* Poison Attack and
Viper Strike allowing to kite and slow Earthshaker significally, putting
Blink Dagger on cooldown and preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* Nethertoxin breaks Aftershock. The silence from Level 25 talent also prevents Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
Additional:
* Being a melee hero, Earthshaker's movement is liable to suppression by Poison Attack and
Viper Strike.
* Earthshaker's kit, with the exception of Enchant Totem, deals magic damage.
Corrosive Skin effectively blunts his killing potential with a standard Blink combo among other things.
* Nethertoxin disables
Aftershock, which removes the stun and bonus damage from
Enchant Totem and
Echo Slam.
* Corrosive Skin minimizes the damage Viper takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Ancient Apparition's slow movement speed, squishy nature, and lack of escape abilities can easily be taken advantage of through Poison Attack and
Viper Strike.
* Earthshaker must be careful not to use Blink Dagger or
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Enchant Totem to blink into
Riki's
Smoke Screen or
Night Stalker's
Crippling Fear, as these field effects will instantly silence Earthshaker and prevent him from initiating.
* Riki can get on top of Ancient Apparition very easily with Blink Strike. This can also double as a way to dodge Ice Blast, along with
Tricks of the Trade.
* Ancient Apparition will frequently resort to casting Ice Blast right before dying. Smoke Screen can be used to prevent this, stopping Ancient Apparition from having any impact.
* Arcane Bolt allows Skywrath Mage to harass Earthshaker out of lane.
* Ancient Seal is an instant silence that can be pre-cast onto Earthshaker to disrupt his combo, before he uses
Blink Dagger to initiate.
* Mystic Flare will nuke Earthshaker down while he stands in place during his long cast animations.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Her Psionic Traps will usually disable Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating.
* Refraction blocks all of Earthshaker's abilities.
* Fragile supports with low armor are always a good prey, also her Psionic Trap will wear down most attempts to flee with their built-in disables: Silencer,
Crystal Maiden,
Warlock,
Ancient Apparition,
Grimstroke,
Witch Doctor
* Windrun can be used to dodge Earthshaker's abilities if Windranger has a quick reaction time.
* Focus Fire and Windrun allows Windranger to kite Earthshaker.
* A Windranger with fast fingers can prevent Earthshaker from using Fissure with Shackleshot.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Supernova allows Phoenix to save himself (or an ally, with Aghanim's Scepter) through
Echo Slam. Earthshaker will also have a difficult time destroying the supernova, due to his low base attack time and poor agility.
* Icarus Dive can pass through Earthshaker's Fissure.
* Most of Phoenix's abilities disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger for a good period of time due to the damage-over-time nature of its spells.
* Icarus Dive helps Phoenix escape from Cold Feet.
* However, all of Pheonix's basic abilities do cost health, which can be harmful under the effects of Ice Blast.
* Supernova can save Phoenix from Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Supernova with or without Aghanim's Scepter allows to save ally or himself through Ice Blast.
* Icarus Dive quickly escapes from Cold Feet.
* Since all of Phoenix's abilities (except for Supernova) have health costs, heroes like
Ancient Apparition or
Necrophos can turn Phoenix's abilities against it. However,
Supernova does completely protect Phoenix from
Ice Blast.
* Invoker's
E.M.P. is extremely effective against Earthshaker due to his low natural mana.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Earthshaker must be careful not to use Blink Dagger or
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Enchant Totem to blink into
Riki's
Smoke Screen or
Night Stalker's
Crippling Fear, as these field effects will instantly silence Earthshaker and prevent him from initiating.
Additional:
* Fissure has a short stun and creates an impassable ridge. However, Night Stalker can fly over it during Dark Ascension.
* Night Stalker can find Earthshaker, disable his Blink Dagger with Void, and then take him out with Crippling Fear.
* Earthshaker may fail his blink combo against Night Stalker's team if he is not careful, as he can blink into the silence.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz,
Slark,
Storm Spirit
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like Phantom Assassin or
Clinkz.
* Silencer's
Global Silence and
Doom's
Doom makes Earthshaker temporarily useless.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz,
Slark,
Storm Spirit
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
Additional:
* Ancient Apparition's only skill to stop Storm Spirit is Cold Feet, which is bad in general when trying to stop a Storm Spirit without any other disable.
* As a fragile support with low Strength gain and no magic resistance, Ancient Apparition is vulnerable to Storm Spirit's combos.
