Night Stalker, low xp/min

I am a new Dota 2 player, lets get that straight. I have played a lot of rts before so I don't suck.
I play Tiny and Night Stalker, so far.
My issue is I have a consistently low level and xp/min in comparison to my team-mates. My k/d is ok though.

For example, my last game:
Level fast, farm, last hits, etc...
After the first night I was 7/1.
In the end game my level and xp was the lowest, despite my having the best k/d.
(Our team lost to a Phantom lancer illusion **** carrying mega hard)

I understand the basic concept of playing Night Stalker, but I must be missing something. I farm in lane then at night go gank with the good items I earn. (More or less following this build http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide/day-walker-night-stalker-a-guide-to-balanar-642)

It seems like the time I spend ganking at night is time lost farming and I get behind.

Any help is appreciated.

Maybe you don't spend enough time farming and in lanes after the first night? Watch your replay and see what you could improve on. If you are always in their territory and in danger of death or wasting time waiting to get a gank off that cuts into your xpm. Ganking is a definite trade-off of gold and experience in lane to get gold and experience through hero kills so your team gets ahead. You should be prepared to take that risk and if it goes well then ganking is better than farming for sure. And again, farm during the day since you cannot gank or kill as effectively and you can try to catch up on that xp.

Basically you need to be concerned with cs durinng the day and ganking as effectively at night. The key word is effective and you might find yourself being ineffective at times. If you listen to any pro casters they mention tradeoffs or effective map movements a lot. This is always something you should consider. Nightstalker is meant to be most effective in the first two nights and if those were productive then you did your job.

You get experience from creeps and kills, make sure your opponent isn't denying your creeps, that way you'll lose a lot of experience. Also, if you make the kills together with your team, the experience will share, so if you want to have higher level, you must make kills on your own.

Anyway, Night Stalker's role is to gank as much as possible and help every lane win. You don't have to be higher than others to do this.

Agree with the above posters, I'd also mention that the games might be going too long for you - the xp/min from those early ganks will become reduced the longer it goes. NS is a very effective early-mid game ganker, and can be an ok semi-carry in the late game if that went ok, however you're not going to outcarry a well farmed 'proper' carry.

Really you want a team who take good advantage of that - ideally by ganking and pushing hard during the night time and getting the opposition out of their comfort zone.

Agreed with the above posts. You have a limited amount of game time to make NS really effective, and to some extent you are relying heavily on your teammates to capitalize on the opportunities you create. It does not matter how often you gank in the first night if your mates can't take advantage of it and push while the lane is unopposed. You should take mid and be level 6, preferably with an urn and at least basic boots before the 6 minute mark. The urn will help you finish off speedier enemies who try to flee, and help you heal quickly while you run to your next gank. Coordinate with someone on your team before the match starts to come occupy your lane at about 5.5 minutes. That way, the lane isn't uncontested and your team gets two solo lanes for a while. Don't neglect one of your core strengths with NS at night - you can see much better than they can. Don't be afraid to tower-dive a little even in your first few ganks; NS is a tough cookie, and fast enough to dive in for a last hit or two and get away clean. Finally, I find it immensely helpful to play with one friend who takes either Bloodseeker or Axe. That friend will swap from jungle to mid with you at night. Bloodseeker's passive, shared vision of low-health enemies makes your life much easier when planning where to run for your next gank.

Honestly if the gank is going to take longer than 7 seconds then I would consider farming instead. If you see a gank that can be done in less than 7 seconds you should go for it.

DO NOT WAIT IN THE JUNGLE HOPING TO FIND SOMEONE

DO NOT WAIT AROUND THE RUNE SPAWN 15 SECONDS BEFORE THE RUNE TO SEE WHAT IT IS

DO NOT HIDE IN THE TREES LONGER THAN 2 SECONDS WHEN GANKING A LANE

DO NOT PASS GO

DO NOT COLLECT $200

Watch this game of mine for tips. I played Night Stalker and rolled.

I was 36-4. (Match 100753550)

36-4 I mean.... DAMN I was lvl 25 while their highest was 19.


https://dotabuff.com/matches/100753550