Sniper

""Snipers lose when their positions are discovered. First, conceal yourself. Don't continue to fight if your position is known.""

- Chika Amatori about Snipers

The Sniper position is one of the 9 official positions available to Border agents, one of the 7 directly involved in combat, and one of the 4 a trainee achieves immediately after reaching B-Rank. Those official agents who have scored the most points (at least 4000) with a Sniper Trigger out of all the Triggers in their set are considered Snipers. C-Ranks trainees wielding Sniper Triggers are not considered Snipers, since they are not official agents.

Snipers specialize in long-ranged combat, utilizing three types of rifles: Eaglet, Ibis and Lightning. The first two in particular can compete with or even surpass Attacker Triggers in power, but their linear trajectory and the low rate of fire make them unsuitable for repeated shots. Since the long range provides an advantage also to enemies, allowing them to dodge relatively easily once the Sniper's position is discovered, and since Snipers are extremely vulnerable at close range, they have stealth at the core of their fighting style. They generally sneak around the battlefield, constantly hiding their trion signature with Bagworm and looking for high ground to easily take out their targets. When their position is discovered, and often, due to the muzzle flash and the sound of the shot, after opening fire, they have no choice but get away as quickly as they can, finding a new hiding spot.

In the unit's formation, Snipers are generally at the far back, either assisting their teammates or acting individually to silently and swiftly eliminate the enemies. Since they can reverse the conditions of a unit with a single pull of the trigger, Snipers are considered game changers in Border. Furthermore, a hidden Sniper is a highly valuable ally, because the enemy will be forced to constantly watch out for lines of fire and be unable to access certain areas altogether.

The Sniper position is probably the one that requires the greatest amount of skill, which may be one of the reasons both official Snipers and Snipers in training (C-Rank agents) have joint practice sessions to hone their capabilities in multiple areas: from shooting at an immobile target, to locating other Snipers and shooting them, to locating targets and firing at them only via Radar. Many Snipers have good trion reserves, since their Triggers require a large amount of it per shot and since they must wear Bagworm at all times in combat situations. Patience, dedication and flexibility are other traits valuable in a Sniper.

Including C-Ranks trainees, there are currently 135 Snipers in Border; however, less than 30 are official ones, and the identity of only 18 of them is known, corresponding to those Snipers who take part in Rank Battles. Mirai Hatohara is a notable former Sniper.

Solo Points
Since points fluctuate constantly, most of the following scores are likely to be obsolete.
 * No. 1 Sniper, Isami Tōma: 12042+ (Eaglet)
 * No. 2 Sniper, Tōru Narasaka: 8349+ (???)
 * Tetsuji Arafune: 8349 (Eaglet)
 * Yuzuru Ema: 7009+ (???)

List of Snipers
''The following Snipers are listed by their unit's ranking at the start of the current season of Rank Battles. When known, their individual ranking in the Sniper class is reported under their name.''

Trivia

 * Despite utilizing a Sniper Trigger, Izuho Natsume is not considered a Sniper due to her being a trainee.