Tusk

Tusk

The Radiant

22 + 2.3 23 + 2.1 18 + 1.7

Level 1 16 25 Hit Points 568 1252 1993 Mana 234 585 1014 Damage 50-54 86-90 125-129 Armor 3.22 7.84 13.02 Attacks / Second 0.72 0.91 1.13

Movement Speed 305 Turn Rate 0.5 Sight Range 1800/800 Attack Range Melee Missile Speed Instant Attack Duration 0.36+0.64 Cast Duration 0.1+1 Base Attack Time 1.7

Ymir the Tusk is a melee Strength hero whose array of icy spells pack great potential to grant the advantage in a gank. Tusk is both an effective team fight hero and initiator, who has the unique ability to bring along teammates into the fight. Though he is usually played as a support, one can in fact benefit reasonably well from additional attributes and farm, and can be a great semi-carry as well. Equipping damage-boosting items can greatly increase the critical damage brought by Walrus PUNCH!, allowing him to fight on his own in the later stages.

Bio

Ymir, the Tusk Play "It's a great day to do some squat thrusts and lift a barrel of fish, is it not?" Role: Initiator / Durable 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 Q E Ability Affects Damage Target Point Enemies Magical Tusk compresses 5 shards of ice into a ball of frozen energy that damages all enemies it comes in contact with. If the ball comes in contact with an enemy hero or reaches its maximum range the shards are released, creating a barrier that lasts for 5 seconds. Range: 1500 Radius: 200 Duration: 5 Damage: 70/140/210/280 18/16/14/12 120 Damage is blocked, shards are still created.

Notes: The maximum distance is 1600. The shards destroy trees around them when they are created.

Snowball W W Ability Affects Damage Target Unit Enemies Magical Tusk and any nearby allied heroes roll in a quickly growing snowball towards the target enemy unit. Any victims caught in the snowball's path take damage and are briefly stunned; the final target takes extra damage and extra stun duration. Range: 1250 Radius: 200 + 40 per sec Stun Duration on Main Target: 0.5/0.7/1/1.25 Damage on Main Target: 80/120/160/200 Stun Duration on Secondary Target: 0.25/0.5/0.7/1 Damage on Secondary Target: 40/80/120/160 24 75

Notes: The speed of the snowball is equal to 150% of Tusk's speed, with a minimum of 200. Illusions will not roll into the snowball, but Meepo clones will. The snowball stops chasing its target after 3 seconds. The snowball destroys trees. The snowball grows bigger the longer it travels. While inside the snowball, units are immune. If Tusk gets teleported while in the snowball, it breaks.

Frozen Sigil
Duration 30 Hit Points 220/240/260/280 Armor 0 Movement Speed 310 Sight Range 400/400 Bounty 90/100/110/120 Experience 0 Notes Will automatically follow Tusk upon summoning, unless given a command.

Frozen Sigil E F Ability Affects No Target 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. Radius: 600 Duration: 30 Movement Speed Slow: 10%/15%/20%/25% Attack Speed Slow: 30%/40%/50%/60% 50 75

Notes: If no order is given, the Sigil will follow Tusk.

Walrus PUNCH! R R Ability Affects Damage No Target Enemies Physical Tusk prepares his mighty Walrus Punch; his next attack will do a critical strike and launch the victim into the air. The victim will be slowed upon landing and take damage. Air Duration: 1 Slow Duration: 2/3/4 Movement Speed Slow: 40% Critical Damage: 3× (4× if target has less than 50% health) 30/24/18 50/75/100

Notes: Walrus Punch cannot miss Disable works on magic immune units. If you don't land an attack against a valid target in the next 10 seconds, Walrus Punch ends.

Recommended items

Explanation: While Tusk is a strength ganker with relatively good statistic gain, this contributes more to his item independence than any other aspect of his play since his major contributions are still his skills. When itemising, Tusk should be built as a typical strength support with survivability boosting items to remain relevant through the game. Blink Dagger is not as desirable for initiating as Snowball, but can still be used as an escape.

