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Sniper is essentially the easiest hero to play in the game based upon his two devastating passives and easy-killing ultimate. Many do forget, however, his first ability, Shrapnel. This spell is useful throughout the game, but especially early game. You can pick off slow enemies like Pudge, Tiny, etc. that usually go mid. Use it just before they turn to run away, so you can snipe them as they flee.


Another early game tactic of Sniper is ganks. I would like to use the saying "Gank and Bank" to describe Sniper's early game gank situation. If played out correctly, Sniper should stay back from the fight, use Shrapnel to disturb targeted enemy heroes, then consecutively snipe down an enemy from medium-long range while 2-3 other allied heroes simultaneously harass the acquired target to inevitable death.

The above situation should occur approximately 1-2 times every 10-15 min. You should start to get the hang of these ganks soon after the first one. You will start to notice an abundant amount of gold deposited in your stash. See why it is called "Gank and Bank" - Correctly execute ganks, make bank!

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As Sniper, you will need to keep in mind that attack speed isn't all that, and neither is hit damage. So as you progress in-game, be sure to develop a balanced ratio of damage to attack speed. These are the key values that really matter when playing sniper. Runner-up values to keep in mind: survivability(strength), movement speed, magic resistance.

If you want to get rampages be sure you have exactly these items around 35-45 min.

Ultimately, becoming a successful Sniper in late game comes down to early ganks, owning mid, and chewing up gold like bubble gum. Don't be too greedy, however, because Sniper is still squishy even at 50-60 min. It all depends on how well your team executes ganks and teamfights. Make sure you are at the back of teamfights. You essentially act as the main killer at the back of your team, so that they can guide the way. The best team build for this situation can make up of heroes like Centaur Warrunner, Faceless Void, Witch Doctor, Bloodseeker, Invoker, almost all annoying offensive heroes to play against :p It is crucial that Snipers look like Rambo with miniguns in games, because usually, from personal experience, if you do bad or feed with Sniper, your team will most likely make fun of you or even report you. If you don't want that happening to you, make sure you create havoc all over the map (so buy lots of tp scrolls) and don't get ganked! <-- that's important!

All in all, Sniper is phenomenal because he is so easy to play, and you can sometimes make up your own build if you end up realizing your team is truly amazing and you don't need to buy strategic items like bkb, mkb, sb, salves and tangos. In some rare cases, you won't even need to get a level of your ultimate until level 10 or something because your team is carrying your a**. The end and have a good day!