Tusk

Tusk 23 + 3.9 23 + 2.1 18 + 1.7
	+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


Snowballs into his enemies to stun.
Amidst broken stools and shattered bottles, the bewildered barkeep issued Ymir his greatest challenge. Find a proper battle, and win it for whichever side he chose. With that, the champion brawler strode forth, bringing with him the northern elements in the form of a frozen sigil. Able to instantly corner an enemy with a wall of Ice Shards, cutting off all retreat. He understands a Tag Team is only as strong as its weakest member. Gathering both snow and allies, he rolls into battle as an unstoppable Snowball at will, stunning foes in its path. For a finale, the Tusk winds up his drinking arm, and launches his opponent into orbit with a mighty uppercut — his solid signature Walrus PUNCH!

Roles:	Initiator Disabler Nuker
Complexity:	★☆☆

Bio[]

Ymir, the Tusk

▶️ "After a bar brawl it's customary, as a courtesy, to buy everyone who's still standing a round of drinks."

Lore:

It had been a brawl to remember. There stood Ymir, the Tusk, the Terror from the Barrier, the Snowball from Cobalt, the only fighter to have bested the Bristled Bruiser in a fair fight, and now the last man standing in Wolfsden Tavern. What started as a simple bar bet of supremacy ended with four regulars, a blacksmith, and six of the Frost Brigade's best soldiers writhing against the shards and splinters of almost every bottle, mug, and chair in the building. The Tusk boasted and toasted his victory as he emptied his brew.

No sooner had the defeated regained consciousness than the cries for double-or-nothing rang out. The Tusk was pleased at the prospect, but none could think of a bet bigger than the one he just conquered. Horrified at the damage to his tavern and desperate to avoid another brawl, the barkeep had an idea. As skilled as he was, Ymir had never taken part in a real battle, never tested himself against the indiscriminate death and chaos of war. He proposed a wager to the fighter: seek out the biggest battle he could find, survive, and win it for whichever side he chose. The stakes? The next round of drinks.

Voice:

Tom Chantler (Responses)

Abilities[]

Ice Shards

▶️

▶️QE

Ability
Target Point

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

Tusk compresses shards of ice into a ball of frozen energy that damages all enemies it comes in contact with. When the ball reaches its target destination the shards are released, creating a barrier that lasts for 4/5/6/7 seconds.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: 1800

Damage Radius: 200

Shards Spawn Radius: 200

Shards Spawn Angle: 40°

Number of Shards: 7 (

11)

Damage: 75/150/225/300

Shards Duration: 4/5/6/7

Damage per Second: 60

Move Speed Slow: 40%

Aura Linger Duration: 0.5

23/20/17/14 (

17/14/11/8)

100

Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:

Increases depth of Ice Shards, and enemies trapped within an ice shard are slowed and take damage per second.

Spell Immunity Notes:

Pathing block affects spell immune units.

Does not attempt to damage spell immune enemies.

The slow persists and attempts to damage if debuff was placed before spell immunity and when not dispelled.

Modifiers []

In the frozen tundra near the Barrier, after the last sun of autumn has set, ice can form with alarming speed.

Notes:

The projectile has 100 radius flying vision, and travels at a speed of 1200 until reaching the targeted point.
- This vision last for 2 seconds at the targeted point upon reaching it.

Ice Shards are always created in the same formation.
- The open side of the shards circle is always facing towards Tusk's position upon cast.
- The shards' formation is a 200 radius circle with one open side. The center of the circle is 200 range before the targeted point.
- The first shard is always created at the targeted point, in one line with Tusk's position upon cast.
- The next shards are placed 40° further to the left and the right respectively, up to 6 shards (9 shards would form a full circle).
- Each shard's collision radius is approximately 67, and the distance between them is about 6, which is too small for any unit to move through.
- With Aghanim's Shard, 4 additional shards are placed to the left and right side of the last shards at the semi-circle's opening, forming a U-shape.
  - The shape has a width of 200, and has a length of 480.
  - This effectively increases the length of Ice Shards' formation by 280 from the tails of the open circle.

