Sniffers (German: Schnüffler) are a low-level melee enemy in Wolfenstein.

Overview

Sniffers are the twisted result of human exposure to Veil energy. Like the Lopers of the previous game, they are mindless and savage creatures which have no loyalty to their creators, and Sniffers are only able to be controlled by the power of a Scribe. They are kept by the Nazis for their ability to sense the purity of artificially manufactured Nachtsonne Crystals. They are also called "Gemein" ("Vile") or "Blutschleicher" ("Blood Skulker").

A huge number of Sniffers are present in the secret Nachtsonne Crystal manufacturing facility underneath the Farm, held in check by a security system powered by the Shield crystal. Following BJ Blazkowicz' theft of this crystal the Sniffers escape from confinement and slaughter the remaining personnel in the facility, destroying the base's generators and obliterating it in a huge explosion. The majority of "wild" Sniffers are consumed by the fireball as they attempt to escape down a supply railway tunnel, the remainder seemingly mostly brought under control by Scribes.

It is never precisely clear in the game how they are created, since the Thule Portal had only just been excavated when B.J. found the huge base under the Farm in Isenstadt, and the Hospital seemed to be focused on creating the Veil Assassins, not Sniffers.

Another type of Sniffer will appear as early as the Airfield mission. These Snifflers have dynamite packs strapped to their backs, and they will charge at the player and explode, serving as a sort of kamikaze enemy.

Strategy

• Sniffers are weak melee enemies which are usually little more than a nuisance. They're only a threat when encountered in large numbers and/or confined spaces. They do not use any complex tactics, simply moving towards the player and then attacking with their claws, and are easily dealt with using the Tesla Gun, Flammenwerfer, Kar98's bayonet, or the Arc Nodes of the Tesla Gun. If you have not purchased the bayonet or the heavier weapons are unavailable, the MP40 with 64 round magazine upgrade can cut them down nicely. They very fast and agile, so you might want to use Mire to slow them down. With this, it is easy to kill almost any number of Sniffers with melee attacks. They have only 20 health points. Alternatively, you can combine melee weapon (like axe) and Mire, the melee weapon will do 25 damage per hit, so basically one hit one kill, the melee weapon is common in town hubs.
• A second type of Sniffer is encountered late in the game in the mission Airfield as well as Midtown East (post-Radio Tower), identical to the normal type in behaviour but with dynamite attached to their body. This type will explode when killed, though the explosion is not as powerful as a grenade and on Normal difficulty will only critically damage the player, not kill them. Killing them at close is no longer recommened, use MP40 or MP43 to finish them quickly.
• The Mire upgrade "Shearing Crystal" and the Shield upgrade "Reactive Crystal" will both kill Sniffers instantly.

Locations

Sniffers are encountered first after acquiring the shield power in Farm, which triggers their escape. They are the primary enemy for the remainder of the level, frequently attacking by leaping out of gratings near the player. Afterward they are a fairly frequent enemy, often encountered in groups of up to half a dozen under the supervision of a scribe. This is the standard town hub spawn for them. A notable one is after you complete the Hospital mission, a lot of sniffers and one scribe will appear in the center of the midtown east. This area will be a hot spot for sniffers to spawn since the hospital mission as well. Sniffers are also ever so present in the sewers of Downtown when the player enters for the first time.

Equipment

Sniffers wear a strange mask and body brace, but have no weapons or special equipment and drop nothing when they die.

Trivia

• They closely resemble Abominations from F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
• Another enemy that similarly attacks people using melee after being created/mutated by Nazi experiments, known as the Altered, was driven insane by the aforementioned process. Unlike the Altered, their body proportions and size dosen't differ from that of a regular human, although they do have very large feet and hands.
• Sniffers do not glow while Veil is active, unlike other enemies.

Gallery

Sniffer Concept Art.

Sniffers on the generators after their release

See also

• Scribe