How About a Quickie?

Introduction

Faceless Void has the ability to turn the tide of any group fight with his signature ability, Chronosphere (AoE 4-5s Stun). Providing your team isn't entirely melee, you will have the most frag assists (if not frags) in a given game. Void is typically a hard carry. This build softens that carry.

This build is to be used in public pick-up-games. Public pick-up-games need to be treated differently from tournament play because, obviously, your teammates are wildly unreliable, you aren't guaranteed an optimal farm, and you are less likely to receive aid from your co-lane (resulting in more "Seriously?" deaths). Therefore, the purpose is to build an effective Void as early as possible. It is different from other void builds because it does not merely aim at "late game dominance" which, in my opinion, is not a real thing. If it takes you 25 minutes to become viable, your team has been playing 4.5 vs 5 for a very long time. If they aren't already winning, you've come to the game too late; You're a waste of a hero.

Basically: Economy of gold - to - fragging output is key.

Read this build with an open mind. There's more than 1 way to skin a cat. This is an atypical build that is very effective at winning matches. I say winning matches intentionally because if your sole interest is an extremely high frag count, look elsewhere. You will have a fair to middling frag count, and assuredly a positive frag to death ration, but where your value really comes from is your assist count. As your team's frag count raises, regardless of who achieves the last hit, you will win more matches.

Pros / Cons

PROS

Lightning fast build
Viable under ~15 minutes
High Damage
Your Competency Determines Whether Your Team Will Win

Potentially Squishy
Forgoes the big ticket items of other Void Builds
Moderate Difficulty Playstyle

Skills

This skill order maximizes early game survivability, preventing early deaths. By level 6, you typically will have achieved at least a frag or two. If not, at level 6, you should be able to achieve several more early frags with Chrono. As the game progress, you will become stronger, while simultaneously acquiring better escape abilities.

Skills, By Level:
1 - Time Walk

The beauty of Time Walk is its versatility. Time Walk grants Void early escapes. If you are being focused, Time Walk out. Don't be a hero (pardon the pun). You are fragile, and every death slows this build. Alternatively, if you are in a lane with a competent early ganker, be sure to utilize Time Walk's slowing effect to slow escaping enemy heroes. Lastly, Time Walk can be used to slow enemy heroes chasing a lane-mate. Even if your lane-mate is incompetent, allowing your opponents early frags will not serve you will. Help out if you can, without getting fragged yourself. We only get a single level of Time Walk early because the benefits don't scale particularly well.

2 - Backtrack
3 - Backtrack

Backtrack is an extremely powerful survivability skill. Backtrack allows Void to avoid both physical and magical attacks. Magical attacks includes spells from heroes such as stuns, slows, nukes, etc. This skill will save you innumerable times. Remember: Early game survival is more important than obtaining a frag. A death wastes your gold, grants opponents EXP, slows your build, and requires either a run back to your lane, or wasted gold on a teleport scroll. Don't die early. Gambling for those benefits don't make sense with Void; his skills are too weak early game.

4 - Time Lock

Time Lock becomes more useful as the game progresses. Time Lock's usefulness derives from its stun, not its damage. The additional damage is negligible. However, the stun can cause stun-lock or prevent enemy escape. Time Lock's low level % of proccing makes it a poor first-third level choice. If we could pick another level of Backtrack here, we would. We take a level of Time Lock now because every once in a while you will get a lucky stun, granting an early frag on an enemy hero.

5 - Backtrack
6 - Chronosphere

Chronosphere is our bread-and-butter. Don't be afraid to use it judiciously early game to frag. Here are a couple of notes on Chronosphere:

Works on friends and foes - Do not use it on allies unless you are saving their life
Works on towers - People tend to hide behind towers when low on health. Coordinate with a teammate to frag enemies under their towers.
The radius does not match the casting indicator exactly. The effect is slightly larger than shown.
If you are working with melee allies, aim such as to keep enemies on the edge of the sphere, allowing allies to melee them down.
As the game progresses, save Chrono for group fights

Items

Remember, the purpose of this build is to become as deadly as possible, as early as possible. The majority of void builds out there ask for extremely expensive items. That doesn't make sense in Public PuGs. This Build Order maximizes efficiency by obtaining items which are immediately useful, highly versatile, and still inexpensive.

