How Bane and Bristleback perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bane and Bristleback win 48.15% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 4,129 matches.
Facing down a Bristleback running at you is a lot worse when you suddenly can't move. Bane provides the single-target lockdown that lets Bristleback get on top of a hero and stay there, stacking up Quill Sprays and slows without getting kited. The goal is for Bane’s Fiend's Grip to hold someone long enough for Bristleback to make them so slow and damaged that they can't get away even after the spell ends. Nightmare can also set up a pickoff or save Bristleback if he gets jumped.
This whole setup is fragile, though. It focuses on one hero, leaving the rest of the enemy team free to react. They can break Bane's channel, kill him while he's stuck, or use a Force Staff to save the ally he's holding. The combo needs an isolated target to be effective. In a full five-on-five fight, it’s often too easy for opponents to disrupt the plan. If that initial pickoff fails, both heroes can feel like they're playing their own separate games.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.
| Rank | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 51.55% | 386 |
| Crusader & Archon | 47.38% | 648 |
| Legend & Ancient | 43.55% | 372 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 48.15% | ▼ -1.7pp | 4,129 |
| 7.41d | 49.82% | ▼ -1.1pp | 49,622 |
| 7.41c | 50.89% | ▼ -1.2pp | 19,340 |
| 7.41b | 52.07% | — | 18,542 |
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Data updated Aug 17, 2026.