Sniper/Legends

"Just like shooting womp rats back home, eh, kid?"

- Anonymous Rebel soldier

A sniper, or sharpshooter, was an individual trained to shoot an opponent from a distance, often hundreds of meters away, and most of the time from a concealed and/or high location, patience, control and cunning were some of the attributes that were needed for this, but stealth was considered the greatest asset; the ability to strike a target without warning and with uncanny accuracy caused the Rebel SpecForce, who hired Myn Donos, one of the most famous snipers in the New Republic, to call their snipers "TK"s, short for "telekinesis," because of their ability to invisibly "touch" their target from great distances.

Snipers could be soldiers, removing high-ranking opposing personnel and targets of opportunity in times of war, assassins, killing unwitting marks from a distance, or even part of a security force, who trained snipers to protect important political figures. In the military, sharpshooters, sometimes operating with a spotter, were required to infiltrate deep into enemy territory to eliminate high-profile targets, sow fear and generate confusion within the ranks of the opposite forces.

The different classes of snipers throughout the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War included the: clone sharpshooter, assassin droid, rebel marksman and Imperial scout trooper. Some of these snipers were equipped with recon droids for scouting and calling down orbital bombardment.

Battle droid assassin
The Battle droid assassin was a variation of the B1 battle droid used by the Trade Federation and the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. Programming for incredible accuracy, proved lethal to the Galactic Republic's clone troopers. The droids were equipped with a BAW E-5s sniper rifle as well as a standard blaster pistol, thermal detonators, and an autoturret.

During the first half of the Clone Wars, battle droid assassins wore either no markings, like the standard infantry droids, or red markings, like the security droids. Assassin droid were used more frequently during the second half of the war, during which they were painted with camouflage patterns.These sniper units were used mostly for eliminating special targets such as enemy commanders or other highly dangerous foes. Droid assassins were deployed at the Battle of Geonosis in defense of the most important units waiting to be loaded onto transports, the Battle of Muunilinst against Advanced Recon Commandos, and at the defense of the Separatist stronghold on Yavin 4.

Sniper Droid
The CIS also used a variation of droideka, known as sniper droid during the Clone Wars. These droids were equipped with a cannon mounted on their heads. One such droid was used during the Battle of Kiros

Neimoidian Sniper
This variant trooper of the Neimoidian Gunnery Battalion focused upon using Sniper rifles to target enemies from afar. These CIS troopers wore the same armor as that of the Neimoidian Warriors, but the uniform was colored a bottle-green. The units were assigned near Neimoidian leaders for protection, such as Nute Gunray on his fatal occupation on Mustafar. The Neimoidian Snipers were all killed by Darth Vader on Mustafar.

Clone sniper
Clone snipers, also known as Clone sharpshooters, were a specialized variant of Clone troopers that served in the Grand Army of the Republic. They carried specialized DC-15x sniper rifles, DC-15A blaster rifles, autoturrets, thermal detonators, and R-1 recon droids while in the field. Clone sharpshooters wore camouflage suits at the Battle of Kashyyyk.

Their main mission on the battle field was to eliminate the Separatist B2 super battle droids from a distance, but they could also use their recon droids to carry out short-range reconnaissance. Clone snipers were chosen from only the most accurate and alert Clone troops, and may have received specialized training from clone assassins. The Clone sharpshooters later reformed into the scout troopers.

Rebel Marksmen
Rebel marksmen were chosen from only the most accurate of soldiers that joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and were used in long-range engagements, typically to knock out enemy commanders and create confusion among the troops. Many marksman were used in the Battle of Hoth to slow the enemy advance. It was said that a good rebel sniper could make an advancing group of storm troopers into two fleeing ones.

The primary weapon used was a sniper rifle that, unusually, fired yellow rounds. Rebel marksmen were also equipped with blaster pistols for close-quarters fighting, a thermal detonator and either an auto turret or recon droid. Auto turrets were used to create a fortified position.

Appearances

 * Jedi Apprentice: The Defenders of the Dead
 * ''Jedi Apprentice: The Uncertain Path
 * Cloak of Deception
 * The Approaching Storm
 * ''Star Wars The Clone Wars: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 1: The Mystery of Kiros
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (video game)
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * X-wing: Rogue Leader
 * X-wing: Wraith Squadron
 * X-wing: Solo Command
 * X-wing: Starfighters of Adumar
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * ''Bloodlines
 * Sacrifice
 * Inferno