Tusk

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Strategy

 

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Equipment

 

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Tusk
23 + 3 23 + 2.1 18 + 1.7
Level Base 1 15 25 Health 200 717.5 1662.5 2337.5 H. regen amp 0% 15.81% 44.69% 65.31% Magic res. 25% 26.35% 28.14% 29.41% Mana 75 291 567 771 M. regen amp 0% 32.4% 75.24% 105.84% Spell dmg 0% 1.26% 2.93% 4.12% Armor -1 2.68 7.38 10.74 Att/sec 0.59 0.72 0.9 1.02 Move sp amp. 0% 1.15% 2.62% 3.67% Damage 27‒31 50‒54 92‒96 122‒126
Base health regen 1.5 Base mana regen 0.9 Movement speed 295 Turn rate 0.7 Vision range 1800/800 Attack range 150 Projectile speed Instant Attack animation 0.36+0.64 Base attack time 1.7 Collision size 24 Legs 2  Gib type Default

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.

Bio

Ymir, the Tusk

Play "After a bar brawl it's customary, as a courtesy, to buy everyone who's still standing a round of drinks."

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

Ice Shards

Play

Q

E

Ability
Target Point

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

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 4/5/6/7 seconds.

Cast Animation: 0.1+0

Cast Range: 2000

Damage Radius: 200

Shards Spawn Radius: 200

Damage: 60/120/180/240

Shards Duration: 4/5/6/7

23/20/17/14 ( 17/14/11/8)

100/105/110/115

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.

Visual indicator above the target.

Snowball

Play

W

W

Ability
Target Unit

Affects
Allies / Enemies

Damage
Magical

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

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)

Damage per Gathered Hero: 20/30/40/50

Snowball Speed: 600/625/650/675 ( 900/925/950/975)

Stun Duration: 0.5/0.75/1/1.25

21/20/19/18

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 600/625/650/675 ( 900/925/950/975).

• The Snowball chases the target for up to 3 seconds, so it can travel for up to 1800/1875/1950/2025 ( 2700/2775/2850/2925) 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 an ally affected by these still adds damage to the Snowball.
  • Can gather summoned units, including own Frozen Sigil but no other wards.
  • Can gather allies while they are invisible or invulnerable.

• 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, while other units can still be forced out by teleporting spells, without reducing the damage.
  • Dark Rift is the only abilty able to force Tusk out of the Snowball. Upon doing so, the spell gets fully canceled.

• 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)

• Snowball first applies the debuff, then the damage.

• 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

Launch the snowball toward the target.

Cast Animation: 0+0

0

Into the great wide white!

Notes:

• Replaces Snowball until the Snowball reaches its target or expires.

• 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
Ward
Level 0 Duration 0.5 Health 12/12/16/16 Health regeneration 0 Armor 0 Magic resistance 0% Status resistance 0% Movement speed 310 Follow range 250 Turn rate 0.5 Collision size 8 Vision range 400 • 400 (G) Bounty 90/100/110/120 Experience 0 Model scale 1

Frozen Sigil

Play

E

F

Ability
No Target

Affects
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

Aura Linger Duration: 0.5

Sigil Duration: 30

50

75

Slow persists if debuff was placed before spell immunity.

Modifiers

Frozen Sigil: Undispellable.

The chill of home!

Notes:

• After cast, the Sigil automatically follows Tusk, if no other order is given.

• The slow is provided by an aura. Its debuff lingers for 0.5 seconds.

• Can be loaded inside Snowball, even though it counts as a ward.

Walrus PUNCH!

Play

R

R

Ability
Target Unit / Autocast

Affects
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.

Proc Chance on Attack: 0 ( 12%)

Critical Damage: 350% ( 450%)

Move Speed Slow: 40%

Slow Duration: 3/4/5

Stun Duration: 1

36/24/12

50/75/100

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:

• The cast range of Walrus Punch always equals the caster's attack range.

• Despite being an active attack modifier, Walrus Punch does proc all on-cast effects like a regular spell.

• Walrus Punch cannot miss to evasion and blindness.

