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The Earth Shaker strikes fear in an enemy. Perhaps one of the most versatile heroes to

grace dota, the Earth Shaker alters the very form of the Earth creating barriers that nonemay pass.

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[1] Hero Overview[2] Skills

[3] Mini Guide To Fissure[4] Playing The Game

[5] Item Discussion[6] Synergy and Counter

[7] Video Tutorials[8] Replays

[9] Thanks

[1]

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+ 4.75 second AOE stun. (one of the longer combination stuns per individual hero)

+ Great pusher/anti pusher

+ Fissure is a very versatile skill.+ Item independent to a degree.

+ Excellent roamer. Can gank from level 1 if need be.

- Poorly placed fissures can block kills/kill allies.

- Poor stats- Poses absolutely no threat without mana

- Requires blink to unleash full potential- Difficult to use.

Now that were past the intro, if this is a conversation you like hearing, pick an ES.

Quote:

Embrace death. Most of Earth Shaker's skills have long relatively long cool downs. His role asa disabler is complete once his combo is cast. Try to soak up as much damage as much damageas you can (though rarely will enemy heroes hesitate to do so). An initiator is prone to dying.

This hero guide extensively uses video tutorials. They say a picture is worth a thousand

words but nothing beats a goddamn video showing you how its done. The videos are justfrom random games so the ideal scenario is not sometimes met but the concept is

conveyed. Remember ES can be as effective as your imagination is vivid so go wild and takesome risks. They might pay off in the long haul. Just don't go ahead and condemn your ally

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fissure block far better when aiming at the ground.

Enchant Totem is a very solid skill, though for reasons other than expected. While thedamage bonus can seem like a lot, ES is not a physical dps machine. A single point will

suffice to give you its valuable stun via aftershock. Thus only one point of enchant totemwill be skilled until level 23 and the fact that stats will help you far more then a measly one

hit with plus damage.

Furthermore as Enchant Totems damage is only enhanced by +stats items (i.e Heart which

doesn't come till much later if at all) there is no real benefit to getting more than one pointin this skill. Another problem with enchant totem is that it is hard to place without a blink

dagger. No ones just gonna let you wade up to them and enchant totem. Once blink dagger

is purchased this becomes a staple move in your combo.

Quote:

Totem has a slight casting time. People with sufficient move speed will move out of it if youare standing next to the hero. Always anticipate movement and stun there. Blink about wherethe enemy would be in the next .25 or so seconds and stun there. A well place totem with blink can easily allow you to set up a great fissure block.

Aftershock is the skills that gives ES his "perma-stun" reputation. All skills cast by ES nowhave an AOE around him to disable and damage the enemy. This gives totem and Echo

Slam 1.5 second stuns and is integral to the disabling ES. As we are delaying leveling uptotem we can skip out on taking this for a while. At level 10 ES has plenty of mana and

possibly nearing blink thus making it a logical step to get that level in blink.

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Quote:

Try to aim echo slam in the center of the battle. That way all opponents are bound to takedamage. Also remember that echo slam gets a stun added via aftershock, so blink towards theopponents you definitely want disabled.

Echo slam. Your trademark ultra kill granting skill. Seeing a huge enemy push makes ES cry

tears of joy. Blink in and let the magic begin. Echo slam generates damage from how many

enemy units are in a close proximity. The greater the amount the higher the damage. Thisis what makes ES viable past early game and is skilled at 6, 11 and 16.

For more on the exact mechanics of how Echo Slam works click here.

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Quote:

If enemies heroes are scattered that does not mean you can't still pull off a good ult. Even a few

units clumped boosts echo slams damage by a fair bit. Pick key opponents and echo slam! 9/10times this is your enemy carry. However, a carry can do little on his own. If an enemy disabler seems like the more important threat take them out first!

