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I'm Orion and I've played Sniper in over 800 DOTA 2 public and ranked games. This guide aims to describe the style of play I have naturally adopted by trial and error which is essentially a pure damage per second (DPS) build with a small touch of situational utility. This guide is current for major patch update 6.84.
The reason why I focus on DPS with Sniper is as follows:
- someone has to do damage to defeat the enemy team and destroy towers
- high DPS combined with Sniper's ability to free hit from his range advantage with Take Aim is extremely useful in the team fight scenario
- high DPS equals faster farming of jungles and lanes
- high DPS equals powerful pushing ability against towers
- high DPS with lifesteal increases your survivability
- with thoughtful positioning, wards, smoke and good teamplay you often do not need much else
This rampage occurred when our team was behind almost 10 kills. No ultimates from either Void or Tidehunter due to Silencer and cooldown. A bit of luck, but also only possible by focusing on pure DPS.
The reason I have written this guide is the quite good results I have been able to achieve, primarily in public games but occasionally in ranked games as well. Using item data collection counters they state I have averaged approximately 11 kills per game (my highest is 36-2-11) and have a godlike spree in about 15% of my games (I have over 140 on record) which are good numbers. Rampages are not as common but I do have 8 on record which I have included in gameplay footage. This does include quite a bit of building damage which isn't measured. Not every game I play is fantastic (DOTA is a team game) and some games I am heavily countered but invariably if given time and space to farm and a careful consideration of the hero draft, Sniper will contribute.
Sniper's basic attributes can be summed up in these points:
- longest range in the game with Take Aim means free hits and constant damage against the enemy in teamfights as long as you are alive
- very hard carry, very farm dependent
- extra DPS and slow from Headshot
- average agility gain (2.5 per level)
- situationally useful active abilities with Shrapnel and Assassinate
- weak early game
- very low health
- slow movement speed
- no innate escape mechanism
The basic teamfight strategy with Sniper is to take advantage of his Take Aim ability (range 950) to score a whole bunch of damaging free hits for as long as possible, in the presence of a team who will keep you alive. This is why DPS is so important for Sniper.
Each game I play Sniper, I play it as a game of transformation. It is essentially to transform an extremely weak but long-range early game pea-shooter to a devastating powerful artillery type unit, extremely powerful in any team-fight situation but extremely vulnerable alone.
Sniper is without a doubt in my mind, a hard carry. With two passive abilities (particularly Take Aim) this is comparable to other hard carries such as Faceless Void, Drow Ranger, Spectre and Phantom Assassin. Sniper's strengths are his autoattacks if he is sufficiently farmed. His early game is very weak and his active abilities Shrapnel and Assassinate are somewhat average abilities which quickly become relatively weak in the late game. If you want to play support there are better heroes to pick.
The biggest question is to consider how Sniper is going to stay alive and score all those damaging free hits in teamfights against the enemy line up in question. Therefore you must consider:
The enemy team's draft: heroes who are strong and weak against Sniper
Your team's draft: heroes who work well with Sniper
Farming position if you pick Sniper: Do not pick Sniper as position 4 or 5, you already have too many carries
Heroes who are strong against Sniper
These heroes tend to have the following attributes:
- 'gap closing abilities' which eliminate Sniper's range advantage from Take Aim
- stuns and disables, particularly ranged stuns, stopping you auto-attacking
- some degree of durability
I have listed a few heroes who I have found better at fighting Sniper than others. This is not a comprehensive list but this should give you an idea who is good against you.
Strong enemy heroes against Sniper
Sniper is extremely weak in the early game. Sniper has little influence early game and is easily ganked. Therefore the goal of the Sniper early game is to get out of it as soon as possible. This is achieved by staying in the lane and avoiding dying at all costs.
In game influence starts to occur once you get Assassinate, and then some DPS, primarily through items (for me, its Power Treads/ Phase Boots & Mask of Madness with maxed Headshot). So you want to get to the mid game as soon as possible. This is the hardest part of the game and mastering this part of the game will make the rest of the game much more easy.
