QUOTE (Tymeaus Jalynsfein @ Nov 25 2011, 07:15 PM)
Your flight times are a bit off there Irion.
And just for information sake. A 500 Meter shot is not all that difficult. While I was in the Corps, I routinely scored 50 Points (all 10 Shots in the 5 Ring of a Human Target; with the 5 Ring the highest) with open Iron Sights. It is not really all that difficult (Yes, I know, Static Targets). On Live Fire tactical Ranges, with variable engangement distances, it was still pretty trivial. Most Sniping circumstances that I encountered in the Corps happened from 500-1000 Meters, from the Prone position. With a GOOD Sniper Rifle, those ranges are not all that difficult. Anyone can be taught to perform at that level with 8-10 weeks of constant practice.
That being said, the 2km shots are very, very difficult indeed. And even those individuals at that level only hit reliably about 30% of the time, which is why you do not routinely take those types of shots. You wait for more optimal ranges if/when you have the opportunity to do so.
I also agree that those types of shots are trivially easy for a Sniper Character in Shadowrun. Here is the catch. You will rarely, if ever, be presented with a 2km shot in Shadowrun. You will likely be in the 300-800 Meter Range Increment, and at those ranges, you should hit consistently, even in a crowded environment.
Now, Maybe I am exceptional in that regard, but I do not think so. As I said, anyone can be taught to shoot well. All it takes is time, dedication and practice.
Well, yes somhow I just wanted to use a subsonic ammo... (My head was stuck on sniping Players in the city. Because well, if you agree to meet your Johonson in the desert at night, well. There were hints, something is wrong.)
But true, you do not have to.
You can throw together around 16 dice I suspect, and of those you will probably keep most, making it a very easy task. (As a matter of fact much easier than walking up to the guy and shooting him from 10 m away )
With around 12+ dice and a called shot for damag you get around 4 hits, which can make a shot quite deadly. (Yes, unless you abuse the system the other way around, stacking armor like the sun won't rise the next day)
Throw in some special ammo and you take down the runner with body 4 and 8 points of ballistic armor. (Well, if he has an high edge, he might live to fight another day, spending it on the resistance test)
It is not so much that the guy is hit, but that the guy is instand dead. Considering how hard (even with all this talk about glass cannons) it is to kill someone in SR.
I would be ok with hitting the guy 95% of the time and killing him 50-60% of those times. It is just the 99% and the 90% wich annoy me.
(Of course all this is nothing compared to the mage who does his sniping with a powerbolt...)