Pudge Meat Hook Mechanics and Interactions

Pudge's Meat Hook is a point-target skillshot that flies in a straight line and grabs the first valid unit it meets. It passes through trees, cliffs, wards and couriers, but it stops on creeps, heroes and allies. It still drags spell-immune enemies, though it does not disable them during the pull. This page lists every hook interaction we could verify for the current patch, and says plainly where we could not.

The exact range, speed, width, damage, mana cost and cooldown change with patches and levels. You will find them on the Pudge abilities page. This guide covers behavior, not numbers. For aiming, read how to predict Pudge hooks instead.

How does Meat Hook work, step by step?

The hook goes through a few stages. Knowing each one explains most of the odd moments you will see in games.

The cast

Meat Hook is a point-target spell. You can aim it at a unit or at a spot on the ground. Aiming at a spot is what lets Pudge throw into the fog or toward where an enemy is about to walk.

Before the hook leaves, Pudge plays a short cast animation. During that moment, the cast can still be canceled. Once the animation ends, the hook is on its way and the mana and cooldown are spent.

The flight

The hook travels outward in a straight line until it hits something it can grab or reaches its maximum distance. It only grabs units on the way out. On the way back, it does not pick anything up.

If nothing is caught, the chain simply returns. A miss costs the same mana and cooldown as a hit.

The pull

When the hook grabs a unit, it drags that unit back to Pudge. What happens next depends on what was caught:

• A non-ancient creep is killed.
• An enemy hero, or another enemy unit that is not killed, takes damage.
• An ally is pulled without taking damage.

An enemy who is not spell immune is fully disabled during the pull. They cannot move, attack or cast until it ends. An ally, by contrast, is not disabled and can keep acting while the chain drags them.

When the hook breaks

The chain breaks if Pudge dies while it is out. A hook that is mid-flight when Pudge falls will not bring anything back.

What units can Meat Hook grab?

This is the question behind most "can Pudge hook…" searches. Here is the short version for each unit type we could confirm.

Enemy heroes

Yes. This is the main use. The hook drags them back, deals damage and disables them for the pull. It then sets up the classic follow-up with Dismember, which you can read about in the Pudge combos guide.

Allied heroes

Yes. The hook pulls allies just like enemies, but it does not damage them. Because allies are not disabled, they can still use spells and items while flying toward Pudge. Our ally hook guide covers saves and repositioning.

With Aghanim's Shard, landing the hook on an ally also cuts Meat Hook's cooldown by half. Against an enemy, the Shard adds bonus damage based on how far the target was pulled. Check the Aghanim's guide for how that fits a build.

Lane creeps and neutral creeps

Yes, and this matters a lot. Creeps are the most common thing that blocks a hook. A creep standing on the line catches the hook first, and a non-ancient creep caught this way dies. The enemy behind it is safe.

This is why lane hooks need an angle around the wave. The creep wave guide is the Pudge-side view of that problem.

Invisible units

Yes. Meat Hook can hit invisible units. If an enemy is invisible on the line, the hook can still catch them, even though you could not see them when you threw it.

Wards

No. The hook flies through Observer Wards and Sentry Wards without grabbing them. A ward never blocks a hook.

Couriers

No. Couriers are not affected by Meat Hook. You cannot steal or kill a courier with it, and a courier will not block your line.

Invulnerable and hidden units

No. The hook cannot catch units that are invulnerable or hidden. For example, Eul's Scepter of Divinity and Wind Waker make the unit inside the cyclone invulnerable, so a hook cannot grab them while it lasts.

Cases we could not confirm

Some interactions come up often, but our sources disagree about them for the current patch. We leave them out rather than guess.

• Linken's Sphere. Sources disagree on whether it blocks Meat Hook. It does block Dismember, since that is a targeted spell.
• Ancient creeps and Roshan. The ability text says only non-ancient creeps die from the hook. Whether ancients and Roshan are caught at all is not consistent across sources.
• Illusions. We could not confirm exactly how each kind of illusion reacts to a hook.

If you test any of these in a lobby, the hook practice guide shows how to set one up. We will update this page when the behavior is confirmed.

Why did my hook catch the wrong unit?

This happens to every Pudge player. You aim at a hero, and a creep or a teammate comes back instead. The rules above explain almost every case.

The hook has width

The hook is not a thin line. It has a width, listed on the abilities page with its other values. A unit standing close to the line, not only exactly on it, can catch the hook. When you check your line, look at the space beside it as well.

The first valid unit wins

The hook does not choose the best target. It takes the first unit it can grab, in the order it meets them. An ally a few steps in front of your target will be pulled before the enemy behind them.

Something you could not see

Invisible units can catch the hook. So can a creep that walked into the line after you started the cast. If a hook stopped in empty space, an unseen unit was likely standing there.

Nothing at all

If the hook came back empty, nothing valid was on its path. Wards, couriers and invulnerable units do not count, so the hook flew past them. A target who stepped aside during the flight also counts as a plain miss.

