▶️
Many hands make light work.
This article is badly written or needs more information. Please help the community by updating it. Read this formatting guide first.
Bad against...[]
- Anti-Mage can close the gap with Blink. Sniper will struggle to escape once he is jumped on due to the lack of mobility.
- Counterspell reduces sniper's magic damage from Shrapnel and Assassinate. The active component can also reflect the projectile back to sniper if he dares to target Anti-Mage. This is seriously detrimental for Sniper as he is prone to buying Khanda to boost effects of the Assassinate.
- Sniper often relies on mana to use items for escaping, and his abilities cost a lot of mana. Mana Break drains Sniper's mana and takes away Sniper's means 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 Blink Dagger.
- With Berserker's Call in combination with Counter Helix and Battle Hunger, Axe can make short work of Sniper, finishing him off easily with Culling Blade due to his low HP & high attack speed in the late game.
- Ember Spirit can close the distance between Sniper easily with his Activate Fire Remnant and further keep Sniper in place with Searing Chains.
- With the help of Aghanim's Scepter, 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 Cold Snap, preventing him from reacting.
- Leveling Quas can allow Invoker to lane effectively against Sniper despite right-click harassment.
- Lifestealer can close the distance to Sniper by using Infest on a fast or durable creep to tank Sniper's damage.
- Open Wounds and Ghoul Frenzy will reduce Sniper's mobility heavily, and Rage's movement speed bonus helps in closing the gap to Sniper. It also protects him from Assassinate and Shrapnel.
- Infest can dodge an incoming Assassinate or to surprise Sniper during ganks. Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Infest can also allow Lifestealer to disarm Sniper and attack him from inside.
- Lina defeats Sniper on the mid, because she has the same attack range as him, and her Dragon Slave ability deals much more damage to creeps, as well as to Sniper himself, than Shrapnel, 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.
- Being mostly a physical damage dealer, Sniper's effectiveness is greatly reduced by Omniknight's Guardian Angel.
- Omniknight's Degen Aura 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 Purification and Repel which grants a massive strength boost.
- Stifling Dagger and Phantom Strike allow Phantom Assassin to close the gap with Sniper and prevent his escape.
- Blur allows Phantom Assassin to approach Sniper while invisible and dodge much of Sniper's damage. It can also disjoint Assassinate.
- Coup de Grace quickly cuts through Sniper's low health; one or two procs will usually kill him.
- Fan of Knives from Aghanim's Shard can deal damage to Sniper's maximum health and disable Headshot and Take Aim.
- Pudge's Meat Hook allows him to bring Sniper in the middle of any fight, and the pure damage does well against his high armor and low health.
- Dismember can lock Sniper down, which makes him highly vulnerable and gives enough time for Pudge to kill him alone. Aghanim's Shard upgraded Dismember will also allow Pudge to save an ally from Assassinate.
- Slardar can use Guardian Sprint with Blink Dagger or Shadow Blade to get close, and Slithereen Crush will stun Sniper and slow him, making him vulnerable to Slardar's teammates.
- Corrosive Haze lowers Sniper's armor and makes Sniper's Shadow Blade useless, easily killing him with a few attacks.
- Shadow Step and Haunt from Aghanim's Scepter instantly allows Spectre to get up and close with Sniper, and Spectral Dagger makes it difficult for Sniper to escape from her.
- Spirit Breaker can charge towards Sniper from anywhere on the map with Charge of Darkness.
- Greater Bash deals magical damage, which can prove dangerous to Sniper and his low health.
- Both previous abilities combined with Nether Strike ensures that Spirit Breaker can easily solo kill Sniper.
- Storm Spirit can close the distance towards Sniper very easily with his ultimate Ball Lightning.
- Snowball allows Tusk to move himself and allies towards Sniper whilst invulnerable and hidden.
- His Ice Shards may also block pathing for Sniper as he has no means of moving through obstacles. In addition, Tag Team can hinder Sniper's escape.
- Tinker is one of the few heroes who is able to defeat a Sniper on the center line thanks to his long-ranged abilities.
- Laser allow Tinker to deal damage to Sniper and blind him, causing him to miss attacks more often.
- Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Heat-Seeking Missile". can deal heavy damage to Sniper on lane.
- Defense Matrix allow Tinker to save himself or allies from Assassinate.
- Warp Flare from Aghanim's Shard allows Tinker to teleport Sniper away from himself, while also reducing both his attack range and cast range. If Sniper is teleported near Tinker's allies with Warp Flare, he will be bursted down in no time.
- Viper Strike breaks Sniper's passives.
- Corrosive Skin allows Viper to deal more damage to Sniper than Sniper deals to him when laning, especially by briefly stepping into Shrapnel.
- Nethertoxin together with Poison Attack can slow Sniper and tears through his low health and mobility.
