r/DotA2•12 yr. ago

Hero Discussion of this Day: Pugna, Oblivion (26 February 2014)

Discussion

Pugna, the Oblivion

As bad as things get, I can always come up with a way to make them a little worse.

Pugna is a fragile yet versatile spellcaster. Due to his massive base intelligence and high gain per level, he has plenty of mana to cast his spells as much as he wants. Nether Blast is his primary method for dealing damage, and its large area of effect, high strength, and low cooldown make it good for harassing enemy heroes and killing creeps. In addition, Nether Blast also deals damage to towers, which makes Pugna a powerful sieging hero with Nether Blast alone. Pugna's Decrepify spell is useful in several ways. It functions as a decent movement speed slowing spell for catching fleeing enemies, and also amplifies spell damage against the target. Decrepify and Nether Blast make a powerful combination. Decrepify can also be cast on allies, and since it prevents the target from being hit by physical attacks, it gives clever Pugna players a way to deal with potentially troublesome physical attack oriented heroes by either Decrepifying the enemy hero (which prevents them from attacking), or an allied hero to prevent them from being attacked. Decrepified enemies can still cast spells, but with Pugna's Nether Ward placed they will be struck by bolts of lightning whenever they use a skill. Finally, Pugna's natural fragility is somewhat mediated by his Life Drain spell, which rapidly heals Pugna while dealing a lot of damage to his target. Pugna is especially effective at shutting down enemy spellcasters with his Nether Ward, but his versatility makes him good in any situation.

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.

Roles: Nuker, Pusher, Utility

Strength: 17 + 1.2

Agility: 16 + 1

Intelligence: 26 + 4

Damage: 45-53

Armour: 1.24

Movement Speed: 320

Attack Range: 600

Missile Speed: 900

Base Attack Time: 1.7

Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)

Turn Rate: 0.5

Spells

Nether Blast

An exploding pulse deals damage to enemies and structures in the area. Deals 50% damage to structures.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	85	5.5	400	400	N/A	After a 0.9 second delay, deals 100 damage in an area to enemy units (half to buildings)
2	105	5.5	400	400	N/A	After a 0.9 second delay, deals 175 damage in an area to enemy units (half to buildings)
3	125	5.5	400	400	N/A	After a 0.9 second delay, deals 250 damage in an area to enemy units (half to buildings)
4	145	5.5	400	400	N/A	After a 0.9 second delay, deals 325 damage in an area to enemy units (half to buildings)

Magical Damage
Will effectively deal 150/262.5/375/487.5 damage to decrepified units
Deals 50% damage to structures

The Arts of Oblivion include a deafening blast of emerald flames from the Nether Reaches.

Decrepify

A powerful banishing spell that slows a unit and renders it unable to attack or be attacked. Afflicted units take extra magic damage.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	100	12	700	N/A	2	Decrepifies a target unit, causing enemies to take 50% extra magical damage and allies to take 25% extra magical damage while also slowing either target by 50%
2	100	10	700	N/A	2.5	Decrepifies a target unit, causing enemies to take 50% extra magical damage and allies to take 25% extra magical damage while also slowing either target by 50%
3	100	8	700	N/A	3	Decrepifies a target unit, causing enemies to take 50% extra magical damage and allies to take 25% extra magical damage while also slowing either target by 50%
4	100	6	700	N/A	3.5	Decrepifies a target unit, causing enemies to take 50% extra magical damage and allies to take 25% extra magical damage while also slowing either target by 50%

Only magical and pure damage can harm units under the effect of Decrepify
Heat Seeking Missile will not target Decrepified targets, but will damage them
Does stack with other Magic amplification, but not other ethereal effects like from Ethereal Blade
Can be cast on Dirge's Tombstone

A now-mastered relic from his childhood, Pugna delights in banishing others into the Nether Realm, whether for good, evil, or simple enjoyment.

