Bristleback

Bristleback 22 + 2.9 17 + 1.8 14 + 2.8
	+20HP and +0.1HP regeneration/point.; +1 main attack damage/point.
	+0.17 armor and 1 attack speed/point.
	+12MP and +0.05MP regeneration/point.
L0	Base Hero Values
L1	⤷ + Base Attributes
L15	⤷ + Attribute Gain
L25	⤷ + 6 levels of Attribute Bonus
L30	⤷ + 7 levels of Attribute Bonus
	All values shown are without talent bonuses.

Hero

Strategy

Counters

Rigwarl, the Bristleback, is a melee strength hero famous for his array of synergistic, simplistic, and yet effective spells with low mana costs and cooldowns. Though each cast of his spells has relatively weak potency on its own, their instances have a cumulative effect, making the Bristleback quite deadly the longer he stays alive in a fight; this is directly reflected in his ultimate, Warpath, which powers up his movement and attack damage based on the number of spells he recently cast. He is able to increasingly slow his enemies down and reduce their armor with Viscous Nasal Goo and hit them with a barrage of Quill Sprays, making him an effective chaser when ganking enemies. His low strength gain makes him seem less tanky than most strength heroes at first glance, but his signature Bristleback passive substantially reduces all damage he takes from the sides and especially the rear, making him very difficult to bring down if he's facing away from his enemies. In the right hands, Bristleback is a powerful ganker in the early stages of the game, and a powerful hard carry in the later stages depending on how much farm he gets.

Bio[]

Rigwarl, the Bristleback

▶️ "It was a barkeep that got me into this mess. Yeah, I think I'll pay em a visit when this is done."

Lore:

Never one to turn his back on a fight, Rigwarl was known for battling the biggest, meanest scrappers he could get his hands on. Christened Bristleback by the drunken crowds, he waded into backroom brawls in every road tavern between Slom and Elze, until his exploits finally caught the eye of a barkeep in need of an enforcer. For a bit of brew, Bristleback was hired to collect tabs, keep the peace, and break the occasional leg or two (or five, in the case of one unfortunate web-hund).

After indulging in a night of merriment during which bodily harm was meted out in equal parts upon both delinquent patrons and his own liver, Bristleback finally met his match. "Your tusks offend me, sir," he was heard to drunkenly slur to one particularly large fellow from the northern wastes whose bill had come due. What followed was a fight for the ages. A dozen fighters jumped in. No stool was left unbroken, and in the end, the impossible happened: the tab went unpaid. Over the weeks that followed, Bristleback's wounds healed, and his quills grew back; but an enforcer's honor can be a prickly thing. He paid the tab from his own coin, vowing to track down this northerner and extract redemption. And then he did something he'd never done before: he actually trained, and in so doing made a startling discovery about himself. A smile peeled back from his teeth as he flexed his quills. Turning his back to a fight might be just the thing.

Voice:

TJ Ramini (Responses)

Abilities[]

Viscous Nasal Goo

▶️

▶️QG

Ability
Target Unit
(

No Target)

Affects
Enemies

Covers a target in snot, causing it to have reduced armor and movement speed. Multiple casts stack and refresh the duration.

Cast Animation: + (

+)

Cast Range: 600 (

0)

Max Stacks: 4 (

7)

Base Armor Reduction: 2

Armor Reduction per Stack: 1.5/2/2.5/3

Base Move Speed Slow: 15%

Move Speed Slow per Stack: 3%/6%/9%/12%

Hero Duration: 5

Non-Hero Duration: 10

Radius: 800

1.75

12/16/20/24

Viscous Nasal Goo becomes a no target area of effect ability, applying to all enemies within range. Increases stack limit to 7.

Slow and armor reduction persist if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.

Blocked upon impact, not blocked when upgraded.

Modifiers

modifier_bristleback_viscous_nasal_goo: Dispellable with any dispel.

Having caught a cold while stuck in the snow, Bristleback turns it to his advantage.

Notes:

The goo travels at a speed of 1000.

