Devil by day, demon by night - but to master your skills as a Night Stalker is never a bad time!
Sure as night follows day, we will cover detailed item and talent builds that are currently in meta. Being an easy hero to master properly, stout from the very beginning, with an ability to move extremely fast during the nighttime, he is one of the best roamers and gankers in the game. And the hunt begins!
5. SabeRLight’s SECRETS of a 12k MMR OFFLANER build
This is a classic offlane build, but also an excellent example of semi – carry offlaner who knows how to do his job, especially when you farm up fast. This build is straightforward: Get some stats to survive an early game phase, wait for a good chance to attack like a hunter in the night, and slaughter your enemy.
Skills:
Level 1 – Level 1 Void.
The most common pick for level 1 Night Stalker. Slows the targeted enemy’s attack and movement speed, does 80 hp damage, and interrupts TPs and channeled abilities.
Level 2 – Selects no abilities. He sticks to his current gameplay to disrupt the enemies’ farm and pull the creeps as close to his tower as he can.
Level 3 – Selects no abilities. Again, he can make no play so he delays ability selection. Keeps farming and leveling up.
Level 4 – He now uses 3 ability points and is ready to make a play with his Jakiro support. Spends 1 Ability Point (AP) on Level 2 Void (this is an ability which he levels the first because it’s his most practical ability), 1 AP on Hunter in the Night, and 1 AP on Crippling Fear.
Although not a very common choice, he is aware of Crystal Maidens’ (CM) and Wraith Kings’ (WK) numerous disabling abilities, and, although LVL 2 Hunter in the Night would create a significant difference in his movement (MS) and attack speed (AS) during nighttime, Crippling Fear is a situational pick which allows him to AOE silence his enemies, whether he runs into or away from the fight.
Level 5 – Level 3 Void.
it’s nighttime, so it’s time to feed! With 240 damage and 3.5 seconds of MS and AS slow, it significantly adds up to his gameplay.
That CM is going to get cut in half when Void is thrown at her!
Level 6 – Level 1 Dark Ascension.
This is where the fun starts, considering you’re a hunter in the night of course.
Level 7 – Level 4 Void.
Void is now on maximum level, providing the maximum utility. Crystal Maidens’ head falls off. Earth Spirits’ belly rolls on the floor.
Level 8 – Level 2 Hunter in the Night.
Finally, he can now focus on mastering his 3rd ability, which is his main attribute during mid-game, making him an even bigger threat to the enemy team. They aren’t even aware of what is coming at them!
Level 9 – Level 3 Hunter in the Night.
Level 10 – +8s Night Ascension Duration.
A powerful upgrade, almost as a cheat, these extra 8 seconds are God’s gift to the creature of the night!
Level 11 – Level 4 Hunter in the Night.
His mobility and speed, along with his night vision, will allow him to spot an enemy from a comfortable distance which is a big advantage if, for example, you just climbed up the high ground, by which time it’s too late: your Sun sets!
Level 12 – Dark Ascension level 2.
Level 13 – Level 2 Crippling Fear.
Level 14 – Level 3 Crippling Fear.
Level 15 – No skills are selected.
Level 16 – Proceeds with not leveling because things are already good as they are, why change?
Level 17 – Finally, he decides to make himself stronger. Level 4 crippling fear, and + 35 Dark Ascension damage. He slaps a tower but there isn’t another cheek left to be turned.
Level 18 – Level 3 Dark Ascension.
The match is won. Killed. Crushed.
Items:
This is somewhat of a classic semi-carry/ offlaner build.
00:00 – Tango, Quelling Blade, Magic Stick, and 3 Iron Branches.
Quelling Blade is essential for farming and denial of friendly creeps, as the Magic Stick is for health and mana boost through enemy spellcasting. 2 Branches will be used for a Magic Wand recipe, which is beneficial on a lane where enemies spam their abilities, and 1 Branch will be eaten with Tango for increased regeneration.
02:27 - Boots of Speed.
06:28 – Blades of Attack into Phase Boots.
