Do you want to go beyond godlike every game? Do you want to hear your opponents cry about imbalance as your kill count skyrockets? Great, go back a few pages and find another hero.
The first thing you have to accept when playing Earthshaker is that he is not a carry hero. He will not go 20-0 every game and he will not become ridiculously powerful late into the game. Earthshaker is a support hero. He is a pusher, a disabler and an initiator. His role is to stop enemy pushes, win team battles and help his team win the game. If this isn’t what you’re looking for in a hero, I strongly suggest that you hit the back button and go find another guide.
Still here? Great. Welcome to my Earthshaker guide.
STATS
Strength: 22 + 2.5 per level
Agility: 12 + 1.4 per level
Intelligence: 16 + 1.8 per level
Base HP: 568
Base Mana: 208
Base stats: 50
Stat gain: 5.7
Move speed: 290
Base damage: 46-56
Base armor: 2.7
PROS AND CONS
Pros
Three potential disables
Great pusher
Not overly item dependant
Cons
Below-average stats
Very reliant on teamwork
Fissure is difficult to use well
SKILLS
FISSURE [F]
Slams the ground with Raigor’s mighty totem, causing the ground to crack open in front of him, damaging opponents and leaving an impassable crevasse for a period of time.
Level 1 - 125 damage, 1 second stun
Level 2 – 175 damage, 1.25 second stun
Level 3 – 225 damage, 1.5 second stun
Level 4 – 275 damage, 1.75 second stun
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Mana: 125/140/155/170
Fissure seems pretty straightforward at first, but it is a deceptively powerful spell and rivals Pudge’s Hook in difficulty of proper usage. Used as a nuke and a stun, it is just an average spell with some extra range, but if used properly Fissure is a ridiculously versatile and powerful spell. See the “Guide to Fissure” section later in the guide for detailed explanations of how to use Fissure and how it works.
ENCHANT TOTEM [E]
Empowers the totem on Raigor’s back, causing it to deal extra damage on the next attack.
Level 1 – 50% increased damage
Level 2 – 100% increased damage
Level 3 – 150% increased damage
Level 4 – 200% increased damage
Cooldown: 7 seconds
Mana: 50
Although this skill is capable of adding quite a bit of damage to a single attack, its primary use is as an AoE stun with Aftershock. It has a short cooldown and very low mana cost, so it is easily spamable. Also good for getting the last hit on towers.
Enchant Totem Mechanics:
- Enchant Totem stuns in a 250 AoE radius with Aftershock.
- The percent damage that Enchant Totem adds is based on Raigor’s stats, so items that add pure damage like Broadsword or Sacred Relic will not amplify the damage done by Enchant Totem. However, items that add damage through increasing Raigor’s stats, like Bracers, do amplify the damage done.
- The damage increase from Enchant Totem is rounded up, so with your 51 average damage at level one, Enchant Totem will add 26 damage instead of 25.
AFTERSHOCK [A]
The power of Raigor casting a spell causes the earth to shake below him, dealing additional damage and stunning.
Level 1 - 25 damage, .3 second stun
Level 2 - 45 damage, .7 second stun
Level 3 - 75 damage, 1.2 second stun
Level 4 - 115 damage, 1.5 second stun
Cooldown: –
Mana: –
Aftershock is a very useful passive skill that stuns in a 250 AoE radius whenever Raigor casts a spell. This is mostly useful with Enchant Totem and Echo Slam, but it does boost Fissure’s damage if you’re within 250 range of your target. Aftershock does not trigger when using items, not even Dagon.
ECHO SLAM [C]
Raigor sends shockwaves shooting through the ground, dealing damage ricocheting to nearby targets for additional damage.
Level 1 - 200 initial damage, 35 echo damage
Level 2 - 275 initial damage, 45 echo damage
Level 3 - 350 initial damage, 65 echo damage
Cooldown: 150/130/110 seconds
Mana: 145/205/265
Echo Slam is a difficult spell to understand at first, but it’s pretty straightforward once you know how it works. Basically, it deals 200/275/350 damage – depending on level – and then 35/45/65 more damage for each additional target in the area. So if you use it at level one with only one unit nearby, it will deal 200 damage. If there are two units, it will deal 235 damage to each of them. If there are three, it will deal 270 to each, and so on.
