INTRODUCTION
I’m not playing like a pro pudge user nor claiming that this will be the best guide for pudge. I know that I can not please all of you with this guide but I think its worth trying and posting my 1st guide here in this site.
STARTING STATS
Str: 25 +3.2/level
Agi: 14 + 1.5/level
Int: 14 + 1.5/level
Damage: 52 - 58
Starting HP: 625
Starting Mana: 182
Base Armor: 1
MS: 285
SKILLS
meathook
Launches a bloody hook at a unit or location. The hook will snag the first target encounters, dealing damage then dragging the victim back to the Butcher.
Level 1: 400 Range; 100 damage
Level 2: 600 Range; 200 damage
Level 3: 800 Range; 300 damage
Level 4: 1000 Range; 400 damage
I can say that this is my favorite skill of all the heroes in dota ‘coz no one can say such as nice storm bolt/ nice impale!, OMG! What a storm bolt/ OMG! What an impale! Using meathook and mastering it, is really the key to use pudge efficiently. I suggest that you must wait ‘til it becomes level 3 to use it. I believe that it has a little area of effect ‘coz based on my experiences playing with pudge, I can pull a hero even it is not directly hitten by meathook.
rot
Pudge releases the disease and filth inside of him, dealing intense damage to and slowing surrounding enemies while hurting Pudge as well.
Level 1: 25 damage/second
Level 2: 50 damage/second
Level 3: 75 damage/second
Level 4: 100 damage/second
Rot is another very useful and a must have skill for pudge ‘coz without this skill, I bet you cannot kill a hero with a full hp, with just a meathook and dismember combo. 100 damage per second is really helpful plus the slowing effect it will cause to surrounding units. I also using rot to kill my self when I get gang bang and know that I gonna die!
flesh heap
Pudge is made of innumerable rotting corpses, giving him extra protection against spells as well as the chance to add more to his bulk.
Level 1: 4% Magic reduction; .03 strength gained per non-hero killed; .3 strength per hero killed.
Level 2: 8% Magic reduction; .06 strength gained per non-hero killed; .6 strength per hero killed.
Level 3: 12% Magic reduction; .09 strength gained per non-hero killed; .9 strength per hero killed.
Level 4: 16% Magic reduction; .12 strength gained per non-hero killed; 1.2 strength per hero killed.
Flesh heap is there to minimize the effect of rot to pudge. The magic reduction from flesh heap will stack with aegis if and only if you have the aegis before getting flesh heap..
Dismember
Chows down on a target, causing excruciating pain.
Lasts 6(3) seconds at all levels.
Level 1: 75 damage/second
Level 2: 125 damage/second
Level 3: 175 damage/second
Ahhhh… fresh meat!! Wahahah! The best sound effect I have ever heard from dota.. Actually I have it as a ringing tone.. hehe.
It can be casted on any hero in avatar mode or even repel, but the damage per second will not be there, it will just hold the hero in in his position to stop it from attacking and casting any spells..
SKILL BUILD
1.Meathook
2. Rot
3. Meathook
4. Rot
5. Meathook
6. Dismember
7. Meat hook
8. Rot
9. Rot
10. Flesh Heap
11. Dismember
12-14. Flesh Heap
15. Stats
16. Dismember
17-25. Stats
I do not prefer to get fresh heap first before rot ‘coz it will just give me the limitation and prevent me to own in early game. Pudge is most efficient in early games ‘coz he can deal 1000+ damage in single combo of meathook+dismember+rot in any enemy units. In early game, we all know that heroes have very little hp. With just a combo of meathook+dismember I bet you will not kill a hero with full hp even in early games.
Many people say that using rot in early games is suicidal and having a high strength is the best for pudge. I can say that having rot in early game is not suicidal and I mean it! After hooking a certain hero you can easily kill him with the combo, but surely a single ring of regen or ring of health is enough to keep you in lane after having damage from rot.
ITEM BUILD (a late game pudge)
Many people prefer to buy a battle fury and heart of tarrasq all throughout the game for pudge. But for me battle fury is not good for pudge.. Just go with only perseverance if you only after for hp and mana regeneration ‘coz the splash damage is not worth it for pudge. He is not like sven or king leoric that will face 2-3 enemies in the same time. That’s why there is meathook, to pull an enemy next to pudge and chows him to death! If you after for the farming power of battle fury,, you must do the melee dance last hit technique to get many golds..
In the start of the game:
3 clarity potions
wood of iron branch 3-4
flask of sapphire water
NOTE: I base the gold in 5on5 game. With 475 gold in my pocket, I prefer to buy these. These items must be enough to keep you in your lane as you saving to buy your main items.
