I was recently playing the Sentinel in Tribes: Ascend (a sniper class), when I discovered that whenever I happen to be doing some long-range, patient combat, I have a tendency to whistle show tunes or Christmas carols. I also seem to whisper to myself more frequently.

Then I thought, "Wow. That's incredibly weird." Something about whistling show tunes and winter carols sparks some sort of sniper-trance in my brain parts. I don't know how or why, but that's what happens.

So my question is: Do you ever find yourself in a pattern of doing strange things while sniping? Do you feel like it actually -helps- you snipe better as you do it?

I find that I tend to hold my breath as I take the shot. I never even realised I had this odd little habit until my girlfriend of all people noticed that I do it.

The Wykydtron:
"Right, I think I shall go for the air grab reset against Doom... Wait no, thats retarded he's just going to do what all Dooms do best and insta Foot Dive the moment he gets out of the combo"

I still can't punish the Foot Dive very well, unless i'm playing Vergil that is

"Oh A full screen Foot Dive eh? SWAG DIVE! OWNED!"

Vergil's Stinger can punish everything... It's not even funny. Did you know that Akuma's projectile hyper is unsafe at full screen away? No? Vergil'd! XD

Alright, can someone tell me if what was written there is actual English, or it some sort of strange moonman speak.

I normally have a nap, roast some marshmallows, maybe do some fishing.....

Seriously though, no. I generally just take the shot and leave it at that.

I always have music playing, so I'll sing along if the game is unusually slow. Otherwise I do nothing out of the ordinary, just shoot the people who fall in my crosshairs

I just sit there and relish the short delay between firing and when my bullet finds its mark in Battlefield 3... Gives me shivers.

I hum or sing to myself as well. It really does help you to calm down and focus.

I lull the enemies into a false sense of security by saying things like: 'No, you don't need to move, you're safe exactly where you are. How clever you are to take cover somewhere that shields your entire body but leaves your head totally visible' and then laugh like a maniac when I hit them. More often than not though I'm swearing like a sailor because I've just missed. As a non-gamer my flatmate is extremely worried for my sanity and has taken to locking her door :)

I came into this thread planning on saying "I don't really do anything unusual" but thinking about it, I think I do...

srm79:
I find that I tend to hold my breath as I take the shot.

...this. At least if it's a particularly drawn-out shot that I'm being obscenely careful about. I'm usually a pretty quick aim-and-shoot sniper, so I don't have much time for doing anything, but if I'm being really painstaking about lining up the crosshairs...

Yes. The following always happens:

1) I realize I am sniping after half a second of standing around
2) I hit escape
3) I switch to another class
4) I suicide

Depends on how smug I'm feeling. If I'm missing a lot I tend to swear violently my team mates for doing better than me. If I'm getting a lot of hits, I tend to get really full of myself and say 'witty' (note inverted commas) things like "Oohhh! You didn't need that kneecap did you? Too bad!".

I don't use the scope. RDS or iron sights for me!

When I snipe using the Huntsman in TF2 I tend to say "Well, you're not an adventurer anymore!" when I manage to hit them in the knee.

I generally don't look down the sight till I go to take the shot... I like to watch for people without the scope. But I'll normally be spinning a coin in my hand till someone appears.

I never miss... ever.

Does it count as sniping if I look through the zoom and hit them from really far away? 'Cause that's what I do with my Juggernaut's Disc Launcher.

You'd think the big, green, spinning explosive wouldn't be a very subtle weapon, but considering the number of kills I get 'sniping'... yeah.

With Actual sniper rifles (Fallout: New Vegas, Mass Effect 3, Borderlands) if I'm not in combat and I'm going for a pre-emptive kill, then I will either go 'Piss' (missed) or 'bang' (insta-kill) - if in combat, however (Multiplayer games count here, due to the constant combat) then it's 'Shit' for a miss, 'Piss!' if I get hit while sniping and 'Fuck yeah!' if I actually manage to hit something.

But I prefer my large explosives to sniper rifles... why be precise when you can just hit everything?

I make plans to kill everyone I meet in the most efficient and polite way possible.
_{Yes, even YOU}

I tend to say a little made up prayer because I feel like its cheating to snipe when I'm about to wreck somebody's brain parts with a tiny piece of metal, a million miles away and without them even knowing.

If I have to survive though i'm a killing machine and I tend to hold my breath as well. Something I picked up from real world hunting I suppose.

I tend to miss a lot.

I hold my breath, an old habit from shooting scoped large-bore rifles.
If there is someone in cover, popping out randomly I think in my head "One Two Three Pop" and on "Pop" i pull the trigger. I get lucky quite often using this method.

I hold my breath when I'm either a) holding my breath in game, or b)manually trying to counteract sway.

shoot a smiley in the wall or don,t camp in the first place.

Spot enemies, relay intelligence, use strategic stuff like motion sensors or mortar strikes if the game allows me, and finally I try to shoot strategically important enemies.

Because yes, sniping done well requires you to do more than just camp. Fuck camping. If anything, in TF2 sniping is the most fun if you stand right behind the frontline Heavy.

SmashLovesTitanQuest:
Yes. The following always happens:

1) I realize I am sniping after half a second of standing around
2) I hit escape
3) I switch to another class
4) I suicide

+1
Except replace step 3 with "Switch to Scout and harass the other team's snipers"

fap. The answer to your question is fap. I'm not ashamed.

I empty my longs before each shot reflexively. I also hum whatever song is stuck in my head.