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Earth Spirit · Mid (pos. 2)

Earth Spirit Guide

Complete guideData-drivenMediumPatch 7.41
1.3KUpdated

This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.

Overview

Earth Spirit is a melee Strength hero that Valve tags as Nuker, Escape and Disabler. It is played mainly as Mid (pos. 2): 66% of the public matches we measured, by starting lane and starting items. In this guide you play it as Mid (pos. 2): your job is to win the solo lane, control the runes and create pressure on the other lanes. The kit brings crowd control (stun) with Rolling Boulder. Its ultimate is Magnetize. This patch, Earth Spirit wins 49.6% of the 165,411 public matches we measured (B tier on our ladder).

Strengths

  • Reliable stun: Rolling Boulder sets up kills and interrupts enemy channels.
  • Magnetize can swing team fights: it hits several enemies at once.
  • Valve tags Earth Spirit as Durable: it stays in fights longer than most heroes.
  • Heavy magical burst: Valve lists it as a Nuker.

Weaknesses

  • Melee: has to walk up to its target, which makes the lane harder against ranged heroes.
  • Low base armor (0): vulnerable to physical harass early on.

Builds

Most-played build

BalancedRecommended
Open build

When to use it

The items most bought with this hero, phase by phase. Pick it when you don't have a clear reason to deviate. Built from what Earth Spirit players buy in the public matches we measured.

Where it's played

Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.

Seen from RadiantRadiant · bottom leftDire · top right
  1. MidMain66% of matchesMid lane, one against one (pos. 2).
  2. OfflanePriority 229% of matchesOff lane as the space-making core (pos. 3).

Starting items

Iron BranchTangoFaerie FireCircletObserver and Sentry WardsBlood Grenade

Early game

BottleUrn of ShadowsBracer

Core items

  1. 1Spirit Vessel
  2. 2Black King Bar
  3. 3Blink Dagger
  4. 4Shiva's Guard

Boots

Power Treads

Late game

Kaya and SangeBloodstoneAghanim's ScepterOctarine Core

Skill order

Max order:Boulder Smash›Geomagnetic G…›Rolling Bould…

Ability1234567891011121314151617
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Talents by level

  1. +250% Rolling Boulder Damage from Strength
    Earth Spirit Magnetizes himself
    25
  2. +200 Geomagnetic Grip Remnant Damage
    +35 Magnetize Damage Per Second
    20
  3. +0.3s Rolling Boulder Stun Duration
    +80 Boulder Smash Damage
    15
  4. -2.0s Boulder Smash Cooldown
    +150 Rolling Boulder Distance
    10

Abilities

  • Boulder Smash20 / 17 / 14 / 11s100 mpEarth Spirit smashes the target enemy or ally, sending them in the direction he is facing. If Earth Spirit targets an area, he will smash the nearest unit in a 200 radius, prioritizing Stone Remnants. The travelling unit or Remnant damages all enemy units it hits. If an enemy is hit by a Stone Remnant, they are also slowed. Stone Remnants travel further than other units.
    Remnant smash radius
    200
    Damage
    110·180·250·320
    Slow amount
    50%
    Slow duration
    1.75·2.5·3.25·4
    Travel speed
    900
    Distance
    500·600·700·800
  • Rolling Boulder16 / 12 / 8 / 4s50 mpEarth Spirit gathers himself into a boulder and, after a 0.6s delay, rolls toward the target location, dealing 60 + 100% STR damage and stunning enemy units. He will stop if he collides with an enemy hero or is stunned. If he rolls over a Stone Remnant, he will travel further and faster, and stun enemies for longer.
    Speed
    1000
    Speed (remnant)
    1600
    Distance
    800
    Distance multiplier (remnant)
    2
    Damage
    60·70·80·90
    Stun duration
    0.3·0.5·0.7·0.9
    Basic ability — applies a stun. Save it for priority targets or to interrupt a channel.
  • Geomagnetic Grip13s75 mpEarth Spirit pulls the target Stone Remnant or Allied Unit. Enemies struck by the gripped target will be silenced. Pulled Remnants also deal damage to struck enemies. Cast range is reduced when targeting an ally.
    Remnant damage
    75·150·225·300
    Remnant pull speed
    900
    Silence duration
    2.3·2.7·3.1·3.5
    Allied unit pull speed
    600
    Allied unit cast range
    550·600·650·700
  • Stone RemnantCall a Stone Remnant to the target location. Stone Remnants have no vision and are invulnerable, and can be used with Earth Spirit's abilities. Calling a Stone Remnant consumes a charge, which recharge over time. Stone Remnant has 7 charges. Earth Spirit passively gains 3% bonus damage per unused Stone Remnant charge, and gains an additional 7.5% bonus damage for 10s when a Stone Remnant is targe
    Duration
    60
  • Enchant Remnant45s150 mpEarth Spirit temporarily enchants a hero, granting them the properties of a Stone Remnant. After a short duration the remnant shatters, releasing the hero and damaging nearby enemies. Can be cast on Stone Remnants. Has a 5 second cooldown when used that way. Has a larger cast range when cast on an ally hero.
    Remnant duration
    2.4
    Shatter damage
    450
    Shatter radius
    450
    Cast range on allies
    500
  • Magnetize100 / 90 / 80s100 mpMagnetizes units in a small nearby area, causing them to take damage for a short duration. Magnetized heroes cause nearby Stone Remnants to explode, destroying the remnant and refreshing Magnetize's duration on all nearby enemies. This process can repeat multiple times. If an enemy hero is affected by Geomagnetic Grip or Boulder Smash, all magnetized heroes share the effects.
    Radius
    350
    Damage per second
    45·90·135
    Magnetize duration
    6
    Remnant refresh/explosion radius
    600
    Ultimate — hits an area. Plan your fights around its cooldown.

