Initiating

Initiating is the capability of Heroes to cripple a group of enemies before a clash to gain an upper hand.

Heroes
Initiators are the most important driving force in winning team clashes. Most if not all Initiators have (an) area skill that either delivers superb damage or infuriating crowd control status effects to the whole of the enemy team. Every Initiator also has their own different role, usually as a Tank, Support, or Roamer. Some Initiators, however, focus more on decimating the most important target in the team that might ruin the clash for them such as a Carry.

Be reminded that playing as an Initiator will most likely require you to expose yourself. With that said, players using Initiators should not exhibit fear else it'd just make their role pointless.

Special mention Initiators are Tidehunter,  Earthshaker,  Sand King,  Clockwerk,  Axe,  Enigma, and  Vengeful Spirit.

Items
Items really depend on what type of Initiator one could be. If their initiating skill requires them to be close such as Earthshaker's Echo Slam and Tidehunter's Ravage, an item such as Blink Dagger, Force Staff, or even Shadow Blade can really ease the job. If their initiating skill requires them to be uninterrupted throughout the battle such as Sand King's Epicenter or Crystal Maiden's Freezing Field, Black King Bar allows them to to remain active throughout the clash for them to deliver the most out of everything. Initiators also need to disable the most amount of enemies at one time, so Eul's Scepter of Divinity and Scythe of Vyse are also great items. Area debuff items such as Shiva's Guard and Assault Cuirass also greatly help. Initiators also make great carriers of area support items such as Mekansm and Pipe of Insight. Items that increase survivability such as Heart of Tarrasque and Blade Mail also work.