Probably my fault, I wanted to make it sweatier than it need to be. Also why I only put a couple snipers in the game.
I'd recommend dropping into the forest or cave or anywhere indoors (I'm partial to the factory) because they are immune from sniper fire. There's a glint that will pop up on screen somewhere if you are exposed too.
Specials are 1 out of 5 shot for allies and enemies to trigger, and each character does different things (some heal, remove debuffs)