Non-player-controlled units (i.e. lane creeps) do not try to path around Ice Shards, but simply walk against them as if they are not there.
- This effectively causes them to get stuck, until they change directions (e.g. when being aggro'd), or until the shards dissipate.

With Aghanim's Shard, two 200 radius auras are created at the centerline of the formation.
- The first source is placed at the center of the default shards formation, 200 range before the targeted point.
- The second source is placed 200 range behind the first source, between the additional 4 shards.
- Since both sources overlap, the auras cover a total length of 600.
- The damage per second and movement speed slow effects are provided by the auras. The debuff lingers for 0.5 seconds.
- Deals damage in 1-second intervals, starting 1 second after the debuff is placed, resulting in up to 4 instances.
- Can deal up to 240/300/360/420 damage (before reductions) to a single unit within the area for the entire duration.

Snowball

▶️

▶️WW

Ability
Target Unit

Affects
Allies / Enemies

Damage
Magical

Tusk begins rolling into a snowball. Allies within a 350 radius can also be added to the snowball by right-clicking on them, even while the snowball is moving. Once launched, any enemies caught in the snowball's path will be stunned and take damage. Each allied Hero in the snowball will add to its damage.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: 1150

Damage/Stun Radius: 200

Radius Increase per Second: 40

Gather Radius: 350

Max Stationary Time: 3

Max Chase Duration: 3

Base Damage: 80/140/200/260 (

200/260/320/380)

Damage Bonus per Gathered Hero: 25/50/75/100

Snowball Speed: 600/625/650/675

Stun Duration: 0.5/0.75/1/1.25

21/19/17/15 (

13/11/9/7)

75

Spell Immunity Notes:

Cannot target spell immune enemies.

Does not attempt to damage or stun spell immune enemies.

Can gather spell immune allies inside the Snowball.

Modifiers []

Any

Strong

Tales are still told of the wild feat that ended the grand brawl at White Fields.

Notes:

The Snowball chases the target for up to 3 seconds and travels at a speed of 600/625/650/675.
- It can travel for up to 1800/1875/1950/2025 range.

Snowball destroys trees, and increases its radius by 40 per second up to 240/280/320 as it rolls forward.

Tusk can Right Click on allied heroes and clones to gather them into the Snowball at any point, even if they are invisible or invulnerable.
- Vice versa, allies can also Right Click the Snowball to jump inside as well.
- Cannot gather allies who have ☐ Disabled Help from Tusk.
- Allies affected by Flaming Lasso, Black Hole or Chronosphere cannot be gathered.
- However, attempting to gather in any ally affected by the aforementioned abilities still adds the gathered damage to Snowball.

Only gathered allied heroes and clones increase its damage.
- Can gather summoned units, illusions and creep-heroes, but it does not increase its damage. Cannot gather wards.

Units inside Snowball are invulnerable, hidden and spell immune. Allies inside the Snowball are also fully disabled.
- Tusk is muted and disarmed during Snowball. He can cast his abilities, but cannot use items or attack.

Tusk cannot be forced out of the Snowball, while other units within can still be forced out by teleporting abilities, without reducing the gathered damage.
- If he is teleported by Dark Rift while Snowball is rolling, Tusk is forced out and Snowball is fully canceled.

When Snowball connects with its target, Tusk is given an attack order on the target, regardless of auto-attack settings.

Snowball first applies the debuff, then the damage.

This is how much damage Snowball deals (before reductions) with a certain amount of heroes including Tusk:
- 1 Hero: 105/190/275/360 ( 225/310/395/480) damage.
- 2 Heroes: 130/240/350/460 ( 250/360/470/580) damage.
- 3 Heroes: 155/290/425/560 ( 275/410/545/680) damage.
- 4 Heroes: 180/340/500/660 ( 300/460/620/780) damage.
- Tusk is not counted, so if no allied heroes are gathered, only the base damage is applied.

