Bristleback - The Pig That Never Dies

Introduction

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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.

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Bristleback. The hero who redefines tanking. He is not a traditional tank who goes in and soaks up damage while whacking enemies. You need to know when to do what, have a good presence of mind and most important of all, you should know how to play mind-games and manipulate your opponents decisions. I have seen people play Bristleback the exact opposite way he is meant to be and because of this I have decided to make a guide for this snorting monster and try to give people some hints and tips to what I consider the best way to play him.

Pros / Cons

Pros:

1. One of the best tanks in the game.
2. Very good stats gain.
3. Good intelligence gain for a strength hero.
4. Spammable spells that are great for harrasment and farming.
5. Unignorable presence in team battles.
6. Good base damage
7. Excellent chaser.


Cons:

1. Average strength gain for a strength hero.
2. No stuns.
3. Casting animation is poor.
4. Requires a fair bit of presence of mind to play.
5. Will feed a lot if not played properly.

Skills

Play Video

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

Range: 600
Duration: 5
Armor Reduction: 1/1/2/2
Movement Speed Reduction per Cast: 20% and +3%/+6%/+9%/+12%

Skill Usage and Explanation

This is your main chasing tool. Since it slows by percentage it is useful even in late game. The armor reduction is very useful for chasing and damage dealing with your quills. It can also be used effectively to slow a chaser and flee from the hero if timed correctly though its a bit risky.

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Quill Spray - 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 10 seconds.

Radius: 625
Duration: 10
Base Damage: 20/40/60/80
Stack Damage: 30
Damage Cap: 400

Skill Usage and Explanation

One of the most underrated spells in Dota. The damage may seem puny individually but its strength lies in the physical damage and stacking of your Viscous Nasal Goo. This is your main source of damage and your farming skill. This skill also does damage in the area its applied instantly. The fan of knives is just for the sake of animation. Though it has a damage cap of 180, since your Bristleback triggers quill sprays in addition to your active spell every 3 seconds, you can achieve the 180 damage in no time. Since the spell does physical damage it loses its effect late game a bit, but with your armor reducing goo, the damage still proves to be viable.

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Bristleback - Bristleback takes less damage from physical attacks if attacked from the side or rear. If Bristleback takes 250 damage from the rear, he releases a Quill Spray of the current level.

Reduced Damage (Rear): 16%/24%/32%/40%
Reduced Damage (Side): 8%/12%/16%/20%

Skill Usage and Explanation

This is the skill that makes BB what he is. It is one of the most annoying passives in Dota and it makes your enemies smash their keyboards in frustration. The usage of this skill is what separates a good Bristleback player from the ordinary and turns him into one of the more durable hero's in the game.

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Warpath - Bristleback works himself up into a fury every time he casts a spell, increasing his movement speed and damage. The first stack (base) provides larger bonuses.

Duration: 10
Base Bonus Movement Speed: 5%/7%/10%
Base Bonus Damage: 20/25/30
Stack Bonus Movement Speed: 1%/2%/3%
Stack Bonus Damage: 20/25/30

Skill Usage and Explanation

At first sight it may seem like an useless passive and worthless for being an Ultimate, but the synergy it provides with the rest of Bristleback's kit makes it incredibly useful. Take this for example. You tank and stack quills, the whole team gets low HP and starts to run away. You can slow and chase them with your Viscous Nasal Goo, but what good are you if you are a pure tank with mediocre at best damage? With all the tanking from the teamfight you would be low on HP and to make things worse, you are the one chasing the hero which means your back is not shown to them making your Bristleback useless. That is where the extra move speed and damage that comes with your ultimate makes the job much easier. With your goo and quill stacking, you would already be at the max damage and move speed of warpath for chasing which makes you the perfect chasing tool.

Skill Build

1. Bristleback/ Quill Spray
2. Quill Spray/ Viscous Nasal Goo/ Bristleback
3. Quill Spray/ Viscous Nasal Goo
4. Bristleback
5. Quill Spray
6. Warpath
7. Quill Spray
8. Bristleback
9. Bristleback
10. Viscous Nasal Goo
11. Warpath
12. Viscous Nasal Goo
13. Viscous Nasal Goo
14. Viscous Nasal Goo
15. Stats
16. Warpath
17. Stats
18. Stats
19. Stats
20. Stats
21. Stats
22. Stats
23. Stats
24. Stats
25. Stats


Explanation

Quill Spray/ Bristleback can be taken at level 1 according to need. If you are ganked by three heroes you can take Bristleback to try and make an escape, however it would not be that useful at level 1 with around 550 HP. Quill Spray is maximized as it helps a lot in tough lanes.

People tend to take Viscous Nasal Goo instead of Bristleback at levels 2/4/8/9. Goo does not serve the purpose as a chasing tool effectively until mid game where team clashes and skirmishes are more common. In early game, your aim is to survive ganks and farm up your core items. If you are caught in a gank, Bristleback will help in getting you out of there easily. People will argue that taking goo at early levels may help you survive ganks by slowing the enemies while running away, but at early ganks you will face 2 or 3 stunners depending on the lane and running away is near impossible.

