Community Guide to Earthshaker (Support)

Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome to this collaborative guide for Earthshaker. In this guide, we'll be going over all the essential info you'll need to get started with our favorite stunner. This guide is aimed at lower level play or for players unfamiliar with the hero.

Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions if you have feedback on the guide. Without further ado, let's get started!

Note: You might find DotA specific terms used throughout the guide. Feel free to let us know in the comments if something is unclear or to check out this useful DotA glossary! :)

Abilities & Talents

Fissure - This skill is powerful with just a single point in it. With this ability at level 1 it’s really easy to setup kills on heroes with no escape capabilities by lining up this skill with walls and/or trees. Has amazing reach meaning it can be casted from the fog of war to start a gank or initiate a kill. Lasts 8 seconds meaning if it blocked an enemy, that's 8 seconds for your team to target a separated hero. When casting Fissure, make sure to take into consideration its casting time, since it’s not instant. It’s important to take into account this time when trying to block the pathway of enemy heroes, since any additional second can be used by the enemies to better position themselves. Also, it’s useful to keep in mind that if Rubick manages to steal your Fissure, he will be able to cast it instantly without an animation delay.

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Enchant Totem - This ability is mainly used to proc Aftershock and for farming. It's difficult to use for damage as a support or hard support until later in the game. Grants true strike, meaning the attack under the effect of Enchant Totem cannot miss. Great to harass melee heroes in lane, especially ones protected by evasion (e.g. Phantom Assassin). Can be used in lane to secure last hits, and deny creeps from enemies. This is especially useful for the ranged creep, since it grants a high amount of gold and experience.

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Aftershock - This is Earthshaker's main combo spell which lets him damage and stun nearby enemies. The AoE allows for good farming with Q and W. Can be used in combination with Enchant Totem in lane to harass your enemies and deny farm. Most effective against melee heroes. This is also an easy way to cancel teleport scrolls when in range.

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Echo Slam - This is a great tool for initiating team fights and should be the first spell you cast after blinking. The instant cast time means opponents have little time to react to it. They'll usually have to see you cast in order to dodge it. Echo Slam can also be used when under the effect of Clockwerk's Battery Assault. This spell is much more effective against multiple units, making it a great tool to deal with heroes that spawn additional units (e.g. Nature's Prophet, Broodmother). Always try to catch as many units as possible when casting Echo Slam, as it’s going to deal the most damage this way and it might potentially kill heroes before their stun expires. Positioning is key!

Having impact in fights is difficult until you get Blink Dagger. You are going to rely a lot on Fissure and therefore want the reduced cooldown and increased stun duration on it. Aiming to max Aftershock by the time you buy Blink Dagger is a good idea since you'll have a reliable way to get in range to stun enemies.




+200 Mana - Being a support hero you have little gold to invest into mana items when other items are more important ( Blink Dagger / Force Staff / Eul's Scepter of Divinity / Lotus Orb). As a strength hero, you also have a low starting intelligence and intelligence gain, meaning you'll have a lower mana pool than other supports.

+25 Move Speed - Movement speed is too strong to not pick. The +6 armor talent should only be taken if there is heavy physical damage output & armor reduction on the enemy team. Your goal is to be mobile and always able to protect your cores by reacting to ganks and fights. Usually you aren’t going to be in the front lines to make use of the armor bonus.

+320 Fissure Range OR +40 Echo Slam Damage - If you play against mobile heroes like Ember Spirit or Puck, take the Fissure range to be able to initiate from fog without giving them an opportunity to dodge.

If you play against many melees and/or illusion heroes, it's better to go for the Echo Slam damage as the chances to hitting multiple targets is higher in this scenario.

+40% Magic Resistance OR -1.5s Enchant Totem Cooldown - 3.5 sec Enchant Totem CD with 1.5 sec Aftershock means up to potentially 50% stun time. This is really good with Aghanim's Scepter since it'll give you a low cooldown mobility spell.

If you're not building Aghanim's Scepter, you can opt for the 40% Magic Resistance instead to counter spell damage.