* False Promise can dispel the stun from Cold Feet and can save an ally that's about to shatter from Ice Blast, even allowing healing with
Purifying Flames by delaying it until after the debuff expires.
* Purifying Flames allows Oracle to deny his allies if they're affected by Ice Blast. If he brings his allies' health to or below the shatter threshold, it will count as him denying the ally. However, this does not work on Oracle himself.
* Fate's Edict provides 100% magic resistance, making it good against all of Ancient Apparition's abilities at all stages of the game.
* Fortune's End can dispel Cold Feet from allies.
Additional:
* False Promise can prevent the shatter from Ice Blast and Fate's Edict can protect an ally from the magical damage over time for a while.
* Oracle can deny allies who are frostbitten. If he uses Purifying Flames to reach the shatter threshold, it will count as a deny.
* Fortune's End can dispel Cold Feet on affected allies, preventing them from getting frozen.
* Thundergod's Wrath will often disable Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger before a fight starts.
* Outworld Destroyer's pure and magical damage is particularly effective against Earthshaker.
* Astral Imprisonment catches Earthshaker while he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo.
* Earthshaker has mana troubles, and Outworld Destroyer's abilities can press this by stealing intelligence comes from Arcane Orb, therefore depleting his mana pool and mana regeneration.
* Sanity's Eclipse deals high damage to Earthshaker, due to his low intelligence and mana pool.
* Both Ice Path and
Macropyre are the good setup against Earthshaker after he jumps in with
Blink Dagger, and stay out of Echo Slam initiation radius.
* Jakiro's damage over time abilities can potentially disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger.
* Venomancer's slows and magical damage-over-time works well against Earthshaker's which completes lack of mobility.
* Plague Wards are useful for slowing and kitting down Earthshaker, revealing him from initiating and re-initiating and putting his
Blink Dagger on cooldown if Venomancer has vision over Earthshaker.
Additional:
* Earthshaker can be kited by Venomancer's slows, which is lack of mobility.
* Plague Wards is very useful for slowing and kitting down Earthshaker, revealing him from initiating and re-initiating and putting his Blink Dagger on cooldown.
* Primal Split makes Brewmaster invulnerable for the duration, rendering effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast useless.
* Dispel Magic can dispel Cold Feet from allies.
* Brewmaster can easily run Ancient Apparition down with the slow from Thunder Clap and
Cinder Brew.
* Since Primal Beast is highly mobile with Onslaught alone, he will be difficult to catch with both Cold Feet and
Ice Blast.
* Ice Blast is less effective due to Primal Beast's massive health pool and resistance to taking damage.
* While Chilling Touch can be used to slow Primal Beast briefly, it is not enough to beat him back, and can also contribute to his Uproar stacks.
* Primal Beast has a dispel talent at level 15 that will remove Cold Feet immediately when Uproar is used.
* Ignite can prevent Earthshaker from escaping and/or initiating with Blink Dagger.
* Fireblast and Unrefined Fireblast may help prevent Earthshaker follow through with his combo after landing an Echo Slam.
* Geomagnetic Grip can be used to silence Earthshaker after he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo.
* Magnetize does damage over time and thus disables Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger for a long time.
* Lina builds Shadow Blade (and upgrades it into a
Silver Edge), which makes it hard for Ancient Apparition to land his abilities.
* Laguna Blade can kill Ancient Apparition easily due to his low health pool and lack of mobility.
* Shrapnel can be used to disable Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger from long range.
* Take Aim allows Sniper to harass Earthshaker in lane, and stay out of Echo Slam initiation radius.
Additional:
* Sniper is able to kite Earthshaker with his very long range.
* Sniper can dodge Earthshaker's stuns like Fissure and
Enchant Totem with mobility items such as
Blink Dagger,
Force Staff/
Hurricane Pike and
Shadow Blade/
Silver Edge.
* Sharpnel can be used to cancel Earthshaker's Blink Dagger and preventing effective use of his Echo Slam in a majority of situations.
* Anti-Mage can Blink away from Cold Feet or build a
Manta Style to dispel it.
* Counterspell minimizes the damage Anti-Mage takes from all of Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Mana Break and
Mana Void deal a lot of damage to Ancient Apparition due to his high mana pool.
Additional:
* Anti-Mage easily Blinks out of Cold Feet's freeze radius.
* Ancient Apparition lacks mobility, thus making him fall easily to Mana Void.
* Counterspell reduces all Ancient Apparition's spell damage.
