Marksmanship can be a very rewarding role to play, and it can be pivotal to your success as a team, but you need to play it right, in this guide, we will be discussing the many different strategies you can use to improve your skills.

Before we talk about all the do's of playing marksman, we need to talk about what not to do. And trust me, marksman can be a pretty easy role to get wrong.

1. First, don't be a rogue Rambo type. Going after rallies is one thing, but, communicate and try to support your squad. You are useless if you go out by yourself, and find nobody, and end up doing nothing for the entire game.
2. Don't be the guy who just goes off to try and find kills, while, yes, you are being somewhat useful, however you could be so much more useful if you stick with your men and provide over watch for them, or recon for them. One of your main jobs is to look out from longer ranges and engage the enemy, or at least call them out to your SL.
3. Speaking of Recon, don't make crappy callouts. Saying something like "Oh, uh, enemy there!" Or even "Right there!" anything along those lines, they won't do anyone any good. It is best to make a call like this "Squad lead, this is marksman, I have enemies 200 meters to my direct South West." This will first of all tell the squad leader who he's talking to, he can find where you are on the map and mark accordingly. An even better thing to do is to give the squad leader a Grid Ref.
4. Finally, don't chose obvious positions, that church tower might be appealing, but, if you chose an obvious spot, you are going to get suppressed and shot the heck out of.

Now, this can highly depend on the map you're playing, and how your squad leader is playing. Lets say we're on Defense, and out squad leader is having his squad go out to find enemies FOBs and rallies. You can do really 1 of 2 things. You can either hang back, and give your squad leader callouts, and shoot at guys that are farther away. However, what I find to be more effective for me personally, is to get up close with them, not too close, but, close in a concealed position, just popping them as they come. This works great on maps like Colmar, Carentan, or Eglise. However, the former can also be a good option to use as well. Maps that would be good for staying back and sniping would be maps like Foy, or really maps that have wide open spaces. It really also depends on how YOU play, and your specific play style. It takes a lot of initiative to do this, as squad leads are gonna be more focused on other members of the squad generally.

Now, there are a few ways to find a range to your target. First is by just.. firing your rifle. As a marksman, you have tracer rounds, and will be able to see how your round flies through the air and hits the ground much better, you can walk your rounds onto your target that way. After some experience you can also just eyeball it. Another way to range is by using your map. You can look at landmarks the enemy is near, and use the squares on the map to get an estimated range. (Check map legend for ranges). Generally, unless your realllly good, I wouldn't engage beyond 300-400 meters. Your weapon will become inaccurate, and you may find it more challenging to hit your shots. A good distance would be 200-300 meters(in my experience).

Sometimes, it's better to just sit there and be quiet. Marksman requires some patience. Lets use an example real quick, lets say you are on the attacking team, you are sitting behind enemy lines, on a different vector than where most of your team is attacking, and you see a group of defenders running to the point. Now, there are some things to take into account here, first of all, is your shot good? Second of all, is your concealment good? Third of all, can you get out of there if things get too hot? These are all questions you need to ask yourself. Because once you ring out that first shot, the enemy is most likely going to know the vector you're on, and are going to start returning fire. If your first shot doesn't land good, then the enemy knows where you are, and will start to suppress the area you are in. The best thing to do is to go after guys with things like machine guns first, then you can handle the rest. Radiomen and Squad leads also pose a pretty good threat, because they have Binos, and can spot you. Another thing to note is you ought to report this to your squad leader. Especially because if this is happening there is probably a rally or FOB nearby.

As mentioned in some previous sections of the guide, your job is also to be a recon guy for your squad. Going behind enemy lines, hunting fobs, and calling out enemies from a concealed location are all things you have to be ready to do. Your callouts need to be short, quick, and have all the information you need. I have a problem myself where I stutter a bit over comms, and get overwhelmed. You need to remain calm, so that way the squad leader can understand, and take in all the information you provide. Squad 44 is a very intense game at times, people are going to be talking on the radio and giving people information. It's important to try not to talk over people, and to keep your talking over the radio short.

Some things that I think really should be stressed for newer marksman, are first of all, don't overwhelm yourself, and don't overextend. You are useless if you die and have to wait 45 seconds to respawn. Another thing, is try and stick closer to your squad, and let them know "Hey, I'm new to this role, I may need additional instruction." Confidence is key, and that will come with experience. If you have the positioning but can't shoot very well, then, go to the range and practice. If the opposite is true, then, get in game and ask your teammates for help on where to go and where the enemy is. Marksman is an easy role to play, but a hard role to master.

In conclusion, Marksman is a role that is hard to master, and it does take some experience to operate the role effectively. You need to have good map knowledge, good communication skills, and you need to be a decent shot. It is also one of the harder roles for people to obtain due to only 2 people being able to possess it on each team. Remember to be aggressive, communicate, and have fun.


P.S This is my first ever guide, ever, sorry there isn't visuals, I am just better at explaining things with my words.