Pudge counter picks: who to choose against this hero in Dota 2

Pudge is considered a melee hero. He is often picked for the support position, as Pudge plays as a tank in Dota 2. He collects damage and helps to defocus opponents so that other players can attack. He has proven himself well on the off lane (hard lane), reaching his maximum potential by the second part of the game. The main advantage of Pudge is his strength. At the same time, each enemy killed increases his damage and health due to the Flesh Heap ability. Plus, he is characterized by a weak dependence on artifacts. The minimum set of required items is inexpensive.

Pudge’s advantages

The hero’s popularity is based on his three counter-powers:

• Meat Hook pulls in enemies and forces them into a fight. It works in the mid and on the lanes. This skill helps in team battles. After a successful counterhook, he pulls out any opponent, which disrupts the attack or defense of the opponent. The rest of the players rarely have time to come to the aid of their ally.
• Rot slows down the enemy with a toxic cloud. That allows you to kill the enemy in the mid lane alone or provide assistance to the team in blocking the opponent.
• Dismember. Pudge is literally eating the enemy unit, restoring his strength and health in the proccess.

The Flesh Heap passive ability is a counter to magic and adds a strength buff. That allows you not only to support allies, but also to act as a leader in the mid lane.

Weaknesses of Pudge

The Butcher is not a very strong player, but if the game is going well, he is gaining strength at a great speed. Therefore, he becomes a dangerous opponent. At the same time, Pudge in Dota 2 has a feature – the possibility of suicide, which will prevent the enemy from gaining experience and gold. So how is this hero countered? It is necessary to take into account his weaknesses, which include:

• Slowness. His starting speed is only 285, which prevents you from chasing an enemy or standing in the right place to launch a hook. And if you apply a counter pick in the form of a slowdown, then Pudge becomes completely ineffective.
• Level dependency. All his abilities are activated only on level 7. Pudge can easily play solo for maximum experience.
• The hook is predictable. This allows the enemy to deviate from the blow and find out the location of Pudge.
• Low level of protection. This means that his vulnerability to physical damage is high.

These features can not only slow down his development, but also cost Pudge his life.

Strategy for playing against Pudge

In fact, defeating Pudge is not difficult, just stick to a group game. After all, only in a single fight Pudge can perform at his best, but he cannot deal with two enemies at a time. He is immediately forced to flee from the fight.

To detect Pudge, it is enough to place wards on the runes or on the side of the forest. Then the gank will become predictable and this will help counter the butcher.

To attack, it is better to choose heroes with strong physical damage. After all, if you attack with simple blows, then Pudge will either leave the lane, or simply will not gain experience.

But Pudge’s mana is limited. She lasts a maximum of two hooks. After that, the enemy can be easily driven under the tower.

Pudge in Dota 2

Who counters Pudge

Given the weaknesses and features of the game, Pudge can be killed or neutralized by:

• Bristleback is one of the best picks against Pudge. His vitality becomes the first obstacle in the attack. The ability to slow down the enemy prevents Pudge from moving. And the ability to deal high physical damage easily breaks through Pudge’s armor.
• Clockwerk has a huge health amount and the ability to stun every 0.7 seconds. This blocks the butcher’s abilities, after which it is not difficult to kill him.
• Lifestealer. The presence of immunity to magic and vampirism (heals at the expense of the health of the enemy) help to withstand Pudge. And since our character is fat, Lifestealer shows excellent stability in a fight.
• Weaver. His main advantages are mobility and reduced armor. Therefore, Pudge simply cannot catch up with him.
• Slark is able to punch Pudge and quickly escape. At the same time, attacks increase Slark’s agility. And our character will only have to bandage the wounds.
• Outworld Destroyer is strong against low mana players as he steals it after every attack. At the same time, he can protect an ally through the use of Astral Imprisonment.
• Ursa is able to attack an unlimited number of times due to the passive skill. And the gradual increase in damage helps to kill the butcher.
• Monkey King increases his health at the expense of melee players. And due to artifacts, he worsens the ability to restore HP which is critical for Pudge.

But it is not worth countering this hero with characters or units with weak damage, slow tanks will not work either. So, Pudge likes to play against Zeus, Pugna, Sniper, Underlord, Necrophos and others.

What items will help

The range of control is quite extensive, we list only a few:

• Manta Style – creating clones to confuse the butcher;
• Orchid – blocking all Pudge’s abilities;
• Black King Bar – protection from magic;
• Lotus Orb helps counter targeted spells;
• Force Staff pushes itself or an ally away from Pudge if he uses a Meat Hook.

Remember that it is hard for Pudge to play against groups, so try to stick with your teammates and then you will not be afraid of him.