Sniper Duel: Difference between revisions

[[Dueling Tropes|Duels]] in fiction are thrilling because of the natural tension that is created when two [[Badass|Badasses]]es face down each other at short range, with deadly weapons, intent to kill, and [[Audience Surrogate|nervous bystanders watching with fear and anticipation]]. Anything can happen... and then it does, exploding into action, and then they end with a very final conclusion.

A [['''Sniper Duel]]''' takes the tension in this trope and plays it [[Up to Eleven]]. Instead of facing off at close range with small handguns, the duelists may be miles apart wielding [[Sniper Rifle|high-power rifles]]. Both may be masters of camouflage and/or deception. Sniper duels in fiction can last days or weeks, as each tries to draw the other into a vulnerable position but conceal their own, and often end with single shot. If [[The Squad]] is caught out in the open by an enemy sniper, often their only chance of salvation is a friendly sniper, who will be the only member of the team with the ability to save the day.

Sniper duels are common in war movies where they add a personal touch to the often impersonal combat between [[Punch Clock Villain|people who've never met before and are just fighting for their countries:]] snipers get a close up view of their targets before killing them, and this fact often [[It's Personal|makes it personal]] for the teammates of the person who just got shot by an unseen assailant.

Sometimes the duel is used to highlight the differences between a protagonist and antagonist, where one is a [[Cold Sniper]] and the other is a [[Friendly Sniper]]. The characters often possess [[Improbable Aiming Skills]] and the fight may end with a [[Boom! Headshot!|headshot]] and for truly [[Badass]] characters, a [[Scope Snipe]]. [[Genre Savvy]] [[Combat Pragmatist|combat pragamatists]] who lack either the skill or equipment to engage in a [['''Sniper Duel]]''' may instead [[Averted Trope|avert it]] by calling in an [[Death From Above|airstrike]] or [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|artillery strike.]]

* One of the set-pieces in ''[[The Hurt Locker]]'' is built around a sniper duel between the EOD team and faceless insurgents.

* In the [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] novel ''Sabbat Martyr'', one of the Chaos assassins sent to kill the eponymous Imperial saint. Gaunt instructs his own top sniper, "Mad" Larkin, to keep an eye out for sneak attacks. Naturally, they end up in a duel with one another, although with a twist -- thetwist—the Chaos marksman is trying to outguess Larkin and stay out of his line of fire long enough to draw a bead on the Saint instead of taking him out directly. He actually manages it, and lines up a shot while out of Larkin's field of view. {{spoiler|Fortunately, Larkin wasn't trying to go one on one; he had distracted the Chaos soldier from the Ghosts' ''other'' elite sniper, Jessi Banda, who shoots him dead [[Just in Time]]}}.

** A long, drawn out battle spanning three maps against The End in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', which eventually turns into a literal test of endurance, as The End will only use tranquilizer darts in the battle and refuses to kill you outright.

*** 2fort is also infamous because the balconies only really give players a clear shot at the other balconies... and the only enemies who are likely to stand on the balconies for extended periods of time are other snipers. Most of the strategically important parts of the map are enclosed areas where snipers are at a disadvantage... so snipers on that map never do anything but [[Sniper Duel]].

* ''[[Commandos]] 3 : Destination Berlin'' features a duel in Stalingrad between the playable sniper and a German sniper, in a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Enemy at the Gates]]''.