- Shukuchi 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 The Swarm and Desolator tears through Sniper's low armor.
Others[]
- Heroes who can close the gap are the biggest nightmare for the Sniper who wants to keep his distance: Spirit Breaker, Clockwerk and Tusk 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 Terrorblade so when that hero doesn't die; he's forced to show his position for a very long time: Centaur Warrunner, Legion Commander, Primal Beast.
- Carry heroes who can close the gap reliably are very problematic: Phantom Lancer, Ember Spirit, Phantom Assassin.
- Early game gankers can make life very difficult for a Sniper if he keeps being caught: Ursa, Pudge, Earth Spirit.
- Invisible heroes all have the element of surprise. Provided they deal enough damage, Sniper should be vanquished very quickly: Clinkz, Riki, Bounty Hunter.
- Heroes with high mobility can approach Sniper: Anti-Mage, Earth Spirit, Io, Nature's Prophet, Pangolier, Puck, Queen of Pain and most notably Riki.
- Heroes with catch to disrupt Sniper's positioning and deliver him into the enemies: Batrider, Disruptor, Pudge, Vengeful Spirit.
Items[]
- Magic Wand and Holy Locket will gain charges from Sniper's Shrapnel spam on lane.
- Blade Mail 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.
- Blink Dagger 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.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity can disjoint Assassinate if timed correctly, as you have ~2-3 seconds to react before being hit.
- Linken's Sphere blocks Assassinate on impact.
- Lotus Orb will reflect Assassinate back at Sniper, which proves especially dangerous if the lotused hero has Aghanim's Scepter, since it will stun Sniper for a lengthy time.
- Smoke of Deceit disables True Sight from Assassinate on target.
- Shadow Blade allows enemies to sneak up on Sniper and fight him up close. Shadow Blade can later be upgraded into Silver Edge that can also disable Headshot and Take Aim, which can make Sniper struggle even against heroes he naturally counters.
Good against...[]
- Sniper is able to kite Earthshaker with his very long range.
- Sniper can dodge Earthshaker's stuns like Fissure and Enchant Totem with mobility items such as Blink Dagger, Force Staff/ Hurricane Pike and Shadow Blade/ Silver Edge.
- Sharpnel can be used to cancel Earthshaker's Blink Dagger and preventing effective use of his Echo Slam in a majority of situations.
- Sniper has a very long range, so it is rare that Enigma can catch him in a Black Hole.
- Assassinate can easily cancel Black Hole if he is not caught, especially with Aghanim's Scepter.
- Enigma's Eidolons from Demonic Conversion are useless to push against a Sniper as he will easily kill them, especially with Mjollnir, a common item on Sniper.
- Sniper just doesn't give Huskar a chance, as he always just keeps his opponents at a great distance. However, in such a game you will need to have a Concussive Grenade and a Hurricane Pike in order to avoid the Life Break of Huskar
- Medusa is a fairly immobile hero that deals damage around her with Split Shot. 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 Stone Gaze 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, Global Silence 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 Shadowraze.
- Assassinate when upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter can be used to cancel Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls.
- Sniper can easily destroy Mass Serpent Wards from long range.
- Sniper destroys Templar Assassin Refraction's only defense with its Shrapnel 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 Take Aim 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 Meld, however, even there Sniper will not let her escape with the help of Blink Dagger, since he uses Shrapnel.
- Sniper can easily destroy Plague Ward from long range.
- Sniper can easily destroy Tombstone from long range.
Others[]
- Melee heroes who may struggle to get close to Sniper: Wraith King, Kunkka, Doom, Tidehunter, Underlord, Troll Warlord, and etc.
- Special mention to Sven as he may not be able to get close, but if he does, God's Strength will make very short work of Sniper.
- Heroes with channeled abilities which Assassinate may cancel at long range: Witch Doctor, Crystal Maiden, Shadow Shaman, Pugna
- Silence and root abilities are irrelevant to Sniper.
Works well with...[]
- Bloodrage can be cast on Sniper, increasing his attack speed and the damage of his abilities
- Thirst 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.
- Rupture can force one enemy hero to stand still, preventing him from getting closer on Sniper
- Power Cogs provides a simple setup for Shrapnel
- Any enemy hero spotted by Rocket Flare is an easy target for Assassinate
- Shrapnel can spot one potential target for Clockwerk to aim his Hookshot
- 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 Dark Ascension 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.
- Void can slow enemies and allow Sniper to either escape or damage.
- Crippling Fear can silence any potential spellcasters and prevent them from harming Sniper.
- Ignite's long duration, potent slow will allow Sniper to kite enemies.
- Bloodlust 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 Poison Nova with Assassinate.
- Sniper being a ranged right click agility carry, Marksmanship 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: Centaur Warrunner, Abaddon, Wraith King, Axe
- 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: Bristleback