Echo Slam is what makes Earthshaker what he is – a pusher, anti-pusher and an initiator. It is one of the strongest AoE spells in the game and continues to become stronger as the game progresses and pushes get bigger. With the addition of extra creeps in recent patches, Echo Slam is now even more dangerous late game. To give you an idea of how much damage this skill can do, if Earthshaker blinks into a group of 20 creeps and five heroes and casts a level three Echo Slam, he will deal 1910 damage to everything near him and another 115 to everything in Aftershock’s range. Can you say triple kill?
Echo Slam Mechanics:
- The initial wave of Echo Slam damages everything within 500 range of Raigor. The area of effect is calculated right when Echo Slam is cast so if a hero runs out of the AoE after Raigor casts it, the waves will follow the hero out of the area.
- The echoing waves affect everything within 500 range of each unit that the initial wave ricocheted off of, so the echo waves can potentially hit a unit that is nearly 1000 range away from Raigor but units have to be within 250 range of Raigor to get hit by both the initial wave and all of the echo waves.
- Although it does not affect them, Echo Slam bounces off of invisible units, magic-immune units, corpses, and units that are in the process of dying. The fact that it works with corpses is extremely helpful for using Echo Slam with Refresher Orb because you can effectively get the full damage twice even if almost everything died during the first cast.
- The initial wave actually deals 165/235/285 but each unit is hit by its own echo wave, so it evens out to 200/275/350 damage to a single unit like the spell says.
- The initial wave (165/235/285) damages magic-immune units but the echo waves do not.
- Echo Slam works by creating a dummy unit in place of each unit in the AoE. This is why it bounces off of units that it can’t actually target.
SKILL BUILD
1. Fissure
2. Stats
3. Fissure
4. Stats
5. Fissure
6. Echo Slam
7. Fissure
8. Stats
9. Stats
10. Aftershock
11. Echo Slam
12. Aftershock
13. Aftershock
14. Enchant Totem
15. Aftershock
16. Echo Slam
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Enchant Totem
24. Enchant Totem
25. Enchant Totem
Why take stats early?
Stats provide Earthshaker with extra mana to use Fissure early on, enough HP to handle a difficult lane or survive a gank, and give a slight boost to base damage for last hitting. They are taken over Aftershock early on because you shouldn't be getting close to your opponents until you have Dagger of Escape. Early game for Earthshaker is about Fissure traps, farming and surviving. Stats let you do this as effectively as possible.
It isn't essential, however, that you take stats early. You can play without getting stats if you feel the need to have Aftershock and Enchant Totem early on, and you don’t mind having less mana and HP. Try both ways and see what works for you.
Why take Enchant Totem after three levels of Aftershock
Enchant Totem levels in such a way that the stun jumps 0.5 seconds between level two and level three, and only 0.3 seconds from level three to level four. The skill build takes advantage of this jump. You can take Enchant Totem after two levels of Aftershock, but 0.7 seconds is a pretty short stun. It's better to level it up to level three first because Aftershock benefits Echo Slam and Fissure as well.
Why not max Enchant Totem?
Enchant Totem is useful becaues of Aftershock's stun, not because of the added damage. Each point will add less than 50 damage to a single hit during mid game, which is almost nothing considering how much damage your other spells do. The likelyhood that you actually hit the intended target is somewhat low as well because your view will often be blocked by Echo Slam's animation and all of the other AoE spells flying around in team battles. Extra HP, mana and other small bonuses from stats are much more beneficial.
PRIMARY BUILD
This is the build that you will generally see in league games. I use a different build in many of the replays, but in most cases, the Arcane Ring build is the single best build for Earthshaker. It’s very simple and easily attainable even if you’re doing poorly, and fills out your basic needs pretty well. I recommend using this build if there isn't another hero on your team getting Arcane Ring, especially if you have several other mana-dependant heroes on your team. If you complete it while most of the players are still laning, Arcane Ring is very effective because constant Fissures make it extremely difficult for enemy heroes to stay in the lane. It’s also very nice to have if you’re not quite up to speed with your Fissure traps, since you’ll have plenty of mana to make mistakes.
