Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will cut down on "quick-scoping"

I'm not a fan of "quick-scoping," the practice of quickly looking through the scope of a sniper rifle, snapping off a shot, and then immediately switching back to a normal view. I'll admit that my dislike stems at least in part from my inability to do it with any degree of success, but I've also always been put off by the way hopping around while shooting an enormous rifle from the hip looks so utterly anti-sniper, too.

But while it's common in many online shooters, including previous Call of Duty releases, Sledgehammer co-founder Michael Condrey says the studio is taking steps to reduce the tactic in Advanced Warfare. Sledgehammer's focus for multiplayer is ensuring that skill, not an "overpowered create-a-class," will determine the outcome of online battles, so that someone who's perfected playing as a sniper will be on equal footing with other players who have developed comparable skills with assault rifles or shotguns.

"Sniper classes are not going to be overpowered relative to their peers. The ability to master a sniper rifle and be great at it will be equal to the ability to master any other class," he told New Zealand's 3 News. "We've done some things to make sure snipers are not able to take advantage of their properties—for example, there are attachments based on weapon classes that are specific. The ability to quick-draw with an assault rifle is important, but you don't want to have the ability to quick-draw with a sniper rifle because that lends itself to being a faster, quick-scope model."

The addition of exoskeletons will also be a balancing factor. "I'm sure people will get really proficient with snipers, but you've got more ways to move and can move faster than ever before," Condrey said. "Catching a person in the air with a sniper rifle, I think that will be very challenging, but very satisfying."

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare comes out on November 4.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.