* Static Link drains the damage bonus from Enchant Totem, until he purchase
Aghanim's Scepter or
Force Staff to break it.
* Storm Surge with Razor's high mobility items can easily avoid all of Earthshaker abilities.
* Plasma Field &
Eye of the Storm prevents Earthshaker escaping from
Blink Dagger.
Additional:
* Static Link drains Earthshaker's bonus damage from Enchant Totem until he purchases an
Aghanim's Scepter or
Force Staff to break it.
* Eye of the Storm and Plasma Field can disable Earthshaker's Blink Dagger, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* Dissimilate and
Astral Step allow Void Spirit to quickly escape from Cold Feet.
* Void Spirit deals both magical and physical damage, which makes Ancient Apparition an easy target to ambush.
* If Void Spirit purchases Aghanim's Scepter, the silence provided by
Resonant Pulse can disrupt Ancient Apparition during fights, as he is entirely reliant upon spells to contribute.
* Phase Shift allows Puck to dodge all of Earthshaker's abilites.
* Waning Rift disables Earthshaker's stuns, leaving him and his team vulnerable.
* Dream Coil takes a stun from Earthshaker if he tries to escape from
Blink Dagger or Enchant Totem upgraded from
Aghanim's Scepter.
* Leap allows Mirana to easily escape the freezing range of Cold Feet. Mirana also tends to build
Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* During Moonlight Shadow, the invisibility makes it hard to catch Mirana's team with Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition's lack of mobility/escape capabilities makes him an easy target for Mirana at any stage of the game.
* Thunder Strike can be used to cancel Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger.
* Glimpse brings Earthshaker back after he jumps on
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded Enchant Totem.
* Static Storm if used on a fight can prevent Earthshaker from executing his combo after blinking in with
Blink Dagger.
* Lone Druid's early game is good against slow, squishy supports since his bear is very strong early game and an Entangling Claws proc almost always guarantees a kill: Ancient Apparition,
Crystal Maiden,
Shadow Shaman, etc.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape or reliable control and is very fragile, which makes him an easy target for anyone who can get on top of him, like Phantom Assassin or
Clinkz.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with no mobility will take some good damage from Sand King's spells: Dragon Knight,
Jakiro,
Pugna,
Earthshaker.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Heroes with silence and mana drain abilites, as Ancient Apparition relies entirely on his abilities: Invoker,
Silencer,
Nyx Assassin,
Skywrath Mage,
Shadow Shaman,
Lion and etc.
* Squishy heroes, usually supports, like Lion,
Ancient Apparition,
Keeper of the Light etc can die quickly to Tiny's magic burst.
* Silencer's
Global Silence and
Doom's
Doom makes Earthshaker temporarily useless.
* Techies is very good against roaming supports and gankers such as Bounty Hunter,
Riki,
Weaver,
Earthshaker,
Nyx Assassin, etc. that are constantly moving around the map.
* For the same reason, he has to be slightly more cunning when playing against heroes that can scout the treeline, such as Ancient Apparition and his
Ice Vortex and
Shadow Demon and his
Shadow Poison.
* Time Lapse allows Weaver (or an ally if upgraded with
Aghanim's Scepter) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* Shukuchi completely ignores the slow from Ice Vortex and helps him escape the freeze range of Cold Feet.
Additional:
* Cold Feet is extremely easy to nullify with Shukuchi.
* Ice Vortex does not slow Weaver in Shukuchi.
* Time Lapse will still affect his health, even when hit by Ice Blast.
* Ancient Apparition has no escapes or saves and is very squishy, making him an easy target for Weaver to get on top of.
* Earthshaker's many stuns can lock down slippery heroes like Slark in his
Shadow Dance and
Weaver in his
Shukuchi.
* Battery Assault will continuously interrupt Earthshaker's long cast animations.
* Power Cogs can also trap Earthshaker after he initiates.
Additional:
* Battery Assault interrupts Earthshaker's long cast animations, preventing him from using any abilities apart from Echo Slam.
* Power Cogs often separate the battlefield so that both enemies and allies are unlikely to cluster.
* Rocket Flare allows Clockwerk to scout Earthshaker before a fight starts and potentially cancel his
Blink Dagger.
* Hookshot enables Clockwerk to catch Earthshaker before he gets a chance to initiate a fight.
* Ancient Apparition's
Cold Feet will freeze Clockwerk in place if he stays inside his Power Cogs. His immobility while in his cogs also makes him a very easy target to
Ice Vortex and
Ice Blast.