START
Ring of Protection, three Branches and two sets of Tangos
Ring of Protection is taken at the start so that you can complete Arcane Ring more quickly, and because it's cheaper than a Circlet so you can still afford it now that Tangos cost 90 gold. Branches give you the most cost-efficient stat boost early so three are taken at the start. Tangos are taken for regeneration.
Try to take bottom lane on the sentinel side or top lane for the scourge. These lanes are the best for Fissure traps because of some of the angles, and because the creeps will meet close to your allied tower. Top on the sentinel side and bottom on the scouge side can work too, but avoid the middle lane if possible. The terrain and various escape routes makes Fissure trapping very difficult in the middle lane. The only time you may want to go to the middle lane with ES is if you have a powerful ally like Kotl or Tinker and you want to make things difficult for their solo hero.
Don’t solo with Earthshaker. Ever.
Once you have your starting items, head off to your lane and wait a little ways outside of your base. When the creeps spawn, walk in their path and tap "S" (Stop) every few seconds to slow them down. This is called creep blocking. It is difficult to do at first, but it is a very helpful tactic and is essential for high level games. This tactic will cause the creeps to meet at a more favorable position between your last tower and the enemy tower which will make farming safe and ganking a bit easier.
EARLY GAME
1. Energy Booster (1000)
2. Complete Arcane Ring (525)
3. Boots of Speed (500)
4. Complete Bracer (510)
5. Complete Bracer (510)
Arcane Ring is rushed as quickly as possible because the near-infinite mana it provides will allow you to completely dominate your lane. Bracers will boost your HP to an acceptable level so they are taken right after Boots. Bracers are taken over Nulls because you'll have almost no need for mana once you complete Arcane Ring, so boosting your intelligence is just beating a dead horse.
When the creeps meet they should be unusually close to your tower because of your block. If you’re playing with competent players try to organize a level one gank with a Fissure trap and two stunners or nukers. Check out the replays for an examples of this. If this isn’t possible in the game you’re playing, save your mana until level three unless you see a good opportunity to trap an enemy hero near your tower. Last hit and deny as usual, being careful not to get harassed too much or get hit by a dangerous disable combo. Be especially careful if you’re against a triple lane with disablers because you can be killed extremely quickly if you get too close. Triple lanes are somewhat common in scourge lineups these days and are tough to deal with, but as long as you don’t get too close you should be okay. If one of your allies gets caught in a perma-disable combo from players in a triple lane or a gank, make sure to save him with Fissure. If you’re playing a pub or TDA then you don’t have to worry about triple lanes. How fortunate.
Creep Pulling
If your lane is exceptionally tough to farm in, or even if it’s not, you can get some extra experience and gold by luring the neutral creep camp that is close to the bottom sentinel lane out into the lane where your own creeps will attack them. To do this, aggravate the neutral creeps at approximately 16 seconds after each minute, or 46 seconds after each minute and run out to your lane. The creeps will follow you and run into your allied creep wave right as it walks by. Stand by as your allied creeps fight the neutral creeps and last hit the neutrals when their HP gets low enough. Deny your allied creeps too if you can. This takes some practice, but it’s a helpful tactic nevertheless. One indirect benefit of this tactic is that you will often be called missing by the other team, so when you actually do go missing for a gank, the other team will be less likely to take notice.
The creeps in the top lane can be pulled as well, but it’s a little harder. Since they’re not behind your tower like the others, pulling these creeps is mostly useful for occupying your own creeps to that the lane pushes further towards you tower. This is very useful when you’re trying to kill a hero who is hugging the top tower. The creeps in near the top lane must be aggravated at 18 seconds or 48 seconds after each minute, but unlike the creeps in the bottom lane, you’ll have to follow them closes as soon as they turn around. If you don’t, your creeps will lose sight of the neutral creeps and revert back to the lane.
