How to play sniper?

I started playing DOTA2 about two weeks ago and it was kind of difficult to decide what hero I should play. Range combat seems to be a way to go, so I picked the sniper. Since I don't know much about other Heroes or other builds I just went with this one. Not sure if this build still works as it did a year ago. But it seems to work perfect for n00bs like me if you get your time management right which you can train by playing a few bot games.

However, there are limits and I'm eager to find out why. First of all I hardly reach lvl 20 in a game (even with bots). Most of the time I'm stuck at lvl 13-18. I think I need to try harder a lot more, but maybe I'm doing something wrong - so this is why I ask in the first place.


The Perma-Basher-Dwarf is fun to play in general. Until level 6 the game is kind of painstaking if you do not manage to survive. After lvl 6-12 it gets easier. After lvl 12 everything works out great. But a huge problem is mana and gold. I know this build goes for damage and attack speed which is amazingly effective, but I really would like to use Assassinate more often. However mana cost is high.

This build uses Magic Wand and Ring of Aquila to upgrade attributes. Slippers of Agility are used for Ring of Aquila but one pair remains in the inventory. So I upgrade it to Poor Man's Shield to get some block, which works ok since I have trouble staying out of melee range sometimes.

After early game I go for Power Treads and as soon as possible for Mask of Madness to get some lifesteal. But then I have trouble getting more gold. The guide recommends to get Monkey King Bar and Manta Style next, but my gameplay seems to be not that great. Instead I go for Skull Basher first because it is a lot cheaper.

Now I already have six items, so for more items I have to sell other ones. Since gold is short, I go for Shadow Blade and sell Poor Man's Shield. Then I go for Monkey King Bar and Manta Style but in most cases the game is over by the time I gather enough gold (a few times I get the items needed but I never could craft the final item) - so I didn't even get the chance to try the effectiveness yet.

So one question is: if I get the last two items, which ones do I sell from the inventory? Would that be Magic Wand and Ring of Aquila?

Another one, as I already stated before: my mana is low all the time and when I've a dangerous situation I get killed pretty fast due to low HP restore. So is Magic Wand and Ring of Aquila the right way to go or are there other items that work better for sniper, giving better health and mana restore? I think I spend way too much on Tango and Healing Salve - but if there are two heroes plus creeps I need this to survive somehow until I'm out of range.

Also: how do I improve my gold rate? As I explained, I hardly manage to get the core items from that build. Maybe I do this all wrong? I try to spend the gold as fast as possible on common items so I can get the upgrades fast and don't lose too much when I get killed. However, waiting for like 2000+ gold to purchase Ultimate Orb, Yasha, Javelin, Demon Edge and the recipes just takes forever.

If I can get Shadow Blade (which I think is important to flee the battle scene) I'm lucky and I figured it makes more sense to spend 3000 gold on an item I can finally use, then instead saving gold for single items I can't use until they are combined to a more effective item. Well, I could use them but then I would have to sell something else from the inventory.

So it would be great if you guys could tell me what to improve and how this can be achieved.

Thanks a lot for taking your time to read and maybe to answer!


PS: I play random games all the time and there are some replays. If someone cares to take a look let me know. This is all about improving my gameplay so other players on the team don't get frustrated because of my incompetence.

Well, i have maybe some solutions for you. First of all, MoM is pretty bad when you think of it. You have low armor/health and if someone get's in range he'll probably kill you even if you have lifesteal. And the +damage you receive from the item is even worse. When you play sniper you want to go for attack speed and damage. You said you had problems collecting enough gold to buy something. You might want to try to build items that are built from a lot of cheap items instead of items requiring expensive items. When I play sniper I usually get Maelstrom and upgrade it to Mjölnir if I have the money later. And of course Shadow Blade right after Threads since you don't have any escape mechanisms. And to your mana problems. It seems you want to use your ult to harass. You don't need that since your range is superior to any other hero. You can back up and still deal damage while the enemy isn't able to attack you. Use the ult only to secure kills, which it's supposed to be used. To overall gold problems you just have to learn how to farm more efficiently. You'll get it eventually, don't worry.

(used to be Poor Man's Shield)


Assuming your inventory looks like this ^ I would sell the Ring of Aquila for Manta Style, then sell the Magic Wand for the Monkey King Bar. This is because, you'll get the Stats back, and more, from Manta Style, as well as the Illusions and the ability to Purge debuffs. By the time you can afford a Monkey King Bar, Magic Wand won't be doing much for you.



Magic Wand is awesome and is a great way to get enough Mana for your Shrapnel and Assassinate. IMO, Ring of Aquila is not. Since you only have 2 abilities, 1 to use mainly against Towers, and the other, to kill of low HP enemies, you don't need extra Mana Regen, just lots of Mana itself. This is why I prefer Drums of Endurance to Ring of Aquila, it'll give your more Stats (including Intelligence for Mana) and the Movement Speed Bonus is crucial to a slow Hero like Sniper.

If you make sure to only use Assassinate when you're sure it will finish off an enemy then use it, otherwise, save your Mana. If you need more Damage against a Tower and have more than enouh Mana for Assassinate then use Shrapnel, otherwise save your Mana, you'll probably find you have enough if you use your Skills sparingly.




