Pugna

Pugna

The Dire

17 + 1.2 16 + 1 26 + 4

Level 1 16 25 Hit Points 473 853 1385 Mana 338 1144 1846 Damage 45-53 107-115 161-169 Armor 1.24 3.62 7.4 Attacks / Second 0.68 0.78 0.94

Movement Speed 320 Turn Rate 0.5 Sight Range 1800/800 Attack Range 600 Missile Speed 900 Attack Duration 0.5+0.5 Cast Duration 0.2+0.51 Base Attack Time 1.7

Pugna is a ranged Intelligence Hero who possesses powerful abilities which give him great versatility and offensive capabilities. He has a high base Movement Speed and also has the highest base Intelligence in the game. Nether Blast is an AOE nuke which also deals damage to buildings, giving Pugna good pushing capabilities. Decrepify can disable enemy carries or save allies from physical attacks. Nether Ward is an excellent teamfight ability which will deal damage to enemies based on the manacost of abilities, making Pugna a good counter to casters. Pugna's ultimate, Life Drain, will sap enemy health and grant it to himself, somewhat making up for his low durability.

Bio

Pugna Play "Who needs a blade when you have oblivion?" Role: Nuker / Pusher / Support Lore: In the realm of Pugna's birth, near the vents of the Nether Reaches, there stood a lamasery devoted to the Arts of Oblivion, which drew its power from the nether energies. The Grandmaster of the temple compound had himself passed into Oblivion several years prior, leaving his academy without a leader. From the moment of their master's death, the regents of the temple began rites of divination to identify their master's reincarnation, and eventually all signs converged on the immediate neighborhood. Several villages squatted in the shadow of the temple, their alleys and plazas full of the laughter of squalling children. Pugna, a mere thirteen months of age, was but one candidate among the local brats, and on the appointed day he was presented at the temple alongside two other promising tots. The lamas offered a jumble of worn relics to the children, treasured possessions of their former grandmaster. One boy reached for a porphyry wand that had belonged to the lama...and put it in his nostril. An impish girl pulled out an amulet that had also been the lama's, and immediately swallowed it. Pugna regarded the other two coolly, gave a merry laugh, and blasted them with gouts of emerald flame, reducing them to ashes in an instant. He then snatched up the wand and amulet, saying 'Mine!' The regents hoisted the beaming Pugna on their shoulders, wrapped him in their grandmaster's vestments, and rushed him to the throne before his mood could change. Within five years, the temple itself was another pile of ash, which pleased Pugna to no end. Voice: Gary Schwartz (Responses)

Abilities

Nether Blast Q B Ability Affects Damage Target Point Enemy units and structures Magical An exploding pulse deals damage to enemies and structures in the area. Deals 50% damage to structures. Range: 400 Radius: 400 Damage to units: 100/175/250/325 Damage to structures: 50/87.5/125/162.5 Blast Delay: 0.9 5.5 85/105/125/145 The Arts of Oblivion include a deafening blast of emerald flames from the Nether Reaches.

Notes: Will effectively deal 140/245/350/455 damage to decrepified units.

Decrepify W C Ability Affects Target Unit Units A powerful banishing spell that slows a unit and renders it unable to attack or be attacked. Afflicted units take extra magic damage. Range: 700 Duration: 2/2.5/3/3.5 Bonus Spell Damage: 40% Movement Speed Slow: 50% 12/10/8/6 100 A now-mastered relic from his childhood, Pugna delights in banishing others into the Nether Realm, whether for good, evil, or simple enjoyment.

Notes: Only magical and pure damage can harm units under the effect of Decrepify. Echo Slam and Heat Seeking Missile will not damage a Decrepified target, even though they deal magical damage.

Nether Ward
Duration 25 Hit Points 75/150/225/300 Damage See skill description Armor 0 Sight Range 600/600 Base Attack Time 1 Bounty 20/40/60/80 Experience 0

Nether Ward E W Ability Affects Damage No Target Enemies Magical Pugna places a nether ward that fires mana flares at enemy heroes who dare to cast spells, while also preventing them from regenerating mana. Nether Ward deals damage equal to the damage multiplier times the mana spent by the enemy hero. Lasts 25 seconds. Radius: 1600 Duration: 25 Ward Health: 75/150/225/300 Damage Per Mana Used: 1/1.25/1.5/1.75 Mana Regeneration: -1.5/-3.0/-4.5/-6 35 80 While at the lamasery for the Arts of Oblivion, Pugna learned to dominate his classmates with a simple ward charged with Nether magic.

