Earthshaker

Earthshaker is a disabler melee, strength Hero commonly played as a ganker or initiator. Early game, Earthshaker's main ability is Fissure. Fissure makes him a powerful ganker as it can be used to block enemies for several seconds almost ensuring a kill. It has a lot more utility than most disables; not only can it be utilized offensively as a stun, it can block off an enemy's retreat or save an ally from their pursuers. Aftershock is Earthshaker's passive ability, adding bonus damage and an area of effect stun to his other spells. His other ability, Enchant Totem, is used mainly to trigger Aftershock's stun, allowing Earthshaker to keep his target disabled longer. Late game, Earthshaker's role shifts to being an initiator, where he commonly uses Blink Dagger and his ultimate to start fights. Echo Slam, when cast in the center of a battle, can disable an entire enemy team and do major damage. If chained successfully, with Fissure, an enemy can be stunned up to 4.75 seconds, making him a great disabler, and overall contributes to team fights very well. One of Earthshaker's weaknesses is his slow, 0.69-second, casting animations for Fissure and Enchant Totem, though Echo Slam has a 0-second casting animation so it has a lower chance of being interrupted or stopped.

Due to Earthshaker's easy to hit area of effect abilities, despite tricky placement and timing, he is suggested to new players who want to transition to more difficult heroes. He is recommended for new to intermediate players.