Sniper
From Dota 2 Wiki
| Hero | Strategy | Counters | Equipment | Gear | Responses | Sounds | Lore | Old Abilities | Changelogs |
Sniper
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kardel Sharpeye, the Sniper, is a ranged agility carry who excels at dealing moderate to heavy damage from an incredible range. With no escape mechanism, poor mobility, and only a modest health pool, Sniper is exceptionally frail at all stages of the game and vulnerable to enemies who confront him head-on. However, his abilities provide him both the means to keep his distance and systematically destroy his enemies from afar. Shrapnel is a potent, high-cast range zoning ability that provides vision for Sniper while slowing and damaging enemies in its area of effect; with up to 3 charges on the ability, Sniper can completely close off any viable routes for his opponents to approach or escape. Headshot supplements Sniper's right-click damage and briefly stops enemies when it procs, which can be quite debilitating since it has a high rate of occurring. His third ability, Take Aim, gives him the largest attack range of any hero in the game, allowing him to deal high DPS from a safe distance while also giving him the ease to switch between targets at a moment's notice. Finally, Assassinate is a strong finishing and harassing ability, dealing hefty damage to an enemy from an enormous distance after a brief aiming period. Sniper is heavily item-dependent, relying on means to increase his survivability as well as his damage output as the game progresses. Skilled players will find that positioning is the most important thing to keep in mind when playing him or against him.
Contents
Bio[edit]
 Kardel Sharpeye, the Sniper
| |
| Play "Now that's what I call stopping power." | |
| Role: |  Carry /  Nuker
|
| 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. |
| Voice: | Gary Schwartz (Responses) |
Abilities[edit]
Shrapnel
Consumes a charge to launch a ball of shrapnel that showers the target area in explosive pellets. Enemies are subject to damage and slowed movement. Reveals the targeted area. Shrapnel charges restore every 55 seconds.
Cast Animation: 0.3+0
Cast Range: 1800
Effect Radius: 450
Effect Delay: 1.2
Damage per Second: 15/35/55/75 (
35/55/75/95)
35/55/75/95)Move Speed Slow: 15%/20%/25%/30%
Shrapnel Duration: 10
Number of Charges: 3 ( 7)
7)Charge Replenish Time: 55 ( 41.25)
41.25)
0
50
Slow persists and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity.Modifiers
Shrapnel Charge Counter: Undispellable.
Shrapnel Slow: Undispellable.Kardel's modular rifle also fires incendiary rounds, useful for assaulting entrenched locations.
Notes:
- Sniper gets all 3 charges upon learning the spell right away.
- Choosing the extra charges talent also immediately grants the 4 charges.
- Shrapnel starts dealing damage, slowing and providing vision after the effect delay.
- Provides 450 radius flying vision at the targeted area.
- 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.
- Deals damage in 1 second intervals, starting immediately as the debuff is placed, resulting in up to 11 possible damage instances.
- Can deal up to 165/385/605/825 ( 385/605/825/1045) damage to a single unit (before reductions).
- Does not affect buildings.
Headshot
W
D
Proc Chance: 40%
Damage: 15/40/65/90
Move Speed Slow: 100%
Attack Speed Slow: 100
Slow Duration: 0.5
Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.Modifiers
Headshot Slow: Dispellable with any dispel.Taking potshots at steepstalkers in his childhood has been thoroughly refined into perfect leads on enemy combatants.
Notes:
- Headshot can be disjointed and it can miss.
- 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.
- Increases Sniper's attack damage output on average by 6/16/26/36.
- Headshot uses pseudo-random distribution.
Take Aim
E
E
Ability
Passive
Passive
Affects
Self
Self
Extends the attack range of Sniper's rifle.
Attack Range Bonus: 100/200/300/400
Kardel always takes it upon himself to stay as far from harm as he can while still performing his role - taking perfect aim.
Notes:
- Increases Sniper's total attack range to 650/750/850/950 ( 750/850/950/1050).
Assassinate
Sniper locks onto a target enemy unit and, after 2 seconds, fires a devastating shot that deals damage at long range, and mini-stuns the target.
Cast Animation: 2+1.17
Cast Range: 2000/2500/3000
Damage: 320/485/650 (
0)
0)Stun Duration: 0.03
Radius: 0 ( 400)
400)Critical Damage: 0% ( 280%)
280%) 20/ 15/11.25/7.5) 175/
Turns Assassinate into a ground target AoE ability, that after the channel period launches a critical strike and procs headshot on units in the AoE. Only affects visible heroes.
