Kaolin, the Earth Spirit, is a highly complex, versatile, and high-impact Strength-based melee initiator, disabler, and teamfight controller in DotA 1. Boasting an extraordinary natural Strength growth, Kaolin is built to withstand heavy engagement while reshuffling the positioning of both allies and enemies. By launching, pulling, and rolling alongside his geological stone manifestations, he manipulates the layout of an entire battlefield. Whether providing long-range silencing utility, stunning tightly packed lines of defense, or spreading an infectious, explosive magnetic plague across the opposition, his control over earth and stone makes him a premier utility frontline threat.
Base Stats & Attributes
Hero Attributes
| Attribute |
Base Value |
Growth (per level) |
| Strength |
22 |
+4.4 |
| Agility |
17 |
+2.4 |
| Intelligence |
20 |
+2.1 |
Statistics & Mechanics
| Statistic |
Value |
Mechanic |
Value |
| Damage |
47-57 |
Base HP Regen |
0.25/s |
| HP |
640 |
HP Regen |
+2.45/s |
| MP |
290 |
MP Regen |
+1.01/s |
| Armor |
3.4 |
Turn Rate |
0.6 |
| Move Speed |
290 |
Base Attack Time (BAT) |
1.7 |
| Attack Range |
150 (melee) |
Attack Animations |
0.35 / 0.65 |
Hero Skills Breakdown
1. Boulder Smash
Kaolin slams an ally, enemy, or Rock with his stone-shattering power, knocking them back away from him and damaging enemies the slammed target collides with along its vector. Slammed Rocks travel significantly farther than fleshy targets and apply a deep movement speed slow to impacted enemies. When no explicit target is specified during a point-target cast, Kaolin will automatically look for nearby Stones and launch them toward the targeted direction.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Stone Travel Distance: Up to 2000 distance
- Movement Speed Slow percentage: 60% slow applied by slammed Rocks
- Unique Behavior: Targets travel along a linear path, passing through trees and across unpathable terrain while colliding with enemy hitboxes.
| Level |
Collision Damage (Magical) |
Slow Duration (Rocks) |
Unit Push Distance |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
105 |
1.25 seconds |
500 |
22 sec |
100 |
| 2 |
170 |
2.50 seconds |
600 |
18 sec |
100 |
| 3 |
235 |
3.25 seconds |
700 |
14 sec |
100 |
| 4 |
300 |
4.00 seconds |
800 |
10 sec |
100 |
2. Rolling Boulder
Kaolin turns into a heavy boulder and begins spinning in place to build up momentum. After a brief delay, he launches himself forward in the direction he is facing, damaging and stunning units he passes through, but stopping short if he collides directly with an enemy hero. Rolling over a Rock will add massive momentum, doubling the roll distance, travel speed, and final stun duration.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Wind-up Delay: 0.6 seconds spinning in place
- Base Roll Distance: 800 distance
- Rock Momentum Multiplier: Increases roll distance, travel speed, and stun duration by 100%
- Interruption Condition: Any hard disable applied to Kaolin during the movement phase will instantly stop the skill's effect.
| Level |
Base Damage (Magical) |
Base Stun Duration |
Rock-Enhanced Stun Duration |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
70 |
0.40 seconds |
0.80 seconds |
16 sec |
50 |
| 2 |
90 |
0.60 seconds |
1.20 seconds |
12 sec |
50 |
| 3 |
110 |
0.80 seconds |
1.60 seconds |
8 sec |
50 |
| 4 |
130 |
1.00 seconds |
2.00 seconds |
4 sec |
50 |
3. Geomagnetic Grip
Kaolin pulls the targeted ally or Rock directly to his current location, damaging and silencing enemy targets that the pulled entity collides with along the way. Pulled Rocks deal full damage and silence their victims, whereas pulled allies do not deal damage or silence opponents.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Rock Pull Distance: Up to 2000 distance
- Unique Behavior: Pulled allies travel up to 600 distance safely. This functions as an exceptional save mechanism to extract trapped team members out of enemy crowd control or high-ground traps.
| Level |
Rock Damage (Magical) |
Silence Duration (Rocks) |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
50 |
2.5 seconds |
13 sec |
75 |
| 2 |
100 |
2.5 seconds |
13 sec |
75 |
| 3 |
150 |
2.5 seconds |
13 sec |
75 |
| 4 |
200 |
2.5 seconds |
13 sec |
75 |
4. Magnetize
Magnetizes units in a small nearby area, causing them to take intense magical damage over time. Any magnetized enemy heroes cause nearby rocks to become energized and explode, applying or fully refreshing the duration of the magnetize debuff on all units near that rock. This process can repeat multiple times, though rocks are destroyed upon detonating.
- Damage Type: Magical
- Debuff Base Life: 6 seconds duration
- Unique Mechanics: If a magnetized hero is struck by Geomagnetic Grip or Boulder Smash effects via a Rock, the slow or silence statuses are shared across all other currently magnetized targets.
- Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade: Grants the auxiliary "Enchant Remnant" skill, allowing Kaolin to temporarily convert an ally or enemy hero into a Stone Remnant that behaves identically to his standard Rocks.
| Level |
Damage Per Second (DPS) |
Cooldown |
Manacost |
| 1 |
50 |
100 sec |
100 |
| 2 |
75 |
90 sec |
100 |
| 3 |
100 |
80 sec |
100 |
Item Build Guide
| Phase |
Recommended Items |
Strategic Purpose |
| Early Game |
Arcane Boots, Magic Wand, Bracer |
Arcane Boots satisfy Earth Spirit's recurring mana requirements for complex skill sequences. Magic Wand and Bracer leverage his high natural Strength scaling while keeping his early pool robust. |
| Core Items |
Blink Dagger, Veil of Discord, Urn of Shadows |
Blink Dagger ensures flawless positioning to angle your Boulder Smashes or land an optimal Magnetize. Veil of Discord amplifies his extensive spell damage, and Urn of Shadows pairs perfectly with his high gank participation. |
| Late Game |
Aghanim's Scepter, Shiva's Guard, Black King Bar |
Aghanim's Scepter unlocks Enchant Remnant to completely remove an enemy carry from a fight or save a teammate. Shiva's Guard provides massive armor and an active frost slow, while Black King Bar ensures uninterrupted spell loops. |
| Late Game Alternate |
Heart of Tarrasque |
Capitalizes on his incredible +4.4 Strength growth, transforming him into an unkillable frontline sponge who can continuously reposition inside fights. |
Quick Gameplay Tips
- The Long-Range Sniper Silence: Because a pulled Rock travels an immense 2000 distance at high speed, you can catch fleeing or hidden spellcasters far beyond their vision range. Drop a Rock far in front of you and immediately cast Geomagnetic Grip. The stone will rocket back to your position, applying an instant 2.5-second silence and damage to anyone caught in the lane, setting them up for a follow-up roll.
- Staggering Magnetize Explosions: Magnetize only lasts 6 seconds naturally, but it refreshes back to full duration whenever a Rock explodes nearby. Do not drop all your Rocks at once. Instead, let the debuff timer tick down to 1 or 2 seconds, then drop a single Rock onto a magnetized enemy hero. This resets the 6-second damage timer, allowing you to string together an incredibly long, team-wiping damage chain.
- The High-Speed Rock Roll: When using Rolling Boulder, always drop a Rock directly along Kaolin's rolling path after initiating the skill but before the 0.6-second wind-up delay ends. This ensures the boulder consumes the Rock instantly upon moving, doubling your travel speed and lengthening your stun duration to 2 full seconds—making it nearly impossible for the target to dodge the incoming collision.
