Sniper is a ranged agility hero who is almost always played as a hard carry. He is one of the weakest heroes at the start of the game, having no escape mechanism as a hard carry, being very fragile and having no good disables at all. Once he levels up his skills and gets his core items, he becomes a nearly unstoppable force, gunning down his foes while remaining at a comfortable distance. His Take Aim is what makes Sniper...Sniper. It increases his attack range so much that by its max level he can outrange towers. His accuracy lets him get the occasional Headshot, which cannot be evaded and acts as a bash, which can get annoying if he has a high enough attack speed. He also has Shrapnel which he can use to push or farm groups of enemies. As if his damage output wasn't high enough, Sniper also has his ultimate, Assassinate, when he needs some strong burst damage. It rarely misses, and can hit its target miles away. Sniper requires a good support and great farming ability to be able to farm up fast and avoid ganks. Once he reaches his maximum potential, there are very few hereos that can rival his power.
Abilities[edit]
Shrapnel[edit]
- Ability: Target Point
- Damage Type: Magical
- Damage: 12 / 24 / 36 / 48
- Movement Slow: 15% / 20% / 25% / 30%
- Radius: 400
- Duration: 9
- Mana Cost: 120
- Cooldown: 15
Shrapnel shoots incendiary rounds causing firey bullets to rain down on the targeted area, dealing damage per second and slowing enemies' move speed. It is a decent ability for pushing, and it is useful for spreading out damage in teamfights, but its radius is relatively small compared to other AoE abilities. The slow will be your only method of counter-ganking in the early game outside of supports, so make use of it if you can.
Headshot[edit]
- Ability: Passive
- Damage Type: Physical
- Damage: 15 / 40 / 65 / 90
- Chance: 40%
Headshot gives you a chance to do bonus damage as well as mini-stunning with every attack. Headshot attacks cannot be evaded. It is a decent attack modifier that can help you in duels to outdamage your adversary. The occasional mini-stun can also let you interrupt channeling abilities. It becomes extremely annoying once your attack speed becomes sufficiently high, as you will have a higher chance to proc Headshot, thus continously mini-stunning your foes.
Take Aim[edit]
- Ability: Passive
- Bonus Range: 75 / 150 / 225 / 300
Take Aim increases your attack range. You already outrange every other hero by level 2, and once you hit level 3 you will outrange towers. This means you can sit far away from danger as you fire away at enemy heroes. It also lets you push towers without attracting tower fire.
Assassinate[edit]
- Ability: Target Unit
- Affects: Enemy Heroes
- Damage Type: Magical
- Damage: 355 / 505 / 655
- Range: 2000 / 2500 / 3000
- Mana Cost: 175 / 275 / 375
- Cooldown: 20 / 15 / 10
Assassinate has a short wind-up of 1.7 seconds, after which you will fire a blast that will deal heavy damage to the target. With a cast range that exceeds your sight range and a ridiculously short cooldown, it is arguably the best single target burst damage ultimate in the game. Just target whoever you wish to take down, and watch as the projectile finishes it off. The blast almost never misses, it will hit no matter how far the target runs. You can even use an ally's vision to your advantage and target an enemy outside your own vision range.