Pudge

Pudge, the Butcher, is a melee strength hero feared for his incredible ganking prowess and risky, yet potentially rewarding playstyle.

Pudge is potentially 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 can be difficult to land and often requires a good read on the enemy's movements, 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. Rot is also a very potent ability even from the start of the game, as it can slow an enemy to a crawl and be used indefinitely as long as Pudge keeps pace with the enemy, making Pudge a strong roamer. To supplement his killing power is Flesh Heap. 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. A skilled Pudge player is feared by many, as he can quickly snowball out of control, cripple the enemy team, and become an unstoppable behemoth of rotting flesh.

Gameplay
 Strategy & Tips Counters & Matchups

Audio
 Responses Sounds

History
 Lore Old Abilities Changelogs

Trivia

 * During The International 2015, Dendi wore a Pudge costume while playing in the All-Star Match.
 * Pudge's line upon landing a hook on an enemy vo_pudge_pud_ability_hook_04.mp3 vo_pudge_pud_ability_hook_06.mp3  vo_pudge_pud_ability_hook_08.mp3 "Get over here!" is a reference to the character Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat franchise, who uses the same line upon hitting his enemy with a similar hook ability.
 * Pudge's line vo_pudge_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 ( vo_pudge_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.