* Timbersaw’s reliance on nearby trees means he’ll usually be close to Hoodwink.
* More significantly, Timbersaw's tree destroying abilities cut off Hoodwink's escape options, passive and easily foil
Acorn Shot or
Bushwhack combos.
* While channeling
Sharpshooter, Timbersaw can simply sit his
Chakram on top of her and unleash his full combo, forcing her to cancel and disengage.
*
Timber Chain can be used to dodge
Sharpshooter.
* The percentage-based primary-attribute reduction effect of
Whirling Death can be devastating for Pudge due to his high strength gain through Flesh Heap.
*
Reactive Armor's health regeneration and common itemization for magic resistance and durability makes Timbersaw a poor target for Pudge.
*
Timber Chain's high mobility makes it difficult for Pudge to hook or deal much Rot damage to Timbersaw.
* Slark's
Pounce can be used to dodge Hoodwink's abilities or lock her down.
*
Shadow Dance makes Slark unhittable from
Acorn Shot.
*
Dark Pact removes all slows from Hoodwink's abilities.
* Hoodwink's already low health output is a great target for Slark's
Essence Shift.
*
Dark Pact dispels Dismember if timed correctly.
*
Pounce allows Slark to escape Pudge's Rot once Dismember is over, and allows him to dodge hooks.
*
Shadow Dance hides Slark and grants him a high degree of mobility, which can make him a difficult target to hook and also protects him from Pudge's Dismember (including allies with an
Aghanim's Shard).
* Clinkz's item build often counters Hoodwink, including
Black King Bar,
Monkey King Bar,
Heaven's Halberd, and
Scythe of Vyse.
*
Skeleton Walk can quickly escape Hoodwink abilities.
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook:
Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
*
Wild Axes destroys large amounts of trees specially upgraded with
Aghanim's Scepter,
*
Track can easily keep vision on Pudge, making it very hard for him to hook Bounty Hunter or his teammates from the fog of war.
*
Shuriken Toss cancels Dismember from great range.
* If Meat Hook is used before
Blink, Anti-Mage may be able to escape Pudge's grasp by blinking to safety.
*
Counterspell grants Anti-Mage a large degree of magic resistance, a damage type Pudge is highly reliant on to secure kills. This makes Anti-Mage a bad target for Pudge. The active can also block Dismember if timed correctly.
*
Mana Break can quickly drain Pudge's low supply of mana, which may render Meat Hook and Dismember unusable.
* Unlike any other illusion heroes, Chaos Knight is the worst target for Pudge to hook as it will definitely backfire him.
*
Phantasm are significantly tankier than most illusion and deal full damage, which will quickly kill Pudge due to his low armor.
* it becomes worse if pudge is affected with
Reality Rift, which reduces his already abysmal base armor even lower.
* Low movement speed and low mobility means Pudge will struggle to escape or outrun Chaos Knight in most cases.
* Powershot can destroy the trees to prevent
Scurry's passive as well as end
Bushwhack prematurely or prevent it completely.
*
Acorn Shot creates a tree for Windranger to get an easy Shackleshot off.
*
Acorn Shot does not grant True Strike, thus making it easy for Windranger to evade it with Windrun.
* Shackleshot stuns Hoodwink for a lengthy duration due to her often reliance on positioning with trees.
Additional:
*
Powershot can destroy the trees to prevent
Scurry's passive as well as end
Bushwhack prematurely or prevent it completely.
*
Acorn Shot does not grant True Strike, thus making it easy for Windranger to evade it with
Windrun.
*
Shackleshot stuns Hoodwink for a lengthy duration due to her often reliance on positioning with trees.
*
Chaotic Offering's vast area-effect can destroy trees and stun Hoodwink.
*
Upheaval makes retreating with
Scurry difficult.
*
Shukuchi grants Weaver invisibility and a high degree of mobility for a short time, which can make him a difficult target to hook.
*
The Swarm beetles are difficult for Pudge to remove, due to his low base attack time and poor agility. Additionally, it can be used to can scout out Pudge's location.
* Should an ally get snagged by Meat Hook, Weaver can use
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Time Lapse on them to send them back to where they were before hooked, even if Pudge has already started to Dismember them.