Blocked upon impact, therefore, vision and True Sight are still granted.Not blocked when upgraded.
Modifiers
Assassinate: Undispellable. Stunned: Dispellable with strong dispels.In order to fulfill the prophecy and return to his home town, Kardel must make another shot as perfect as the one on the day of his ancient test.
Notes:
- The projectile travels at a speed of 2500 and can be disjointed.
- Assassinate places a debuff on the target as soon as Sniper begins casting.
- The debuff lasts 4 seconds, or until the projectile lands, or the cast gets canceled.
- The debuff grants shared vision with the targeted unit. Does not provide any vision when targeting neutral creeps.
- The debuff grants True Sight over the target. This means that Assassinate cannot be canceled or be disjointed with invisibility.
- However, since units under the effect of
Shadow Dance and 
Smoke of Deceit are immune to True Sight, they cancel the cast or disjoint the projectile. - The debuff is visible to everyone. The cross hair above the target is visible to allies only.
- Can directly target invulnerable units, and does not get canceled if the target turns invulnerable during the cast time.
- The vision debuff is not placed when targeting an invulnerable unit, but stays if the unit turned invulnerable during the cast time.
- The projectile does not affect the target if it is still invulnerable on impact.
- Cannot target hidden units and does get canceled when the target turns hidden.
- The initial weapon loading sound during the cast time is audible to Sniper only.
- When upgraded, Assassinate targets every player-controlled unit within the target area, meaning the vison debuff and the cross hair is placed on all player controlled units.
- However, upon reaching the cast point only heroes, illusions and creep-heroes are hit by projectiles. Other targeted units are not hit.
- Since the vision debuff disappears only when the projectile hits, or the cast gets canceled, it lasts for the full 4 seconds on all other targeted units.
- Unlike the single-target version, the upgraded Assassinate fully ignores invulnerable units. It neither initially targets them, nor does it launch a projectile for them.
- All targets are marked upon cast. Entering or leaving the area during the cast time as no effect.
- While the single-target version is subject to the motion buffer range, the area targeted version is not, meaning no matter how far a marked enemy moves away, it will get hit.
- This means even if an enemy teleports away after being marked, Sniper still launches the projectile towards them.
- If no valid targets are within the area, the spell still gets cast, wasting mana and cooldown.
-
Aghanim's Scepter causes Sniper to perform an instant attack on all targets.
- The launched projectile is still the regular Assassinate projectile, but having its damage set to 0. The instant attack is perfomed when the projectile hits its target.
- These instant attacks do not use Sniper's attack projectile speed, they hit their targets instantly.
- These attacks have True Strike, and can therefore never miss. They also ignore disarms.
- Can proc any attack modifier on all of the hit targets normally. Can also proc any on-hit effects, including Damage Block.
- These attacks have an ensured critical strike. They also always proc
Headshot.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
|---|---|---|
+4  Shrapnel Charges
|
25 | +100 Attack Range |
| 25% Cooldown Reduction | 20 | +8 Armor |
| +200 Health | 15 | +20 Shrapnel DPS
|
| +15 Attack Speed | 10 | +5 Mana Regen |
Notes:
- The mana regen is added as a bonus and does not benefit illusions.
- Upgrading health increases maximum health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.
- Cooldown reduction affects abilities and items. Stacks multiplicatively with
Octarine Core and additively with 
Arcane Rune.
- Cooldown reduction affects charge replenish time of Shrapnel.
- The armor is added as bonus armor, and therefore does not benefit illusions.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
-
Iron Branch improves Sniper's early stats, and can be built into a 
Magic Wand later on. -
Slippers of Agility helps with Sniper's naturally low base damage, allowing him to last hit better. -
Faerie Fire helps Sniper score last hits. -
Tango helps Sniper stay in lane. -
Healing Salve not only rejuvenates Sniper, using it at the last second can save also save him from a gank. -
Infused Raindrop helps Sniper resist harassment and gankers.
Early-game items:
-
Magic Wand is useful in emergencies, and gives Sniper some much needed survivability. -
Wraith Band boosts Sniper's early stats, keeping him viable in his vulnerably early game stage. -
Wind Lace is usually picked up by supports, but can be useful on Sniper to help offset his low mobility. -
Power Treads gives Sniper the ability to switch between Strength for survivability, Agility for damage, and even Intelligence for extra mana to use a clutch 
Assassinate. -
Phase Boots gives Sniper damage in exchange for attack speed, and works well with later items like 
Desolator or 
Daedalus.