Items

As a melee support in lane you’ll be taking more harass than ranged heroes. Fissure takes ~40% of your mana at level 1, which means you can use one cast to secure the first ranged creep/harass, and use the second one for a kill. Having a Enchanted Mango allows you to surprise opponents if you see an opportunity to kill, or a Clarity allows you to recover to near max mana, and since you don’t mind standing far away/in fog of war, you can use Clarity for the full duration.

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Get Boots of Speed first, then build Soul Ring before upgrading your boots. This way you will have enough movement speed in the early game to keep pace with other heroes and Soul Ring will ensure that you'll always have mana to cast Fissure when needed.

You will have to upgrade Boots of Speed to Arcane Boots or Tranquil Boots, but this decision depends on your match. If nobody in your team is building Arcane Boots, most of the time it's good to pick it up so you may provide mana to your teammates in fights and keep them up and running. However, if someone is already getting Arcane Boots, it's better to simply go for Tranquil Boots instead so you can profit from the extra mobility and regeneration, since you'll already have mana to work with from Soul Ring.

Blink Dagger is the item you wanna be farming and prioritizing because it offers you much needed mobility. Being able to be at the center to initiate/counter-initiate a team fight will allow you to stun chain with your combo. For ganking as well, using Fissure from the fog of war alone is not enough to crowd control someone, so being able to Blink Dagger in and continue your stun chain with Aftershock allows more time for your team to burst that hero. Also offers the ability to adjust your Fissure angle. Be very careful in fights not to get your Blink Dagger disabled, you really need it to be able to properly position yourself!

Force Staff allows extra movement to help position for any of your spells (since Aftershock has a small area of effect). Enables you to save yourself or your teammates and also push enemies out of position. Cheap item that offers you some extra regeneration and mana as well! Very versatile and useful in general.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity breaks enemy crowd control chains if they aren’t perfectly timed, which will buy your team time to come help you and give you a moment to react. It can be used offensively on enemies to break teleportation or to set up your stuns (watch out for the cast animation) while allowing your team to close in to help with damage. It's also a cheap option to dispel yourself from silences. Good small movement speed and mana boost, good utility but remember that it cannot be used on teammates.

Amazing item if you are the key hero in team fights. If you feel that you are the most dangerous on your team then the enemy often will think the same, meaning you will be targeted and focused down first. Get this if you need to get your spells off, even if you use spells during the 0 damage dealt, the crowd control is still invaluable.

Good support item to place a reflective spell shield and apply a basic dispell on the ally target. Dispels some silence and other negative buffs. Can separate Arcane Boots and use Energy Booster for golf efficiency. Always use Lotus Orb on the allied hero that gets focused the most or that initiatives (usually yourself).

Good against enemy heroes that deal high amounts of magical damage (e.g. Radiance and Zeus). The magic shield will also protect you from receiving magical damage thus your Blink Dagger will not get disabled so easily. Get this item whenever your team really needs it but no other hero buys it (e.g. if the cores don't get it or if the hard support would buy it too late).

Good to disarm enemies that deal heavy amounts of damage with their basic attacks. Also provides extra bonuses, the most important ones being strength and evasion, greatly increasing your durability. Especially effective against teams that only have one hero that deals high amounts of damage with their basic attacks (e.g. only the hard carry, while the mid and offlane deal mostly magical damage).

Your main purpose is to get a good Echo Slam off, meaning Shadow Blade will help you stay alive and get into a good position for when your time comes to strike. Only get this item if there is no hero in your team that has invisibility, as the enemies will probably buy detective anyway and might also detect you, wasting the full potential of this item. Can be upgraded later to Silver Edge to counter heroes that rely on passives such as Bristleback and Phantom Assassin. Also, remember to cast Enchant Totem before activating Shadow Blade, as you're going to deal a high burst of damage with your first attack coming out of the invisibility.

Greatly increases your mobility and initiation capabilities as it makes your Enchant Totem a 1100 range ground target ability. This item makes Earthshaker way more fun to play and it also gives him a lot more flexibility in fights, as he can initiate with Blink Dagger and retreat with Enchant Totem if needed or vice versa. Also, it allows him to chase more effectively and reach fights quickly. Great item to pick up in most match ups, but don't prioritize it over more important items for your team (e.g. Force Staff, Pipe of Insight).