Items

Bristlebog is one of those heroes whose core and luxury items are usually set in stone. Why you might ask? It is simply because these items are the best and most viable on him to do his job effectively. Of course there are other item choices and combinations seen in pubs that work effectively on him on him, but these are not obviously the best and take away from his potential.

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Early Game Items



This is a typical starting build for almost any non-support hero and works fantastic with Bristlebog. The Tango's provide healing from the damage you will receive in lane and the Iron Branch's and Quelling Blade make last hitting and farming a little bit easier. There is some flexibility though. Some players will opt for a more defensive approach with a Stout Shield instead of a Quelling Blade, but the choice is up to you.

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Core Items



The first "core" item you should build is a quick Magic Wand as it builds out of your Iron Branch's almost immediately and does everything you want it to do. A couple of charges keeps you in lane longer and guarantees you'll be able to cast the spell you need.

Bristlebog is fairly unique in that any of the three main choices of footwear are viable on him. Power Treads is generally the preferred choice as it's cheap to build, provides much-needed HP and is the only one that allows your damage to scale. That having been said, Phase Boots are fairly cheap as well and give the highest boost to speed when you activate them. However, casting any of your spells removes the buff, making this less-than-optimal choice unless you find yourself needing to escape bad situations. Boots of Travel on the other hand give a huge movement speed bonus and allows you to Town Portal to your heart's content. The only problem with this is they are by far the most expensive option at your disposal and you need to get Radiance as fast as possible. Unless you're farming unusually well, I recommend sticking with Power Treads.

Your next item should then be Urn of Shadows. The Strength bonus, of course, is always welcome, but more than that, the mana regeneration is especially good on Bristleback. As he levels up, Bristlebog gets a fairly large mana pool and the higher your mana pool, the better percentage-based regeneration gets. Also never underestimate the power of its charges as they can be used both to heal yourself and damage an enemy hero.

Your next item for Bristlebog at this point should either be a Hood of Defiance or a Vanguard. Both items are fantastic choices for Bristlebog. Hood of Defiance gives you spell resistance, good HP regeneration and is relatively easy and cost efficient to buildup. Vanguard gives you more HP, thus allowing you to tank more. It also has a damage reducer that can be useful for physical tanking which is huge in games when there are more then one carries relying on physical damage as their main source of damage. Once again the option is up to you based on the situation.

Your last two core items should then be Radiance and an Orb of Venom. Radiance is the quintessential item for Bristlebog. It not only turns him from a decent farmer into an excellent one, but enables him to deal large amounts of damage and annoy people by just being there. It's effective against clones, invisibility, you name it. Spam your spells, boost your speed, and light your foes on fire. The really underrated item on Bristlebog however is the Orb of Venom. At a measly 275 gold, it transforms Bristlebog from a good chaser to perhaps the best in the game. As long as you can manage a single melee attack every four seconds, you can pretty much make sure that an enemy hero can never escape unless you let him.

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Extension Items



Assault Cuirass is a pretty logical followup to Bristlebog's core items. More attack speed is good, more armor is great, and less armor for your enemies is even better. Depending on how much anti-Armor you have on your team, however, the other items may be much more valuable.

Eye of Skadi just adds to your slowing capabilities. Skadi has great stats all over the board as well which makes this item a viable choice if your farmed enough.

Heart of Tarrasque gives you 300 HP and 40 Strength. 40 Strength is 760 HP which totals to nearly 1K raw HP. The strength also boosts your base damage and HP regeneration. Compared to Bloodstone and Satanic, it is the most suited item as your Luxury survival.

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Situational/Potential Items



Shiva's Guard may seem like an absurd option at first, but it does give Intelligence in addition to armor and a -25 attack speed aura. Just remember that the reduction is a number and not percentage. 25 attack speed reduction means nearly nothing in late game against Agility carries. However, the reason to consider this is the Artic Blast ability which does 200 damage and slows enemies by 40%. It synergies with your Quill damage and slow enemies further to enable your team to pick off heroes and finish them with ease.

Black King Bar is useful on any hero, but with your speed and range, you should be fighting on the outskirts of any teamfight for as long as possible.

Linken's Sphere is in the same boat as the BKB and probably should be avoided as they're are much more viable items available.

Considering you already have Hood, Pipe of Insight is a good extension especially if the enemy team has lots of AOE. Farm it up after your Radiance when needed.

Sange and Yasha is one of the most popular choices in pubs for Bristlebog. It gives you bonus HP, MS and maim orb that lets you chase effectively. But remember, this item is nearly useless when you are trying to tank damage from an entire team.

Rod of Atos is a very solid pickup on Bristlebog as it's active adds to his slowing potential not to mention it solves all of his early mana "problems" (you can basically spam more during early-mid game) and gives you nice HP which Bristle loves.

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Rejected Items



Mekansm can heal and provide armor bonus, regeneration but it does not give you additional regeneration and resistance against spells. So even though Mek can be a good item on him it is definitely not the best as far as our needs are concerned.

Bloodstone may seem like a good option as it gives you extra mana along with HP, but you are not a spell spammer whose spells have high mana costs. Your intelligence growth should be enough.

