Assassin's briefcase sniper rifle as a replacement for the removed compact sniper rifle

[Stokes52]

The Assassin's Sniper Rifle

I would like to propose a new item to replace the removed Compact Sniper Rifle. The new item is a briefcase with a disassembled sniper rifle that can be assembled into a deadly ranged weapon. It's major strength is the ability to zoom, with its major drawbacks being its bulky size, low ammo capacity, and slow fire rate.

Sprites will be worked on pending approval, but probably something inspired by this:

Item Summary

Assassin's sniper rifle

• 60 brute, like the 357 (less than the regular sniper rifle).
• Starts disassembled as two small parts in a briefcase (receiver and barrel)
• Assembled into a rifle by combining the pieces
• Bulky when assembled, too big to fit in a backpack
• Can be disassembled again with a screwdriver. Any remaining ammo is dropped on the floor
• Bolt action, slow fire rate (activate once to cycle bolt open, again to close the bolt)
• Requires both hands to fire
• Internal five round magazine, bullets loaded one by one
• Scoped with zoom function
• Can attach a suppressor (sold separately!)
• Individual bullets are craftable from a hacked autolathe
• Perhaps an ammo speedloader available on the uplink (2-3 TC)?

Purchasing the item in the uplink:

Uplink Item: Assassin's Sniper Rifle Kit (13 TC)
Purchasing this kit comes with a secure briefcase filled with:

• Sniper rifle receiver
• Sniper rifle barrel
• Ammo box (10x bullets)
• Screwdriver

Why It’s Good for the Game:

The compact sniper rifle was removed because it had a hard stun, did not serve any interesting niche, and was essentially noob bait. Too expensive for what it did compared to other weapons and didn't even zoom despite being a “sniper” rifle. There was really no reason to choose it other than the hard stun, which was horribly for gameplay.

The assassin's sniper rifle, on the other hand, offers a unique weapon choice that is similar to the 357 in power, but with significantly different role. The rifle offers an iconic movie-style “sniper rifle assassin” gameplay fantasy, with the associated briefcase and parts assembly. Finding your perfect sniper perch, assembling the weapon, taking the shot, and leaving the scene is flavorful and engaging gameplay for traitors who want to approach assassination in a different way.

The sniper also offers an interesting gameplay for those fighting the antagonist. A shooter on the loose is a compelling and fearful scenario for the station. The nature of the weapon adds anxiety and the potential for interesting storytelling once the presence of a sniper has been revealed (they could be off screen aiming at me right now!). The rogue sniper is such a classic trope that deserves a place among the other varieties of antagonist currently available.

Price and comparison with other weapons:

I proposed 13 TC as the initial price, to match the revolver, but there is an argument to be made that the sniper rifle might be too weak at this price. The bulky size, lower fire rate, lower magazine size, and lower reload speed are significant nerfs. It's possible this weapon should be closer to 10-12 TC, when compared to things like the revolver and Ebow. I would appreciate other people's thoughts on this.

Weapon	TC Price	Damage	Fire Rate	Ammo	Range	Size	Reload Speed	Quiet?
Sniper	13	60 brute	slow	5 + 5	long	bulky	slow	w/ suppressor
Revolver	13	60 brute	fast	7 + 7*	medium	small	fast: speed loader	no
Ebow	12	15 toxin	medium	unlimited	medium	small	slow regen	yes
Stechkin	4	30 brute	fast	8	medium	small	fast: magazine	w/ suppressor

*if #19553 is approved, 357 will have an extra speedloader

Additional thoughts/ideas

If the general idea is approved, other ammo types could be considered as additional uplink items. For example:

• Non-lethal sleepy drug rounds, that sleep the target after a delay
• Penetrator rounds that can pass through objects
• Incendiary ammo, that does less damage but sets people on fire
• Silencing rounds, that deal less damage but have some kind of mute voice effect

The weapon could also be a good candidate for a syndicate bundle item alongside other items to really sell the "sniper assassin" theme.

Please share your thoughts, concerns, balance suggestions, etc. I really appreciate it.