Most played skill order

The most played order in the last 100 professional matches with this hero. Highlighted levels are the points spent on talents.

Max order:Boulder Smash›Geomagnetic G…›Rolling Bould…

Ability1234567891011121314151617
●·●·●··●·········
·●·●····●●·······
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······●·····●···●

Strategy

1Early game

Mid is a one-on-one: whoever has more last hits and levels usually wins it. Contest the power runes every two minutes and use a good one to gank a side lane. Trade when the enemy mid goes for a last hit and when you are a level ahead: in the solo lane each level is a real edge.

  • Early items: Bottle and Urn of Shadows.

2Mid game

With Spirit Vessel, you should be the one starting the action: gank, push out lanes and take towers with your team. Your spikes are level 6, when Magnetize comes online, and your core items: Spirit Vessel and then Black King Bar.

  • Core items: Spirit Vessel, Black King Bar and Blink Dagger.

3Late game

Late, choose your fights: you still hit hard, but the enemy carry catches up. Stay with the team and look for picks with vision.

  • Late items: Kaya and Sange and Bloodstone.

4Team fights

Your damage decides the opening seconds: look for the enemy support or carry out of position, and use Magnetize where it hits the most heroes.

Tips

  • Check the power runes at every even minute and gank with the good ones.
  • Spirit Vessel is your first big spike: once you have it, leave the lane and look for kills.
  • Push the wave into the enemy tower before you rotate, or the lane punishes you twice.
  • Plan fights around Magnetize: without it, Earth Spirit is far less threatening.

Matchups

Strong against

  • Lion61.3%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit wins 61.3% of the 106 games measured against Lion this patch.

    106 matches

  • Rubick60.7%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit wins 60.7% of the 135 games measured against Rubick this patch.

    135 matches

  • Hoodwink58.8%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit wins 58.8% of the 136 games measured against Hoodwink this patch.

    136 matches

  • Ogre Magi58.4%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit wins 58.4% of the 101 games measured against Ogre Magi this patch.

    101 matches

  • Shadow Fiend56.1%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit wins 56.1% of the 157 games measured against Shadow Fiend this patch.

    157 matches

Weak against

  • Ember Spirit41.7%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit only wins 41.7% of the 127 games measured against Ember Spirit this patch.

    127 matches

  • Necrophos44.2%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit only wins 44.2% of the 52 games measured against Necrophos this patch.

    52 matches

  • Bane46.3%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit only wins 46.3% of the 54 games measured against Bane this patch.

    54 matches

  • Storm Spirit47.1%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit only wins 47.1% of the 102 games measured against Storm Spirit this patch.

    102 matches

  • Skywrath Mage48.0%win rate in the matchup

    Earth Spirit only wins 48.0% of the 50 games measured against Skywrath Mage this patch.

    50 matches

Works well with

  • Fortune's End from Oracle holds enemies in place for Magnetize from Earth Spirit.

  • Rolling Boulder from Earth Spirit holds enemies in place for Supernova from Phoenix.

  • Summon Raptors from Beastmaster holds enemies in place for Magnetize from Earth Spirit.

Changelog

  1. Guide created for patch 7.41.

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