Earth Spirit/Guide

Hero

Strategy

Equipment

Gear

Gameplay[]

Playstyle
Earth Spirit is one of the strongest disabling heroes in the game, possessing a stun, silence, and slow in all of his basic abilities, allowing him to combo his abilities based on the needs of his allies and how he wants to affect his enemies. By judiciously using his spells at the right time and in the right situation, he can inflict the enemy with powerful crowd control effects.
Pros	Cons
Dangerous roaming presence. Not item dependent. Abilities have low cooldowns. Strong area disables.	Hard hero to play , requires precise positioning and timing. Mediocre lane presence if not playing aggressively. Somewhat level dependent. Rely on Stone Remnant with slightly long replenish time. Vulnerable to silence

Support[]

In the early game, Earth Spirit can harass enemies with Rolling Boulder and Orb of Venom, helping teammates secure a good lane, most often times at mid. Later on, Rolling Boulder allows him to initiate into Magnetize and other abilities during teamfights, dealing massive area magical damage. Along with Boulder Smash's area slow and Geomagnetic Grip's area silence, Earth Spirit controls teamfights by locking down multiple key targets, enabling his team to follow with their own abilities and items.

Midlaner[]

Earth Spirit can be played in the midlane,as he can seize control of creep waves with his long range nukes.Given the farm and levels,he has a chance to complete strong items like Ethereal Blade, Dagon or Blink Dagger earlier and snowball into the mid/late-game.

Ability Builds[]

Generic Earth Spirit
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	25

Talents[]

Hero Talents
+0.5s Rolling Boulder Stun Duration	25	Magnetize Undispellable
-2s Geomagnetic Grip Cooldown	20	+100 Boulder Smash Damage
+110 Rolling Boulder Damage	15	+30% Magnetize Damage & Duration
+10% Spell Amplification	10	+200 Rolling Boulder Distance

Notes:

Grants generic bonus outgoing damage amplification. Stacks additively with other generic outgoing damage manipulation sources.
- Affects only spell damage sourced to Earth Spirit. Does not amplify damage flagged as HP removal.

Tips & Tactics[]

General[]

Due to the high potential impact of his abilities, Earth Spirit is a relatively farm-independent hero, and can contribute greatly to ganks and teamfights with few to no items. He is best played as a utility initiator that can be useful without items but increases greatly in effectiveness with farm.
Earth Spirit has little single-target physical damage, and his spells require the use of Stone Remnants in order to be effective. As such, he has difficulty finding farm, so he should get his gold by being active and getting kills and assists in teamfights and ganks.
Positioning is key with Earth Spirit; the hero is adept at initiating, counter-initiating, and running down fleeing foes. All of his abilities allow him to disable enemies in some form or another, so being within range to cast his spells may turn the tide of any teamfight.
Earth Spirit is most commonly played as a roamer as he can use his wide array of disables to set up kills on enemies in their lanes. While he will not get much farm or experience, he can appear without warning in any enemy lane and disable enemies for kills, giving his teammates strong lane advantages.
Earth Spirit's basic disable combo is: Stone Remnant near Earth Spirit > Boulder Smash the remnant at a target > Geomagnetic Grip the remnant. Knocking the remnant in a target's direction will slow them for a short duration, after which pulling it back before it leaves the spell's 1100 range will silence the target and deal additional damage.
For large-scale teamfights, Earth Spirit can combine all of his abilities to inflict maximum crowd control using two initial Stone Remnants. To pull this off: Double Stone Remnant near Earth Spirit > Boulder Smash + Rolling Boulder > Magnetize > Geomagnetic Grip on first remnant. The initial Boulder Smash will slow multiple enemies, pinning them in position to be hit by Rolling Boulder, which puts Earth Spirit in position to cast Magnetize. Geomagnetic Grip can then be cast on the first Stone Remnant, inflicting the silence while simultaneously spreading the debuff to all enemies in the vicinity. You can then cast Rolling Boulder again using that Stone Remnant to apply a stun, and your remaining Stone Remnants to refresh Magnetize's duration.
Choose to use Rolling Boulder first to approach targets, then you can easily control them with a close range Boulder Smash followed by Magnetize.