A hidden debuff provides shared vision over the target until the Snowball stops. Does not provide True Sight.

Launch Snowball

WW

Ability
No Target

Launch the snowball toward the target.

Cast Animation: +

0

Sub-ability of Snowball.

Into the great wide white!

Notes:

Replaces Snowball until the sub-ability is used, or Snowball reaches its target or expires.
- Tusk is unable to ⇧ Shift-queue this ability.

Tag Team

▶️

▶️ET

Ability
No Target / Aura

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Physical

Temporarily applies a negative debuff aura around you, causing enemies that are attacked under it to take bonus physical damage and reduced movement speed. Lasts 5 seconds.

Cast Animation: +

Radius: 350

Attack Damage Bonus: 20/45/70/95 (

45/70/95/120)

Move Speed Slow: 75%

Slow Duration: 0.4

Aura Duration: 5

Aura Linger Duration: 0.5

24/21/18/15

70

Modifiers []

Any

Even far from Cobalt, Tusk carries the 'Barrier Chill' in his very bones.

Notes:

Interrupts Tusk's channeling abilities upon cast.

The debuff lingers for 0.5 seconds.

Attacks proccing Tag Team first place the movement speed slow debuff, then apply the bonus attack damage.

Tag Team's attack damage bonus procs conditionally. The attack damage bonus values are not displayed in the HUD.
- The bonus damage only procs on allied hero attacks (including illusions and clones, excluding creep-heroes), and on attacks done by Tusk's player-controlled units.
- The bonus damage is dealt in one instance together with the unit's attack damage, who procced the aura, and it is considered an attack damage bonus source.
- The attack damage bonus is considered by lifesteal, critical strike or cleave sources, and can be reduced only by flat reduction sources (e.g. damage block).
- Since it is considered as a bonus attack damage source, it neither benefit illusions nor is affected by percentage-based attack damage bonuses or reduction sources.

The movement speed slow from multiple attacks and/or attack sources fully stacks, with each attack placing a separate debuff.

Walrus Kick

▶️DD

Ability
Target Point / Vector Targeting

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

Kicks the closest enemy unit in a targeted direction, stunning, damaging, and slowing them. Also deals damage to all heroes within 250 radius of its landing area. Cooldown is reduced by 50% if kicking a creep.

Cast Animation: +

Cast Range: Global

Search/Landing Damage Radius: 250

Knockback Distance: 1400

Damage: 350

Move Speed Slow: 40%

Slow Duration: 5

Stun Duration: 1

12/6

100

Modifiers []

Any

Ability Draft Notes:

Requires drafting

Walrus PUNCH! to be unlocked.

Tusk may have made his name with his fists, but the wise enemy is wary of any and all limbs.

Notes:

Requires Aghanim's Scepter to be unlocked.

Walrus Kick is not an active attack modifier.

Chooses the closest enemy unit within the search radius, kicking them towards the targeted point.
- Prioritizes heroes, illusions and clones over creeps. Treats creep-heroes as heroes.
- Can be cast on creeps as well, using the lower cooldown when doing so.
- Cannot target or affect ancient creeps.
- The enemy target does not need to be in front of Tusk, it can be behind him as well, as long as they are within the 250 search radius.
- If no enemies are within range, the cooldown gets reset and the mana cost refunded.

The target is kicked away from Tusk in an arc 1400 range far and 360 range high.
- Walrus Kick cannot be overridden by any other forced movement sources.
- While in the air, other units may pass below the kicked unit.

Upon landing at the targeted point, it also deals 350 damage to units within 250 radius around the target.

Upon cast, the stun and movement speed slow are applied at the same time, so the effective movement speed slow duration is 4 seconds.

Walrus Kick first applies the slow debuff, then the knockback debuff, then the damage.

Destroys trees within a 100 radius around the affected unit during the knockback.

Walrus PUNCH!

▶️RR

Ability
Target Unit / Autocast
(

Passive)

Affects
Enemies

Tusk connects with his mighty Walrus Punch, a critical strike so powerful it launches its victim into the air. The victim is slowed upon landing.

