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Bristleback has been buffed continiously in the last 5 patches Bristleback has been buffed continiously in the last 5 patches

Since 7.0 Bristleback has receive buffs for five patches in a row. His talents also have been improved. Since 7.0 Bristleback has receive buffs for five patches in a row. His talents also have been improved.

Learn more about Dr Thivi Dr Thivi is rank 9 in the world for KDA on Bristleback just four places behind Newbee's Kpii. The Frenchman from Marseille is currently doing a PHD in Physics and plays the hero almost exclusively.

Dr Thivi's record in Bristleback speaks for itself Dr Thivi's record in Bristleback speaks for itself

Ancients are easy with Quill Spray Ancients are easy with Quill Spray

Pwning with Bristle: 1. Invest into Mana regen

Pwning with Bristle: 2. Get a team-mate who can reduce armour

Pwning with Bristle: 3. Be aggressive

Pwning with Bristle: 4. Buy defensive items not damage items

Pwning with Bristle: 5. Ancients, kill them and get supports to stack them

These are a few of the heroes that can deal with Bristleback These are a few of the heroes that can deal with Bristleback

1. Rotate your supports to deal with him early

2. Armour

4. Do NOT, do NOT hit his back. POSITION is key

5. Invest in a Silver Edge or Diffusal Blade

disable their passive abilities, and reduce their damage output.

6. BUY a Magic Wand

Mini tips

If you enjoyed this guide then check out the one I did for Keeper of the Light If you enjoyed this guide then check out the one I did for Keeper of the Light

