The Sniper is definitely my best character! With an Ultimate that will make his enemies scream in pain as they try to escape, and a range that is even beyond the tower's, he is a force to be reckoned with!
- Name and Origins
- Skills
- Playing Style
- Items Recommended
- Best & Worst enemies
Kardel is the Sentinel's sniping specialist. With the longest ranged attacks available, Kardel is the best at dealing large damage and staying out of harm's way.
 | Kardel Sharpeye - The Dwarven Sniper Range: 550 | | Move Speed: 290 | Primary: AGI Str: 16 + 1.7 | Agi: 21 + 2.4 | Int: 12 + 2.6 Damage: 36 - 42 | HP: 454 | Mana: 156 HP Regen: 0.73 | Mana Regen: 0.49 Attack Speed: 1.34 (+ 21% IAS) | Armor: 2 View Complete Stat |  |
 | ScatterShot (C) Fires a ball full of shrapnel into the air. which promptly explodes, showering the target area in explosive pellets, each doing 10-25 physical damage in a 200 area of effect. Deals damage to buildings. Cast range of around 750. 1 second cast time. Level 1 - 8 Pellets. Level 2 - 12 Pellets. Level 3 - 16 Pellets. Level 4 - 20 Pellets. Pellets deal PIERCING DAMAGE Mana Cost: 120 Cooldown: 12 | |
 | Headshot () A shot to the head deals bonus damage and stuns for a short duration. Level 1 - 30 damage, 25% chance, 0.1 second stun. Level 2 - 30 damage, 30% chance, 0.1 second stun. Level 3 - 40 damage, 35% chance, 0.2 second stun. Level 4 - 50 damage, 40% chance, 0.2 second stun. Passive. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A | |
 | Take Aim () Passively enhances the range of Kardel's rifle. Level 1 - Adds 55 range. Level 2 - Adds 110 range. Level 3 - Adds 165 range. Level 4 - Adds 220 range. Passive. Mana Cost: N/A Cooldown: N/A | |
 | Assassinate (T) Take time to draw a bead, and then deal a large amount of damage to the target at a huge range. Level 1 - Deals 355 damage at 1500 range, 1.7 seconds casting time. Level 2 - Deals 505 damage at 2000 range, 1.6 seconds casting time. Level 3 - Deals 655 damage at 2500 range, 1.5 seconds casting time. Mana Cost: 175 / 275 / 375 Cooldown: 30 / 20 / 10 | |
Obviously each skill has its place depending on the playing style you wish to pwn by. ;) Personally I max out the range and damage first and then I'll up the stats. I completely ignore Scattershot.
Why?
Scattershot can help clear creep waves and also destroy towers, but for me, I would rather spend Kardel's mana spamming Assassinate. As you can tell, its damage is much, much more than SS ever could be and it's worth more dmg/mana spent.
Skills
Hence my Skill Building is as such:
Level 2: Headshot
Level 3: Take Aim
Level 4: Headshot
Level 5: Take Aim
Level 6: Assassinate
Level 7: Take Aim
Level 8: Headshot
Level 9: Headshot
Level 10: Stats
Level 11: Assassinate
Level 12-15: Stats
Level 16: Assassinate
Level 17-21: Stats
Level 22-25: Scattershot
Playing Style
Remember, we're working with a long-ranged damage dealer, not a tank. Make full use of the facts that your range is long and your projectiles are semi-invisible. Alright, let's talk about playing style:
Level 1-6: Before running off into battle, I strongly suggest you get 2 items: Ring of Regeneration (375 gold) and Flask of Sapphire Water (100 gold). These two items will last you until Level 7, at least.
I personally prefer the middle lane, because there'll definitely be at least 2 players in the mid lane, and I get to use the terrain to my advantage when using my range against them. Never push the lane too early. Being a ranged hero, it's tempting to take down the tower early, especially since at Level 5, your Level 3: Take Aim range puts you beyond the tower's reach. But resist the urge to do so. At an early stage of the game, your life and damage are way too low to pose any threat to them and your character will get raped.
However, the moment you hit Level 5, don't stop harassing heroes. Make sure you take the most dangerous hero below 300 HP, and the moment you hit Level 6, get Assassinate and finish the job.
Side note about Harassment: Kardel's projectiles are semi-invisible, and it has no visible effect on Kardel as well, unlike any other ranged hero, or heroes carrying Mask of Death or Desolator effects. What this means is that if you can stay hidden in the trees, and your enemies are busy pushing with their creeps, you can slowly whittle down their HP without them noticing you until it's too late!
