Snipers aren’t overpowered in all games, but they definitely are in XDefiant

Snipers are always such a contentious issue in online shooters. Either the guns are too overpowered, paving the way for annoying campers, or they get nerfed and become completely useless. XDefiant is in a curious position – the snipers are definitely OP, but there also isn't room for any campers.

How are snipers overpowered in XDefiant?

The internet has been abuzz with commentators decrying how overpowered snipers are in XDefiant. They're no doubt talking about the TAC-50 sniper rifle, which I even highlighted in my Best loadouts for all meta weapons in XDefiant piece. But the base M44 sniper rifle is also a source of contention here, as it's proving to be a highly viable option until you unlock the TAC-50.

As is clearly seen in the above clip, the crux of the issue with snipers in XDefiant is how effective they are at virtually all ranges – especially short to mid-range. This is largely due to the game's long time-to-kill (TTK), which makes powerful one-shot weapons such as snipers way too powerful. Pair that together with a pretty quick aim-down sights (ADS) time and virtually no recoil and flinch, as well as pretty high mobility, and you'll see why snipers are being picked as worthwhile alternatives to assault rifles and, hell, – even shotguns.

Why is snipers being overpowered in XDefiant a bad thing?

Well, quite simply because this is a fast, arcadey arena-style shooter with pretty small maps and a focus on playing the objective in small, concentrated areas. There aren't even really many places to hunker down and snipe at a long distance in XDefiant. If this were the case, then sure – overpowered snipers would be a pain. But at least you could then build tactics to avoid sniper fire by hiding in cover, before flanking their position and flushing them out.

But if people are just running and gunning with a weapon that can one-shot kill you in 1-2 seconds, and this weapon isn't even a shotgun or SMG – then you know something is deeply wrong. If developer Ubisoft simply shortened the TTK in XDefiant and fixed its net code issues which lead to poor hit detection, players might actually have a chance at countering these overpowered snipers. Another route would simply be to nerf the snipers themselves by lowering their damage, reducing their mobility, increasing the ADS time, or adding enough recoil and sway that you're forced to slow down and take position somewhere on the map.

For what it's worth, I personally haven't encountered too many issues with OP snipers yet during my time with XDefiant, but I suspect it's only a matter of time before I do. The more people catch on to this trend and choose to exploit it, the more miserable my time with the game might become. Here's to hoping for a fix before that happens.

Curious to learn more about there being no SBMM in XDefiant? Then you should check out XDefiant doesn’t have skill-based matchmaking (kind of), and that’s what makes it great on Pro Game Guides.