Earth Spirit is one of the most versatile and “fun” hero to play, reminiscent of playing FIFA on a bird-eye’s view. While his skillset makes for a strong roaming support hero, he’s definitely among the hardest Dota 2 heroes to play effectively. Nonetheless, it becomes very rewarding when a player masters his unique gameplay.

On paper, he has a long-range stun, a powerful initiation/mobility and a slow, silence and damaging AoE ultimate in a single ultimate. In order to use these spells efficiently, Earth Spirit’s damage revolves around managing the placement and use of his Stone Remnants.

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Complete Earth Spirit Spell guide

Boulder Smash

Earth Spirit either knocks a Stone Remnant towards a path of 2000 distance, which damages and stuns enemies it collides or uses it on an an enemy/ally hero. This alternatively deals damage but causes the hero unit to travel a shorter distance and doesn’t stun. Both the knocked target or the Stone Remnant will destroy trees along its path. Boulder Smash is maxed first because each level increases the damage, stun duration, range while decreasing cooldown. Boulder Smash’s massive range when cast on a Stone Remnant makes it useful at catching enemies that are fleeing.

In the laning phase, you can use this spell to knock enemies into your tower range, or away from your allies. However, beware that doing so will push them in the direction that they are in relation to you, which means you need to position yourself.

When you use Boulder Smash on a Stone Remnant, adjust your angle of target accurately because the trajectory will affect where it moves in a straight line.

Rolling Boulder

Earth Spirit turns into a boulder and after a short delay, rolling forward and dealing damage. If you smash through a Stone Remnant while you roll, you will travel twice as far and twice as fast as well as slowing the first hero you collide with. You can use Rolling Boulder to roll over cliffs and you can cast Town Portal Scroll at any point after using the spell, although the Boulder will cancel if you are stunned at any point, including during the 0.5 second cast time. Rolling Boulder fully affects invisible heroes.

Note that when you collide with an enemy hero, you are also halted and placed on the opposite side of the impact. This sets you up nicely to Boulder Smash the enemy hero towards your tower or your team. When using Rolling Boulder you can place a Stone Remnant during the 0.5 second cast time too, making it easier for you to land it by casting more quickly.

Geomagnetic Grip

Earth Spirit pulls a Stone Remnant towards him, silencing and damaging any enemies it strikes. This is maxed last because the damage and silence duration is decent at level 1 anyways. You can use Grip on a Stone Remnant that is currently being Boulder Smashed away. As long as it still passes the enemy, they will be stunned and you can immediately silence them, if timed well. You can then follow up with a Rolling Boulder to slow the enemy and continue to attack them.

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Stone Remnant

Earth Spirit places an invulnerable Stone Remnant at the target location, which can be seen through Fog of War by both teams. Double-clicking on Stone Remnant will summon a remnant in front of you, which has numerous uses and makes it much easier to cast spells like Rolling Boulder and Boulder Smash. Use your Stone Remnants sparingly and try to use existing ones whenever possible.

Magnetize

Earth Spirit inflicts damage over time on nearby enemies. This effect is refreshed and shared to other nearby enemies whenever they are near a Stone Remnant, however the Remnant will shatter after 8 seconds. If an enemy is affected by the silencing or slowing effects of his other 2 spells, all other heroes under the effect of Magnetize will also be silenced or slowed. Keep track of the number above the enemies to see how long there is left on Magnetize and when you should use another Stone Remnant to refresh the duration.

If enemies clump together, you can place a Stone Remnant in their midst to inflict them all with Magnetize, and if you manage to then use that stone to silence or slow one of the enemies, they will all be affected by it. This has massive control potential in team-fights and is an element that should not be overlooked.

Magnetize alongside his mobility skills are what makes Earth Spirit so powerful with just his abilities alone. Hence, his itemization will revolve around improving his skills’ output and effects.

Enchant Remnant

Unlocked through Aghanim’s Scepter. You can turn an ally or enemy hero into a Stone Remnant and can use it as normal Stone Remnant for 3 seconds, whereupon the hero will return to itself and damage nearby enemies. The target is also completely invulnerable for the duration. This spell can potentially be used to save your carry in the late game, even in the worst situations.

