SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle

The SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle is a United Nations Space Command firearm.

Introduction
It is the primary sniper rifle used by UNSC forces, and is featured in both Halo: CE and Halo 2. It is, alongside its Covenant counterpart, the Particle Beam Rifle, the most accurate, and arguably, the most powerful infantry-sized weapon in both arsenals. Its only drawbacks are its slow loading time and lack of ammunition under typical battlefield circumstances. 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 8x zooms (seen in Halo: CE) and another has a 5x and 10x zoom (seen in Halo 2). It is tremendously useful in 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, it's most useful purpose in campaign mode is taking out the higher ranking enemies in a group to destabilize their squad's discipline and morale (which makes combating a larger force much easier). A headshot against any Covenant infantry except a Zealot (Gold) Elite, Hunter, or Brute 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, this not true. 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 (this is exclusive to Halo 1), one can see an invisible (cloaked) Elite very easily. 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 ROF for a sniper rifle. 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 it's ammo volume is so small; 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 highly ineffective against all forms of Flood and against Sentinels. 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 trail that can reveal the shooter's position to others. The rifle also performs poorly against virtually all vehicles (unless a "weak spot", such as the ghost's fuel cell, is shot).

Influence
The sniper rifle appears to be heavily inspired by (if not directly copied from) the Barrett .50 caliber rifles (most notably the Barret M82 ), the M107 sniper rifle, and the South African NTW-20. 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. In addition, the Sniper bullet (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).



Appearances
The sniper rifle was featured in both Halo 1 and Halo 2. The original Halo's sniper rifle had a digital radar-like view which was green. In Halo 2, the view was replaced with a visual image of the sniper's scope in real time. This weapon will return in Halo 3. How it behaves and other features have yet to be uncovered, although KPaul has said that it is less "magnetic," presumably making the auto-aim less overwhelming than in Halo 2.

Seen Features on the Halo 3 Sniper Rifle:
 * New Flash Suppressor with front iron sight
 * Fore grips and stocks have been altered
 * The sight on the S2-AM has been changed to a different model of some kind
 * The Visual Image on the sight has a green hue.
 * The Rifle has a new flat black color to it, or so it appears...



Combos
Sniper Rifle/ Battle Rifle: The best combo Sniper combo to have, the SR can take care of higher ranking enemies at the long range, while the BR can deal with enemies at medium range and close range; a highly flexible arsenal that is perfect for suburban and ringworld combat. Utilize this arsenal on the levels Outskirts, Metropolis, Delta Halo and Regret.

Sniper Rifle/ SMG: Not as useful as the SR/BR, but still great and flexible. The SMG lacks the range and damage of the BR, but has a higher rate of fire, making it more useful in tight urban combat. The SMG also has the advantage of being able to be paired with other weapons, increasing the arsenals flexiblity. This combo is perfect for the level Outskirts, but can be used on nearly any MC level.

Sniper Rifle/Magnum: An unusual combo, but in the right hands, very effective. If you can make headshots with both weapons, and pair the Mag with the right plasma weapon, you could have an arsenal stronger than an SMG.

Sniper Rifle/Shotgun: A sort of mitchmatched combo, is more effective in Halo:CE than in its descendant. Try to avoid this combo, except on the level Metropolis

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

The rounds themselves were inspired by the 14.5*114mm Russian made projectile, used primarily in HMGs and Sniper Rifles. The rounds are described as being made of very hard metal, so they are probably made of hardened steel or titanium, with a hardened core for maximum penetration. However, despite being labeled as Armor Piercing, the Sniper Bullet is actually Anti-Material, meaning that it is specifically designed to pierce body armor, energy shielding, and all types of flesh, but not heavy armor plating, like that of a tank. Therefore, the weapon is entirely useless against vehicles.

The large calber rounds make neccesary for a small clip size and small combat loads (28 rounds total in Halo 1, 24 rounds in Halo 2.) However, a "full combat load" was described in Halo:First Strike, and in the 3rd Halo 1 level you start with a Sniper Rifle that has a 68 rd load.

In Halo 1, the SR round is very powerful. On Normal Difficulties, one direct shot to the head of any Elite (i.e. Minor, Major, Zealot) will result in an instant kill.

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 SRs penetration capabilities and superb, long range accuracy makes it excelent for killing higher ranking enemies at long range, which, in turn, disorganizes and demoralizes the enemy troops, making combat against a large ground force easier

Effective Against

 * All Covenant
 * Elites: One-hit headshot, Gold Elites two-hit headshot, white elites 3-hit headshot. (Note: varies dramatically according to difficulty.)
 * Grunts: One-hit kill if headshot or bodyshots on yellow grunts on "Easy".
 * Drones: One-hit kill in all cases.
 * Jackals One hit kill for headshots and shots through the pistol opening in the shield
 * Hunters: Aim for weak points on abdomen or neck (note: neck shots sometimes do not register)
 * Brutes: 2 shots - one to knock away a helmet and one for a kill shot. Not effective for body shots.
 * Humans / Spartans (Multiplayer: Head shot is always effective unless overshield is present on a Spartan or a Elite).


 * NOT effective against ANY Flood forms in Halo 1. 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 a shot to the 'heart' (where there are tentacles protruding from the chest) of any flood warrior will kill them.

Super Sniper
On the level Truth and Reconciliation in Halo:Combat Evolved, the Master Chief starts out with a MA5B ICWS Assault Rifle and this sniper rifle. However, this sniper rifle starts out with much more ammo than normally allowed. It has 64 rounds available. But once the player has used up ammo down to 24 rounds, it changes back to normal ammo capacity. This suggests that the Master Chief either made some special modifications, used some EB Green to tape a little extra on himself, had a "full combat load" as described in Halo: The Flood, or that the marines kept giving him extra rounds. Other than this initial extra ammo the "super sniper" gun itself doesn't appear to be special in any way. This is not a separate weapon, but rather was just given 64 rounds in the scenario tag of Truth and Reconciliation (a50)

Character Compatibility

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