Satanic gives you 25 strength and 5 armor. Unholy rage and Lifesteal may seem attractive but remember, your job is to tank and stack quills, not hitting heroes standing in one place.

Blade Mail gives you damage, armor and intelligence but most of all the return ability. It may seem attractive at first as you are supposed to tank, but remember, the damage returned is by diminishing returns.

Desolator require the hero to physically attack a target early and often. Bristlebog just simply doesn't do that making the orb effect almost useless.

Monkey King Bar is another hard core item that give you crazy amounts of damage but does nothing to complement your job as a tank.

Gameplay

Early Game

In early game your main aim is to stay alive in lane and farm up your core. Go to Top for Sentinel and Bottom for Scourge preferably with a support if possible. Bristlebog can be played solo mid, but it really depends on the situation. He is a good soloer against passive solos but he is best in a dual lane. The long lanes are by far the best for him as he can be protected from ganks from the river by wards, have easy access to the side shop and leaving bottom lane for your carry.

Items:


Cost:
564 gold

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Mid Game

This is the part of the game where people start to leave their respective lanes and teamfights start to occur. Ganks start coming left, right and center. The teams will be trying to push outer towers or second tier towers now. Farm up in the lane when your team mates are ganking in other lanes, but if they are going to push towers or gank in your lane by you should probally help them. Since you have hood and around 1000 HP now, you will be a bit hard to take down and you will be able to spam quills continuously due to your intelligence gain. If things are going somewhat bad, try to force as much team fights as you can because it is where you really shine. A couple of team fights going in your favor can destroy the enemy team's morale and force them to play more passively, giving you time to farm up Radiance. A good rule of thumb can be coming to lane, taking down about 25-30 creeps and then going for pushes again. Using this method will allow you to keep constant pressure on the enemy team and give your team the chance to get the items they need to transition into late game or push for the win.

Items:


Cost:
4550 gold

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Late Game

This is the time when you want to be pushing towers as a team and try to take the enemy down in teamfights. You are an unstoppable force in this part of the game due to your constant AOE damage and your ability to survive even the worst of situations. Bristlebog will be at his best in team fights so try to force them as much as you can. Communicate! Push with your team and take down towers. You are the tank, so you should go in, but that doesn't mean rush in blindly without the team following you. Team Work is essential in this stage of the game. Aim for Heart of Tarrasque and get Aegis of the Immortal if your team is in the drivers seat. If you find yourself behind try to get Heart by farming and stop the team from taking towers. You can stop pushes single handily now due to your AOE damage dealing capability. If the enemy team tries to Roshan, confront them and force battle there as they will be weak. The objective is simple - PUSH, PUSH AND PUSH. It is the best and safest way to victory.

Items:


Cost:
5425 gold

Luxury Items:
(5350 gold) (5750 gold) (5500 gold)

Friends and Foes

Allies

Initiators



Babysitters/Support

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Enemies

Strong Laners



Gankers

Items/Abilities to Watch Out For

Magic Stick - bristlebog spams spells continuously and because of this the charges fill up extremely quick. Magic Stick abuse is quite an easy way of countering Bristlebog in lane.

Hex Scythe of Vyse - HEX. It takes away all your evasion and passive reductions making you an easy target.

Reaper's Scythe Life Break Culling Blade - these abilities will counter you easily. Be careful when you are playing hero's with these abilities.

Bristlebog Update Information

I will continue to update the guide when Bristlebog is officially released. If you have any suggestions on what I should do to make the guide better in anyway please feel free to leave a comment or PM me.

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Portrait




Ability Icons



Textures

Balance Changelog

6.75

• Quill Spray damage cap increased from 220 to 400
• Warpath
  - Damage per stack increased from 10/15/20 to 20/25/30
  - Base damage increased from 10/20/30 to 20/25/30
• Fixed how Quill Spray damage threshold works
  - Bristlebog will now activate Quill Spray on the instance of damage when its threshold is breached rather than the one after that occurrence

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6.74

• Quill Spray damage cap increased from 180 to 220

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6.73

• Cast point decreased from 0.5 to 0.4
• Attack point reduced
• Turn Rate Increased (makes him turn faster)

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6.72d

• Quill Spray is no longer blocked by Vanguard, Stout Shield, etc

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6.71

• Bristlebog
  - Back damage prevention from 10/20/30/40 to 16/24/32/40
  - Side damage prevention from 5/10/15/20 to 8/12/16/20

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6.67

• Warpath maximum stacks increased from 4 to 5

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6.63

• Warpath attack speed increase changed to bonus damage (10/20/30 base with 4/8/12 bonus per stack)

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6.60

• Improved Base Intelligence growth by 0.6
• Bristlebog
  - Improved side angles (90->110)
  - Returned passive Quill Spray release cap back (300->250)

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6.52

• Bristlebog
  - Lowered side angles
  - Increased Quill Spray release requirement from 200 to 300

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6.49

• Reduced strength growth from 2.7 to 2.2

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6.48b

• Slightly lowered base armor

Credits

I want to thank Zotmaster and Azlan for their respective guides and insight on the hero from PlayDota.com as they allowed me to make what I consider the best Bristlebog guide on DotaFire!