OldKainen's Guide Series: Sniper!

Try upvoting the guide Kodyababa, I don't know, this has never happened to me. =(

i accidentally downvoted this guide, how do i undo my mistake :c

i accidentally downvoted this guide, how do i undo my mistake :c

I suppose it is more of a glass cannon build, but I try to capitalize on good positioning to keep the fire out of my face. I don't really see minor HP boosts to him as useful until later when high damage is more common. The idea is to shred the target before he can burst you down, but of course, not always possible. In my opinion, treads is just situationally relevant.

But, I see what you mean. Glass cannon builds can seriously backfire against casters and people who can easily close the gap.

Thanks a lot, Hamstertamer!! Going to add a statement about Orchid Malevolence and probably Force Staff too. As you already explained, I didn't put Shadow Blade because Sniper is not a ganker nor initiator.

And SemiViral, other problem with Phase Boots -> Maelstrom -> Shadow Blade is that you have pretty low health. Kardel only gains 1.7 STR per level, getting no boosts to his stats leaves him very exposed to burst damage.

EDIT: If someone who has downvoted can actually say why, I would be grateful!!

That is true. I suppose I just use Sniper in a different way.

Well...Sniper kind of lacks burst damage. And a disable. Only thing he can do is right click for 50 damage a hit. If your target doesn't kill you on the spot, he will just walk away like he doesn't care. If you want an "assassin" carry who sneaks up on people to burst them down, why not pick Clinkz? Or Drow Ranger? I think they're way better at this.

He's not a ganker? Solid attack damage even with only Phase Boots and Headshot, solid with attack speed, a pick-off, and a [situational] slow. What is he missing? I gank with Sniper all the time. It's incredibly easy, given how little HP most heroes have ~8 minutes into the game.

Shadow Blade is a ganking item. Item only makes sense on gankers. Sniper isn't a ganker. Otherwise it's just an overpriced Yasha : Yasha gives you the same DPS and movement speed for far less gold AND it builds into Manta.

I do often build this item on Sniper, not particularly as an escape, but more for the stats it provides, as well as the 20% Movespeed bonus the invis gives. With Phase boots active just before you invisibility, you'll be sweeping out of enemy vision rather quickly. I don't, myself, think it's exclusively an initiation item. I never see it in guides here, and it seems to be generally overlooked because most people rely on it as an escape. Are the stats not worth it on a hard right clicker? My typical build is something like Phase Boots -> Shadow Blade -> Maelstrom. The attack speed from the two items makes you a force to be reckoned with, and the damage from Phase Boots and Shadow Blade easily rival any other hero's right-click in the early game(which is about when you should have it. Pre/early mid-game). Not to mention the passive procs from Maelstrom. Is this honestly that stupid? Yeah, I've not got any mana-based items, but spamming spells on Sniper isn't exactly a great tactic. Why is Shadow Blade so avidly ignored?

Finally a guide on Sniper that ACTUALLY makes sense. These seem to be quite rare on this website.

- Actually skilling Shrapnel as a skill that gives vision and STAY IN THE TREES : +1

- no Shadow Blade 1K MMR nonsense : +1

Essentially I really like the fact that you get it right on Shrapnel : put only 1 point in it if you're playing carry, and max it ASAP if you want to push. If you're not playing a push strat it's only really useful for sieging the enemy base, for T3 towers and rax.

Friends and foes list is pretty hard to make honestly, because 75% of heroes are in the foes section : anyone with a Blink is a foe, anyone with a Shadow Walk is a foe, anyone with burst damage is a foe, any hero with Blink Dagger as core is a foe, and even any hero who is NOT a foe turns into one just by buying a Blink Dagger, etc. I don't think you can list all the heroes, you missed Bounty Hunter, Phantom Assassin, Centaur Warrunner etc but essentially you'll always find some other foes so I think giving the general idea is enough.

Personally I always thought Force Staff is almost core on him because of the ability to reposition yourself and escape people jumping on you, and for the bonus INT for your skills ; but maybe it's just personal preference. Otherwise yes spamming Assassinate works on paper but you need an INT item to sustain it, that's why there was Orchid Malevolence in SP12's guide, I think it's a really fun build actually.

It still won't change the fact that Sniper IS at the core a long-range autoattacking creep, but at least it has a lot of educational value so definite +1 from me. How to rework Sniper? Easy : make him an INT spellcaster hero :)