Hailing from the days of DotA 1, Pudge Wars is seen as a classic—and deservedly so. Five Pudges spawn either side of an uncrossable river, each armed with a jazzed up version of Pudge’s meat hook from the main game. First team to either 50, 100 or 150 kills wins, depending on what’s voted for at the start.
If that sounds overly simple, don’t worry: the hook can be upgraded in different ways as you level up, and there are a dozen or so items that can change your playstyle. I’m a fan of going for Barathrum’s lantern, which increases hook damage based on its speed, and focussing on picking off low enemy Pudges from across the divide. That, or picking up Techies’ explosive barrel and exploding anyone foolish enough to hook me within range.
Managing to hook someone who’s already being hooked results in an instakill and the Quake announcer man bellowing HEADSHOT, though without a friend to coordinate with that tends to happen based on luck more often than skill. Or, y’know, maybe other people are just better at Pudge Wars than I am—the jury’s out.