*
Sanity's Eclipse deals more damage the less max mana the heroes hit by it have, making Pudge an ideal target.
* Outworld Destroyer can save allies or himself caught by Dismember or Meat Hook with
Astral Imprisonment.
*
Heartstopper Aura is effective against high health heroes, and Pudge is no exception. Coupled with his self-damage from Rot, being around Heartstopper Aura could prove risky for Pudge.
* Regardless of how much health Pudge gains through Flesh Heap,
Reaper's Scythe will often kill Pudge should his health fall below 40%, making Necrophos an ideal counter versus Pudge.
*
Kraken Shell can dispel Dismember after reaching a certain threshold of damage.
* Tidehunter's naturally high health, strength gain, and common itemization for survivability through magic resistance makes Tidehunter a poor target.
*
Remote Mines are frequently placed in trees, and can thus kill an unwary Hoodwink should she
Scurry away due to her low HP pool.
*
Blast Off! can clear out trees, denying the tactical advantages from
Scurry.
* Storm Spirit can easily make his way to Hoodwink with his ultimate
Ball lightning, and coupled with Hoodwink's low health and magic resistance, she can be nuked easily.
* Additionally,
Ball lightning can destroy a small amount of trees in its destination. Combined with Storm Spirit's frequent usage of his ultimate, he can clear out an area of trees while simultaneously attacking him and dodging incoming attacks.
* Legion Commander can use
Press the Attack on an ally to dispel Dismember. The bonus health regeneration also partially counters the damage of Rot
*
Duel can be used on Pudge whilst Rot is active, disabling toggling which may result in a lethal health drain that leaves Legion Commander with a successful duel.
* The lifesteal of
Feast scales accordingly to the max health of its target, which is effective against Pudge due to his high health and further health granted by stacks of Flesh Heap.
* Lifestealer can activate
Rage to be spell immune, making Rot deal no damage.
* Pudge's plentiful health makes him an ideal target for Lifestealer's
Aghanim's Shard ability,
Open Wounds.
*
Void's mini-stun and silence from
Crippling Fear will stop Pudge from using Dismember or turning off his Rot.
* Night Stalker has naturally high health, strength gain and common itemization for survivability through magic resistance, making Night Stalker a poor target for Pudge.
* If Meat Hook is used before
Leap, Mirana may be able to escape Pudge's grasp by leaping to safety.
* The invisibility from
Moonlight Shadow gives a degree of mobility, which can make Mirana or her teammates difficult targets to hook.
*
Sacred Arrow can be used to cancel Dismember from long distances.
*
Corrosive Haze reveals Pudge's location, making it hard for him to use Meat Hook from the fog of war on Slardar's teammates or Slardar himself.
*
Slithereen Crush interrupts Pudge while he is using Dismember.
*
Guardian Sprint allows Slardar to avoid Meat Hook.
* Meat Hook can prove annoying for Pudge if Rubick
Spell Steals it, allowing Rubick to easily hook and save his allies being Dismembered.
* Oracle can negate and shut down Primal Beast simply with Fate's Edict, especially in the early game, as a majority of his damage-dealing spells are magic.
* Oracle can interrupt Primal Beast's
Onslaught charge with a well-timed Fortune's End.
* Primal Beast's lethal burst damage combos can be further stalled with False Promise; combined with Fate's Edict and regen from Purifying Flames, Oracle can even completely negate Primal Beast's offense.
*
Doom disables the toggling of Rot and, if cast at the right time, may leave Pudge with a potentially lethal health drain.
* Doom's naturally high health, strength gain and damage output makes him a poor target for Pudge.
* The damage of Doom's
Infernal Blade scales with the target's maximum health, which is particularly effective against Pudge due to his naturally high health and further health granted by stacks of Flesh Heap.
*
Nether Swap can forcibly reposition
Sharpshooter.
* Treant can give chase should Hoodwink attempt to
Scurry away, and
Nature's Grasp can slow her down so Treant Protector's teammates can pin Hoodwink down.
* Heroes that can negate Hoodwink's mobility:
Kunkka,
Disruptor,
Mars.
