Semi-daily hero tips. Day 13: Bristleback

PREVIOUS HEROES

• Abaddon
• Alchemist
• Ancient Apparition
• Anti-Mage
• Arc Warden
• Axe
• Bane
• Batrider
• Beastmaster
• Bloodseeker
• Bounty Hunter
• Brewmaster

DISCLAIMER

A lot of you probably know about the weekly hero discussion, but that often ends up in a meta discussion (whether or not the hero needs buffs, etc) or a meme war than actual tips to play, itemize and build the hero.

This is what I'd like to do. Please discuss any notes I made and possible improvements while also giving tips of your own if you have them.

The roles, skill builds and item builds, as well as a lot of the notes are my opinion on matters and should not be seen as a must do or don't. Also remember that almost every single build or role is situationally possible.

A lot of the tips on heroes were also mentioned in tsunami's amazing hero tips series he did over the last couple of years.

Bristleback

Notes:

• Keep the cast time of nasal goo in mind if you plan to make a run for it
• Nasal goo dispells healing salve (Is this still the case?)
• When chasing down or running away, use quill spray on cooldown
• Bristleback is made for running and then turning around and hitting them hard when quill sprays are stacked
• Bristleback does not reduce damage from towers, but it does from DoT spells when his back is turned to the one he got the DoT from.
• Items do not trigger warpath
• Blade Mail used to be kind of a questionable item for bristle back when blade mail only reflected damage after reduction. This is not the case anymore though.
• If you get free farm (hard carry for example), you can skip the HoD and go for a radiance straight after the RoH component (the Blade Mail also kind of becomes situational?)
• Friends: Sniper, Drow (glass cannon hard hitting), Dazzle (physical damage + armor reduction), Omni (degen aura + heal), Warlock (fatal bonds + goo)
• Counters: Batrider (sticky napalm fucks up turn speed, firefly), Bloodseeker (silence and ult, carry TP!), Silencer (silences), Nyx, KotL, OD, AM (mana burn), Razor (static current + static link), Silver edge (break), Necrophos, AA, Undying, Timber (% based damage or STR reduction), Dazzle, AC, DK (armor buff for team and self), Slardar (armor reduction + physical damage), LC (forces bristle to face her)
• Turn towards the fountain when healing if you're up against heroes with global spells
• Spam quills in the fountain to charge up warpath before TP'ing out.
• Versus: Your entire team needs a magic wand
• Versus: Armor helps a lot
• Versus: Kill him fast, or don't kill him at all
• Versus: Get magic stick/wand!
• Versus: Be very agressive against him from lvl 1

Role: Offlane, semi-carry

Item build: (RoB, Wand, OoV,) Treads, Blade Mail, (Crimson, Medallion), Hood of defiance (--> pipe), Radiance, Octarine, Sange (--> Heaven's Halberd), Heart, AC

Skill build: max quill spray --> Bristleback --> goo (take value point pre-6)