Sniper/Counters

Bad against...

 * Anti-Mage can close the gap with . Sniper will struggle to escape once he is jumped on due to the lack of mobility.
 * reduces sniper's magic damage from and . The active component can also reflect the projectile back to sniper if he dares to target Anti-Mage.
 * active is even more dangerous if Anti-Mage purchased . Aghanims scepter allows antimage to bait out snipers range tools like pike or flashbang. Otherwise the illusion will drain his mana
 * Sniper often relies on mana to use items for escaping, and his abilities cost a lot of mana. drains Sniper's mana and takes away Sniper's mean to disengage.
 * Anti-Mage has faster farming speed. He can outfarm and get ahead of sniper easily.


 * Axe can easily close the distance to Sniper with.
 * With in combination with  and, Axe can make short work of Sniper, finishing him off easily with  due to his low HP & high attack speed in the late game.


 * Ember Spirit can close the distance between Sniper easily with his and further keep Sniper in place with.
 * With the help of, Sniper cannot outrun Ember Spirit or chase him, even if Sniper builds mobility items.


 * Invoker's arsenal of magical spells are troublesome for Sniper who has low HP and high armor, which does not benefit him much against Invoker.
 * Besides magical damage, he can be disarmed and repeatedly mini-stunned with, preventing him from reacting.
 * Leveling can allow Invoker to lane effectively against Sniper despite right-click harassment.


 * Lifestealer can close the distance to Sniper by using on a fast or durable creep to tank Sniper's damage.
 * and will reduce Sniper's mobility heavily, and 's movement speed bonus helps in closing the gap to Sniper. It also protects him from Assassinate and Shrapnel.
 * can dodge an incoming Assassinate.


 * Being mostly a physical damage dealer, Sniper's effectiveness is greatly reduced by Omniknight's.
 * Omniknight's allows him to slow sniper and catch him. Sniper has to then use some escape item.
 * Omniknight can also protect an ally from being finished off by Assassinate by using, then using which grants a massive strength boost.


 * and allow Phantom Assassin to close the gap with Sniper and prevent his escape.
 * allows Phantom Assassin to approach Sniper while invisible and dodge much of Sniper's damage. It can also disjoint Assassinate.
 * quickly cuts through Sniper's low health; one or two procs will usually kill him.


 * Pudge's allows him to bring Sniper in the middle of any fight, and the pure damage does well against his high armor and low health.
 * can lock Sniper down, which makes him highly vulnerable and gives enough time for Pudge to kill him alone.

Lina defeats Sniper on the mid, because she has the same attack range as him, and her ability deals much more damage to creeps, as well as to Sniper himself, than, which creates uncomfortable conditions for Sniper to farm on the line, which is why Lina either punches Sniper harder than he either pushes a pack of creeps up to the tower and finishes off his creeps under it, preventing Sniper from earning gold and a level.


 * Slardar can use with  or  to get close, and  will stun Sniper and slow him, making him vulnerable to Slardar's teammates.
 * lowers Sniper's armor and makes Sniper's useless, easily killing him with a few attacks.


 * instantly allows her to get up and close with Sniper, and makes it difficult to escape from her.


 * Spirit Breaker can charge towards Sniper from anywhere on the map with.
 * deals magical damage, which can prove dangerous to Sniper and his low health.
 * Both previous abilities combined with ensures that Spirit Breaker can easily solo kill Sniper.


 * Storm Spirit can close the distance towards Sniper very easily with his ultimate.


 * allows Tusk to move himself and allies towards Sniper whilst invulnerable and hidden.
 * His may also block pathing for Sniper as he has no means of moving through obstacles. In addition,  can hinder Sniper's escape.


 * breaks Sniper's passives.
 * allows Viper to deal more damage to Sniper than Sniper deals to him when laning, especially by briefly stepping into Shrapnel.
 * together with can slow Sniper and tears through his low health and mobility.


 * allows Weaver to close the gap between himself and Sniper with high speed, and to maneuver through teamfights to get on top of him.
 * A combination of and  tears through Sniper's low armor.

Others

 * As you can see from above, heroes who can close the gap are the biggest nightmare for the Sniper who wants to keep his distance:, and  being the most classic examples because they don't require any item to do it.
 * Heroes who have high health are a problem for Sniper because he likes to attack the closest target and sit at the back, much like a so when that hero doesn't die; he's forced to show his position for a very long time:, ,.
 * Carry heroes who can close the gap reliably are very problematic:, ,.
 * Early game gankers can make life very difficult for a Sniper if he keeps being caught:, ,.
 * Invisible heroes all have the element of surprise. Provided they deal enough damage, Sniper should be vanquished very quickly:, ,.
 * Heroes with high mobility can approach Sniper:, , , , , , and most notably.
 * Heroes with catch to disrupt Sniper's positioning and deliver him into the enemies:, , ,.

