Sniper/Guide

General

 * Sniper is usually played in the safe lane, with a support.
 * Sniper's purpose in fights is mostly to right click and autoattack enemies without being disabled or killed first.
 * Due to his extreme vulnerability, positioning is the most important part of playing Sniper.
 * Because of this, Sniper is easy to play, but hard to master.
 * Map awareness is very important for Sniper players, who should always mentally keep track of enemy positions in order to avoid being ganked.
 * Sniper players must know how to stutter step, moving small distances between attack animations in order to be mobile and land as many hits as possible. This is more important in the early game, when Sniper's attack speed is slower.
 * Sniper must avoid being initiated on, because an initiation and followup combination usually kills him before he can do anything.
 * To avoid this, stay far behind your team when you suspect a fight will soon break out.
 * Heroes that can jump to the backline, such as or, will cause significant problems for Sniper.
 * Because of his range and fast projectile speed, Sniper should be able to out last-hit and out deny most lane opponents.
 * Sniper requires significant farm and a good early game in order to be effective. It is best to play safe early on and not risk being shut down by the other team.


 * Shrapnel is mostly a utility ability, and will not do much damage.
 * Shrapnel gives vision. Use it as a scouting ability, such as over high ground or the Roshan Pit.
 * Shrapnel over trees is useful for finding juking enemies.
 * Shrapnel over choke points is useful for revealing enemies before they get too close.
 * Shrapnel can reveal a distant fleeing enemy and allow Sniper to lock onto him with Assassinate.
 * Use Shrapnel in front of Sniper when running away in order to slow the pursuing enemy.
 * Use Shrapnel in front of the enemy to slow them down while chasing.
 * Use Shrapnel on top of Sniper when fighting a melee ganker in order to deal as much damage as possible.
 * Use Shrapnel in combination with a teammate's AoE ability, such as 's.
 * Use Shrapnel over friendly buildings to deter enemies from attacking them.
 * Use Shrapnel over a group of fighting creeps before retreating to gain a bit of extra gold.


 * Headshot is good for harassing enemies in lane, especially against melee heroes.
 * Use the slow from Headshot to stutter step closer to the enemy.
 * When chasing an enemy with your team, landing a single Headshot may be enough to slow the target down sufficiently.
 * This means that Sniper can stop and take a chance on a single attack if it appears that he will not be able to catch up over a long distance.


 * One level of Take Aim is typically enough for the laning phase since it allows Sniper to outrange almost all enemies.
 * If Sniper is taking heavy harassment, or playing in the dangerous solo lane, invest more points in Take Aim in order to score last hits.
 * Take Aim will also allow Sniper to harass enemy laners, but his focus should be primarily on farming.
 * With level 2 or higher, Sniper will outrange towers, allowing him to attack them without being hit.
 * With his long range, it can be tempting to instantly attack the enemy initiator in teamfights, but it is nearly always better to retrain Sniper's attacks on a carry or backline support.
 * Take Aim gives Sniper the luxury of easily switching targets in teamfights. Analyze situations with a cool head and use this to your advantage.


 * Assassinate is quite powerful in the early to mid game, but less so in the late game.
 * Use Assassinate to pick off fleeing targets.
 * Against the 25% magic resistance that most heroes have, Assassinate deals 240/363.75/487.5 damage if no other sorts of damage reduction or amplifications are affecting the target.
 * If Sniper is too far to join a fight, use Assassinate to help allies kill a target. The extra damage is especially helpful for gankers on your team.
 * Enemies will hear the sound of Sniper's gun cocking ( Assassinate pre cast.mp3 ) when they are first targeted by Assassinate.
 * This will give them a chance to time the attack, and disjoint the projectile.
 * Heroes that can easily disjoint the projectile include, , , , and.
 * To ensure a hit, use Assassinate on heroes that do not have disjoint mechanisms, or heroes that have already expended them.
 * Since Assassinate grants full vision of an enemy during the cast time, it can be used to counter an enemy attempting to juke or go invisible. The few extra seconds of vision often makes the difference.
 * Try to use Assassinate from a safe position, as Sniper is vulnerable and can be easily killed or interrupted during its cast animation.
 * Do not waste Assassinate on a target that is certain to die, such as a low health enemy who has little chance of escaping your team.
 * Assassinate mini-stuns on impact, and can be used to interrupt teleporting or channeling enemies. This is one of few times when Assassinate should be used at close range.
 * Assassinate can be used to harass, degrade, and intimidate enemies in lane or before an engagement. This is especially effective on supports with low health.
 * In the late game, Assassinate should only be used when Sniper cannot reach the target, as his autoattacks will do more damage.
 * Try to deal as much damage as possible with autoattacks first, reserving Assassinate as a final blow when enemies move out of range.
 * During a teamfight, do not waste time trying to Assassinate a low value target if there are more dangerous, higher value targets attacking your team.
 * For example, Sniper should focus autoattacks on a carry instead of spending several seconds trying to Assassinate a dying.
 * Due to its low cooldown, a retreating Sniper can often turn around and use Assassinate again, even after he has disengaged from the teamfight.

