Sniper rifle

The sniper rifle is a slightly heavier, single-shot firearm in RimWorld which deals a high amount of damage per shot; a long time between shots; very long range and high overall accuracy.

Acquisition

Sniper rifles can be crafted at a Machining table once the Precision rifling research project has been completed. They require 60 Steel, 8 Components, 45,000 ticks (12.5 mins) of work, and a Crafting skill of 7.

Sniper rifles can also be purchased from outlander and orbital combat suppliers or from outlander faction bases, or recovered from raiders:

Raider Kind	Chance	Average Quality	Health
Mercenary Sniper	99.89%	Normal	70-320%

Analysis

Sniper rifles have the longest range of all weapons, along with excellent long-distance accuracy. With high per-shot damage, they have a propensity to destroy limbs. Therefore, they are a poor choice if you intend to take prisoners after a raid.

While per-shot damage is high, snipers have a sluggish firerate. Their actual DPS is among the worst of firearms, just on par with the neolithic greatbow. Thus, snipers are a poor "general" weapon. If range is important, though, then snipers are a strong choice. They can be used to provoke sieges, kite centipedes, or be one of the safest weapons to hunt with. Due to poor DPS and slow firerate, it is a tedious weapon to kite with and should generally be avoided unless you really need the range.

As a shooter's personal accuracy is reduced for each tile of distance, sniper rifles are one of the most skill-heavy weapons in the game. For example, a shooter with a Shooting Accuracy of 95% (Shooting 6) would have a 0.95^30 chance, or only ~21%, to hit a target from 30 tiles. This is regardless of weapon - weapons apply another penalty after shooter-side accuracy. In contrast, a shooter with Shooting Accuracy 99% (Shooting 20) would have a ~74% shooter-side chance to hit, a DPS increase of +252%. If using a sniper for long-range combat, then have your highest skill shooters wield it.

Compared to the bolt-action rifle, the sniper rifle has worse firerate, DPS, and close-range accuracy in exchange for higher range, extra per-shot damage, and improved long-distance accuracy. The sniper rifle is more expensive, has a larger research requirement, and isn't common from raiders (barring sniper-only mercenary raids).

Stats

The sniper rifle can kill from 2 shots to the torso, or 1 shot to the head, brain, or any vital organ.

On average, the sniper rifle is best paired with a careful shooter up to level 14, then with a trigger-happy shooter beyond that point.

Attack table

Ranged

Sniper rifle			Accuracy (Touch)	Accuracy (Short)	Accuracy (Medium)	Accuracy (Long)	DPS (Optimal)	DPS (Touch)	DPS (Short)	DPS (Medium)	DPS (Long)	Market value
Quality	Dam.	AP	Accuracy (Touch)	Accuracy (Short)	Accuracy (Medium)	Accuracy (Long)	DPS (Optimal)	DPS (Touch)	DPS (Short)	DPS (Medium)	DPS (Long)	Market value
Awful	22.5	34.2%	40%	56%	68.8%	70.4%	3.88	1.55	2.17	2.68	2.72	265
Poor	25	38%	45%	63%	77.4%	79.2%	4.31	1.94	2.72	3.32	3.4	395
Normal	25	38%	50%	70%	86%	88%	4.31	2.16	3.02	3.71	3.79	530
Good	25	38%	55%	77%	94.6%	96.8%	4.31	2.37	3.32	4.09	4.18	660
Excellent	25	38%	60%	84%	100%	100%	4.31	2.59	3.62	4.31	4.31	795
Masterwork	31.25	47.5%	67.5%	94.5%	100%	100%	5.39	3.66	5.12	5.39	5.39	1325
Legendary	37.5	57%	75%	100%	100%	100%	6.47	4.85	6.47	6.47	6.47	2650

^{For the full effects of qualities, see Quality. Values shown in Red indicate the weapon is out of range at the reference point for this range band.
The value is provided due to the interpolated nature of accuracy between range points.}

Melee

Feature	Toggle
Attacks

Sniper rifle			Stock (Blunt)					Barrel (Blunt)					Barrel (Poke)					Human: Left & right fist (Blunt)					HP	Value
Quality	DPS^[1]	AP^[1]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	Dam.	Cool.	AP	DPS	Chance^[2]	HP	Value
Awful	3.98	11.6%	7.2	2s	10.4%	3.6	8.33%	7.2	2s	10.4%	3.6	8.33%	7.2	2s	10.4%	3.6	8.33%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 37.5%	100	265
Poor	4.07	11.82%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	20%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	20%	8.1	2s	11.7%	4.05	20%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 20%	100	395
Normal	4.4	12.75%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	9	2s	13%	4.5	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	530
Good	4.74	13.73%	9.9	2s	14.3%	4.95	25%	9.9	2s	14.3%	4.95	25%	9.9	2s	14.3%	4.95	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	660
Excellent	5.08	14.7%	10.8	2s	15.6%	5.4	25%	10.8	2s	15.6%	5.4	25%	10.8	2s	15.6%	5.4	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	795
Masterwork	5.92	17.14%	13.05	2s	18.85%	6.53	25%	13.05	2s	18.85%	6.53	25%	13.05	2s	18.85%	6.53	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	1325
Legendary	6.59	19.09%	14.85	2s	21.45%	7.43	25%	14.85	2s	21.45%	7.43	25%	14.85	2s	21.45%	7.43	25%	8.2	2s	12%	4.1	2× 12.5%	100	2650

^{For the full effects of qualities, see Quality.}

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Note: This is the actual base average derived from the melee verb system updated in 1.1.2610, it may sometimes disagree with the listed value in the in-game infobox.
It may also change depending on the stats and the melee verbs available to the wielder if the weapon is wielded by some other than a baseline human.
↑ Chance for attack to be selected, assuming the weapon is wielded by a baseline human. It may change depending on the melee verbs available to the wielder

Version history

Aproximately A9 - Name changed from M-24 to Sniper Rifle, sprite changed.
Beta 19 - received a great reduction in damage dealt, but fires slightly faster; overall, its DPS was massively nerfed.
Beta 19/1.0 - Barrel melee attack damage reduced 10 -> 9, cooldown increased from 1.9s -> 2s. Stock cooldown increased from 1.8 -> 2.