Dota 2 Pudge Guide – Surprise Enemies using Meat Hook

There are plenty of ways to surprise enemies using Meat Hook with Pudge in Dota 2. 

People can spend hours together playing Dota 2 games and still want more from their matches. These games are meant to excite beginners and seasoned Dota 2 players to figure out new ways to fight enemy heroes. 

You can pick heroes that are good at grabbing enemy heroes from a distance to take your opponents by surprise. The sheer amount of spells and items you can use in Dota 2 will leave esports enthusiasts wanting to learn and explore their characters while destroying enemy towers in various lanes. 

Take a look at how you can surprise your enemies using Meat Hook while playing Pudge in the massively multiplayer game. 

Pudge – Surprise Enemies using Meat Hook

Pudge is a Strength hero who can use his skills to separate enemy heroes from the herd. He can cast his abilities to pull enemy heroes from hidden locations on the map and disable his opponents to deal damage over time. 

The melee hero has a base attack damage of 70 – 76, letting Pudge take last hits on enemy creeps in lanes to earn more gold per minute (GPM). Pudge has 700 health and 267 mana at the start of the game. He has a base Strength of 25 and gains an additional 3 Strength per level. 

Most players head to the mid lane with Pudge to level up faster with the utility hero. You can take at least one level of Meat Hook after spawning into the game to grab Bounty runes from the river. Meat Hook can be cast by Pudge from the mid lane to collect runes from a safe distance. The cast range of Meat Hook is 1300 at level one. 

You can hide behind trees and ledges while trying to hook the first Bounty rune of the game. Meat Hook gives Pudge a good chance to get First Blood with his allies near the river. Any enemy unit hooked by Pudge using Meat Hook takes 150 Pure damage. A level one Meat Hook has a cooldown of 18 seconds and consumes 110 mana to be used in the game.

The mid lane lets Pudge level up to prepare for team fights in Dota 2. You can unlock Pudge’s ulti at level 6 and begin hunting for kills between the different lanes. A maxed out Meat Hook is your primary ability that can be used to surprise your enemies in battles. 

Meat Hook deals 360 Pure damage to enemy heroes at level 4. The ability has a cooldown of 12 seconds after being maxed out, making it easier to drag opponents away from other enemy heroes in the lane. You can activate Rot after hooking enemy heroes to slow their movement speed. Enemy units affected by Rot can take up to 120 damage per second (DPS) and have their movement speed reduced by 32%. You can increase the movement speed slow of Rot by 16% at level 10 through the Talent Tree. 

People can also unlock various bonuses for Meat Hook from the Talent Tree in the strategy game. Pudge can increase the damage dealt to enemy heroes using Meat Hook by 120 at level 15. You can also reduce the cooldown of Meat Hook by 4 seconds at level 20 through the Talent Tree while looking for heroes to kill
with Pudge. 

Placing Observer Wards on the map can be crucial to getting more kills with Pudge in Dota 2 matches. Pudge can stack a few Observer Wards before teleporting to different lanes for team fights. The utility hero can place a few Observer Wards in the forest to gain vision over enemy units who are farming in the neutral creep camps. These Observer Wards will give Pudge increased accuracy while using Meat Hook to isolate enemy heroes in the game. 

You can level up his ulti, Dismember, to disable enemy heroes during battles. Pudge can use Dismember on his opponents immediately after using Meat Hook to prevent them from using magical spells or physical attacks for up to 3 seconds. Enemy units affected by Dismember can take up to 120 DPS and an additional 0.9 damage for every Strength point gained by Pudge. Dismember has a cooldown of 20 seconds and requires 170 mana per cast. 

Items to Buy for Pudge

Arcane Boots

Arcane Boots provides 250 mana and 45 movement speed to the utility hero. Pudge can use Arcane Boots to replenish up to 175 mana to his allies in battles. Arcane Boots will let Pudge cast Meat Hook several times throughout the game without running out to mana during team fights. The item can be bought for 1300 gold in the game. Arcane Boots has a cooldown of 55 seconds. 