* Sunder allows Terrorblade (or an ally) to regain HP while affected by Ice Blast.
* Terrorblade often buys Manta Style which can dispel Cold Feet.
Additional:
* Sunder is not affected by Ice Blast and will still swap health with any target as usual.
* Heroes with abilities that can lock down Terrorblade and prevent him from using Sunder: Bane,
Batrider,
Earthshaker,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Invoker,
Legion Commander,
Mars,
Primal Beast,
Riki,
Shadow Shaman,
Silencer,
Vengeful Spirit,
Void Spirit.
* Earthshaker's Aftershock combos and
Fissure can stun Muerta consecutively and minimize Pierce the Veil's effective duration.
* Muerta doesn't have the speed to easily escape Cold Feet, potentially controlling her during Pierce the Veil.
* Ancient Apparition outranges Muerta with Chilling Touch, allowing him to poke her down safely.
* Aftershock in combination with
Enchant Totem prevents Broodmother from continuing to attack Earthshaker without being repeatedly stunned.
* Echo Slam is greatly amplified by Spiderlings, often instantly killing Broodmother, her swarm, and anyone else unfortunate enough to be nearby.
* Earthshaker's vast amount of stuns makes it difficult for Broodmother to continue attacking enemies (to continue lifestealing with Insatiable Hunger) without Black King Bar.
Additional:
* Echo Slam's damage potential increases phenomenally due to Broodmother's hordes of spiderlings and spiderites.
* Long ranged Fissures can hit Broodmother if she runs into the treeline at the edges of the map.
* Ice Blast prevents
Insatiable Hunger lifesteal,
Spin Web regeneration and quickly kills spiderlings.
* Echo Slam will deal immense damage due to the amount of creeps Chen will have.
* Fissure and
Enchant Totem deal large amounts of AOE damage, wearing down non-ancient creeps that Chen converts.
* Ice Blast prevents Divine Favor and
Hand of God from healing his allies or himself.
Additional:
* Ice Blast can prevent healing from
Hand of God and kill Chen's creeps.
* Ancient Apparition can easily harass Chen on lane with Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys
Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
* Chilling Touch combined with
Ice Vortex makes it impossible for Chen to escape from
Cold Feet.
Ice Vortex can also make Chen's creeps more vulnerable to Ancient Apparition and his allies's magical damage.
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
* Cold feet can be used to ensure that the full channel of Freezing Field doesn't go off.
* Earthshaker's AoE stuns can save ally against Duel, forcing Legion Commander to spend
Aghanim's Scepter or
Black King Bar.
* Heroes with global abilities can give Legion Commander's opponent an edge in Duels from anywhere on the map: Nature's Prophet,
Ancient Apparition,
Zeus,
Invoker,
Treant Protector
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
* Heroes like Slark,
Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
* Snapfire is vulnerable while she is casting Mortimer Kisses making her an easy target for the effects of Cold Feet and Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Ice Blast,
Cold Feet, and
Ice Vortex are easier to land on Snapfire while she channels her
Mortimer Kisses.
* Ice Blast stops Morphling from gaining additional health with Attribute Shift.
* Using Attribute Shift would even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In the lane, Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
Additional:
* Ice Blast stops Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) from recovering adional health, and using it will even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
* In lane, Ice Vortex slows Morphling's already poor movement speed to a crawl; this, coupled with the amplification of magic damage, can set up an early kill on Morphling if Ancient Apparition has a suitable lane partner.
* Fissure does a great job at interrupting Black Hole immediately, especially with
Blink Dagger and
Aether Lens.
* Echo Slam's damage potential increases due to the eidolons created by Demonic Conversion.
* Having many summons out will cause Echo Slam to deal extra damage.
* Echo Slam is good against Snowball since it bunches everyone up. This can set up some prime opportunities for Blink Echo Slams.
* Shallow Grave prevents Ice Blast's shatter for up to 5 seconds, but can mostly only delay it as Ice Blast's debuff lasts 10 seconds and prevents
Shadow Wave from healing them.
Additional:
* Ice Blast negates healing from Shadow Wave, and lasts longer than Shallow Grave.
* Cold Embrace makes its target immovable, allowing Ancient Apparition to easily land Ice Blast, or a Cold Feet stun.
* Ice Blast also negates healing from Cold Embrace.