[3]

Quote:

Fissure can "miss" but still stun. Sometimes what looks like you might have not made contactwith the enemy hero can still result in a stun. Make sure to understand the "true" range on hisskills. It is 250 aoe just in case anyone was wondering. ~_^

[4]

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ES makes a very valid candidate for runes due to his roaming nature. Since bottle is an

excellent source of regeneration, he can lane hop causing much mayhem. ES makes decentuse of most runes but particularly craves the haste and invisibility runes. Both allow him to

place good echo slams or fissures prior to having purchased a blink dagger. While thisinformation may be elementary for most, runes spawn at 2 minutes. Here are some pretty

comprehensive guides to warding spots for rune sight as well as other high usefulspots. Heldarions Guide To Total Wardingand Eumellein's Ward Position Guide.

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This is the shifting point in Earth shakers game. Teams start roaming together with greater

frequency and in larger numbers. Creep waves are getting consistently larger as well. That'sgood news because you've hopefully picked up a blink dagger by now. Bigger groups mean

bigger echo slams and as a result Raigors true damage potential is unleashed. Whole teamdowning your tower?? Blink, echo slam, totem, fissure block, ultra kill.Of course not all

scenarios are ideal but even if you see two heroes clumped together with a few creeps blinkthe fuck in! 2 dead heroes are still better then waiting for that team wipe that might never

come.

For best results always bring allies. Very often what happens is that ES can devastateenemy teams but not quite do the job on his own. That's why Earth Shaker is a relatively

uncommon sight in pubs. Bring the clean up crew.

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Remember in clashes to initiate with echo slam. Both fissure and totem have slight casting

times. Quick fingers can and will leave you disabled. You don't want that happening. Adisabled hero is a dead hero. ES initiating is even more important due to the changes

brought about by 6.63. Since echo damage is reduced by half of corpse, this makes it anecessity that ES be the first to initiate! Make sure your teammates don't clear creep waves

prior to a clash. That is tremendously reducing your dps output.

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While ES is still booming in strength, due to increasing creep waves, Earth Shakers power incomparison to the hard carries is waning fast. You don't want to be in this stage for long.

However, you are still incredibly dangerous. 4.75 seconds of disable is tremendous and yourrole changes little overall. Stick around with allies permanently. An alone hero especially a

fragile one is a dead one.Items wise you have already attained your core. You can delegateall funds to warding. Should you happen to have access to excess money I would

recommend a guinsoo. Guinsoo is the ultimate support item. Dunno what to make with anyhero? Make a guinsoo. Just fucking do it.

Optional builds include refresher for the massive aoe damage, blood for survivability, necro

for added dps and invis counter, shiva for support auras and spamming and of course heartwhen you need to step up the tanking. Refresher is less and less important considering the

recent nerf ES received. Corpses only transfer half the echo damage thus making Refreshersdamage output by almost half considering all the creep waves probably died in the first echo

slam.

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Just finish already!

[5]

Quote:

Always initiate clash with echo slam. Fissure and totem have casting delays and thus quick fingers can disable ES. A disabled hero is a useless hero. On occasional scenarios fissure can be used to be initate as well. Snipe them into impassable terrain and blink in. They won't get achance to scatter.

This is your staple bread and butter item. While not necessary to play a good ES earlygame, it is a must come mid game. No opponent is going to let an ES waddle up to them

and unleash the detestation that is Echo Slam. ES needs to be able to enter the fray at amoments notice and unleash all of his combo. This item needs no explanation. The videos in

the echo slam section should suffice to show why it is indeed made for the Earth Shaker.

Blink can also serve as an escape mechanism.

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While quite dangerous in the correct hands, Forcestaff is no replacement for blink. Blink stilloffers greater mobility which is vital for that perfect echo slam. Forcestaff can be a fun itemto mess around with, but this cow wont switch brands.

Sure a lothars ult can be great fun. But lets look at it logically. Blink gives you an instant

echo slam advantage. Lothars forces you to wade through enemy forces. Secondly a lotharsES can be put too halt far more easily than a blinking ES. Once this has been pulled off 

competent opponents will react with wards or even preempt this. An instant blink is farharder to counter. Last but not least you're paying far more and for components you don't

need. I mentioned I'm not a fan of purchasing items you don't utilize effectively. ES is notan efficient physical damager. Don't try to make him one.