Blink Dagger

Blink Dagger can be purchased for 2250 gold. Pudge can use a Blink Dagger to teleport up to a distance of 1200 in any direction during the match. Blink Dagger has a cooldown of 15 seconds. People can sneak up on enemy heroes to surprise them by using Blink Dagger with Pudge before casting Meat Hook on their opponents. 

Aether Lens

Aether Lens grants 300 mana and 2.5 mana regeneration to Pudge. You can buy an Aether Lens for 2275 gold. Players can increase the cast range of Meat Hook and other skills of Pudge, including his items, by 225 by purchasing an Aether Lens for the Strength hero. You can upgrade Aether Lens to an Octarine Core to reduce the cooldown of his spells and items by 25%. 

Rod of Atos

Rod of Atos can be bought for 2750 gold in the game. You can purchase Rod of Atos to provide 24 Intelligence, 12 Strength, and 12 Agility to the Strength hero. The item can be used to cast Cripple on enemy heroes to root them for up to 2 seconds. Rod of Atos has a cooldown of 18 seconds and needs 50 mana per cast. You can use Rod of Atos before launching a Meat Hook at opponents to increase your chances of surprising enemies while playing Pudge.

Pipe of Insight

Pipe of Insight grants 30% magic resistance and 8.5 health regeneration to the Strength hero. Pudge can provide 15% magic resistance and increase the health regeneration rate of allies around him in a radius of 1200. 

The melee hero can cast Barrier using Pipe of Insight on allied units to protect them from magical spells. Allied units affected by Barrier can absorb up to 450 magical damage from incoming spells during battles. Barrier has a cooldown of 60 seconds and requires 100 mana to be used per cast. The item can be bought for 3475 gold in the game. 

Heart of Tarrasque 

Heart of Tarrasque provides 250 health, 45 Strength, and 1.6% of Pudge’s max health as regeneration to the utility hero. Pudge can purchase a Heart of Tarrasque for 5000 gold in the game. You can deal more damage to enemies using Dismember after pulling them using Meat Hook by equipping a Heart of Tarrasque in
your inventory. 

Best Allies for Pudge

Spirit Breaker

Spirit Breaker is a Strength hero who excels at chasing down enemies in Dota 2. He has a base movement speed of 295, making him quite fast at reaching team fights. Spirit Breaker has a base health of 760 at the start of the match. 

The melee hero can use Charge of Darkness to stun enemy heroes. Allies playing Spirit Breaker can signal Pudge before casting Charge of Darkness on an enemy to have Pudge launch a Meat Hook on time. Charge of Darkness has a cooldown of 11 seconds and requires 120 mana per cast to be used.

Teammates can use Bulldoze to increase the movement speed of Spirit Breaker by 25% and status resistance by 65%. The active ability, Bulldoze, can last for up to 8 seconds. Bulldoze has a cooldown of 16 seconds and consumes 60 mana per cast. 

Greater Bash will help Spirit Breaker deal more damage with his physical attacks. Spirit Breaker can knock back enemy heroes and stun them with his attacks by leveling up Greater Bash. Pudge can wait for Spirit Breaker to land a bash hit on enemy units before casting Meat Hook to derail them in fights. 

Spirit Breaker can use his ulti, Nether Strike, to instantly stun enemy heroes. Bashed enemy units stunned by Nether Strike can take up to 275 damage from Spirit Breaker. Nether Strike has a cooldown of 50 seconds and consumes 175 mana. 

Slark

Slark is an Agility hero who can assist Pudge in battles for easy kills. The melee hero has a base health of 600 and a base mana of 267. Slark gains 1.5 Agility per level. The Agility hero can restrain the movement of enemy units by using Pounce on them. Enemy units affected by Pounce are leashed for up to 3.3 seconds, letting Pudge close in on opponents to cast Meat Hook during battles in Dota 2. 

Team members who pick Slark to help Pudge can level up Dark Pact to dispel the Agility hero in team fights. Slark can cast Dark Pact to deal 300 damage to enemy units in a radius of 325. Dark Pact has a cooldown of 6 seconds and consumes 65 mana per cast. 

The carry hero can turn invisible using his ulti, Shadow Dance, to prevent himself from dying. Pudge can also use Meat Hook to grab Slark and move him out of the way of danger to help his allies escape from enemy heroes.