* Heroes that can negate Hoodwink's mobility:
Kunkka,
Disruptor,
Mars.
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook:
Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
* Anti-Tank heroes like:
Razor,
Necrophos,
Undying.
* Heroes with many summons or illusions are much harder to catch with Meat Hook:
Nature's Prophet,
Phantom Lancer,
Chen.
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook:
Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
* Abilities that can destroy trees can give Hoodwink a disadvantage:
Timbersaw,
Windranger,
Lina.
* Anti-Tank heroes like:
Razor,
Necrophos,
Undying.
*
Moon Glaives can ignore certain abilities that either trigger on attack or give evasion under the condition that the heroes who have them are not primary targets. Examples include:
Centaur Warrunner,
Windranger,
Phantom Assassin,
Hoodwink etc.
* Generally heroes who don't rely on magical damage, such as
Sven,
Phantom Assassin, and
Outworld Destroyer, as they can practically ignore Flesh Heap's damage block.
* Heroes that can negate Hoodwink's mobility:
Kunkka,
Disruptor,
Mars.
* Durable heroes relied a lot on their main passive effects and items' effects such as
Bristleback,
Underlord,
Spectre and
Dragon Knight can be disabled easily with
Sharpshooter's break, reducing their potential in teamfights.
* Pudge's Dismember stops Spectre from escaping with
Haunt.
* He can easily tank the damage reflected by
Dispersion due to his high strength and the healing from Dismember.
* Should Spectre try to get away through the trees or over a cliff with
Spectral Dagger, Pudge can hook her back.
* Spectre takes a long time to become powerful, and Pudge can ruin her early game with ganks.
* Generally heroes who don't rely on magical damage, such as
Sven,
Phantom Assassin, and
Outworld Destroyer, as they can practically ignore Flesh Heap's damage block.
*
Sharpshooter disables both
Blur and
Coup De Grace, weakening her damage and survivability.
* Because Phantom Assassin is often reliant on critical strikes, Hoodwink can have enough time to simply move near a tree and escape with
Scurry.
Additional:
*
Sharpshooter disables both
Blur and
Coup De Grace, especially with the level 25 talent.
* Because Phantom Assassin is often reliant on critical strikes, Hoodwink can have enough time to simply move near a tree and escape with
Scurry.
* If Phantom Assassin jumps on Pudge first with
Phantom Strike, she will be a very easy target for Pudge's
Meat Hook and
Dismember combo.
* Even though it can deal damage based on Pudge's max health,
Fan of Knives from
Aghanim's Shard cannot disable Pudge's
Flesh Heap as
Flesh Heap is one of the few passive abilities that cannot be disabled by break.
* Both
Meat Hook and
Dismember ignore spell immunity which allows Pudge to disable Phantom Assassin even while she has
Black King Bar active.
* Pudge occassionally buys armor items like
Blade Mail, which in combination with many stacks from
Flesh Heap can make Phantom Assassin have little effect against Pudge.
* As Terrorblade's damage output comes mainly from direct attacks, he will struggle greatly against heroes who have abilities that give evasion, trigger on attack or which can disarm an enemy hero:
Centaur Warrunner,
Hoodwink,
Huskar,
Invoker,
Leshrac with
Nihilism from
Aghanim's Scepter,
Lifestealer with
Aghanim's Scepter upgraded
Infest,
Pangolier,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Techies,
Windranger etc.
* Heroes with abilities that can lock down Terrorblade and prevent him from using Sunder:
Bane,
Batrider,
Earthshaker,
Elder Titan,
Faceless Void,
Invoker,
Legion Commander,
Mars,
Primal Beast,
Riki,
Shadow Shaman,
Silencer,
Vengeful Spirit,
Void Spirit.
* Meat Hook can be used to pull Tinker to Pudge while he is hiding in the trees, and a follow up with Dismember and Rot can lead to a valuable kill, as Tinker doesn't buy many survivability items.
* Flesh Heap makes it hard for Tinker to deal serious damage.
* Huskar’s low health play style put him at extreme risk to
Sharpshooter's extreme damage. In addition, it breaks
Berserker's Blood, nullifying Huskar's power source.