Amazing active item in disabling an enemy for 3.5 seconds. Allows abilities to cool down so you can stun longer. Takes out key targets in team fights. Instant usage, so pre-casting will most likely mean the enemy cannot get their spell off (amazing against the likes of Magnus/ Enigma/ Tidehunter if you can precast quickly enough). Good cast range meaning you have another option to start the disable chain without using Fissure right off the bat or committing by blinking in.

Good area of effect active item, increasing your armor and reducing the attack speed of enemies while dealing some damage. Combined with the 50% magic resistance talent, it makes you very durable.

Good defensive item so you can’t be killed by carries that deal high amounts of physical damage. Versatile active ability to save cores that don't have an escape mechanism against heavy disables (e.g. Chronosphere). Very strong against abilities that deal physical damage (e.g. Omnislash).

Allows you to cast all of your abilities and items twice, meaning your enemies will have a very hard time in fights. Makes you a real problem with the amount of crowd control and damage output you can offer in team fights. Be careful of mana usage, always make sure you have enough mana for all of your spells and items (the Refresher Orb also consumes mana upon activation)!

Allows you to be (mostly) interruptible when doing your stun combo. Heroes like Lion/ Shadow Shaman/ Rubick with Aether Lens can stun you while your Aftershock cannot hit them, so they can be dangerous in breaking your crowd control chain, but Black King Bar prevents that. Doesn't work against Reverse Polarity/ Chronosphere/ Black Hole and other abilities that pierce magic immunity. Beware of any heroes that can counter-initiate you, positioning and awareness is key!

Greatly increases your mana pool and also your health. Reduces the cool down of your abilities and items, meaning you can use them more in fights, significantly increasing your disabling capabilities. Great item, but it's not top priority and most of the times it might be too expensive to get. Pick wisely!

Offers a stun that can pierce spell immunity. Also offers a mini-blink that can allow you to reach a target to begin your stun chain. Can afterwards use Blink Dagger to blink out and start the weave in/out style in fights. Expensive, mainly only buy if your team could use a magic immunity piercing stun and there is no other option.

Since your Enchant Totem scales with strength and strength alone (since the bonus damage is based on base damage), a Heart of Tarrasque will greatly increase your damage output and also durability. An expensive item that should be purchased only if you need to be durable and front line and also your team doesn't require any other utility items.

Gameplay

Block creeps for your offlane. By putting a Fissure just in front of your creeps, you can block them and ensure that the creep wave meets closer to your tower, making life easier for both of you.

Early Laning: Start with a point in Fissure and look for opportunities to separate and block enemy heroes. Use this time to harass the isolated hero together with your teammates. If played correctly, you can get multiple kills in the early game with a single Fissure!

Always pay attention to your mana, especially in the early game. You start with less than 300 mana, meaning you can cast Fissure only 2 - 3 times before running out and requiring mana regeneration. Make sure you always save up enough mana to have your Fissure ready at any time in order to secure a kill or save your lane partner.

Your objective is to be annoying to the enemy and to try to find opportunities to block their escape paths, hopefully resulting in a kill or at least dealing enough damage to waste as much of their health regen as possible. Forcing your enemies to play safer and keeping them away from the creeps will greatly reduce their experience gain and early gold. Also, if you’re doing a good job at harassing and forcing them to use their regen items, they will be forced to either go back or buy some more regen items.

This is great because they’ll be spending gold just to stay alive on lane instead of actually buying items. You can keep an eye on their inventory and whenever you see that they’re lacking regeneration, you can play more aggressively and it could also pay off to plant an Observer Ward behind their Tier 1 tower and maybe kill their courier to get some extra gold and maybe even deny their regen items, if you're lucky!

Useful Tip: Watch Earthshaker matches and focus on the first 10 minutes to observe movement and spell casting.



Your job is to initiate or counter-initiate when the enemy team is out of position or attacking your teammates. It's important to pay attention to the map and try to be around your cores in order to react quickly if needed.

Once you have Blink Dagger you need to be more active around the map. Stand around your cores to be able to help them if needed or try to setup kills with the other support and offlaner. For instance, if your cores are farming the jungle safely, it's best to allow them to farm and create space by trying to gank with your other teammates.