He has now built his Phase Boots and is ready to take on some action. With an 8-second cooldown on the cast, he gains a 20% movement speed increase for 3 seconds. The best option for this hero, he now covers a lot of space, especially during nighttime.
11:35 –Ogre Axe into Echo Sabre.
A frequent question that pops up is: Should I go for Armlet or Echo Sabre? In most situations, the answer would be Echo. Why? 2 reasons:
First, Night Stalker does not have any self-sustainability, no passive or active skills that can heal him on his auto attacks, and Unholy Strenght provided by Armlet would drain a lot of his HP while active, meaning he would have to spend a lot of money on Salves. So Armlet is threshing the empty straw, kinda.
The second, but more important reason, is that he can disassemble his Echo Sabre and use the Ogre Axe provided to finish his BKB faster.
16:00 – Mithril Hammer.
This item is an ingredient for the Black King Bar (BKB) which is, most certainly, a supreme situational item – Adds up to the player’s hit points, a ton of damage, and spell immunity with the decreased duration with each cast.
18:19 – Buys a BKB recipe and drags it with a courier, while doing what we previously have described, disassembles Echo Sabre to take the remaining Ogre Axe from. A cunning creature Night Stalker is.
Up to this point, his team is very dominant and is preparing to engage Tier 3 towers and enter the enemy base. He pops his BKB, casts Dark Ascension, and the enemy back line is devoured with an ULTRA KILL!! He dives even further into the base, and,
19:33 – Buys a remaining Ogre Axe at the enemies’ fountain, to re-finish his Echo Sabre, and Slay the already wounded Earth Spirit with a double hit from his Echo Sabre for a massive RAMPAGE!! He is almost killed but manages to escape with 9 HP!!! Night reigns forever!!
21:38 – Buys Aghanims’ Shard, but the Throne is crushed as we speak.
4. Night Stalker Carry by Nisha
Now that we have covered what can be called a classic Night Stalker build, now we will explore something more exotic: Nisha’s Night Stalker Carry Pro Gameplay!
Although this isn’t a hero that would often be seen on a hard carry position, this is the perfect example of a situational pick where things can get worked out. For example, he goes for the Armlet rather than Echo Sabre. The game was stomped in something less than 30 minutes, with an insane score of 20 kills, 3 deaths, and 11 assists. The true beast of bedtime tales!
Skills:
Level 1 – Void.
Nothing new, nothing uncommon.
Level 2 – Selects no abilities.
The game has just begun, and there are no openings, so he just sticks to farming.
Level 3 – Still, nothing was selected.
Level 4 – Crippling Fear, Level 2 Void, Hunter in The Night.
At first, he selects no abilities but, Death Prophet somehow foresaw a chance to get a kill, and, as he and Mercy engage, he quickly selects Crippling Fear and barely escapes, and then improves Void by 1 AP, and logically, 1 AP for Hunter in the Night.
A situational pick, he was saving his APs for a fast 2 Hunter In the Night levels but was forced to go for fear instead. Fear quiets magic.
Level 5 – Level 2 Hunter in The Night.
Level 6 – Selects no abilities. Waiting for a play to open up.
Level 7 – Level 1 Dark Ascension, Level 3 Void.
He is nicely concealed among the trees at the very borders of his lane. Death Prophet is poorly positioned, and the moment he sees it, he pops his ultimate along with fear, casts void, and slaps DP a couple of times. A poor judgment from a prophet who couldn’t see his death coming.
Level 8 – Level 3 Hunter in The Night.
Though it’s daytime now, his ultimate is ready. With 3 points in his 3rd ability, he is super fast and ready for every situation.
Level 9 – Level 4 Hunter in The Night.
In the forest, of the night, there is no escape or much his enemies can do.
Level 10 – +8s Dark Ascension.
The most obvious pick, you want to have the nighttime as long as you can.
Level 11 – Level 2 Crippling Fear.
He doesn’t max out his Void, because its damage can’t compare to the damage he provides with his auto attacks, but instead can keep his enemies silenced for a greater period.
