The Heroes in Dota 2 - An Introductory Guide for Earthshaker

Introduction

Despite the fact that Dota 2 is not a new game, it still has millions of players from all over the world. Apart from being one of the most legendary MOBAs in the world, Dota 2 is also the biggest esport when it comes down to prize pools. Nearly every single big tournament has somewhere between $300,000 to  $1,000,000 in prize pools. Of course, let's not forget about The International, which is the biggest even in any esports and has a gigantic prize pool in the reigns of $34,000,000+. 

Despite its popularity, many new players tend to quit playing the game because of its complexity. This is understandable because Dota 2 has over 120 heroes and items to choose from, and each of them is unique.

With that said, today, we will take a look at one of the most popular heroes in the game - Earthshaker. 

Information about the hero

Earthshaker is a melee Strength hero that can be played in nearly every single position in the game. However, depending on the situation he is in, this hero mostly shines when he is put in the offlane.

Even though the primary stat of the hero is Strength, nearly every single Earhshaker player emphasizes either Intelligence or just raw damage. That's due to the fact that the hero needs both of these stats in order to be effective.

Now that we've cleared this out, let's take a look at the abilities of this incredible hero:

• Fissure - this is perhaps one of the most recognizable abilities in Dota 2. Fissure is basically a long-range stun that deals with a pretty decent amount of damage. In addition to that, it also creates a "rock structure" for a couple of seconds that block the enemy from passing it. As you can probably guess, Fissure can be a very deadly ability, especially when it's used in the proper scenario. This spell is able to completely prevent the enemies from moving to a certain duration, which can allow your team to clear them out easily.
  However, you need to be very careful when you use Fissure because you can also block your own team. Needless to say, this is the last thing you will want to do.
• Enchant Totem is another signature spell that is capable of dealing insane amounts of damage. Unlike fissure, this spell doesn't stun its own (it does stun, but it does it in conjunction with his third spell),  but it has a very short cooldown and allows you to do massive amounts of damage. In fact, Enchant Totem is probably the best spell use during the laning phase because it will enable you to zone out the enemy hero on your lane completely. After all, dealing 200+ damage in the first couple of minutes can be a game-changer.
  Another notable thing about this skill is that it benefits from an Aghanim Scepter, which is one of the best items for EarthshakerA. We will cover this in just a second.
• Aftershock is the passive ability that allows ES to deal bonus damage and stun whenever he uses any of his spells. It's essential to level this early on because it gives you a lot of potential to lock-down your enemies.
• Echo Slam - last, but definitely not least, we have one of the most recognizable ultimates in the game. There are many YouTube videos where Echo Slam completely destroys the enemy team. Apart from being one of the coolest-looking abilities in Dota 2, Echo Slam is also one of the strongest ones, mainly when the enemies are grouped together. In fact, this is the main thing that you need to remember when using this ult - it does more damage if there are many enemies close to each other. It's not really advisable to use it if the enemy is scattered, but of course, it all depends on the situation you're in.

Items and Counters

As we mentioned earlier, ES can be played in nearly every single position, which means that the item choices for this hero vary a lot. However, there are a couple of items that are good, regardless of the position you're currently playing:

• Blink Dagger is an absolute must for every single Earthshaker because it completely changes the way this hero plays. Not only does it give him more mobility, but it also increases his overall damage because he can quickly jump and use his Enchant Totem or Ultimate. Without it, it's very, very hard to cast a good ultimate.
• Aghanim's Scepter is another essential item that can change the course of the game. Even though it's a little bit more expensive than the Blink Dagger, it allows Earthshaker to cast his Enchant Totem and jump around with it. So, when you combine this with a Blink Dagger, it makes the hero nearly impossible to kill because he can escape from sticky situations.
• Shadow Blade is a popular option for the core ES players because it gives even more mobility, as well as damage. However, it can be easily countered by any item that provides True Sight, so keep that in mind.

When it comes down to counters, ES is mainly vulnerable to heroes that can quickly kill him from a distance or prevent him from using his spells. In other words, heroes such as Storm Spirit, Zeus, Lifestealer, and Specter can easily make the life of every ES player a living hell.