Bristleback
From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
Bristleback
22 + 2.7
17 + 1.8
14 + 2.8
| Grants the following bonuses per level: | |
| +59.4HP and +0.27HP regeneration +2.7 Main Attack Damage | |
| +0.3 armor and 1.8 attack speed | |
| +33.6MP and +0.14MP regeneration +0.1% base magic resistance | |
Show/Hide Tooltips
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 7.38, the last version this hero was changed in. New interactions that emerged in following patches may have not yet been accounted for. |
Show/Hide Tooltips
| 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 ) |
Facets[edit]
Snot Rocket
Warpath grants a greater bonus attack damage per stack value.
+10/15/20 Attack Damage Bonus per Stack
Viscous Nasal Goo has a higher stack limit, and applies a higher bonus armor reduction per stack.
+2 Max Stacks
-1 Armor per Stack
-1 Armor per Stack
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.
+900 Radius
Seeing Red
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.
Upgrades[edit]
Aghanim's[edit]
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
If Bristleback takes up to a certain amount of damage from the rear, he releases a Quill Spray of its corresponding level with this facet selected.
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 Damage 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.
Innate[edit]
Prickly[edit]
Prickly 
Passive
Affects
Self / Enemy Units
Grants both outgoing damage amplification and debuff duration amplification against enemy units behind Bristleback.
Rear Angle: 110°
Damage Amp: 
1.1
Debuff Duration Factor: 1.1
- Grants percentage-based
- Applies to offensively-applied debuffs sourced to Rigwarl.
- Stacks multiplicatively with other status resistance sources.
- Grants percentage-based
- When the affected units are within 220° of a circular sector of Rigwarl, regardless of the enemy unit's
facing angle.
- When the affected units are within 220° of a circular sector of Rigwarl, regardless of the enemy unit's
Hidden Modifier
Hero Model[edit]
Details
Hidden Innate Abilities
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: 2/2/3/3
Armor Reduction per Stack: 1.5/2/2.5/3
Base Move Speed Slow: 15%
Move Speed Slow per Stack: 3%/6%/9%/12%
Duration: 6
Viscous Nasal Goo's duration is more effective on creeps.
Creep Duration: 10
1.75
12/16/20/24
Having caught a cold while stuck in the snow, Bristleback turns it to his advantage.
Snot Rocket
Increases stack limit, and applies a higher bonus armor reduction per stack.
Max Stacks: 6
Armor Reduction per Stack: 2.5/3/3.5/4
Armor Reduction per Stack: 2.5/3/3.5/4
- Grants 1 Warpath stack upon cast.
- Considers
creep-heroes as heroes.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- Adds 1
bristleback_viscous_nasal_goostack of the corresponding ability values. - Applies reduction values correspondingly to the stack count.
- Adds 1
- Considers
Grants Warpath stack upon ability cast and does not rely on the 
projectile impact.
Viscous Nasal Goo: Losing x armor and slowed by x%.
- Applies the following
armor reduction values per stack per level:
1 2 3 4 L1 3.5 5 6.5 8 L2 4 6 8 10 L3 5.5 8 10.5 13 L4 6 9 12 15
- With the
Snot Rocket facet:
1 2 3 4 5 6 L1 4.5 7 9.5 12 14.5 17 L2 5 8 11 14 17 20 L3 6.5 10 13.5 17 20.5 24 L4 7 11 15 19 23 27
- Applies the following
movement speed slow per stack per level:
1 2 3 4
5
6L1 18% 21% 24% 27% 30% 33% L2 21% 27% 33% 39% 45% 51% L3 24% 33% 42% 51% 60% 69% L4 27% 39% 51% 63% 75% 87%
Quill Spray[edit]
Sprays enemy units with quills dealing damage in an area of effect around Bristleback.
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
Radius: 
700
Projectile Speed: 2400
Max Damage: 500
Base Damage: 25/45/65/85
Stack Damage: 30 (
50)
Duration: 14
3
35
An enforcer's honor can be a prickly thing. So can his quills.
- Grants 1 Warpath stack upon cast.
- Interrupts Rigwarl's
channeling abilities upon cast.
- The ability effects are centered and do not follow Rigwarl upon cast at the cast location.
- The projectiles cannot be avoided.
