[Guide] Shake the ground! A guide to Earthshaker for Dota 2

[NotAbastard]

NotAbast4rd's Earthshaker!

 

 

In the barren-lands, tales spoke of tauren sages reaping the essence of dirt. Their consciousness melds with the brown beneath them. The loam becomes the conduit of their mental thought and reality. These warriors were feared for they could summon massive ruptures at their mere whim. So tremendous was their power that their magic leaks out of the earth violently with every spell. Sadly these sages mysteriously faded from the land. When the World Tree was threatened, couriers searched these mighty ones but found just one. A young adept, Raigor Stonehoof, seeks battle to weave new tales of these shamans.

 

 

Earthshaker is my current favorite hero, this guy is so awesome , but you can't realise it if you don't see for yourself. Get ready to learn why this guy is one of the top 20 most banned/picked heroes in clan matches.

 

CONTENTS:

 

I. Spells, Explanation , Usage

II. Lane Scenario

III. Item build , Item use

IV. Best Allies

V. Worst Enemies

VI. Your favourite enemies (easypwn)

VII. Credits

 

 

I : THE SPELLS.

 

Spell number  1 : Fissure.

Slams the ground with the Raigor's mighty totem, causing the ground to crack open front of him, damaging opponents and leaving an impassable crevasse for a period of time.

 

This is deffinitely the spell you should max out first. The important thing about this spell is the “wall” it creates. The “wall” blocks the path of the enemy disabling their escape routes for the duration. This means that the enemy may be trapped near a tower, inside a teammate's  aoe ultimate etc. This “wall”, if not used correctly, might also cause trouble to yourself or your team, so it requires good positioning and timing. If you cast it while being next to the enemy, they will also get the extra damage from aftershock, something you can abuse to increase the aoe damage you deal.

 

Spell number 2: Enchant Totem.

      Empowers the totem resting on Raigor's back, causing it to deal extra damage on the next attack.

 

      This spell is a bonus on earthshaker's power. Although it's not the actual damage it provides that makes it          extremely useful. It's its combination with Aftershock that makes it deadly . With this spell, you can increase  your stunlocking duration and it's also a nice addition to your aoe combo. I usually get one level of this early,  and keep the rest of the levels for the last 3 hero levels.

 

Spell number 3 : Aftershock

 

The power of Raigor casting a spell causes the earth to shake below him, dealing additional damage and stunning.

An extremely important spell . Even though it's a passive, it's the root of Earthshaker's destructive capabilities. With this passive, everything you cast is converted to a sweet aoe stun and damage spell, something that can prevent enemies from escaping, casting, etc.

 

Ultimate : Echo Slam

 

Raigor sends shockwaves shooting through the ground, dealing damage and ricocheting to nearby targets for additional damage.

There's only one word that can describe the power of this ultimate :  Imbalanced. This is one of the most devastating ultimates in Dota, and it can be the reason for a change of tides in the game. This ultimate's damage increases with the number of affected enemies, making it extremely useful in big teamfights, with creeps concerned. This ultimate combined with aftershock and fissure can provide a stunning combo that allows your team to cast everything they have with ease, thus making earthshaker one of the best support heroes in Dota.

 

      SPELL BUILD (Caster)

1. Fissure                                      12 -> 22 . Stats

2. Enchant Totem                          23.  Enchant Totem

3. Aftershock                                  24. Enchant Totem

4. Fissure                                        25. Enchant Totem

5. Fissure

6. Echo slam

7. Fissure

8. Aftershock

9. Aftershock

10. Aftershock

11. Echo Slam

 

This build emphasizes on maxing out your stuns early, and getting only one level of enchant totem for the combo with aftershock. Stats at 12->22 are taken to boost your hp and mana pool.

 

 

II : LANE SCENARIOS

● Tri-lane with a support and a carry

This is the ideal lane for Earthshaker in my opinion. The combination with the other support (who probably also has a stun) can really boost the carry , who gets all the creeps and a couple of kills two. First blood is also a possibility, with earthshaker getting in from the fog , and casting fissure to block the enemies inside the wall , giving his teammates the chance to take down the weakest one.

● Double lane with a carry

  This lane scenario can work best at the bottom lane (if sentinel) or the top lane (if scourge). Earthshaker 's job is to keep the carry protected so that it can farm, as well as pulling the creeps to the neutrals to keep the enemy creeps near your tower (Where the carry well protected)

 

● Solo

Earthshaker is NOT supposed to be a solo hero, at least not in a serious match. That's because Earthshaker is a support -initiator-utility hero and he is not capable of winning a lane fight against a hero that's supposed to solo like Shadow Fiend. If you are forced to go solo, make sure you get a bottle in a couple of minutes, so that you can have the control of the runes, allowing you to spam your spells early.

