Snapfire is a hero who is taken as a support. As a rule, she stands in the hard lane, since the Snapfire of the 4th position makes more impact than the 5th due to more space for action. The hero is strong in any fights and can fight both from a distance and in the epicenter of the mele.
Snapfire Dota 2 Character Review
Now let’s look at the pros and cons of Snapfire:
Advantages
- Good HP at the start and a large power gain. Snapfire requires almost no stat items as it gains enough HP as it levels up.
- Strong nukes for laning. Any way to level up Snapfire’s skills makes her a dangerous opponent in the lane. She can do a ton of both magical and physical damage.
- Availability of AoE abilities and good initiation. Three of Snapfire’s four skills work in the area. At the same time, Scatterblast and Mortimer Kisses provide a slowdown, and Firesnap Cookie stuns.
Flaws
- Only one ability, Lil’ Shredder, works through magic immunity. All other skills are useless against heroes under the effect of Black King Bar.
- Snapfire requires the team to have crowd control for his ultimate. The slow from Mortimer Kisses, even with the talent at level 20, may not be enough to hit all the balls on a moving target.
- Low mana pool early in the game. If you decide to max out Scatterblast to drain resources from your opponents, you’ll need to stock up on consumables.
Initial stage of the game
While we are standing on the line, we try to provide our core with comfortable farm. If you are playing against heroes with a small amount of armor, you can try to max out Lil ‘Shredder and shoot them on cooldown. For a better effect, you can take Blight Stone, from which you will later make Medallion of Courage.
However, the best option would be to level up the first and second skills. Scatterblast deals a lot of damage at close range and provides a strong slowdown. It is better to take “Cookie” in 1, as well as Lil’ Shredder. The first will not be an unnecessary stun, and the second skill will increase the potential when pushing the line.
In the early game, try to farm Tranquil/Arcane Boots, Magic Wands, Medal, and some sort of save item like Glimmer Cape or Force Staff. Luckily, Snapfire’s abilities allow her to clear creep packs quickly.
Mid-game
Snapfire should be played more and more actively with each passing minute. The hero is extremely good at tempo due to small cooldowns and skill mana costs. If you are attacking a solo target with a team, you can initiate it yourself through Scatterblast and “cookies”. In mass fights, it is better to throw Firesnap Cookie at your frontlaner.
Before casting your ultimate, make sure it won’t be interrupted. To do this, don’t go looking for trouble – take a position behind the team (preferably out of enemy vision).
As for items, in the mid-game it is definitely worth buying Aghanim’s Shard. It is advisable to do this as quickly as possible to get an additional stun with Scatterblast. Then we upgrade the medal in Solar Crest, buy Blink Dagger if you need additional escape or initiation, and get Lotus Orb if you need dispel or protection from targeted skills.
Late game
In the late game, the playstyle is not much different from the mid-game. It’s just that it’s not so easy to initiate, because the opponents are also gaining items and becoming stronger. In skirmishes, everything is the same – we cast Cookie in time, stun the enemies with Scatterblast, reduce armor with the third spell and throw Mortimer Kisses at the opponents from a safe distance.
Lil’ Shredder’s armor reduction makes it easy to push towers and take Roshan, so Snapfire is almost always involved in these processes.
Here you can also take more serious artifacts. For example, Aghanim’s Scepter for saving teammates and initiation and Scythe of Vise for control against the most dangerous opponents.
What talents are better to take?
- Level 10 – For survivability, it’s better to take +200 HP. For such a low level, such a talent is very pleasant, and the extra second of slow from Scatterblast is almost useless, especially if you take Shard later.
- Level 15 – Extremely situational, but it’s better to give preference to healing with “cookies”. In any case, by the time Snapfire reaches level 15, both talents do not provide strong advantages.
- Level 20 – The Lil’ Shredder attack damage talent is ignored if you’re going support. The slow from the ult is great for the next talent at level 25.
- Level 25 – +6 to the number of balls from the ultimate – an extremely powerful thing. Snapfire starts spitting out balls faster, which increases the damage per second. +3 targets for attack for Lil’ Shredder, again, is not suitable for a support.
hat subjects are preferable to take?
Since Snapfire is primarily a support, you need to collect those things for her that are useful to have for this role. In addition to consumables on the lane, we stock up on wards, Dust of Appearance if we play against invisibility, and Smoke of Deceit throughout the game.
As the main items, we buy Arcane Boots for future reassembly into Lotus Orb or immediately take Tranquil Boots – they will increase your mobility outside of skirmishes, and are much cheaper. Next comes Magic Wand and Medallion of Courage. If you need to save teammates, then we take out Force Staff, Glimmer or Lotus right away. Around 20-25 minutes, you should already have a Shard and upgrade the medal.
To make the most of Shard, take Blink. Then take Aghanim’s, Hex, or Black King Bar if you’re getting focused.
What heroes does Snapfire pair with?
For proper implementation of Snapfire, there should be heroes in her pick with whom she will feel comfortable in the game. Among such characters are, for example, Legion Commander, Puck, Magnus, Warlock, Marci, Tidehunter and others.
During the pick stage, be wary of Silencer, Anti-Mage, the three Spirits – Storm, Void and Ember – or any other mobile heroes with control.
Conclusion
Snapfire is a great position 4 hero, but she doesn’t really add much to picks with a small number of stuns and mass ults. If you play her well, then in combination with other tempo heroes, she and her team can quickly gain an advantage.