Places one debuff on the enemy. This debuff gets stronger when it gets refreshed with successive casts.
- A number on the icon shows how many times the debuff was refreshed, including the first cast.

This is how much armor and movement speed Viscous Nasal Goo reduces up to 4 ( 7) stacks on each level:
- Level 1: 3.5/5/6.5/8/9.5/11/12.5 armor and 18%/21%/24%/27%/30%/33%/36% movement speed.
- Level 2: 4/6/8/10/12/14/16 armor and 21%/27%/33%/39%/45%/51%/57% movement speed.
- Level 3: 4.5/7/9.5/12/14.5/17/19.5 armor and 24%/33%/42%/51%/60%/69%/78% movement speed.
- Level 4: 5/8/11/14/17/20/23 armor and 27%/39%/51%/63%/75%/87%/99% movement speed.

Treats creep-heroes as heroes.

With Aghanim's Scepter, Viscous Nasal Goo loses its cast time and backswing. It still interrupts channeling abilities upon cast.
- Viscous Nasal Goo still uses the same disjointable projectiles.
- Does not target invisible, invulnerable and hidden units, or units inside the Fog of War within the radius.

Quill Spray

▶️

▶️WR

Ability
No Target

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Physical

Sprays enemy units with quills dealing damage in an area of effect around Bristleback. Deals bonus damage for every time a unit was hit by Quill Spray in the last 14 seconds.

Cast Animation: +

Radius: 700

Base Damage: 25/45/65/85

Stack Damage: 28/30/32/34 (

48/50/52/54)

Damage Cap: 550

Stack Duration: 14

3

35

Grants a new ability: Hairball.

Modifiers

modifier_bristleback_quillspray_thinker: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_bristleback_quill_spray: Dispellable with death only.

modifier_bristleback_quill_spray_stack: Dispellable with death only.

Ability Draft Notes:

Gains autocast. Toggling Autocast on swaps this ability out with

Hairball. Turning it off again swaps them back. Their cooldowns are separate.

An enforcer's honor can be a prickly thing. So can his quills.

Notes:

Interrupts Bristleback's channeling abilities upon cast.

The quills spread at a speed of 2400 and take 0.29 seconds to reach maximum range.

The quills do not form a ring. They affect every enemy within the expanding area of effect, so it cannot be avoided by blinking towards Bristleback.

The effect is centered at the cast location, it does not follow Bristleback.

Places one debuff on each hit enemy and a stack debuff on each cast on each hit enemy.
- The first debuff shows the number of stack debuffs on the status icon. The stack debuffs are hidden.
- The stacks' durations are independent from each other. Successive casts do not refresh previous stacks' durations.
- With the current cooldown and stack duration, it can be stacked up to 5 times. To reach the cap, additional procs from Bristleback are required.
- The cap is reached with 20/18/17/15 ( 12/12/11/10) stacks. So to reach it, 15/13/12/10 ( 7/7/6/5) passive casts are required (not considering cooldown reductions).

Checks how many stacks units have first and deals damage based on that, and then increases the number of stacks. This means the first hit only deals the base damage.

For how much damage Quill Spray deals with a certain amount of stack on each level (before reductions), please refer to the chart below.

Bristleback

▶️EK

Ability
Passive

Affects
Self

Bristleback takes less damage if hit on the sides or rear. If Bristleback takes 210 damage from the rear, he releases a Quill Spray of the current level.

Rear Angle: 70°

Side Angle: 110°

Rear Damage Reduction: 16%/24%/32%/40%

Side Damage Reduction: 8%/12%/16%/20%

Damage Threshold: 210

Illusions gain the damage reduction, but not the passive Quill Spray procs.

Modifiers

modifier_bristleback_bristleback: Undispellable. Persists death.

Ability Draft Notes:

Quill Spray must be drafted as well for them to passively proc.

Turning his back to a fight might be just the thing.

Notes:

A visual effect and sound plays whenever his back receives damage if Bristleback has learned Quill Spray.
- Taking damage from the sides shows no effect.