If you have a mobility item like Blink Dagger, you can Blink next to you carry, use Enchant Remnant on them, then Boulder Smash them 2000 units away to safety. This combo can result in some flashy Dota 2 esports plays. Similarly, you can also use it on the enemy carry and kick them 2000 units into the direction of your team, which is incredibly powerful in the late game in situations where, for example, you are trying to break the enemy’s high-ground. You can Blink onto the enemy carry, Enchant them and then kick them out of their base and into the your team’s wrath.

Talents

Level 10: +8% Spell Amplification or +325 Rolling Bolder Distance

The extra Rolling Bolder Distance makes Earth Spirit more mobile, relieving him from the need to purchase any additional mobility items, such as Blink Dagger early. Additionally, the bonus distance is also multiplied by two when used with a Stone Remnant, letting Earth Spirit move even further.

Level 15: +120 Rolling Boulder Damage or +25% Magnetize Damage & Duration

Rolling Boulder can deal an extra 120 damage on a 4-second cooldown, provided you can use it on enemies without dying prematurely. As such, it’s a decent damage upgrade when team fights rely on multiple instances of Rolling Boulder.

Level 20: -2s Geomagnetic Grip Cooldown or +125 Boulder Smash Damage

The extra 125 Boulder Smash damage rakes up 425 damage, which is always great. Additionally, the higher damage lets Earth Spirit wipe out an entire creep wave with one skill by dealing 531 AOE damage.

Level 25: +0.5s Rolling Boulder Stun Duration or Magnetize Undispellable

The general improvement of Earth Spirit’s talent tree seems to favor Rolling Boulder alone. Hence, since we already picked Level 10 and 15 talents specifically for Rolling Boulder, it makes sense to also get a higher stun duration on this skill.

The increased stun duration can be decent if you need more lockdown in team-fights, which keep in mind, only has a 4-second cooldown.

What Items to build on Earth Spirit

Starting Items

• Bottle
• Tango
• Iron Branch
• Healing Salve
• Clarity
• Observer Ward
• Sentry Ward

If your team’s draft seems sustainable enough, especially your offlaner, saving up for a quick Bottle isn’t too shabby. Earth Spirit will be spamming various skills and be in the frontlines, dealing and receiving damage. Hence, health and mana regen are essential.

Since Earth Spirit is a roamer, he can oftentimes refill his Bottle by making his way to the middle lane for the Water Rune before attempting to gank on the lone mid enemy player. Note that the best time to pursue this would be after you get Level 3, where you have both Boulder Smash and Rolling Boulder.

Alternatively, if the offlane calls for your assistance, picking up the classic consumables and wards are the way to go.

Early Game Items

• Urn of Shadows is a good picJCp on ES because it provides him with some decent early game stats, including mana regen. Players often buy Sage Mask and Ring of Protection first before eventually building into a full Urn of Shadows. The ability to heal allies is very helpful, given how easy it is for ES to gank and get kills.
• Magic Wand is another good early-game picJCp as it provides you with mana regen, some sustainability and build up lots of charges during your ganks. It also becomes more effective if you are against an enemy line-up with many skills to spam.

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Mid Game Items

• Spirit Vessel can be bought if you’re facing a lineup with strong heals, the you can get a Spirit Vessel to reduce make it easier for your team to render these durable opponents obsolete. The stats it provide are great on ES’s durability and is an extension to your Urn of Shadows.
• Aghanim’s Scepter is a staple to purchase on Earth Spirit. It gives you an incredibly strong ability to save your allies or to pick off the enemy carry by turning them into a Stone Remnant. Like a Stone Remnant, you can apply the same long-distance push on it, misplacing an enemy into a bad position.

