How to Play Sniper in Dota 2

In the game of Dota, there are a good amount of heroes dubbed annoying to play against— like Sniper in Dota 2. You must pray the enemy never picks him because you need to put in your maximum effort. While some of them are fluid and rely on annoying damage types, there are none like Sniper. 

He is a slow-moving keen with a gun, that stands far from fights. His best quality is preventing enemies from getting close to him by being away. However, while Sniper looks easy, there are nuances to his gameplay. We see a small hero that defined a meta of HoHo-Haha! and his name still strikes fear. How do we go about playing Sniper? 

Strengths and Weaknesses of Sniper in Dota 2

Sniper is an agility hero whose gimmick is long-range physical assault. As a ranged hero, Sniper fits in the 7.32e meta of range carries in pick-ban contention. His build prefers fast and heavy physical damage, with the ability to farm waves quickly. 

Regarding spells, Sniper offers scouting vision and a nuke in his ultimate. Passive abilities include bonus attack range, knockback, and slow headshots. Shooting from the back is his forte.

The biggest downside of Sniper is his lack of mobility. He has one of the worst base movement speeds (MS) of any hero in the game. Icefrog designed him with lesser MS to compensate for the range he can output damage from. 

Sniper counts as a glass cannon due to him being an agility carry-type hero. His gameplay relies heavily on staying far back and hoping the enemy doesn’t jump him. But don’t let this distract you from the fact his projectile is one of the fastest.

Popular Builds

Let’s work on his gimmick to make him better as a hero. Your buildup begins with a Dragon Lance, which grants a bonus attack range. Your first real item is the Maelstrom, which you can decide to build into two upgrades depending on the game. 

Undoubtedly, a BKB is important no matter the circumstances. After all, the damage item seals the deal of your build. You can also get the neutral item, Grove Bow, for more attack range. Enchanted Quiver or Mind Breaker are good substitutions.

Another choice to consider is Eye of Skadi, which counters healing lineups. Daedalus for when your team’s damage needs a little push. A Divine Rapier is a last resort when things are at a standstill. 

For his mobility, a Blink Dagger is perfect for him. You can also get the Force Staff component of Hurricane Pike. Yet, the Monkey King Bar is a reliable anti-evasion item against heroes like Phantom Assassin. If you’re feeling a little silly, go ahead and buy a Skull Basher into Abyssal Blade.

Talent Choices for Sniper in Dota 2

Sniper’s talents can be picked up as soon they are available. The must-haves are the Left-Right-Right-Right talent choices in his talent tree. These talents enable the traditional playstyle of hitting from distance and preventing enemy gap-closing. 

However, he does get benefits from the other talents, but these by far put him in a great position. Take him for a test run in demo mode and see how much lead you pump into your enemies. After all, he’s also one of the best Dota 2 heroes for beginners.