I snipe quite a bit, and was excited to finally unlock the Gauss. But now that I have it I don't really like it. I can't really tell what the benefits of it are, just the cons. The higher damage is NOT a one hit kill, as it would appear, so one still needs to hit the person twice to kill them in most instances. The slower rate of fire makes doing this more difficult than the first sniper. And why should I really care if gauss bullets drain energy? So does being dead, and the first sniper can get the job done faster. So what am I missing here? Someone please help me figure out the best ways to use this weapon.

The drain helps your team mates move in for the kill. As a sniper, your role is support, not K/D.

Use your visor, it will help your team so much to tag. I've earned over 500 XP in a Crash or CTR by tag assisting only.

It's effective against a Ceph Gunship, three slugs into the generator and BOOM.

Also, aim for the head.

Well the first sniper rifle which doesn't drain energy takes 3 shots to a MA target, where as the Gauss Rifle has a higher 1 hit chance and also penetrates ( Giggity ).

Not too mention it will help your team if you're stripping peoples energy to 0.