Dota 2 Earth Spirit Guide

Dota 2 Earth Spirit Guide by RoHunt3r

Hello friends! Since i’ve seen quite a lot of bad ES guide, I decided to write one myself for the ones who want to play him, read those guides and then proceed to feed and call the hero underpowered/too hard.

The hero itself is not hard, all you need are fast fingers.

Let’s start with the basic question: Who is Earth Spirit?

Earth Spirit is a strenght hero, brother of Storm Spirit and Ember Spirit. He’s a very good offlaner, but can do fine on mid or be a babysitter. He’s mostly centered on utility – a stun (also force staff), a slow (also escape/initiation), a silence (also save) and a DPS skill (also fun killer). If you want to know more about his skills and what they do, please check the wiki.

Early game

Offensive or defensive – depends on your lineup. One thing is sure: you need LEVELS. Levels is what keeps you going. As an offlaner, this should be quite easy since all you have to do is stay in the exp range, same for mid. As a lane support life will be harder, however not impossible. You have to stack and pull as much as you can, and also, depending on your lane parner, try to kill the enemy.

Mid Game

This is where you shine. You have 6 rock charges, arcane boots, an urn of shadows and a lot of possibilities. Now what?

Well, now you should start ganking. Here’s an obvious tip: gank the casters (not you, Tobi). They rely on spells to be efective and usually have a small amount of hp. Another type of heroes would be agility heroes with escape skills. Mirana, Slark (when not fed), Weaver (risky) and Bounty Hunter are some examples that should be easily taken down in a 1v1 situation.

If the enemy team is playing together you’ll have to play more defensive. Stick around your carry to help him escape danger and defend the towers with your team. Even when going up against 5 people, don’t hesitate be the one who initiates. You have to be in the middle of them in order to land the magnetize, and your team will probably follow up with some stuns and…stuff.

Late Game

This is no longer the time for you to initiate, but now you have to keep crowd control. By that I mean you have to be ready to stun, silence, pull, push, roll, slow, use mek/pipe/shiva and (if possible) land your ult on them. You don’t have to be always in the front anymore, but don’t stay back either. Try to find ways to stop certain enemies from using certain skills to win certain teamfights that you should win.

Item Build

Starting items:

• Stout Shield
• Tangoes, a Healing Salve
• 2 GG Branches
• (Optional) Courier, Wards, Clarity potions

Everything is situational on Earth Spirit, so you can’t have the same itembuild on every game. However, there are some items that you should consider:

Stout Shield – You’re gonna be tanking creeps and enemies 90% of the time, not getting a stout shield would be silly.

Magic Stick – Yes, the stick will be enough for you. If you’re not going to make mek you can upgrade it into a wand.

Arcane Boots – Because without mana you just hit, which won’t really help.

Urn of Shadows – Gives even more utility, and makes up for the hp lost in ganks.

Mekansm – Gives nice stats, armor and a burst heal for you and your team. Adds utility and keeps you alive.

Vanguard – Only consider this if you have mana problems or someone already bought mek.

Force Staff – Adds more utility, helps you and your teammates position yourselves better.

Blink Dagger – Alternative for Force Staff, get this if you’re more concerned about getting close to the enemy or making sure you get to pull the endangered allies.

Veil of Discord – Had to add this, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. Adds utility, and it can be worth if your team does mostly magic damage.

Shiva’s Guard – Luxury item, gives you a lot of armor and has a nice aura and active skill.

Rod of Atos – If you need some help in stunning or rolling over people, RoA will help you achieve that.

Pipe of Insight – Not always needed since you can silence enemies, a pipe will keep you and your allies alive against strong magic nukers (Zeus, OD)

Combos (From easy to hard)

1. Roll-Pull

• Start the roll towards the enemy
• Place a rock behind the enemy
• Pull the rock towards you, making the roll “eat” the rock and slowing your enemy by 80% (note you’ll end up behind him)

2. Roll-Pull-Push

• Follow the same steps for number 1
• Push the enemy back to your tower/ally/creepwave

3. Roll-Stun (-Ult-Silence)

• Start the roll towards your enemy
• Place a rock in front of you (not too close, not too far!)
• Use your Boulder Smash on the rock as fast as possible. This will make you both “eat” and push the rock, both stunning and slowing an enemy
• (Optionally) Follow up with your ultimate, summon a rock and pull it to damage and silence the enemy

4. Stun-Silence-Roll

• Summon a rock in front of you
• Use Boulder Smash on the rock towards the enemy
• (Optional: start rolling) After the enemy got stunned and damaged, pull the rock back to you
• Roll to your enemy, slowing and damaging them

5. Stun-Blink-Pull-Ult (Requires Blink Dagger)

• Summon a rock in front of you and Boulder Smash it towards an enemy
• Blink to the stunned enemy
• Pull the rock back and start your ult

Remember, hard doesn’t always mean better!

Tips and Tricks:

1. While under the effects of Magnetize, try to roll to your enemy, but place a rock between you and him so that the rock is still inside the search range of Magnetize
2. When ganking someone with Magnetize and you’re not sure whether you’ll get the kill or nor, try to leave Boulder Smash for last, so that when he’s trying to escape you can smash a rock towards him and stun/damage him, or at least refresh the magnetize effect.
3. There’s a fine line between bravery, and stupidity. Don’t roll alone into a group of enemies or someone that is more powerful than you. You’re a powerful hero, but you’re not God.
4. ALWAYS carry a tp, so that you can turn fights around or save some allies.