How Bristleback and Drow Ranger perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Drow Ranger win 45.26% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 15,615 matches.
Running at the enemy team as Bristleback creates a classic front-to-back scenario for Drow Ranger. He provides a durable frontline that keeps opponents busy, allowing Drow to attack from a safe distance. This helps her maintain the bonus from Marksmanship, while Bristleback’s Viscous Nasal Goo reduces armor to amplify her damage. When they both apply their slows to a single target, that hero is rarely able to escape or reposition effectively.
This pairing relies on a simple game plan that is easy to execute but also easy to counter. It performs well against lineups that lack the tools to get past the frontline. The strategy falls apart, however, when the enemy has strong dive heroes who can bypass Bristleback and burst Drow Ranger down. Bristleback offers very little peel beyond a slow, meaning the duo's success often depends more on the enemy draft than on their own coordination.
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 | 46.57% | 1,589 |
| Crusader & Archon | 45.40% | 2,465 |
| Legend & Ancient | 44.32% | 1,241 |
| Divine & Immortal | 42.32% | 293 |
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 | 45.26% | ▼ -5.0pp | 15,615 |
| 7.41d | 50.29% | ▲ +0.1pp | 217,279 |
| 7.41c | 50.22% | ▼ -0.4pp | 94,899 |
| 7.41b | 50.62% | — | 86,435 |
Move this data into a draft
Both heroes start on Radiant. Fill the remaining slots to test this pairing inside a complete draft and get next-pick recommendations.
Data updated Aug 17, 2026.