Some creeps that spawn in each of the spots you’ll be pulling have Purge, which will slow you down, so you’ll have to aggravate those creeps several seconds earlier.
At level three you can start harassing a little with Fissure. It’s usually best not to use all your mana now because you may need it to save yourself from a gank or to pull of a Fissure trap kill if an opportunity presents itself. If you’re laning against two or more heroes, try to hit all of them with Fissure when you harass with it. Simply move back and forth like a Pudge player would when trying to get a Hook off and wait for them to line up, then cast Fissure. Better yet, just wait for them to move next to each other and hit them. Even though it may make hitting both heroes a little harder, click on one of the heroes directly when you use Fissure instead of on the ground. That way you won’t completely waste Fissure if you miss. If you can last hit a few creeps with Fissure when you harass with it, all the better.
If you’re laning with a disabler you may be able to get some early-game kills with good use of Fissure. Trapping with Fissure is often a spur-of-the-moment thing, but try to tell your allies before you trap if possible. You won't always be able to warn them since most opportunties for a trap will only be there for a second or two, but at least make sure they know you're looking for an opportunity. There's nothing worse than pulling off a perfect trap and then noticing your ally just went back to get something from a chicken or creep a neutral camp. See “Wall Trap” and “Basic Block” in the “Guide to Fissure” section for detailed explanations of how to trap early on. Also check out the two scrim replays to see some good examples.
If you don’t get a good trap off early, which is pretty common, you can try for a kill without a block at level six or seven if you’re laned with a disabler. Make sure you have 300-315 mana (depending on Fissure’s level) and initiate with one of your ally’s disables when there are at least several creeps near the enemy hero. Move towards your opponent and stun him with Fissure when your ally’s disable wears off. When you get close enough, cast Echo Slam while your ally runs alongside the fleeing enemy hero and hits him with another disable when the cooldown is up. If you have a third hero gank your lane, this becomes a lot easier.
When you complete Arcane, you’ll have enough mana for Echo Slam and two Fissures. Many heroes will underestimate how much damage you can actually do to them with full mana, so this is a good time to get kills. To kill with this combo, wait until a new enemy creep wave comes and walk up as close as possible to the enemy hero you’re trying to kill. Cast Fissure as soon as you get relatively close, then move a little closer and cast Echo Slam. Chase the hero while Fissure cools down and finish him off. If done correctly, this combo will deal about 700 damage after hero reduction. Just make sure you get Echo Slam off with four or more creeps next to the enemy hero to amplify the damage. If you have an ally with a disable, this is obviously a lot easier.
You can do a little ganking yourself at this point if you want to, but it’s not necessary unless another lane is being dominated by your opponents. You will level faster and gain more gold by staying in your lane, so don't feel obligated to go around ganking, but if your team needs you it is important that you help them out. Again, refer to the “Guide to Fissure” section for details on using Fissure effectively in ganks. Whether you gank or not, try to be near your allies as often as possible when you use Arcane Ring. Half the reason it's so effective is because it helps other mana-dependant heroes on your team. If you stay in your lane, you should always be next to your ally when you use it.
Pick up Boots of Speed and some Bracers, and make sure to buy TP scrolls too. These can save you from ganks, help you gank, and stop pushes; not bad for 135 gold. If your opponents aren’t careful, you can deal a huge amount of damage in a push if you teleport to the tower they are focusing and unleash all of your spells. Make sure your allies are with you though, or you’ll just deal some damage and get killed. Once you have Dagger of Escape TP scrolls are less important because you can escape and gank without them, but always carry one around if you have room.
MID GAME
6. Dagger of Escape (2150)
Dagger of Escape is the most important item for ES during mid game because it allows him to use his ultimate more effectively and escape sticky situations. Dagger is an essential item on Earthshaker regardless of the item build you're using. Don’t forget to carry a TP whenever you have room too. These can make or break the game.