Your goals in the lane early game, in order of priority are as follows:
Survival
Last hits/Creep wave management
Denies
Harass/Ganking
Survival
Your survival is highest under your tower. Managing your creepwave so you can farm very close to it is optimal. Warding the enemy pull camp in the offlane is also very desirable. If you have observer wards in the jungle adjacent to where you plan to farm, or a supportive jungler nearby then this improves your odds. Dying will delay your progression, give gold and experience to the enemy and prolong the Sniper early game which you have little impact so whatever you do, your priority is to not die.
An organised team will always find a way to gank you in the early game. Your goal in this situation is to make it as hard as possible to do this. For example, make them tower dive Tier 1 or even Tier 2 towers just to eliminate you. If they lose a hero or two in the process this creates space for your teammates to get ahead.
It is very important to stay on top of regeneration. If you get harrassed a lot, say by Silencer or Zeus make sure you purchase plenty of Tangos, Healing Salves or even Magic Stick/ Magic Wand.
I find getting good boots / movement speed very valuable to keeping Sniper alive. Phase Boots/ Mask of Madness is quite a nice combination allowing you to chase down enemies or run away from dangerous situations.
Introduction to the middle to late game
Once you have any sort of useful DPS you can and should participate in team fights. For me this is when I get Phase Boots, Mask of Madness, Town Portal Scroll and maxed Headshot. With your focus on high damage at long range it is important to consider how you can stay alive for as long as possible in team fights and this is where considering Sniper positioning in these fights is important.
What is good Sniper positioning, why is it important and where is a good position for Sniper
There is a lot of discussion about 'positioning Sniper well' in team fights. To make things really simple I define a good Sniper position as one where you get maximal free hits. This means a position which:
- you can hit the enemy from your range advantage from Take Aim
- they cannot hit you back except with exceptional difficulty (ie. your team is in the way of getting to you)
- the above two conditions occur for as long as possible
This is the basic mechanics behind DPS Sniper and teamfights - if you get a whole bunch of damaging free hits off before they can even touch you, all things being equal your team will win many more teamfights than they lose.
The flipside is that if the enemy get you first with your very low health, and there are no other carries, your team may very easily lose the team fight. This is why careful and thoughtful positioning and gameplay are critical to success with Sniper, and having a fellow carry as an insurance policy (to clean up if you fall) can be valuable.
The usual good position for Sniper is in the rear, a variable distance from your teammates, so when engagements occur you start shooting them from a safe position. This is provided you know there are no other threatening enemy heroes coming from the rear.
The other good position is in the middle of your team if you have a blink type initiator (ie. Axe / Tidehunter) so when they initiate with Blink Dagger you can take advantage of it.
How the enemy will try to counter you
The enemy if they are semi-intelligent, will try to counter you by eliminating you ASAP and preferably alone. This is why hiding your position until you engage is so valuable, if they do not know where you are, it is hard to plan a fight against you. It is also why solo ganking or standing in the front of your team with Sniper is generally not a good idea, you lose the considerable advantage which is your team standing in the way of the enemy, and allowing you all these free hits.
Durable 'gap closer' heroes are so valuable against Sniper, as they make Sniper's positioning less effective (but not completely ineffective - they target you instead of another teammate, which is good for your teammate and why having a fellow carry on your team is valuable). If you know they have a high likelihood of getting to you (ie. Spirit Breaker) your best option is to stand in the middle of your team, next to your disabler(s) (ie Enigma, Axe, Tidehunter, Medusa) to counter this. Or a support hero who is able to protect you (ie. Oracle) until the situation is safe for you to engage.
The enemy may try to approach the team from the side or the rear. This is to try to catch Sniper either alone or get Sniper first. They may use Smoke of Deceit or Moonlight Shadow to do this. To try to manage this the ideal situation is to place Observer Wards and/or Sentry Wards around the side and rear approaches to your siege location. If you think they will successfully approach you from an unexpected angle place yourself in the middle of your team next to your disabler(s) or support hero who can protect you.
