Gears of War 2's active sniper will not insta-down

by Dustin Burg { Jun 29th 2008 at 12:30PM }

The one and only Cliff Bleszinski popped up on the NeoGAF forums where the latest video of Gears of War 2 was being discussed, to clarify the Longshot sniper's abilities. Responding to a remark claiming that "active downs with the Longshot are still existent in Gears 2", Cliff denied the claim, stating that the Longshot will not have insta-down abilities in Gears 2. Honestly, we're glad. An active reload with Gears' Longshot sniper was a downing machine in multiplayer that was way too easy to pull off. Though, this begs another question, what damage will an actively reloaded sniper cause in Gears 2? Hmmm ...

[Thanks, Josh]

Tags: epic, epic-games, gears-of-war-2, gow2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ZombiesRPplsToo @ Jun 29th 2008 12:50PM

FIRST! (jk)

thank you im fed up with that.

JerkfacedFed @ Jun 29th 2008 12:55PM

its fine, you need someone with a sniper to be feared. its the weapon swapping idiot hosts that are the problem.

2ndly they should make it harder to get the active reload. people shouldnt be able to get it every time and triple down you in execution. problem solved.

007craft @ Jun 30th 2008 12:34AM

I dont see the need to rmeove active sniper downs. They already fixed the problem by letting you crawl. You wont be getting triple downed to often now (execution) because you can crawl to cover, behind the snipers view. I think this makes it perfect to leave it in.

Graham @ Jun 29th 2008 12:56PM

Good news. Multiplayer in the 1st was great although there were many flaws. It seems the Gears of War 1's multiplayer was a beta test for Gears of War 2.

Kind of off topic but is there Bots in multiplayer now? In the videos many of players seem to act like bots.

Mikey @ Jun 29th 2008 8:07PM

I think I remember something that since it will be 5v5 in Gears 2, there might be bots added just to fill the room up. I might be mistaken though.

Justin @ Jun 29th 2008 12:58PM

active reload sniper should reduce health by one third permanantly and not let it recharge

DemonGSides @ Jun 29th 2008 1:50PM

Thats harsh.

Hatredkopter @ Jun 29th 2008 2:08PM

I actually agree, that would be pretty boss. Id take that over getting downed any day.

Cal @ Jun 29th 2008 2:54PM

Having a gears logo in the middle of your screen all round sounds less fun than being downed

ZenGaijin @ Jun 29th 2008 6:33PM

What do you mean not let it recharge? Thats just dumb and negates the whole reason of a recharging health system.

It will probably damage you enough till one bullet for any gun will put you down.

SadisticHam @ Jun 29th 2008 1:31PM

There was nothing wrong with active reloading snipers, it was never a problem you just got shotgun whores and hosts bitch about it none-stop cause their RUN AND HOST EM tactics didn't work out.

JerkFace hit it spot on the problem was weapon swapping hosts, big man using his skills with the sniper, till he gets tired of missing then hes cranking out the shotgun as usual cause hes got no skill.

Take care of the host advantage for good Cliff, then worry about fixing things that aren't broken.

Zeus.:God @ Jun 29th 2008 3:38PM

Yeah, you're probably one of this kiddies that relies entirely on active downs to get kills, right? I know you are, because those types of people are the ONLY people who actually defend the active sniper.

SadisticHam @ Jun 29th 2008 5:13PM

Do i active down? Yes.

Do i do it exclusively? No.

Seriously, i happily do it. Cause i know it annoys people like you, who like to cry over something that is apart of a game, all because a player is choosing not to miss every shot on the off chance that he might get lucky and bag a headshot.

How many games have you played where some fool has picked up the sniper, takes a shot, runs away, takes a shot, runs away and just winds up dying anyway? Waste of time, hes an idiot for doing it and a team mate i despise having.

Sorry, analog sticks just aren't accurate enough to get constant headshots, I'd need to dedicate a lot of time to get good enough to do that and i prefer variety so I just wouldn't.

