Tarkov How To Level Sniper Skill - Games Finder (2024)

Last Updated on January 23, 2024 by Samuel Franklin

Mastering how to level up the sniper skill in Tarkov is critical to completing several key tasks in your PMC quest progression. The sniper skill in Escape From Tarkov is the most demanding on players in terms of the levelling process due the high level required that makes it a common bottleneck to advancing. If you’ve noticed popular streamers and content creators using sniper rifles in their early raids it is likely they are using some of the sniper skill levelling methods described below which maximise your experience gained per raid.

Table of Contents:
– How to Level up Sniper Skill
– What Is Sniper Skill Needed For? (Quests)
– Benefits Of Sniper Skill Levels

Unlike physical and practical skills in Tarkov combat skills have no method to boost experience gained. However, it is still important to understand the skill exhaustion mechanic which limits the amount of progression you can gain per raid.

How to Level up Sniper Skill

Earning skill points in sniper skill requires players using bolt action rifles and performing the following actions:

• Hitting enemies
• Reloading or unloading the chamber
• Completing specific quests (A Shooter Born in Heaven: +5 levels, Mentor: +3 levels, The Tarkov Shooter – Part 8: +3 levels and Psycho Sniper: +3 levels)

With this in mind there are a number of sniper skill levelling guides that suggest taking a Mosin and finding a quiet corner of Shoreline or Woods to reload the weapon constantly with the cheapest available ammunition (usually T-46M). This works because every time you reload the Mosin it releases a bullet from the chamber allowing you to reload endlessly with as much ammo as you can carry. While this does work it can be a boring gameplay process to use and is an unconventional skill cheese that is not an intended part of the game so is viewed negatively by the community and also does nothing for your broader PMC account progression.

For the best way to level sniper skills in Tarkov I recommend players bring their preferred bolt action rifle into a low PvP loot focused raid (such as a night time raid). By visiting the Scav hot spots and shooting them in the arms or legs several times players can maximise experience as each hit is giving weapon experience points. If you can afford to bring lots of ammunition you can also reload the Mosin rapidly as you sprint across the map and leave a trail of bullets behind you. This results in an active levelling method that is enjoyable and also provides significant PMC experience and loot for Roubles to progress your account at the same time although there is higher risk of running into other players with this approach.

As noted above you can also acquire a large number of sniper levels from specific quests and given each subsequent level of the sniper rifle skill requires more experience points these quests should be handed into traders later. The most effective time to hand in these quests is when the levels provided will allow you to reach your target sniper level threshold that is required for a quest.

What Is Sniper Skill Needed For? (Quests)

Sniper skills in Tarkov are used for the following:

• Level 7 for Wet Job Part 6 (Peacekeeper)
• Level 10 for the quest Psycho Sniper (Mechanic)
• Level 10 for the quest Make An Impression (Lightkeeper)

This makes sniper level acquisition critical for those seeking to complete all quests for The Collector quest. Given these tasks are mostly at the end of the Tarkov quest tree players that diligently acquire levels as they progress can avoid hunting for the fastest way to level sniper rifles at short notice. With consistent use of sniper rifle levelling tips here players can balance these with their normal Tarkov raids and prevents players having to run dozens of back to back raids with a weapon that might not be their favourite.

Benefits Of Sniper Skill Levels

The sniper skill provides benefits that are similar to other weapon combat skills that only apply when using that weapon type:

• Reduces weapon recoil
• Increases reload speed
• Increases weapon switching speed
• Doubles weapon mastering gain (Elite)
• Steady aim for first 3 seconds with any stamina value (Elite)

In EFT sniper weapons are classed as any of the bolt action rifle weapons available. This list includes popular weapons like the DVL-10, M700, Mosin variants and SV-98 amongst others. Note that there is currently no unique Tarkov sniper rifle ammo with the ammunition for these guns also used by other weapon classes like designated marksman rifles (DMR) so it is solely based on the weapon equipped for the skill benefits and not the ammo type.

This means that the majority of the buffs provided by this skill are actually quite useless with the sole purpose of levelling the sniper rifles skill for quest progression only.

Reducing weapon recoil for example is not noticeable on bolt action rifles as the time between shots means there is no effective recoil and reload speed with these weapons is rarely a contributing factor to your survival. Weapon switching speed is slightly more useful though allowing you to pull out your long ranged rifle quickly for a long range shot if you are using a secondary weapon like a pistol although is hardly a game breaking benefit and elite level benefits are not practical to obtain currently for weapon combat skills.

If you want to learn more about levelling skills in Tarkov visit our other guides on endurance, strength, vitality, search, attention, health, metabolismand stress resistance.