Each team has one automatic sniper-rifle.
The CTs have the SCAR 20 and the Terrorists
have the G3SG1. They both cost the same and
have the same magazine and spare ammo quantities.
But what are the differences between them?
Simple! Let's compare these stats. Oh. Well
that's useful. Let's delve into them in more
depth.
This is a very special spot. That far wall
is 8,192 units away, which is the cut-off
for the longest range weapons in CS:GO. This
means that if I fire HERE, there will be no
mark. Step forward just a tiny bit and BOOM,
hole in the wall. All snipers and rifles have
a range of 8,192, all pistols 4,096, SMGs
slightly less again and shotguns the least.
I can't think of any competitive level where
you'll have to fire more than about 4,000
units but on surf maps and other FAKE levels,
autosnipers have both the range and the spamminess
to defeat distant enemies. But they're both
equal in this regard.
Let's compare accuracy. Firing 80 shots, each
1 second apart at a distance of 4,096 units,
this was the result for both the G3SG1 and
the Scar20. The accuracy according to the
game's internal workings says that they should
both be the same. But this was with just the
first level of scope zoom. Perhaps two will
improve it!
No, seems to make no difference. What about
crouching down?
Crouching does make a difference- quite a
considerable one, in fact. If you're scoping
long distances with the autosniper, you might
as well crouch, completing the transformation
into a noob, but at the same time also giving
you an advantage. Who'd have thought it.
And finally, noscope. The lack of a crosshair
is the main reason why I don't consider these
to be comparable to the likes of the M4A1
and AK47, but once you see the inaccuracy
at 2,000 units you'll see why they're impractical
in this mode. Even if you painted a crosshair
onto the screen, it wouldn't mean much and
would more than likely miss the target. It
appears that noscopes are more about luck
than skill. I fired every bullet available
to these guns into the wall, and take it from
me- you won't run out of ammo with these weapons.
A surprisingly large number of bullets from
both weapons went to the exact same places
and left the exact same decals but I can assure
you that it's just coincidence. Neither weapon
seems to outshine the other in this test.
You could argue for either weapon here but
the stats behind the scenes say that they're
the same.
One area that is different is the Flinch Velocity.
This is how much enemies will slow down when
shot. But how to test this? Who would be willing
to be REPEATEDLY SHOT?! Fortunately Comacchio
the sky-diver, fly-eater, mountain-streaker,
barrel-diver and pizza wearer was online and
was more than up for the challenge.
The G3SG1 first.
And now for the SCAR-20.
In Comacchio's words:
'Yeah that slows me down wayyyyy more'.
Here are the figures on-screen. Although I
tested with the legs, it appears that a body
shot will slow them down EVEN MORE! The CT's
SCAR-20 is better at this, which I guess complements
the CT's more defensive play-style. However,
if you're shooting them then you'll be wanting
to do more than just to slow them down. It
does mean that if you only shoot them once,
they'll behave more like sitting ducks after
the first shot which will allow for you- and
other people- to deliver additional blows.
This makes the SCAR-20 a devastating weapon
in FAKE gamemodes like zombiemode, where it's
more about slowing the enemy down than anything
else.
Which nicely brings us onto damage, which
is identical.
The rule is that it takes 2 hits to kill an
enemy with either weapon, unless it's a headshot
which is insta-kill. I tested this at both
long and close-range and it holds true.
When it comes to the pattern, the G3SG1 is
slightly more precise. This only applies when
in full-auto mode and the difference is slight
as you can see in these comparisons.
When spraying, the G3SG1 has an inaccuracy
rating of 30 instead of the SCAR-20's 31.
In practice however, this is hard to show-
the patterns simply look different. These
are done without spread so the pattern is
easier to see. The G3SG1's bullets gradually
trail up and to the right, while the SCAR-20
shoots up and then dances about for a bit.
Once you've mastered the pattern the difference
should be negligible.
Although it doesn't look as though scoping
offers any advantage, once I include the random
spread as well you can see that it really
does. This is how it will perform in-game,
but it's worth remembering that the bullets
will not shoot up further if you spray without
the scope- in fact, the opposite almost appears
to be the case.
Whilst we're onto the topic of accuracy, it's
worth noting that you won't be accurate the
moment you scope. If you fire immediately,
your accuracy will be poor. Wait a second
and it will be perfect. Somewhere in the middle...
results somewhere in the middle. Conclusion:
it's best to be scoped in before the enemy
appears on-screen, or to resist the urge to
fire immediately. It will pay off.
The ONLY OTHER difference that I know of between
these two weapons is the reload time. The
SCAR-20 takes just 3.11 seconds, faster than
any other sniper and less than even some rifles
and SMGs. The G3SG1, on the other hand, takes
4.65 seconds, which is only faster than the
heavy machine-guns! You can see the difference
in the reload animation. The Terrorist seems
to take reloading at a very leisurely pace.
This in my opinion is the largest difference
between the weapons, but you still have to
remember that you get 20 shots before you
have to reload. This may make a difference
in deathmatch mode more than it does in standard
play.
Both can fire underwater despite the wiki
implying otherwise.
You have the same running speed with both
weapons, limiting you to 150 units a second
or 215 units when unscoped, which is the same
as wielding an AK47 and faster than the AWP.
In conclusion, there are minor differences
between the weapons but they are bought so
infrequently that you'll rarely be in a situation
where you can pick between them. They are
similar or identical in all of the important
areas, so the only real determiner for which
one you should get is which team you'll be
on. But if I had to choose, I'd pick the SCAR-20
which, although slightly more inaccurate when
spraying, slows enemies down with leg shots
and takes less time to reload. Its sound is
less unique which may not alert enemies to
the weapon as much as the Terrorist's G3SG1.
The autosniper in general is a defensive weapon,
meaning that it favours CT in defuse mode
and T-side in hostage rescue scenarios. It
is great at mowing down large numbers of enemies
and it's probably because of that that it's
considered a 'noob weapon'. Don't listen to
the haters! It has a place in CS:GO and its
high cost restricts its usage in most situations.
Once again, a special thanks to Slothsquadron
and Black Retina for the excellent weapon
stats spreadsheet which you can view yourself
in the description of this video. In addition
to this, Slothsquadron has reviewed this video
in great depth and has found so many flaws
in my initial findings that I'm not sure whether
to punch or to kiss him. Perhaps both! Have
fun.
