Sniper Elite 5 has finally launched, and developer Rebellion has outdone itself. Each of the World War 2 shooter’s levels are vast, intricate affairs that give players plenty of room to hone their Nazi-killing craft in whichever way suits them best.
- READ MORE: ‘Sniper Elite 5’ review: right on target
However, being dropped into France’s wide-open expanse can be daunting. When there’s nothing but a violent sandbox between you and your target, working out how to complete each level can be an intimidating affair, and it’s easy to worry about what you might miss. Luckily, we’ve spent plenty of time exploring Sniper Elite 5, and have picked out five crucial tips to getting the most out of your campaign – check them out here.
1. Keep an eye out for workbenches
When you’re deep in Axis-occupied territory, a work bench is your best friend – for two very good reasons. The most obvious one is that workbenches allow you to tinker with your loadout, modifying weapons until they suit your playstyle down to a tee. Whether you want to be kitted like a ninja or disregard stealth entirely and pack as much power into your SMG as possible, a workbench is where you get that done.
Not only do workbenches allow you to modify your guns, each one you find unlocks new mods to equip. This means that if you want to find the strongest possible mods for your guns – or you just want to unlock lots of them and have room to change things up – hunting down workbenches should be a priority. To find these workbenches, try to avoid beelining toward each level’s objectives – take some time to probe buildings and passages that look interesting, and it’s sure to turn up something good.
2. Have a bit of patience
Whether it’s the chance for a showy collateral kill or a one-in-a-million shot to blow up a truck-full of Nazis, Sniper Elite 5 certainly knows how to tempt players into action. But for the best chance of success in each level, don’t give away a solid position or your stealthy approach without thinking it through. Waiting for a couple of seconds before pulling the trigger doesn’t mean you’ll never get to take the shot, it just gives you a chance to evaluate if now is the best time to fire and helps to reveal any previously unforeseen dangers. Is that soldier alone, or does he have three friends coming back from a patrol around the corner? Is that tank really empty, or is there a full crew inside that’s going to make your life hell if you’re too loud?
Before risking a mistake that will make the rest of the level infinitely tougher to finish, take a moment to ensure you’re making the right call – and if everything’s alright? Fire away.
3. If you commit to going loud, double down
With all that said, there’s no harm in admitting that the sensible approach isn’t for everyone – at times, dropping stealth to go in guns-blazing can be exactly what you need to get the job done. Running headfirst into a pitched shootout comes with its own challenges, but there’s one important thing to keep in mind: if you do choose to go loud, there can be no half-measures. Leaving a Nazi alive to flee and raise the alarm will make the rest of the mission – whether you try to get stealthy again or not – more difficult, and trying to retreat from a fight half-won only invites a bullet in the back.
This is an easy tip to follow, because it’s incredibly fun to do the one thing that Sniper Elite 5 tries to advise against: loud, messy gunfights. If you’ve entered one by mistake or you’re indulging in a bit of chaos, just make sure to finish what you start – you’ll thank yourself later.
Traps are your best friend
One interesting aspect of Sniper Elite 5 is that there are many situations that, if they catch you by surprise, simply aren’t winnable. As tough as protagonist Karl Fairburne is, there’s no way around the fact that in a fair fight, a German tank will make short work of him.
But that’s fine because if you’re playing Sniper Elite 5 properly, there should be no such thing as a fair fight – and that’s where traps come in. A well-placed mine will transform a once-terrifying tank into an expensive hunk of scrap, while rigging a dead soldier’s body up with grenades will allow you to wipe out any nosy Nazis on your trail. Traps allow you to control the situation in a way that just relying on your guns doesn’t quite afford, and making full use of them rewards violent out-of-the-box thinking with satisfying solutions.
Hit and run tactics are the way to go
Certain moments in Sniper Elite 5 require taking on an intimidating amount of foes, and sometimes there’s just no avoiding that. When you’re up against the odds, it’s time to embrace good old hit and run strategies. Using stealth, kill as many soldiers as you can – and as soon as you feel a patrol may be onto you, pull back and let things cool down. For explosive ambushes, remember our tips on using traps and going loud – do as much damage as you can, and exfiltrate before reinforcements get there.
Getting in and out of a location as quickly as possible means you’ll avoid getting bogged down into unwinnable, messy fights – and even better, it’s incredibly satisfying to pull off a punchy assault where everything goes to plan.
These five tips aren’t all-encompassing because ultimately, it’s up to you to choose how to play Sniper Elite 5. One of the most impressive things about Rebellion’s latest shooter is each level’s sandbox setting, and player freedom is the highest it’s ever been in the series. Maybe you’ll take this tips to heart, or perhaps you’ll stick to your own brand of bloodshed. Whatever you decide – happy hunting!
Sniper Elite 5 is out now for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5.
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