- Affects all valid enemy units within the radius, and does not expands circularly.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- Checks for current number of stacks the affected unit has while applying
bristleback_quill_spray_stack. - Deals the following
physical
spell damage per cast:
- EXPR
f(n) = BaseDmg + StackDmg × n , MAX = 500
- Increases the number of debuff stacks.
- Checks for current number of stacks the affected unit has while applying
bristleback_quill_spray- The first applied debuff displays the stack amount on the HUD, subsequent stacks increases the value of this debuff.
bristleback_quill_spray_stack- The stack debuff is applied at the same time as the previous debuff, with each stack debuff duration independent of the other.
- Hence, reapplying the debuff increases the spell damage applied, but does not refresh the stack duration.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- Affects the following units:
On hidden entity
Hidden Modifier
Quill Spray: Each stack increases damage taken from Quill Spray
Hidden Modifier
- Has 2400-projectile speed and travels up to a max
- Has 2400-projectile speed and travels up to a max
- Can stack up to a max of 5 times considering both the ability
cooldown and stack duration.
- Requires 17/17/16/15 (
- Requires 17/17/16/15 (
- Deals the following
1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 L1 55 85 145 205 265 325 385 445 500 L2 75 105 165 225 285 345 405 465 500 L3 95 125 185 245 305 365 425 485 500 L4 115 145 205 265 325 385 445 500 135 185 285 385 485 500
Bristleback[edit]
Bristleback takes less damage if hit on the sides or rear.
Rear Angle: 70°
Side Angle: 110°
Rear Damage Reduction: 
16%/24%/32%/40% (
24%/32%/40%/48%)
Side Damage Reduction: 8%/12%/16%/20% ( 12%/16%/20%/24%)
If Bristleback takes up to a certain amount of damage from the rear, he releases a Quill Spray of its corresponding level with this facet selected.
Damage Threshold: 275/250/225/200
Min Release Interval: 0.1
Counter Duration: 
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Bristleback rotates towards the targeted direction. After a short delay, he forcefully release a number of Quill Sprays in a tight conical pattern out of his back between intervals.
Bristleback rotates towards the targeted direction. After a short delay, he forcefully release a number of Quill Sprays in a tight conical pattern out of his back between intervals.
Cast Animation: 0 + 0
Effect Delay: (
0.5)
Number of Quill Spray Instances: ( 5)
Spray Interval: ( 0.4)
Spray Angle: ( 45°)
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Bristleback's facing is locked and cannot turn during this time, he is disarmed and applies a self movement speed slow.
Bristleback's facing is locked and cannot turn during this time, he is disarmed and applies a self movement speed slow.
Move Speed Slow: ( 40%)
Set Turn Rate: ( 500°)
Max Disarm Duration: ( 2.9)
( 24)
( 125)
Turning his back to a fight might be just the thing.
Snot Rocket
If Bristleback takes up to a certain amount of damage from the rear, he releases a Viscous Nasal Goo of its corresponding level with this facet selected.
Effect Radius: 900
- The ability has three main components:
- The
- The passive ability cast and
damage accumulation counter.
- The
- The ability compares the incoming damage source's current position and Rigwarl's
- With
as the centerpoint, its rear as the x-axis, covering a circular segment with an infinite radius.
The rear has the following properties:
The sides have the following properties:
- The damage reduction component does not stack with the rear area.
- Hence, the side's effective area-of-effect is
40°circular segment away from bothOPandOQ.
- Grants Rigwarl the following bonuses within the damage reduction angle:
- Applies a generic incoming damage reduction on Rigwarl.
- Stacks additively with other generic incoming damage manipulation source.
- Does not affect
HP Removal sources.
- Applies a generic incoming damage reduction on Rigwarl.
- The ability compares the incoming damage source's current position and Rigwarl's
- The passive ability cast has the following properties:
- Does not interrupt Rigwarl's
- Releases the following abilities of its corresponding level, explicitly when Rigwarl's rear accumulates 275/250/225/200 damage (after all reductions):
- Works independently of the passively released ability's
mana.
- Does not proc on-cast effects.
- Does not interrupt Rigwarl's
- Grants 1 Warpath stack per passive proc.
- The damage accumulation counter has the following properties:
- Has no duration limit, and resets upon passively releasing an ability of the corresponding facet.
- Accumulates damage sources from all damage types, except from the following sources:
No-reflection sources.