I'm just guessing here, but do you often find the Creep Wave closer to the enemy's towers than yours? If so, you might want to look up some guides on Last Hitting.



You're gonna have to post a link to your Matches/Steam Profile in order for us to see them.


Finally, IMO, itemwise

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Thanks for the replies so far!

Couldn't find a way to convert the replays and upload, so here's the ID of my last game:
261070172

It's pretty much the average game I play. Only the incident @2:16 is not typically my style. I got slaphappy because I watched some pro games last night and thought why not try first kill before the creeps come running. I underestimated the situation and was surprised by a second hero. Guess I won't do this kinda gameplay for a while since I almost got killed.

I often get to close to the enemy towers so if I'm not fast enough I get the attention of the buildings defense mechanism (@5:48).

Also @19:07 I didn't watch the map that closely, same @24:10 - I got killed just for being stupid.

Then after that incident, the game is a usual. I run with the creeps all the time, killing as much as possible. I'm on my own most of the time. Everytime I ty to ask for help or when I join another hero they tend to leave me alone after a while.


I guess I have to use Assassinate not that often. However it seems to scare off most of the players, so that's the primary reason I'm using it. The withdraw to heal and I can kill their creeps, supporting my own.

Also after watching this replay over and over I think I am too close to the front. Maybe I should stay more in the back. I try to have maximum range, but it's not that easy to overlook everything like what to buy next, what's going on elsewhere on the map, etc.
When I'm too close I'm being distracted by other things.

Last Hitting could be better - I will try to improve that.

For all other suggestions I will try to change the build and see if it works out better.

Another question: when I lvl attributes, is Agility the only one to skill or should I upgrade Intelligence/Strength too?


If anyone else wants to give me some advise - feel free!


@Xyrus

I took a closer look at your items. As far as I'm not mistaken, stats will look like this if I use your suggestions:

+32 Damage
+4 Armor
+3 Agil
-5 Attack Speed
-2 Int
-390 gold

So it's about 400 gold more expensive than the items from the build, but that wouldn't be a problem.

EDIT: I tried it out and it works fine too. Guess that little damage boost is worth it.

I decided to also be helpful (as helpful as a new player can be, anyway)

Haven't watched the replay yet because my Dota 2 is still updating since last night because my net is pure snail.

Yes, Assassinate is mostly for killing escaping heroes with low HP (notice the ungodly range) OR to scare them so they almost get a heart attack. Usually i take the damage and round them down to the nearest 250 and use it accordingly (because armor/resistance IIRC)

Yes, Sniper should abuse his range by getting behind the creep wave (good against melee). Check minimap and if you see multiple heroes cluttering, that means something's on there. To check buy list, usually i use "dependable" buy list and improve on the go. Or just memorize the core items (usually constant between games) and just change the luxuries.

When you level attributes, you level all of them at once. It gives you the same stats as Circlet.

Hope this helps.

First of all, the Skull Basher is not needed at all.The Headshot ministun overrides the Skull Basher one, so they are not that good in a combination.Next on line, the Mask of Madness.This item increases the damage you take, so its not always the best idea to buy it.


Usually you should get Mask of Madness against enemies that have no real means of getting close to you, if you have any hero that blinks( Anti-Mage, Queen of Pain), anyone that has a really hard disable( Doom, Beastmaster etc) you might not want the item because if you are targeted, you will most likely die as a sitting duck.

Attack speed is the predominant thing you should get for Sniper, since Headshot deals 95(or 85, not sure, don't play Sniper that often) damage, so the more you proc it, the more damage you deal, and you lock the enemy in place, often just locking them into their cast animation( Leshrac, Shadow Fiend, Lina, Earthshaker).

Yes, Mask of Madness gives attack speed, tons of it, but is it worth it for such a squishy target?Maybe, if you can position yourself well in a fight, but for a newcomer into the game that's not so easy.

Now let's get back to attack speed, that also gives us damage. Shadow Blade is a good item, gives decent damage and attack speed,+ the ability to go invisible.If you get countered( and you will at some point, its really cheap to do so), then a Maelstrom into a Mjollnir is what you need.Gives decent attack speed, and a chain lighting that deals 120 damage each time it hits(and each bounce).It also has an active ability that creates a lighting shield around you, that damages anyone attack you, you can also cast this on an ally(blademail+ Axe+the shield for example, since Axe has a skill that forces enemies to attack him).

The Ring of Aquila can go away for a Drum of Endurance, as posted above.The drum gives way more stats than the ring, and it also gives more mana ---->You can cast more spells.

About lifesteal, the best choice later in the game would be a Satanic that is build up from a Helm of the Dominator, (suggested above), with it you can dominate an creep(would be beneficial if an jungle one) that can help pushing, some of them even having beneficial skills (for example, the blue ogre has(ogre magi) has an ice shield that gives +8 armor and slows the attack speed of the enemies each time you are attacked, really good means of countering a wild Troll Warlord or Faceless Void for example.)

@Xyrus and Wulfstan

I have been playing sniper now several days with your item suggestions and it works really great. It takes a lot of time to get the money since I still suck at last hitting but I did manage to get Mjollnir a few times now, even playing with another hero in my lane.

@all
Thank you very much for your advice! I'm still a noob but this was a serious boost to my gameplay!