Level 12 – Level 3 Crippling Fear.
Level 13 – Level 2 Dark ascension.
Improving on his ultimate, as expected. A slightly lowered cooldown for as twice as bonus damage from this spell.
Level 14 – Level 4 Void.
Level 15 - +35 Dark Ascension damage.
The only reasonable choice, he now mauls his enemies with every hit.
Level 16 – Level 4 Crippling Fear.
Level 18 – Level 3 Dark Ascension.
Level 20 – +20 strength.
Provides +20 damage, and +400 HP. He is now a Hulk with wings, like a flying tank.
Items:
00:00 – Starts with Tangos, Iron Branch, and 3 Gauntlets of Strenght.
Iron Branch will be used for a magic wand recipe. In 90% of the matches, you would see 2 gauntlets as starting items, but 3 Gauntlets are now a slight increase in his strength and damage, making him even more resilient because he wants to dominate this lane with reduced chances of going back to base.
05:56 - Boots of speed.
The night is dark, and these boots will take him a long way.
08:45 – Drags Broom Handle and an Armlet recipe.
Armlet is a situational item. With +35 base damage and + 25 strength from the Unholy Strength, it is a big deal in this game phase.
You will notice throughout the game that, because of Armlet, his hp is drained pretty quickly. But his team coordination and his supports create a lot of space for him to farm, so he can afford to stay on low hp and not get killed.
13:07 – Hand of Midas recipe.
Greedy, but it will pay off. +40 attack speed will be felt on his enemy’s skin, but more importantly, he gains a 160 gold bonus and 2.1 times experience from the targeted creep. There wasn’t much going on in this match so far and he had a lot of space to afford this choice.
15:00 – Aghanim’s shard and a Teleport.
An excellent item because now his 3rd ability provides him with 35% health and 25% mana restoration, which is a core combo for his Armlet build.
17:16 – Blink Dagger.
No one can escape now, and he will get his claws on that bird. A number 1 pro item, blink will allow him even more control of the map. Dark Ascension provides him with a lot of vision, which allows him to spot his enemies from a greater distance, so the element of surprise that comes with the Blink Dagger is just insane.
18:37 – Mithril Hammer.
The first step towards a BKB.
21:39 – Black King Bar recipe.
His BKB is ready, and he could now kill dive a fountain, that’s how insane he is right now. A core item for Night Stalker, no matter the position he plays at.
24:33 – Belt of Strength into Skull Basher.
Solidifying his Armlet build. He hits fast, moves even faster, and can bash his enemies with a blink dagger attack. His hits now provide childhood memory flashbacks.
27:23 – The game is won! GG!
3. OG.ATF Offlane Build
In the upcoming text, we shall cover another offlane play, with a slightly different early game build. The player is OG.ATF, and he puts up a show!
Skills:
Level 1 – Void.
By this time it should be clear that Void is the only spell that you should pick on level 1.
Level 2 – Selects no abilities.
Something we’ve seen in previous descriptions. If the enemy engages, Crippling Fear would be a life-saving choice.
Level 3 – Level 2 Void.
Level 4 – Hunter in The Night, Level 2 Hunter in The Night.
It’s almost nighttime and some play is going to open up soon enough. Saves 1 AP, and then uses it to improve on his 3rd ability as soon as the night falls.
Level 5 – Level 3 Void.
The reason he picks this instead of Hunter in the Night is that enemies are still squishy, and 240 damage dealt with Void he can, for example, cut Zeus in half.
Level 6 – Dark Ascension.
Already very dangerous, his ultimate instantly provides him an advantage to make a play and kill. And that’s exactly what happens, he pops his ultimate, and an insane range of night vision provided by this spell allows him to see both mortally wounded Ursa and Dragon Knight, and he confidently dives into a tower for a double kill.
Level 7 – Level 4 Void.
He maxes his 1st spell, and 320 magic damage every 8 seconds is bestial in this phase of the match.
Level 8 – Selects no abilities.