Start looking at getting aggressive wards in the enemy jungle so you have vision for better ganks. You should be looking to take team fights if your Echo Slam is off cool down (unless enemies have a better team fight setup), as it offers great area damage and disable. Much like Enigma, the presence of your hero in a teamfight will change how your opponents play, so use this to your advantage.

Important Note: You don't always need to use your Echo Slam at the beginning of the fight. It is also very effective to use it against 1 or 2 key enemy heroes. For example, important team fight heroes such as Enigma and Doom to not give them the chance to use their ultimates in fight, or carries like Drow Ranger and Ember Spirit that have good farm and deal high damage (killing them at the beginning of the fight will greatly reduce the damage output of the enemy team).

Some times it's important to take down their key heroes rather than using Echo Slam too early or on too many targets with the risk of missing the key ones! This way you also start the fight with an advantage, since your team will have more heroes that are alive and can take part in the fight. However, your enemies will know that your Echo Slam is on cool down, meaning they might play more aggressively during this time.

As much as possible, try not to get out of position during team fights. You should be looking at weaving in and out of fights (e.g. go into middle of fight, combo, run away). The longer and better you do this, the more you offer your team with long range Fissures (once you have Blink Dagger then you also offer Enchant Totem and Aftershock combo) that can create chaos for your opponents in terms of stuns and blocking movement. Fissure is also particularly good at chasing fleeing enemies after they’ve lost a team fight, or even good at blocking off pursuing enemies so they can no longer chase your teammates.

If your Echo Slam isn’t up and you aren’t looking to gank an enemy, prioritize farming your Blink Dagger (or initiation item, Force Staff/ Shadow Blade if Blink Dagger isn't ideal), and once you get Blink Dagger look to use it immediately for a kill (ideally a core or even in a team fight; can also use Smoke of Deceit immediately). If you have Blink Dagger and the enemy team is unaware of this, your impact in the game and particularly team fights increases massively, so look to take advantage of this because once they know you have Blink Dagger, they won’t be grouping up in fights as often.

Once you have Blink Dagger, you’ll need to read the flow of the game. Is that next item crucial to winning a team fight (e.g. will a Force Staff help save someone? Will that Lotus Orb make my carry invincible for 6 seconds?)? If so, look to farm that item while also being ready to rotate or teleport for any fights or ganks. If the enemy team is ahead, look to position yourself near your carry or mid and protect them if any ganks occur on them (It’s okay to farm while doing this, but don’t stray too far from your core/mid). This can also result in a team fight breaking out, and if you’re already there and ready you can turn around the team fight early.



Always be ready, team fights are your big strength. Don't miss any of them, always have enough mana to fight and stay close to your team.

You have no cast point on Echo Slam, that way you can surprise enemy Black King Bar carriers and chain stun them so they never even get to use it and die fairly easily to your cores.

During late game, your role in the game is to participate in every team fight and also to set up up ganks on key targets such as cores and heroes without buyback, but these will almost always turn into team fights. This means being prepared for any team fight that's about to break out so you can counter-initiate, or being the one to initiate the fight. However, it becomes more important to play the weave in/out style properly due to high respawn timers and the importance of disables in the late game.

That being said, positioning during late game is super important, not just in team fights but anytime. Farming in the jungle out of sight makes the opponents scared that:

• You are looking to gank
• You could initiate a fight
• You can counter-initiate their gank

These change the way the opponents have to play (e.g. not attempting Roshan together, not walking through a choke point), however, if you farm in lane, the opponents know where you are so they can play more aggressively OR you paint a target on yourself which will put your team at a disadvantage. Split pushing has its times but thinking about if you’re seen or not is important. You are a key hero in team fights for your team, and as such you are a big target for opponents to burst. Knowing where to position to avoid this, or if you can survive the burst is also something you need to be aware of.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this community guide to Earthshaker! If you liked the guide, don't forget to vote and leave us a comment with your thoughts! If you have any suggestions, criticism or other feedback, comments of all sorts are appreciated. Good luck in your Earthshaker games!