- The damage accumulation counter has the following properties:
- The passive ability cast has the following properties:
- Adds an active component to the Bristleback ability.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
Disarms
- Sets the turn rate, and rotates the hero model 16.67° per
server tick until Rigwarl's rear completely faces the point-targeted direction.
- Neither requires turning nor
- Applies the following ability effects 0.5 seconds after casting:
- 1 Quill Spray of the corresponding level is released in 0.4-second instances, over 2.4 seconds.
- Rigwarl's
- Applies the following ability effects 0.5 seconds after casting:
- The active component ends 0.5 seconds after the last Quill Spray released.
Turns Rigwarl back to the
- Has the following additional properties:
- Works independently of Quill Spray's
- The Quill Spray intervals do not proc on-cast effects
bristleback_active_conical_quill_spray- The active buff cannot stack and cannot be reapplied.
- Hence, recasting the active component while the current instance is active causes all ability effects to no longer be applied or happen until the max
- Warpath
- Grants up to 5 stacks per active cast.
- Casting the active component itself does not grant stacks.
- Can only be interrupted by Hex sources.
- Both
hidden and
invulnerable sources applied to Rigwarl do not interrupt the active component.
- Other
disable sources applied may change the direction where the Quill Spray instances are released.
- Works independently of Quill Spray's
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- All Rigwarl's ability casts have the following properties 0.5 seconds after casting:
- Have an
- Neither requires
cast range.
- Have an
The incoming damage reduction component is functional.
However, illusions can neither proc the passive Quill Spray nor
Viscous Nasal Goo.
However, illusions can neither proc the passive Quill Spray nor
Disables all ability aspects.
However, existing accumulated damage are not removed.
However, existing accumulated damage are not removed.
Applies Quill Spray or Viscous Nasal Goo of Bristleback's corresponding ability level when acquired.
Hidden modifier
Hidden modifier
- The passive ability plays a sound effect and visually indicates whenever Rigwarl's rear receives damage.
- Has the following increased effective health:
- 19%/32%/47%/67% (
- 9%/14%/19%/25% (
- 19%/32%/47%/67% (
- spray proc calc = threshold / reduction
-
- The active component is a circular sector from Rigwarl's current position.
- Has a 274.89 area-of-effect.
- EXPR
(θ / 360°) × r , r = QuillSprayEffectRadius
- Has a 274.89 area-of-effect.
- The turn rate is given as degrees per second, instead of radians per
- Has a 0.291-turn rate (
8.72665 rad).
- The turn rate is given as degrees per second, instead of radians per
Hairball[edit]
Coughs a quill-packed hairball toward and erupts at the point-targeted location.
Cast Animation: 0.1 + 0.6
Cast Range: 750
Radius: 700
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
13
60
- Acquiring
Aghanim's Shard unlocks this ability in the fourth ability slot.
Warpath
- Grants 1 stack upon cast.
- Other debuffs applied do not grant additional stacks.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- The
- Releases Quill Spray.
- Applies Viscous Nasal Goo stacks.
- The
- Fully affect the following units:
Fogged units.
- However, Viscous Nasal Goo is not applied on the following units:
Invisible units.
Untargetable units.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
Grants Warpath stack upon ability cast and does not rely on any projectile impacts.
Requires Aghanim's Shard to unlock this ability.
Both Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray applied corresponds to Bristleback current ability level when acquired.
Requires drafting Quill Spray to unlock this ability.
Requires drafting Viscous Nasal Goo for its corresponding component to work.
Requires drafting Viscous Nasal Goo for its corresponding component to work.
On hidden entity
Quill Spray: Each stack increases damage taken from Quill Spray
Hidden modifier
Viscous Nasal Goo: Losing x armor and slowed by x%.
- Has a 1200-
projectile speed,
- The stacks applied works independently of both Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray's cooldown, and does not cost
- Does not proc on-cast effects.
- Although the Viscous Nasal Goo projectile hits affected enemy units once, 1000 stacks are applied upon impact.
- Has a 1200-
- Directly use the aforementioned abilities' values, it does nothing if those sources are not learned upon cast.
Warpath[edit]
R
W
WarpathPassive / No
Affects
Self
Works himself up into a fury every time Bristleback casts a spell. Grants self movement speed bonus.
Max Stacks: 8/10/12
Stack per Ability Cast: 1
Attack Damage Bonus per Stack: 5 (
23)
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.
Snot Rocket
Warpath grants a greater bonus attack damage per stack value.