Additional:
* Ice Blast disables the healing component of Cold Embrace, making it essentially a 4 second stun on an ally and a perfect setup for Ice Blast.
* If Cold Feet is cast on an Allied hero affected by Cold Embrace, it will almost guarantee the Ally comes out stunned.
* Ice Blast cancels out Chemical Rage's rapid health regeneration. It can also take advantage of Alchemist's
Armlet of Mordiggian toggling, as it will make HP drain insanely fast, essentially killing the bearer in no time.
Additional:
* Ice Blast nullifies the health regeneration granted by Chemical Rage, which Alchemist greatly relies on to stay alive in battle.
* Alchemist tends to build Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.
* Ice Blast's nullifies Abaddon healing from Borrowed Time and Mist Coil and it is not dispelled by Aphotic Shield.
Additional:
* Ice Blast nullifies Borrowed Time's and
Mist Coil's healing.
* Each of Meepo's clones count as real heroes, meaning that an Echo Slam hitting them will deal catastrophic damage to Meepo and his team.
* Eathshaker's AoE stuns can interrupt Meepo's Poof cast animation.
Additional:
* Echo Slam deals catastrophic damage against a cluster of Meepos and anyone nearby.
* He can potentially stunlock any number of Meepos for a fairly long duration, often enough to finish one off.
* Ice Blast prevents Io from healing an ally with Tether and prevents healing from
Overcharge
* Io is a common Mekansm builder which is useless if he is affected by Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Io from healing the target.
* Ancient Apparition can easily harass Io on lane with Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys
Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
* Chilling Touch combined with
Ice Vortex makes it nearly impossible for Io to escape from
Cold Feet.
Ice Vortex can also make Io and it's tethered target more vulnerable to Ancient Apparition and his allies's magical damage.
* Mirror Image's illusions increase Echo Slam's damage.
Additional:
* Earthshaker's strong AoE abilities can clear Naga Siren's illusions, or at least make it easier to distinguish the real one by the damage they take.
* Echo Slam deals more damage against more enemies, which can be devestating against Naga Siren and her illusions.
* Zombies summoned from Tombstone will amplify the damage of Echo Slam due to them increasing the echo damage.
* All of his spells can stun Elder Titan and interrupt Echo Stomp's channeling thanks to Aftershock.
* Fissure is particularly good for that purpose thanks to its long range.
* Elder Titan relies heavily on his spells and a chain-stun combo will usually be followed by certain death.
* Echo Slam will deal a colossal amount of damage to your Phantasms, as will
Fissure at lower levels.
* The area stuns from Aftershock will always stun Chaos Knight's illusions, since they can't use
Black King Bar.
* However, Earthshaker should not attempt to fight a farmed Chaos Knight, since he will be completely obliterated by Chaos Knight's colossal damage output, even if he managed to land an Echo Slam
Additional:
* Echo Slam's damage potential increases due to Chaos Knight's Phantasm illusions.
* Treants increase Echo Slam's damage.
* Earthshaker's AoE stuns can hit Nature's Prophet through Sprout, without having direct line of sight, in order to interrupt
Teleportation.
Additional:
* Echo Slam can do a lot of damage to Nature's Prophet and his teammates if they stand close to his Treants.
* Heroes that withstand damage like Timbersaw,
Bristleback,
Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
* Heroes with wide AoE abilities will reveal Monkey King through Mischief: Necrophos,
Phoenix,
Alchemist,
Earthshaker,
Razor,
Tinker,
Leshrac,
Queen of Pain
* Heroes that withstand damage like Timbersaw,
Bristleback,
Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
Additional:
* Cold Feet and
Ice Vortex both hinder Dragon Knight's movement greatly during teamfights.
* Ice Blast ignores Dragon Knight's armor, disables his health regeneration, and kills him prematurely.
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
* Heroes that withstand damage like Timbersaw,
Bristleback,
Dragon Knight and others will have their durability largely reduced when hit by an Ice Blast due to the risk of shattering.
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
* Heroes with invisibility and high mobility can jump on and focus down Earthshaker before he has a chance to initiate: Clinkz,
Slark,
Storm Spirit
* Earthshaker's many stuns can lock down slippery heroes like Slark in his
Shadow Dance and
Weaver in his
Shukuchi.
Additional:
* Earthshaker's many AoE stuns help lock down Slark and will often waste the duration of Shadow Dance.
* As a frequent Force Staff buyer, he can later on escape or save teammates from Pounce.
