Raigor Stonehoof the Earthshaker is a melee strength hero with several area of effect disables, commonly played as a ganker or initiator. Unlike most strength heroes, he is played more like an intelligence caster hero and is almost entirely reliant on his spells to inflict heavy damage. His Fissure is a versatile spell that affects enemies in a line, used to stun, inflict decent damage, and create an impassable wall of earth for a significant duration.

Good usage of this can cut off chokepoints, leaving enemies with no escape routes or preventing them from chasing after endangered allies. Enchant Totem massively boosts his attack damage for one attack, and has a very short cooldown. Aftershock lets the Earthshaker deal additional damage and stun in a small area around him everytime he uses one of his spells, and combos particularly well with Enchant Totem. Earthshaker's heavy AoE-centric kit is most powerful when his enemies are in large numbers and in close proximity. With his Echo Slam, he can deal heavy damage to clusters of enemies. All of Earthshaker's spells (with the exception of his ultimate) have a long casting animation, but with proper positioning, an adept Earthshaker can wreak havoc with his area-of-effect spells.


Blink Dagger is an essential item for Earthshaker to be able to properly land Echo Slam within a cluster of enemies. At the same time, because of the high mana costs of his spells, he needs some form of mana sustenance. With his tremendous seismic power, the Earthshaker is never one that should be taken lightly even when he is heavily outnumbered. Like a golem or gargoyle, Earthshaker was one with the earth but now walks freely upon it. Unlike those other entities, he created himself through an act of will, and serves no other master. In restless slumbers, encased in a deep seam of stone, he became aware of the life drifting freely above him. He grew curious. During a season of tremors, the peaks of Nishai shook themselves loose of avalanches, shifting the course of rivers and turning shallow valleys into bottomless chasms. When the land finally ceased quaking, Earthshaker stepped from the settling dust, tossing aside massive boulders as if throwing off a light blanket. He had shaped himself in the image of a mortal beast, and named himself Raigor Stonehoof. He bleeds now, and breathes, and therefore he can die. But his spirit is still that of the earth; he carries its power in the magical totem that never leaves him. And on the day he returns to dust, the earth will greet him as a prodigal son.

dota2 earthshaker heroes