If you’re doing poorly, Dagger of Escape can be pretty difficult to farm, but it is absolutely essential that you get it. Play as safe as you can and try to find a safe lane to farm in. Remember to kill your own creeps even if there are no enemy heroes around so the lane won’t push into enemy territory as quickly. You can creep neutrals too. If the other team ganks a lot, and they will in higher level games, you should find yourself creeping neutral camps pretty often to avoid dying. Unless the creeps in a lane are pretty close to your base, leave them to your allies. If you die a lot, Dagger comes a lot slower.
A weird little fact about Dagger of Escape is blink will not go as far as it is capable of going if you click too far ahead of Raigor. Blink potentially has about 800 range if you click in just the right spot, but if you click outside of blink’s range, you will only blink about 650 units away. It may seem like a small difference, but the extra 150 units can help you escape a situation where you would have otherwise died, or get a kill that you would have missed. Do your best to judge the distance and blink between 750 and 800 range away.
Using Dagger of Escape
There are three main things you’ll be using this item for: killing, escaping and initiating team battles. When using Dagger of Escape to get kills, the most important thing is that you blink into a good position. If the hero you’re trying to kill is low on HP, just blink as close to him as you can and hit him with Fissure. Fissure alone does 300-400 damage at close range with Aftershock, so don't waste Echo Slam if the hero you're targeting will die from Fissure. If you have room to chase safely, you can kill heroes with slightly higher HP by waiting for Fissure to cooldown and hit them again, using the “Fissure Sniping” and “Blind Fissure” tactics mentioned in the “Guide to Fissure” if necessary. If the enemy hero has too much HP to be killed by Fissure alone, you’ll need to blink into a position where you can cut off hit escape route with a Fissure block so your allies can help you, or blink in front of him and stun him with Enchant Totem if you have it. Using the full 800 range will help you do this, but positioning is the most important thing. Echo Slam should be your last resort when killing lone heroes, but it's certainly worth using if you need it to get a kill. Don't listen to people who whine about wasting ultimates to kill. They're dead, you got gold and experience, they lost gold and the other team won't push without them. By the time the hero you killed respwans and a push is organized, you'll have Echo Slam again.
When using Dagger as an escape mechanism, it is important to try to juke enemy heroes by blinking in odd directions. For example, you can run to the top of a hill, and then immediately blink directly backwards or to the side while you’re hidden by fog of war. If you’re carrying a TP scroll like you should be, you can escape almost any hero by simply blinking into a cluster of trees and teleporting out. As with chasing with Dagger, using the full range is important. You can escape even fast heroes relatively easily by blinking up or down cliffs or across other barriers. You can even blink all the way across the river in some places.
Initiating team battles is much easier. Just wait until you see a tight cluster of enemy heroes and creeps, blink into the middle, and use your spells. And don't be surprised if "Triple Kill!!" pops up on your screen.
Pushes should be starting now which means that you now play a key role in your team’s success. The most important thing is that you blink in at a good time and deal damage with Echo Slam, but it is also important that you use anti-pushing tactics with Fissure. See the “Push Stall”, “Funnel”, and “Push Cut” methods in the “Guide to Fissure” section. When using Echo Slam, do your best to wait until your opponents and enemy creeps are relatively tightly bunched before you blink in and use your ultimate. If you go at the wrong time you won’t do that much damage and you’ll probably be disabled and killed. Always use Echo Slam first when blinking in since it is essential that you get it off before being silenced or disabled. Do not save it to try to get kills or because it has a relatively long cooldown. If you are trying to kill a single hero though, only use it when you’re sure you can get a kill.
Also, make sure to spam Fissure on enemy heroes as often as possible during pushes. A few Fissures on the same hero will weaken him enough that you'll be able to kill him pretty easily in battle. If the opposing team doesn't have Mekasm yet, you may even be able to stop the push completely without having to fight at all.
When facing Sand King and his Blink/Epicenter combo, remember that Fissure has 1000 range, so hit him while he’s channeling if you can see him. Interrupting Epicenter can completely turn the tides of a battle. The same goes for any other channeling spells that you can stop. Fissure's range is also extremely useful for sniping enemy heroes that barely get out of battle alive. If you're good at the "Blind Fissure" and "Fissure Sniping" tactics, you can get also any hero that tries to escape.