Abilities[]

Boulder Smash[]

Boulder Smash is a powerful utility spell that allows Earth Spirit to re-position a unit while dealing damage, or launch a Stone Remnant to slow and deal damage over great distances.
Earth Spirit can use Boulder Smash on allies as well as enemies, not just Stone Remnants. It can help an ally initiate, or displace an enemy in a direction favorable to your team. However, a Boulder Smash cast on a unit has a relatively short travel distance and will not slow any enemies in its path. It also will not interrupt the targeted unit, so it will not cancel channeling.
You can choose to use Boulder Smash directly on target enemy as a small nuke; beware that it will push them away so try to use it when you face the right way or as a finishing blow.
As it does not interrupt channeling when cast on an ally, Boulder Smash can be used to re-position teammates who are channeling big ultimates in teamfights (such as Death Ward and Black Hole to put them in a better position while the spell remains in effect. On a smaller scale, it can be used to displace an ally who is channeling a Town Portal Scroll, making them harder to locate by the enemy and buying them time to escape.
Using Boulder Smash directly on target enemy heroes will only kick them away and not slow them, so you will need Stone Remnant for slow.

Rolling Boulder[]

Rolling Boulder is a powerful mobility spell that allows Earth Spirit to initiate, escape, or simply re-position to cast his spells.
When augmented by a Stone Remnant, Rolling Boulder increases Earth Spirit's travel speed and maximum distance, and inflicts a stun on the first enemy hero it collides with. Because the distance is fixed and the speed only changes upon hitting the Stone Remnant, it is best to place the remnant right on top of Earth Spirit, in order to minimize the travel time.
By utilizing the effect delay of Rolling Boulder, you can decrease the time required to execute a Remnant-augmented roll. Use Rolling Boulder in the desired direction, and then place the Stone Remnant in Earth Spirit's path during the delay (remember that you can double-tap Stone Remnant to drop it in front of you), instead of placing the Remnant and then casting Rolling Boulder.
Rolling Boulder allows Earth Spirit to traverse cliffs and through trees, so you can use it to pass over normally impassable terrain. However, getting disabled during the effect delay will interrupt it, so be careful about using it when fleeing enemies with stuns, roots, or silences.
You need good aim when using Rolling Boulder to initiate on a target. Rolling only stops when it connects with an enemy hero, so if you miss and overshoot, you may wind up in an disadvantageous position. Therefore, you can wait to use Rolling Boulder after slowing with Boulder Smash to ensure collision.
Rolling Boulder does root and disarm Earth Spirit during its duration. So, do not try to use Blink Dagger or attack when rolling as they do not work. Otherwise, you can use other items not related to movement. Most notably, you can start channeling Town Portal Scroll right after casting Rolling Boulder to get a head start, as well as putting you in much safer position away from aggressors.
Depending on when and where in the roll the Stone Remnant is placed, Earth Spirit moves at a net rate of 500 or 762-1000.
- Rolling without a Stone Remnant moves Earth Spirit 800 units in 1.6 (0.6 + 1) seconds, resulting in a net rate of 500 effective movement speed.
- Rolling into a Stone Remnant 949-950 distance from Earth Spirit's initial location moves him 1600 in 2.1 (0.6 + 1 + 0.5) seconds, resulting in a net rate of 762 effective movement speed.
- Rolling into a Stone Remnant 0-150 distance from Earth Spirit's initial location moves him 1600 in 1.6 (0.6 + 1) seconds, resulting in a net rate of 1000 effective ms.
After colliding with enemy target, you will stand behind them on the opposite side of the direction where you came from. You can then choose to use Boulder Smash on them immediately to kick them back in the direction where you came from, typically where your teammates are waiting.
Take advantage of Rolling Boulder's low cooldown to keep enemies or Roshan stunned.

Geomagnetic Grip[]

Geomagnetic Grip is an ally-targeted spell that allows Earth Spirit to pull an allied creep or Stone Remnant to his position.
Because Geomagnetic Grip's silence duration does not scale that well, it is best skilled up only if the longer silence duration is necessary for countering specific enemies, or if the additional magical damage is needed.
Geomagnetic Grip deals no damage unless a Stone Remnant is pulled. Therefore, if the aim is to deal damage, a remnant must be used.
When using Stone Remnants to utilize Geomagnetic Grip's silence, remember that Stone Remnants have no collision boxes. Therefore if your aim is surprise, you can place the Stone Remnant in the enemy's fog of war (inside of trees, or on an elevated cliff) and then pull it to you to avoid alerting them when they see the remnant being placed.
When enhanced with appropriate talent, Geomagnetic Grip has great utility in saving allies who are being ganked by the enemy, as it can pull them to safety over terrain and regardless of the direction they are facing or intervening enemy units. Also, it will silence any enemies within melee range of your teammate, preventing them from casting mobility spells to pursue.