Applies generic incoming damage reduction on Bristleback. Stacks additively with other sources of generic incoming damage manipulation.
- The reduction affects all damage Bristleback takes that is not flagged as HP removal.
- When taking rear damage, his effective health increases by 19%/32%/47%/67%.
- When taking side damage, his effective health increases by 9%/14%/19%/25%.

Checks the damage source's current position and compares it to Bristleback's facing angle on each damage instance.
- This means on damage over time effects (i.e. Liquid Fire), damage of an instance is only reduced when within the right angle.
- Damage from Death Ward, Proximity Mines is reduced when facing away from them, since they are their own source.

Passive Quill Sprays proc when Bristleback's back (not sides) collectively takes 210 damage (after all reductions).
- The damage counter has no time limit. It only resets once a passive spray occurs.
- Any exceeding damage is completely ignored, meaning that if an enemy deals an instance of 420 damage, the passive triggers only once.
- Does not count damage which has the HP removal or the no-reflection flag.
- Passive quills do not proc if Quill Spray is not learnt.
- Passive Quill Spray procs do not cost mana, have no cooldown, are independent from the active ability's cooldown, and do not trigger Warpath.

Hairball

▶️

▶️DB

Ability
Target Area

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Physical

Coughs a quill-packed hairball towards the target location. Erupts at the location, hitting enemies in a 700 radius with Goo and 2 Quills.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: 1500

Radius: 700

Number of Viscous Nasal Goo: 1

Number of Quill Sprays: 2

Quill Spray Interval: 0.1

20

100

Viscous Nasal Goo does not target spell immune units. Quill Spray pierces spell immunity.

Viscous Nasal Goo is blocked on impact by Spell Block. Quill Spray is not blocked.

Viscous Nasal Goo can be disjointed.

Modifiers

modifier_bristleback_quillspray_thinker: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_bristleback_quill_spray: Dispellable with death only.

modifier_bristleback_quill_spray_stack: Dispellable with death only.

modifier_bristleback_viscous_nasal_goo: Dispellable with any dispel.

Ability Draft Notes:

Viscous Nasal Goo must be drafted as well for it to get applied.

Requires drafting

Viscous Nasal Goo to be unlocked. Initially hidden, can be swapped out with Quill Spray.

Notes:

Requires Aghanim's Shard to be unlocked.

The hairball travels at a speed of 1200.

The Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray released are based on the current level respectively.
- If neither are leveled, the ball does nothing upon reaching the targeted area.
- Checks for their level upon projectile impact.

Once the hairball reaches the center of the area, every enemy within the radius gets targeted by Viscsous Nasal Goo.
- Viscous Nasal Goo does not target invisible units or units inside the Fog of War.
- At the same time, a Quill Spray is released. The second Quill Spray is released 2 seconds later.
- The goo and spray work identical to regular casts.

Since Quill Spray travels faster than Viscous Nasal Goo, the quills always hit enemies before the goo does, so the quills do not benefit from the armor reduction.

Warpath

RW

Ability
Passive

Affects
Self

Bristleback works himself up into a fury every time he casts a spell, increasing his movement speed and damage.

Max Stacks: 5/7/9

Attack Damage Bonus per Stack: 25/30/35 (

49/54/59)

Move Speed Bonus per Stack: 3%/4%/5%

Stack Duration: 16/18/20

Prevents gaining new stacks. Already existing stacks still provide bonus movement speed and attack damage.

Whenever Bristleback gains a stack, all his illusions gain one as well. Illusions do not benefit from the raw damage bonuses.

Modifiers

modifier_bristleback_warpath: Undispellable. Persists death.

modifier_bristleback_warpath_stack: Dispellable with death only.

'Temper, temper,' his mum always chided. But in a fight, a temper can come in handy.

Notes:

Does not trigger on active item abilities, on abilities with 0 cooldown, or on abilities which do not trigger on-cast effects.
- The passive Quill Spray procs of Bristleback do not trigger Warpath either.

