peak when players make use of all ten attachments.

This is a unique quality of Vanguard’s Multiplayer. However, the Sniper Rifles cannot benefit from this mechanic.

It seems Sledgehammer has gone above and beyond in their pursuit to nerf Sniper Rifles. One of the most common complaints CoD fans had with Black Ops: Cold War was the ease of use and overall broken qualities of Sniper Rifles.

The Vanguard devs decided to counter this complaint by going in the complete opposite direction.


Nowadays, only the most experienced players with a sniper in hand are comfortable using the weapon class in Vanguard. Here’s some more news in relation to updates and weapon balance patches.

Image Credit: Activision / Sledgehammer Games