Bristleback
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). <br><br>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.
Base STR
22 +2.8
Base AGI
17 +1.8
Base INT
14 +2.8
Move Speed
295
Attack Range
150
Base Armor
1
Attack DMG
31–37
Projectile
900
Innate Abilities
Prickly
Bristleback has bonus damage and debuff duration amp against enemy heroes that are behind him.
DAMAGE AND DEBUFF DURATION AMP:
4.5%
Abilities
Viscous Nasal Goo
Cooldown
1.75s
Mana
12 / 16 / 20 / 24
Covers a target in snot, causing it to have reduced armor and movement speed for 5 seconds. Multiple casts stack and refresh the duration.
BASE ARMOR LOSS:
1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3
ARMOR LOSS PER STACK:
2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5
BASE MOVEMENT SLOW:
12%
MOVE SLOW PER STACK:
3 / 6 / 9 / 12%
STACK LIMIT:
6
Having caught a cold while stuck in the snow, Bristleback turns it to his advantage.
Quill Spray
Cooldown
3s
Mana
35
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.
RADIUS:
700
QUILL BASE DAMAGE:
25 / 45 / 65 / 85
QUILL STACK DAMAGE:
30
STACK DURATION:
14
MAX DAMAGE:
500
- Quill Spray damage is not reduced by damage block abilities.
An enforcer's honor can be a prickly thing. So can his quills.
Bristleback
Bristleback takes less damage if hit on the sides or rear. If Bristleback takes enough damage from the rear, he releases a Quill Spray of the current level.
SIDE DAMAGE REDUCTION:
8 / 12 / 16 / 20%
BACK DAMAGE REDUCTION:
16 / 24 / 32 / 40%
DAMAGE THRESHOLD:
275 / 250 / 225 / 200
NASAL GOO RADIUS:
0
- Bristleback's rear is considered to be within 70 degrees from the back.
- Bristleback's side is considered to be within 110 degrees from the back.
- Damage done by Quill Sprays released by this ability passively is considered reflected damage. Reflected damage does not provide any lifesteal and cannot be reflected.
Turning his back to a fight might be just the thing.
Warpath
Bristleback works himself up into a fury every time he casts a spell, increasing his movement speed and damage.
DAMAGE PER STACK:
15 / 20 / 25
MOVEMENT PER STACK:
2 / 2.5 / 3%
STACK DURATION:
16 / 18 / 20
MAX STACKS:
8 / 10 / 12
- Bristleback's illusions will receive the bonuses.
- Items will not trigger Warpath.
- Break disables the gaining of new stacks.
- Break does not disable the bonuses from existing stacks.
'Temper, temper,' his mum always chided. But in a fight, a temper can come in handy.
Talents
Aghanim's Scepter
Bristleback
Adds active ability to Bristleback. Bristleback rotates towards the targeted direction and, after 0.5s, forcefully ejects 5 sequential Quill Sprays in a tight conical pattern out of his back every 0.4s. Bristleback's facing is locked during this time, he is disarmed, and his speed is reduced by -40%.
Aghanim's Shard
Hairball
Cooldown
13s
Mana
60
Coughs a quill-packed hairball towards the target location. Erupts at the location, hitting enemies with Viscous Nasal Goo stacks and Quill Spray.
RADIUS:
700
QUILL STACKS:
1
GOO STACKS:
2
Every part of Bristleback's body is a weapon -- even the parts he accidentally swallowed.
Hero Performance
Median across all public matches · OpenDotaForm
51%
Win rate in recent matches
Performance
83%
KDA ratio (kills + assists / deaths)
Laning
45%
Last hits per minute over full game
Farm
63%
Average gold per minute
Fighting
26%
Average kills + assists per match
Experience
79%
Average XP per minute
Strategy
When to Pick Bristleback?
Pick Bristleback when you want a hero that just refuses to die and makes the enemy team's life absolutely miserable every single second he is alive. He is really strong right now, and honestly, it makes complete sense—in a meta where people are picking right-click carries and fighting lineups, you want a hero that just stands there, faces away, and laughs at everything they throw at him.
He is disgusting in lineups that already have some damage dealers because Bristleback doesn't need to be the one killing people—he just needs to be the annoying frontline that stacks Quill Spray and melts everyone slowly while tanking a ridiculous amount of punishment. He pairs beautifully with heroes that can keep enemies close and in his face—Underlord, Magnus, Enigma—anyone that clusters the enemy team together so his Quill Spray hits everything at once.
Avoid picking him into heavy silence lineups because without his spells, he is just a slow fat guy walking around doing nothing. Also feels genuinely terrible about Slark—that hero removes your stacks and completely shuts down everything. Bristleback wants to do. And Ancient Apparition's Ice Blast? Forget it. That removes the whole point of his passive healing.
Tips & common mistakes
- The number one mistake people make with Bristleback is facing the WRONG way in fights. Turn your back to the enemy at all times—that's not a suggestion, that's the entire hero. If you are taking damage to your front or sides, you are playing him wrong.
- Stop building damaged items too early. You are not an assassin. Vanguard, Kraken Shell, and Vessel first become unkillable before you start thinking about killing people.
- Quill Spray stacks are everything. Don't just spam it randomly — make sure you are in range of multiple heroes so every cast is doing maximum damage to multiple targets.
- Viscous Nasal Goo is not just slow—stacking it on a single target shreds their armor completely. Do it to the enemy carrying every single fight and watch your team destroy them.
- People forget that Bristleback is also a REALLY strong laner. You can bully most offlaners out of the lane just by facing away and tanking their hits while Quilling them to death.
- Don't chase kills across the map. You are slow, you are fat, and you will get kited to death the moment you leave your team. Stay in the middle of the fight where your passivity actually matters.
- Watch out for Diffusal Blade—mana burn hurts more than people think on BB, and if you can't cast spells, you lose a huge chunk of your threat.
Summary
Bristleback is one of those heroes that are just fundamentally unfair when picked into the right lineup—and right now the meta is practically begging you to pick him. Turn your back, stack your quills, and become the most annoying thing on the map. The enemy team will waste their cooldowns, their damage, and their patience trying to kill you while your team cleans up around you. He is not a complicated hero — he is a punishing one.
And if the enemy doesn't have a real answer to him in the draft? They will spend the whole game hitting a wall and wondering why nothing is working.
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