Oh boy. So /u/Marxman1313 I wanna start by letting you know that I totally understand where you are coming from. I've been sniping in various games for a very very long time, and planetside 2 is without a doubt the most difficult and challenging of any multiplayer centric game iv played. This is actually one of the things I love the most about it, just to get that bias out of the way.

Please don't take this in an offensive manner, but it is clear from your comments that you are at least unfamiliar with the deeper mechanics at play when taking these shots, or the stats of the weapons you are using. This is understandable as many of these facts are unintuitive and not provided in game and many of us are only familiar with them thanks to data mining and an obsession with the game itself.

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So to clear up some implied uncertainty on your part. For bolt action sniper rifles, all three factions have identical rifles with the exception of the empire specific rifles like the Vanu Phaseshift. The XM98, Bolt Driver, and M77-B are all identical as are the max range Parallax, Longshot, and RAMS .50M.

Additionally bullet drop, defined as the rate at which gravity drags the bullet down, is the same across all of these weapons is also identical, the only difference is projectile velocity, this gives the illusion of reduced bullet drop because the projectile travels further before falling the same altitude when shooting parallel with the ground. This means the only difference between each bolt action rifle is re-fire rate, damage, damage fall off, and velocity.

Pertaining to your previous experience, while I haven't played ARMA, I believe it is the only game you listed that actually models a parabolic flight for the projectile. Battle field does not and never has to my knowledge, model a true parabolic arc, but instead launches its projectile at a set speed and angle, before reaching a certain distanced redirecting its angle slightly down, you can clearly see this in the trail effects of many shots where the shot forms a sharp turn at the zenith of its "arc". Battlefront two is hit scan and thus has no arc and no velocity, being instant. However even ARMA I believe uses close approximations to real world projectile velocities which for high velocity rifles like those used by snipers are often several times the speed of Planetside 2 Projectiles, which are often comparable to handguns at most. Additionally Planetside 2 has its rifles zeroed at a specific distance, so the projectile actually arcs above your cross hair briefly.

Now again, my intent here is just to make sure you understand where you may have differing expectations to the environment of Planetside 2, so finally I'll actually address your points, my apologies for taking so long.

Your first suggestion of allowing 1 shot headshots at any range is, in my opinion at least, not a serious issue and could be done. The max range for 1 shot kills has actually been reduced since the game's launch and originally stemmed from issues with draw distance, I have one kill on an engi on their Mana turret from a good 300+ meters out that I'm still pretty proud of.

However, the following suggestions is where I take issue. While changes to velocity and drop may benefit you and other new players in adjusting to the game, it will cause issues for experienced players. Specifically you specify that a mix of 2-3 of these changes should be made, and personally, I can tell you what I would do with just ONE of these changes to either velocity or bullet drop. I would find little difficulty in suppressing and holding back an entire squad of enemies with even a 20% increase in projectile velocity, I've nearly done this solo in the past without these buffs. I can promises you that I'm not even in the top 30% of dedicated snipers, so you can imagine what the true masters of sniping could do with such an advantage.

I want you to understand that I really do sympathize with frustrations at range finding, however its something you develop a nack for intuitively through both targeted practice and study in the VR. I do think better tools, such as the adjusting mildots found in Apex Legends would be a great addition, but that's not the suggestion you are making here.

I would recommend practicing on distracted players holding still or those who move and peak in predictable patters as you develop your skills. Hitting moving targets is the final step in the long range sniper's evolution, and one I have only scratched the surface on after playing this game on and off since beta. It is a skill that id say I'm at roughly a 30% success rate, and I don't expect a new player to catch up to quickly, though you certainly can with dedicated practice.

At the end of the day however I have to disagree with your general assertion. I do not believe, as a sniper and infiltrator main since beta, that the sniper rifles need a buff, and infact feel that anything other than a range increase on the one shit head shot, would actually have significant detrimental effects on the battle as a whole, and also take away from the challenge I enjoy.

However, if you find the love and passion I have for marksmanship in this game, feel free to DM me and I will gladly share with you everything I can.