It’s daytime, and he might get a gank as he is very close to the enemy tower, so he waits, maybe Crippling Fear can prove life-saving once again.
Level 9 – Level 3 Hunter in The Night, Crippling Fear
He can now safely proceed to max his 3rd ability, but level 3 already makes him super fast and strong, so 1 AP in Fear is a smart pick because if he dives an enemy, there is no escape.
Level 10 – +50 Void Damage.
He decides to boost some extra damage into his 1st spell for extra damage, which now cuts a third of his enemies’ hit points.
Level 11 – Level 4 Hunter in The Night.
Maximum attack and movement speed are provided by this spell. He is now faster than Zeuses’ lightning.
Level 12 – Level 2 Crippling Fear.
The night is young, and he had already cast his ultimate spell which is on a cooldown. By the time his ultimate is ready to be cast again, he will most likely gain another level. So, half a second increase in fear is a good choice.
Level 13 – Level 2 Dark Ascension.
Level 14 – Level 3 Crippling Fear.
Level 15 – +35 Dark Ascension damage.
The strongest choice for this hero. He is fast, resilient, and rips an enemy’s soul apart with every hit.
Level 16 – Level 4 Crippling Fear.
Level 18 – Level 3 Dark Ascension.
Items:
00:00 – Tangos, Quelling Blade, Gauntlet of Strenght, Circlet, and 2 Iron Branches.
Again, branches will be used as ingredients for Magic Wand, but he decides to go for a Bracer, as he will try to disrupt Ursa on his lane, so stats will be beneficial to survive.
04:31 – Boots of Speed, Tangos, and a Clarity Potion.
07:58 – Gloves of Haste, Belt of Strength into Power Treads.
He changes his mind to go from Phase Boots to Power Treads. The reason is that Treads will improve on his base stats that he can switch if necessary. Switching Power Treads is essential if you lack intelligence for your mana pool, or maybe agility for attack speed.
12:19 – Ogre Axe into Echo Sabre.
Echo Sabre is now complete, so an extra auto attack will make a huge difference in fights. He gained damage, attack speed, intelligence to increase his mana, and mana regeneration, and also, as we discussed, he can disassemble it for a fast BKB.
15:12 – Aghanims’ Shard
A very good situational pick, that opens up a spectrum of possibilities. For example, eat a creep mid-fight if you are low on HP or mana, eat a creep if you gank an enemy in a jungle, or eat a creep any time, it’s free of cost!
19:23 – Blink Dagger.
Not a surprise, as we previously saw, Blink Dagger is always a pro player’s choice. He now covers a lot of the map, and the night vision he gains from his ultimate reveals every position for his Blink to be cast to.
23:51 – Radiance.
He’s a real show-off. The throne is collapsing, he isn’t even there. The game is over in 24:14. Brutal!!
2. Dota 2 Pango Carry
We shall now cover another Night Stalker hard carry gameplay by Dota 2 Pango.
Even though his game was developed on offlane, he managed to face Alchemist and dominate the lane. This is somewhat of a classic carry build, so let’s get into the details.
Skills:
Level 1 – Void.
We know, it’s that spell. Dazzle is so soft it’s always a pleasure to give him some taste of it.
Level 2 – Hunter in The Night.
Shadow Shaman is good support and disabler, so fear won’t be necessary.
Level 3 – Level 2 Void.
Level 4 – Level 2 Hunter in The Night.
He keeps up his tempo, and even though his farm can’t compare to Alchemists’, he will be pretty lethal when the night falls.
Level 5 – Level 3 Void.
With 240 damage in his Void, Dazzle should be very careful not to get too close, as nighttime has already begun.
Level 6 – Dark Ascension.
Level 7 – Level 4 Void.
Level 8 – Crippling Fear.
This is pro-choice because he now has enough stats to provide him with damage and increase his winning chances when diving into enemies. AOE silence is truly an advantage.
Level 9 – Level 3 Hunter In the Night.
Level 10 - +8 second Dark Ascension.