* Meat Hook can cancel
Freezing Field, even if Crystal Maiden has
Glimmer Cape.
* She is also slow and fragile, making her a good target for ganking.
*
Hex and
Earth Spike do not cancel
Sharpshooter, making those two abilities ineffective against her.
* Although Hoodwink should be wary of his
Finger of death, as it can possibly kill her.
* Monkey King often hides in trees, where he can be easily caught with
Bushwhack.
*
Acorn Shot can target enemies in the fog, including Monkey King when he is on a tree.
*
Sharpshooter provides flying vision along the cast indicator while charging, which can be used to scout the trees for Monkey King.
*
Bushwhack can tear through
Refraction as it does multiple intervals of damage.
*
Sharpshooter can kill easy when Morphling is going on full agility strategy (Only in early and mid game).
*
Scurry can help to catch up Morphling when using
Waveform or for escape.
* Abilities that deal low damage with high amounts of instances are irrelevant against Pudge during Flesh Heap's active:
Gyrocopter's
Rocket Barrage and
Dark Seer's
Ion Shell are just a couple examples.
* Heroes who build a Black King Bar (or have any sources of spell immunity) to channel abilities/items can still get interrupted by Dismember:
Enigma,
Juggernaut,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Elder Titan.
* Durable heroes:
Axe,
Dawnbreaker,
Bristleback,
Mars,
Omniknight,
Tidehunter,
Wraith King,
Primal Beast,
Underlord.
* Heroes who have high health are a problem for Sniper because he likes to attack the closest target and sit at the back, much like a
Terrorblade so when that hero doesn't die; he's forced to show his position for a very long time:
Centaur Warrunner,
Legion Commander,
Primal Beast.
Additional:
* Sniper has a low health pool and strength gain, making him vulnerable to Pudge's magical and pure damage.
* Sniper usually likes to deal damage away from the fight, and Meat Hook is capable of bringing him to the front lines.
*
Assassinate won't do much damage against Pudge because of his high strength gain and the strength bonuses from Flesh Heap.
*
Shrapnel will be mostly blocked by Flesh Heap's active.
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook:
Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
* Heroes who build a Black King Bar (or have any sources of spell immunity) to channel abilities/items can still get interrupted by Dismember:
Enigma,
Juggernaut,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Elder Titan.
* Long lockdown is a great way to deal with Axe to prevent Berserker's Call from being used, heroes such as
Legion Commander,
Beastmaster and
Primal Beast are good examples of this.
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook:
Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
* Durable heroes relied a lot on their main passive effects and items' effects such as
Bristleback,
Underlord,
Spectre and
Dragon Knight can be disabled easily with
Sharpshooter's break, reducing their potential in teamfights.
* Heroes with evasions:
Phantom Assassin,
Brewmaster,
Hoodwink,
Windranger.
* Heroes who have low or high armor but very high health will be difficult for drow to burst down quickly:
Primal Beast,
Axe,
Centaur Warrunner.
Additional:
* Meat Hook can pull Drow Ranger to Pudge, disabling her
Marksmanship.
* Following up with Dismember will prevent Drow Ranger from using
Gust or
Shadow Blade.
* Durable heroes relied a lot on their main passive effects and items' effects such as
Bristleback,
Underlord,
Spectre and
Dragon Knight can be disabled easily with
Sharpshooter's break, reducing their potential in teamfights.
* Heroes who build a Black King Bar (or have any sources of spell immunity) to channel abilities/items can still get interrupted by Dismember:
Enigma,
Juggernaut,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Elder Titan.
* Heroes who build a Black King Bar (or have any sources of spell immunity) to channel abilities/items can still get interrupted by Dismember:
Enigma,
Juggernaut,
Phantom Assassin,
Pugna,
Elder Titan.
* Heroes who recklessly jump on Pudge with their gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Pudge's Meat Hook and Dismember Combo:
Phantom Assassin,
Faceless Void,
Queen of Pain etc.
* Heroes that have a channeled ability that can be interrupted by Meat Hook:
Shadow Shaman,
Witch Doctor,
Enigma,
Bane.
