Tusk
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Tusk
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Ymir the Tusk is a melee strength hero whose array of icy disables make him a very strong team initiator and ganker. He has a damage nuke and a disable in Ice Shards, which lets him precisely place a barrier in an enemy's path, inhibiting their movement and blocking off their escape path. Should his teammates need help closing the distance to enemies, Tusk can assist them with Snowball, which surrounds Tusk and any nearby allies in a protective shell of snow as he rolls at a target enemy, damaging and stunning everything in its path. Once in a fight, Tusk can slow the enemy down to his pace with Frozen Sigil, which reduces the movement and attack speed of all nearby foes. His ultimate, Walrus PUNCH!, sends a target enemy flying with a mighty uppercut, stunning and disabling them while dealing tremendous damage, and slowing them upon landing. A strong initiator and powerful brawler, the Terror from the Barrier should never be bet against in a fight, as he can put his foes down for the count with his unique assortment of spells and disables.
Contents
Bio[edit]
 Ymir, the Tusk
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| Play "After a bar brawl it's customary, as a courtesy, to buy everyone who's still standing a round of drinks." | |
| Role: |  Initiator /  Disabler /  Nuker
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| Lore: | It had been a brawl to remember. There stood Ymir, the Tusk, the Terror from the Barrier, the Snowball from Cobalt, the only fighter to have bested the Bristled Bruiser in a fair fight, and now the last man standing in Wolfsden Tavern. What started as a simple bar bet of supremacy ended with four regulars, a blacksmith, and six of the Frost Brigade's best soldiers writhing against the shards and splinters of almost every bottle, mug, and chair in the building. The Tusk boasted and toasted his victory as he emptied his brew.
No sooner had the defeated regained consciousness than the cries for double-or-nothing rang out. The Tusk was pleased at the prospect, but none could think of a bet bigger than the one he just conquered. Horrified at the damage to his tavern and desperate to avoid another brawl, the barkeep had an idea. As skilled as he was, Ymir had never taken part in a real battle, never tested himself against the indiscriminate death and chaos of war. He proposed a wager to the fighter: seek out the biggest battle he could find, survive, and win it for whichever side he chose. The stakes? The next round of drinks. |
| Voice: | Tom Chantler (Responses) |
Abilities[edit]
Ice Shards
Tusk compresses shards of ice into a ball of frozen energy that damages all enemies it comes in contact with. When the ball reaches its target destination the shards are released, creating a barrier that lasts for 7 seconds.
Cast Animation: 0.1+0
Cast Range: 2000
Damage Radius: 200
Shards Spawn Radius: 200
Damage: 60/120/180/240
Shards Duration: 7
19/
100/
Pathing block affects spell immune units. Does not attempt to damage spell immune enemies.In the frozen tundra near the Barrier, after the last sun of autumn has set, ice can form with alarming speed.
Notes:
- The projectile travels at a speed of 1200 and travels until reaching the targeted point.
- The ice shards are always created in the same formation.
- The shards' formation is a 200 radius circle with one open side, the center of the circle is 200 range before the targeted point.
- The first shard is always created at the targeted point, so it is always in one line with Tusk's position upon cast.
- The next shards are placed 40° further to the left and the right respectively, up to 7 shards. 9 shards would make a full circle.
- So the open side of the shards circle is always facing towards Tusk's position upon cast.
- The shards' collision radius is approximately 67, the distance between them is about 6, which is too small for any unit to move through.
- Units not controlled by any player do not try to path around the shards, but simply walk against them as if they are not there.
- This effectively causes them to get stuck until they change directions (e.g. when aggro-ing them).
- The projectile has 100 radius flying vision. This vision lasts for 2 seconds at the targeted point upon reaching it.
- The projectile blocks neutral creep camps, the shards do not.
Snowball
Tusk begins rolling into a snowball. Allies within a 350 radius can also be added to the snowball by right-clicking on them, even while the snowball is moving. Once launched, any enemies caught in the snowball's path will be stunned and take damage. Each allied Hero in the snowball will add to its damage.
