Dota 2 Heroes – An Introduction to Raigor Stonehoof the Earthshaker

By: Jason McCarthy

  |   December 18th, 2012   |  

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Raigor Stonehoof the Earthshaker, more commonly referred to simply as shaker, is one of the most commonly picked heroes in Defense of the Ancients (Dota) 2 as he happens to be one of the best initiators and team fight heroes in the entire game, especially after he is done farming a blink dagger.

His first skill Fissure is absolutely game breaking if used efficiently. When used, it will create a 1200-ranged wall in a line. Units standing within a 225 Area of Effect (AoE) of the wall itself will be stunned for 1.75 seconds and take 275 damage. Arguably the most powerful aspect of this skill is that if positioned correctly, you are completely able to block enemies off, therefore netting an easy kill.

His second ability Enchant Totem is a very odd skill as it is very weak without the combination of Earthshaker’s third skill that we will get to soon. When used by itself, Enchant Totem will give Earthshaker a 300% attack damage buff for the next attack. This buff will dissipate after 14 seconds if not used. Keep in mind that the bonus damage is only based on the base damage as well as the damage given by his primary attribute.

Now let us move on to his third skill Aftershock, which will benefit all of his other skills, most notably Enchant Totem. Aftershock is a passive ability that, at Level 4, will cause him to stun his enemies for 1.5 seconds in a small 300-unit radius whenever he activates one of his other abilities. This obviously will help other skills, but will buff Enchant Totem the most as you would be able to stun-lock heroes for quite a while if the combo is pulled off correctly.

His ultimate is called Echo Slam. When activated, you will damage enemies in a 500 radius for 340. Now, each unit heat will deal 70 echo damage to units within 550 AoE. In other words, the more units in an area, the more damage the skill will do. If you catch enemies off guard with a blink dagger, you can do outrageous amount of damage instantly.

Now to make some notes about this skill. Interestingly enough, creeps killed off by his ultimate’s initial damage will still give off echo damage. Also, the initial damage will go through magic immunity, while the additional damage will get effectively block by them whatsoever. One more thing, Aghanim’s Scepter can be picked for Earthshaker and will improve his ultimate by causing all units that are hit by the initial blast of his ultimate to echo twice.

Earthshaker in hands of a good Dota 2 player can pretty much help even a relatively weak team to walk away with victory, thanks to his skills and the amount of devastation they cause.

Disclaimer: The research used in this article is accredited to Dota Cinema and SUNSfan. No copyright infringement is intended.