Stone Remnant[]

Stone Remnant allows Earth Spirit to place a remnant within a certain radius of himself, and then use it in combination with his spells.
Stone Remnants are key to enhancing the effectiveness of all of Earth Spirit's spells. They should be treated as a resource more valuable than mana, as while abilities and items exist to replenish mana, none exist to increase the number of Stone Remnant charges available besides waiting for them to naturally replenish.
When casting your spells to farm or disable enemies in fights, remember that you can use the same Stone Remnant more than once. The Stone Remnant that you pulled to you with Geomagnetic Grip to silence an enemy can then be used to slow a distant target with Boulder Smash, or quickly re-position yourself with Rolling Boulder.
Stone Remnants persist on the field for up to 2 minutes, and ignore pathing and collision. If you are short on Stone Remnants but have plenty of mana, you can recycle them by moving old Stone Remnants to more advantageous positions using your spells. Furthermore, Stone Remnants left over from previous teamfights can be improvised if another fight occurs in the same area.
Double-clicking on the command to place a Stone Remnant (or ALT + ability hotkey if Quickcast and Smart Double Tap are enabled) will place a Stone Remnant directly in front of Earth Spirit. This can facilitate easier casting of Boulder Smash and Rolling Boulder, and give players more time to direct their attention at enemy targets as needed.

Magnetize[]

Magnetize gives Earth Spirit the ability to deal damage over time to all enemies affected by the debuff, and can be spread and refreshed with his Stone Remnants while spreading disables from his spells as well, making it very powerful in teamfights.
While Magnetize's initial radius is limited, the debuff can be transferred to other nearby enemies via the use of Stone Remnants. Besides the damage it deals, the ability allows you to extend the effects of Geomagnetic Grip's silence and Boulder Smash's slow to encompass the entire enemy team, greatly impeding them all while dealing heavy damage over time.
Remember that you can refresh the duration of Magnetize by placing Stone Remnants near the affected targets. Try to time your remnant placements to maximize the damage, however also remember that your abilities lose the majority of their effectiveness without Stone Remnants, so be sure to always have some in reserve to balance damage and disables.
- Keep in mind, any Stone Remnants that are used to spread Magnetize will disappear after a short duration. Try to use these remnants to fuel your other abilities during Magnetize if possible, as they will otherwise disappear from the field.
Note that stone search radius is shorter than stone refresh radius. Therefore, if you want to spread Magnetize to new enemy heroes, you should place Stone Remnant closer to them and can afford a bit further from the already affected to both refresh and spread the ability at the same time.
The duration of Magnetize shows up above the enemy heroes' models, useful to time your refresh.

Enchant Remnant[]

Enchant Remnant requires purchasing an Aghanim's Scepter. The ability allows Earth Spirit to turn any hero, ally or enemy, into a Stone Remnant to manipulate with his other abilities.
Using Enchant Remnant on an ally renders them temporarily invulnerable (through spell immunity as well), allowing you to save them quickly if they are being focused down, or it can be used to help them initiate by casting Boulder Smash on them to stun the enemy while simultaneously placing your teammate in the middle of their formation. When used against an enemy, Enchant Remnant disables them completely, allowing Earth Spirit to use them to fuel his spells in a teamfight, or place them in an extremely disadvantageous location with Geomagnetic Grip and Boulder Smash.
Enchant Remnant is perhaps one of the best ways to easily remove an enemy hero from a teamfight by enchanting them and then using Boulder Smash to send them away from the fight, perhaps into impassible terrain or over into the jungle to force them to take a long way back into the fight. This can prove especially useful against heroes that need to be close by to properly utilize their abilities, such as Static Link, melee carry heroes, and the like.
One powerful use for Enchant Remnant is singling out important enemy targets and then capturing and delivering them into your teammates' hands. If Earth Spirit can get within range to cast the spell on a key enemy hero (via high-mobility initiating Rolling Boulder or Blink Dagger), he can send them to his teammates with Boulder Smash. With a potential 2000 displacement distance, this can pull enemies completely away from the helping hands of their teammates.
Keep in mind that Enchant Remnant can also be used as a regular targeted disable. For example, you can use Enchant Remnant to stop enemies from teleporting away.

Items[]

Starting items:

Tango provides some health regeneration to stay in lane.

Clarity helps Earth Spirit to cast his spells more often to make a bigger impact in the early game, as he is limited more by his mana pool than by the number of Stone Remnant he has.

Iron Branch improves Earth Spirit's attributes for cheap, particularly his strength and intelligence, which he lacks in the early game.

Orb of Venom enhances Earth Spirit's attacks to slow enemies' movement speed, greatly improving his ability to set up kills for his team.

Early game:

Boots of Speed grants movement speed that will allow Earth Spirit to position himself more quickly for casting his spells.

Magic Stick is a useful pickup when in a lane against heroes who are harassing you by spamming low mana cost spells. In particular, your low early mana pool means that you will greatly benefit from having an extra source of mana regeneration for casting your spells in a pinch.