Self Attack Animation Speed Bonus: 50%

Critical Damage: 300%/350%/400% (

375%/425%/475%)

Move Speed Slow: 40%

Slow Duration: 2/3/4

Stun Duration: 1 (

1.5)

Proc Chance: 12%

20/15/10

75

Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:

New Ability

Grants the Walrus Kick ability.

Break Notes:

Does not disable the passive proc chance.

Illusion Notes:

Passive proc chance is not functional.

Modifiers []

Any

It never matters who throws the first punch, only who throws the last.

Notes:

The cast range of Walrus Punch is based on the attack range of the caster.
- The cast range can be further increased by other attack range bonuses. However, it is not affected by cast range bonuses.
- Both Autocast and manually casting it uses Tusk's current attack range.

The attack from Walrus PUNCH! cannot miss.
- Despite being an active attack modifier, Walrus PUNCH! procs all on-cast effects like a regular ability.
- Can be cast on every enemy unit, except wards, buildings, and allied units.
- However, when cast on Roshan, only the stun and movement speed slow are applied.

The victim is hurled 650 range (or 1200 range if lethal) into the air during the stun duration. The speed adapts to changed stun duration.
- Walrus PUNCH! cannot be overridden by any other upward movement sources.

While in the air, other units may pass below the hurled unit.

Upon cast, the stun and movement speed slow are applied at the same time, so the effective movement speed slow duration is 1/2/3 ( 0.5/1.5/2.5).

The punch first applies the knockback debuff, then the slow debuff, then the damage.

Plays a sound as soon as the attack starts. The sound only stops playing upon landing the punch.

The Walrus PUNCH! passive proc talent has a 12% chance to proc Walrus PUNCH! based on its current level on regular attacks.
- It can only proc when Tusk lands an attack on the attacked target. This means it cannot proc on missed attacks.
- These procs are independent from the cooldown, they do not trigger the cooldown and work while on cooldown.
- They do not cost mana or proc on-cast effects either.
- When Walrus PUNCH! procs during a manual cast or Autocast order, the proc takes priority.
- The passive procs use pseudo-random distribution.

Adds an average of 24% ( 33%) damage to every attack.

Talents[]

Hero Talents
-8s Snowball Cooldown	25	12% Chance Walrus Punch
+75% Walrus Punch Crit	20	-6s Ice Shards Cooldown
+120 Snowball Damage	15	+325 Health
+0.5s Walrus Punch Stun Duration	10	+25 Tag Team Damage

Notes:

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

Recent Changes[]

Main Article: Tusk/Changelogs

Version

Description

7.31

Reduced movement speed from 315 to 310.
Increased Ice Shards damage from 70/140/210/280 to 75/150/225/300.
Increased Snowball base damage from 80/120/160/200 to 80/140/200/260.
Walrus PUNCH!
- Reduced critical damage from 350%/375%/400% to 300%/350%/400%.
- Reduced cooldown from 36/24/12 to 20/15/10.
- Rescaled mana cost from 50/75/100 to 75 on each level.
Aghanim's Scepter upgrade:
- Walrus Kick
  - Changed ability targeting type from point-targeted to unit-targeted/vector targeting.
  - Now also deals 350 damage within 250 radius of the landing area.
  - Cooldown is reduced by 50% when kicking a creep.
  - Increased cooldown from 8 to 12.
Talents:

Level 10 left talent: +0.4s

Walrus PUNCH! stun duration increased to +0.5s.

Level 20 left talent: +80%

Walrus PUNCH! critical damage reduced to +75%.

7.30c

Reduced Snowball cooldown from 21/20/19/18 to 21/19/17/15.
Increased Walrus PUNCH! critical damage from 350% on each level to 350%/375%/400%.
Talents:

Level 25 left talent: -10s

Snowball cooldown reduced to -8s.

