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.

Talents

 * The mana regen is added as a bonus and does not benefit illusions.
 * The armor is added as bonus armor, and therefore does not benefit illusions.
 * Gold granted from the talent is unreliable gold.
 * Respawn reductions cannot reduce respawn time below 1 second.

Gameplay
 Strategy & Tips Counters & Matchups

Audio
 Responses Sounds

History
 Lore Old Abilities Changelogs

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 uses the same line upon hitting his enemy with a similar hook ability.
 * 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.