sniper

Kardel Sharpeye, the Dwarven Sniper


Range: 550 | Move Speed: 290 | Primary: AGI
Str: 16 + 1.7 | Agi: 21 + 2.9 | Int: 15 + 2.6
Damage: 36 - 42 | HP: 454 | Mana: 195
HP Regen: 0.73 | Mana Regen: 0.61
Attack Speed: 1.34 (+ 21% IAS) | Armor: 2


Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Strengths and Weaknesses
• Skill Descriptions
• Skill Build
• Core Item Build
• Late Game Items
• What about these items?
• Game Walkthrough

Introduction

I wrote this guide a while back, but it got closed for some reason. Thanks to Akuryou for reopening it. The build is similar to Farwidjaya's premium guide, but I came out with my build a couple of months before he did. Maybe the mods thought I was copying his so they closed it, I'm not sure. This is a simple, clear guide to how to build and play Sniper. Enjoy!

Sniper is an agility hero that has great lane control in the early game due to his range and instant projectile. He is not a true DPS hero because of his lack of a steroid skill or high agility gain. My idea is to use his laning ability to quickly get a damage item that helps his team tremendously. This is similar to my Clinkz guide, but the difference is that instead of going for pure DPS, I try to increase the team's overall damage. In this guide, the way you play him is very important in relation to the item build I use. So read the Strategy section carefully before trying out the build.

Strengths

• Instant projectile allows for easy last hitting and denying
• Awesome range helps with harassing and tower killing
• Headshot's mini-stun interrupts channeling spells

Weaknesses

• Low HP and STR gain
• Reliant on items to be powerful
• No escape mechanism
• Lacks a steroid skill
• Mediocre AGI gain for an agility hero

Skill Descriptions

Scattershot
Fires a ball full of shrapnel into the air. which promptly explodes, showering the target area in explosive pellets, each doing 10-35 physical damage in a 200 area of effect.
Level 1 - 8 Pellets.
Level 2 - 12 Pellets.
Level 3 - 16 Pellets.
Level 4 - 20 Pellets.
Cooldown: 13 seconds.

I used to think this was a useless skill, but I'm starting to see the benefits of this skill. Once you get BOT, you can use it for AOE spamming to farm, as well as help defend pushes.

Headshot
A shot to the head deals bonus damage and stuns for a short duration.
Level 1 - 30 damage, 25% chance.
Level 2 - 30 damage, 30% chance.
Level 3 - 40 damage, 35% chance.
Level 4 - 50 damage, 40% chance.

A decent skill that helps you harass and control your lane in the early game. It doesn't really help you DPS very much, as the damage works out to 20 dmg/hit. The mini-stun can help you stop channeling spells or teleporting.

Take Aim
Passively enhances the range of Kardel's rifle.
Level 1 - Adds 55 range.
Level 2 - Adds 110 range.
Level 3 - Adds 165 range.
Level 4 - Adds 220 range.

The increase in range is very, very helpful in all phases of the game. You can shoot towers without getting hurt. During team battles, it is very difficult to focus fire you because they have to get through your teammates first.

Assassinate
Take time to draw a bead, and then deal a large amount of damage to the target at a huge range.
Level 1 - Deals 355 damage at 1500 range.
Level 2 - Deals 505 damage at 2000 range.
Level 3 - Deals 655 damage at 2500 range.
Cooldown: 30/20/10 seconds.

The cooldown is too long to spam during a battle, but is a great initiator/finisher because of its range. Don't use it to killsteal, though.


Skill Build

1. Headshot
2. Take Aim
3. Take Aim
4. Headshot
5. Take Aim
6. Assassinate
7. Take Aim
8. Headshot
9. Headshot
10. Scattershot
11. Assassinate
12-14. Scattershot
15. Stats
16. Assassinate
17-25. Stats

Notice I get Headshot first at level 1 because it gives the biggest increase in percent chance, which can help with last-hitting because of your low base damage. However, Take Aim is maxed first to make harassing and evading of harassment easier. Headshot is very helpful in harassing because of the bonus damage and the mini-stun lets you get one or two more shots in. Assassinate is leveled whenever possible because it is a high damage nuke. Scattershot is important for two reasons, farming with BOT and to push/defend pushes. Nowadays, many teams are pushing earlier in the game, making Scattershot much more useful.


Core Item Build


Starting items - 2 Tangos, Healing Salve, Circlet
Belt of Giant Strength
Boots of Speed
Finish 3 Wraith Bands
Stygian Desolater
Finish Treads

Tangos and Ironwood Branches - These are great starting items for Sniper because he needs the HP and the +4 damage to help with last-hitting (he has bad base damage).

Bracers - Wraith Bands give you HP and damage, the two things you need to own in the early and mid game.

Power Treads (STR) - The strength helps your survivability a lot, while the IAS helps your Headshot proc more often. It's a great early/mid game item.

