Hero Discussion of this Day: Night Stalker (8 October 2013)
Balanar, the Night Stalker
I'm the beast of bedtime tales.
You had better try to take advantage of the daylight while you can since come nightfall, you will have a powerful and adept hunter on the prowl. Balanar's passive Hunter in the Night increases his movespeed and attackspeed at night making him a feared ganker and chaser. His Void spell damages the target and slows them to a crawl allowing Balanar and his allies to deal great amounts of damage when cast during nighttime. Crippling fear is a powerful weapon against spellcasters and fighters alike as it both silences and causes a large chance of missing on physical attacks for its duration. Balanar's ultimate "Darkness" allows him to instantly transform day into night (or prolong the night), providing for the fullest effect of his other spells. However, nobody fears the Nightstalker during the day...
Lore
Of the Night Stalker, there is no history—only stories. There are ancient tales woven into the lore of every race and every culture, of an impossible time before sunlight and daytime, when night reigned alone and the world was covered with the creatures of darkness—creatures like Balanar the Night Stalker.
It is said that on the dawn of the First Day, all the night creatures perished. All, that is, save one. Evil's embodiment, Night Stalker delights in his malevolence. He created the primal role of the Night Terror, the Boogeyman, and as long as there have been younglings, his is the specter summoned to terrify them. This is a role he relishes—nor are these empty theatrics. He does indeed stalk the unwary, the defenseless, those who have strayed beyond the lighted paths or denied the warnings of their communities. Night Stalker serves as living proof that every child's worst nightmare... is true.
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Roles: Durable, Initiator, Semi-Carry/Carry, Ganker
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Strength: 23 + 2.8
Agility: 18 + 2.25
Intelligence: 16 + 1.6
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Damage: 57-61
Armour: 5.52
Movement Speed: 295
Attack Range: Melee (128)
Missile Speed: N/A
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Sight Range: 1200 (Day) / 1800 (Night)
Turn Rate: 0.5
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Spells
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Dark Void
Creates a damaging void that slows an enemy unit and deals damage. Dark Void also mini-stuns, interrupting channeling abilities. The slowing effect lasts longer at night.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80 | 8 | 525 | N/A | 2 (Day), 4 (Night) | Deals 90 damage and slows the target by 50% movespeed and 35% attackspeed |
| 2 | 90 | 8 | 525 | N/A | 2 (Day), 4 (Night) | Deals 160 damage and slows the target by 50% movespeed and 35% attackspeed |
| 3 | 100 | 8 | 525 | N/A | 2 (Day), 4 (Night) | Deals 255 damage and slows the target by 50% movespeed and 35% attackspeed |
| 4 | 110 | 8 | 525 | N/A | 2 (Day), 4 (Night) | Deals 335 damage and slows the target by 50% movespeed and 35% attackspeed |
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Magical damage
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Does full damage during the daytime but only slows for 2 seconds.
-Void contains a ministun which procs at the beginning of its cast cancelling the target's channeling spell (or momentarily stops the target's movement)
Balanar creates a vortex of infinite night, tearing opponents violently into the eternal darkness that once was.
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Crippling Fear
Night Stalker horrifies the target enemy Hero, causing it to miss attacks and become silenced. The effect lasts longer at night.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90 | 12 | 600 | N/A | 3 (Day), 5 (Night) | Silences the target and causes a 40% (10% during the day) chance to miss attacks |
| 2 | 90 | 12 | 600 | N/A | 3 (Day), 6 (Night) | Silences the target and causes a 40% (10% during the day) chance to miss attacks |
| 3 | 90 | 12 | 600 | N/A | 3 (Day), 7 (Night) | Silences the target and causes a 40% (10% during the day) chance to miss attacks |
| 4 | 90 | 12 | 600 | N/A | 3 (Day), 8 (Night) | Silences the target and causes a 40% (10% during the day) chance to miss attacks |
- Causes 10% miss and silences for 3 seconds at all levels during daytime
A vision of the twisted maw of Balanar etches itself into the minds of the poor souls unlucky enough to cross his path.
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Hunter in the Night
Passive
Night Stalker is in his element at night, attacking and moving with great swiftness.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | - | During the night, increases Night Stalker's movespeed by 20% and his attackspeed by 45 |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | - | During the night, increases Night Stalker's movespeed by 25% and his attackspeed by 55 |
| 3 | - | - | - | - | - | During the night, increases Night Stalker's movespeed by 30% and his attackspeed by 65 |
| 4 | - | - | - | - | - | During the night, increases Night Stalker's movespeed by 35% and his attackspeed by 75 |
- This ability only works at night
The hunting prowess of Balanar improves as the night beckons.
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Darkness
Ultimate
Night Stalker smothers the sun and summons instant darkness, so that he might use his powers at their fullest. When used at night, it extends night time by Darkness' duration.
| Level | Manacost | Cooldown | Casting Range | Area | Duration | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 180 | N/A | Global | 25 | Turns day into night (if already night, extends the duration of night time) |
| 2 | 0 | 150 | N/A | Global | 50 | Turns day into night (if already night, extends the duration of night time) |
| 3 | 0 | 120 | N/A | Global | 80 | Turns day into night (if already night, extends the duration of night time) |
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This ultimate can be upgraded via Sceptre; Sceptre causes Night Stalker to get unobstructed vision around him at night, meaning that trees and terrain will not block his vision
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In contrast to how Aghanim's Scepter works with other heroes, this improvement does not have anything to do with his ultimate (Darkness), but instead is active all the time during the night (the improved vision does not depend on using Darkness)
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This skill pauses the current time, so if it's cast at night it prolongs it
It is a humbling sight to see when the mightiest of warriors become afraid of the dark.
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Recent Changes from 6.78/6.78b/6.78c
- Hunter in the Night attack speed rescaled from 30/45/60/75 to 45/55/65/75
Recent Changes from 6.77/6.77b/6.77c
- None
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Tips:
Be mindful of using Void when ganking alone as the enemy may just teleport out knowing that you have no way to interrupt their channelling.
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A thread full of tips about dealing with Night Stalker, thread by Ticks
Shred_Kid has a tip about when to level your first point in Darkness, and why
"Keep void at level 1 (don't spend a point) unless you need it for a kill, keeping it at level 1 allows you to last hit creeps with it + having lower mana cost." - BoredomIsFun To add onto this, if you want to harrass the enemy with a level 3/4 Void, you should level it up, BUT, remember this is completely situational, and just a tip.
Wilco- has a tl;dr on NightStalker
Comments on Nightstalker's late-game viability and how to properly utilise him by Juking_is_Rude. Eclipse_1 also has comments on his viability, roles and proper utilisation
The previous Night Stalker discussion.
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If you guys want a specific hero to be discussed next, please feel free to post or message me. Request list
No Valve Artwork | Voice Responses | In-game Icon | Dota Cinema Video Overview | Dota2Wiki Hero Page
Posts are every two days now, again.
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Important Dark Seer tip/s of last thread by Workdawg:
"If the creep you Ion Shell survives killing the enemy creep wave and you have some extra mana, surge that creep as it chases the enemy hero. The creep will be able to easily catch the enemy hero and do quite a bit of damage to them as it chases them.
Posted Oct 8, 2013, 2:27 PM UTC · edited