This being the era of the magic stick I thought a special note about it ought to be written. I

find myself with great frequency building a magic wand for almost all heroes. This can be

skipped in some pubs where lopsided teams of 5 agility carries are present. However, incompetitive/semi-competitive environment this is becoming a must have item due to heavyand frequent casters being in vogue. Since ES tends to find himself in the middle of the

battlefield and clashes rack up charges this is an ideal item to have. The burst hp/mana

always helps.

Arcane Ring Staple pub build for ES. The added mana is a great boon and is an excellent

item for the team. Then why is not our core? Because arcane is shit for value on ES. ESneeds to save his money for blink dagger not an arcane. The early mid game combo I

recommend costs approximately 2000 gold whereas an arcane ring costs 1700. For 300more gold my build makes you bulkier, more mobile, capable of roaming more efficiently

earlier and gives you more then enough mana. I fear an ES with my build far more then justa measly arcane ring. All that arcane ring provides you is with a constant stream of mana

and no real survivability. Again it can have its situational uses, but rarely will that situationarrive.

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Unnecessary as. Get them if you really can't farm travels and need the hp.

Nice chasing potential, easy buildup but still no substitute for travels.

Copy pasted from an other post of mine

[quote]I think that most people who tend to rush travels are thinking far to ahead of 

themselves. "Oh ill need it later on", but what if the game doesn't last that long? You haveto a degree wasted 2200.

Travels imo should really only be "aimed" for by support heroes if a games gone on for toolong. Travels are integral when towers are down and creeps rule the game. However since

games end earlier nowadays, phase and power treads fill out both needs of dps and supportheroes at a lower cost (though admittedly with limited benefits).

Yes, yes BoT is better. It provides the highest ms output and provides the invaluable tp tocreeps, but good luck rushing it and not gimping yourself or your team.

Edit* Furthermore travels with its outrageous recipe cost just further indicates that it was

something that is meant to be gotten when money flow becomes more steady (aka lategame). So it is most effective late game when pushes are everywhere, towers are down and

tps start to have limited use, and money becomes less of a concern. Clearly you can see im

not a big fan of rushing bot. =D

Tl:dr stick with boots till your core is farmed and then get travels.

Guinsoo is the ultimate item in the game. 3.5 seconds of disable is HUGE. Every hero in aquandary as to what to purchase can do wrong getting this. As ES is an initatior and a

disabler, we wish to accentuate his strengths late game. Guinsoo is a logical extension.

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Shivas has a lot going for it. Tremendous boost in ehp, an aura and a nuke? Sadly enough itweren't for guinsoo and item superior in virtually every way, Shivas would surely be thecore. Nukes don't scale late game, auras are situational at best, and ES while a secondary

tank, is a primary disabler. Stick to disabling and get a guinsoo.

Bloodstone is a cheap and easy buildup for ES. Not only does it bulk him up, it also giveshim a steady flow of mana. However, as ES is in the middle of the fray a lot, charges tend

to come and go very quickly. Get it if farming is tough, or an early point booster is needed.

Linkins has always been a solid item to get. The block is valuable, though personally I feellinkins is far too defensive an item as an extension. If you've farmed that ultimate orb, hold

for 600 more gold and get a mystic staff instead.

Necromicon is a great item on ES. It gives him a bit of survivability alongside a steady manapool, epic summons and a very easy buildup. However, Necromicon should primarily be

gotten if there are invisibility bastards on the enemy team or if the auras are desperatelyneeded. Usually guinsoo will be a better item.

The poor mans disable. While good to have if one struggles with farming and its always fun

to cyclone yourself or an enemy after initiating, ES has better items to farm. Cyclone canalso be used to aid in fissure trapping and so on, but when you have blink enchant totem is

more than enough to help you land good fissure traps.

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A staple for many, refresher has some problems with it. The main strain on ES istremendous if this is rushed without some int items prior to it and with the nerf on ES as of late, Refresher is a late luxury at best or when an enemy team is an image heavy team.