Ring of health
boots of speed
Voidstone
ultimate orb
8. linken sphere
I prefer linken sphere for pudge ‘coz it will give all the mana regen and hp regen pudge needed, 150% mana regen and 6 hp regen per second, and as we all know dismember is a channeling spell, linken sphere will surely help not to stop pudge in doing the combo. And the added 15 to all stats is also enough to minimize the effect of rot to pudge. Once you have linken sphere you can do your combos anytime you want without worrying about your mana.
9. Staff of wizardy
10. Claws of attack
11. dagon 0 (optional)
If you want pudge to also be a hero killer even in late game try giving him some extra nuke damage from dagon 0. An added 400 damage in the combo will be enough.
12. platemail
13. Plane walker’s cloak
14. Stout shield
15. Aegis of Immortal
The use of aegis to pudge is clear, An armor and magic resistance to help minimize the effect of rot. I also prefer to buy this first before heart because he have linken sphere by the way and the regen and given strength of linken is enough for pudge, and having added armor from aegis is equal to the added hp he can get from HoT.
16. Messerschmidt’s Reaver
17. Vitality booster
19. Heart of Tarrasq
20. Sacred relic
21. Radiance (optional)
This will give the added damage and extra AoE damage for pudge combo. This will also help to own in late games.
22. Boots of travel (optional)
23. Go for DAGON 5 (optional)
The items of pudge in the end will be
Boots of travel
linken sphere
dagon
aegis of immortal
heart of tarrasq
radiance
I know that it will be hard for a player to get all this items but when the game comes about more than an hour it is not impossible,, but anyway, as you can see linken sphere and aegis is the only primary items pudge needed to own the game. The other items listed, like radiance and dagon, will be helpful to own even in late game.
ITEM BUILD (HEAVY TANKER PUDGE)
Ring of Health
Voidstone Auto-make: Perseverance
You should now have a bit of regen to go out for your Killing Spree
Boots of Speed
Ultimate orb
Linken sphere Recipe
Messerschmidt’s Reaver
Vitality Booster
Heart of Tarrasque Recipe
Plate Mail
Stout Shield
Planeswalker’s Cloak
Aegis Recipe
Boots of travel recipe (optional)
HoT all the way (or another aegis)
You can also go for aegis as a replacement for HoT. If you are a good farmer you can leave the additional strengths for the flesh heap. Or use your rot to kill many creeps faster.
ITEM BUILD (NECRO PUDGE)
Ring of health
Voidstone auto make perseverance
staff of wizardy
belt of giant strength
necronomicon book
ultimate orb
linken sphere
necronomicon upgrades
aegis of immortal or HoT
Just summon necronomicon before hooking your prey. Using necro pudge is a bit risky ‘coz pudge will not be that tough but, for sure, still effective. You don’t need to call your ally for help when you are dismembering your prey. Your hands must be fast for this one to work.
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I prefer to follow the first guide ‘coz I don’t want pudge to be just a support hero in late game. I want him to be effective in hero killing until the end. And with that build, even with only one HoT, you will notice that he can be also a tanker. I just leave my extra HP to the flesh heap. But if it is a rush game, I prefer to follow the necro pudge ‘coz necronomicon will be a big help in pushing.
As you can observe, I always include Linken sphere in the item builds. I used it as a replacement for battle fury. Maybe it is more expensive but when you manage to have one, you will notice that you don’t even need a heart of tarrasq to minimize the effect of rot. With linken sphere you can hook anytime you want and turn on rot anytime you want without worrying about your mana and HP, and come to think of it, its only 700 gold more expensive than linken sphere.
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PUDGE IN THE BATTLEFIELD
Early game
Do the melee dance and last hit on creeps to gain gold. Pudge is very efficient in denying ‘coz he have high base damage compare to other hero so take it as an advantage to out level your enemy. Wait ‘til level 5 to make a first blood. Meat hook your enemy to the tower and then use rot chase as he runs away. Just keep the distance from pudge to the enemy as he is using rot to kill him. Then at level 7 is the start of owning of pudge, Do the main combo, Meathook+dismember+rot, after pudge finished the dismember and the enemy still didn’t die, don’t try to hit it with the regular attack of pudge ‘coz the enemy will surely escape because pudge as you know have a very low movement speed, just let the rot on, walk to the path the enemy is walking until the enemy dies, you can also block the enemy’s path to prevent him from escaping as you are using rot. Pudge can easily kill agility and intelligent type heroes. Keep them as your main target all thoughout the game.