Song of the Siren is a difficult ultimate for Sniper to counter, but in essence it is difficult for a lot of heroes to counter. It basically allows the enemy to walk right up to anyone they wish and eliminate them first. Usually that will be you. Again support heroes and disablers might be able to protect you. The other solution is Black King Bar (hopefully this is activated before Song of the Siren is used and possibly also Blink Dagger which will redirect funds away from DPS items (which may or may not be important). Or Aegis of the Immortal is another option.
Invisible heroes ( Riki, Clinkz, Nyx Assassin, Mirana, Invoker) may try to get you first. Your best protection is Sentry Wards, allied towers or sensible allied heroes with Gem of True Sight who will make an effort to protect you. Nyx Assassin is particularly tricky to deal with, as your low health, high intelligence (and mana) gain (good target for Mana Burn), and capacity to double stun and double / triple nuke with Mana Burn, Vendetta and Dagon makes you rather vulnerable, and again allied disablers are key to keeping you alive.
How good positioning affects teamfights
Optimal position of Sniper subtly creates circumstances for the enemy team which are very unfavorable for them, forcing them to do one of the following:
Walk through your team, potentially taking heavy losses to try to eliminate you.
- This is very good for Sniper if he is in the rear a variable distance away, the enemy have no gap closers, your team has disables/slows/stuns and can also do a bit of damage.
Continue fighting, you will continue to score free hits
- If you have sufficient DPS this means your team wins the team fight
Retreat
- As they retreat Sniper can score additional free hits with Take Aim, slow them down with Shrapnel and Headshot, even potentially chase them down with Phase Boots, Mask of Madness, Yasha and Butterfly. If sufficient damage has been dealt by you and your team, you can use Assassinate to minimize the number of enemy heroes who escape.
Utilising Shrapnel and Assassinate in team fights
Shrapnel gives area of effect vision, damage and slow and can be used to scout out high ground or hidden areas. If you do level it up high early you can use it in team fights to do some additional DPS however in the late game the damage is pretty irrelevant. As mentioned this can delay enemy heroes using Blink Dagger. I am sure this would also be very helpful against Templar Assassin's Refraction.
Assassinate can be used to assist initiation before team fights. For example you can use it just as your allied teammate Axe is able to Blink onto an enemy and call them. The initiation potential is greatest on squishy but threatening enemy heroes (such as Invoker or Enigma). It is also very helpful to kill fleeing heroes who are low on health as mentioned, and Shrapnel can be used to give you vision of high ground or around trees so you can land Assassinate. Assassinate will do less damage per second than your autoattacks so generally it is best to continue auto-attacking if they are in range unless your team needs the detection (against say, a Shadow Blade user and your team haven't brought detection).
'Attack walking'
You will get a good sense of your natural autoattack speed, and you can actually move in between attacks without reducing your rate of attacks. This is called 'Attack walking'. Phase Boots and Mask of Madness give you enhanced movement speed and you can use this to 'kite' enemy heroes or chase down fleeing heroes. Shrapnel's and Headshot's slow are very valuable in this situation.
