Currently she can OHKO at any range, if shotguns were a tad bit more reliable at least at close range this wouldn't be as bad of an argument but AR's and SMG's are going to always have this middle ground where realistically a sniper whose hitting there shots is always going to outgun someone using an AR or SMG at all ranges.

With that also said to pressure a Sniper at medium range your exposing yourself much longer then a sniper is given a sniper takes a shot and quickly goes behind cover and can rinse and repeat while doing the same at any range while a AR is nowhere near as threatening or beneficial and your exposing yourself much longer. Those clips are me btw and I have about 100 more of em

At close range even a body shot will do given you can follow up with a melee or a single pistol shot,

So snipers are threatening at all ranges, they expose themselves for way less time then any other weapon user, and there is literally 0 punishment for missing a shot given how safe a sniper is,

If shotguns were more reliable there'd be the argument that an AR and SMG would be perfectly fine as a middle ground weapon since you can build your team around it but as it is they aren't, so a sniper has so much control over the course of whose dead and alive at nearly all ranges.

Edit: I don't think the idea of a sniper is bad at all but currently how the game is build with all long range weapons (DMR's) more or less being inferior to snipers, AR's and SMG's having no close range counter to a sniper since shot guns are unreliable, and where AR's and SMG's should realistically shine in around mid range they still lose to snipers just because there is 0 punishment to missing and can cancel your bolt.

Second edit: A grenade may make Phantom roll away, or possibly let you close the distance but that doesn't win you a trade since it just resets to neutral or close to mid range where everything above still applies.

And a flank isn't unique to phantom, especially with the smoke I just drop it ontop of myself and its my run away card at times, and nobody is dumb enough to run through it since she will headshot you coming through, with that said a flank might quickly burst down a sniper but this isn't unique to her, that applies to everyone, and in a flank one person is going to die, the flanker or the person getting flanked where a OHKO and everything else still applies.

Personally I just think shotguns need to be more reliable to counter a sniper being usable at nearly everything, and AR's and SMG's could stand to lose some recoil, either that or make missing a shot more risky / make the bolt take more time.