By the current metagame I mean versions around 6.64.
Huge Thanks to Impulsive for totally changing my mindset over bristleback.
Now, is BristleBack really viable in the current metagame?
At the moment, Bristleback does not fit anywhere reason being the BIG nerf to heart, the one that needs you out of fight for the regen. Bristleback is a hero that needs to be IN BATTLE all the time to deal the much needed damage.
Honestly, tankers don't fit anywhere right now. (Don't talk about Mangix & Tide, Mangix is imba with Aghanim while Tide is banned coz of his -armor and the power to pull out his ultimate everytime... thanks to the buffed Kraken Shell)
You need to have a systematized skill set to work, someone like Kunkka who has all 4 skills useful at various parts of the game.
Also, if you want Bristleback to work for you, you'll need the complete line-up to rotate around BB pick and there are much better heroes for that purpose like for example Spectre... the agility version of Bristleback? Lets have a comparison...
Bristleback can't hit the enemy much himself so he needs 'allies' to take advantage of the slow/-armor from Goo while Dagger, use it for the AoE slow, use it to escape, use for the vision predicting ganks and so on.
Talk about quills when enemies hit you... I guess dispersion works almost the same, hit and get youself damaged!
Bristleback reduces 40% damage from rear while Dispersion reduces 20% damage from all sides!
And the ultimate, not even worth comparing. Spectre is wayyy better.
Both the heroes need some farming to be effective so we can't compare them on item requirement basis. Also, both have their own way of farming.
Bristleback is nowhere near being a good pick in the current metagame. Perhaps, if pros come out with some other way to play this hero or lets wait for the next version if it brings some goodies for the tanker.