Bristleback's model size increases and more particles fly around him the more stacks he has.

Stacks up to 5/7/9 times, meaning it can give at most 125/210/315 ( 245/378/531) bonus attack damage and 15%/28%/45% movement speed.

Each stack has its own duration, successive spell casts do not refresh the duration of previous stacks.
- Only the first cast's buff is visible in the HUD. This buff has a number on it, showing the current amount of stacks.

Quill Spray Damage Calculations[]

Quill Spray Level	Number of Stacks for Max Damage (550)
Quill Spray Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Level 1 ()	25	53	81	109	137	165	193	221	249	277	305	333	361	389	417	445	473	501	529	550
Level 1 ()	25	73	121	169	217	265	313	361	409	457	505	550
Level 2 ()	45	75	105	135	165	195	225	255	285	315	345	375	405	435	465	495	525	550
Level 2 ()	45	95	145	195	245	295	345	395	445	495	545	550
Level 3 ()	65	97	129	161	193	225	257	289	321	353	385	417	449	481	513	545	550
Level 3 ()	65	117	169	221	273	325	377	429	481	533	550
Level 4 ()	85	119	153	187	221	255	289	323	357	391	425	459	493	527	550
Level 4 ()	85	139	193	247	301	355	409	463	517	550

Talents[]

Hero Talents
+24 Warpath Damage Per Stack	25	13% Spell Lifesteal
+20 Quill Stack Damage	20	+20 Health Regen
+20 Attack Speed	15	+200 Health
+2 Mana Regen	10	+15 Damage

Notes:

This attack damage talent is added as bonus attack damage.
- Does not benefit illusions and is not affected by most percentage-based damage increasing or reducing effects.

The health talent increases maximum health capacity, and keeps the current health percentage.

The spell lifesteal talent stacks additively with other sources of spell lifesteal.
- Heals for 2.6% from non-hero units. Treats creep-heroes as creeps and does not heal off of illusions.

Recent Changes[]

Main Article: Bristleback/Changelogs

Version

Description

7.30d

Increased Warpath stack duration from 16 on each level to 16/18/20.

7.30

Increased health regeneration from 0 to 0.25.
Reduced Viscous Nasal Goo base movement speed slow from 20% to 15%.
Increased Warpath stack duration from 14 to 16.
Aghanim's Scepter upgrade:
- Viscous Nasal Goo
  - Reduced radius from 900 to 800.
  - Reduced max stacks from 8 to 7.

7.29d

Increased Viscous Nasal Goo cooldown from 1.5 to 1.75.
Aghanim's Scepter upgrade:
- Reduced Viscous Nasal Goo radius from 950 to 900.

Recommended Items[]

Starting items:

Tango keeps Bristleback healthy in lane.
Enchanted Mango gives passive health regeneration and burst mana when needed.

Early game:

Boots of Speed gives valuable movement speed.
Ring of Health helps to sustain in the lane and builds into both Vanguard and Hood of Defiance.
Soul Ring provides you with virtually unlimited mana and synergizes well with Ring of Health.
Magic Wand keeps Bristleback in the fight, giving him a chance to potentially use up charges twice for very large amounts of healing, and every two charges will grant him enough mana for an extra Quill Spray or Viscous Nasal Goo.

Mid game:

Phase Boots gives armor and further assists in Bristleback's ability to chase.
Arcane Boots is a decent alternative to solve the mana issue Bristleback has in the early game. It can be disassemble later to build Lotus Orb and Boots of Travel.
Vanguard is one of a few strong early to mid-game pickups on Bristleback. It is best against teams that have a large amount of physical damage. Note that the damage block is deducted from the full attack damage, before any damage reduction (such as from armor or the Bristleback ability) takes place. It builds into a Crimson Guard.
Hood of Defiance, as opposed to Vanguard, is a much stronger choice when the enemies rather rely on magical damage. It upgrades into a Pipe of Insight or Eternal Shroud.
Solar Crest provides survivability with armor and attributes. The mana regeneration also helps with casting spells.
Aghanim's Scepter is a strong utility item on Bristleback, turning his Viscous Nasal Goo into an AoE slow and armor reduction with high cast range and no cast point. Bristleback will get a full Warpath stack and high damage output, allowing him to run at max movement speed at all times while having his damage increased considerably.