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Late Game Items

• Octarine Core given how much AOE damage ES’s skillsets deliver, having an Octarine Core in the midst of using Earth Spirit’s skills triggers healing. Moreover, the reduced cooldown is an added bonus on his already-short cooldown.
• Shiva’s Guard for slow and control in a team-fights, especially for Earth Spirit, who can use Rolling Boulder into the enemy team. The bonus armor also makes him a tougher hero to kill despite being in the enemy’s vicinity.
• Black King Bar only if Shiva’s Guard isn’t enough to make you unkillable in fights, then BKB adds an extra layer of resistance that Earth Shaker can leverage on.
• Blink Dagger is a great item on Earth Spirit as it allows him to move in and out of fights much more easily and use his spells without having to risk his life. You can blink next to enemies, Boulder Smash them away and then use Rolling Boulder to escape, for example. This can be done to save your allies or get kills more easily, depending on the situation. It has a wide variety of uses and is considered a core item for him.

Situational Items

1. Lotus Orb is a good item to pick up if you need to purge silences or if you’re facing lots of single-target abilities.
2. Scythe of Vyse if you have 5550 gold to spare in the late game, you can get a Scythe of Vyse. This will give you even more control in teamfights, and suits Earth Spirit’s playstyle well.
3. Eul’s Scepter of Divinity will give you a strong defensive ability. This is most useful against silences, as they prevent you from using your spells to escape or fight. They provide tons of mana regeneration and lots of intelligence.
4. Ghost Scepter if you are playing against heroes that can burst you down quickly by physical damage, then you need a Ghost Scepter. This is less useful against heroes that tend to buy or have a Diffusal Blade as they can purge your Ghost Form.
5. Glimmer Cape will allow you to manoeuvre teamfights more easily and soak up enemy magical damage. It can also be used on an ally to save them more easily. You can use Glimmer Cape and Boulder Smash on a low HP core hero to potentially save them from death in many situations.
6. Force Staff is another item that can provide you with lots of mobility and an increased ability to potentially save allies.
7. Heaven’s Halberd can be a good picJCp if you need to control a strong right-clicker like Huskar or PA. It will tank you up a lot through the strength and evasion it provides.
8. Pipe of Insight will tank you and your team up lots against magical damage.
9. Veil of Discord in the mid-game will give you and your team more damage in teamfights. Generally, it’s only worth spending the gold unless your team is also magic damage-based.
10. Rod of Atos is a good picJCp against very mobile and elusive heroes, such as Weaver or Puck. In addition to your silence and stun, it will give you tremendous control, and you’ll be able to keep most heroes locked down indefnitely.
11. Blade Mail is a very situational item, but it can be a good item against heroes that can quickly burst you down by physical damage.
12. Meteor Hammer gives you some nice stats and a strong active. It requires you to channel for 3 seconds, which can be hard for Earth Spirit, as you cast a lot of spells in teamfights and you need to be positioning yourself a lot.
13. Aeon Disk only if you are getting caught out a lot in teamfights or if you’re getting locked down easily, then an Aeon Disk could be a good picJCp. Earth Spirit has quite high mobility, especially in the mid and late game after getting a few items like Force Staff or Blink Dagger. This means that you can usually escape being ganked if u have an Aeon Disk and a few mobility items.
14. Kaya can be a good item if you’re facing some kind of mana drain. The damage amplification stacks effectively with the magic damage output of your skill set.

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Interesting Earth Spirit Match-ups

Silences

Silences prevent ES to cast his spells and even disrupt his combo. This means he can’t escape from fights or contribute any of his team-fight control spells. Items such as Eul’s Scepter and BKB can nullify the debuff.

Roots

Similar to silences, Roots prevent ES from using Rolling Boulder to escape from enemies, causing him to die a lot more frequently, especially if you aren’t careful about your positioning.

Tinker

Earth Spirit can destroy tree along the path of Rolling Boulder and Boulder Smash to reveal Tinker where he is hiding. Your silence will prevent him from Rearming and blinking away. Plus, your stun will interrupt his teleport, so you can often kill him in the mid-game with Magnetize.

Enigma

Enigma shouldn’t be able to channel his ultimate at all if you’re nearby fully. Boulder Smash has a massive range, and although Geomagnetic Grip has a slightly shorter range, they can both be used to cancel his ultimate very easily. Make sure that you’re not standing near your teammates in teamfights and that you have at least 1 Stone Remnant ready to interrupt Black Hole.

On the other hand, Enigma can use Malefice to instantly interrupt Earth Spirit’s Rolling Boulder, causing him to unsuccessfully escape.

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