Prolonged Dark Ascension means an extra 8 seconds of increased damage, movement, and attack speed. These 8 seconds have proven to be crucial in team fights.
Level 11 – Level 4 Hunter in the Night.
Level 12 – Level 2 Dark Ascension.
Building up your ultimate is the only good choice most of the time. He can now cast it for a lowered cooldown.
Level 13 – Level 2 Crippling Fear.
Level 14 – Level 3 Crippling Fear.
Level 15 - + 35 Dark Ascension damage.
As seen in the previous descriptions, this is a number 1 choice. This is a massive increase and he hits heavily.
Level 16 – Level 4 Crippling Fear.
Level 18 – Level 3 Dark Ascension.
Level 20 - +20 Strenght.
A massive base stat boost that provides him an extra 20 damage and 400 health. Bestiality!!
Level 25 - -50 second Dark Ascension cooldown.
Cooldown is now reduced from 150 to 100 seconds. This means that in less than every 2 minutes, enemies will have greatly reduced vision and a hard time navigating the map, as they will never know where the enemies are.
Level 26 - + 50 Void damage.
This is the only available option to go for, as everything is maxed out. Now his Void does massive 370 damage.
Level 27 - +10% Hunter in the Night movement speed.
Level 28 – Selects no abilities.
Level 29 - -5 second Crippling Fear cooldown.
Items:
00:00 – Tangos, Magic Stick, Quelling blade, 2 Iron Branches, and Fiery Fire.
02:13 – Boots of Speed, Magic Wand Recipe
05:41 – Blades Of Attack into Phase Boots.
Courier drags the last ingredient for his Phase Boots, which is essential against armor reduction caused by Weavers’ Swarm. Dazzle is free food now.
11:06 – Ogre Axe into Echo Sabre.
His Echo Sabre is now complete, and his auto attacks are a threat to all. Ogre Axe alone is a huge improvement on strength heroes, with +10 damage and +20 HP per 1 strength point. Not to mention a fast BKB, again.
15:23 – BKB recipe.
Again we see the cunningness of pro players. He drags a recipe first because, if a chance appears, he can disassemble his Echo Sabre and complete his BKB. But, he is patient and keeps farming.
16:37 – Ogre Axe.
He had enough time and space to farm up the remaining component for his BKB. Surely, some kind of a play is in sight.
20:17 – Broadsword into Shadow Blade.
He completes his Shadow Blade. Not only he is fast and mobile, but now he will stalk his enemies while invisible, but also, he is a semi-core and needs more damage instead of Blink Dagger. Excellent choice, as he is now too unpredictable and enemies will have to be extra cautious,
23:12 – Crystalys.
Buys a recipe and Blades of Attack to finish off Crystalys.
24:14 – Silver Edge recipe.
He drags both remaining items to improve his Silver Edge. There is nothing much his enemies can do, as he now dominates the map with a bonus of 175 physical damage and a 160% critical strike when he hits a target from invisibility. Similar to Blink Dagger, but a way better choice for a carry. Stalking his targets from invisibility is truly frightening.
29:52 – MKB recipe.
He finishes his Monkey King Bar, and solo support that could get lost while warding his jungle gets killed with one shot.
32:48 – Skull Basher Recipe.
Basher is now complete, and a perfect choice to add up to the bonus damage provided by his Silver Edge. If a bash procs with the first hit from invisibility, the head literally falls off.
33:59 – Aghanims’ Shard.
Enemies will try to focus and kill him off, so he needs some self-sustainable options to survive.
37:49 – The throne has collapsed, and with a huge score of 27 kills, 3 deaths, and 6 assists, he did feast on his enemies’ flesh!
1. Night Stalker mid by Dota 2 Pango
This video shows a play that could be seen back in the old days, a Night Stalker solo mid! Techies that confronted him on the lane stands no chance. Let’s get into it!
Skills:
Level 1 – Void.
Level 2 – Hunter in The Night.
Level 3 – Level 2 Void.
