Sniper Counters & Build

Spectre 7,259 matches

−5.2%

WhyWhile the lane is roughly even, Spectre excels outside the laning stage by completely bypassing Sniper's long-range advantage from Keen Scope and Take Aim. Using Haunt or Shadow Step combined with Reality, Spectre instantly teleports directly onto Sniper in the backline, punishing his isolated positioning with pure damage from Desolate and tracking him through terrain with Spectral Dagger.

Storm Spirit 3,435 matches

−3.7%

WhyAlthough Storm Spirit loses the laning stage heavily to Sniper's superior attack range and Shrapnel harassment, the matchup completely swings in his favor later in the game. Ball Lightning allows Storm Spirit to turn invulnerable and effortlessly bypass Sniper's positioning advantage to close the distance. Once on top of him, Storm Spirit can lock down the fragile marksman with Electric Vortex and burst him down using Static Remnant and Overload slows.

Phantom Lancer 4,171 matches

−3.3%

WhyWhile the laning phase is roughly even, Phantom Lancer easily overwhelms Sniper in later teamfights by closing the distance with Phantom Rush's high movement speed and bonus evasion. Sniper's single-target toolkit with Take Aim, Headshot, and Assassinate struggles against the overwhelming number of Juxtapose illusions, and Doppelganger allows Phantom Lancer to disjoint incoming projectiles.

Morphling 1,368 matches

−2.7%

WhyWhile Morphling loses the laning phase to Sniper's early harass, his advantage emerges later in the game. Waveform's invulnerable gap close allows Morphling to instantly bypass the distance created by Keen Scope and Take Aim to burst Sniper down with agility-scaled Adaptive Strike. Morphling can also turn Morph into Sniper to copy his basic abilities or rely on Attribute Shift to survive Assassinate damage.

Arc Warden 1,389 matches

−2.5%

WhyArc Warden wins the lane early by threatening an isolated Sniper with Flux and Spark Wraith. Throughout the game, Magnetic Field protects Arc Warden and his allies by evading attacks originating from outside the field, neutralizing Sniper's long-range right-click damage from Keen Scope and Take Aim. Tempest Double also allows Arc Warden to match Sniper's range and siege potential without risking his primary hero.

Disruptor 4,022 matches

+3.0%

WhySniper outranges Disruptor's entire spell kit using Keen Scope, Take Aim, and Assassinate, allowing him to safely burst Disruptor down without ever stepping into the range of Kinetic Field or Static Storm. Additionally, Sniper bypasses Disruptor's Electromagnetic Repulsion passive entirely by dealing all of his damage from well beyond its 400-radius threshold.

Shadow Fiend 10,024 matches

+2.1%

WhyAlthough Sniper slightly loses the laning stage against Shadow Fiend, his advantage grows later in the game as his massive range from Keen Scope and Take Aim lets him fight completely outside the reach of Shadowraze and Requiem of Souls. If Shadow Fiend attempts to close the distance with Feast of Souls, Sniper can repel him using Headshot procs and Concussive Grenade's knockback and disarm.

Necrophos 7,765 matches

+2.0%

WhySniper secures an early lane advantage by leveraging Keen Scope, Take Aim, and Shrapnel to deal damage from far outside the reach of Death Pulse and Heartstopper Aura. Furthermore, Headshot and Concussive Grenade easily kite Necrophos with knockbacks and slows, while Ghost Shroud's magic damage penalty leaves him vulnerable to Shrapnel and Assassinate.

Medusa 928 matches

+2.0%

WhySniper establishes an early advantage by clearly winning the lane against Medusa, using Keen Scope and Take Aim to safely outrange and harass her. His immense range allows him to continuously whittle down Medusa's Mana Shield from outside her threat radius, while Headshot and Concussive Grenade knock her back, disarm her, and slow her movement to prevent her from closing the gap.

Death Prophet 1,537 matches

+1.9%

WhySniper slightly loses the lane to Death Prophet, but his advantage emerges later in the game as his superior range from Keen Scope and Take Aim comes online. Headshot knockbacks, Shrapnel slows, and Concussive Grenade prevent Death Prophet from maintaining the close proximity required to effectively utilize Spirit Siphon and Exorcism.