Semi-daily hero tips. Day 60: Night Stalker

DISCLAIMER

A lot of you probably know about the weekly hero discussion, but that often ends up in a meta discussion (whether or not the hero needs buffs, etc) or a meme war than actual tips to play, itemize and build the hero.

This is what I'd like to do. Please discuss any notes I made and possible improvements while also giving tips of your own if you have them.

The roles, skill builds and item builds, as well as a lot of the notes are my opinion on matters and should not be seen as a must do or don't. Also remember that almost every single build or role is situationally possible.

A lot of the tips on heroes were also mentioned in tsunami's amazing hero tips series he did over the last couple of years.

Night Stalker

Notes:

• Use your ult (almost) off cooldown when it's day and only at night if it will be off cooldown by the time day comes! It used to extend night time but doesn't do so anymore, essentially only giving the vision reduction when used at night.
• If you have more than one enemy to gank silence one and void the other unless the other poses no threat spell wise.
• Farm during daytime, find kills and try to snowball at night time (buy a smoke for first night)
• Be elusive at night time. Smoke, TP to different lanes, use different routes to gank, etc.
• One of the reasons why you can dive towers effectively early is because you have very high base armor
• Have your team or yourself ward the enemy jungle for pickoffs.
• Versus: This goes for other games too in certain situations: Ward (with the 3rd ward of the game) at 2 min so the wards last through the night time.
• Void does a stun, but also the only one NS has before basher. Save it if you know the enemy has a TP and is probably dead in any other case.
• "Day walker, night stalker"
• Versus: Remember ultimate cooldown 2'40/2'/1'20. Down time: 1'50/1'10/30".
• Good versus: KotL (turns his day time into night often), Pugna (Silence, Slow, Nuke when decrepified, needs vision for drain), Tinker (Silence, susceptive to ganks, needs vision for rockets, aghs gem), Clinkz, Weaver (silence, needs to snowball, aghs gem), Morph, AM (silence, needs a lot of farm early)
• Counters: Razor (Unstable Current), Meepo, PL, Brood, CK, Naga (only single target spells, no wave clear), Huskar (silence is not that useful, can withstand nukes)

Role: Mid (, hard carry, semi-carry, greedy support)

Item build: (Iron Talon,) Phase, (Midas,) Urn, (Armlet/HotD,) Aghs, Gem, (Basher -> Abyssal, BKB, Heart, AC, Blade Mail, Vlad's)

Skill build: Void --> Hunter in the night --> Silence (possibly sooner), Take ult at the 2nd day time.

PREVIOUS HEROES

• Abaddon
• Alchemist
• Ancient Apparition
• Anti-Mage
• Arc Warden
• Axe
• Bane
• Batrider
• Beastmaster
• Bloodseeker
• Bounty Hunter
• Brewmaster
• Bristleback
• Broodmother
• Centaur Warrunner
• Chaos Knight
• Chen
• Clinkz
• Clockwerk
• Crystal Maiden
• Dark Seer
• Dazzle
• Death Prophet
• Disruptor
• Doom
• Dragon Knight
• Drow Ranger
• Earth Spirit
• Earthshaker
• Elder Titan
• Ember Spirit
• Enchantress
• Enigma
• Faceless Void
• Gyrocopter
• Huskar
• Invoker
• IO
• Jakiro
• Juggernaut
• Keeper of the Light
• Kunkka
• Legion Commander
• Leshrac
• Lich
• Lifestealer
• Lina
• Lion
• Lone Druid
• Luna
• Lycan
• Magnus
• Medusa
• Meepo
• Monkey King
• Morphling
• Naga Siren
• Nature's Prophet
• Necrophos