Items

 * returns all the damage Sniper deals, and the duration of it is often more than enough to either kill Sniper, or leave him low on HP.
 * allows the user to close the gap with Sniper and can disjoint Assassinate; however, Sniper's long range means that he can disable Blink Dagger if he spots the enemy first.
 * can disjoint Assassinate if timed correctly, as you have ~2-3 seconds to react before being hit.
 * blocks Assassinate on impact.
 * reflects Assassinate, which proves especially dangerous if the lotused hero has Aghanim's Scepter, since it will stun Sniper for a lengthy time.
 * disables True Sight from Assassinate on target.
 * allows enemies to sneak up on Sniper and fight him up close.

Good against...

 * Sniper is able to kite Earthshaker with his very long range.
 * Sniper can dodge Earthshaker's stuns like and  with mobility items such as, / and /.
 * Sharpnel can be used to cancel Earthshaker's Blink Dagger and preventing effective use of his in a majority of situations.


 * Sniper has a very long range, so it is rare that Enigma can catch him in a.
 * Assassinate can easily cancel if he is not caught, especially with.
 * Enigma's Eidolons from are useless to push against a Sniper as he will easily kill them, especially with /.


 * Medusa is a fairly immobile hero that deals damage around her with . Sniper should outrange her and should stay out of harm's way from Split Shot.
 * More importantly, Sniper should have enough attack range to fire at Medusa during her without turning to stone, so the ultimate is mostly wasted against him.


 * Sniper is a pure right click carry with a very long range, making it hard for Silencer to cast any of his skills on him in lane. During team-fights, has little impact on Sniper.


 * Shrapnel can be used to cancel Shadow Fiend's Blink Dagger from a huge range.
 * Take Aim and Headshot allow Sniper to harass Shadow Fiend in lane without getting into the range of his.
 * Assassinate when upgraded with can be used to cancel Shadow Fiend's.


 * Sniper can easily destroy from long range


 * Sniper destroys Templar Assassin 's only defense with its ability, which is why it can easily punch it and kick it off the line, getting more level and gold.
 * The huge range of Sniper's attack due to the ability allows him to spend the whole game at a distance far from Templar Assassin, constantly punching her with his physical attacks, which is why Templar Assassin remains either to run away or hide in, however, even there Sniper will not let her escape with the help of , since he uses.


 * Sniper can easily destroy from long range.


 * Sniper can easily destroy from long range.

Others

 * Melee heroes who may struggle to get close to Sniper:, , , , , , and etc.
 * Special mention to as he may not be able to get close, but if he does,  will make very short work of Sniper.
 * Heroes with channeled abilities which Assassinate may cancel at long range:, , ,
 * Silence and root abilities are irrelevant to Sniper.

Works well with...

 * can be cast on Sniper, increasing his attack speed and the damage of his abilities
 * grants True Sight on all enemies under 25% HP, even through Fog of War, providing vision for Sniper to attack or use Assassinate to secure kills.
 * can force one enemy hero to stand still, preventing him from getting closer on Sniper


 * provides a simple setup for
 * Any enemy hero spotted by is an easy target for
 * Shrapnel can spot one potential target for Clockwerk to aim his
 * Overall, Clockwerk has enough tools to keep enemy heroes occupied, while Sniper deals damage from a safe distance


 * Lich's multiple slows allow enemies to be more easily kited.


 * The forced nights from won't be much of a problem for Sniper's 1400 night vision units, instead of the usual 800 units that most heroes have. Also, Sniper likes a tanky frontline hero to soak all the damage, which Night Stalker can provide.
 * can slow enemies and allow Sniper to either escape or damage.
 * can silence any potential spellcasters and prevent them from harming Sniper.


 * 's long duration, potent slow will allow Sniper to kite enemies.
 * increases Sniper's attack speed and movement speed, enabling him to farm faster and output more damage in team-fight.


 * Venomancer's whole kit makes it harder for some team compositions to get close enough to Sniper throughout the game
 * Sniper can deal the finishing blow on an enemy affected by with Assassinate.


 * Sniper being a ranged right click agility carry, can provide a boost to his agility.

Others

 * Sniper appreciates durable front-liners to engage the enemies, allowing him to attack from a safe distance:, , ,
 * Sniper works well with slows, as he already has 2 slows of his own, from Shrapnel and Headshot, potentially allowing Sniper to constantly knock enemies back and not give them chances of retaliation:

List of heroes that counter Sniper, and list of heroes that work well with Sniper.

Sniper/Противостоящие