Battlefield V Best Sniper Rifle: All BF5 Sniper Rifles Ranked

Updated:

03 May 2020

Snipers may wear diapers, but they get all the kills.

Besides gathering critical intel and calling out enemy positions, a Recon’s most crucial battlefield role is supporting their team by picking off targets from a safe distance. This can include counter-sniping operations, overwatch security, or dealing with a pesky machine-gun nest that’s halting an assault. Below are sniper-rifles* ranked in order by their effectiveness, and by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll be able to separate the wheat from the chaff when deciding your next Recon loadout.

*Note: This list only includes “pure” sniper-rifles, meaning weapons must be dedicated anti-personnel bolt-action rifles designed explicitly for long-to-medium range combat. They must be able to achieve one-hit-kill headshots at any range even when enemies are at full health and must give-off a scope-glint when using optics. Anti-material rifles are not included due to their anti-vehicle purpose as well as carbines and semi-automatic rifles for their inability to fulfill the requirements listed above.

1. Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1

She's not an especially fancy rifle, but she gets the job done.

One of the very first weapons a player can get their hands on, there isn’t a single Recon who isn’t familiar with the Lee-Enfield. It’s meant for aggressive players and to be tuned perfectly for aggressive, medium-range combat - the perfect tool for players who want to play the objective but still maintain a distance.

Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 Advantages
● The best-in-class cycling rate of the bolt - follow-up shots are incredibly quick gives the rifle the fastest rate-of-fire out of all the bolt-action rifles.
● Its 10-round magazine gives it double the capacity than most other bolt-actions, which cuts down on how often you’ll have to pull out of a fight to rearm.
● A reliable two-shot kill from any distance; it has the potential to boost the fire-rate even more while cutting down on the long reloads common to bolt-action rifles.

Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 Disadvantages
● Despite having a high rate-of-fire for a bolt-action rifle, the Lee-Enfield has very little hope of contending with anything that can shoot even slightly faster.
● The reloads, although less frequent due to a higher magazine-capacity, are still horrendously slow and are when you get caught off-guard the most.
● On top of the slow reloads, equipping any scope will block the receiver. This means that no stripper-clips can enter, and all rounds will have to be loaded one-by-one

Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 Details
● Unlocked at: Rank 1
● Fire Mode: Bolt-Action
● Rate-of-Fire: 71 rpm
● Max Damage: 65
● Bullet-Velocity: 600 m/s
● Partial Reload: 3-7.5 seconds
● Empty Reload:3-7.5 seconds

Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 Rating: 92/100

2. Kar98k

Now here's a pretty rifle - the Kar98k is a marvel of German engineering.

A true sniper-rifle through-and-through. The Kar98k is the camper’s best friend, and for a good reason. It’s perfectly suited to long-range gameplay and is a deadly tool so long as it’s in capable hands.

Kar98k Advantages
● Tied for first in terms of bullet-velocity, this makes shooting targets at range very simple - even if they’re moving.
● A very high base-damage makes it very common to get unexpected one-shot kills even when only aiming for center-mass.
● The potential bipod upgrade is perfect for long-range players who like to wait for the perfect shot.

Kar98k Disadvantages
● A dismal rate-of-fire makes follow-up shots incredibly difficult.
● The low fire-rate, coupled with only a five-round magazine, makes missed shots very punishing.
● Equipping a scope will block the receiver, therefore preventing the use of stripper-clips and increasing reload times.

Kar98k Details
● Unlocked at: Recon Rank 20
● Fire Mode: Bolt-Action
● Rate-of-Fire: 49 rpm
● Max Damage: 75
● Bullet-Velocity: 900 m/s
● Partial Reload: 1.73-3.77 seconds
● Empty Reload: 1.73-3.77 seconds

Weapon Name Rating: 90 /100

3. Gewehr M95/30

The wood furniture is already perfect, gold in-lays are for metal ONLY.

One of the most reliable sniper rifles revert to find itself in the hands of Recon players, the Gewehr M95/30 allows players to consistently throw lead down-range and get back in the fight quicker than most bolt-actions.

Gewehr M95/30 Advantages
● The most reliable and consistent reload out of all the bolt-action rifles - a full-stripper clip is used every time, therefore, eliminating the “one-by-one” method common to most bolt-actions.
● Scopes do not block the receiver, therefore, allowing stripper-clips to used constantly, unlike most bolt-actions.
● It remains excellent at the medium-to-long-range and can even hold its own in closer distances when using iron sights.

Gewehr M95/30 Disadvantages
● Compared to other sniper-rifles, the bullet-velocity is middling at best - super long-range targets are better served by rifles such as the Kar98k.
● With no option for a bipod, scope-sway can interfere with target acquisition, especially at longer ranges.
● There aren’t as many Specializations to improve accuracy, which is a detriment when even the slightest hit to precision can mean the difference between killing and being killed.