Tips

• When being pursued by numerous heroes, you can cast Ice Shards toward them to hinder their movement, as the barrier forces them to break up and even come to a slight halt. It is ideal to cast Ice Shards when your pursuers are in a small choke-point, as the barrier will most likely block their way, or at least make it even more difficult for them to move forward.
• Ice Shards' missile cast is delayed; keep this in mind when you are targeting distant, fleeing heroes.
• When pushing, defending, or farming, Ice Shards is an effective area-of-effect skill you can use to damage multiple creeps in a straight path; unlike target heroes, Ice Shards doesn't create a barrier when it contacts creeps.
• Aid your team's initiator by pairing up with him/her and casting Snowball on the group of enemies; the movement makes both Tusk and his teammate invulnerable, and any target that is hit by it gets stunned for a brief second, giving the initiator some time to act.
• Be careful when using Frozen Sigil, as it gives a large bounty when destroyed. Only direct it toward enemy heroes when they are too busy to pay attention to it (i.e. when being pursued by your allies). It has a relatively fast speed and can catch up to most enemies.
• Purchase mana boosting items to supplement all of your four active spells, since Tusk is incredibly skill-dependent.
• Walrus Punch deals 4x critical damage when enemies are 50% below their maximum health. Similar to Bounty Hunter's Jinada, it also maims the target to a crawl, so use this to knock out an enemy before they can retaliate. However, this move can accidentally steal the kill due to its potential critical damage, but nevertheless it is acceptable, since Tusk benefits from additional items.

Trivia

• In DotA, he was known as Tuskarr. The Tuskarr are a race of humanoid walruses in the Warcraft universe. [1]
• His accent is modeled after the Swedish.
• His response "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 "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!".
• Every time Tusk lands his Walrus Punch, a caption in blue text will be displayed depending on the target:
  • When landed on a creep whose health is above 50%, the caption will be "Penguin Punch!" in small letters.
  • When landed on an enemy hero whose health is above 50%, the caption will be "Polar Punch!" in medium letters.
  • When landed on any target whose health is below 50%, it will display "Walrus Punch!" in large letters.
• If Walrus Punch is stolen and used by Rubick, he will throw a projectile form of himself, spinning toward the target. When targeted on Tusk himself, the caption "Sucker Punch!" will be shown, in green-colored text. On heroes or creeps, the caption "Stolen Punch!" will be shown, in the same format.

Update history

March 14, 2013 Patch

• Fixed some cases where Ice Shards could get units stuck.

February 28, 2013 Patch

• Fixed a case where heroes with very small collision size could escape Ice Shards.
• Fixed a rare bug where teleporting could cause Walrus Punched units to end up in odd positions.
• [Undocumented] Updated the ability icons for Lina and Tusk.

February 14, 2013 Patch

• Added Tusk!

Balance changelog

6.75

• Snowball
  • Now carries all Tusk's controlled units as well.
  • Cooldown decreased from 28 to 24.
• Walrus PUNCH! crit increased from 2.5x to 3x for above 50% HP targets.

6.73

• Snowball cooldown decreased from 40 to 28.

6.72d

• Walrus PUNCH! crit restored back to 2.5x (from 2.25x) for above 50% HP targets.

6.72

• Ice Shards now destroy trees around the area they are created.
• Snowball no longer moves faster based on the allies inside of it.

6.71

• Snowball
  • Maximum roll duration reduced from 3.25 to 3 seconds.
  • Movement speed bonus per extra hero reduced from 100% to 50%.
• Frozen Sigil HP reduced from 300 to 220/240/260/280.
• Removed the extra landing damage from Walrus PUNCH!.

6.70b

• Snowball
  • Maximum roll duration reduced from 4 to 3.25 seconds.
  • No longer dispels negative buffs on you and your allies while rolling.
• Walrus PUNCH!
  • Cooldown increased from 18/16/14 to 30/24/18.
  • Landing damage reduced from 100/200/300 to 75/150/225.
  • Crit reduced from 2.5x to 2.25x.

6.70

• Created

Gallery

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  Splash artwork

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  Trading card art

See Also

• Tusk responses