How to play Longshot
Longshot is a free online sniper game that runs in your browser. No download, no sign-up. Here is everything you need to take your first shot.
The basics
You are a sniper on a rooftop looking across a city. The scope follows your mouse (or your finger on a phone). Line up the crosshair, steady your breath, and fire. The bullet takes real time to fly and the wind pushes it sideways, so the shot you take is not always the shot you see.
Controls
| Action | Mouse and keyboard | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Move the mouse | Drag anywhere |
| Fire | Click | FIRE button |
| Hold breath | Shift or Space | HOLD BREATH button |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel, or Q / E | + and − buttons |
| Tag a person | Hold the crosshair on them | Hold the crosshair on them |
| Thermal sweep (Contracts) | T | THERMAL button |
| Recon drone (if equipped) | G | DRONE button |
| Pause | P or Esc | Leave the tab |
| Mute | M |
Zoom: from 2x to 12x
The scope zooms from 2x for scanning up to 10x or 12x depending on your rifle. Stay wide while you search, then zoom in for the shot. Around 6x is a good middle ground for most targets. Higher zoom makes your hands look shakier, so steady your breath before you fire.
Wind and lead
Targets sit on four depth lines: 330, 600, 900 and 1,250 metres. The further the target, the longer your bullet flies and the more the wind moves it. The dope card in the bottom corner lists the wind hold for each range in mils. Aim into the wind by that amount. If your target is walking, aim ahead of them as well. Tag them first and a ballistic computer can draw the aim point for you.
Game modes
Contracts
Each contract names a high-value target (the HVT) somewhere on the rooftops. Find them, identify them, and take them down before the clock runs out. Contracts never end: every one is harder than the last, with more guards, more civilians and stronger wind.
- Lookout: drop the lookout and the building stays calm.
- Generator: it is hidden on a roof. Find it, shoot it, and the whole city goes dark. The HVT's door locks, so a compromised target has to run for an open stairwell or wait for a helicopter.
- Comms dish: shoot it to keep the alarm quiet and stop reinforcements.
- Conditions: from contract 2 you get twists like gale-force wind, rush hour, counter-snipers and a short clock. Each one pays bonus credits.
Endless
Endless is pure sniping with any rifle and tool unlocked. People appear in windows and walk the rooftops. Hostiles who are not shot in time fire at you and cost a life. Civilians cost a life too. Clear a quota of hostiles to move to the next district, and keep going until you run out of lives.
Finding people
- Thermal sweep (T, Contracts): the city dims and every warm body glows. Moving heat is a person. Heat that never moves is equipment, like the generator. Scope a glow and hold on it to find out who it is.
- Pings and arrow (Endless): untagged people give off a ring on the city view, and an arrow on the scope rim points at the nearest hostile.
- Being shot at: if someone fires on you, a red ring marks where it came from, and a red arrow on the scope rim points to them.
Rifles and tools
Earn credits to unlock new gear in the Armory: the L3 .338 Magnum (flat and far, 12x scope), the H50 .50 BMG (fast follow-up shots), a spotter, a suppressor, a bipod, a thermal scope and a recon drone that tags every hostile in the district.
Tips for your first run
- Zoom out and look for movement before you zoom in.
- Tag before you fire. Civilians cost lives.
- Hold your breath for a second before every shot.
- Check the wind every time. It changes.
- If you miss, the spotter tells you how far off you were. Use it.
Questions? See the FAQ.