* Heroes like Slark,
Witch Doctor and others also tend to suffer in Ice Blast's heal denial.
Additional:
* Ice Blast stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration, even when Slark is not in vision.
* Heroes with channeled abilities can be interrupted by a long-range Fissure: Crystal Maiden,
Witch Doctor,
Bane,
Pugna,
Pudge.
* Heroes with large magical AoE damage will fare well against Omniknight: Lich,
Ancient Apparition,
Jakiro,
Disruptor.
* Melee carries who usually buy an early Black King Bar, and have gap closing abilities can be good against the Arc Warden, such as
Slark,
Riki,
Earthshaker with
Aghanim's Scepter,
Sven with
Aghanim's Scepter etc.
* Phantom Lancer can dispel or escape from Cold Feet with Doppelganger and
Phantom Rush, respectively. Phantom Lancer also frequently builds a
Manta Style which dispels Cold Feet.
* Ancient Apparition has trouble dealing with Phantom Lancer's illusions due to a lack of Area of Effect damage other than Ice Blast.
* Phantom Lancer tends to build a Diffusal Blade, which greatly amplifies his damage against Ancient Apparition due to Ancient Apparition's high mana pool.
* Ancient Apparition has no escape/mobility mechanisms, making him an easy target for Phantom Lancer at any stage of the game.
* Phantom Lancer's many illusions increase Echo Slam's damage.
Additional:
* Echo Slam deals tremendous damage when multiplied by Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Earthshaker's AoE abilities can quickly kill Phantom Lancer's illusions.
* Enchant Totem with
Aghanim's Scepter gives Cleave to help destroy illusions.
* Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Heroes with undispellable debuffs will help identify the real Phantom Lancer through visual effects or debuff indicators, provided that it was cast on the real Phantom Lancer to begin with:
* Doom's
Doom marks Phantom Lancer with a highly visible effect, and also silences and mutes him.
* Bloodseeker's
Rupture shows a clear red trail effect on the real Phantom Lancer.
* Ancient Apparition's
Ice Blast will only debuff Phantom Lancer and not his illusions.
* Grimstroke's
Soulbind is undispellable.
* Shadow Demon's
Demonic Purge is undispellable.
* Monkey King's
Jingu Mastery is undispellable and puts a big yellow Mark over his head.
* Heroes with mobility/escape mechanisms to dodge Ancient Apparition abilites, or to easily jump on him: Riki,
Queen of Pain,
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Bounty Hunter,
Spirit Breaker,
Night Stalker,
Storm Spirit,
Juggernaut, etc.
* Fissure interrupts Spirit Breaker during Charge of Darkness.
* Warlock often stays back and counter-initiates by dropping his
Chaotic Offering on Earthshaker and his allies.
* Ice Blast cancels Warlock's Golem's and Shadow Word's healing.
* Cold Feet stuns Warlock if he stands in place, forcing him to stop channeling Upheaval immediately or be forced to stop channeling it by it's stun.
* Luna's Lucent Beams and
Eclipse will prevent Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse can be used to counter-initiate against Earthshaker after he uses
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Enchant Totem.
* Skilled Luna can buy either {I|Gleipnir
Additional:
* Luna's Lucent Beams and
Eclipse will prevent Earthshaker from initiating or re-initiating.
* Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Eclipse can be used to counter-initiate against Earthshaker after he uses
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Enchant Totem.
* Skilled Luna can buy either {I|Gleipnir
* Despite Ancient Apparition's fragileness, he can easily harass Luna on lane with Chilling Touch due to it's high range and damage. This can get even worse if Ancient Apparition buys
Aghanim's Scepter and combines it with items that can give him bonus attack damage and attack speed.
* Chilling Touch combined with
Ice Vortex can make it difficult for Luna to escape from
Cold Feet
* Ice Blast can nullify any healing Luna receives and any attempt for her to save herself with
Satanic, even through
Black King Bar.
* For the same reasons, Ancient Apparition makes a very powerful ally for Luna when they are in the same team.
* Rage prevents Earthshaker from damaging and stunning Lifestealer.
* Feast is very effective against Earthshaker, because of him being a strength hero, allowing Lifestealer to heavily harass and kill him.
* Open Wounds prevents Earthshaker from escaping after he initiated.
* Infest gives Lifestealer an easy way to escape should he get caught out by Earthshaker. And against carry Earthshaker,
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Infest can be used to disarm Earthshaker and attack him from within, rendering him unable to attack with
Enchant Totem.
