Practicing Vassili

[ChinChill]

I’ve always enjoyed a good snipe but I’ll happily admit that it’s not my best merc and that I’m hardly pro at it. I know people get frustrated when there’s a low scoring Vassili on the team - so is there a way I can practice without dragging down anyone’s day by being less than stellar in a pub game? There probably isn’t but I wanted to check before I took the plunge.

[shroudedMacadamia]

I havent found any other way, Chapel works for practice as shooting the artys, skyhammers and Kiras help the team quite a bit but otherwise I am afraid you just have to be “that guy everyone frowns at” if you want to practise.

[Edzer]

Just play and don’t care about others. People shouldn’t complain that much in public games, not like they’re losing ranks in matchmaking for it.

[Kaori1]

This belongs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cm2iFmASBc

Remember, there is such a thing as too much Vaseline…I mean Vasilli. As long as you’re the only one on the team playin him and occasionally help with the objective, then I don’t think anyone will have a problem with ya.

[Jojack]

I’m in the same boat. Not great with him, but want to practice.

What I’ve settled on is this. I keep him in my squad but only use him in matches where the rest of my team sucks or are all camping (on offense) or are just TDMing. I get more practice than I thought I would…especially lately. It’s so rare to land on a team that actually plays the objectives lately.

side note: This is also a good way to use Phantom.

[VincentRJaeger]

All we can hope is that DB infuses a Training Mode that gives us atleast a lil’ kickstart before venturing into the real world.

I also want to find a way to practice with him, because I like snipers, but I’m not good at it and I hate being the slow cow in a team.

[Alchimi]

I also enjoy playing Vassili, even I’m not the best so pro snip player of the whole interwebz and that I always feel playing that merc as practise time

I have found that his ability is one of the best in the game. Deploy that sensor in a concealed place and if your team is not blind they will spot ennemies from a mile. You can miss all your shots and still be useful to your team with this.

Also, not camping a mile from the obj helps, I often die because I try to reach a spot where I can have better shots, but if I manage to get that flanking view it’s rewarding… On the other hand I see way too often Vassili’s camping in a place where they will have almost no shots.

Don’t forget your secondary too. That SMG can be very reliable in cc, and it can surprise a opponent if you decide to go close and personal on them.

[Sinee]

aimbooster.com/

I’ve been using this lately to practice. Twitch, precision and of course sniping training modes might help you if you practice a little every day.

[capriRocket]

[quote=“Alchimi;53164”]
I have found that his ability is one of the best in the game. Deploy that sensor in a concealed place and if your team is not blind they will spot ennemies from a mile. You can miss all your shots and still be useful to your team with this.[/quote]

this is the best advice, practice all you want as him, the mere fact that youre giving your team a free wallhack makes up for you missing every shot!

try to get a habit for using that HBS whenever its ready to use again.
its cooldown is quite short, if you dont notice its ready to use again then you can also get a habit for spamming q whenever you fired a shot and go behind cover or such.

just make sure you use it to detect key positions for your team, mostly where you would expect them taking a shot at your mates or to highlight a couple enemies controlling a key position that you should take over.

suddenly your team will start pushing because they become confident and dont fear of getting shot in the side.

throw the sensor in dead angles, very hard to find for your enemy, above crates and other obstacles, or into holes between pipes etc are great places.
its similar to placing turrets, you want to force your enemy to at least expose himself quite a bit to shoot your hbs.

to increase your throw range, sprint and jump while throwing.

this will also make you realize how incredibly potent a sensor can be.
when you see an enemy sensor it should be your top priority to destroy it asap, even if you may lose some health while doing so, you often save much more of your teams health.

when you see snipers top the scoreboard, its often not due to them having godlike aim. it could be due to them having you and your teams heads in his sight before you even peek.
it is a tool to slow down attackers and a tool to put defenders at a great risk if they dont stay mobile.

[DMaster2]

I’m not a super pro but i can give you a few tips.

1. Don’t stand still. If you do you’ll get headshotted by the counter snipe or easily killed by guns. Try to move around as much as possible
2. Don’t hardscope too much. Especially with Phantom around. You want to make sure that your surrounding are safe from time to time
3. If you can’t get an headshot it’s ok, just try to bodyshot so your teammates have an easier time finish them
4. Throw the sensor near the objective as much as possible so your team can get info on your opponent’s positions.
5. Last but not least try the rifles and pick the one you like the best. Stat wise the MOA is superior to the FEL, but i pick the latter because it feel right to me. Pick one and practice with it. Soon you’ll get better.

[ChinChill]

Thanks for the tips everyone c: I’ll definitely just give him a go and toss out the heartbeat sensor as much as I can!

@Kaori1 Oh I remember those from my TF2 days! I still check who’s on the team to see who I should go as; check for medics first, objective mercs and recon before going for either what I feel we need or who I feel like playing. Old habits die hard

[Witchy]

[quote=“cannyEdition;53534”]I’m not a super pro but i can give you a few tips.

1. Don’t stand still. If you do you’ll get headshotted by the counter snipe or easily killed by guns. Try to move around as much as possible
2. Don’t hardscope too much. Especially with Phantom around. You want to make sure that your surrounding are safe from time to time
3. If you can’t get an headshot it’s ok, just try to bodyshot so your teammates have an easier time finish them
4. Throw the sensor near the objective as much as possible so your team can get info on your opponent’s positions.
5. Last but not least try the rifles and pick the one you like the best. Stat wise the MOA is superior to the FEL, but i pick the latter because it feel right to me. Pick one and practice with it. Soon you’ll get better.[/quote]

I try to be a combat vas a lot where as i go in and quick-scope almost entire teams, While I don’t recommend it, it’s a decent more hardened way to learn to shot fast or get killed. All I can recommend is find niches in every map a comfy place you like, none of the conventional places, hide there till you find an good moment and go ham. While body shots are going to get you called a hacker less, head shots have due priority due to insta-gibb. But I also recommend not headshotting always because having everyone report you for hacking because you got one is relatively annoying.

[Monty1]

Might be bit late to chime in… But when trying to figure out Vasilli, if you can, try to play on the defensive side until you get the hang of things. If you are defending, it makes more sense to keep the distance. You are defending, so the merc makes sense even if you are bit rubbish with it.

The reason to avoid attacking side is that, Vasillis often end up camping in their own spawn while trying to pick off those one or two kills. It will not blow up the pump controls in Underground, it will not destroy the track controls in Trainyard, it will not help the EV move in Bridge and Chapel, nor will it really help destroy the wall in Terminal.

Thus, unless the Vasilli player is the best close range quickscoper there is, this merc will not contribute much towards objectives when attacking. It might be bit cruel, but more often than not, but for every Vasilli on the attacker’s side; they are short of one player.

Oh, and the added benefit of trying to learn the merc on the defensive, is that you will learn where the attackers will pop up. You will know where you yourself were ‘camping’ for shots. And hence it becomes easier for you to counter defenders’ own snipers, even when yourself need to rush onwards to their firing range.

[Ravenor]

I disagree that Vasilli is not worth picking on attack. A good Vasilli can easily take his weight in kills if his aim is good enough…with proper positioning its not hard to headshot key targets from angles they never expected.

Most Vasillis think that they can only snipe from behind their own team…try flanking along the sides…most maps support 2-3 paths to the objective…and its amazing how easy it is to headshot someone unaware of the sniper.