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Night Stalker · Offlane (pos. 3)

Night Stalker for Beginners

BeginnersData-drivenEasyPatch 7.41
4.7KUpdated

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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.

Overview

Night Stalker is a melee Strength hero that Valve tags as Disabler, Durable and Initiator. It is played mainly as Offlane (pos. 3): 87% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Offlane (pos. 3): your job is to survive a hard lane, bother the enemy carry and start the fights. Night Stalker is of average difficulty: learn the basics below and it rewards you quickly.

Strengths

  • Valve tags Night Stalker as Durable: it stays in fights longer than most heroes.
  • Reliable stun: Void sets up kills and interrupts enemy channels.
  • Heavy magical burst: Valve lists it as a Nuker.

Weaknesses

  • Melee: has to walk up to its target, which makes the lane harder against ranged heroes.
  • No escape in the kit: without good positioning and vision, Night Stalker is easy to catch.

Build cheat sheet

Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.

Builds

Simple build

BalancedRecommended
Open build

When to use it

The most-bought items without the situational ones: buy them in this order and focus on playing the hero.

Where it's played

Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.

Seen from RadiantRadiant · bottom leftDire · top right
  1. OfflaneMain91% of matchesOff lane as the space-making core (pos. 3).

Starting items

Gauntlets of StrengthIron BranchTangoCircletMagic Stick

Core items

  1. 1Blink DaggerYour first big item.
  2. 2Aghanim's ShardSecond: buy it right after.
  3. 3Black King BarThird: completes your core.

Boots

Phase Boots

Late game

NullifierAssault Cuirass

Skill order

Max order:Void›Crippling Fear›Midnight Feast

Ability1234567891011121314151617
●·●·●·●··········
·●·········●·●●··
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Talents by level

  1. +100 Midnight Feast Lifesteal
    -35s Dark Ascension Cooldown
    25
  2. +75 Crippling Fear Radius
    +15 Strength
    20
  3. +25 Dark Ascension Damage
    20% Hunter in the Night Status Resistance
    15
  4. -1s Void Cooldown
    +10 Crippling Fear DPS
    10

Abilities

  • Void11 / 10 / 9 / 8s90 / 95 / 100 / 105 mpCreates a damaging void that slows an enemy unit and deals damage. At night, Void also mini-stuns, interrupting channeling abilities, and its effects lasts longer.
    Damage
    80·160·240·320
    Day duration
    1.25
    Night duration
    1.6·2.2·2.8·3.4
    Move slow
    50%
    Attack slow
    50
    Damage per second when not visible
    0
    Basic ability — applies a stun. Save it for priority targets or to interrupt a channel.
  • Crippling Fear30 / 25 / 20 / 15s50 mpNight Stalker horrifies all nearby enemies, causing them to become silenced and take damage over time while near him. The effect lasts longer at night.
    Day duration
    3
    Night duration
    4.5·5·5.5·6
    Mana cost
    0%
    Aura radius
    350
    Damage per second
    25·30·35·40
  • Midnight FeastPassive39 / 36 / 33 / 30s
  • Hunter in the NightPassiveNight Stalker is in his element at night, attacking and moving with great swiftness.
    Move speed
    24%
    Attack speed
    38
  • Dark Ascension140 / 135 / 130s125 / 175 / 225 mpNight Stalker smothers the sun and summons instant darkness, so that he might use his powers at their fullest. Night Stalker gains flight and bonus damage during this time. Has unobstructed vision.
    Duration
    30
    Bonus damage
    50·100·150
    Ultimate — summons units. Plan your fights around its cooldown.

Most played skill order

The most played order in the last 100 professional matches with this hero. Highlighted levels are the points spent on talents.

Max order:Void›Crippling Fear›Midnight Feast

Ability1234567891011121314151617
●·●·●·●··········
·●·········●·●●··
···●···●●●·······
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Strategy

1What Night Stalker does

Night Stalker is a melee Strength hero that Valve tags as Disabler, Durable and Initiator. It is played mainly as Offlane (pos. 3): 87% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. The kit brings crowd control (stun) with Void. Its ultimate is Dark Ascension.

2The basics

In this guide you play it as Offlane (pos. 3): your job is to survive a hard lane, bother the enemy carry and start the fights.

  • Experience first: standing in range of dying creeps is worth more than risky last hits.
  • Initiation: the best fight is the one you choose, when your team is close.

3Common mistakes

Most new players lose games with the same few mistakes. Avoid these and you'll already be ahead:

  • Chasing last hits under the enemy tower.
  • Initiating when your team is too far to follow.
  • Using Void on the wrong target.

4Your first games

You usually play outnumbered, so experience matters more than last hits. Stay alive, keep the enemy carry busy and punish them whenever their support leaves. Use the simple build in this guide and don't worry about situational choices yet.

Tips

  • Experience first: standing in range of dying creeps is worth more than risky last hits.
  • Initiation: the best fight is the one you choose, when your team is close.
  • Check the minimap every few seconds: most deaths come from heroes you didn't see coming.
  • Learn what Dark Ascension does before anything else: it's the ability that wins fights.

Changelog

  1. Guide created for patch 7.41.

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