Gun Powder Justice - A Guide To Sniper (7.20c)

Introduction

Hello welcome to Masked_Man's guide to Sniper. Sniper aka the king of range is an agility hard carry who benefits from LONG attack range, Shrapnel and a great nuke with massive cast range handy to Assassinate the targets with low health.
Sniper is very easy to learn but hard to master since he is very squishy, Has no hard disable and sucks in melee combats so the art of positioning, Killing with out dying and extreme laning must be learnt over time but don't worry cause this guide will shorten that time very much.
You can also check my other guides Here

Lore

Kardel Sharpeye was born deep in the mountainous valleys of Knollen where, since time immemorial, the folk have survived by hunting the strange, cliff-dwelling steepstalkers above their village—killing them from a distance and collecting their carcasses where they fell. Sharpeye was among the best of these strange folk for whom projectile weapons are but another appendage, and to shoot is as natural as to touch.

On his day of summoning, when he was to gain full standing in his village, Sharpeye took the ancient test: a single shot from the valley floor to strike a beast down from the cliffs. To miss was to be dishonored. With his entire village standing vigil, Sharpeye took his shot. A steepstalker fell; the crowd cheered. But when the carcass was collected, the village grew silent, for the elders found that the bullet had pierced its glittering central eye then fallen to be clenched in the steepstalker's mandibles. This ominous sign was the literal opening of a dark prophecy, foretelling both greatness and exile for the gunman who made such a shot. Sharpeye the Sniper was thus, by his own skill, condemned to make his way apart from his people—and unwelcome back among them until he has fulfilled the remainder of the prophecy by attaining legendary stature on a field of battle.

Update Log

11/29/2018
Patch 7.20c update.

Skills Overview

Shrapnel

Type: Targets:

Active Enemy Units

Consumes a charge to fire a ball of shrapnel that showers the target area in explosive pellets. Enemies are subject to damage and slowed movement for 2 seconds. Reveals the targeted area. Shrapnel charges restore every 55 seconds.

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Notes:

• Damage will be dealt 11 times, first time at spell effect and then every second.
• Provides 450 radius vision in the targeted area.
• There's a 1.1 second delay before Shrapnel takes effect on the targeted area (0.3 second animation + 1.2 delay).
• Sniper gets all 3 charges upon learning the spell right away.
• Can deal up to 165/385/605/825 (Talent 440/660/880/1100) damage to a single unit
• Does not affect buildings.
• The damage and the slow are both provided by an aura. Its debuff lingers for 0.5 seconds. Multiple instances of the aura do not stack.

Shrapnel is Sniper's bread and butter spell and it has several uses. From farming creep waves and jungle camps to dealing mass damage to enemy heroes in manfights and teamfights and zoning enemies out in lane. Shrapnel its self can make the laning for enemy melee heroes like hell, Just cast it on the creep wave and watch him struggle for last hitting while under Shrapnel and your auto attack harassment. Use your charges wisely and try to keep one in reach for catching fleeing heroes or escaping. In teamfights cast one charge of Shrapnel on the place with the most heat and save the other charges for blocking the enemy's escape route or to ensure an easier escape.
The vision Shrapnel provides is handy for hitting the buildings when you out range them and to scout Rosh pit or jungle or to have needed vision to cast Assassinate.

Headshot

Type: Targets:

Passive Any Unit

Sniper increases his accuracy, giving a chance to deal extra damage and slow.

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Notes:

• Partially blocked by Magic Immunity. Slow is blocked, damage is not.
• Cannot proc against wards and buildings, can proc against allies.
• Headshot can miss.
• The proccing attack first applies the debuffs, then its own damage.
• Sniper can lifesteal off the damage dealt by Headshot. However, it cannot crit.
• The damage can be reduced with e.g. Enfeeble or Static Link. However, it cannot be amplified with e.g. Empower or the Double Damage Rune.
• When the talent is chosen, Headshot applies forced movement on the target upon proccing, pushing the target away from Sniper.
• The knockback does not interrupt channeling spells.
• Knocks units back at a speed of 350.

Headshot is the first skill we put a point in cause the chance and slow stay the same through out its upgrade and max it last. Headshot is useful for hitting the fleeing heroes and when it gets the knock back talent, It turns you into a much harder target for enemy melee heroes specially if you build tons of attack speed.
The damage bonus can also fasten the farm and makes lasts hitting easier (Luckier!)