Question though; What's stopping you from doing it back? The sniper is often placed in a spot that is a fair distance from you and me. What's stopping *you* killing me before i pick it up? Why is it, i can avoid active downs and take down snipers and YOU can't?

No point crying over a tactic when you have opportunity's to counter it mate, if you're that bad you should stick to COD4, anyone can get a kill in that.

offday @ Jun 29th 2008 1:57PM

It seems like whenever someone says, "Well in Gears 1, this sucked and I..." Cliff is right there to say, "No, no. It will be fixed in Gears 2." But he never actually explains how. Is anyone else starting to think Cliff is full of crap?

Personally, I got fed up and quit playing Gears 1 multiplayer because of the bs achievements. I had over 100 whatever in almost all of the categories, and I never got the achievements.

MDJ2010 @ Jun 29th 2008 3:51PM

haha, I'm pretty sure the idea of Cliffy B being full of crap has been had by many people before. I think he likes to hear his voice.
As for the active reload on Sniper, I'd assume that being hit by it in Gears 2 will just give you the maximum damage possible before being downed, which then leaves you ultra vulnerable unless you get quick cover. Gotta say Justin I think your idea stinks!

CB @ Jun 29th 2008 2:07PM

If the host problem is fixed, then the sniper would be even more unbalanced. Sniping as host was way too easy.
Not hating the longshot but I can't think of anything else to make it balanced while still keeping its instant-down.

Rodrigo @ Jun 29th 2008 2:09PM

i think that cliffy b. is too cocky. can't wait for gears 2!!!!!

A89 @ Jun 29th 2008 2:25PM

This is wonderful news. It's far too easy to down people with an active sniper - and I welcome the fact it's now taken out. Perhaps they could've made the active harder to hit (randomized/very small), but this works for me as well.

Good job, EPIC. Cannot wait to play this game in November 2008!

Drunkenshaolin @ Jun 29th 2008 2:36PM

it should be left the way it is.. people who are crap with snipers always moan!!F???em

Cal @ Jun 29th 2008 2:56PM

Meh, real snipers aim for the brain

DMOB xSHROOMZx @ Jun 29th 2008 3:01PM

Well, I have nothing to worry about with this, as I only get Headshots anyway. So its still a one hit kill for me... never did I active reload, and I did on accident, I let a teammate get him , or if nobody was around, I let him get back up and give him a few seconds. I always hated active reloaders, aim for tha head... to me thats what a snipers supposed to do!!

MDJ2010 @ Jun 29th 2008 3:54PM

Oh you hero!!!! ;-)

Bing Bong @ Jun 29th 2008 7:23PM

Your a fucking cocky fag

DMOB xSHROOMZx @ Jun 29th 2008 3:03PM

Edit ** If I did on accident is what I meant

bigC24 @ Jun 29th 2008 3:13PM

I think instead of shooting bullets, it should shoot a healing salve that cures all wounds.

Numlock @ Jun 29th 2008 3:47PM

I cant wait for gow 2 multiplayer!

Vcize @ Jun 29th 2008 5:50PM

I suck with the sniper and don't use it much, but this is STUPID.

They are really going out of their way to make this game as n00b friendly as possible. Proximity frags, blowing the frag up when you're down, making the already n00b friendly lancer even STRONGER.

Hell, you can crawl away while down now so that already severely hurt the sniper, making it much harder to triple down someone.. If they wanted to balance it any more they should've just made the melee take 3 punches to down someone instead of 2.

So now the only gun you can triple down someone with is a SPAWN WEAPON (lancer/hammerburst)??? HORRIBLE.

It seems to me like they're really catering to the people that just want to jump into the multiplayer for 2 weeks and move on, and are alienating all the hardcore people who still play the 1st one today.

ZenGaijin @ Jun 29th 2008 6:36PM

Triple downing is for "noobs".

If you can't find anyway to head shot someone than to down them and let them stand up into a head shot you don't deserve to call yourself a sniper.

I welcome the changes made to Sniper and making it 3 melee strikes to down someone rather than two sounds like a dream come true. Combine that with stopping power to prevent someone from steamrolling enemies with a shotgun (Although, I love doing this) and you got yourself a pretty balanced game.