Late game:

Lotus Orb further bolsters defense with armor and health regeneration. Echo Shell can also dispel silences that plague Bristleback, while reflecting many targeted spells back to enemy casters. The mana and mana regeneration also help him to continuously cast Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray.
Shiva's Guard is another large armor item, and it fixes any mana issues Bristleback can have. The active ability also gives Bristleback more presence in teamfights, damaging and slowing enemies in a huge area.
Heart of Tarrasque grants a huge amount of health and gives you significant regeneration. It helps in siege situations, where you can soak up lots of damage and then wait a short time to be back at full health. The immense health boost allows Bristleback to use the passive Quill Spray to their full potential, as he can tank significantly more, retreat to heal up and then repeat.

Situational items:

Blade Mail is a hybrid pickup of damage and defense. It is strong against teams with high amounts of burst damage, either causing the enemies to take the damage themselves as well, or forcing them to not use their burst damage, giving Bristleback some time to deal with them.
Heaven's Halberd is a strong pickup if you're not the hardest carry on your team or the enemy team only has one physical damage dealer that it can be used on. The evasion, status resistance, and strength increase can add a lot to Bristleback's survivability.
Crimson Guard is built off of a Vanguard, which is also a good item on Bristleback, and is an item any team should have if up against a physical damage heavy lineup.
Pipe of Insight is built off of a Hood of Defiance, which is also a good item on Bristleback, and is an item any team should have one of if there are any dangerous nukers on the enemy team.
Radiance is great on Bristleback if you can get it early in the game after a couple of items to tank up. This is basically a get-more-ahead item, as if you're hard to kill despite putting so much gold into an offensive item, it can be the best item to snowball the rest of the game by farming quickly and dealing massive area damage in teamfights. However, if you get this item at the cost of being tanky, this is a terrible item to pick up.
Octarine Core increases his damage output by lowering Quill Spray's cooldown time.
Assault Cuirass has amazing synergy with Bristleback, as it is one of the few items that can increase the damage of his Quill Spray. It also increases his and his team's tankiness against physical damage, and the attack speed greatly increases his attack damage output thanks to Warpath. It also is a great pickup if there are other carries on your team which rely on physical attacks.

Gameplay[]


Roles:	Carry Durable Initiator Nuker
Complexity:	★☆☆
Playstyle:	The enforcer at a local pub, Rigwarl's never failed to collect a tab. That is, until he met one tough customer from the north. For the first time in his life, Rigwarl felt the need to train. His thorny back deters attack while peppering foes with constant Quill Sprays. From his nose he blows thick gobs of snot, slowing and covering opponents in Viscous Nasal Goo. With every volley and every sneeze, Rigwarl works himself into a fury, adding rage to each blow as he goes on the Warpath in search of a rematch.

Strategy & Tips

Counters &
Matchups

Audio[]

Responses

Sounds

History[]

Lore

Old Abilities

Changelogs

Equipment[]

Trivia[]

In DotA, Bristleback's hero model was a quillboar, having a much more boar-like appearance. His loss of boar-like features in Dota 2 was likely made to distinguish him from the quillboar race in the Warcraft universe. [1] As well, his hero title shares the name of a large quillboar tribe in World of Warcraft. [2]
- Beta information revealed that Bristleback's original name was supposedly to be "Bristlebog", probably to avoid conflict with the aforementioned Bristleback tribe in World of Warcraft.
- According to an unused voice response, Bristleback was originally designed with tusks.^[1]
- According to Lycan's response (▶️ A boar is a wolf's natural prey), one of Bristleback's early designs resembled a boar.
A silhouette of what appears to be Skywrath Mage can be seen in Bristleback's splash artwork, seemingly still having a beta model/texture.