How do you play Sniper?

I prefer the Yasha for the movement speed: if you want to stack it, then do it well. :D

I agree with the Maelstrom being a better damage item, but if I didn't need extra movement speed I'd go for a straight Desolator. Also, while the Mjollnir is more useful for your hard carry, the Manta Style makes you more survivable and gives you two illusions. I sometimes go Yasha then Maelstrom, but I never tried getting it before.

I think that Sange and Yasha is a better upgrade for Sniper, especially later on once you've got your Maelstrom and Black King Bar, but no Drum charges left. The Illusions gaining Take Aim and having a bit more Agility/Int doesn't really compare to the 850 Gold + Greater Maim + Strength + tiny Stat Buffs imo.

No I don't prefer Sange and Yasha, I used to see players buying it time ago but I haven't seen now. But why would you buy a Black King Bar on Sniper he's the only one who doesn't need Black King Bar and also you attack from 950 range and can crush an entire team.

Well I have like 90 or 80 something winrate with sniper, so guess it works.

Pick him if they have like weak mids and you can position yourself well.

MY BUILD:

START: tango, salve, couple of branches.
RUSH: maelstorm (if lane goes your way)
CORE: Treads, maelstorm, wand
EXTENSION: Yasha, Skadi, BKB
SITUATIONAL: SnY, Drums
LUXURY: Mjollnir, Manta, Satanic, Butterfly.
REJECTED: MoM, SB.

SKILL BUILD: Headshot,2 levels of take aim, max headshot, max take aim, get shrapnel/stats, ulti at standard

Well, I tried the max-shrapnel build, and it turned out to be quite good at pushing. However, in the game I played my team fed. Looks like I have to do more testing before I conclude its effectiveness :(

Why does he not need a Black King Bar? Is he not going to get focused? Is the other Team going to be incapable of closing the gap as the game goes on? No matter how I look at it, against a decent lineup, Sniper will eventually need a Black King Bar.

U can say that your team / the enemy Team is goin to loose if your/their sniper is goin for the classic pub-noob-build: which is basically: Mask of Madness + Shadowblade + [Desolator]]

I peronally like to build sniper like this: Power Treads + Helm of the Dominator + Maelstorm (later into Mjol) + Daedalus / Manta Style.

I like HotD as an early pickup on sniper. It basically gives him everything he needs during the midgame....which is clearly the stage, where he is supposed to shine.

I don't play Sniper a whole lot, but when I do, I usually go:

Starting- Tango x2, Healing Salve, Iron Branch x3
Early- Boots of Speed, Orb of Venom, Helm of Iron Will
Mid- Power Treads, Helm of the Dominator, Ultimate Orb
Core- Eye of Skadi, Satanic, Butterfly, Black King Bar if needed
Situational- Yasha, Manta Style, Drum of Endurance

and then I'll skill Take Aim and Headshot 2x each and one point in Shrapnel by level 5. From there, take ult when available and max Take Aim and Headshot. Depending on the game, I max headshot first if I am farming just fine, or take aim if I need the extra range.

I like the Orb of Venom early because it gives him a little more contribution to a lane if he's in a dual- or tri-lane. The slow isn't fantastic, but it IS a slow, which he can use with shrapnel for more effect. Plus, it builds into the Eye of Skadi, which I love on Sniper because it fixes his squishyness and gives him some kickass slow power to keep people from closing and/or escaping. If the game is very safe for me, I'll sometimes just rush Skadi and leave the helm for after that. Otherwise, the helm is a great item to get early so that you are a bit less prone to dying, plus you can dominate a neutral to get a variety of abilities. Butterfly doesn't really need much justification on Sniper. I like Satanic on him because when you have it together with a Skadi you forget that Sniper used to be a squishy hero.