* Fragile,slow heroes whom Pudge can outlive (
Crystal Maiden,
Muerta,
Sniper)
* Any heroes that naturally buy
Diffusal Blade like
Phantom Lancer or have a mana break talent is a big issue for Pudge because of his low mana pool.
*
Acorn Shot combined with attack modifiers such as
Maelstrom or
Daedalus makes a quick work of Phantom Lancer's illusions.
*
Bushwhack will stun Phantom Lancer and his illusions if they're near a tree.
Additional:
*
Bushwhack will stun and make a quick work of Phantom Lancer and his illusion when he's near a tree.
*
Sharpshooter breaks
Juxtapose and deals hefty damage.
*
Sharpshooter ignores Illusions and will only damage and breaks the real phantom lancer, when used right, this will allow you to reveal the real phantom lancer amongst his Illusions
* Abaddon can activate
Borrowed Time to dispel Dismember; breaking the disable and potentially allowing Abaddon to escape.
*
Aphotic Shield can be cast on an ally to dispel the stun of Dismember, which can make kills difficult to secure, given that Dismember is Pudge's only reliable disable.
* Pudge lacks a mobility without a
Blink Dagger, causing him to be easily chased with
Curse of Avernus. The silence also prevents him from toggling off his Rot.
* Abaddon can be killed without triggering his ultimate
Borrowed Time due to the break applied by
Sharpshooter.
* Heroes with a high degree of mobility and invisibility are hard to catch with Meat Hook:
Ember Spirit,
Riki,
Clinkz,
Queen of Pain.
* Heroes who recklessly jump on Pudge with their gap-closing abilities will be easy targets for Pudge's Meat Hook and Dismember Combo:
Phantom Assassin,
Faceless Void,
Queen of Pain etc.
* With
Normal Punch from
Aghanim's Scepter, Dark Seer can gain an advantage against heroes who rely on evasion as
Normal Punch has true strike:
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Hoodwink.
* Abilities that deal low damage with high amounts of instances are irrelevant against Pudge during Flesh Heap's active:
Gyrocopter's
Rocket Barrage and
Dark Seer's
Ion Shell are just a couple examples.
* Heroes with many summons or illusions are much harder to catch with Meat Hook:
Nature's Prophet,
Phantom Lancer,
Chen.
* Heroes with evasion will cause Chen and his creeps to struggle in attacking them and will waste much of Penitence's power:
Phantom Assassin,
Windranger,
Hoodwink.
* Pudge is particularly susceptible to Bristleback's
Viscous Nasal Goo and
Quill Spray due to his naturally low armor and poor agility gain.
* Bristleback, in combination with his strength gain, high health, common itemization for magic resistance and damage reduction from
Bristleback makes him a poor target for Pudge.
*
Sharpshooter deals massive damage to Bristleback and applies a high duration disable on his passive.
*
Bushwhack and
Scurry can be used to easily kite Bristleback.
Additional:
*
Bristleback and
Warpath can be disabled by Hoodwink's
Sharpshooter ability for a long period of time, reducing his both offense and defense.
*
Scurry and
Bushwhack can be used to kite bristleback.
* Due to Hoodwink's low health and Zeus's high magic damage from
Arc Lightning,
Lightning Bolt and
Static Field as well as global abilities from
Thundergod's Wrath and
Nimbus, he can easily kill her throughout the game and also reveal where Hoodwink is positioned or when she's in trees.
* Zeus likes to stay far back in fights, dealing his damage uninterrupted, but once he gets hooked into the fight, he usually dies very quickly.
* Pudge's high strength from Flesh Heap makes it very hard for Zeus to burst him down.
* Zeus' low health pool makes him very vulnerable to the damage from Meat Hook, Rot and Dismember.
To start select enemy heroes in the field above. It's intended to be used with multiple heroes. The more enemy heroes you provide the better results you will get.
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Hoodwink
* Nyx's
Spiked Carapace can reflect the damage of
Sharpshooter, instantly killing hoodwink. Nyx can also use
Vendetta to position himself in such a way to screen allies from Sharpshooter and catch Hoodwink by surprise.
Primal Beast
*
Impale and
Spiked Carapace can be used to cancel Dismember easily, and can even do so when Pudge uses it on Nyx Assassin, if timed correctly.