• The victim is hurled 650 range(1200 if lethal) into the air during the stun duration.
  • Walrus Punch cannot be overridden by any other upward forced movement.

• 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.

• The punch first applies the debuffs, then the damage.

• Can punch everything, except wards, buildings, allied and own units. Tusk can attack those without wasting it when on autocast.

• Since the damage is a simple crit, it can cleave and Tusk can lifesteal off of it.

• 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.

• When the level 25 talent is chosen, Walrus Punch on the current level may passively proc on regular attacks.
  • These procs are independent from the cooldown, they do not trigger the cooldown and work while on cooldown. They do not cost mana either.
  • Increases Tusk's attack damage by an average of 30% ( 42%).
  • The passive punches use true random distribution.

Walrus Kick

Play

D

D

Ability
Target Unit

Affects
Enemies

Damage
Magical

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.

Tusk may have made his name with his fists, but the wise enemy is wary of any and all limbs.

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.
  • Walrus Kick cannot be overridden by any other forced movement.

• 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.

• The kick first applies the debuff, then the damage.

• Does not affect wards and buildings.

• 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

Hero Talents
-6s Ice Shards Cooldown	25	12% Chance Walrus Punch
+100% Walrus Punch Crit	20	+300 Snowball Speed
+150 Snowball Damage	15	+350 Health
+90 Gold/Min	10	+40% XP Gain

Notes:

• Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.

• The health talent increases maximum health capacity, and keeps the current health percentage.

Recommended items

Starting items:

• Tango gives Tusk health sustain in-lane, allowing him to survive enemy harass and continue gaining gold and experience.
• Healing Salve also restores health to Tusk.
• 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 gives Tusk attributes, important for beefing up his health, base damage, and mana to increase his survivability in lane. It builds into Magic Wand later on.
• 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.
• 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.

Early game:

• 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's charge storage allows Tusk to immediately replenish his HP and mana, which can make or break fights or ganks given his powerful spells.
• 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.

Mid game:

• 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 attributes that give him more health, 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.

Late game:

• 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.
• 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.

Situational items:

• Stout Shield is particularly useful if Tusk is played as an offlaner, 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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!.
• Solar Crest gives Tusk armor and evasion to make Tusk tankier, and the mana regen helps to sustain his expensive but powerful abilities. Using the active on an enemy during initiation can increase the amount of damage they take from Walrus PUNCH! and allied attacks.
• 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, making them a much smaller threat in an engagement.
• 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.
• Soul Ring provides 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.

Gameplay

Roles:	Initiator Disabler Nuker
Complexity:	★☆☆
Playstyle:	Amidst broken stools and shattered bottles, the bewildered barkeep issued Ymir his greatest challenge. Find a proper battle, and win it for whichever side he chose. With that, the champion brawler strode forth, bringing with him the northern elements in the form of a Frozen Sigil. To make sure no opponent chickens out, Ymir throws down a field of Ice Shards, cutting off all retreat. Gathering both snow and allies, Ymir rolls into battle as an unstoppable Snowball, stunning foes in its path. For a finale, the Tusk winds up his drinking arm, and launches his opponent into orbit with one good, solid Walrus PUNCH!

Strategy & Tips

Counters &
Matchups

Audio

Responses

Sounds

History

Lore

Old Abilities

Changelogs

Equipment

Tusk Equipment (expand sets) Sets Arctic Hunter Set Barrier Rogue Bobusang's Traveling Necessities Set Brawler of the Glacier Sea Eye of the Weathered Storm Frostiron Raider Set Hammer of the Guarded Word Weapon Ancestor's Frozen Axe Barrier Shard Axe Frost Touched Cleaver Fist Frozen Stein of the Bar Brawler Icewrack's Fist Snowball Stinger Back Barrel of Whale Ale Whisky the Stout Artifact Frozen Sigil Boreal Sigil Taunt Taunt: Fight Me! Kinetic Gems Kinetic: Dizzying Punch!

Trivia

• 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

• 

  Splash artwork

• 

  Trading card art

• 

  Ability icon progress [?]

• 

  Hero icon progress

• 

  Old Floating texts of Walrus Punch. [?]