Attack Damage Bonus per Stack: 15/20/25 ( 33/38/43)
Seeing Red
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.
Set Vision Radius: 90°
Attack Damage Stack Factor: 1.5
Move Speed Stack Factor: 1.5
Duration: 4/5/6
Attack Damage Stack Factor: 1.5
Move Speed Stack Factor: 1.5
Duration: 4/5/6
45
55/65/75
- Grants the following amount of Warpath stacks per ability cast:
- 1 stack per Viscous Nasal Goo cast.
- 1 stack per Quill Spray cast.
- 1 stack per Hairball cast.
1 stack upon Warpath cast.
- For Bristleback:
- 1 stack per passive Quill Spray procs.
- Does not proc on the following sources:
- Item abilities.
- 0-second
- Sources that do not proc on-cast effects.
- Grants flat
bonus attack damage.
bristleback_warpath- Each stack grants a new buff on Rigwarl, with each stack buff duration independent of the other.
Does not bestow current stacks.
However, the ability grants all created illusions whenever Bristleback gains one.
Other ability components are fully functional with all illusion-mechanic notes apply.
However, the ability grants all created illusions whenever Bristleback gains one.
Other ability components are fully functional with all illusion-mechanic notes apply.
Warpath: Moving x% faster and dealing x bonus damage.
Hidden modifier
- Applies the following effects on Rigwarl the more the Warpath stacks he has:
- Increases its
model size.
- The ability particles intensifies circling around Rigwarl.
- This is purely visual and has no effect on its
collision size.
- Increases its
- Grants the following bonuses at max stacks:
- bonus
- math
-
- bonus
Recent Matches[edit]
Main Article: Bristleback/Matches
| Date | Tier | Tournament | Picks | Score | vs. Picks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 2025 - 14:00 CEST | Tier 2 | FISSURE Special | 1 : 0 | |||||
| Apr 10, 2025 - 11:00 CEST | Tier 3 | EPL Season 25 | 1 : 0 | |||||
| Apr 10, 2025 - 10:00 CEST | Tier 3 | CCT Series 8 | 1 : 0 | |||||
| Apr 10, 2025 - 10:00 CEST | Tier 3 | CCT Series 8 | 0 : 1 | |||||
| Apr 10, 2025 - 14:55 SGT | Tier 3 | EPL World SEA S4 | 0 : 1 |
Recent Changes[edit]
Description
- Bristleback passive Quill Spray casts are considered reflection damage.
- Warpath
- Reduced movement speed bonus per stack from 2%/3%/4% to 2%/2.5%/3%.
- REMOVED the
Berserk facet.
- Now shares vision with Bristleback 's faction. However, Bristleback himself still does not receive his faction's vision.
- Increased Bristleback mana cost from 100 to 125.
- Increased Hairball mana cost from 40 to 60.
- Reduced Hairball cast range from 1000 to 750.
- Increased base attack damage from 25‒31 to 31‒37.
- ADDED the Prickly innate ability for Bristleback :
- Grants 10% outgoing damage amplification on enemy units behind Bristleback.
- Grants a 1.1 debuff duration factor on enemy units behind Bristleback.
- Warpath
- No longer an
innate ability.
- Rescaled max stacks from 4/8/10/12 to 8/10/12.
- Rescaled damage per stack from 5/15/20/25 to 15/20/25.
- Rescaled movement speed bonus per stack from 0%/2%/3%/4% to 2%/3%/4%.
- Increased stack duration from 12/16/18/20 to 8/10/12.
- Rescaled
- ADDED the
- Adds an active component to the ability.
- Has a 4/5/6-second duration and grants a 1.5 attack damage and movement speed bonus factor per stack.
- Reduced vision radius from 360° to 90° in front .
- Has a 45-second cooldown with a 55/65/75-mana cost.
- Adds an active component to the ability.
- No longer an
- Reduced Bristleback number of Quill Spray instances from 6 to 5.
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 | |
|---|---|---|
Mega Kill Streaks Kill Assists Kills |
Bronze |
|
Silver |
||
Gold |
||
Platinum |
| |
Master |
| |
Grandmaster |
| |
Equipment[edit]
| Sets | |
|---|---|
| Weapon | |
| Head | |
| Back | |
| Taunt | |
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]
Splash artwork
Concept art
Concept art
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
Bone Harvest sprite - alive
Bone Harvest sprite - dead