Bristleback was the most banned hero at the ZOTAC Cup Masters while he has an incredible win rate at EPICENTER right now (7 wins in 8 games). He's a big winner in the current patch but his time in the spotlight has been a long time coming thanks to some generous buffs and tweaks to his talents. Below is a background into how the hero rose to glory, tips on how to lane him, play him and hopefully defeat him!Bristleback is a LOT of fun to play, surprisinglyI wasn't sold on the whole Bristleback hero but after he destroyed our entire team in a pub game and I started researching the hero for this article I found out he is actually extremely fun. The good thing about Bristleback is his ultimate grants damage so you have quite a lot of freedom about which items you can build. He can easily purchase team items such as Pipe of Insight or Crimson Guard, or even just go Blademail or Lotus Orb. The choice is yours.Most of the enjoyment from the hero comes with the fact that there seems to be some confusion as to how the hero works, with Quill Spray taking out many unsuspecting victims who appear blissfully unaware of just how much damage it can deal, and how much damage the hero gains with his ultimate. Below is my guide to the hero and I urge you to give him a go once or twice, regardless of what position you play just so you have a better understanding of how to play against him in the future."I think he's first pick material," said Moo from compLexity when asked about Bristleback. "Super strong, tanky hero, doesn't have requirements and true "hard counters". There are heroes that are good against him but nothing that completely stops him from just playing his own game, aka running at the enemies. His passive combined with high armour and damage block is insane, also a very fast hero that doesn't need damage items since your ult is quite strong."Why now? Why is Bristleback "suddenly" good?Many would simply blame Bristleback's sudden surge in popularity on the recent +10% Lifesteal Talent but there is more to it than that. The increase in Bristleback's strength is a combination of factors; changes to the hero, changes to his typical items and thirdly an increase in exposure.The most significant reason behind his rise in popularity is the gradual build up of buffs that have been bestowed on the hero. They've happened in small increments but to put it bluntly the hero has been the recipient of buffs for 5 patches in a row, as well as the the +.3 str gain to all heroes, increasing his tankiness potential. He may have got the short straw in terms of talent trees on the release of 7.0, but every patch since has addressed many of his weaknesses.In 7.02 the first big change in his talent tree occurs and the level 25 talent +4 Max Viscious Nasal Goo was replaced by +20 Quill Spray, which was then further buffed in 7.05 to be +25 Quill Spray. Also His Quill radius was increased from 625 to to 650 in 7.02 and then further increased to 700 in 7.04.Likewise his talents were buffed slightly to lead us to the image below which compares his talent tree in 7.0 to now in patch 7.06, the biggest of which is of course as we mentioned earlier the 10% Lifesteal Talent, the replacement for the quick Respawn talents which were removed from 42 heroes in 7.06.Another factor in the rise of Bristleback is items, something that TNC captain 1437 pointed out when I asked him about the rise of the hero. "His buffs matched up with some of the item buffs currently, they just go hand in hand. Like Solar Crest, Halberd... hood being cheaper for a while now. All the defensive items have become strong and it gives the hero more flexibility. "Aside from buffs to his abilities and defensive items there is of course the fact he has been picked up in the pro scene recently, most notably in the Manila Masters by Team NP, and the exposure of just how strong the hero can be has made people realise he might be worth trying in pubs. At the ZOTAC Cup Masters he was the most banned hero alongside Crystal Maiden, and at EPICENTER so far he has an 85% win rate, 7 wins in 8 games.On the hero page on Dotabuff Bristleback's pick rate has increased by 5% over the last month but his winrate has actually decreased slightly. Therefore, I'm going to give you tips that i've gleaned from talking to some of the top Bristleback players in the world rankings on how to play Bristleback and also how to beat him. It wouldn't be fair otherwise, but first a quick overview of how the hero works.How does the hero work? (For those who are unfamiliar)Much like Timbersaw and Slark, Bristleback grows stronger the longer the fight goes on for. If he is level 6 then everytime he casts a spell he gains additional damage and movement speed via his ultimate Warpath which can not be dispelled.The number of stacks of Warpath Bristleback is 5 at level 1 of his ultimate and then increases to 7 and then 9. Each "stack" of Warpath lasts 14 seconds, so as you can imagine a long fight against this hero is a nightmare.For example Bristleback casts 5 spells and has 5 stacks of Warpath Level One, that will grant him an additional 120 damage and 15% movement speed. Whereas if Bristleback casts spells and reaches 9 stacks of Warpath Level Three he will be dealing 270 additional damage (yes it's disgusting) and have a 45% movement speed increase.Bristleback's spells are cheap and have a low cooldown. Quill Spray sends out needles which stick to enemy units and heroes and are stackable, dealing more damage the more times you have been hit by the spell in the last 14 seconds. The spell has a 3 second cooldown and costs 35 mana so expect it to be spammed continiously.Nasal Goo has an even shorter cooldown of just 1.5 seconds and costs even less to cast, a mere 25 mana. Nasal Goo slows movement speed and reduces armour and much like Quill Spray is stackable. Also interestingly if you've been hit by Nasal Goo the effects remain even if you then activate a BKB.The goal as Bristleback is simple. Spam spells constantly and increase the stacks on nearby enemies. You take reduced damage from attacks from the side and the back as part of his Passive Bristleback (hence the hero name), and if he takes 210 damage from behind then he releases an extra Quill Spray.What is my skill build and starting items?The skill build for Bristleback is straight forward, max Quill Spray first followed by Bristleback. Level up your ultimate Warpath whenever you can and leave levelling up Nasal Goo until last.Starting items? "You can get an early soul ring but it's not necessary, you just need a Stout Shield and some regen (clarity or mango + trees)," said God of guides and ruler of men TorteDeLini.Where do I lane Bristleback?"The fun thing about playing Bristleback is you can go different builds and you can go many lanes, actually all lanes and you can adjust your items how you want," said Danish Bears' Noia. "Usually it can be nice to go offlane and get some help because it can take the enemies 3 heroes to kill you and then you can suddenly change the fight and pwn them instead with a little help from a rotating support."Bristleback can be an offlaner, carry or even a mid (although the last is quite rare). If you're just learning the hero then safelane might be your best bet as you can have the help of a support to stack and stop heavy ganks but the solo offlane and mid is where you can really rack up levels. Versus a Melee hero mid Bristle can easily stack Quill Sprays and force a retreat and the offlane can also go favourably if the enemy team does not invest into ganking you early.One thing to remember is Bristleback does not do well if the game goes very late and you will need another player on your team to become the damage dealer. Quill Spray's damage is fixed and not % based and come late game fights will usually happen much faster, giving you less time to stack enough Quill Sprays to deal significant damage.What is more despite stacks of Nasal Goo and Quill Spray increasing your right click damage they do not increase your