* Ice Blast prevents Lifestealer from lifestealing and healing with Infest in fights.
* Death Prophet's Crypt Swarm and
Spirit Siphon can repetively damage Earthshaker, preventing him from using
Blink Dagger.
* Silence can be used to silence Earthshaker after he blinks in with
Blink Dagger, preventing him from executing his combo.
* Spirits from Exorcism are completely invulnerable and cannot interact with anything at all, which will greatly weaken damage from
Echo Slam. This can put Earthshaker in a serious disadvantage against Death Prophet.
* Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from Spirit Siphon and
Exorcism.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Death Prophet from gaining health from Spirit Siphon and Exorcism.
* However, there is a way for Death Prophet to counter Ice Blast: Since Death Prophet is not healed until the spirits are returned to her. She can attempt to outrun her spirits to delay their return until Ice Blast duration runs out.
* Frequent healing from Death Pulse and
Mekansm/
Guardian Greaves or
Pipe of Insight makes it difficult for Earthshaker to execute his combo with Echo Slam.
* Necrophos usually buys Radiance to improve their burning aura damage from
Heartstopper Aura will usually disable Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating or re-initiating.
* Reaper's Scythe allows to kill Earthshaker while he blinks in, preventing him from executing his combo (although Earthshaker is rarely a primary target).
* Ice Blast completely nullifies any healing, making Necrophos unable to stay in a teamfight to sustain his teammates (and himself) or deal gradual damage to the enemy, else he be faced with a quick death if focused on.
* Earthshaker's stuns will rarely save him once Huskar has initiated on him with Life Break.
* A full initiation combo will not kill Huskar, only lower his health and increase his attack speed.
* Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing with Berserker's Blood and negates any lifesteal, making him significantly weaker in battle.
* Burning Spear and
Life Break cost Huskar his own health, killing him under the effects from Ice Blast.
* Huskar often builds Armlet of Mordiggian which can be deadly during Ice Blast.
Additional:
* Ice Blast prevents Huskar from healing, regeneration, health gained from activating an
Armlet of Mordiggian and will kill him when his health dips below a threshold. This makes it very dangerous for him to use his abilities.
* Shapeshift increases Lycan's movement speed and renders him unslowable, allowing him to easily avoid and escape Ancient Apparition's abilities.
* Lycan has fast summons, both his wolves from Summon Wolves can do heavy damage to Ancient Apparition due to his immobility and low armor.
* A well landed Fissure can potentially take Lycan out of the fight for several seconds, who heavily relies on precious seconds from Black king bar and Shapeshift to fight.
* Aftershock reduces the effectiveness of his summons and can prove quite irritating for Lycan.
* Echo Slam is very powerful with the sheer amount of Lycan's units and will cause him to think twice when pushing towers.
To start select enemy heroes in the field above. It's intended to be used with multiple heroes. The more enemy heroes you provide the better results you will get.
This website was made to help you in pick stage of online game Dota 2. It calculates rating for each possible counterpicks based on tips from web-based database made up entirely of user contributions Dota 2 wiki.
You will get the list of recommended hero counters with a list of tips written by Dota 2 wiki contributors explaining why it's good against the particular hero. In comparison to other similar websites, which show only rating based on average hero win rate from dotabuff or similar service.
Take it with a bit of grain of salt, especially if the recommendation has a low rating (<= 1), some heroes
may win a lane in an early game but would lose in late game (and vice versa). That's why sometimes
you could hero names appearing as a counter and as being countered, as on image:
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Earthshaker
*
Spectral Dagger can be used to traverse past Fissure.
Haunt will usually disable Earthshaker's
Blink Dagger prior to a teamfight, preventing him from initiating.
Haunt will amplify damage done from Echo Slam. Use this to your advantage.
Haunt to intercept and disrupt Earthshaker's initiation attempts.
Spectral Dagger can be used to traverse past
Fissure.
Desolate can be very effective against him.
Haunt illusions amplify the damage done from
Echo Slam, which can prove fatal for Spectre's own team.
*
* On the other hand,
Additional:
* Spectre can use
*
* Earthshaker often travels alone when he is trying to initiate, so
* Beware that the
Ancient Apparition
* As Ancient Apparition likes to stay far away from the fight to get full effectiveness from
Ice Blast, he is a very good target for a
Haunt gank.
* Ancient Apparition also has no hard disables and escape spells, making him an easy kill for Spectre.