Gewehr M95/30 Details
● Unlocked at: Recon Rank 6
● Fire Mode: Bolt-Action
● Rate-of-Fire: 58 rpm
● Max Damage: 80
● Bullet-Velocity: 750 m/s
● Partial Reload: 3.2 seconds
● Empty Reload: 3.2 seconds

Gewehr M95/30 Rating: 89/100

4. Ross Rifle Mk III

Tactical rags... check. Tactical pouches... check. Tactical blue-tigerstripe custom paint job... check.

While not dishing tons of damage at once, the Ross Rifle Mk III is still serviceable and not bod by any means. However, just like the Krag-Jorgensen, everything the Ross can do another rifle can do better. This is a weapon for an aggressive Recon who thinks using the Lee-Enfield or Gewerh M95/30 is just a bit too easy.

Ross Rifle Mk III Advantages
● A higher cycling-rate for the bolt gives the Ross ample opportunity to make quick follow-up shots to easily finish off wounded targets.
● A decent reload speed allows the user to get back into the fight quickly.
● It can down targets in two-hits every time across the board and should be more than enough for at least two soldiers, given you only miss once.

Ross Rifle Mk III Disadvantages
● The damage is low all compared to other weapons in its class; this means that wounded targets might survive a direct shot center-mass if they’ve had enough time to heal.
● The Bullet-Velocity is mediocre as well - not the worst, but there are several better options if you want to engage something at a longer distance.
● The five-round capacity makes reloading frequent - scopes will exacerbate this by blocking the receiver and forcing you to reload one-by-one.

Ross Rifle Mk III Details
● Unlocked for: 1,700 Company Coins
● Fire Mode: Bolt-Action
● Rate-of-Fire: 64 rpm
● Max Damage: 65
● Bullet-Velocity: 750 m/s
● Partial Reload: 2.6-4.4 seconds
● Empty Reload: 3.67 seconds

Weapon Name Rating: 85/100

5. Type 99 Arisaka

A British soldier holds a Japanese-made Arisaka rifle - a common sight on the other side of the world in the fields of southern France in 1940.

A recent entry on our list, the Type 99 Arisaka, has only been available a few months now. Still, it has quickly established itself among the ranks of the middle-of-the-bunch sniper-rifles available to the recon class. It remains as one of the most balanced of the bolt-actions that allow Recons a lot of versatility on the field.

Type 99 Arisaka Advantages
● The main advantage is the ability to use stripper-clips while having a scoped equipped, making empty reloads almost preferable to saving those extra one or two rounds.
● It is tied for first in terms of raw damage among the bolt-action rifles, making it very easy to pick off injured targets before they can escape.
● The ability to specialize for faster, more aggressive play makes it usable for objective play so long as you can control your engagement distances.

Type 99 Arisaka Disadvantages
● Like all sniper rifles, close-quarter-combat is an almost guaranteed death sentence and should be avoided if possible
● It is outclassed by other rifles over long-range and can seem lack-luster for those who like to do extreme-long-range sniping.
● The rate-of-fire is nothing to write home about without specializations, and even then, it gets outclassed by rifles such as the Lee-Enfield.

Type 99 Arisaka Details
● Unlocked at: Recon Rank 1
● Fire Mode: Bolt-Action
● Rate-of-Fire: 58 rpm
● Max Damage: 80
● Bullet-Velocity: 750 m/s
● Partial Reload: 3.46-4.96 seconds
● Empty Reload: 3.67 seconds

Type 99 Arisaka Rating: 81/100

6. Krag-Jorgensen

This rifle is sooooo lucky to even be considered on this list.

A unique rifle in that it’s not bad per se, more so that there are just many better options as fire as sniper-rifles go. It serves its purpose as a long-range weapon well, it’s just that there isn’t much of a reason to use it outside of maintaining a little variety.

Krag-Jorgensen Advantages
● Zero damage drop-off means that you can always get a two-shot kill center-ass and one-shot headshot at any range no matter the distance.
● The high bullet-velocity does make your shots hit almost instantly, so long as you’re on target.
● Equipping a scope will not block the receiver; therefore, keeping reloads consistent among all loadouts.

Krag-Jorgensen Disadvantages
● It has an abysmal reload time - taking almost as long as the Lee-Enfield despite having four fewer rounds.
● The weapon is incapable of using stripper-clips, so each round must be reloaded one-by-one even if there are five or more slots available.
● Despite having one more round than all other rifles, except for the Lee-Enfield, the magazine of six is still not competitive.

Krag-Jorgensen Details
● Unlocked at: Recon 13
● Fire Mode: Bolt-Action
● Rate-of-Fire: 55 rpm
● Max Damage: 60
● Bullet-Velocity: 900 m/s
● Partial Reload: 3.1-6.9 seconds
● Empty Reload: 3.1-6.9 seconds

Krag-Jorgensen Rating: 78/100

Balancing sniper-rifles is one of the hardest things to achieve in any video game. With many expectations put on their performance, it can be hard to differentiate between them, and ultimately it will the on the user’s preference and what makes them most comfortable. We hope that now you can see the subtle nuance between the rifles and are prepared to make the best decision when it comes to sniping.

As always, all of our statistics were provided by the wonderful team at Sym Game Science.