Bristleback
From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
Bristleback
| Grants the following bonuses per level: | |
| +61.6HP and +0.28HP regeneration +2.8 Main Attack Damage | |
| +0.3 armor and 1.8 attack speed | |
| +33.6MP and +0.14MP regeneration +0.1% base magic resistance | |
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Instant Projectile Speed
| ||
100 (117)
(1.8 BAT) | ||
0.3 + 0.3
| ||
0.9
| ||
Goo
Gib Type | ||
2013-03-28
Released | ||
2005-05-04
(6.07) | ||
Competitive Span
2013-05-02 — Present | ||
Version Control This article is mostly accurate for 7.40b, the last version this hero was changed in. New interactions that emerged in following patches may have not yet been accounted for. |
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| Takes reduced damage when facing away from enemies. | |
|---|---|
| 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 attacks while peppering foes with constant barrages of Quill Sprays. From his nose he blows Thick Gobs of Snot, slowing and covering opponents in goo. When it comes to a fight, he really puts his back into it. 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. | |
| Roles: | |
| Adjectives | NicePecs, Nose Legs ( 2 ) |
Viscous Nasal Goo has a higher stack limit.
If Bristleback takes up to a certain amount of damage from the rear, he releases a Viscous Nasal Goo of its corresponding level within the radius.
+2 Max Stacks
Adds an active component to Warpath.
Reduces self vision to an angled-cone while active, and applies an attack damage factor and movement speed factor to the current stacks.
Reduces self vision to an angled-cone while active, and applies an attack damage factor and movement speed factor to the current stacks.
Upgrades
[edit]Aghanim's
[edit]Grants the Hairball ability.
Coughs a quill-packed hairball toward and erupts at the point-targeted location.
Coughs a quill-packed hairball toward and erupts at the point-targeted location.
Talents
[edit]| +18 Warpath Attack Damage Bonus per Stack | 25 | 12% Spell Lifesteal |
|---|---|---|
| +20 Quill Stack Damage | 20 | +25 Health Regen |
| +8% Bristleback Back Damage Reduction +4% Bristleback Side Damage Reduction | 15 | +250 Viscous Nasal Goo Cast Range |
| +1.5 Mana Regen | 10 | +25 Attack Speed |
| ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ +2 All | ||
Bio
[edit]It was a barkeep that got me into this mess. Yeah, I think I'll pay em a visit when this is done.▶️Rigwarl, the Bristleback
Aliases:
Rigwarl, BB
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.
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.
Prickly
[edit]Passive
Affects
Self / Enemy Units
Grants both outgoing damage amplification and debuff duration amplification against enemy units behind Bristleback.
Hero Model
[edit]Details
Tap on the
innate abilities for more details.
Abilities
[edit]Viscous Nasal Goo
[edit]Unit
Affects
Enemy Units
Covers a target in snot, causing it to have reduced armor and movement speed. Multiple casts stack and refresh the duration.
Cast Animation: 0.3 + 0
Projectile Speed: 1000
Max Stacks: 4
Base Armor Reduction: 1.5/2/2.5/3
Armor Reduction per Stack: 2/2.5/3/3.5
Base Move Speed Slow: 12%
Move Speed Slow per Stack: 3%/6%/9%/12%
Duration: 5
Viscous Nasal Goo's duration is more effective on creeps.
Creep Duration: 10
Having caught a cold while stuck in the snow, Bristleback turns it to his advantage.
Quill Spray
[edit]Sprays enemy units with quills dealing damage in an area of effect around Rigwarl.
Deals additional bonus damage per current stack on the debuff-affected enemy unit.
Deals additional bonus damage per current stack on the debuff-affected enemy unit.
Cast Animation:
0 + 0
Projectile Speed: 2400
Max Damage: 500
Base Damage: 25/45/65/85
Duration: 14
Now automatically spray quills whenever possible when activated.
An enforcer's honor can be a prickly thing. So can his quills.
Bristleback
[edit]Rear Angle: 70°
Side Angle: 110°
If Rigwarl takes up to a certain amount of damage from the rear, he releases a Quill Spray of its corresponding level.
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Rotates towards the targeted direction. After a short delay, Rigwarl forcefully release a number of Quill Sprays in a tight conical pattern out of his back between intervals.
Rotates towards the targeted direction. After a short delay, Rigwarl forcefully release a number of Quill Sprays in a tight conical pattern out of his back between intervals.
Cast Animation:
0 + 0
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
While active, he is disarmed, applies a self movement speed slow, with his facing angle locked, and cannot turn.
While active, he is disarmed, applies a self movement speed slow, with his facing angle locked, and cannot turn.
Turning his back to a fight might be just the thing.
Hairball
[edit]Cast Animation: 0.1 + 0.6
Cast Range:
750
Quill Spray travels faster than Viscous Nasal Goo, the quills always hit enemy units before the goo does.
Quill Spray Stacks: 1
Projectile Speed: 2400
Applies Viscous Nasal Goo stacks of its corresponding level.
Goo Stacks: 2
Projectile Speed: 1000
Every part of Bristleback's body is a weapon -- even the parts he accidentally swallowed.
Warpath
[edit]Passive / No
Affects
Self
Max Stacks: 8/10/12
Stack per Ability Cast: 1
Move Speed Bonus per Stack: 2%/2.5%/3%
Stack Duration: 16/18/20
'Temper, temper,' his mum always chided. But in a fight, a temper can come in handy.
Recent Matches
[edit]Main Article: Bristleback/Matches
| Date | Tier | Tournament | Picks | Score | vs. Picks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 11, 2026 - 20:00 CET | Tier 2 | DreamLeague D2 S3 - Playoffs | 0 : 1 | ||||||
| February 11, 2026 - 17:10 CET | Tier 3 | EPL Season 34 - February 11 | 0 : 1 | ||||||
| February 11, 2026 - 16:25 CET | Tier 2 | DreamLeague D2 S3 - Playoffs | 0 : 1 | ||||||
| February 9, 2026 - 20:10 BRT | Tier 4 | LDA: Season 1 - Round 12 | 1 : 0 | ||||||
| February 8, 2026 - 15:25 CET | Tier 4 | Get Good League - Division One | 1 : 0 |
Recent Changes
[edit]Description
- Increased Viscous Nasal Goo base movement speed slow from 10% to 12%.
- Increased
strength gain from 2.7 to 2.8. - Viscous Nasal Goo
Dota Plus Progress
[edit]Main Article: Hero Challenges
Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.
| Bristleback's Relics | Voice Lines | |
|---|---|---|
Bronze |
||
Silver |
||
Gold |
||
Platinum |
| |
Master |
| |
Grandmaster |
| |
Equipment
[edit]Trivia
[edit]- According to an unused voice response, Bristleback was originally designed with tusks.[1]
- A silhouette of what appears to be Skywrath Mage can be seen in Bristleback's splash artwork, seemingly still having a beta model/texture.
- Warcraft 3 similarities:
- Bristleback is based on the Quillboars, and uses the Razormane Brute model.
- Quilboars are boar-like humanoids within the Warcraft universe.
- Bristleback's title is a reference to the Bristleback tribe, a tribe of the Quilboars.
- Despite this, Bristleback's title was not changed, though some leaks during beta revealed "Bristlebog" as a new title for him.
- The boar-like features were dropped in Dota 2, likely to distinguish Bristleback from the Quilbaors for copyright reasons.
- Bristleback is based on the Quillboars, and uses the Razormane Brute model.
Gallery
[edit]- Bone Harvest sprite - alive