What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
210 buys
2ndSecond most
141 buys
3rdThird most
50 buys
4thFourth most
40 buys
5thFifth most
28 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Night Stalker
Melee · Strength
- Win rate
- 51.5%
- Pick share
- 0.7%
- Matches
- 344,343
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsCarryInitiatorDurableDisablerNuker
NeedsSupportTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 40–50 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 53.7% over 1,777 matches.
- You are playing around Ancient — its strongest medal, 53.0% over 61,497 picks.
Avoid
- Shadow Fiend is on their side — this hero wins 40.4% of 99 matches against it.
- Naga Siren is on their side — this hero wins 33.3% of 42 matches against it.
- Monkey King is on their side — this hero wins 30.3% of 33 matches against it.
210 buys141 buys50 buys40 buys28 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Night Stalker took at each level.
QVoid
Creates a damaging void that slows an enemy unit and deals damage.
Unit Target · Magical damage
WCrippling Fear
Night Stalker horrifies all nearby enemies, causing them to become silenced and take damage over time while near him.
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damage
EMidnight Feast
Passive
RDark Ascension
Night Stalker smothers the sun and summons instant darkness, so that he might use his powers at their fullest.
No Target · Physical damageMax Order
QWE
Max Q first, then W, then E. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QVoid
- WCrippling Fear
- EMidnight Feast
- RDark Ascension
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QVoid | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WCrippling Fear | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EMidnight Feast | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RDark Ascension | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Night Stalker performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
82 opponents · public matches40%60%Night Stalker's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “slow”, “stun”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “damage over time”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “summon”.
- Pressure their mana
Burn it, drain it, or take the spell away entirely. Matched on “silence”.
- See what is coming
Vision, or true sight against something invisible. Matched on “vision”.
By medal
- Herald47.9%5,707
- Guardian49.1%20,898
- Crusader49.7%40,145
- Archon51.1%65,660
- Legend52.0%82,748
- Ancient53.0%61,497
- Divine52.3%47,381
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min45.4%2,656
- 20–30 min48.5%6,305
- 30–40 min51.6%4,289
- 40–50 min53.7%1,777
- 50 min +52.7%740
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Night Stalker
Abilities
Void
Unit Target · Magical damageCreates 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.
Crippling Fear
No Target · Instant Cast · Magical damageNight Stalker horrifies all nearby enemies, causing them to become silenced and take damage over time while near him. The effect lasts longer at night.
Midnight Feast
Passive
Hunter in the Night
Passive · HiddenNight Stalker is in his element at night, attacking and moving with great swiftness.
Dark Ascension
No Target · Physical damageNight 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.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 23 +3.0
- Agility
- 18 +2.2
- Intelligence
- 15 +1.6
- Move · range
- 295 · 150
Talents
- 4Midnight Feast LifestealDark Ascension Cooldown
- 3Crippling Fear Radius+15 Strength
- 2Dark Ascension DamageHunter in the Night Status Resistance
- 1Void CooldownCrippling Fear DPS
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Hunter in the Night
Increases bonus movement speed and attack speed. Killing an enemy hero resets all basic ability cooldowns.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Void
Void now affects all units in a radius around the target.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.