Warriors were unable to continue their unbeaten Sixways run as Brive secured a 25-24 European Challenge Cup victory.
The visitors cruised to a 10-0 lead as Taku Ngwenya raced to the tryline before Thomas Laranjeira added five points with the boot.
Warriors opened their account with a penalty try before Tom Heathcote levelled the score with a conversion and penalty.
The hosts then took the lead as Ben Te’o raced over but Brive fought back through captain Said Hireche.
And the visitors put the game to bed as Thomas Acquier grounded before Nicolas Bezy converted.
Andy Short went over at the final whistle but it wasn’t enough to give Warriors the win.
Attack Coach Sam Vesty, who was again overseeing the side, made five changes to the team which travelled to Russia as England’s Chris Pennell and Te’o were named in the starting line-up, while Heathcote, Zac Xiourouppa and Andrew Kitchener also came in.
Warriors were looking to stamp their mark on the competition in their first home match but went behind inside the opening five minutes as Ngwenya raced through the Warriors defence before touching down for a superb individual effort.
Laranjeira converted before adding a penalty minutes later as Brive swept to a 10-0 lead.
Warriors sparked to life and nearly had a try of their own shortly afterwards as Josh Adams chased a kick forward, only to be beaten to the ball in the in-goal area by the narrowest of margins.
Adams then illustrated his defensive ability as he halted Benjamin Lapeyre with a huge tackle as the Brive full-back raced down the right.
Despite their slow start, Warriors started to dominate proceedings and launched attack after attack as they looked to find a way into the game.
Short was bundled down just short of the line following good work from Te’o before Warriors eventually found a way through.
The home forward pack drove their counterparts backwards from a lineout before the referee awarded a penalty try to the hosts.
Heathcote converted as Vesty’s side cut their deficit to just three points.
Warriors continued to press forward as the half wore on but couldn’t find their way over for a second as the sides turned around with Brive 10-7 ahead.
Sam Ripper-Smith was introduced at the break for his first-team debut and Warriors soon found themselves level as Heathcote struck his first penalty of the afternoon.
Heathcote was later replaced by Jamie Shillcock after being the victim of a poorly executed tackle which went unpunished.
Heathcote’s injury resulted in a lengthy stoppage but, even after the delay, Warriors found themselves in the driving seats.
And the home side went ahead for the first time in the match as Pennell burst through midfield before teeing-up Te’o, who raced to the corner to touch down.
Shillcock converted from the tightest of angles to put Warriors seven points ahead.
But Brive continued to battle and scored their second try of the game minutes later as captain Hireche forced his way over.
The try was unconverted, however, as Warriors held on to a two-point lead with under 20 minutes to play.
The game had offered huge entertainment as both sides looked to play a free-flowing brand of rugby on a dry day in Worcester.
And the lead changed hands once again as Bezy struck his first penalty of the afternoon to put Brive 18-17 ahead.
The match continued to switch from end-to-end as Warriors went in search of a final score to win the game but Brive were doing their best to hold their opponents off.
And the French side killed the game off as replacement hooker Acquier touched down from close range.
Warriors had the final say as Short grounded on the stroke of full-time before Shillcock converted but it was too little, too late as Brive went away with the points.
Warriors | 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Andy Short, 13 Max Stelling, 12 Ben Te’o 11 Josh Adams, 10 Tom Heathcote (Shillcock 49), 9 Luke Baldwin (De Cothi 72), 1 Ryan Bower (C) (Appiah 72), 2 Matti Williams (Singleton 30), 3 Mike Daniels (Alo 61), 4 Andrew Kitchener, 5 Christian Scotland-Williamson (Hewitt 63), 6 Huw Taylor, 7 Zac Xiurouppa (Ripper-Smith 40) 8 Matt Cox
Replacements | 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Sam Ripper-Smith, 21 George de Cothi, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Ryan Lamb
Timeline:
4m | Ngwenya try 0-5
5m | Laranjeira con 0-7
9m | Laranjeira pen 0-10
29m | Penalty try 5-10
30m | Heathcote con 7-10
45m | Heathcote pen 10-10
57m | Te’o try 57 15-10
58m | Shillcock con 17-10
61m | Hireche try 17-15
65m | Bezy pen 17-18
74m | Acquier try 17-23
75m | Bezy con 17-25
80m | Short try 22-25
80m | Shillcock con 24-25