Does Pudge hook go through trees, cliffs and spell immunity?

Trees and cliffs

Yes, and some guides get this wrong. Meat Hook flies straight through trees and over cliffs. Terrain never stops it.

Trees and high ground still matter for vision. Trees block sight, and a hero on low ground cannot see up a slope without help. That makes them good places for Pudge to wait. But they hide the throw, they do not block it. Only units do that.

If a hook stopped short near a tree line, look for a creep or a hero on the line. That is what caught it. Our fog hooks guide explains how to use that hidden space.

Spell immunity

Partly. Meat Hook pierces spell immunity, so it still catches and drags a hero who has Black King Bar active. That is why a hook can still pull a carry out of position after they turn on Black King Bar.

The difference is the disable. A spell-immune enemy is dragged but not disabled while the hook pulls them. They may be able to act during the pull in a way a normal target cannot.

For the full picture across all five Pudge abilities, read which Pudge spells go through BKB.

Dispels

Not in the normal way. The hook's effect on the target is removed only when the target dies, not by dispels. The enemy team cannot free a hooked hero by casting a dispel on them mid-pull.

That is different from Dismember, which a strong dispel can remove. If you are on the other side of this, our guide on how to stop Dismember explains what works.

Does Meat Hook interrupt channels and Twin Gates?

Channeled spells and items

Yes. A hooked enemy is fully disabled during the pull, and a disable that prevents casting ends a channel. So a hook can break an enemy's channeled spell, item or teleport.

This gives Pudge a long-range interrupt. If an enemy starts a channel within hook range, a landed hook stops it. A spell-immune enemy is the exception, since the hook does not disable them.

Twin Gates and teleports

Twin Gates still exist on the current map. Using one is a channel: a hero right-clicks the gate and channels before being sent to the other gate. If that channel is interrupted, the warp does nothing.

Since a landed hook disables a hero who is not spell immune, a hook on a hero channeling at a Twin Gate breaks the warp. They also end up next to Pudge instead of across the map. The same idea applies to a hero channeling a teleport scroll.

Keep in mind that the enemy sees the gate area too. Waiting near a gate is a map choice, so plan it with your team rather than camping alone.

What stops or cancels Meat Hook?

There are a few separate ways a hook can end without a catch.

Canceling your own cast

You can stop the hook during its cast animation with the Stop command. If you do this before the hook leaves, it costs no mana and does not go on cooldown. Players use this to bait a dodge, which is called a fake hook. The fake hook guide explains the timing and the mind games.

Being disabled before the hook leaves

A stun on Pudge during the cast animation cancels the spell before it fires. The hook does not go on cooldown and no mana is spent. This is why enemies try to disable Pudge the moment he turns toward them.

Blocking units

A creep, an ally or any other valid unit on the line catches the hook first. The hook then pulls that unit instead of your target, and the mana and cooldown are spent.

Pudge's death

If Pudge dies while the hook is out, the chain breaks and nothing comes back.

How does quick cast change Meat Hook?

Quick cast is a game setting, found under the hotkey options. With quick cast on, an ability fires toward your cursor as soon as you press its key. You skip the extra click to confirm the target.

There is also a setting to cast on key release instead. Then the ability fires when you let go of the key, you see the range indicator while you hold it, and you can still cancel by clicking to move. Some players prefer this middle ground. It is fast, but it shows the hook's line before it leaves.

Quick cast does not change the hook's rules. It only changes how fast you can throw it. Our quick cast guide covers the setup in detail.

How do hook interactions change your decisions?

Knowing the rules changes when you throw. Here are a few practical takeaways that follow straight from the mechanics above.

Do not wait for a gap in the trees

Trees and cliffs do not block the hook. If you can see the target and the line has no units on it, the throw is open, even across a tree line. What you need to check is creeps, allies and heroes on the line.

Spell immunity is not a reason to hold the hook

A carry with Black King Bar active can still be pulled. The pull alone can take them out of a fight. Just expect them to act during the pull, since they are not disabled.

Look for channels

Teleports, Twin Gate warps and channeled spells are all chances for a long-range interrupt. A hero who stands still to channel is also an easier target to hit.

Use cancels on purpose

Canceling during the cast is free. Use it to bait a dodge, not out of panic. A real hook that misses costs both mana and cooldown.

Watch for blocking allies

Your own team can block your hook just as creeps do. In fights, ask allies to keep the line clear, or throw from an angle where they are not in the way.

Checklist

• Treat trees, cliffs, wards and couriers as see-through for the hook; only units stop it.
• Check the line for creeps, allies and heroes before you throw.
• Hook spell-immune targets for the pull, but expect them to act while dragged.
• Use the hook to break channels, teleports and Twin Gate warps.
• Cancel with Stop during the cast to fake a throw at no cost.
• Find current range, speed and damage on the abilities page, not in old guides.
• Test unconfirmed cases like Linken's Sphere in a lobby before you rely on them.