Remember that you have a huge amount of mana with Arcane Ring, so you can use your spells to farm quickly. Once you get Enchant Totem you can farm a creep wave very quickly by walking up next to the creeps (so Aftershock hits) and using Fissure, then Enchant Totem and then finishing each creep off with one hit. If you’re not in a hurry to get gold though, just last hit normally since it will keep the creeps from pushing into enemy territory.
Continue supporting your team and initiating in pushes, and do your best to work towards completing. Boots of Travel. If you successfully take down Roshan with your team you should usually take the Aegis charge unless you have a carry hero who needs it. One free death goes a long way.
LATE GAME
7. Boots of Travel (2200)
Total Cost: 7,570
Boots of Travel are the best choice for Earthshaker after Dagger and Arcane. They provide you with map control, which is essential for pushing and defending, and allow you to escape and chase more effectively. Pretty much a no-brainer item for Earthshaker.
Late game is a lot like mid game for Raigor. Pushes get a lot bigger because of the increased number of creeps in recent patches, which helps Echo Slam deal more damage. You will, however, have to deal with late-game carry heroes that can drop you a lot more quickly than spell casters can. If you land a good Echo Slam though, you may be able to kill these heroes along with your allies before they do much damage to you. You have three stuns for a reason.
Push with your team and do your best to take down barracks’, even if you have to die to do so. . Just like mid game, always initiate with Echo Slam in case you get silenced or get hit with chain disables. Enchant Totem should come next because you want to save Fissure for any low-HP heroes that are getting away. If there are none, just try to hit as many different targets as you can with Fissure, or hit the most dangerous enemy hero. Although it really is your role to dish out damage and then take damage for your allies, it’s still important that you stay alive whenever you can. If you're dead when the opposing team pushes your barracks, it will be very difficult for your team to defend.
When the opposing team pushes, make sure to use the anti-pushing tactics in the “Guide to Fissure” section to keep from losing your own barracks’. Using these tactics is especially important if Echo Slam is cooling down and your team isn’t properly prepared to defend a push. If the opposing team tries to trade barracks’ with you, let your team push and use the “Push Stall” tactic at two different choke points to slow the enemy push. Good spots to use it are right behind your second tower in the top and bottom lanes, and right in front of your base tower.
If the game keeps going, farm up some of the luxury items listed in the “Other Items” section so you can compete with late-game heroes. Fortunately Raigor will not become useless during late game like some other casters.
ALTERNATIVE BUILDS
BLOODSTONE BUILD
This build is a strong alternative to the primary build and should be used when one of your allies is better suited to carry Arcane Ring (Potm, Zues). Bloodstone seems to have been created with Earthshaker in mind, since he is one of the few heroes that needs all of the benefits given by it. It gives great survivability, plenty of mana, good regeneration and good team support. Since Earthshaker needs all these things, and is likely to die relatively often, Bloodstone is a perfect fit on ES. This buid is mostly suited for high level play and is not recommended in lower level games because it is so dependant on teamwork.
Start: One Circlet, one Gauntlet and two sets of Tangos
1. OPTIONAL: Bottle (700)
2. Boots of Speed (500)
3. Complete Bracer (510)
4. Complete Bracer (510)
5. Dagger of Escape (2150)
6. Void Stone (900)
7. Point Booster (1200)
8. Vitality Booster (1100)
9. Complete Sould Booster (1000)
10. Complete Bloodstone (875)
Total Cost: 8, 745
Bottle is optional at the start. It's a great item on Earthshaker, but may not be needed since you'll be getting a Void Stone, especially if another hero on your team is getting an Arcane Ring. If you do get a Bottle early, complete Sould Booster before getting a Void Stone.Bracers are taken to boost your survivability a bit, but can be taken after Dagger if you're farming well. Nulls are more viable with this build than with the Arcane Ring build, but I still recommend Bracers because you won't need the extra mana later on. Bloodstone is the main focus of this build. It's a strong item on ES because he needs all it's bonuses and he is somewhat likely to die.