Level 7-11: At this point I would get Boots of Speed (500 gold) and Blade of Alacrity (1000 gold). If by some luck I owned in the early stages I would include a Claymore (1400 gold) as well.
As you can guess, I'm going for Lothar's Edge (1400 gold for scroll)! Get it asap!
No attempt has been made yet to increase Kardel's tolerance for pain. And for good reason, because Kardel isn't a tank! Get Lothar's Edge, not just for the natural Agility and damage boost, but also for it's WindWalking ability! The moment you're in danger, CLICK ON IT!
I would also get a Scroll of Teleportation (135 gold) as well, when pushing with my Boots of Speed, Ring of Regeneration and Lothar's Edge. Just in case someone chases me, I would WW into the trees and TP back to base.
With these items alone, you can push down a lane all by yourself. If you sense danger (no one's visible on the map), TP back. If you've got the balls, just push until you need to use WW, run into the trees and TP back.
Level 12-16: Everyone's getting to be pretty dangerous now, so you should be traveling with your team, or slowly ganking everyone who isn't with their team. At this point, you might wanna get your team to kill Roshan, if things are going well for you. Get the Aegis for your best damage dealer (which will probably be you!)
Be sure to get your Boots of Speed upgraded to Power Threads (Gloves of Haste: 610 gold, Scroll: 420 gold) and start building either a Butterfly, Buriza do Kyanon, or Manta Style.
Side note: I strongly recommend getting Crystalys, then Butterfly, then finish the Buriza. Crystalys gives you the Critical Multiplier you need to be the best damage dealer. Butterfly gives you damage and evasion. Buriza just gives you a Triple Kill.
What of Manta Style? Why get it?
First of all, Diffusal Blade still uses Agility items, so it's natural for some heroes to get it. Purge is pretty sweet, and the Mana Burn can stop pesky heroes from using their escape spells (though not as effective). The Vitality Booster (1100 gold) required to get Manta Style also helps in HP. And finally, upon completion of Manta Style, you have mirror images!
Imagine this scene: Sven pops by, thinking that it's his lucky day. Sweet old Sniper strolls by, who's maximum health is only half of his own. Sven storm-bolts Sniper, and rushes in for the attack. Upon recovery, Sniper proceeds to activate Images to shoot at Sven, draining his mana, preventing another storm-bolt from coming out. If Sniper is still unsuccessful at lowering Sven's health effectively, he can still WW and cast Assassinate while Sven targets the images.
An effective solo-ing method, to be sure. A Sniper with all these items can hardly be stopped by a gank of less than 3 enemy heroes.
Level 16-25: Personally I would think the game would end when you're in your late teens. Both sides would be traveling in their packs, and you would be the one that finishes off the blinkers and WindWalkers with your incredible range.
Items Recommended
These are your final items that you should aim to achieve. It usually ends when Manta is completed, but just in case it doesn't end by then, get a Chicken to carry your stuff for you.
Best / Worst Enemies
Strength heroes are both your best (early game) and worst (late game) enemies. In the early game, all Strength Heroes are melee and therefore can't reach you without some significant damage. However, in the late game, they're pretty buff, and because everyone travels in packs, you might not be able to kill them before they get to you.
Always be the hunter. Remember, you are the Hero Killer and Damage Dealer. Don't allow yourself to get backstabbed. If at all possible, be the one taking them out.
WindWalkers (Bounty Hunter, Bone Fletcher, Priestess of the Moon, Lothar's Edge users) and Blinkers (Anti-Mage, Stealth Assassin, Queen of Pain, Chaos Knight) have a false sense of security when dealing with Kardel. With his incredible range of 2500, he can practically shoot from one tower to another (in the same lane). And Assassinate continues to track the invisible as well. You won't be able to see the enemy. But your bullet will, as long as it's targeted before they go Invisible.
How can you counter the effects of Assassinate?
Naturally, BKB works just as well. But a friend showed me a method that he used as Queen of Pain to avoid my deadly bullet MANY times!
Upon being targeted by Assassinate, a buff is seen in the enemy's info screen. It takes about 1.5 seconds to fire, so the moment you see the buff target you, wait for 1 second (or less) before Blinking away.
The idea is to shift your position when the bullet is in the air. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not seen it happen so many times in one game.
There we go, my first completed guide of Kardel Sharpeye, the Dwarven Sniper.
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