SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle

The Sniper Rifle System 99C-S2 Anti-Material (abbreviated  SRS99C-S2 AM), otherwise known as the SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle is a United Nations Space Command firearm usable in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars.

Background
The SRS99C is the primary Sniper Rifle used by UNSC and is featured in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars. It is, alongside its Covenant counterpart the Particle Beam Rifle, the most accurate and arguably the most powerful small-arms weapon in both arsenals. It is modular, with the scope, stock, barrel and firing mechanism capable of being swapped to match a mission profile. This rifle is closely modeled on the NTW-20 present day Sniper Rifle.

Advantages
The SRS99C-S2 AM is designed to be used at medium to long ranges and is equipped with an electronic scope for precisely this purpose. It has two variants - one has a 2x and 10x zoom (seen in Halo: Combat Evolved). The PC version has 2x and 8x, and the Halo 2 version has 5x and 10x. It is tremendously useful with its extraordinary range, surpassing any other weapon of comparable size and its penetration power versus Covenant shields (i.e., those of an Elite.) By far, its most useful application in Campaign mode is taking out the higher-ranking enemies in a group to destabilize their squad's discipline and morale (which makes combat much easier). A headshot against any Covenant infantry except a Zealot, Major Domo Elites, Ultra Elites, Hunters, or Brutes results in an instant kill; Hunters fall from one shot to their unarmored torso or neck and many Brutes must be shot twice in the head to get past the protective helmets they often wear. When playing in the highest difficulty, Legendary, the Major Domo Elites will take two shots to the head and the Zealots will take three. Also when the night vision function is turned on, by pressing the flashlight button (q in PC, White button in Xbox) (this is exclusive to Halo: Combat Evolved), one can see an invisible (cloaked) Elite very easily if he is moving fast enough. When playing online, some players use the Sniper Rifle to great effect when camping. For example, skilled users may crouch inside a confined hallway and fire without the use of the scope from close range, resulting in many instant kills. And although the rifle's description claims it has a slow rate of fire, it has an actually high rate of fire for a Sniper Rifle. In competitive games between two organized teams, both will always have a sniper. Despite common misconception, the Sniper Rifle is also highly effective at close range, as a shot and a melee will put an enemy down for good. This does not account for Flood, however, due to the body organization. See Disadvantages. Bottom line: If you don't kill them with the first shot, then they'll bite the dust on the next one. As an added bonus, the Sniper Rifle has a fast melee speed. One can even take out an Elite or Brute in close quarters with the Sniper melee.



Disadvantages
Like any weapon, there is a need to lead targets if they are at extreme distances. It is hard to use at short range because its aim is so precise and thus is not easy to hit a close target; with only four shots, there is no room at all for error. It also has a steeper learning curve than most weapons, taking significant practice to master. Ammunition for this weapon is scarce and because of that it is not good practice to waste the ammo on "lesser foes" such as Grunts and Drones. It is very ineffective against all forms of Flood. The way that the Sniper Rifle can be effective against the Flood is if you fire at their arms, which will fall off, leaving them harmless, or if you aim directly at the tentacle protruding from the chest cavity. The bullets leave a strong visible smoke trail that can reveal the shooter's position to others. The rifle also performs poorly against virtually all vehicles, despite being an anti-material Sniper Rifle (unless a "weak spot", such as the Ghost's fuel cell, is shot). The Sniper Rifle is not useful at all later in the game, except to extend your vision and know exactly what enemies you're facing next. In addition, its reload time is much slower than most weapons (ex. Pistol, Assault Rifle), but faster than the Shotgun. This, and the fact the Particle Beam Rifle travels at (almost) the speed of light whilst doing the same damage without the necessity of reloading, makes the Beam Rifle invariably superior.

Tactics
The Sniper Rifle is extremely powerful, but with a small combat load, it is not good practice to use this weapon against weaker enemies (Grunts, Drones). However, the Sniper's penetration capabilities and superb, long range accuracy makes it excellent for killing higher ranking enemies at long range, which, in turn, disorganizes and demoralizes the enemy troops, making combat against a large ground force much easier.

Campaign Recommendations
Take cover behind any rock or building (if any). Easily take aim and make sure you fire before the hostile sees you. Also stick to high ground (if any). Do not waste rounds on minor threats like Unggoys or shield bearing Kig-Yar since ammo is usually scarce. It usually takes 2 shots to kill a Brute Minor on all difficulties but for all other ranks, the number of headshots needed may change.

