Pudge

Pudge the Butcher is a melee strength hero feared for his incredible gank prowess.

Though he may not look like it, he is one of the strongest gankers and disablers in the entire game, with his combo of three active abilities proving more than sufficient to kill fragile enemy heroes in the early- and mid-game. His signature ability, Meat Hook, is a grapple that is thrown out in a straight line; if it snags a target, it will drag them back to Pudge, dealing enormous damage to it if it was an enemy. Although it is difficult to use effectively, it is a very powerful ganking and initiation spell due to its ability to displace enemies, and also has the utility of being able to save an endangered ally. He can then follow up with his ultimate, Dismember, a channeled disable that deals further damage to the target over a few seconds and increases in lethality the more strength Pudge has, while also healing Pudge for its duration. During this period, he can activate Rot to deal even more damage while he is consuming his foe, and use it to slow and finish them off if they survive the initial assault. To supplement his killing power is Flesh Heap, which provides him some magic resistance to reduce the damage he takes from Rot as well as from other enemy spells. The scariest aspect of Flesh Heap though is that it provides him with a permanent strength bonus with every kill that he participates in, making him harder to kill and increasing the damage of Dismember as the game goes on. None can claim that they do not fear the Butcher, and few can survive his onslaught if he gets his hands on them.

Recommended items
Starting items:
 * and give Pudge good early stats, and build into a Bracer. The improved strength helps with last-hitting and provides some HP, while the agility and intelligence give a small amount of armor and mana.
 * allows Pudge to replenish his HP from enemy harass, preventing him from being easily harassed out of lane.
 * allows Pudge to restore his mana, particularly important as costs a significant amount of mana and being able to cast it more than once in the laning stage allows him to be far more useful.

Early game:
 * gives Pudge burst HP and mana regen. In particular, the mana can allow him to use Meat Hook one more time even if his mana pool is completely empty, which can score crucial kills in critical situations.
 * is important to get early on, as Pudge's abysmal movement speed means he has trouble chasing enemies. It allows Pudge to more easily move into position to cast his spells.
 * can be easily purchased by upgrading existing and . It further improves the stat bonuses that Pudge gets while freeing up an inventory slot.
 * is crucial to purchase early on as a mid Pudge, as he is easy to harass and requires HP and mana sustain. As well, the runes can help him to gank enemies more easily, and refill the Bottle's charges to allow Pudge to roam independently.

Core items:
 * gives Pudge additional stats and increased charge storage. Both can greatly aid Pudge in granting him survivability and allowing him to more easily cast spells, as a fully-charged Magic Wand can often be all that he needs in order to pull off his full spell combo.
 * are cheap, and give Pudge all the bonuses that he needs. The extra armor greatly improves his tankiness and offsets his poor base armor, while the improved movement speed grants increased map mobility and helps him to position for casting Meat Hook from suitable angles. The HP regen keeps his HP topped up, and most importantly mitigates the HP cost of.
 * gives Pudge many strong bonuses at a cost-effective price. It grants magic resistance, reducing the amount of damage that Rot deals to Pudge, and extra HP regen to further mitigate its HP cost. It greatly boosts the effectiveness of, allowing Pudge to easily shrug off magic nukes and make further use of the bonus strength.
 * is important to have on Pudge at all times. Being able to globally re-position around the map to react to enemy movements can give him many more opportunities to gank lone enemies or cripple them in teamfights.
 * significantly augments the utility of Meat Hook, greatly reducing its cooldown and increasing its damage. It also provides additional attributes, most importantly more mana to mitigate the strain that repeated casting of Meat Hook places on Pudge's mana pool.
 * is a very strong utility item that increases Pudge's overall lethality. It increases the size of his mana pool, as well as providing HP regen to help mitigate the health cost of Rot. Its main utility, however, is in increasing Meat Hook's range to up to 1500, allowing him to snag enemies from further away, as well as increasing the damage that all of his spells deal.
 * is extremely powerful on Pudge due to his ganking nature. It provides strength for additional HP and base damage, and mana regen to help maintain his mana pool. Charges can be easily acquired through successful ganks, and can be utilized either to heal Pudge and his teammates after successful ganks, particularly to recoup the HP cost of Rot, or can be targeted on enemies as an additional damage nuke to increase the odds of success of future ganks.