Cast Animation: 0.1+0.5
Cast Range: 1250
Base Damage & Stun Radius: 200
Radius Increase per Second: 40
Gather Radius: 350
Max Stationary Time: 3
Max Chase Duration: 3
Base Damage: 80/120/160/200 (
230/270/310/350)
230/270/310/350)Damage per Gathered Hero: 20/30/40/50
Snowball Speed: 675
Stun Duration: 0.5/0.75/1/1.25
21/ 75
Cannot target spell immune enemies. Does not attempt to damage or stun spell immune enemies. Can pull spell immune allies inside.Modifiers
Snowball Movement: Undispellable. Snowball Movement Friendly: Undispellable.
Snowball Visible: Dispellable with any dispel. Stunned: Dispellable with strong dispels.Tales are still told of the wild feat that ended the grand brawl at White Fields.
Notes:
- The snowball travels at a speed of 675 and cannot be disjointed.
- The Snowball chases the target for up to 3 seconds, so it can travel for up to 2025 range.
- Allies can be added by right-clicking them at any point. Allies can jump inside the Snowball by themselves as well, by right-clicking it.
- Allies affected by
Black Hole, 
Chronosphere, or 
Flaming Lasso cannot join the Snowball. However, attempting to load in a lassoed ally still adds damage. - Can gather summoned units, including own
Frozen Sigil but no other wards. - Can gather allies while they are invisible or invulnerable.
- Allies affected by
- Units inside Snowball are invulnerable, hidden and spell immune. Allies inside the Snowball are also fully disabled.
- Tusk himself is only muted and disarmed inside it, meaning he can cast his spells, but cannot use items or attack.
- The radius increases by 40 per second, starting immediately as it begins rolling, so the radius during each second is 240/280/320.
- Only gathered allied heroes (including clones) increase its damage. Other added units do not. Illusions do not count as heroes.
- Tusk cannot be forced out of the Snowball by any means. Other units inside the Snowball, however, still can be forced out by teleporting spells, without reducing the damage.
- When Snowball connects with its target, Tusk is given an attack order on the target.
- This means that Tusk will attack the target even if the player has "Auto Attack" option disabled.
- The disable help function prevents an allied Tusk from getting you inside his Snowball.
- The snowball destroys trees within its radius as it rolls forward.
- This is how much damage Snowball deals (before reductions) with a certain amount of heroes (counting Tusk):
- 2 Heroes: 100/150/200/250 ( 250/300/350/400)
- 3 Heroes: 120/180/240/300 ( 270/330/390/450)
- 4 Heroes: 140/210/280/350 ( 290/360/430/500)
- 5 Heroes: 160/240/320/400 ( 310/390/470/550)
- 2 Heroes: 100/150/200/250 (
- The Snowball Visible debuff provides shared vision over the target until the Snowball stops. Does not provide True Sight.
Launch Snowball
W
W
Ability
No Target
No Target
Launch the snowball toward the target.
Cast Animation: 0+0
0Into the great wide white!
Notes:
- Replaces
Snowball until the Snowball reaches its target or expires.
- The cast of Launch Snowball is not registered as a spell cast and thus does not proc any on-cast effects.
- Tusk may use
Ice Shards, Frozen Sigil, 
Walrus Kick and toggle autocast of 
Walrus PUNCH! during the launch time, other gathered units may not use any spells.
| Frozen Sigil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Frozen Sigil
Ability
No Target
No Target
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Tusk summons a Frozen Sigil by calling upon the deepest cold of winter. The Sigil creates a snowstorm which slows all enemy units within 600 range.
Cast Animation: 0.1+0.87
Radius: 600
Hero Attacks to Destroy: 3/3/4/4
Non-Hero Attacks to Destroy: 12/12/16/16
Move Speed Slow: 10%/15%/20%/25%
Attack Speed Slow: 30/40/50/60
Sigil Duration: 30
50 75
Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity.Modifiers
Frozen Sigil: Undispellable.The chill of home!
Walrus PUNCH!
Affects
Enemies
Enemies
Tusk connects with his mighty Walrus Punch, a critical strike so powerful it launches its victim into the air. The victim is slowed upon landing.
