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Dota 2 Bristleback hero guide

Author: Hawk Live LLC

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Bristleback Dota 2 hero guide - abilities, items, talents, and strategies

Dota 2 is one of the most immensely popular MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games with millions of competitive players all around the world. One of the most used heroes by players in the game is Bristleback. While playing the game, they can choose their heroes or Champions from a roster of about more than 125 different heroes according to their preferences, but if you want to stand your ground against your enemies, choosing Bristleback seems to be the right decision.

Credit: Valve Corporation

Bristleback is one of the most remarkable heroes in Dota 2 for multiple reasons among which his AoE (Area of Effect) damage and insane tankiness are the most notable. However, it is important to note that this Avatar should be using aggressive strategies if they want to capitalize on the strengths of this hero. His defending abilities, combined with his aggressive playstyle, make him a godlike pick to disarray enemies, absorb punishment and inflict pain with his Viscous Nasal Goo and Quill Spray.

Bristleback is an incredible Team Fighter. The synergy of his skills allows him to efficiently pressure enemies on a macro level, tank enemies in battlefield, and initiate skirmishes with a low chance of failure. His opponent has to strategize well, because multiple times opponents have ended up realizing the repercussions of taking a short glance at him.

Key Features of Bristleback

  • Vulnerabilities: The main tanks of the team, giving Bristleback the ability to negate powers from the sides and the back, hence giving him by far the best damaging output with the passive skill of being dealt damage.

  • Team Synergy: Bristleback Quill Spray offers new threats to a team, with almost infinite AoE damage increasing output in those close proximity fights.

  • Chasing Power: The Quill Spray adds more consistency ports attacking forward and adds a chasing dimension to the fight, furthermore the attacks also mask a reduction in armor and slow enemies.

  • Greater Strikes: Thanks to his Warpath ability, Bristleback’s strength and speed increase with the use of every skill making him the strongest Fighter in the arena.

Facets for Bristleback

For the Bristleback facestocks, I recommend concentrating on abilities that will increase his tanking and damage-dealing capabilities. Dota 2 enables players to add new strategies to their heroes through mechanics called facets. Now, we are going to consider working facets for Bristleback and his potential in the battlefield in regards to these facets.Key Facets for Bristleback:

Berserk: This facet allows Bristleback’s Warpath to be changed so that it gives attack speed rather than bonus damage, which enables him to hit faster while tanking. It augments his DPS in prolonged fights, making him an even bigger threat while being able to cast a number of spells.

Snot Rocket: In this case, instead of getting a Quill Spray from Bristleback when the HP drops, Viscous Nasal Goo is now shot at the enemy within 900 radius from could be credited as Bristleback’s W. Getting this facet increases Bristleback's shifting potential by his new feature rendering the enemies slow while reducing arms which serves to increase Bristleback’s ganking power which in turn plays a huge role within teamfights.

Facet

Hero

Tier

Win Rate

Change

Pick Rate

Ban Rate

Berserk

Bristleback

B

48.21%

+0.12%

42.83%

0.19%

Snot Rocket

Bristleback

A

49.81%

+0.35%

18.82%

0.21%

Bristleback Skills

Credit: Valve Corporation

Bristleback has an astounding set of tools which turn him into an almost unkillable monster while making sure everyone that dares oppose him finds an unbearable consequence. His most important tool, “Quill Spray” serves to deal damage to all enemies who get within an area surrounding him an area ensuring that the more enemies get hit, the more damage they do. “Viscous Nasal Goo” on the other hand lowers the armor on enemies and slows them down, giving Bristleback the opportunity to go after fleeing opponents or even start the fight if he so wishes to. In its simplest form, picking as passive skill “Bristleback” will allow an attacker to reduce damage done to sides and back enabling them to take a heavy amount of damage in accordance with their position which makes them an incredible front liner. Last but not least is “Warpath”.

Skill Build for Bristleback

Credit: DotaFire

  1. Quill Spray should be the first skill to be leveled up as it helps back in dealing with a group of assailants and also harassing them more. A person after making it past lane should focus on developing Bristleback proving to be even more durable allowing the player to get significantly tanked and to retaliate by performing free Quill Spins.