Take Aim

Type:

Passive

Extends the attack range of Sniper's rifle. Can be activated to double Sniper's attack range for his next attack.

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Notes:

• Increases Sniper's total attack range to 650/750/850/950 (Talent 775/875/975/1075).
• Level 3 and 4 of this ability allow Sniper to out-range towers.

Take Aim is Sniper's signature skill. The "King Of Range" skill. Take Aim is maxed after Shrapnel cause Shrapnel provides faster farming and better lane dominance. Take Aim stacks with Dragon Lance extra attack range and the +125 attack range talent.
Use the skill's active to get one extra hit before assassinating the fleeing targets or to harass your enemies from a long distance.

Assassinate

Type: Targets:

Active Enemy Units

Sniper locks onto a target enemy unit and, after a short aiming duration, fires a devastating shot that deals damage at long range and mini-stuns the target.

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Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade: Assassinate becomes a ground targeted spell with 400 AoE. Upon cast, it locks onto the targets in the area, and after the channel period launches a 2.8x critical strike and procs headshot on the player-controlled units in the AoE. (only affects visible heroes/illusions)

Notes:

• The projectile travels at a speed of 2500.
• Grants True Sight of the invisible target while Sniper is aiming. It cannot be disjointed by invisibility. (except Shadow Dance, Smoke of Deceit)
• The projectile after being fired can also be disjointed by Blinking, but only after the projectile has been fired.
• Can be cancelled with the Stop or Hold commands, but not by moving. Cooldown and mana are unaffected if stopped.
• Aiming is canceled, if the target moves out of the spell's casting range.
• The projectile does not affect the target if it is still invulnerable on impact.
• The initial weapon loading sound during the cast time is audible to Sniper only.

Assassinate is a very unique spell because of its MASSIVE range. It is great for killing enemy heroes with low health or to kill steal but unlike what it is commonly used which is killing the fleeing heroes at the end of the fights, It can be used at the beginning of the fight! But when you should use Assassinate this way? When you have at least one nuker in your team like Lina, Lion, Bane, Huskar (Cast Assassinate after or while he Life Break on the target.) or heroes who benefit from enemy's low health like Viper, Axe, Bloodseeker.
The true sight is another thing that Assassinate provides while aiming and if used wisely, It can be used to catch and kill heroes who rely on invisibility for escaping like Bounty Hunter, Riki and Shadow Blade carriers.

Talents

Before anything Sniper is a Hard carry. Although in early and mid game he benefits from using Assassinate Migical damage more often, He is still a hard Physical damage dealer and that's why you must pick +20 damage.



90% of times you must pick +40 attack speed and that remaining 10% is still debatable. The more attack speed you have, the more damage, Headshot, Mjollnir chain lightning you deal. Extra attack speed stacks with attack speed items like Mjollnir, Butterfly, Monkey King Bar, Moon Shard and Mask of Madness.
Level 4 Shrapnel is strong enough to clear creep waves and jungle camps so why should we pick +35 Shrapnel DPS? The answer is Illusions and Broodmother's Spiderlings. That extra damage will really hurt those heroes and can really help you and your team to deal with them but there is also another thing that makes this hard talent choice kinda based on your play style and it is the Mjollnir's chain lightnings. The more attack speed you have the more lightnings you release and more spiderlings and Illusions you kill.
So play several games against Broodmother or illusion heroes like Phantom Lancer and Chaos Knight to see what suits your play style better.



Melee heroes who come out of nowhere are always Sniper's worst nightmare and the added knock back to Headshot makes it easier to deal with them. The more attack speed you build, The easier you counter them.
When we should decrease 2 seconds animation of assassination to 0.5 second? Assassinate has a mini stun and it's handi to cancel channelling spells and TP and this talent allows you to do so faster and easier.



For the record 3 Shrapnel charges are already enough if you learn how to use them properly.
+125 Attack Range talent + 550 base attack range + 400 attack range from level 4 Take Aim + 140 attack range from Dragon Lance = 1215 Attack Range!.
That MASSIVE attack range increases your survivbility, killing potential and damage out put.