Examples of teamfight plays:
Generic team fight
1. Hide your position (again, like a Sniper does!), strongly consider Smoke of Deceit if appropriate
2. Position yourself at the rear, a variable distance away, place Sentry Wards to protect yourself against invisible heroes, or position yourself with your team if you are confident your blink-type initiator will succeed
3. Others to initiate
4. You engage with teammates in between you and enemy, turn on Mask and/or Medallion on if you have it
5. Teammates cast stuns/disables/slows
6. Eliminate biggest threat to you within your range (ie. Phantom Assassin) and biggest threat to team (ie. Enigma)
7. If they run, use Assassinate if they get out of auto-attack range to prevent them surviving
8. If your team starts to flee (encourage them to stand and fight if you are heavily farmed), you flee with them ensuring your positioning is intact
9. If you are caught and know you are going to die, keep shooting to take down as many of them as possible before you fall, hopefully your team can clean up
10. If you survive and team wins fight, counter push lanes, take towers / end game
11. If you survive and team loses fight, try to farm if safe, otherwise hide in base until team returns
Base defence
As above, position yourself in the rear and a variable distance away, this is usually the around the Tier 4 towers
If you see a squishy enemy hero out of position, turn on Mask and try to shoot them down to low enough health that you either eliminate them, or can use Assassinate to finish them off, +/- teammate stuns/disables to help, then run back into position
Spamming Assassinate from the mana from your fountain could discourage them from engaging, if you are waiting for teammates to respawn
Laning stage ganking with Sniper
Teleport to a lane with a teammate with a stun/disable, preferrably the creepwave not too far from the tower, hide your position and hide behind your teammates.
Request a stun.
Turn Mask of Madness and/or Medallion of Courage on when they stun
Eliminate stunned hero, with active Mask and/or Medallion and maximum Headshot and teammates helping this should be easy.
If other enemy hero is still near by, hit him with autoattacks (hopefully Headshot will proc a few times, slowing them down) and orb walk while you are chasing, if you have Shrapnel cast this also to slow them down.
If teammates still have stuns/slows request further stuns to eliminate this hero
If they are on low enough health while they get away, use Assassinate to secure the double gank
Sneak off to jungle to continue farming/warding etc
Tower defence with Sniper
Gauge whether your team is organised enough and committed enough to defend the tower.
If they are not interested in defending don't go, push another tower, or continue farming/gank a different lane or something like that.
If they are interested teleport in, hide your position at the rear in trees. Once enemies approach, get your initator teammate to initiate. Then turn on Mask and keep hitting them until they run away.
If they run away use Assassinate if they are low enough.
Dealing with certain Sniper counter items
Blade Mail
Essentially you should pick another target until this wears off
If you have Manta Style your illusions can continue autoattacking
If you have Black King Bar you can activate it and continue autoattacking
If you have Satanic you can activate it and continue autoattacking (lifesteal is 275% of damage dealt)
If you have Heart of Tarrasque you could continuing autoattacking a little if other teammates continue to do so if they are a significant threat
If you teammates can cast Eul's or other disables this can also be an excellent counter until it wears off
Blink Dagger
If the enemy knows your position, you need to make sure these enemies have damage dealt to them to stop them blinking to eliminate you
Shrapnel (even at level 1), your autoattacks or Maelstrom's Chain Lightning can do this, or your teammates
Shadow Blade / Other invisibility
You need Sentry wards or a reliable teammate carrying Gem of True Sight
Dust of Appearance is not good enough as they will close the gap and you will die before it is used
Decline team fight engagements against invisible heroes in enemy territory unless you or team have Sentries or you have a trustworthy teammate carrying Gem of True Sight who is aware of your predicament and will make efforts to protect you.
Force Staff
With a cast range of 800 this is difficult to counter, try not to get too close to these heroes if you can, you do outrange the Force Staff slightly (950)
Try to not be facing Force Staff users if they look like using it on you (watch their movements, sometimes their pathing will give away their intent), and focus fire these heroes down hard if it is safe
If you have Black King Bar you can activate this and foil any attempt
Ethereal Blade / Dagon / Scythe of Vyse
These items are nasty for everyone. You can stay out of range and keep shooting carriers of these items them if you can.
Techies
Sniper is an excellent hero against Techies. His range allows you to clear mines rapidly if you have detection, and you can exploit Shrapnel to give you vision on high ground and in the Rosh pit to clear the bombs.
Obviously don't go into any potentially mined areas without detection, you are very squishy and die quickly.