Cast Range: 150
Critical Damage: 350% ( 500%)
500%)Move Speed Slow: 40%
Slow Duration: 3/4/5
Stun Duration: 1
36/ 50/
Grants the Walrus Kick ability.Modifiers
Walrus Punch Air Time: Undispellable. Walrus Punch Slow: Dispellable with any dispel.It never matters who throws the first punch, only who throws the last.
Notes:
- Despite being an active attack modifier, Walrus Punch does proc all on-cast effects like a regular spell.
- The victim is hurled 650 range into the air during the stun duration.
- While in the air, other units may pass below the punched unit.
- The slow is applied right upon cast, so the effective slow duration is 2/3/4 seconds since the target is stunned for the first second.
- Can punch everything, except wards, buildings, allied and own units. Tusk can attack those without wasting it when on autocast.
- Plays a sound as soon as the attack starts. The sound only stops playing upon landing the punch.
- Can be cast on
Roshan, but only the stun and slow are applied.
- Once purchased, Tusk cannot drop or sell his
Aghanim's Scepter.
Walrus Kick
Kicks the target unit back, damaging them and slowing their movement speed.
Cast Animation: 0.2+1.3
Cast Range: 150
Knockback Distance: 1400
Damage: 350
Move Speed Slow: 40%
Slow Duration: 5
Stun Duration: 1
8 100
Modifiers
Walrus Kick Air Time: Undispellable. Walrus Kick Slow: Dispellable with any dispel.Notes:
- Requires Aghanim's Scepter to be unlocked.
- Unlike Walrus Punch, Walrus Kick is not an active attack modifier.
- The target travels away from Tusk in an arc 1400 range far and 360 range high.
- While in the air, other units may pass below the kicked unit.
- The slow debuff is applied right upon cast, so the effective slow duration is 4 seconds since the target is stunned for the first second.
- Destroys trees within a 100 radius around the kicked unit during the knockback.
- Can be cast on Roshan, but only the stun, damage and slow are applied.
Talents[edit]
| Hero Talents | ||
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| +150% Walrus PUNCH! Crit
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25 | +700 Health |
| +12% Magic Resistance | 20 | +6 Armor |
| +90 Gold/Min | 15 | +150 Snowball Damage
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| +35 Damage | 10 | +40% XP Gain |
Notes:
- The armor and attack damage are added as bonus armor and bonus attack damage, and therefore do not benefit illusions.
- Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.
- The magic resistance stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.
- Upgrading health increases maximum health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.
Recommended items[edit]
Starting items:
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Tangos and 
Healing Salve give Tusk HP sustain in-lane, allowing him to survive enemy harass and continue gaining gold and experience. -
Clarity allows Tusk to replenish his mana pool from casting spells, important since all of his basic spells are very expensive and will consume a sizable fraction of his small base mana pool. In particular, Ice Shards can consume almost half of Tusk's mana pool, so having enough mana to cast his full combo can make or break getting First Blood. -
Iron Branch and 
Circlet give Tusk all-around attributes, important for beefing up his HP, base damage and mana to increase his survivability in-lane. They allow Tusk to immediately build a Magic Wand from the Side Lane Shop once he has enough gold. -
Enchanted Mango is a useful starting item to purchase, as it gives Tusk some passive HP regen, mitigating harass damage, and a way to instantly replenish mana for casting his spells in a pinch. -
Stout Shield is particularly useful if Tusk is played as an off-laner, as the damage block will give him increased resistance to enemy harass. It can be upgraded later into a 
Vanguard to increase Tusk's beefiness and increase his survivability during initiations.
Early game:
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Boots of Speed is important to purchase early on, as Tusk relies on good positioning in order to make the most of his spells. He can more easily chase down enemies during ganks, or escape pursuers. -
Magic Wand can be immediately built using already-purchased attribute items. The charge storage allows Tusk to immediately replenish his HP and mana, which can make or break fights or ganks given his powerful spells. -
Bracer provides Tusk with an assortment of attributes, primarily strength for increased HP and base damage. It can later be used to build a Drum of Endurance. -
Orb of Venom is a strong pickup in any situation, but particularly if Tusk is a roamer. Applying the slow debuff can reduce an enemy's chances of escaping, and stacks alongside Frozen Sigil to help chase down fleeing enemies. -
Bottle is very powerful on mobile initiators like Tusk, since he can roam and set up kills for his team, and as such benefits from always being at full HP and mana should a gank opportunity arise. As well, he can take advantage of runes to increase his initiating power.
