Bristleback Guide

Items

Starting:

• Stout Shield is a strong pickup, as it helps cut down on lane harass when Bristleback is at his least tanky state and builds into Vanguard.

Early-game:

• Ring of Health builds into both Vanguard and Hood of Defiance and can be picked up in the Side Shop, letting Bristleback weather almost any harass in lane.
• Ring of Basilius   Item   Changelogs     Ring of BasiliusB Ring given as a reward to the greatest mages. Cost500 Bought FromSupport Passive Basilius Aura Bonus +7 Attack damage Disassemble? Yes Alert allies? No Recipe The makes you slightly tankier and significantly increases your mana regen in the early game, as Bristleback starts with low intelligence, but has high intelligence gain. This means that disassembling the ring to make an Urn of Shadows or a Medallion of Courage is viable after Bristleback reaches 33 intelligence, naturally reached at level 7.
• Magic Stick and Magic Wand   Item   Changelogs     Magic WandB A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost465 Bought FromCommon Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Bonus are great on Bristleback, as he wants to be in a fight for as long as possible, 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.

Core:

• Power Treads are the boots of choice on Bristleback, as they make him tankier and increase his attack speed, which goes well with Warpath.
• 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, and especially against teams with summons ( Enigma, Visage, etc) or dominated creeps ( Enchantress, Chen). Note that the damage block is deducted from the full attack damage, before any damage reduction (such as from armor Armor is an attribute shared by all units. Armor is used to determine the amount of damage reduction (or amplification if an armor value is negative) a unit takes from physical damage sources. Higher armor or the Bristleback ability) takes place. 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.

Situational:

• 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 as well as the strength increase can add a lot to Bristleback`s effective health.
• 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.
• Crimson Guard is built off of a Vanguard, which is also a good item on Bristleback, and is an item any team should have one of 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.
• Shiva`s Guard is another large armor Armor is an attribute shared by all units. Armor is used to determine the amount of damage reduction (or amplification if an armor value is negative) a unit takes from physical damage sources. Higher armor item, and it fixes any mana Play Out of mana! “ Play It s a new age of magic! Click to listen— Keeper of the Light ” Mana (also known as MP, which is short for mana points) represents the magic power of a 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 when not in a fight against heroes. 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.
• 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. Be that as it may, if you get this item at the cost of being tanky, this is a terrible item to pick up.

Gameplay

Playstyle
Bristleback   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Bristleback 22 + 2.2 17 + 1.8 14 + 2.8 Level Base is a very good tank not only because of his formidable health pool, but also because of one of his abilities Bristleback, making him more durable when fighting with his back against his enemy. His Viscous Nasal Goo helps slow down enemy and reducing its armor, Quill Spray help dealing stack damage, and Warpath further increases his attack damage and movement speed. Being a carry and a tank at the same time, he can easily become team`s initiator, capable of dealing and taking tons of damages in a teamfight.
Pros	Cons
Very durable. Good physical damage. Effective ganker early and mid game. Can chase down fleeing enemy easily.	Low Str compared to other Str Heroes Low Agi gain and armor Has mana issues in early and mid game. Not effective against high-armor heroes.

Videos

Info

Hero

Strategy

Counters   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Bad against... 1.1 Others 1.2 Items 2 Good against... 2.1

Equipment   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e Bristleback Equipment (collapse sets)Sets Charge of the Wrathrunner Debts of the Nightwatchman Emerald

Gear   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     This is a list of cosmetic items that reflects Bristleback s design aesthetics.

Responses   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Voice responses Hero responses Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe Bane

Sounds   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Dota 2 Sounds Hero Sounds Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe

Lore   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Rigwarl, the Bristleback Never one to turn his back on a fight,

Old Abilities   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Quill Spray (pre 6.33) WR AbilityNo Target AffectsEnemies DamageMagical Begins spraying quills

Changelogs   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Version history 2 Patch history Version history edit] Version Description

Ability Builds

Talents

Hero Talents   Main   Table of Gained Bonuses     The Talent Selection interface. Talents are traits unique to each hero. They are chosen every 5th level starting at level 10, offering a permanent choice between
+25 Quill Spray Stack Damage	25	+30 Health Regen
10% Spell Lifesteal	20	+50 Attack Speed
+4 Max Goo Stacks	15	+225 Health
+2 Mana Regen	10	+8 Strength Strength is the attribute that grants health and health regeneration. For each point of strength a hero gets: 20 Health 0.06 Health regeneration Additionally, strength heroes also get 1 attack damage per strength point. To

Notes:

• Health regen and mana regen are added as bonuses and do not benefit illusions.

• Upgrading health increases maximum health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

• The spell lifesteal stacks additively with that of Octarine Core   Item   Changelogs     Octarine CoreS At the core of spellcraft are spectrums only the very gifted can sense. Cost5900 Bought FromCaster Passive Cooldown Reduction, Spell Lifesteal Bonus +25 Intelligence+425 Health+425 Mana Disassemble? .

• The spell lifesteal heals for 2% from non-hero units. Treats creep-heroes as creeps and does not heal off of illusions Default buff iconPlay Spawn soundPlay Death sound “ Play A legion sprouts from one! Click to listen— Phantom Lancer ” Illusions (also commonly called illus) are imperfect, weaker copies of heroes, created by spells or items. They .