These are some screenshots of some game ending results:
These are some further gameplay footage videoes:
DPS Sniper: 4 v 5 team fight
Unsuccessful 2 v 4 gank attempt against well farmed Sniper
DOTA 2 Asian Championships 2015 ($3 million + US)
Sniper saw quite a bit of gameplay time and this includes right at the pointy end of the tournament. This is not bad considering a prize pool of over $3 million US (first place $1.28 million). Here are references to a few Sniper games by the professionals, you can have a look at their drafts, the opposing team's draft, skill choices, item choices, general team play and the outcome of these. They do tend to level Shrapnel early which is a little different to my own natural playstyle. Item builds tended to focus on Phase Boots, Mask of Madness, Yasha and Ring of Aquila.
Evil Geniuses vs Team Secret Game 2 (Semifinal) 8/2/2015
Big God vs Team Secret Game 2 (Quarterfinal) 8/2/2015
Evil Geniuses vs Vici Gaming Game 1 and Game 2 8/2/2015
Cloud9 vs Team Secret Game 3 8/2/2015
Rave vs Invictus Gaming Game 2 7/2/2015
Team Secret vs Vici Gaming Game 3 6/2/2015
Rave vs TongFu 3/2/2015
Team Secret vs Vici Gaming 2/2/2015
NaVi vs TongFu 2/2/2015
It might be worth particularly reviewing the Team Secret vs Vici Gaming Game 3 match (6/2/2015) where Team Secret had no answer to the Medusa / Sniper combination, which was quite a significant play-off match.
6.84 update changes relevant to Sniper
Overall Sniper's abilities are slightly weakened but he gets access to new items which can make him more powerful.
Statistical progression
- Sniper agility gain from 2.9 to 2.5
Ability changes
Shrapnel
- Shrapnel recharge time increased from 40 to 55
- Shrapnel delay increased from 0.8 to 1.4 seconds
- Shrapnel now gives vision when the shrapnel lands rather than instantly
Headshot
- Headshot can now miss
Assassinate
- Assassinate damage from 355/505/655 to 320/485/650
Items
Phase Boots
- Overall cost reduced from 1350 to 1290
- Phase duration from 4 to 3.6 seconds
Mask of Madness
- Berserk movement speed bonus reduced from 30% to 17%
Moon Shard
- Created from two Hyperstones and a recipe, gives +120 attack speed, increased night time vision.
Glimmer Cape
- Created at cost of 1950gp, gives invisibility and +55% magic resistance for 5 seconds, cheaper escape mechanism than Shadow Blade
Silver Edge
- Upgrade of Shadow Blade
- Attacking to break invisibility deals 225 damage, disables all passive abilities and damage output by 40% for 5 seconds (disable and damage output reduction blocked by magic immunity)
Butterfly
- Flutter duration from 8 to 6 and bonus movement speed from 20 to 25%
- Total cost from 6000gp to 5875gp
Eye of Skadi
- Cold Attack slow duration for ranged heroes from 3 to 2.5 seconds
Power Treads
- Attribute bonus increased from 8 to 9
Vladmir's Offering
- Aura now grants 10% lifesteal to ranged heroes
Sniper is a very powerful hero but extremely farm dependent. This build discusses the play-style strategies that I have naturally adopted and use in public and ranked games.
Dying early is to be avoided. Farming should always be undertaken until you can contribute in team fights, and continuously undertaken when there are quiet periods. Be as active as possible in lanes provided you stay alive. Farming strategies have been discussed, farming safely is the key. Buy items if needed to secure this, it is in your interests to do so because if you have no farm, you will have no influence in team fights.
Have some sort of item game plan to maximise your DPS. A DPS Sniper is strongest in the teamfight setting. Position yourself in the rear, placing your team in between the yourself and enemy, and try to constantly free hit. Force them to make a decision to either go through your team and take heavy losses to try to get you, die from your high DPS from constant free-hitting, or flee (and fall victim to potential Assassinate). If you are alone, out of position and the enemy finds you, you are usually dead.
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