Stygian Desolator - Desolator is the second best TEAM damage item behind Radiance (Unfortunately, Sniper's long range makes it so that Radiance's immolation doesn't reach enough of the enemies). If you read my Clinkz guide, you remember I got him a MKB first. In terms of 1v1 DPS, MKB is the better first item. However, Sniper is not a 1v1 hero. His job is to stay with his teammates and help focus fire enemies from a distance. He doesn't have a steroid skill and has a mediocre AGI gain, so going for pure DPS is not the correct way to build him. The Corruption increases the damage for all of your allies, allowing your team to focus down enemies like they are made of paper (even if they get a chainmail). Another reason Deso is good for him is that he has awesome range so he can put Corruption on any hero you want during battles. Although you lose your invisible projectile, tactics like tree shooting are very situational and don't work well against good opponents anyway.


Late Game Items


This is the late game item I usually go for because it turns you into a legitimate damage dealer. The criticals are amplified by Stygian's Corruption, and you will do a great deal of damage.

Heart of Tarrasque
When you are facing a tough team of AOE nukers, this is the item to get. Get a Vitality Booster early (before Buriza) if you are in need of more HP. Spells are dominant through most of the game, and getting HP is necessary if the enemy somehow manages to focus you.

Butterfly
On the other hand, if their team is full of physical attack heroes, Butterfly might be a better option. This is a good pub item to get because pubs usually have more damage dealers in them. The IAS has synergy with Headshot, and the Evasion is nice. Usually, Heart or Buriza is the better option , however.


What about these items?

Lothars Edge
With the changes to the item and the nerf to wards, this item is now viable in certain situations. The key is the movement speed increase, since it allows you to escape quickly and get out of the range of wards or the vision of the enemy. However, it does not help your team as much as stygian does.

Monkey King Bar
Do not get this item. You lose 12% chance on your Headshot skill, since whenever MKB and Headshot trigger at the same time, MKB will override it. Also, after Stygian Desolator, Buriza will add more damage than MKB, especially with Headshot being diminished by MKB.

Sange and Yasha
Again, DO NOT GET THIS ITEM. Even after you get this, you will still be a crappy hero because it increases everything by a little bit. You will have average HP, decent movespeed, and CRAPPY FREAKING DAMAGE. You have almost no effect in team battles, since you have low damage and a maim that is unreliable. Whats the point of spending 5100 to be useless?

Eye of Skadi
Not a bad late game item for Sniper. If you get it first your damage still sucks. However if you get Deso, the Frost Attack will not stack with it. You would have to do a completely different guide from mine to utilize it.

Hand of Midas
This is a good option if you are farming very well in the early game. However, this build is focused on getting a powerful item early. Midas doesn't benefit you right when you get it, and you will be half way to finishing Deso when you have 2000 gold.


Game Walkthrough

EARLY GAME - Levels 1-10
Sniper has the fastest projectile speed and best range in DOTA, so you are a last hitting and denying monster. I would recommend having a partner so that you are less liable to get ganked. Pretty much any lane works for Sniper. If there are melee heroes in your lane, don't let them farm at all by attacking them whenever they try to last hit.

If your enemy moves toward you to nuke you, back up a bit and start attacking them. Your range and Headshot will usually let you get several shots in if he keeps coming at you. Make sure to get wards so that you don't get ganked. Refer to this guide for proper ward placement to prevent ganks and keep track of runes. The key here is to last hit and deny as much as possible so that you can get a gold and level advantage over your lane opponents without getting ganked.

MID GAME - Levels 11-16
Continue farming until you get your Stygian Desolator. Now, you should continually stay with your teammates. Work with them to gank or push down towers. Your Corruption is great for helping ganks and focusing heroes in team battles. Your role is to stay in the back and help focus the enemy everyone is attacking.

For Assassinate, there's two ways to use it, depending on the situation. You can use it to initiate ganks and team battles if you know that you and your teammates will be able to disable and finish them off. Of course, the other way is to use it to finish off a retreating enemy hero. However, since it is a channeling spell, it can be interrupted. This means that stuns and disables can stop it. Also, mirror image abilities cancel it, so its less effective against image heroes. Don't hesitate to use it on invisible heroes, because even if they wind walk Assassinate will track them (without giving vision) and hit them on its own. Its a good idea to check their HP before using it to finish. Their HP needs to be less than 266 / 378 / 491 for the respective levels (after magic reduction).

By staying with your teammates, you help prevent getting ganked. You protect your teammates with your damage while they protect you if enemies come after you. Just stay in the back and the enemy will have a lot of trouble attacking you because of your range and teammates. If your teammates go down, you need to run into trees or fog and teleport back to base with your Boots of Travel.

LATE GAME - Levels 17-25
Now you should start using Scattershot during pushes. This will clear the creeps quickly so that your team can use a mass of creeps to push down their base towers. Continue to always stay with your teammates, and stay in the back dealing out large amounts of damage with Buriza. Your role doesn't change much from the middle game, except you will be doing more pushing.

thx to 1st post Cyclops_Hammer@dota-allstars.com