Core items:
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Phase Boots gives Tusk an assortment of powerful benefits, making it the best boots for him. The increased movement speed allows him to position more easily to cast his spells, and allows him to more easily chase down fleeing enemies in combination with Frozen Sigil. The bonus damage improves Tusk's ability to last-hit to farm, and increases the damage done with Walrus PUNCH! -
Drum of Endurance gives Tusk all-around stats that give him more HP, damage, and a larger mana pool to work with. The aura improves his mobility and gives his team a fighting edge when engaging the enemy. -
Town Portal Scroll is important to carry at all times. Tusk's strong crowd control and initiation abilities makes him a powerful ally to have when ganking a lone enemy, or starting a teamfight on his own terms. -
Urn of Shadows gives Tusk many benefits for a cheap price. As a highly mobile ganker, Tusk can easily get charges with which to heal himself and teammates or deal more damage in ganks; as well, Urn charges can instantly put enemy Blink Daggers on cooldown from a distance. The item also provides strength, giving Tusk more HP and base damage, and scaling mana regen to help him to cast spells more easily.
Situational items:
-
Desolator gives Tusk increased bonus damage, and allows him to apply an armor debuff to enemies, particularly when combined with Walrus PUNCH!. -
Shadow Blade increases Tusk's physical damage output, and gives him yet another initiation ability. Shadow Walk can be used to deal tremendous physical damage to a gank target with Walrus PUNCH!, or can be cast to escape in a tight situation. -
Heart of Tarrasque is very expensive but increases Tusk's HP significantly, allowing him to stay alive for much longer after initiating with Snowball. The increased strength also gives Tusk more base damage, improving the potency of Walrus PUNCH!. -
Black King Bar ensures Tusk is protected from most disables, allowing him to continue fighting and casting his spells after a successful initiation. The extra strength gives him more HP and damage, while the extra damage gives him more physical damage output. -
Heaven's Halberd helps make Tusk a better all-around fighter through its various bonuses. It grants more HP and evasion for increased survivability, more base damage and bonus damage to make his attacks hit harder, a Lesser Maim that can debilitate enemies in fights, and a Disarm that can outright prevent enemies from using their right-clicks. -
Assault Cuirass is a strong aura and fighting item that, while expensive, can greatly improve Tusk's damage output. The increased armor makes Tusk much tankier, and the attack speed helps him to deal more damage. The aura can be easily utilized due to Snowball giving Tusk a way to get close to enemies, and its armor debuff can increase the hitting power of Walrus PUNCH!. -
Medallion of Courage is a very cheap utility item that gives Tusk many strong benefits for its price. The armor helps make Tusk tankier, and the mana regen helps to sustain his expensive but powerful spells. Using the active on an enemy during initiation can increase the amount of damage they take from Walrus PUNCH!. -
Aghanim's Scepter unlocks Walrus Kick, greatly increasing Tusk's impact in fights and ganks. The item also makes Tusk tankier and improves his mana pool to sustain his spell casting. -
Lotus Orb gives Tusk increased survivability when initiating against powerful enemies. Besides giving him more armor to aid survivability, Echo Shell allows Tusk to use the enemy's unit-targeted spells against them should they attempt to target him during initiations, and can otherwise give him a larger window to act while the enemy hesitates. The scaling mana regen also helps Tusk to maintain casting his spells. - Upgrading Shadow Blade into a
Silver Edge can greatly augment Tusk's initiating power. Besides improving Tusk's damage output, applying a Break to an important target can disable their passive abilities and cripple their damage output, making them a much smaller threat in an engagement. -
Blink Dagger is powerful in many situations. As Tusk requires good positioning to use his spells, Blink Dagger can allow him to immediately get within range to cast a disable. In a pinch, it can also be used to jump on top of a beleaguered ally to protect them with Snowball, or as an escape mechanism after casting Snowball to protect himself long enough for it to come off cooldown. -