Items
Starting items:
 * improves Sniper's early stats, and can be built into a later on.
 * helps with Sniper's naturally low base damage, allowing him to last hit better.
 * helps Sniper score last hits.
 * helps Sniper stay in lane.
 * not only rejuvenates Sniper, using it at the last second can save also save him from a gank.
 * helps Sniper resist harassment and gankers.

Early-game items:
 * is useful in emergencies, and gives Sniper some much needed survivability.
 * boosts Sniper's early stats, keeping him viable in his vulnerably early game stage. It can be sold later for gold.
 * is usually picked up by supports, but can be useful on Sniper to help offset his low mobility.
 * gives Sniper the ability to switch between Strength for survivability, Agility for damage, and even Intelligence for extra mana to use a clutch.
 * gives Sniper damage in exchange for attack speed, and works well with later items like or.
 * can be useful to give Sniper a little more movement speed, and an overall improvement in stats.

Core items:
 * greatly improves Sniper's mid game damage, and its debuff can be safely applied from long range on multiple enemies.
 * gives Sniper an important escape mechanism, and improves his movement speed as well as his sieging ability.
 * increases Sniper's attack range to a maximum of 1090, allowing him to shoot down opponents before they can close the gap.
 * greatly increases Sniper's attack speed, and provides a moderate boost to his movement speed. The lifesteal is good for farming, and can save Sniper in a head-to-head fight.
 * is what gives Sniper his massive damage in the late game, and lets him tear through softer enemies in just a few shots.
 * is excellent against groups of enemies, or heroes with numerous summoned units like . Combined with more attack speed items, the lightning damage will trigger continuously.

Situational items:
 * is often picked up by beginners, as it gives Sniper a much needed escape mechanism, as well as enabling him to position himself in team engagements. It also gives a damage boost to Sniper's first attack when cloaked.
 * is a decent upgrade to, and can be useful on more offense oriented Snipers.
 * is a natural progression from, but is sometimes skipped in favor of other direct damage boosting items. Maelstrom and Mjollnir semi-stack with other attack modifiers like . The attack modifier hits every time except when Maelstrom/Mjollnir proc their effect.
 * grants a great increase in damage, attack speed, and is usually necessary to deal with evasion from heroes like . However, it provides no defensive boosts, and can be quite expensive.
 * is a costly but useful item if Sniper is struggling against right-click heroes. The attack speed and damage boosts Sniper's combat capabilities a little, while the evasion and armor give him considerably more survivability against opposing carries.
 * 's lifesteal functions in the same way as, but also provides more armor in exchange for attack speed. Sniper may also use the active ability to enchant a creep, and help him stack camps or disable opponents.
 * can be an alternative to if the player believes Sniper needs more health. It also provides 6% more movement speed and Greater Maim to help in chasing or kiting enemies.
 * sacrifices damage for a great boost to Sniper's survivability, as well as adding a slow debuff that helps keep enemies within Sniper's range.
 * is a luxury item that can be picked up to ensure Sniper's dominance in a winning game.
 * is the ultimate item, sometimes purchased out of desperation. Combined with high attack speed and/or criticals, Sniper can demolish enemies in two or three shots. This can be very risky, as Sniper dies easily and may end up giving Divine Rapier to the enemy team.