Camping - Sniping is NOT camping. Camping and hiding are two different things.

A camper is someone who sits in one place, never moving, and fires at any and every enemy he sees. Often this takes the form of respawn camping, which is lame, needless to say. A sniper hides from his enemy until he is ready to make the kill; he moves to and occupies whatever position is most advantageous for killing the enemy, excluding the aforementioned spawn camp.

A hw guy who stands in the middle of a hallway, blocking the enemy and shooting everyone is camping. The sniper who appears here and there, only briefly, then disappears is sniping.

Ducking - not a good idea in almost any circumstance. When ducking and aiming, a sniper moves rediculously slow, this offsets any size advantage the sniper has. The only times that ducking is really any kind of good idea is when it facilitates a difficult shot - ie. the target is obscured and can only be seen by crouching

after a jump in - ie. leap in and duck at the moment of ground contact, instantly firing thereafter

during a timed gate showdown - duck in front of the gate in Avanti or Dustbowl so that your body is exposed to the enemy for the minimum time before you are able to fire at him.

Close range - movement is key, as you said. Agility is extremely important, as is accuracy of shooting and use of grenades etc. A sniper can sometimes win at close range, but this is generally to be avoided. It should be remembered, though, that most classes are not accustomed to fighting a sniper gone mad who is charging them and circle strafing them to oblivion. The auto rifle is a good follow up if the first shot fails to kill.

Also, close attack is a good technique for inciting the enemy to give chase. Most soldiers and Hwguys consider themselves tough and skilled, and being worked over (even a little) by a fast-footed sniper can often anger them and make them act irrationally. As Sun Tzu says, "An opponent who is brave but foolish and insists on fighting to the death cannot be made to yield, but he can be struck by ambush"

The sniper's mind is his most valuable and deadly weapon; if a sniper is quick with the rifle but slow in the head, he will fail. As Sun Tzu also says, "Know thy enemy and know thyself, and in a hundred battles you shall not be imperiled."

Learning the psychology of each of the classes can help the sniper know how to manipulate them. Check out "The Art of War", the book from whence many of these Sun Tzu sayings come, as well.

[TBM]The Jackal