Mid game till, the combo of pudge is effective in mid game but in this stage heroes have bigger hp and armor so dagon will help here. If you’re a good hooker, when an enemy hero goes away with a little hp and your being left behind, just go after him and wait for the cool down of meathook and pull the running enemy to death! Also here at this stage, pudge, will start collecting extra strengths, with the help of flesh heap, to use in the late game. To collect strengths easily, just use rot to kill creeps faster. Don’t worry because the regen of linken sphere that will give, is enough to keep your life 100% when you needed it.
Late game
Here, at this stage many people believe that Pudge will be just a support hero. I also believe that, but I think it will be dependent on the item build that a player will do. If the player does a battle fury and heart all throughout the game, pudge will surely become a support hero in the late game. But with the items listed above I bet pudge will still own in late game.
Just hook and dismember the main threat to your team and let your teammates rape the hero. You can also be a tanker ‘coz in late game pudge, with the help of flesh heap, will have incredibly high HP, Even with only one heart of tarrasq.
SKILL COMBO
Meathook + dismember + rot
Meathook + dismember
Meathook + rot chase
Dismember + rot chase
USING HOOK CORRECTLY
Lot of items is still not enough for pudge to own the game; you must have the expertise of using hook correctly and efficiently. Using hook is just a matter of timing. Practice is really needed to make an efficient pudge.
I started using pudge when I saw a video of him hooking like a fisherman and bringing hell to enemies. There were many times when enemy heroes think they have escaped hell but then still meathook is there to pull them back to hell.
In my early days of playing dota I thought that pudge is just a support hero and he can only use his meathook while he is hiding behind trees and hooking enemy hero at the time when they are not moving. A pro player just hide behind his creeps so that pudge will don’t have a chance to use his meathook. But then I realized that it will be great when pudge will hook a moving enemy and an enemy trying to escape for his life.
For me, meathook is the most important skill of pudge, that’s why he is sometimes called the fisherman. I’m not really a type of pudge that wait for the prey to stop moving to pull him down. I used in hooking my prey while he is moving and escaping from me.
When pudge just stand in one place and wait for his prey to stop moving then the enemy will just stand behind his creeps so that you will not have a single chance to pull him up. You must go after him and go near him, and then when the enemy runs away, that will be the chance on using your meathook, when the enemy doesn’t run, just do the dismember + rot chase combo and when the prey still manage to escape then that will be the best chance in using your meathook.
In using meathook you must not target exactly your prey. Just give a little allowance and target the path where your prey will go. Remember that meathook have 1000 units casting range and it will take time to reach the target location. I have myself started a single player. Start with just using meathook. Try and snag a moving creep with it, try and target a certain ghoul out of the group. With that practice you will surely be familiar on how far 1000 units is and you will also know when and where will you cast the hook. When the time comes that you become used to it then owning with pudge is just a simple thing, you can even pull off a moving enemy hidden in fog of war.
USING ROT
My favorite combo in using pudge is meathook + rot chase combo. Hook your prey and turn rot on and chase him till death. Rot is a great ability. It deals quite a large amount of damage, and slows an opponent by 20%. Pudge is very slow and this ability allows him to keep on top of heroes while dealing damage to him. Once you have the linken sphere, you can almost turn on rot all the time.
Rot chase is most effective against heroes with out disabling skill such as zeus, kardel sharpeye and razor.
HEROES TO WATCH OUT FOR
Doom bringer
He is a great threat and for me, the hero that can easily counter pudge. This hero is so tough that the combo of pudge will not be enough to kill him. And when doom bringer cast his doom to pudge, while rot on, pudge will be silenced thus removing his ability to turn off rot.
COUNTER: only approach Lucifer when he have 60-70% life or you can have an ally to rape Lucifer while dismember holds him. Linken sphere will help to stop Lucifer in casting doom
Bradwarden
Again his toughness is the reason why he is a threat to pudge.
COUNTER: same as Lucifer counter. Approach him when he have little hp or you can ask for help from your allies.
Terrorblade
He can sunder you if you don’t able to kill him after dismember finished.
COUNTER: dagon will help to kill him. Just cast dagon when you feels that dismember is going to end.
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Actually many tough heroes like sven, king leoric is a threat for pudge. I just listed the main threats for practicality sake.
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BEST ALLIES
Omni knight
With his repel pudge will be immune with rot.
Vengeful spirit
With her swap, pudge can easily chows down the target.
Goblin techies
He is my most favorite ally for pudge. Goblin techies must plant land mines in the area of hooking and when pudge succeed in hooking the prey, it will be a fast kill for the both of them!