Urn of Shadows is a good pickup on very active Earth Spirit players since he is very powerful in teamfights and ganks, and is a strength hero who can benefit from additional mana regeneration. The active ability can be used to heal teammates after ganks or teamfights, or can add an additional damage to an enemy during a gank. Remember to check with teammates to see if any of them are purchasing one as well, as only one Urn will receive charges when a nearby enemy hero dies.

Mid game:

Tranquil Boots provides health regeneration and movement speed to get Earth Spirit to desired position.

Magic Wand provides more burst health and mana than Magic Stick.

Blink Dagger allows Earth Spirit to position himself easily for casting his spells; it has a short cooldown and cost no mana to use.

Force Staff quickly re-position Earth Spirit in order to more easily use his abilities, as well as escape from failed fights or ganks. Furthermore, the active can be used to save nearby allies, or disposition enemies for your spells. It also improves his mana pool to cast more, and the health regeneration helps keep him at full health as needed.

Kaya and Sange offers extra spell power and durability.

Spirit Vessel, upgraded from Urn of Shadows, grants Earth Spirit more health; the active ability greatly counters healing from the enemies so Earth Spirit and his team can bring them down in ganks.

Late game:

Veil of Discord is helpful if your team has multiple spell casters. It provides a large amount of intelligence to improve Earth Spirit's mana pool, and the extra armor is very useful as he often gets right in the middle of battles when initiating. The magic resistance reduction on enemies works well with all of Earth Spirit's spells, but synergizes best with his ultimate, Magnetize, as Magic Weakness' long debuff duration can stay in place throughout refreshing Magnetize on enemies.

Situational items:

Arcane Boots are almost essential on Earth Spirit if no other mana regenerating items are built. As a strength caster, he benefits greatly from the larger mana pool, as well as the mana replenishment given upon activation. Arcane Boots also greatly benefit your team, especially if your allies are having mana issues.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity can be useful to build in situations where farming a more expensive item is prohibitive. It improves Earth Spirit's mana pool and regeneration, ensuring that he will always have the mana to cast his spells, and the extra movement speed allows him to move into position for his spells more easily without resorting to using a Blink Dagger or Force Staff. Furthermore, the active cyclone can be used to make yourself temporarily invulnerable while also dispelling debuffs such as silences, or instantly disable an enemy to set up your other spells.

Glimmer Cape is a cheap utility item can make Earth Spirit highly elusive and give him additional initiation power that augments his already strong mobility. The active can allow him to initiate invisibly, cloak himself for escapes when combined with Rolling Boulder, or give him strong magic resistance when jumping in during teamfights. It also allows him to do the same for allies, and synergizes with his ability to save teammates by pulling them from harm using Geomagnetic Grip.

Solar Crest gives Earth Spirit strong resistance against physical damage with bonus armor, and the passive mana regeneration keeps his mana pool topped up. The active can be used on allies or enemies, giving Earth Spirit even more utility beyond his already potent disables.

Heaven's Halberd is useful against the enemies which rely on their attacks. The disarm will render the targeted hero unable to attack, making most hard carries useless until the effect wears off. Heaven's Halberd will also give Earth Spirit extra health, status resistance, and evasion, all helpful for staying alive in fights.

Rod of Atos grants attributes to give health and mana, as well as a root so Earth Spirit can better aim his abilities at immobile targets.

Blade Mail is a useful mid-game item that gives Earth Spirit many positive benefits. The intelligence shores up his small mana pool, the armor gives him survivability against physical damage, and the attack damage gives him more physical damage output which helps him farm late-game items more easily as needed. But most importantly, using the item's active ability while initiating can discourage the enemy from attacking you, giving you more time to cast your spells as needed.

Mekansm improves Earth Spirit's already good armor and health regeneration, and is a good utility pickup for your team. Keep in mind though, it has an extremely high mana cost, more than any of your other spells, so it is necessary to increase the size of your mana pool first. If you don't, you may render yourself unable to cast your other spells after healing your team, or healing your team after pulling off your spell combo. Remember to check whether a teammate is going to purchase Mekansm, as a team only needs one.

Pipe of Insight is useful in most situations, but especially against a team of casters. The extra magic resistance helps keep Earth Spirit alive during initiations, and the active protects all allies from magical damage for a short period of time. Furthermore, the additional health regeneration allows Earth Spirit to remain out in the field for longer without having to return to base to heal.

Lotus Orb protects Earth Spirit from targeted spells, or allows him to share that protection with allies. The item provides health and mana regeneration, as well as armor and additional bonus damage.

Shiva's Guard greatly increases Earth Spirit's physical survivability as well as the size of his mana pool. The active ability can be used in conjunction with initiating a teamfight with Rolling Boulder, as you can apply the blast to the entire enemy team almost instantly, slowing them down enough to catch them all with Magnetize.