Build-Specific Strategy – Bloodstone Mechanics
Many players avoid this item on all heroes simply because they don’t understand how huge Bloodstone’s AoE actually is. When you die, everything that would be in your daytime sight range is healed. The same goes for the vision that is granted while you are dead, regardless of whether it is day or night. In other words, you give 450 HP and 400 mana to all allied units in about 1500 AoE around Raigor and gain vision of that area until you respawn. Experience gain still occurs in the same radius that it would if you were alive though. The other bonuses are pretty straightforward. If you would have lost 500 gold on death, you lose 300 if you have a charge and 400 if you don’t. If you would normally respawn in 50 seconds, you respawn in 40 with a charge and 45 without one. You will gain experience at the normal rate while you are dead, regardless of whether Bloodstone has a charge or not. Bloodstone gets one charge each time the carrier gets a kill, and loses one each time the carrier dies. If Bloodstone has no charges on it, a kill will net you two charges instead of one.[/quote]
NECRONOMICON BUILD
I recommend using this build in public and TDA games because it will allow you to be successful with Earthshaker, even with minimal teamwork. It is still viable in higher level games, but focuses more on killing invididual heroes than supporting a competent team. Necronomicon in used with the intention of countering the hunter-type heroes that are so prevelant in lower level games.
Start: One Circlet, one Gauntlet and two sets of Tangos
1. Bottle (700)
2. Boots of Speed (500)
3. Complete Bracer (510)
4. Belt of Giant Strength (450)
5. Dagger of Escape (2150)
6. Staff of Wizardry (1000)
7. Complete Necronomicon 1 (1300)
8. Complete Necronomicon 2 (1300)
9. Complete Necronomicon 3 (1300)
Total Cost: 9,210
Bottle is taken over Arcane Ring with this build because its low cost allows you to finish Necronomicon quickly. Bottle will give you a very strong early game and allow you to gank well by using runes. Only one Bracer is taken with this build because of space issues, and because a Belt of Giant Strength can be used as a substitute since it’s part of Necronomicon. Dagger of Escape is completed next, as usual, because of its synergy with Echo Slam and Aftershock. The next focus is Necronomicon, which is the core of this build. Necronomicon works extremely well when coupled with Raigor's arsenal of stuns and will make short of work individual heroes. Also, its True Sight ability at level three will allow you to counter the various invisible heroes that plague lower level games.
Build-Specific Strategy – Using Bottle and Necronomicon
Bottle is actually a pretty complex item to use effectively. It is obviously helpful to regenerate your HP and mana, but requires constant use of runes to be truly effective. To store a rune, drain your Bottle and then left click the Bottle, then left click the rune. This will refill your Bottle and store the rune for two minutes. You can activate the rune at any time by clicking on your Bottle; it will activate on its own after two minutes. Haste and Invisibility runes are extremely useful early on because they allow for good Echo Slam positioning before you complete Dagger. Other runes are mostly just helpful for refilling your Bottle.
Using Bottle during mid game and lategame is important as well. The best use is to fire off your spells and tank damage in a team battle, then move out of battle for nine seconds and regenerate yourself with Bottle, and then run right back in. It's also important to use Bottle when being chased; use it when you don't be hit for several seconds. You can also use Bottle at the foutain to heal faster. Just drain the Bottle while you're healing and refill it again.
Using Necronomicon along with three active skills will be tough at first, but works extremely well once you get onto it. Before you get Dagger of Escape, try to pull off some sort of block with Fissure so your demons can pound on the hero. If you can’t, just try to keep the hero disabled as long as possible while attacking him with your demons. Don’t forget to use mana burn too. You can cycle through Raigor and your demons by pressing tab when you have them all selected. The one with burn with be the first in the control group at with a level one book, and the second for a level two and three book. Using hotkeys will greatly increase your killing efficiency with Necronomicon since you have four different spells to use.