attack speed. There is a +50 Attack Speed talent at level 20 but choosing that would mean giving up 10% Spell Lifesteal, which considering how often you can spam spells and heal back HP would be sorely missed.Aim to try to close the game within 40 minutes by leading your team-mates to take objectives, but if you think it is going to go long then you will need a lot of gold to buy items such as Heart of Tarrasque or Octarine Core.How to pwn as BristlebackDr Thivi or Thibault Vidal ( Twitch ) as he is known in the real world is a certified Bristle Pro and Rank 2 worldwide according to the DOTABUFF hero rankings. He has played 1,173 games on Bristleback alone and boasts a 63% win average on the hero with a 5.04 KDA rating, and he happily shared his tips for the hero."You should begin by thinking which heroes work well with Bristle. Crystal Maiden is your best friend and KOTL kicks ass with you too," Said Dr Thivi."CM grants you the mana regen mostly but also has a good disable with Frostbite, also KOTL provides mana and the cooldown reduction. You can take a lot of people offguard with that, two flash Quill Sprays."Mana regen is critical for Bristleback as to function effectively he needs enough mana to constantly cast Quill Spray and Nasal Goo. His level 10 talent does offer +2 mana regen but you will need more. Without Mana Bristleback is nothing. "Ring of Basilius, Linkens' Sphere, Solar Crest, I don't care how but get mana regen!" stressed Dr Thivi."Any hero with a stun but the most fun is the cheesy combos such as playing with heroes with armour reduction such as ShadowFiend, Vengeful Spirit, Slardar or Dazzle," said Dr Thivi.As we learned earlier Bristleback's Goo Nasal Goo reduces armour and considering Quill Spray is physical NOT magical damage, any additional reduction in armour is going to destroy your opponents. Although one of Dr Thivi's favourite combos is Lina + Bristleback, a combination he's played with a friend in over half of his matches on the BB.Bristleback is fearsome in the right hands so get up in your opponents' faces. "As far as destroying pubs with bristle, you need to play aggressive, be gaining gold, bristleback needs to be ahead and can get ahead easily almost every game," said Moo. "Get your core items, know when your strong, and bait the enemy into hitting your back.""Just spam W when u see enemy hero, if they want to go on you, just turn you back," suggests Dr Thivi. "Never try to man fight without numerical advantage, you only right click enemy when they try to run away. There is nothing to be ashamed of." Bristleback is a brawler and Quill Spray has a good radius, dont be afraid to take a few right clicks just to get off a spray. It will add up and they will soon be running for their lives.Bristleback's ultimate grants additional damage every time he casts a spell so you do not need to buy any damage items. Your focus will be making sure your hero can survive the onslaught long enough to Quill Spray people to death.There is quite a lot of freedom here but generally Power Treads into Vanguard is the standard build and then from there you could opt for Solar Crest for the armour/mana regen or Pipe of Insight if you're facing a lot of Magic damage. If the enemy is cleverly going for a Silver Edge then Blademail is your best bet to avoid then nuking you down before you're passive are back online.The hero is exceptionally good at killing ancients because they are not immune to Quill Spray's damage. What is more Quill Spray is an AOE so you can take out stacks easily (around level 7+), even earlier on in the game so get your supports stacking them. If the enemy team is rocking a trilane to shut you down then head to the ancients to catch up on levels.How to defeat BristlebackHopefully you've got your head around his abilities from the previous section but now to tackle the big question: how on earth do you beat Bristleback?! Now I've suffered the wrath of a Bristleback in pubs, a hero which can seem almost unkillable and soaks up all your damage.Some of the best laners versus Bristleback are Razor, Slark or Silencer, but if you end up having a hero who is not that great you NEED to get your supports to come into help.Some great supports for dealing with Bristleback are Ancient Apparition and Bane but ideally any hero with a slow or damage reduction is a nuisance for BristleBack, Arc Warden is especially deadly. You will need to duel lane or even trilane to avoid Bristleback getting out of hand.The second key to beating Bristleback is to understand Quill Spray is physical damage and NOT magical damage. Therefore to counteract his damage you need armour NOT magic resistance.Secondly you need a way to reduce Bristleback's armour. Due to the hero's natural tankiness the typical builds for the hero involve increasing his survavability, primarily by boosting his armour with items such as Vanguard/Crimson Guard, Shiva's Guard and Solar Crest. So either pick a hero who can reduce armour or consider buying items that can such as Desolator or a Solar Crest of your own.It seems so simple a concept but many have died because of this. A Bristleback turns to run away, you're thinking 'aha! we can kill him at last' but your chase ends up in vain and you all die to Quill Spray.His E reduces damage from the sides and the rear AND releases an additional Quill Spray if he takes more than 210 damage from behind remember, so do not chase foolishly when you're low HP or you and your team-mates will be history. If you engage him remember this and try to attack from the front. That is the reason heroes like Legion Commander or Ancient Apparition are so good against him as Duel and Cold Feet can keep him in place and unable to turn.You may be thinking "why do I need invisibility if his Quills will hit me anyway?", but the crucial part of Silver Edge is in the small print. "Attacking to end the invisibility will deal 175 bonus damage to the target,."This is critical. Bristleback has two passive abilities one of which is his ultimate and the second is Bristleback itself, which reduces damage from the sides and from the rear. By initiating with Silver Edge you get a free hit and also drop Bristleback's defences for 5 seconds allowing for a quick burst and possibly a kill. Silver Edge works well with a hero like Slark or Troll Warlord who are great in 1 on 1 combat.Another option is Diffusal Blade if you have an illusion based hero such as Phantom Lancer, Terrorblade or Naga. Burning through Bristle's mana pool is another way to shut him down. Without the ability to cast regularly he will unable to build up right click or AOE damage.Seriously this is a god send. Bristleback is spamming spells every 1.5-3 seconds so that is a wand charge every single time. Get this as early as you can!Pure Damage: BristleBack players rarely buy BKB which means Pure Damage and Magic Damage are important as they will not be reduced by his high armour.Range is your friend: Quill Spray's range is big but it is not massive. If you can have a hero on your side such as Enchantress, Silencer or Sniper with Dragon Lance you can outrange the Quills.TP out: Bristleback may deal a lot of damage at the start but he has no stun so carry a TP and escape certain death if you stay.Keep an eye on Stacks: You can see how many Quill Spray stacks are on you, be mindful of this as the more stacks on you, the more damage the next Quill Spray will deal.Monitor the ancients: Bristleback can very easily farm ancients and if his supports have stacked that's bad news for you. Try to ward nearby.Don't be afraid to turn your back: There's nothing cowardly about it and Moo says it can be a great tool. "You can animation cancel your spells and turn your back at the correct time since he's a hero with extremely low turn speed."That's it!That's it for the guide, hopefully you might want to try out the hero after reading it or at least know how to deal with him better. If you enjoyed this guide I also did one on Keeper of the Light you can have a look at.