Blade Mail is a powerful survivability item that fills in many of Tusk's deficiencies. The armor makes him tankier, the intelligence shores up his small mana pool, and the damage improves the potency of Walrus PUNCH!. Using the active can discourage enemies from attacking Tusk, and can allow him to use his HP pool offensively against gank targets who try to fight back. -
Armlet of Mordiggian is a cheap fighting item that gives Tusk an assortment of bonuses. It provides armor and HP regen, aiding Tusk's survivability, and the active gives him bonus strength and damage, giving him more HP and damage output in an engagement, particularly increasing the damage that Walrus PUNCH! deals. -
Sange and Yasha is an all-around fighting item that improves Tusk's ability to engage enemies in teamfights. The improved movement speed allows Tusk to position for his spells and chase down fleeing enemies, and the strength and bonus damage give him better battlefield presence. The Greater Maim also allows him to debilitate enemies' attempts to fight him and his team. -
Battle Fury is an unorthodox but useful item for a roaming Tusk. While it is generally considered a core farming item, it provides Tusk with many useful benefits. The HP and mana regen allow him to roam more independently, while the cleave can help him to farm more items for himself. The ability to cut trees allows Tusk to position himself for casting his spells from unorthodox locations, or simply path through the jungle more easily, and the increased damage allows him to deal more damage with Walrus PUNCH!. -
Radiance is expensive to farm, but allows Tusk to fight more effectively against enemies. The area burn allows Tusk to damage all nearby enemies in the midst of initiations, particularly as he can easily get into the middle of their formation with Snowball, and the induced miss chance also gives him survivability against auto-attacks. The bonus damage also allows him to deal tremendous damage with Walrus PUNCH!. -
Monkey King Bar drastically improves Tusk's damage output, and allows him to hit enemies through evasion and blind. The raw damage increase makes Walrus PUNCH! much stronger as well. -
Eye of Skadi gives Tusk attributes across the board, making him much tankier and giving him a bigger mana pool to work with. The Cold Attack modifier also allows him to slow enemies with his attacks, stacking alongside Frozen Sigil to magnify his battlefield presence. -
Abyssal Blade gives Tusk a chance to bash enemies he attacks while the active can give Tusk even more lockdown on top of his other disables, particularly as it can stun through spell immunity. - Tusk's spells allow him to provide strong utility for his team when not built to take advantage of his ultimate. Several items can help him to this end:
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Soul Ring is very cheap and can be easily purchased in the early game. It provides mana and HP regen, allowing Tusk to roam more independently, and lets Tusk dip into his HP pool to cast his spells, allowing him to be more active on the map. -
Arcane Boots increases the size of Tusk's mana pool and gives him a means with which to replenish it, along with that of his teammates. Being able to easily sustain his own mana pool allows Tusk to stay on the go and use his spells to set up kills for his team. -
Force Staff is a strong utility item that increases Tusk's mobility. It provides intelligence, improving his mana pool, and gives him HP regen to keep his health topped up. The active can be used as an initiation booster to help Tusk position himself to cast his spells, as a quick escape, or can be used on allies to re-position them for various purposes. It can also be cast on enemies to dis-position them, or to break an enemy Linken's Sphere during initiation. -
Vladmir's Offering is a useful mid-game utility item that provides Tusk with a strong teamfight aura. It provides Tusk and allies with additional armor and HP regen, improving their survivability, and some mana regen to allow Tusk to maintain his mana pool more easily. The increased damage also provides Tusk's team with an edge in fights, and helps Tusk to deal more damage with Walrus PUNCH!. -
Eul's Scepter of Divinity gives Tusk increased casting ability, along with providing other strong bonuses. Its intelligence and scaling mana regen bonuses solve all of Tusk's casting problems, allowing him to always have a full mana pool to deal with any situation, and its movement speed bonus increases the potency of Phase Boots and Drum of Endurance, allowing Tusk to be far more mobile. The cyclone can be used to provide Tusk with another invulnerability ability on top of Snowball, purging debuffs from himself at the same time, or can be cast on enemies as an additional disable during initiations. -
