Night Stalker

Balanar the Night Stalker is a unique melee Strength hero in the sense that his skills are affected by the time of day during the game, as they become much stronger during the night. During daytime, he is weaker than a hero of an equal level, especially in the early game. But once the the sun goes down, Balanar's real power is unleashed, becoming the beast known as the Night Stalker. His Void damages and slows his target to a crawl as he pursues them. Crippling Fear prevents his enemy from attacking Balanar, silencing them and causing their attacks to miss, making him an effective counter against spellcasters and physical attackers. Hunter in the Night is what defines the Night Stalker. He becomes a brutal and merciless hunter during the night, with supernatural attack speed and movement speed, which allows Balanar to chase and savagely attack his victim. Darkness creates a period of darkness for the Night Stalker to enjoy and use his abilities to the fullest. When the night begins, the Night Stalker beckons. However, nobody fears the Night Stalker during the day.

Recommended items
Early-game Items
 * An early Urn of Shadows can not only be used to remedy Night Stalker's mana issues, it also be used to assist your teammates or finish off weak enemies.

Core items: Situational items:
 * Not only does Phase Boots provide Night Stalker both a nice speed boost and extra hitting power. It's active ability, Phase can stack with Hunter in the Night's movement speed. Allowing Night Stalker to either chase down an enemy or escape.
 * Vanguard provide enough health regeneration and tankability if you are the first who initiate in team fights.
 * Black King Bar makes Night Stalker immune to most crowd control and disables throughout ganking situation while providing him more survivability.
 * Assault Cuirass is an excellent item. Not only does it's attack speed stacks with Night Stalker's Hunter in the Night's . It also provide armor for your allies while decrease enemies's armor.
 * Armlet of Mordiggian provide more tankability, attack speed and damage hence allowing him to perform at his finest throughout team fights. It's degeneration however can be remedied by purchasing of Heart of Tarrasque.
 * Aghahim's Scepter grants Night Stalker unobstructed vision at night, allowing him to gank or counter-gank more efficiently.
 * Skull Basher which can be upgraded into Abyssal Blade is used in conjuction with his natural high attack speed during night time to perma stun your enemies in place, allowing you or your allies to clean up.

Tips

 * Void is the best skill to max early, as the damage and slow increase allows you to use it to kill your desired target.
 * Crippling Fear is most effective during the night. Use it when you are ganking during the night time. An enemy affected by Crippling Fear will be silenced and blinded, making the ability a powerful debuff on your target.
 * Balanar has one of the highest overall defense in the game with a starting armor of 5, one of the highest Strength in the game, and the third highest Agility among Strength heroes. Balanar is a powerful semi-carry with great durability and an amazing skillset.
 * Night Stalker will greatly benefit from being on the same team as a Luna. Her Lunar Blessing will give her bonus damage as well as full night vision (although Balanar already has the highest night sight range in the game) and her Eclipse will turn the time of the day to night for 10 seconds. This 10 seconds is often significant enough for the Night Stalker to set in and go for the kill.

Trivia

 * Some people call him "The Legal Map Hack" after getting Aghanim's Scepter due to the unobstructed vision at night.
 * Night Stalker is one of the few heroes to have 1800 night vision instead of the usual 800. However, he is the only hero with less than 1800 daytime vision.