Heart gives ES great survivability. However, with its recent nerf Heart is no longer a great

item. Get it when you need to step up the tanking.

[6]

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Disablers are excellent lane partners for ES. As we all know from countless dominating lanesin the form of dual stunners, two stunners are an incredibly strong lane. Furthermore the

fact that ES is superior than your average stunner makes for one hell of a laning phase.

Nukers are great lane partners for ES. Considering the fact that ES can keep heroes in oneposition for extended periods of time via fissure trapping, nukers can finish the job off and

get an easy first blood.

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Undying and ES are a pair made in heaven. With Undyings massive damage application ES

has a field day. Warlock also works similarly.

Orb walkers and perma slowers make decent lane partners for ES as well. Heroes like Viper

can keep slowing the enemies and allow ES to pull of that perfect fissure trap.

Since ES can blink in and instantly cast echo slam and start his chain disabling enemies for

extended periods of time, channelers love him. Usually the problem facing channelers isthat they cannot keep their ult in place long enough for them to start their ultimtes. Those

worries and the need for a bkb/blink are diminished when ES can keep them disabled.

These guys are a godsend for ES. Crystal Madiens aura can keep you roaming indefinitely

and Ezalor can guarantee that you will never run out of mana in a lane.

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Theres not much that counters ES. He is after all a bonafide top tier hero. However, certainmeasures can disable ES and we will discuss some of them.

The destroyer of all chain combos, Silencer's last word will not let you do your trusted

combo. Best to take him out before a clash or deal with being relatively useless. Drow andDoom also have silencing skills.

The advent of pipe has been the bane of all AOE monsters and ES is no exception. Startingto dominate many builds, Pipe is a big albeit indirect nerf to heroes such as Earth Shaker.

However, it still has to be cast and has a cooldown so its not an end all situation for you.

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Wards are one of the most efficient counters to an ES. Warding will allow you to see that ES

stalking you for that perfect blink echo slam. Take that COW OUT!

Global spells can not only give away your position but the also disable your blink! That canbe devastating for an ES who needs to blink now but can't for the next 3 seconds. Undying

and Doom also have skills that affect a wide aoe and thus can interrupt blinking.

[7]

Here is a compilation of videos showing some of the methods to using fissure, enchanttotem and echo slam effectively.

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Fissure Videos

Enchant Totem Videos

[B][B]

Echo Slam Videos

Heres a video showing how a blink dagger can be a great means to escaping.

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[8]

Puppy plays a roaming ES in this.

Replay

Patch: 1.23Map: 6.60b

Length: 28:17 Minutes

ReplayAnother ES replay.

[/CENTER]

[9]

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Thanks to Deadlus, Gilrain and Saint for helping me with the screen shots. and thanks forDP and PD for allowing me to host and use their resources. Thanks to Kulot from devianart

for making an epic Earth Shaker picture (used right at the start and the original can beaccessed here at his deviantart account). Thanks to Phoenix for his detailed Echo Slam

guide (which can be accessed here) and last but certainly not least thanks todemonictrashcan because he demanded it! =O

Raigor Stonehoof the EarthshakerAuthor:AduhAwasMap Vers.: 6.63

Guide To Ownage

Welcome to the world of ownage

Date Posted: 08/31/09Last Comment:18/06/2011Total Votes: 289Current Rating: 8.44Views: 342575

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howie2435: Enchanted totem now only increases base damage, additional damage bonus is not calculated.

ploikum: Nice guide but pls update. I don't like the pics.

alex38350: I love the pictures.

darknite93: u missed out tiny for synergy. toss deals up to 500 damage and makes that ultra kill so much more likely.

TheTreeBranch: awesome guide! :DD

Simple-.-: Nice but outdated guide.

JuBa34: arcan , dagger , agh , bkb (situationnal) , gg ... you can go HoT , Shiva , Refresher , or Guinsoo for the lulz , but youprobably win at this moment .

FreezingBField: plz update...

Earthshaaaker: Ownage rocks

iWaszaB !: awesome guide! after i read this i can sense that i can get Rampage :D

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