Once you have Dagger, you can blink in, stun, and then use Necronomicon right next to the hero. Start by stunning with Enchant Totem, followed by Fissure, then Echo Slam last. In a team battle, Echo Slam should still be used first incase you get silenced or disabled. Necronomicon gives you a nice speed boost too, allowing you to chase heroes that survive your combo and finish with a Fissure snipe. True Sight will help you and your team kill heroes like SA, Clinkz and BH too. Remember that the blue demon deals a lot of damage when killed as well. This can make for some hilarious kills in games where players are inexperienced.
OTHER ITEMS
Refresher Orb
Generally a good pick after Dagger of Escape and your first core item. Being able to use Echo Slam twice is helpful for obvious reasons, and two Fissures is a nice perk too. Remember that this refreshes Dagger too, so after letting your combo loose twice, you have a pretty good chance of getting out alive. Echo Slam reflects off of corpses and currently dying units so Refresher really can allow you to do full damage twice.
The total amount of mana needed to use your combo twice, and use Dagger of Escape and Refresher is 1435. You end up actually needing around 1350 because of mana regeneration. It’s 90 more to blink out too, but unless you blink out immediately after casting your spells, your regeneration should handle it. Keep in mind that you can always leave out a second Fissure if you have less mana though. Here are the levels needed to use Refresher with each build:
Bloodstone: Level 20 (1336 mana)
Arcane Ring: Level 19 (1184 mana) must use Arcane Ring twice
Necronomicon: Level 25 (1378 mana) Bottle helps a little if you don’t get hit
Heart of Tarrasque
Heart is the best way to boost your survivability after Bracers and your first core item. Now that Aegis can no longer be purchased, blinking in, dealing damage and dying is far less appealing than it used to be. Bloodstone helps you out a bit if you’re using the primary build, but you’ll need Heart eventually.
Guinsoo’s Scythe of the Vyse
Good item for just about any caster; Raigor is no exception. Hex is extremely helpful and more mana to spam your spells never hurts.
Linken’s Sphere
Linken’s is a good alternative or supplement to Heart. By the time you complete Bloodstone, Arcane Ring, Necronomicon or Guinsoo’s, Heart is generally more useful because you won’t need the agility, intelligence, or regeneration that Linken’s provides. Plus Linken’s only gives you 285 HP as opposed to Heart’s 965. However, if constant disables are making it difficult to use your spells, Linken’s is usually a good choice.
Ring of Basillius
The regeneration it provides is pretty insignificant, but it's a great team item. If no one else is getting it, it's a good item to pick up.
ITEMS TO AVOID
Lothar’s Edge
Lothar’s costs nearly twice what Dagger and is less useful overall. Dagger works instantly, while Lothar’s has a short fade time before you become invisible and requires Raigor to walk in to position for Echo Slam. The agility and damage that Lothar’s provides doesn’t help Raigor since he relies almost solely on his spells to deal damage. Invisibility can be easily countered by Sentry Wards or a Gem of True Sight, while blink is virtually impossible to counter.
Black King Bar
None of Raigor’s spells are channeling so being disabled is not a huge concern. Your role as an initiator is to blink in, deal damage, take damage and possibly die. After using your combo, you have 15 seconds before you can cast another Fissure during which time your allies will be dishing out a lot more damage than you will. It is okay if you eat disables, eat damage and eat **** – that’s your role as an initiator. Spell immunity will keep you alive, but it will not help you win the game.
Mekansm
Extra survivability and team support seems like exactly what Raigor needs, but he simply doesn’t have the mana to support it. Mekanism still seems feasible on ES along with Arcane Ring, but getting it delays your core items too much.
Radiance
While this is a good item for almost all tanks and it seems to have good synergy with Raigor’s AoE spells, it doesn’t work well on Earthshaker. Raigor will often die quickly in battles because it is his role to blink into the fray and initiate fights. Have another high-HP hero on your team get this instead, like Syllabear or Beastmaster. Earthshaker doesn’t have the farming capabilities to get Radiance before super-late game anyway.
Battlefury
It bothers me that I actually have to give an explanation of why this item is bad on Raigor, but some players are still convinced that it’s good. Raigor is not a DPS hero in any way, shape, or form. He is a pure caster. Try Refresher instead; it adds about five times more damage.
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