Multiplayer Recommendations
In Halo: Combat Evolved, effective use of the 99C-S2 in multiplayer takes a lot of practice. It is necessary to aim in front of a target to accommodate for server lag, how far one should aim in front depends on their angle onto the target and the amount of lag in the server. Targets are shot easiest when they are head on, moving directly toward you.

A head-shot will kill and enemy outright, regardless of shield. Night vision is best used in dark areas (obviously) but is useless in maps that have high color contrast. Good secondary weapons include the Human pistol which, when shot accurately dispose of an enemy in 3 shots regardless of shield. It's 2x zoom make it the perfect partner for the sniper rifle.

Use natural formations and buildings to snipe from, but move constantly and erratically (including jumping and crouching) to lower the effectiveness of counter-sniping. The fact that sniper rifle bullets leave a smoky trail is the weapons largest downside (apart from the small magazine capacity) it exposes one's position and alerts the enemy easily, constant position changing is advised to confuse the enemy. Also find something to hide behind while you reload, and reload when not shooting. Good snipers cover teammates and kill anyone who is chasing the person on your team with the flag (note: this is only for CTF).

Effectiveness

 * Elites: One-hit kill headshot; Zealots three-hit headshot; Ultra Elites 4-hit headshot.
 * Grunts: One-hit kill if headshot or bodyshot; Major Grunts can withstand 2 body shots on Legendary.
 * Drones: One-hit kill in all cases.
 * Jackals: One hit kill for headshots and 2 shots through the pistol opening in the shield.
 * Hunters: Aim for the bright orange skin of the body. Successfully hitting this part will bring the Hunter down in one shot.
 * Brutes: 2 shots - one to knock away a helmet and one for a headshot or one hit the head or body and one for anywhere in the brutes body. Note: Chieftains withstand more shots. Not effective for body shots.
 * Humans: One-hit kill headshot.
 * Flood: It is completely useless against the Flood in Halo: Combat Evolved. This is most likely due to the fact that their flesh and bone is less dense than that of humans or Covenant. In Halo 2 and Halo 3, a shot to the 'heart' (where there are tentacles protruding from the chest) of any Flood Combat Form will kill them, but body shots are less effective.

Most of the effectiveness of the sniper will vary by difficulty.

Appearances
The Sniper Rifle was featured in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3. The original Halo Combat Evolved Sniper Rifle had a digital radar-like view which was green and had 4 knobs below the scope. It also had a longer shoulder guard. In Halo 2, the view was replaced with a visual image of the sniper's scope in real time, and had a more compact butt-stock. This weapon has returned in Halo 3 as a new variant known as the "SRS99D", which has a new design and thermal scope, but otherwise functions the same. Also, in Halo: Combat Evolved the Sniper Rifle gives data about the target's distance and elevation. The Halo 2 rifle does not.

SRS99C-S2 AMB Sniper Rifle
The SRS99C-S2 AMB Sniper rifle is an upgrade of the SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle found and usable in Halo 2, instead of SRS99C-S2 AMB, SRS99C-S2 AM is put instead. It is properly shown to be the SRS99C-S2 AMB in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. The upgrade consists of a new scope called Oracle N-variant Scope for accuracy and a better designed and gripped handle.

Ammunition
The Sniper Rifle has one of the most advanced ammunition types in the game. It uses Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot rounds. These rounds are large in both length and width and are equipped with four symmetrical fins on the sides of the round, stabilizing its trajectory to results of amazing accuracy, with a hit ratio of 97.3%. These sabots are used to fill in the gap in the barrel to make a plug and are ripped off of the projectile before entering the actual target, their job having been completed.

The rounds are described as being made of very hard metal, so they are probably made of a hardened steel or depleted uranium, like most tank ammunition today. The APFSDS round is an anti-material munition, meaning that it is specifically designed for use against military equipment rather than against other combatants. It performs rather poorly in this role, as rounds fired at vehicles and equipment will do no damage or ricochet. The round is best used on other combatants depending on their combat system (Body Armor, Energy Shields, etc)

The APFSDS rounds fired by the Sniper Rifle leave behind a noticeable vapor trail that can reveal the position of the sniper, however they can be used as an aiming aid for the sniper himself.