● Roam

      Earthshaker is an especially good roaming hero due to the powerful stun of his and the fact that there are blocking potentials in every lane. A bottle is really useful in a roam-ganger scenario, but if your solos want the runes then better let the solos take them. Besides, clarities and salves can be more than enough (3 clarities+6 salves = bottle)

    Other scenarios like Earth+support , or Earth+tank are possible but not suggested. If you find yourself in a situation like these, just try to keep your mates protected , abusing your enemies' lack of attention to score some kills with fissure.

     

III. ITEM BUILD

 

 

First of all, always remember that item builds are not standard. Your item builds may vary, depending on the enemy team, how the game's going, and your role in the team. You must also remember that earthshaker is a support hero so he's not supposed to be farming to make these items, but make them using the money AOE zone when an enemy hero dies (you know, the area around a dead enemy hero that rewards heroes in it with gold depending on the enemy hero's level and stats). Last but not least, remember that you are supportive hero and you have to buy courier/flying courier/wards/dusts/smoke so this is an extra delay for your item builds. But always have in mind that earthshaker is an item-independent hero. This means that he can do his job with merely a dagger and a bottle.

 

 

 

[NotAbastard]

Start :

        Buy a combination of these to suit your gold and needs. If you have another support in your team you should share the responsibilities and let them buy the courier/wards if you buy the wards/courier.

Early Core :

or

 

(not core, but BUY THESE)

 

same as above

 

or Bottle only if your mid doesn't support it/ need it and you are roaming, soul ring if you make tranquil. I believe with arcane boots you only need magic wand.

 

helps a ton in teamfights.

Mid/ Late :

Since you are a massive support (AND YOU SHOULD BE ONE) your items will surely be delayed by wards/couriers/dusts/counterwarding. Should you get assist gold / kills / some farm between fights, try to go for these :

 

Turns your hero into an initiator and a high class aoe nuker. Priority for mid-game.

 

I suggest you tell a teammate to make this, because if you want to make Meka, Dagger AND support properly, you'll probably delay one of the above heavily. A dagger in min 35 is not gonna help that much, and a Meka in min 35 is useless. So there!

 

Boosts your initiation and survivability. The game should be really late when you get this unless you are winning massively.

 

Other luxury items , like Scythe of Vyze, Heart of Tarasque, Agahnim's Scepter are also pretty good, but cost a bucketload of money.

 

 

IV. Best Allies

 

Your favourite allies are those you have a combo with, and those that have good mobilty.

 

Example of good combos :

You are an aoe master, he makes your aoe spells hurt even more

His ulti hurts pretty bad, combined with a well-timed fissure and echo slam they can bring the enemies to their knees.

His vacuum and ulti are amazing combined with your spells.

 

Example of good mobility :

Can chase enemies you reach with fissure, even if you hit them with the edge of the stun , or even if you fail and close the way!

Runs super fast, can stunlock with you, and can bring enemies inside a fissure block if they are left outside.

He can reach enemies you stun with the end of your fissure and stun them again, and he can walk over your fissure/block with his stun to escape/chase further.

 

 

 

[NotAbastard]

V. Worst Enemies

 

Your worst enemies are those who deal massive damage and counter your spells.

Unfortunately there are MANY of those in the map.

 

Examples of enemies that deal massive damage :

Crazy burst, and mana burn on top of it!

One stun and one finger and you are out of the fight. Also mana burns!

Feed him early, and you'll suffer.

 

Examples of enemies that counter your spells :

His ward can seriously mess with your combo.

He can steal your spells and throw them on you, and in sometimes the spells he steals are more important for him than for you.

Mid/Late you practically don't deal any damage on him, so with a bkb you are just food for AM.

 

 

VI. Your favorite Enemies

Earthshaker doesn't have many easy enemies , but there are certain heroes who can dramatically boost his ultimate and make him a super aoe wrecking ball, with the minions they spawn.

 

Examples :

Spiderlings!

Treants!

Zombies!

VII. Credits to :

NotAbast4rd

dota 2 wiki

 

INC : Fissure examples

 

[`Rοmeο]

Nothing to Say Its Very Awesome Gratz +1 .

[UnknownX]

very nice guide and very detailed

we didnt have dota2 guides

[Versus]

Very nice guide, vouch for this guy plays really good es :) gj!

[ShuN^]

I think magnus should be added on the best allies ^^

[NotAbastard]

I think magnus should be added on the best allies ^^

 

yeah magnus is awesome, the thing is there are like 90 heroes in dota, and earthshaker can make a combo with like half of them. SO i wouldn't add them all :P

[holyblade]

Nothing to Say Its Very Awesome Gratz +1 .