Starting Items:
Tango x 2 (90 x 2; 180)
Circlet (185)
Recipe: Wraith Band (150)

Sub-Total: 515

If your team gets a courier, get slippers of agility before the recipe for wraith band. If not, you can buy Slippers at the side shops, hence the recipe first. We do not get Quelling blade because, although extremely helpful, it takes 5 extra final hits on creeps before QB pays for itself. If you are competent, the extra 9 damage from Wraith should be sufficient to achieve an almost identical number of last hits. QB is pointless late game, while extra stats and damage will always be useful.

Slippers of Agility (150) - Completes Wraith Band
Boots of Speed (500)
Boots of Elvenskin (450)

Note that we are not aiming for early Power Treads. The reason for this is that an early Yasha will enable significantly more damage output/frags and a greater run speed early game than Power Treads. Also, attack speed via gloves of haste (towards power treads) is not particularly helpful while laning early. You will be stalling, waiting for a last hit the majority of the time. On the other hand, more damage on a given hit enables more last hits, which results in a greater income.

Blade of Alacrity (1000)
Sub-Total: (2615)
At this point, if we had followed the typical Void build of QB, Tango, Stout Shield, and Power Treads we would have spent 2015 for 5 more run speed, 3 more attack speed, but 17 less damage and a QB (pointless late game)

Recipe: Yasha (700)

As discussed above, Yasha is ideal for early game frags because you can outrun almost everyone (Escape & Frag utility) while gaining both attack speed (resulting in more Time Lock procs) and greater damage.
Sub-Total: (3315)

Morbid Mask (900)

MM grants greater survivability, and eliminates the need to return to the fountain, except for the occasional mana regen.

Finish Vladmir's Offering (1150)
I do NOT get Mask of Madness. I think it's extremely over-rated. MoM is great if you are using Chrono on a single target, and can frag them before Chrono wears off. MoM's gaping flaw (extra 30% damage taken) lasts 8 seconds longer than Chrono. Does an early Void ever kill every hero on screen in a single Chrono? Of course not. The moment Chrono wears off (or before Chrono is cast) Void is going to be focus fired and, if he has MoM up, fragged. The benefits don't outweigh the risks. Early to mid game, you should frag a hero every chrono - regardless of MoM or not. Note: with our current build, we already have +37 attack speed on every attack, but Vlad's grants us extra damage on every one of those swings.

If your team does not have an Initiator, Void becomes the Initiator by default. Vitality Booster will allow you to fill this role. Get it before finishing Vlad if necessary. Vanguard can be purchased next if absolutely necessary (it probably isn't - you need to learn to get better at escaping).

Sub-Total: (5365)

At this point, this build really starts to demonstrate its efficiency as opposed to the typical Void build. By now, a typical build would have completed Power Treads and either a Vanguard + Mask of Madness, or Power Treads + MoM + beginning a Battlefury. With this build, we have achieved significantly higher damage output through raw damage (+ agil, as amplified by Vlad's), faster attacks (37 attack speed), and more procs (via our faster attacks). At this point of the game, many heroes have only just finished their boots and their first item. We are faster than them, and have 2 powerful versatile items.

Quarterstaff (900)
Claymore (1400)
Recipe: Shadow Blade (1000)
Sub-Total: (8665)
At this point, we have entered into late game. Shadow Blade grants us some always-appreciated attack speed bonus, and a good chunk of extra damage. Additionally, the invis helps us position chronos without getting fragged, escape, and chase down fleeing heroes. This item is amazingly versatile.

Crystalys (2150)
At this point, you have sufficient attack speed via agility, base stats, and items. Damage is key.
Sub-Total: (10,815)

Blade of Attack x 2 (450 x2: 900)
Phase Boots are another versatile item, aiding escape, chasing, and moving around the map, all while granting additional damage.

Daedalys (3600)
At this point, damage is king.

Summary

Choose items with purpose and an eye towards immediate usefulness. Hamstringing yourself because you are waiting for 2k gold to buy that uber item is foolish. Time is money, money is frags, frags are wins.