Item Analysis

Tango & Healing Salve

In safe lane and off lane you will have a much harder time than mid lane and both Tango and Healing Salve will help you sustain your health and remain in lane.

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Magic Wand

Magic Wand provides stats and gains charges (max 20) based on enemies using abilities in a nearby area. When activated, it restores 15 health and mana based on the number of charges stored. Magic Wand is a life saver when you are near to death and a life taker when you need mana to Assassinate your targets.

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Power Treads

Power Treads are better to be built on sniper because of damage and stats. Set the attributes on strength and start laning. Use tread switch while casting spells to save mana.

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Hurricane Pike

Building Hurricane Pike is necessary in each and every game cause it provides two crucial things: 1) Extra attack range 2) An escape mechanism. Beside of those two things Hurricane Pike provides +20 Agility, +15 Strength, +10 Intelligence and +2 HP Regeneration. Hurricane Pike is not just an escape mechanism for you, You can also save you team mates with it or use it to catch a fleeing enemy hero.

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Mjollnir

Mjollnir is the upgrade of Maelstrom and it provides +24 Damage,+75 Attack Speed and 20% chance to release chain lightnings that deal 200 Magical damage that bounces between 12 enemy units. These chain lightnings clear creep waves in a blink and increase your overall damage greatly. Mjollnir is your first line of defense against cancer heroes.

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Monkey King Bar

Monkey King Bar provides +60 Attack Speed, +75% Acurracy and 100 Magical damage proc. MKB is the go to item for countering evasion heroes like Phantom Assassin, Troll Warlord, etc. Extra attack speed means more damage, Headshot, chain lightnings and Magical damage procs.

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Moon Shard

Moon Shard is the ultimate attack speed item. It provides +140 attack speed and +400 night vision. When 6 slotted, Consume it and keep half of the bonuses. Moon Shard must be built after Items that welcome more attack speed like Mjollnir, Monkey King Bar and Daedalus.

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Mask of Madness

Mask of Madness is built for Sniper. It provides +10 Attack Damage, +10 Attack Speed, 15% lifesteal and when activated, It gives 110 attack speed and 12% movement speed but causes you to become silenced and reduces armour by 8 for 8 seconds. Extra movement speed can be used for positioning and with extra attack speed melt down towers and your enemies. In late game it can be dissembled to build Butterfly or Satanic.

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Daedalus

Daedalus provides +80 damage and 30% chance to deal 235% critical damage. A real damage steroid for late game.

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Desolator

Desolator provides +50 damage and -7 armor reduction which allows him to dominate mid game, Push towers and because of his long attack range, Place the debuff on several heroes in the team fights.

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Silver Edge

Silver Edge is the upgrade of Shadow Blade and it provides +15 All Stats, +30 Damage, +30 Attack speed, invisibility and Break. Shadow Blade and Silver Edge are perfect for catching the lonely squishy heroes, Escaping and positioning. A solid counter against passive based heroes like Bristleback, Huskar, Phantom Assassin, Timbersaw, etc.

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Satanic

+25 Strength, +25 Damage and +25% Life Steal turn Satanic into a great late game option against hard match ups. Active Unholy Rage and refill you health in a blink and keep fighting and don't forget its 30% status resistance shortens the debuffs on you.

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Manta Style

Manta Style is useful against teams with squishy heroes and spell casters that their spell projectile could be dodged like Bloodseeker, Vengeful Spirit, Sven, Lion, etc. Manta Style provides +26 Agility, +10 Strength, +10 Intelligence, +10 Attack Speed, +8% Movement Speed and when activated, Two illusions that deal 28% of you damage that disjoints projectiles upon cast.

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Eye of Skadi

Building Eye of Skadi is more about crowd control than survivbility and damage. It provides +25 Strength, +25 Agility, +25 Intelligence, +250 HP, +250 Mana and 35% movement slow and 45 attack slow on attacks.

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Butterfly

Butterfly provides +35 Agility, +25 Damage, +35% Evasion, +30 Attack Speed. As you can see Butterfly counters right click heroes who think of you as food hard. Extra armor from agility and evasion do the defense and 65 attack speed does the fun part. A solid build against melee right click heroes when combined with Headshot knock back talent.

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Black King Bar

Stand still in the storm of spells with Black King Bar's magic immunity. A solid build against casters and disablers like Lion, Sven, Lina, etc.