  2. Max Viscous Nasal Goo: Once your durability is set ensure that you put your attention on Viscous Nasal Goo aim to dealing armor reduction and slow down the enemies to make it easy for you to kill them.

  3. Warpath: Get Warpath whenever it is up so as to increase your movement speed and damage as you progress further in the game.

Talent Build for Bristleback

Credit: DotaFire

  • Level 10: +20 Movement Speed. The added speed enables Bristleback to pursue running enemies or to outrun adverse combats or skirmishes.

  • Level 15: +225 Health. This talent adds further to his tanking abilities and enables him to absorb more damage in fights.

  • Level 20: +20 Quill Spray Damage. The increase of the damage dealt by Quill Spray will make it more possible for Bristleback to deal more damage with Quill Spray and as such be more effective in long fights.

  • Level 25: +25 Warpath Damage per stack. This greatly enhances your late game presence and turns you into a beast with every cast.

Item Build for Bristleback

Credit: DotaFire

Item selection is critical in determining how much tanky the hero gets and how well he can function in the frontline. Grab Magic Stick, Tango, Quelling Blade and Iron Branch x2 for good lane sustain and last hitting. Rush for Vanguard for some early tank, and get Phase Boots for added movement and chasing. You have a good chance of absorbing magic damage with the Hood of Defiance followed by the Aghanim’s Scepter which strengthens both Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo, making you a bigger threat in team fights. Pick up Crimson Guard and Black King Bar to be more survivable in the late stages of the game. This will ensure you can take both physical and magical damage. In the end, Heart of Tarrasque makes sure you remain as an unkillable tank and it guarantees you dominance in any long fights.

Countering Bristleback

Bristleback's tanky nature combined with his ability to be a damage sponge provides a lot of assurance. But there are some heroes that can take advantage of his downsides. This is the reason why knowing these counter picks exists is vital for establishing power throughout the gamplay.

Bristleback is the best against

Hero

Bristleback Advantage

Riki

Bristleback’s area-of-effect damage with Quill Spray reveals and punishes Riki’s invisibility, making it hard for Riki to stay hidden or deal sustained damage.

Windranger

Bristleback’s AoE damage from Quill Spray and Viscous Nasal Goo negates her evasion, allowing him to punish her despite her high mobility and ability to dodge.

Visage

Bristleback’s sustained damage and durability make it difficult for Visage’s familiars to deal significant damage, while Quill Spray clears them out easily.

Broodmother

Bristleback’s ability to clear spiderlings with Quill Spray and chase Broodmother with Viscous Nasal Goo make him a strong counter to her split-push strategy.

Puck

Bristleback’s durability and ability to constantly apply pressure with his spells make it difficult for Puck to harass or disengage safely from fights.

How to Counter Bristleback

Hero

Bristleback’s Flaw

Viper

Viper’s Nethertoxin disables Bristleback’s passive, making him vulnerable to damage when attacked from the back or sides.

Legion Commander

Duel forces Bristleback to fight head-on, nullifying his damage reduction from the back and preventing him from escaping or turning to face his opponents.

Slark

Slark can steal stats with Essence Shift and outmaneuver Bristleback, punishing him in prolonged fights and mitigating his tankiness.

Shadow Demon

Shadow Demon’s Demonic Purge slows Bristleback and reduces his ability to escape or absorb damage from his back, making him vulnerable to follow-up damage from teammates.

Ancient Apparition

Ancient Apparition’s Ice Blast prevents Bristleback from healing, limiting his sustain and making him more vulnerable to burst damage in team fights.

These tables give a good impression of the heroes that Bristleback can destroy as well as those that can dismantle his tanking style. Use these matchups to hone your skills and go with the rhythm of the game.

Conclusion

Bristleback is a hero who is most powerful in the sustained fights, making great use of his survivability and his AoE spells damage to pressure the enemies constantly. If it comes to repackaging Bristleback by gaining a good position and purchasing necessary items, he can be a nightmarish player for any rival. As for starting team fights and breaking through the enemy squeezes, Bristleback is also a good choice out when a team needs brawlers. His tenacity and aggression will without a doubt lead her team to most battles.

Be sure to check out our other in-depth Dota 2 hero guides. Whether you’re looking to master another offlaner or fine-tune your carry skills, our comprehensive guides cover everything you need to succeed on the battlefield.

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