Situational items:
 * can be upgraded from Hood of Defiance, and provides teamfight utility to Pudge's team. Insight Aura further boosts Pudge's magic resistance and HP regen, while the active can improve teammates' survivability against enemy magic nukes.
 * improves Pudge's disable potential while providing many strong bonuses at a cost-effective price. The increased intelligence greatly boosts Pudge's ability to cast his spell combo, while the increased HP makes him even tankier. The active's long range allows Pudge to drastically slow an enemy from far away, making them easy targets for Meat Hook, and can counter enemy evasion to make them easier to bring down by teammates during Dismember.
 * is extremely powerful in Pudge's hands, allowing him to easily position himself for casting Meat Hook. It should be considered a core item if farm permits.
 * greatly improves Pudge's strength and HP, making him far more difficult to kill and augmenting the amount of damage that deals. The passive also allows him to quickly regenerate HP between engagements, and allows him to ignore the HP cost of Rot.
 * greatly improves Pudge's survivability against physical damage. The bonus armor and enemy attack speed reduction make Pudge much tankier, while the bonus intelligence greatly improves his ability to cast spells over prolonged periods of time. The active can act as a damage nuke and slow, allowing Pudge to further reduce enemies' movement speed on top of Rot.
 * is an easily built support-utility item that greatly improves Pudge's mobility while providing useful bonuses. The intelligence helps him with casting his spells, while the HP regen aids in mitigating Rot's HP cost. The active allows Pudge to re-position himself for casting Meat Hook, save allies who are fleeing from enemies, and even break an enemy's Linken's Sphere prior to casting Dismember.
 * gives Pudge all-around stats and can be easily purchased by upgrading an already owned Bracer. In particular, the extra intelligence aids with casting, while the aura boosts his movement speed to aid with positioning and chasing.
 * is a very strong survivability and disabling item that allows Pudge to use the enemy's spells against them. It provides HP and mana regen, both of which are very useful for maintaining Pudge's health and mana, while the bonus armor aids in survivability against physical damage. Echo Shell can be cast on allies to discourage enemies from targeting them with spells, or can be cast on Pudge himself prior to Dismember to allow him to reflect enemy disables should they try to interrupt him.
 * and can be very important to purchase on Pudge in order to allow him to be effective. Having vision on the enemy allows him to easily position himself to hit them with Meat Hook, and taking away enemy vision prevents them from spotting his approaches, making it more difficult for them to avoid his attempts to cast Meat Hook.
 * is a useful item to purchase when going mid or off-lane. It greatly mitigates the harass damage that Pudge takes from his lane opponent, increasing his survivability and allowing him to lane more easily.
 * can be a strong utility purchase when playing in the side lane. Adding an additional slow on top of Rot can greatly inhibit an enemy's movement speed, greatly increasing the odds of securing a kill.
 * is a strong early purchase when playing as a side lane Pudge. The increased armor helps mitigate Pudge's weakness against physical damage, while the flat mana regen greatly improves Pudge's mana sustain due to his poor base intelligence. It can be disassembled and both components recycled; the Ring of Protection can be built into Tranquil Boots, while the Sage's Mask can be built into a utility item.
 * can be a wise investment on Pudge depending on the enemy lineup. Pudge's inherent tankiness ensures that it does not easily fall into enemy hands, and the detection allows him to de-ward enemy vision and catch invisible heroes more easily.
 * are a more expensive investment than Tranquil Boots, but can increase Pudge's utility and independent roaming if he can secure an alternate source of HP regen. Improving the size of Pudge's mana pool allows him to more easily utilize his spells, and the mana replenishment allows him to give himself and his teammates more mana as needed.
 * can be a useful utility item in Pudge's hands. Improving Pudge's magic resistance reduces the impact of Rot on his HP pool, while the active can aid in invisible initiations and escapes, for allies and Pudge himself. The active also lets Pudge shield himself while channeling Dismember, reducing the odds of enemies hitting him with targeted disables.
 * is a useful survivability item on Pudge. It boosts his armor, giving him survivability against physical damage, and boosts his intelligence to give him more mana for casting spells. The active allows Pudge to use his large HP pool offensively during ganks and teamfights, discouraging enemies from casting counter-nukes against him.
 * can be a good damage booster item that gives Pudge additional utility. It gives him stats across the board and a large amount of intelligence, as well as additional armor and HP regen. The active reduces enemies' magic resistance, causing them to take more damage from Rot and Dismember, and can boost the damage that allies' magic nukes deal as well.
 * is a useful utility teamfight item that boosts Pudge's survivability. Its aura grants armor and bonus damage, which benefit Pudge and his allies in teamfights, while the HP regen, mana regen and lifesteal allow Pudge to maintain himself between fights.
 * is a useful utility item that helps Pudge with getting his spells off. The intelligence and mana regen ensure that Pudge always has the mana to cast his spells, and the increased movement speed grants him more mobility to position himself for casting Meat Hook or chasing with Rot. The active can instantly hard-disable an enemy at range, and can be followed up with an easy Meat Hook. It can also be cast on Pudge himself to remove debuffs while providing temporary invulnerability.
 * is a strong utility item that gives Pudge more teamfight contribution. His tanky nature means that he greatly benefits from the damage block and bonus armor, while the bonus HP helps to make him even harder to kill. The active gives damage block to his entire team, useful for increasing their survivability during a teamfight.
 * give Pudge increased survivability and teamfight utility. The heal and mana replenishment greatly aid Pudge and his allies in teamfights, and the aura tremendously improves survivability. The active also removes debuffs from Pudge instantly, allowing him to contribute more effectively in teamfights.
 * is an expensive investment, but greatly improves Pudge's ganking prowess. It gives a great amount of intelligence and mana regen, ensuring that Pudge can cast his disables whenever needed. The Hex allows him to instantly hard-disable an enemy at range, which makes them an easy victim for a follow-up Dismember without needing to immediately expend Meat Hook.

Trivia

 * During the The International 2015 Dendi wore a Pudge Costume During the All-Star Match.
 * Pudge's line upon landing a hook on an enemy Pud ability hook 04.mp3 Pud ability hook 06.mp3  Pud ability hook 08.mp3 "Get over here!" is a reference to the character Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat franchise, who also has a hook ability which pulls his enemy towards him. He uses the same line upon hitting his enemy with it.
 * Pudge's line Pud rival 20.mp3 "Keep calm and carrion!" is a play on the World War 2 British Propaganda phrase "Keep calm and carry on".
 * The reason Pudge's voice lines are done in a Cockney accent might be the popular rhyming slang term that stands for "look"; "butcher's hook", incidentally representing Pudge's signature move.
 * Most of Pudge's cast lines ( Pud ability devour 15.mp3 "Fresh meat!") are a reference to The Butcher from Diablo, a title from Blizzard Entertainment, who also says Diablo Butcher Fresh Meat sound.wav "Fresh Meat" as the player meets it the first time.
 * In DotA1, the exact same sound is used by Pudge upon casting Dismember.

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