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Aghanim's Scepter

Aghanim's Scepter is the cherry on the top for Sniper. In builds which are more damage oriented than attack speed, Aghanim's Scepter will shine. Another reason for building this item is nuking illusions and spiderlings to pieces. The same way Agh's Lion bursts Illusions. There are two honorable mentions which make Aghanim's Scepter a must and those two heroes are Dark Seer and Magnus cause both of them can center enemy heroes and make the perfect opportunity for nuking them.

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Linken's Sphere

Linken's Sphere is handy for countering heroes with single target spells and nukes like Lion, Huskar, Lina, Pugna, etc.

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Divine Rapier

You only build Divine Rapier in two cases. 1) You are losing and have nothing to lose so you take the risk and build Divine Rapier 2) You have demolished the enemy team and have full items so you just want to get rampages. Note: Sniper is squishy and a wise Blade Mail carrier can kill you easily so stay sharp and don't lose focus.

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Boots of Travel

You only build Boots of Travel when you a fat cat who just want to burn coins and have extra movement speed and global presence. It is not a core or a priority in your item builds.

Pros And Cons

Pros Has the longest attack range in the game. Strong laning presence. Can farm creep waves and jungle camps with Shrapnel Can Assassinate low health enemies. Has flexible Item builds

Cons Very squishy. Very farm dependent. Has no mobility or escape mechanism. Can die very fast if focused.

Early Game

Last Hit Deny Harass

First you gotta decide which lane you want to go. Mid lane is the best lane for Sniper cause laning against Sniper all alone is very hard specially for melee heroes ( Bloodseeker is kinda an exception.) and Sniper need gold and levels to shine in mid and late game. But mid lane is not the only lane available for Sniper although he has the most win rate on it. If there are other heroes in your team which do poorly on the side lanes like Shadow Fiend, Then move to the safe lane.
Laning as Sniper is easy, you have 650 attack range at level 2 and Shrapnel which both allow you to harass and zone out the enemies in lane.
Last hits and denies are easy to get because of Sniper's almost instant attack projectile. This is one reason Sniper is suggested for beginners.
Farming is your top priority in early game, killing is not. So stay in your lane, farm and stay away from fights unless you are are certain about getting a kill. Stay in your lane, keep some distance from the jungle edge and keep farming even when you hit level 6 and ignore the temptation to roam around and make your teammates to focus a poor enemy and Assassinate him.
Keep Ring of Aquila aura off in order to prevents creep push.
If you are in mid lane, Use Shrapnel to scout power up rune spots for having the rune control.
You are very vulnerable to ganks so ask your support (If you have one!) to ward crucial points in order to deal with ganks.

Mid Game

In mid game Farming is still a priority but now, You can participate in teamfights and kill lonely squishy heroes who can not nuke you down to pieces e.g. Lina and Lion.
In teamfights cast one charge of Shrapnel on the zone with the most heat and attack the enemy heroes from a safe distance. Do Not be a hero and do not risk your life and gold for nothing. Based on the description we had for assassination in Skills Overview, Cast Assassinate in the right way.
staying out of the enemies reach is the first thing you need to learn while playing Sniper. Phase Boots, Mask of Madness, Hurricane Pike and Shadow Blade help you to stay far away from the enemies. If the heat is coming to you, Move away, find a good position like high ground, jungle or under the tower and then strike again. Remember getting kills is not worth dying.
In mid game you can start farming jungle cams and ancients. Cast Shrapnel on the camp and attack them. The slow from Shrapnel and Headshot procs combined with your high attack range ensures that they won't be even able to touch you.
At this point Shrapnel can clear a whole creep wave easily so you don't even need to be in the lane to farm it.

Late Game

Show Time!
Sniper is a hard carry and he highly benefits from damage and attack speed so with proper item build he can demolish the late game even though harder carries like Faceless Void, Medusa and Anti-Mage out farm you, they still don't have the attack range you have. You are not able to kill them in the manfights but you surely can punish them hard in teamfights.
Killing and pushing are your priorities in late game. Both Shrapnel and chain lightnings clear creep waves fast and with the high damage and attack speed, Sniper can melt down towers while standing out of their range.
In late game teamfights Shrapnel is no longer as strong as what it was in the mid game but still it deals decent amount of damage and slow down the enemies so same as mid game, Cast it on the zone with the most heat and keep hitting and killing them from a safe distance.