Notes: Mana Flare is triggered when an enemy casts a spell or uses an item and the damage is based on the mana-cost. Mana Flare deals the damage before the actual spell is cast, so if the target dies the spell will have no effect. Nether Ward can be targeted by Decrepify, and it will still be able to attack. The multiplier will effectively be 1.4/1.75/2.1/2.45 against decrepified units.

Life Drain R D Ability Affects Damage Channeled Enemies Magical CHANNELED - While channelling Life Drain, Pugna siphons HP of the target enemy unit. Lasts 10 seconds. Range: 850 (900*) Duration: 10 Health Drained Per Second: 120/160/200 (180/240/300*) 22 (0*) 125/175/225 Can be targeted on magic immune unit, but target takes no damage and Pugna is not healed. Increases drain per second, increases cast range, and sets cooldown time to zero. Pugna has truly become more powerful than even the grandmaster of Oblivion.

Notes: HP drained depends on the actual damage dealt, so Decrepify increases it and spell reduction reduces it. Will continue to drain as long as the target stays within 1100 range from Pugna. If the target is an illusion it's destroyed on the first damage tick. Will effectively deal 168/224/280 (252/336/420*) damage per second to decrepified units.

Recommended items

Explanation: Pugna is very squishy and lacks a strong escape ability, so picking up Phase Boots will improve his survivability and provide him better positioning, which is critical to using Pugna's spells. Drum of Endurance is a good late game pick up that provides Pugna with additional stats and movement speed while using a Bracer bought for early game health. Mekansm solves all your main problems with one item slot: More health and armor as well as a powerful heal to assist when pushing with your team. Strength and Armor are must-have stats for Pugna.

Tips

• Make sure Nether Blast is always maxed first.
• Last hit the tower with Nether Blast if it's at risk of being denied.
• Always use Nether Ward during team clashes. It costs a mere 80 mana and can often deal more damage than a Zeus ultimate during fights. However, it is easily destroyed, so cast the ward in hard-to-spot places to avoid an early detection from the enemy focus fire.
• Pugna's HP and armor is among the lowest in DotA 2, so it is wise to buff him up a bit by buying a Mekansm or 2 Bracers.
• In a tight spot, Pugna can cast Decrepify on himself and teleport back to base with a scroll. This trick works best when being chased by heroes that can't nuke you and are trying to auto-attack.
• Decrepify can be used to amplify magical damage from spells and items. Items like Dagon, Shiva's Guard, and even Ethereal Blade can be purchased to blast enemies to oblivion.
• With items like Desolator and Maelstrom, with its upgrade Mjollnir, Pugna can ultimately attack units under Decrepify, allowing him to punish an enemy while they are defenseless.
• Decrepify protects against the following physical-damage abilities (provided the enemy has no magical orb effect item like Desolator, Mjollnir, or Maelstrom ). You can bait out these ultimates & stuns if you're in a 1v1 situation:
  • Juggernaut's Omnislash (ultimate)
  • Slardar's Slithereen Crush (AoE stun)
  • Razor's Eye of the Storm (ultimate)
• Hitting a Nether Blast together with only Level 1 Decrepify may seem hard, so utilizing the delay of Nether Blast by first casting it and then Decrepify during the 0.5 second delay is a good way to combo the skills.
• Building Refresher Orb on Pugna will let you place 2 Nether Wards at once. While the mana regeneration doesn't stack, a spell cast by the enemy will cause 2 bursts of damage provided both Wards are in range.
• Nether Ward has a pretty large area of effect, which can potentially trouble spellcasters, as it can deplete their mana supply as well as be zapped by Mana Flare which deals damage based on the mana cost of the spell. Heroes with skills that have very high mana cost shouldn't use it as they can be killed by just a simple cast.
• Make sure you are well within range when using Life Drain on an enemy. Using it at maximum range will allow your target to easily leave the area and cancel the spell.
• Life Drain deals magical damage, which means it can be amplified by Decrepify, thus increasing the health healed too.

Trivia

• Pugna has the most intelligence gain of all heroes (+4 intelligence per level).
• According to Alchemist's voice lines, Pugna is composed largely of phosphorus. Being a skeleton, he would be made of the phosphorus-containing mineral hydroxylapatite, a major component of bone.
• Several lines of dialogue reference Viper being Pugna's pet at some point, and it is still unclear whether he was the wizard that Viper slain.
• "Pugna" is Latin and means fight, battle, conflict.
• Pugna lacks a sternum.
• One of Pugna's voice lines upon casting Decrepify (First, do no harm) is a reference to the first line of the Hippocratic Oath.