General

• Bristleback`s mana Play Out of mana! “ Play It s a new age of magic! Click to listen— Keeper of the Light ” Mana (also known as MP, which is short for mana points) represents the magic power of a woes can easily be remedied by a Sage`s Mask   Item   Changelogs     Sage s MaskBL A mask commonly used by mages and warlocks for various rituals. Cost325 Bought FromArcane Bonus +50% Mana regeneration Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Sage s Mask or a Ring of Basilius   Item   Changelogs     Ring of BasiliusB Ring given as a reward to the greatest mages. Cost500 Bought FromSupport Passive Basilius Aura Bonus +7 Attack damage Disassemble? Yes Alert allies? No Recipe The , since his abilities have extremely low mana Play Out of mana! “ Play It s a new age of magic! Click to listen— Keeper of the Light ” Mana (also known as MP, which is short for mana points) represents the magic power of a costs.
• One of Bristleback`s main weaknesses is his lack of disables Disables (also called crowd control, or CC) refer to any abilities or status effects that prevent, impede, or otherwise inhibit a Hero from acting. Disables come in many different varieties, and most Heroes have access , meaning he cannot silence Play Silence! Silence is a status effect that prevents those affected from using active hero abilities for the duration of the silence. It can be useful when ganking a hero with a blink or invisibility or interrupt an enemy from casting spells. You can either rely on your teammates for disables Disables (also called crowd control, or CC) refer to any abilities or status effects that prevent, impede, or otherwise inhibit a Hero from acting. Disables come in many different varieties, and most Heroes have access , or buy an item of your own, so long as it benefits him in some way (a good example would be a Scythe of Vyse   Item   Changelogs     Scythe of Vyse The most guarded relic among the cult of Vyse, it is the most coveted weapon among magi. Cost5700 Bought FromCaster Active Hex Bonus +10 Strength+10 Agility+35 , since it gives him good mana regeneration Play Out of mana! “ Play It s a new age of magic! Click to listen— Keeper of the Light ” Mana (also known as MP, which is short for mana points) represents the magic power of a for his abilities, and a devastating hex Hex (also referred to as Sheep or Polymorph) is a status effect which turns the affected unit into a harmless critter, disabling many of its fighting capabilities. Contents 1 Mechanics 2 Sources of Hex 3 disable).
• Beware Legion Commander   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Legion Commander 26 + 2.9 18 + 1.7 20 + 2.2 Level and Axe   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs   Known Bugs     Axe 25 + 2.8 20 + 2.2 18 + , as both of them have abilities that force you to turn and face them for a few seconds, ensuring their and their teams damage is not directed to your back and thus making you far more vulnerable in a teamfight.

Viscous Nasal Goo

• Viscous Nasal Goo has extremely useful effects, provided that you keep casting it against your target, as it slows A Slow is a type of status effect that reduces the afflicted units Movement Speed by a percentage, and/or Attack Speed by a flat value of their current speeds. Contents 1 Mechanics 1.1 Slowing movement their movement speed DPS multiplier when chasing Minimum (pursuer MS / target MS) Ratio for Maximum Chase DPS Movement speed (sometimes abbreviated as move speed or MS) is the speed at which a unit can move. Movement speed for a lot when stacked up. Since each casts fully refreshes the whole stack`s duration, and the duration is more than twice as long as the cooldown, after reaching the stack cap, you can time it so that you refresh the debuff before it expires, instead of continuously casting it whenever off cooldown. This way, you waste less of the duration, save some mana Play Out of mana! “ Play It s a new age of magic! Click to listen— Keeper of the Light ” Mana (also known as MP, which is short for mana points) represents the magic power of a for your quills and can catch up faster to your target.
  • This ability is very effective when combined with Warlock   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Warlock 22 + 2.8 10 + 1 24 + 2.7 Level Base `s Fatal Bonds, as the damage inflicted on the Viscous Nasal Goo target from other bound creeps or heroes is applied to the armor Armor is an attribute shared by all units. Armor is used to determine the amount of damage reduction (or amplification if an armor value is negative) a unit takes from physical damage sources. Higher armor reduced hero at said reduced value. This makes the Bristleback/ Warlock   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Warlock 22 + 2.8 10 + 1 24 + 2.7 Level Base lane combination very potent, even into the late game. When combined with area of effect items Play “Singing trio.” It has been suggested that this article or section be split into multiple new articles. Reason given: The shop should get its own page Discussion to support or oppose the split should be and attacks, a lot of damage can be dealt very quickly.

Quill Spray

• Quill Spray can be used to secure last hits, whether from range or timing it with your regular attack.

Bristleback

• Use your passive ability Bristleback to your advantage; anticipate enemy attacks and turn your back on them, so that you can reduce as much damage as you can.
  • Please note that you should not turn your back towards projectiles flying towards you, but the original damage source.
  • An early ability point on this ability during the laning phase can help you stay in the lane a while longer, especially if you are having trouble against attacks.

Warpath

• Even if your enemies can easily defend against you with a Magic Wand   Item   Changelogs     Magic WandB A simple wand used to channel magic energies, it is favored by apprentice wizards and great warlocks alike. Cost465 Bought FromCommon Active Energy Charge Charges 0 Bonus , you can still heavily damage them with Warpath; as long as you`re stacking your spells against them, the bonus damage will do its job.