Friends And Foes

Friends

Dark Seer & Magnus

Both Dark Seer and Magnus are your best friend and turn building Aghanim's Scepter into a must because of Vacuum and Reverse Polarity. Both these spells center the enemy units and make perfect opportunity for a perfect Assassinate.

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Axe

Same as Dark Seer and Magnus, Axe can center enemy unit with Berserker's Call. Assassinate can be used to lower the health of a target just enough to let Axe finish it off with Culling Blade.

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Bloodseeker

You both can help each other a lot. Shrapnel slow is helpful for landing Blood Rite. Thirst reveals the enemies with low health so that you Assassinate them. Bloodrage increase your overall damage. Hurricane Pike + Rupture deal tons of damage.

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Crystal Maiden

Crystal Maiden can solve it all with Arcane Aura. Crystal Nova slow can keep the enemies in Shrapnel much longer and Frostbite is perfect for locking down an enemy in Shrapnel and dealing tons of damage to it.

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Drow Ranger

When it comes to carry heroes, Drow Ranger is obviously Sniper's best friend, her Gust has a nice silence duration and knockback, Precision Aura gives you a lot of damage and Frost Arrows are amazing in chasing situations.

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Winter Wyvern

She protc, She attac. Winter Wyvern can support you through out the whole game. She heals you, makes your farm easier with Splinter Blast, Slows down the enemies with Arctic Burn and center them with Winter's Curse.

Foes

Broodmother

What a mother! The reasons Broodmother is a nightmare for you are her spiderlings and her ability to cast webs and reach you with increased movement speed and when she does, You are eaten in seconds. Tactics: Positioning is the key to counter Broodmother. stay away from jungle edge, Keep your position on the high ground and try your best to no be notice in fights. Learn to fight while staying in jungle covered among trees. Cast Shrapnel to kill her spiderlings and don't hesitate to nuke her down when the time comes. Items: In mid game build Hurricane Pike, Mask of Madness and Shadow Blade and in late game Butterfly. All these items help your positioning and allow you to deal with Broodmother.

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Slark & Phantom Assassin & Spirit Breaker

They reach you, They kill you simple as that :( Same as the description wrote for Broodmother, you must rely on positioning for dealing with these type of heroes which also include Storm Spirit, Anti-Mage, Mirana, Queen of Pain, Riki, Huskar and almost all Blink Dagger carriers. Hurricane Pike and Shadow Blade are a must for dealing with these type of heroes cause together they give a great escape mechanism which is casting Hurricane Pike on your enemy and using Shadow Blade to escape far away from enemy's dust.

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Lina & Lion & Bane

Remember that moment when I told you Sniper is Very squishy? Well guess which heroes like squishy heroes? These three single target nukers can kill you in a blink if you don't build your items properly. Items: Against single target nukers Linken's Sphere is the best item and Black King Bar can also help but these are not the only options. Satanic and Eye of Skadi are useful for tanking up and be a little less squishy cause they can cast their spells while BKB is on cooldown or when Linken's Sphere is poped.

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Timbersaw

Timbersaw is a tank designed for dealing with Physical damage thanks to Reactive Armor and can reach your position with Timber Chain and kill you with Whirling Death and Chakram. Tactics: Positioning against Timbersaw is a little more tricky cause you need to watch out for the trees around you and estimate the possible spot where Timbersaw may hook his chain. Its' a little hard but you'll get the hang of it after several matches. His Reactive Armor makes him hard to kill with auto attacks so double nuking him with Assassinate and -1.5s Assassinate talent and wise usage of Shrapnel is recommended. Items: Your item build is better to be damage oriented instead of attack speed oriented because of Reactive Armor. Desolator, Daedalus and Silver Edge are the best but if your play style likes insane attack speed Sniper, then go for Monkey King Bar and Mjollnir because of their Magical and Pure damage procs.

Last Words

Well this guide is finished too. be sure to check out my other guides Here.
Master Sniper, keep your KDA and Assists sky high and have fun.
If you have ANY questions, or you want to discuss something you've read in here, feel free to ask me in the comments here or via my Instagram: @soroush_s77

Masked_Man's Out