How Bristleback and Warlock perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Bristleback and Warlock win 48.20% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 7,293 matches.
Linking enemies with Fatal Bonds sets up a decent damage combo with Bristleback's constant Quill Sprays. The core strategies of these heroes, however, can sometimes pull in opposite directions. Warlock wants to control a teamfight from long range with Chaotic Offering, dropping a Golem that can make enemies scatter. This tempo can work against Bristleback, who excels in messy, drawn-out brawls where opponents are forced to stay and fight him. A fight that ends too quickly, or one where enemies are scared away by the Golem, prevents Bristleback from building up the stacks that make him truly dangerous.
The game plan for this duo relies on Warlock landing a perfect ultimate to enable Bristleback to run down slowed, bonded enemies. Success hinges on the other team's composition. If the enemy can survive the initial stun and has the mobility to kite the Golem and avoid Bristleback, the combo falls flat. Bristleback is left unable to get on top of targets, and Warlock lacks the tools to save him if he gets turned on from the front. This makes their pairing highly situational, depending more on the enemy's draft than their own inherent synergy.
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 | 55.27% | 702 |
| Crusader & Archon | 47.56% | 1,230 |
| Legend & Ancient | 43.38% | 574 |
| Divine & Immortal | 37.04% | 108 |
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 | 48.20% | ▲ +0.1pp | 7,293 |
| 7.41d | 48.14% | ▲ +0.0pp | 93,162 |
| 7.41c | 48.13% | ▼ -1.5pp | 46,096 |
| 7.41b | 49.60% | — | 56,106 |
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Data updated Aug 17, 2026.