Update history

February 07, 2013 Patch

• Fixed some ability Backswing timing issues ( Kunkka, Clockwerk, Timbersaw, Meepo, Pudge, Spirit Breaker, Sand King, Riki, Nyx Assassin, Lion, Pugna, Shadow Demon, Batrider).

September 21, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Nether Ward briefly registering the incorrect team right after casting.

August 02, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Illuminate dealing maximum damage instantly when killed by Nether Ward on cast attempt.

June 14, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Nether Ward not draining mana from enemies.

June 11, 2012 Patch

• Fixed the following spells being castable on magic immune allies: Nightmare, Frost Armor, Nature's Guise, Holy Persuasion, Decrepify, Astral Imprisonment, Shadow Word and X Marks The Spot.

May 10, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Life Drain range not improving with Aghanim's Scepter.

April 12, 2012 Patch

• Fixed abilities going into cooldown if the target dies while paying manacost (ie. from Nether Ward).

March 08, 2012 Patch

• Fixed Netherward mana degen not showing the proper numbers for players.

December 01, 2011 Patch

• Fixed collision size on Nether Ward being too big.

October 27, 2011 Patch

• When disarmed (Decrepify, etc.), you can now right-click or attack-move-click on enemies to move toward them. The "Can't Attack" error will not appear until you reach attack range of the enemy.

September 16, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Life Drain instantly filling Pugna's life when used on illusions.
• Fixed Nether Ward bounty always being stuck at level 1.

September 15, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Life Drain instantly filling Pugna's life when used on illusions.
• Fixed Nether Ward bounty always being stuck at level 1.

August 06, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Nether Ward not giving bounty.
• Added Timed Life HP indicator.

July 08, 2011 Patch

• Life Drain will stop if the unit goes into the Fog of War.

July 01, 2011 Patch

• Nether Blast now does only 33% of the full damage to structures.
• Decrepify is now eaten by Linken's Sphere.
• Nether Ward doesn't affect creeps.
• Nether Ward's zap is now eaten by Linken's Sphere.
• Nether Ward's aura is not purgable.
• Life Drain is now eaten by Sphere and it will cancel the channel.
• Life Drain is not purgable.
• Life Drain will heal for remaining health an illusion has before killing it.

June 17, 2011 Patch

• Tweaked netherblast effect to be more representitive of the radius of the effect.
• Fixed Pugna not being able to target his own ward with Decrepify.

June 10, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Pugna aborting his Life Drain if he cast it right at the edge of his cast range.

June 02, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Nether Ward not immediately going away when it's destroyed.

May 26, 2011 Patch

• Fixed Life Drain values always being that of Scepter upgrade.
• Fixed Life Drain tick interval.

May 20, 2011 Patch

• Enabled Pugna and Beastmaster (in-progress models).

Balance changelog

6.78

• Nether Blast structure damage increased from 33% to 50%.
• Decrepify can now target Tombstone.

6.77

• Decrepify cooldown decreased from 13/11/9/7 to 12/10/8/6.

6.76

• Life Drain break threshold range increased from 900 to 1100.
• Nether Ward AoE increased from 700/1000/1300/1600 to 1600.

6.75

• Movement speed increased from 315 to 320.
• Nether Ward mana flare damage increased from 0.75/1/1.25/1.5 to 1/1.25/1.5/1.75.
• Life Drain break range increased from 850 to 900.

6.74

• Decrepify cast range increased from 550/600/650/700 to 700.
• Life Drain damage increased from 100/150/200 to 120/160/200 (with Aghanim's from 175/225/275 to 180/240/300).

6.73

• Life Drain
  • Damage increased from 95/140/185 to 100/150/200 (and Scepter from 150/200/250 to 175/225/275).
  • Duration increased from 9 to 10 seconds.

6.71

• Strength gain reduced from 1.45 to 1.2.

6.66

• Decrepify cast range increased from 550 to 550/600/650/700.

6.65

• Cast Point improved.
• Decrepify can now be cast on Nether Ward.

6.63

• Nether Ward's Mana Flare cooldown removed (was 0.75).

6.60

• Life Drain max range improved by 50 and its cast range is now equal to its max range.

6.58

• Reduced Scepter upgraded Life Drain cooldown dramatically.

See also

• Pugna responses