Earthshaker/Guide

Playstyle
is a powerful spellcaster designed to repeatedly stun enemies. However, his naturally low mana requires careful management and selective use, especially during the early game. His allows him to wipe out large groups of enemies, making him an ideal pick against heroes like, , , or. Compared to intelligence supports, Earthshaker has a sizeable health pool. But compared to most strength heroes, Earthshaker is fairly vulnerable and can be easily killed if caught out of position.

Initiator/Support
Earthshaker is mostly played as an initiator. With the help of, his role is to jump into enemy clusters and chain stun opponents with >  >. A fully executed sequence will deal very significant damage, even if no allies are around to follow up. New players may find it hard to farm a quick, and should thus play conservatively to avoid early game deaths (and therefore gold loss). Once a Blink Dagger has been obtained, Earthshaker is no longer heavily item-dependent, and can transition into buying support items if needed.

Brawler
Earthshaker can sometimes be played as a brawler, building items like to make the tripled damage from  more effective. Players who go this route require significant farm, and therefore often start in the Mid Lane. A is also recommended for this build. Keep in mind that a brawler Earthshaker must rely on abilities to deal damage in bursts, and should avoid damage in between cooldowns. He will not be able to stand toe-to-toe against a real carry. Players should discuss with their team prior to choosing this build, as most teams expect Earthshaker to be played as an initiator/support.

Abilities
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 * Use Fissure to block off enemy retreat or reinforcements.
 * Earthshaker is exceptional at ganking the mid lane, because at a good angle, can completely block the enemy midlaner from running back to their tower.
 * Fissure can split two adjacent heroes, which is useful for separating a fleeing ally from a pursuing enemy. This requires practice, as it is quite common to misclick and wall off both heroes on the same side.
 * Fissure's long range can be used to snipe off retreating enemies.
 * Fissure's long range can be used to snipe off retreating enemies.
 * Enchant Totem has a very low cooldown, allowing Earthshaker to repeatedly return to the fight during long engagements.
 * Once is leveled, Enchant Totem can be used as a mini-initiation ability with.
 * Once is leveled, Enchant Totem can be used as a mini-initiation ability with.


 * For maximum damage, use Echo Slam around as many enemy units as possible.
 * Use the stun duration from Echo Slam to follow up with other abilities.
 * Echo Slam is an excellent ability to defend the base with, especially at the high ground around Tier 3 Towers where enemies will funnel into a small space.
 * A well placed Echo Slam is one of the few abilities that can turn around a badly losing game.
 * It is not always best to use Echo Slam to initiate. Experienced players often stay back during fights, waiting until enemies are grouped up before jumping in.
 * That said, some team compositions are very dependent on Earthshaker to initiate. Use sensible judgment.
 * An enemy team grouped up while fighting Roshan presents a very juicy target for Echo Slam.
 * An enemy team grouped up while fighting Roshan presents a very juicy target for Echo Slam.

Items

 * Important to compensate for Earthshaker's low mana.
 * A good source of mana in the early game, allows for liberal use of.
 * An indispensable item for Earthshaker to initiate.
 * Fulfills a similar purpose as Blink Dagger, can be bought to supplement Earthshaker's mobility.
 * Greatly increases damage.
 * Increases all magical damage from Earthshaker's abilities, although players may not always have time to use it.
 * Grants move speed, along with modest stats.
 * Increases damage output from with critical chance. Can be built into.