Vcize @ Jun 29th 2008 6:43PM

Yeah, but the crawl away while downed already helped stop the sniper triple downs. Plus, any semi-competent team can stop sniper triple downs, you just need a teammate to either pick you up fast or put some fire on the sniper. I play this game 15 hours a week and can safely say this is way down on the list of overpowered things.

Meanwhile, you can triple down people with the lancer even EASIER (don't need an active and it's a continuous stream of bullets) and they made that gun STRONGER?

Honestly, having a sniper on your team now is basically like playing 3v4 because NO ONE can hit headshots in this game consistently enough to make them any less than a wasted player back there the majority of the time. I always hate it when I have a teammate that sucks with the sniper but tries to do it anyway and just stands in the back as a complete waste, now that will be almost everyone.

ZenGaijin @ Jun 29th 2008 7:47PM

I don't know I play upwards of 15 hours a week too. I regularly play with snipers that have no problems putting one right between the eyes.

http://www.360voice.com/tag/Z3nGaijin

I feel the crawling away and the non active down sniper compliments each other very well.

jayemm @ Jun 29th 2008 11:03PM

I hate it when people say using the shotgun is for noobs. Please just shut the hell up because obviously you don't know what you're talking about. I'm guessing you're one of the guys who CAN'T use a shotgun properly and get decimated by someone who can so you try to make up for it by calling everyone else a noob who does use it. Now in Gears one, because of the bullet lag, you could bullet dance, or time your opponent's shots and strafe in the right direction to dodge the shot. Since Gears 2 is fixing this, shotgunning may be much easier, but don't ever say shotgunning is for noobs when there are so many ways to counter, defend, and attack with a shotgun.

Now back on topic. I'm glad this active downing is gone. Gives no incentive for a sniper to actually go for the headshot, especially on warzone(but really, who plays warzone?) I would never go for the active reload on a snipe because it just seems too easy of a kill. I do the exact same thing as you, DMOB xSHROOMZx, when I'm going for the headshot and do active down, I let the person get up and run around for a few seconds before trying to kill him again.

My suggestion for active snipes in Gears 2, have the person on the brink of being downed, or have it do the same damage as a regular shot, but with a stun effect like in Gears 1 where being close enough to an exploding grenade makes you flinch for a second, enough time for another enemy to take you out, but not long enough for the sniper to reload and hit you with a second shot.

PlayHarder @ Jun 30th 2008 11:50AM

GAY, sniper was fine

rooliorama @ Jul 3rd 2008 6:02PM

when you can triple down someone with the sniper it means you´re playing against a very bad team, cause as Vcize says, any semi competent team can easily neutralize that sniper. so if you triple down one of them, they pretty deserved it. i think the sniper, as well as the torque bow, are the most balanced weapons on gears when you play it like you are supposed to do, that means as a team, and against a competitive team.

RedSonRising @ Jul 4th 2008 5:12AM

lol..3 downs.. remember before they patched executution, getting downed repeatedly until the round ended.. ive seen ppl kill themselves to avoid being the last man alive in a round..

the sniper is a weapon to be feared.. if theres a sniper lose on gridlock in gears2 and noones scared to run in the street somethings wrong..

and i dunno what the problem is, sniping in gears was easy.. even on a bad day getting headshots wasnt that hard.. peep em, lead em and bleed em..

Ryan @ Jul 23rd 2008 5:53PM

How can we be sure that was Cliffy anyways??
it might be someone playing a prank or something...
anyways im glad its gone triple active whores was a bitch.

Diesel Estacado @ Aug 29th 2008 9:17PM

The sniper was never meant to excessively active down someone. Snipers are known to pull headshots & disable the target entirely. Not down him & just keep doing it repeatedly. Obviously SadisticHam does it constantly. That shouldn't even be a question. The fact they are taking it away is better for every gamer. Learn to get a headshot. There problem solved. By the way I heard it was being taken away for the shotgun as well. So goodluck noobs.