Core items:
-
Desolator greatly improves Sniper's mid game damage, and its debuff can be safely applied from long range on multiple enemies. -
Dragon Lance increases Sniper's attack range to a maximum of 1190, allowing him to shoot down opponents before they can close the gap.
- Additionally, it naturally builds into
Hurricane Pike, providing Sniper an additional means of escape and/or positioning.
- Additionally, it naturally builds into
-
Mask of Madness greatly increases Sniper's attack speed, and provides a moderate boost to his movement speed. The lifesteal is good for farming, and can save Sniper in a head-to-head fight, while Silence doesn't hurt him so much. Another good choice can be 
Satanic for damage and survivability boost. -
Daedalus is what gives Sniper his massive damage in the late game, and lets him tear through softer enemies in just a few shots. -
Maelstrom is excellent against groups of enemies, or heroes with numerous summoned units like 
Phantom Lancer. Combined with more attack speed items, the lightning damage will trigger continuously.
Situational items:
-
Shadow Blade is often picked up by beginners, as it gives Sniper a much needed escape mechanism, as well as enabling him to position himself in team engagements. It also gives a damage boost to Sniper's first attack when cloaked. -
Silver Edge is a decent upgrade to 
Shadow Blade, and can be useful on more offense oriented Snipers. -
Eye of Skadi sacrifices damage for a great boost to Sniper's survivability, as well as adding a slow debuff that helps keep enemies within Sniper's range. -
Mjollnir is a natural progression from 
Maelstrom, but is sometimes skipped in favor of other direct damage boosting items. Maelstrom and Mjollnir stack with other attack modifiers like Desolator. -
Monkey King Bar grants a great increase in damage, attack speed, and is usually necessary to deal with evasion from heroes like 
Phantom Assassin. However, it provides no defensive boosts, and can be quite expensive. -
Butterfly is a costly but useful item if Sniper is struggling against right-click heroes. The attack speed and damage boosts Sniper's combat capabilities a little, while the evasion and armor give him considerably more survivability against opposing carries. -
Manta Style gives Sniper an important escape mechanism, and improves his movement speed as well as his sieging ability. -
Sange and Yasha can be an alternative to 
Manta Style if the player believes Sniper needs more health. It also provides 6% more movement speed and Greater Maim to help in chasing or kiting enemies. -
Moon Shard is a luxury item that can be picked up to ensure Sniper's dominance in a winning game. -
Divine Rapier is the ultimate item, sometimes purchased out of desperation. Combined with high attack speed and/or criticals, Sniper can demolish enemies in two or three shots. This can be very risky, as Sniper dies easily and may end up giving Divine Rapier to the enemy team.
Gameplay[edit]
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Trivia[edit]
- A number of Sniper's lines are either direct quotations or paraphrases of lines used by the Sniper class in Team Fortress 2, a popular class-based shooter also by Valve. Such phrases include:
- One of Sniper's lines while bottling a rune is Play "Jarate!", which is a reference to Team Fortress 2 in-game weapon for Sniper class, Jarate.
- One of Sniper's lines while casting his ultimate is Play "Boom headshot!", which is a reference to the Pure Pwnage mockumentary series.
- Incidentally, his voice actor, Gary Schwartz, also voices the Heavy Weapons Guy and Demoman in Team Fortress 2.
- Sniper's line, "Play Inconceivable!" is likely a reference to Vizzini's catchphrase in the film The Princess Bride due to the similarities in both the appearance and voices of the two.
- Sniper's name, Kardel Sharpeye, is a reference to professional Counter-Strike player Kyle "Ksharp" Miller of team 3D, who is regarded for his skillful AWP (Sniper rifle) use.
- Sniper's ultimate, Play Assassinate, also uses the same, though slightly modified gunshot Play sound as Counter-Strike's AWP.
- Sniper's ultimate, Play
- Sniper's fun name in DotA was Vasily Zaitsev, a highly skilled Russian sniper who was active during World War 2.
- Sniper's line, "Play What a dum-dum!" is a pun on the Expanding bullet, also known as a dum-dum. It is designed to expand on impact in order to limit penetration and create a wound larger in diameter.
- Sniper's line "Play Oh, a few bullet's more!" is a reference to the spaghetti western by Sergio Leone named For a Few Dollars More starring Clint Eastwood.
Gallery[edit]
Concept art
Concept art
Old model and icons
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
References[edit]