Solar Crest can be upgraded from Medallion of Courage, and provides Tusk with many of the same benefits. The extra armor and evasion make him increasingly tanky during initiations, and applying the debuff to an enemy will cause them to take even more damage from Walrus PUNCH!. -
Rod of Atos is well-suited to improving Tusk's survivability and casting potential. It greatly improves Tusk's HP pool, making him tankier and more able to survive during initiations, and a large amount of intelligence to drastically increase the size of his mana pool. The extremely long range on the active allows Tusk to drastically slow a target enemy from a great distance, and the slow can be combined with that of Frozen Sigil, enough to almost completely immobilize an enemy. As well, the long cast range allows it to be used to paralyze an enemy prior to casting Snowball, preventing enemies without blink or haste abilities from outrunning it. -
Pipe of Insight is a strong utility item that can give Tusk increased survivability against magic nukes. The magic resistance helps him to survive during initiations once his HP pool is large enough, and the active can shield him and his teammates from enemy magic nukes for a time. -
Crimson Guard can be upgraded from Vanguard, and allows Tusk to increase his team's resistance to physical damage. The additional armor greatly improves Tusk's tankiness on top of the increased HP and damage block, and using the active can further protect him and his teammates against the enemy's physical attacks. -
Shiva's Guard is an expensive utility item but synergizes strongly with Tusk's ability to disable enemies. It provides a great amount of armor, making Tusk more tanky, and drastically improves his mana pool through bonus intelligence, ensuring that he can always have enough mana to cast his spells. The aura and active can slow enemy movement and attack speed even further on top of Frozen Sigil, and the active can be used prior to casting Snowball in order to apply the blast to the entire enemy team during initiations.
Gameplay[edit]
Audio[edit]
History[edit]
Equipment[edit]
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Trivia[edit]
- In DotA, Tusk's title is Tuskarr. The Tuskarr are a race of humanoid walruses in the Warcraft universe.
- His response Play "Falcon Punch!" is a reference to Captain Falcon's signature move in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, which has also become a popular internet meme.
- His response Play "Bang! Zoom! To the Mad Moon!" is likely a reference to The Honeymooners character Ralph Kramden, who would frequently say "Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!".
- His response Play "Coulda been a contender." is likely a reference to the quote from the movie On the Waterfront.
- His response Play "My fight money." is likely a reference to Balrog from Street Fighter who says the same thing whenever he loses a round.
- His response to missing a Walrus Punch, Play "Well there's your problem." is likely a reference to Adam Savage from Mythbusters, who has made it a show catchphrase. Savage often jokes that the mustache of his co-host Jamie Hyneman makes him look like a walrus.
- His response Play "Double Dragon Punch Punch!" is a reference to the game, "Double Dragon".
- In Tusk's lore, the Bristled Bruiser is
Bristleback, who was ported to Dota 2 roughly a month after Tusk; Bristleback's lore makes mention of Tusk as well, and the two heroes share rival and ally lines with regards to this relationship. - Before 6.80, where Walrus PUNCH! dealt higher crit damage to targets below 50% health, the floating text above the target would change:
- When landed on an enemy creep whose health was above 50%, the caption read "Penguin Punch!" in small blue letters.
- When landed on an enemy hero whose health was above 50%, the caption read "Polar Punch!" in medium blue letters.
- When landed on any enemy whose health was below 50%, it read "Walrus Punch!" in large letters.
- In the current version, it always displays "Walrus Punch", no matter what is targeted.
-
Rubick's version of Walrus Punch would throw a projectile which uses Rubick's model and spins towards the target. When used on Tusk, it would read "Sucker Punch!" in green. On other targets, it read "Stolen Punch".
- However, since Walrus Punch is an active attack modifier, Rubick cannot steal it anymore.
Gallery[edit]
Splash artwork
Trading card art
Ability icon progress [?]
Hero icon progress
Old Floating texts of Walrus Punch. [?]
