What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
103 buys
2ndSecond most
76 buys
3rdThird most
43 buys
4thFourth most
39 buys
5thFifth most
38 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Pudge
Melee · Strength
- Win rate
- 51.3%
- Pick share
- 2.7%
- Matches
- 1,267,089
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsDisablerInitiatorDurableNuker
NeedsCarrySupportTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 50 min + — that is where this hero measures best, at 50.5% over 404 matches.
- You are playing around Herald — its strongest medal, 52.6% over 27,273 picks.
Avoid
- Magnus is on their side — this hero wins 37.6% of 85 matches against it.
- Drow Ranger is on their side — this hero wins 36.8% of 76 matches against it.
- Monkey King is on their side — this hero wins 39.3% of 107 matches against it.
103 buys76 buys43 buys39 buys38 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Pudge took at each level.
QMeat Hook
Launches a bloody hook toward a unit or location.
Point Target · Pure damage
WRot
A toxic cloud that deals intense damage and slows movement--harming not only enemy units but Pudge himself.
No Target · Magical damage
EMeat Shield
Pudge covers himself with a layer of flesh that blocks damage of any type taken from any source.
No Target · Instant Cast
RDismember
CHANNELED - Pudge chows down on an enemy unit, disabling it and dealing damage over time.
Unit Target · Channeled · Magical damageMax Order
WEQ
Max W first, then E, then Q. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QMeat Hook
- WRot
- EMeat Shield
- RDismember
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QMeat Hook | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WRot | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EMeat Shield | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RDismember | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Pudge performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
120 opponents · public matches40%60%Pudge's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “slow”, “hook”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “shield”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”, “pure”, “damage over time”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “creep”.
- Stay in lane
Healing, regeneration or lifesteal — not having to walk back. Matched on “heals”.
By medal
- Herald52.6%27,273
- Guardian52.3%103,994
- Crusader52.0%194,818
- Archon51.5%271,958
- Legend51.0%274,655
- Ancient50.2%178,673
- Divine50.2%128,254
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min50.0%4,057
- 20–30 min49.8%10,692
- 30–40 min49.0%4,139
- 40–50 min48.8%1,165
- 50 min +50.5%404
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Pudge
Abilities
Meat Hook
Point Target · Pure damageLaunches a bloody hook toward a unit or location. The hook will snag the first unit it encounters, dragging the unit back to Pudge, killing it if it's a non-ancient creep and dealing damage if it is an enemy otherwise.
Rot
No Target · Magical damageA toxic cloud that deals intense damage and slows movement--harming not only enemy units but Pudge himself.
Meat Shield
No Target · Instant CastPudge covers himself with a layer of flesh that blocks damage of any type taken from any source.
Flesh Heap
Hidden · PassivePudge's skin thickens permanently every time he kills an enemy Hero, gaining 1.6 bonus Strength for each stack.
Dismember
Unit Target · Channeled · Magical damageCHANNELED - Pudge chows down on an enemy unit, disabling it and dealing damage over time. Damage is increased by Pudge's Strength and heals him for the total amount. Pudge pulls the unit at a rate of 75 units, up to a minimum of 125 range.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 25 +3.0
- Agility
- 11 +1.4
- Intelligence
- 16 +1.8
- Move · range
- 280 · 175
Talents
- 4x Dismember Damage/Healx Flesh Heap and Meat Shield bonuses
- 3Dismember DurationMeat Hook Cooldown
- 2+8% Spell LifestealMeat Hook Damage
- 1+5 ArmorRot Slow
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Rot
Increases Rot radius by 200, damage by 90, and causes it to reduce enemy Health Restoration by 20%.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Meat Hook
When Meat Hook hits an enemy, it deals bonus damage based on the distance pulled. When Meat Hook hits an ally, Meat Hook's cooldown is reduced by 50%.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.