by JR Cook - 11 years ago     show comments

Arguably, there is no more iconic hero in the MOBA scene than Pudge. He has been a mainstay in the genre since the original Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft III, with his signature hook striking fear into the hearts of his foes. Today, Pudge continues to exist in Valve’s DotA 2. He can also be found in S2’s Heroes of Newerth where he known as Devourer. While Heroes of the Storm’s Stitches is definitely different from Pudge in a number of ways, a lot of the core ideas remain the same. In this article we’ll explore the differences and similarities.

The Hook

Both Pudge and Stitches feature the aforementioned skillshot Hook, capable of grabbing up an opposing hero (or creep, although that’s generally not what you want) and dragging them somewhere else. Not all that dissimilar from the Scarecrow’s Hallucinogens in Batman Begins, Hook will take you places. Hook never said it’d take you places you wanted to go. The other side of the Hook usually features a world of pain, either in the form of a very intimate date with a higher level Pudge, or a fun get together with him and his four closest friends. It’s the sort of move that always keeps you guessing. “Is it safe to be here? Where’s Pudge? How much mana does he need to use this ability?”

Stitches will also have access to this move, but it will be used more for team fights and small scale skirmish initiation than solo ganking. Pudge generally benefits from solo role, allowing him to quickly ramp up in levels and harvest the supple flesh of supports and undergeared carries. Given that experience will be shared in Heroes of the Storm and there are no items, Stitches will probably not have the same ganking lethality as his predecessor. He will, however, be a top notch pick because of his ability to start a fight off on his terms. Hooking an assassin character such as Kerrigan and stranding her from the rest of her team will allow your team to quickly get a leg up.

Damage vs. Survivability

Veterans of the genre are undoubtedly familiar with the insane durability of Pudge and his myriad of clones. Flesh Heap, Pudge’s passive ability, awards him with flat magic damage resistance and also gives strength based on enemy hero kills that happen within his immediate vicinity. This is an area where Stitches differs pretty radically. Stitches features a Slam ability which does damage in a cone in front of him.

While Pudge definitely gains a damage buff by collecting Flesh Heap charges, Stitches will be able to pump out burst damage fairly early on, assuming he picks his abilities accordingly. Slam will synergize nicely with other spells that hold groups of heroes down, allowing him the ability to be a direct damage threat in team fights. The tradeoff is of course some survivability, but I’d be surprised if there were not talents that allowed the unholy behemoth to tank up.

Hungry, Why Wait?

There are few things more horrifying in DotA 2 than Pudge’s Dismember ability. Being the unfortunate recipient of this one-on-one time with the nefarious butcher means taking respectable damage and being stuck in one place for up to three seconds, all while Pudge gains strength. It’s the core mechanic that makes Pudge such an early ganking threat in DotA 2.

In place of Dismember, Stitches has the ability Devour, a spell that does damage to a target and heals Stitches. This is not a heroic ability, which is important to mention because Dismember is Pudge’s ultimate ability. It’s a second direct damage tool that Stitches can utilize while chasing around lower health targets, and also awards him some necessary survivability. While it does not feature the crowd control potential of Dismember, it also cannot be interrupted because it’s a click it and forget it ability. Stitches will not need to worry about Uther’s Hammer of Justice ability interrupting it, which will be a nice change for those familiar with MOBAs.

Slow Down!

What really makes this sort of hero, at least in my opinion, is the ability to hold down opposing heroes. Both Pudge and Stitches are large, capable of respectable damage and, more importantly, are super difficult to get away from once they’re on top of you. This is what makes them so bothersome in team fights. Supports, Assassins and Specialists will all need to make sure they keep a healthy distance where possible, lest they end up a tasty snack.

Pudge features a channeled ability, Rot, which creates an area of affect cloud that deals damage to everything, Pudge included. This cloud slows, hits invisible targets, it’s a literal blight. High leve Pudges are capable of sitting in the middle of team fights and making sure everyone just stays put. It’s where his durability really shines. Worth noting, Rot is a standard ability, and not an ultimate power.

Stitches will have two heroic options when it comes to slows.

The first, and my personal favorite, is Putrid Bile, which the developers showed off at the Deep Dive panel at BlizzCon. Putrid Bile spreads bile on the ground beneath Stitches. Enemies  caught within it will take damage and be slowed. This, in conjunction with Stitches other direct damage abilities will give him the power to pick off lower health heroes should he catch them alone, ensuring that he will have at least some of his forebearer’s ganking prowess. It will also be a brutal teamfight ability capable of destroying the mobility of an entire enemy team.

Stitches’ second heroic option (at present) is Spawn Retchlings, an ability that will summon two Retchlings to chase around nearby foes, slowing them. I can’t comment on this one overmuch as I’ve yet to see it in action. What we do know is that Stitches will have options when it comes to slowing opponents.

The Verdict

Pudge is a feast or famine type of hero. You either do well with his Meat Hook and snowball out of control with levels and items, or you don’t do well and taper off, unable to be the wrecking ball your team requires. Shared experience and no items means that Stitches will never be that liability. He won’t have the potential to snowball as hard either, however.

Stitches will be capable of setting up favorable team fights from get go with his Hook, should he choose to spec into it. Given that he doesn’t need to be in the lane all the time, Stitches has the potential to wander around, constantly moving to set up promising scenarios. That should make playing him a lot of fun. While Arthas might be a safer initiation choice because of his face pull style of tanking and damage mitigation, Stitches will likely be the more rewarding option when played skillfully. That’s generally how it goes with skillshot heroes. There’s more risk involved with the mechanics, but they generally pay off more handsomely.

There’s a lot we DON’T know about Stitches at present. As more information becomes available (damage numbers, cooldowns, information on talents, et cetera) it could be that Stitches is a totally different beast than I’m supposing here. Based on what’s known at the moment though, we can discern that Stitches will be more about initiation, less about ganking and feature the potential for more direct damage. The core concepts of ‘be large, hook and slow enemies, pick off squishies’ will still be there, however. I definitely can’t wait to pick him up, having rocked Devourer in Heroes of Newerth for quite some time.

SOURCE: The Heroes of the Storm Wiki