It's to be noted that in the Eric Nylund novels the rifle is not limited to a four round magazine size. The reason for this in the games is to insure balanced game play. Twenty-eight rounds total (four rounds per magazine) in Halo: Combat Evolved, twenty rounds total (four rounds per magazine) in Halo 2 and Halo 3. However, in the Halo: Combat Evolved level Truth and Reconciliation you start with a Sniper Rifle that has a 68 round load.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Spartans
 * Marines
 * Drones (have animation but not used)
 * Flood Combat Form (Human)
 * Flood Combat Form (Elite)

Influence
The Sniper Rifle appears to be heavily inspired by (if not directly copied from) the South African NTW-20, (most notably the Denel NTW-20), the Barrett .50 caliber rifles, the M107 sniper rifle. Many of the features present in the Halo version are included in both weapons, such as the recoil-dampening piston, the general look of the receiver, the magazine placement, muzzle brake and many other attributes. The muzzle brake of the rifle comes directly from the Barrett line of Sniper Rifles, which includes not only the M107, but the M82 and M95. In addition, the Sniper round (14.5 × 114mm) is an actual rifle cartridge, developed by the Russian Army for Anti-Tank Rifles, Heavy Machine Guns, and Sniper Rifles. However, the real 14.5 mm round has a standard cartridge design, whereas the round used in Halo is an APFSDS round (Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot). The Sniper Rifle appears to takes its APFSDS ammunition concept from the Steyr IWS 2000. It fires a 15.2 mm Steyr Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot.

Trivia

 * In Halo:Combat Evolved, if one fires all four shots, then reloads, the player will rack the charging handle on the rifle's left side after loading the new magazine. This only works when all four rounds are fired (and in fact, is only necessary if there are no rounds in the chamber), so reloading after every shot will not cause this.
 * One thing to take notice of, is that in Halo CE the rifle seems to be scripted. In fact if you shoot a Minor Domo in his foot on Normal, will react as if he's about to die. The same happens if his shields are either up or down. This factor was removed in Halo 2, where the rifle does a little bit less damage.
 * There is a glitch where the sniper bullet is seen from seven angles and looks green.
 * Linda-058 changes the sniper's ammo size to .450-caliber in Halo: The Fall of Reach. In fact, she shoots many more rounds than simply four bullets at a time.
 * The Spartans on Onyx use Grapple Rounds in place of standard ammunition. These rounds are described as harpoon-like shafts attached to braided monoline rope which is coiled in a bag.
 * "Robert McLees is definitely the go-to guy for the gun stuff," says William O' Brien, part of Halo 2's animation team, "I wanted to come up with an animation for the sniper scope, an 'idle cycle'. If you activate the scope, and then sit too long without doing anything, the animation would kick in periodically, just to keep things interesting... Simple, right?... He replied, 'No way. If you adjust your scope in the field, you're dead. Snipers don't do that. That's how detailed his weapon designs are -- not just guns, but how they work, and how a sniper would fire them. Amazing." Despite the fact that Mr. McLees is wrong, and that situational adjustment and maintenance of weapon systems in the field is necessary for engaging targets at different ranges, and is one purpose of a recon or STA team pre-scouting an area, and working up variables and distances prior to engagement; and if the settings are offed somehow, they can quickly be readjusted by an experienced operator.
 * The rifle in Halo: Combat Evolved has a night vision setting on the scope but that was removed in Halo 2.
 * The Sniper Rifle is closely related to the NTW-20.
 * One possible reason that the Halo: Combat Evolved Sniper Rifle has a night-vision setting, is that, like the rest of the equipment available on board, was upgraded for the Spartans' mission. Also, Linda-058 needed specialized equipment, so the stock of snipers may have been upgraded for her.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Sniper Rifle has a "screen array" on the scope, while in Halo 2, this is not present.
 * In Halo: Custom Edition, there are over 15 variants of Sniper Rifles.
 * If you run into a person when you or the other player is wielding a Sniper Rifle, the barrel will sometimes go through their body. If you shoot, they will take damage even though the barrel isn't in front of them, but through them.
 * In the level Truth and Reconciliation you carry three times the usual combat load of ammunition for the sniper rifle.
 * In Halo Wars rebel troopers in squads of two will use the sniper.

Gallery
 Image:1220655987 Crossair.png|The Sniper Rifle System 99C-S2 Anti-Matériel's cross hair. 

Related Pages
SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle - A newer variant of the SRS99C.