Level 4 – Level 2 Hunter in The Night.
Level 5 – Level 3 Hunter in The Night.
Here we don’t see an improvement in Void as we did previously. He still doesn’t have his boots, but compensation comes from his 3rd skill. He can quickly appear on any lane that indicates an open play.
Level 6 – Dark Ascension.
With this skill now available, he can engage enemy lines.
Level 7 – Level 4 Hunter in The Night.
Something his enemies are probably not counting on, since this isn’t seen very often: We’re not even 7 full minutes into the game, yet he is already level 7, with Double Damage stored in his bottle, and with this skill on a max level, blood will be shed.
That’s exactly what happens, he pops his ultimate, ganks Techies in the Radiant jungle, then dives enemies’ tier 1 tower for a triple kill!
Level 8 – Crippling Fear.
He is ready for every situation he and his team may encounter. Level 2 Void is just enough to interrupt anything that’s channeled or to finish off a wounded enemy, and fear will make him hard to target with a magic spell.
Level 9 – Level 3 Void.
He adds up a little damage and lowers its cooldown. The bottle allows him to cast his spells at a higher rate than he could without it.
Level 10 - +8 seconds Dark Ascension.
We learned that this is the only reasonable option to go for.
Level 11 – Level 4 Void.
Level 12 – Level 2 Dark Ascension.
Level 13 – Level 2 Crippling Fear.
Level 14 – Level 3 Crippling Fear.
Level 15 – +35 Dark Ascension damage.
Level 16 – Level 4 Crippling Fear.
Level 18 – Level 3 Dark Ascension
Level 20 - +20 Strenght.
Level 25 - +100 Hunter in The Night attack speed.
For the first time, we see this pick on level 25. With 95 + 52 strength and 189 + 137 damage, he will hit like a machine gun.
Items:
00:00 – Quelling Blade, Fiery Fire, Tangos, Magic Stick, Gauntlet of Strength.
02:03 – Bottle.
One of the most important items on solo mid-lane, the Bottle provides constant health and mana supply, plus, he is faster than his opponent and can reach runes faster to refill his bottle.
07:28 – Chainmail and Blades of Attack into Phase boots.
A 3 seconds 20% MS increase makes enemies die even faster. We’re in the early game phase, and most of the enemies remain soft, squishy, and slow.
14:34 – 2x Mithril Hammer into Desolator.
Desolator provides him +50 attack damage and 6 points of armor reduction for 7 seconds, plus 1 attack damage point for each kill he makes up to 20 charges. This means +70 attack damage. Desolator is often seen as the first mid-game item for mid-lane players. In this phase of the match, his enemies are significantly under-farmed and under-leveled, so every hit he manages to place rips their limb off and it’s hard to answer this.
16:14 – Aghanims’ Shard.
One of the Night Stalkers’ biggest disadvantages is his lack of self-sustainability. But with the shard, not anymore. He is now an apex predator on the map and doesn’t have to go back to base, ever.
21:02 – Black King Bar.
An item needed by everyone, it’s a core pick for a mid-carry player. It cancels the involvement of enemy spell casters, such as Jakiro and Skywrath Mage, but also, for example, Chaos Knights’ reality rift that might pull him into death. They will be easy prey for this guy.
24:41 – Blink Dagger.
Extreme mobility provided by Blink Dagger allows him to jump into the enemies’ back lines and silence them in an area, creating a big confusion and disarray in the enemies’ defenses.
27:41 – Skull Basher.
Again, Basher is a top priority. It’s a perfect combo with his massive base damage and speed granted by nighttime.
27:57 – Aegis of the Immortal.
He is the most influential and dangerous hero on his team, and he will be focused.
31:09 – Overwhelming Blink.
Although the throne is collapsing, this choice grants him additional 500 health, and more importantly, 150% damage worth of his strength! We see that he had put a lot of focus into his priority stat, and this is how it pays off.
31:56 – How do you call a game with 24 kills, 1 death, and 12 assists? A stomp? I would just say, absolutely brilliant!
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