7.30

Increased Snowball damage bonus per gathered hero from 20/40/60/80 to 25/50/75/100.
Reworked Aghanim's Shard upgrade:
- Old: Grants Tusk the Frozen Sigil ability.
- New: Increases Ice Shards length by 300 and causes enemies within the shards to have their movement speed slowed by 40% and take 60 damage per second.
Talents:

Level 10 right talent changed: +8 health regen ➜ +25

Tag Team attack damage bonus.

Recommended Items[]

Starting items:

Tango gives Tusk health sustain in-lane, allowing him to survive enemy harass and continue gaining gold and experience.
Healing Salve also restores health to Tusk.
Clarity allows Tusk to replenish his mana pool from casting spells, important since all of his basic spells are very expensive and will consume a sizable fraction of his small base mana pool. In particular, Ice Shards can consume almost half of Tusk's mana pool, so having enough mana to cast his full combo can make or break getting first blood.
Iron Branch gives Tusk attributes, important for beefing up his health, base damage, and mana to increase his survivability in lane. It builds into Magic Wand later on.
Enchanted Mango is a useful starting item to purchase, as it gives Tusk some passive HP regen, mitigating harass damage, and a way to instantly replenish mana for casting his spells in a pinch.
Orb of Venom is a strong pickup in any situation, but particularly if Tusk is a roamer. Applying the slow debuff can reduce an enemy's chances of escaping, and stacks alongside Tag Team to help chase down fleeing enemies.

Early game:

Boots of Speed is important to purchase early on, as Tusk relies on good positioning in order to make the most of his spells. He can more easily chase down enemies during ganks, or escape pursuers.
Magic Wand's charge storage allows Tusk to immediately replenish his HP and mana, which can make or break fights or ganks given his powerful spells.
Urn of Shadows gives Tusk many benefits for a cheap price. As a highly mobile ganker, Tusk can easily get charges with which to heal himself and teammates or deal more damage in ganks; as well, Urn charges can instantly put enemy Blink Daggers on cooldown from a distance. The item also provides strength, giving Tusk more HP and base damage, and scaling mana regen to help him to cast spells more easily.

Mid game:

Phase Boots's bonus to attack damage increase damage done with Walrus PUNCH!. He can use the active to keep close to the enemies during Tag Team.
Drum of Endurance gives Tusk attributes that give him more health, damage, and a larger mana pool to work with. The active improves his mobility and gives his team an edge when engaging the enemy.

Late game:

Blink Dagger is powerful in many situations. As Tusk requires good positioning to use his spells, Blink Dagger can allow him to immediately get within range to cast a disable. In a pinch, it can also be used to jump on top of a beleaguered ally to protect them with Snowball, or as an escape mechanism after casting Snowball to protect himself long enough for it to come off cooldown.
Aghanim's Scepter unlocks Walrus Kick, greatly increasing Tusk's impact in fights and ganks. The item also makes Tusk tankier and improves his mana pool to sustain his spell casting.
Lotus Orb gives Tusk increased survivability when initiating against powerful enemies. Besides giving him more armor to aid survivability, Echo Shell allows Tusk to use the enemy's unit-targeted spells against them should they attempt to target him during initiations, and can otherwise give him a larger window to act while the enemy hesitates. The scaling mana regen also helps Tusk to maintain casting his spells.

Situational items:

Bottle is very powerful on mobile initiators like Tusk, since he can roam and set up kills for his team, and as such benefits from always being at full HP and mana should a gank opportunity arise. As well, he can take advantage of runes to increase his ganking power.
Desolator gives Tusk increased bonus damage, and allows him to apply an armor debuff to enemies, particularly when combined with Walrus PUNCH.
Shadow Blade increases Tusk's physical damage output, and gives him yet another initiation ability. Shadow Walk can be used to deal tremendous physical damage to a gank target with Walrus PUNCH!, or can be cast to escape in a tight situation.
Heaven's Halberd helps make Tusk a better all-around fighter through its various bonuses. It grants more strength, status resistance, and evasion for increased survivability, and a disarm to shut down enemy carries.
Assault Cuirass is a strong aura and fighting item that, while expensive, can greatly improve Tusk's damage output. The increased armor makes Tusk much tankier, and the attack speed helps him to deal more damage. The aura can be easily utilized due to Snowball giving Tusk a way to get close to enemies, and its armor debuff can increase the hitting power of Walrus PUNCH!.
Solar Crest gives Tusk armor and attributes to make Tusk tankier, and the mana regeneration helps to sustain his expensive but powerful abilities. Using the active on an enemy during initiation can increase the amount of damage they take from Walrus PUNCH! and allied attacks, as well as lowering their movement and attack speed.
Silver Edge can greatly augment Tusk's initiating power. Besides improving Tusk's damage output, applying a break to an important target can disable their passive abilities, making them a much smaller threat in an engagement.
Blade Mail is a powerful survivability item that fills in many of Tusk's deficiencies. The armor makes him tankier, the intelligence shores up his small mana pool, and the damage improves the potency of Walrus PUNCH!. Using the active can discourage enemies from attacking Tusk, and can allow him to use his HP pool offensively against gank targets who try to fight back.
Soul Ring provides health regeneration, allowing Tusk to roam more independently, and lets Tusk dip into his HP pool to cast his spells, allowing him to be more active on the map.
Arcane Boots increases the size of Tusk's mana pool and gives him a means with which to replenish it, along with that of his teammates. Being able to easily sustain his own mana pool allows Tusk to stay on the go and use his spells to set up kills for his team.
Force Staff is a strong utility item that increases Tusk's mobility. It provides intelligence, improving his mana pool, and gives him HP regen to keep his health topped up. The active can be used as an initiation booster to help Tusk position himself to cast his spells, as a quick escape, or can be used on allies to re-position them for various purposes. It can also be cast on enemies to dis-position them, or to break an enemy Linken's Sphere during initiation.

Gameplay[]

Strategy & Tips

Counters &
Matchups

Audio[]

Responses

Sounds

History[]

Lore

Old Abilities

Changelogs

Equipment[]

Trivia[]

In DotA, Tusk's title is Tuskarr. The Tuskarr are a race of humanoid walruses in the Warcraft universe.
His response ▶️ "Falcon Punch!" is a reference to Captain Falcon's signature move in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, which has also become a popular internet meme.
His response ▶️ "Bang! Zoom! To the Mad Moon!" is likely a reference to The Honeymooners character Ralph Kramden, who would frequently say "Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!".
His response ▶️ "Coulda been a contender." is likely a reference to the quote from the movie On the Waterfront.
His response ▶️ "My fight money." is likely a reference to Balrog from Street Fighter who says the same thing whenever he loses a round.
His response to missing a Walrus Punch, ▶️ "Well there's your problem." is likely a reference to Adam Savage from Mythbusters, who has made it a show catchphrase. Savage often jokes that the mustache of his co-host Jamie Hyneman makes him look like a walrus.
His response ▶️ "Double Dragon Punch Punch!" is a reference to the game, "Double Dragon".
In Tusk's lore, the Bristled Bruiser is Bristleback, who was ported to Dota 2 roughly a month after Tusk; Bristleback's lore makes mention of Tusk as well, and the two heroes share rival and ally lines with regards to this relationship.
Before 6.80, where Walrus PUNCH! dealt higher crit damage to targets below 50% health, the floating text above the target would change:
- When landed on an enemy creep whose health was above 50%, the caption read "Penguin Punch!" in small blue letters.
- When landed on an enemy hero whose health was above 50%, the caption read "Polar Punch!" in medium blue letters.
- When landed on any enemy whose health was below 50%, it read "Walrus Punch!" in large letters.
- In the current version, it always displays "Walrus Punch", no matter what is targeted.
Rubick's version of Walrus Punch would throw a projectile which uses Rubick's model and spins towards the target. When used on Tusk, it would read "Sucker Punch!" in green. On other targets, it read "Stolen Punch".
Tusk's name "Ymir" might possibly be based from the Nordic Folklore.