Nether Ward

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.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	80	35	N/A	1600	25	Plants a ward which causes -1.5 mana regen and damages enemies by 1 for each point of mana used when they cast a spell. Requires 3 hero attacks or 12 other attacks to destroyed.
2	80	35	N/A	1600	25	Plants a ward which causes -3.0 mana regen and damages enemies by 1.25 for each point of mana used when they cast a spell. Requires 3 hero attacks or 12 other attacks to destroyed.
3	80	35	N/A	1600	25	Plants a ward which causes -4.5 mana regen and damages enemies by 1.5 for each point of mana used when they cast a spell. Requires 3 hero attacks or 12 other attacks to destroyed.
4	80	35	N/A	1600	25	Plants a ward which causes -6.0 mana regen and damages enemies by 1.75 for each point of mana used when they cast a spell. Requires 3 hero attacks or 12 other attacks to destroyed.

Magical Damage
Mana Flare is triggered when an enemy casts a spell or uses an item. Damage is based on the mana-cost of the spell or item.
Ability Modifiers such as Searing Arrows, Arcane Orb, and Impetus will trigger Mana Flare even if set to autocast
Requires 3 hero attacks or 12 other attacks to destroyed
Mana Flare deals the damage before the actual spell is cast, so if the target dies, the spell will have no effect and be set on cooldown
Nether Ward can be targeted by Decrepify, and it will still be able to attack
The multiplier will effectively be 1.5/1.87/2.25/2.62 against decrepified units

While at the lamasery for the Arts of Oblivion, Pugna learned to dominate his classmates with a simple ward charged with Nether magic.

Life Drain

Ultimate - Channeling

While channelling Life Drain, Pugna siphons HP of the target enemy unit. If you are full HP when hitting heroes, it will restore mana instead. Lasts 10 seconds. Upgradable by Aghanim's Scepter.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	125	22 (0*)	850 (900*)	N/A	10	Drains 120 (180*) health from the enemy target and gives it to Pugna each second
2	175	22 (0*)	850 (900*)	N/A	10	Drains 160 (240*) health from the enemy target and gives it to Pugna each second
3	225	22 (0*)	850 (900*)	N/A	10	Drains 200 (300*) health from the enemy target and gives it to Pugna each second

Magical Damage
This ultimate can be improved by Sceptre, (*) shows the upgraded effects
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 of Pugna and is within Pugna's vision range
If the target is an illusion it's destroyed on the first damage tick
The mana-restoring effect only applies when targeting heroes
Will effectively deal 180/240/300 (270/360/450*) damage per second to decrepified units

Pugna has truly become more powerful than even the grandmaster of Oblivion.

Recent Changes from 6.80

None

Recent Changes from 6.79

Decrepify damage amp on allies reduced from 40% to 25%
Decrepify damage amp on enemies increased from 40% to 50%
Nether Ward now requires 3 hits to kill instead of 75/150/225/300 HP (heroes hurt it for 1, others for 0.25)
Life Drain restores mana if it tries to heal you while you are full hp when targeting heroes

Tips:

Place Nether Ward in strategic spots. A spot that isn't obvious while still being hard to get to or target within a teamfight.

RageOfAMage talks about Pugna being played best in mid

CountJigglesWorth has a mini-writeup on Pugna

The previous Pugna discussion.

If you want a specific hero to be discussed next, feel free to post or message me. Request list

Posts are every two or four days.

Important Omniknight tip of last thread by Llefrith:

"He can survive offlane reasonably well, but won't contribute much to lane. I mean, he isn't going to harass the enemy if your carry can't go up to get last hits. He isn't good against a strong dual lane, but he does well when there's only one hero. Allies with a gap closer let him nuke with purification. Bane/Mirana doesn't like Omniknight."

Be aware at all times to use purification, however you should also take into account the cast time when using it to damage enemies. You can also cause enemies to back and create more space for your allies by purifying an ally creep that the enemy is close to.

Posted Feb 26, 2014, 7:13 PM UTC

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