Dota 2 Pugna Guide

Drain your enemies of their life force, and banish and blast any who stand in the way of your Nether magic of our Dota 2 Pugna Guide

Young and full of pride, Pugna finds endless joy in reducing his foes to ashes with his powerful mastery of Nether magic that punishes anyone who dares tries to counter with magic. Sorcerers beware, for your own power will be your undoing when face to face with his evil being. 

Pugna is a ranged Intelligence Hero with a low Health pool of 538 but a plentiful Mana pool of 363. Although his 48.5 damage is low, he starts with a great base armor of 4 and a high movement speed of 330. 

Pugna (Oblivion) is a powerful spell caster who is excellent at nuking down enemy units and buildings during teamfights and pushes. With his powerful Nether magic, he can greatly disrupt teamfights, banishing enemies and allies, and blasting apart anyone who dares to cast a spell. Positioning is crucial for him to excel as he is pretty squishy. With a few coordinated disables from allies, Pugna can do devastating single-target nuke damage to enemies, amplifying their magic damage received.

Abilities

Let’s look at the Nether magic abilities the trickster Oblivion has mastered and learn how to reduce our opponent to dust by learning how to combo them.

• Nether Blast – Pugna summons a blast from the Nether at a target for 400 Area of Effect (AoE), damaging enemies for up to 340 (500 with level 25 talent) after a 0.8 effect delay. Buildings in the AoE are also damaged for half. This ability is highly spammable, with a 5-second cooldown (4 with level 15 talent). 
• Decrepify – Oblivion banishes a target to the Nether realm for 3.5 seconds (4.5 with level 20 talent) and makes them unable to attack or be attacked. Allied units also have heals amplified by up to 20%, and enemies have reduced their magic resistance and movement speed by up to 60%.  
• Nether Ward – Pugna summons a magic ward from the Nether at a target location for up to 30 seconds. This ward fires at any enemy Hero who casts a spell in a 1400 radius, zapping them for up to 110 and 1.6 times the mana spent (3.35 with level 25 talent) by them as damage. The ward takes up to 4 Hero attacks (7 with level 15 talent) or 16 Non-Hero attacks (28 with level 15 talent) to destroy. This ability can be upgraded by both Aghanim’s Scepter and Aghanim’s Shard. 
  • Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade – Increases the cast range by 350. 
  • Aghanim’s Scepter Upgrade – Life Drain can be cast on a Nether Ward. 
• Life Drain – Oblivion taps into an enemy’s life force, draining their health by up to 300 per second and healing himself for 100% of the damage dealt (120% with level 20 talent). The link lasts 10 seconds but can be broken if the target moves 900 distance away from Pugna. Once he is at full Health, Mana will restore instead. This ability can also benefit from Aghanim’s Scepter and Aghanim’s Shard. 
  • Aghanim’s Shard – Life Drain can now be cost on Nether Ward, causing the link to connect with every enemy Hero in a 700 radius around the ward. The link can be broken by moving more than 700 distance or breaking the ward. 
  • Aghanim’s Upgrade – Reduces the cooldown by 50% and the enemy's outgoing spell damage by 8% per second for a maximum of 75%. His own spell damage is increased by 8% per second for a maximum of 100%. This change will last for 8 seconds. 

Talents

• Level 10 – +200 Health or +20 Movement Speed
• Level 15 – +3 Nether Ward Health or -1s Nether Blast Cooldown
• Level 20 –  +1 Decrepify Duration or +20% Life Drain Health
• Level 25 – 1.75 Nether Ward Damage Per Mana or +160 Nether Blast Damage

Dota 2 Pugna Guide – Tips  

Pugna brings the unholy magic of the Nether into the battlefield, causing devastating damage to units and buildings alike. He can cast Decrepify to banish an ally or a foe into the Nether realm, rendering physical attacks useless against them, and causing enemies to take amplified damage from all magic damage. Spellcasters fear invoking magic in his presence, as his Nether Ward punishes them with powerful zaps. Finally, any who stray too close will fall victim to his Life Drain, as Oblivion steals their life force for his own. 

Pugna can be played in the midlane as a core or position 4 support. In both cases, he depends on levels, especially for getting his Nether Blast leveled up as fast as possible, enabling him to push towers effectively. He is also good at clearing waves and jungle camp stacks, making him an incredible farmer when played as a core. His adeptness in holding the high ground is also infamous. 

Oblivion is not too dependent on farm, and as long as he has enough Mana pool and regeneration items, he can be effective till mid-game. But as a core player, he can easily farm with his Nether Blast and, with a few disables and mobility items, can also become a powerful single-target nuker. Due to his squishy nature, he needs good positioning and, if played as a core, needs items to help sustain himself in teamfights.  

Dota 2 Pugna – Pros and Cons

Here are some of Pugna’s pros and cons to keep in mind when playing this powerful yet squishy spell caster. 

Pros:

• Has very high movement speed
• Has devastating nukes, slows and spell amplification
• Very good at wave clearing and pushing
• Can disarm enemies or save allies with Decrepify
• Not highly dependent on farm 

Cons:

• Low Health pool
• Low armor
• Poor attack animation and speed
• Low attribute gain
• No hard disables
• Might put allies at risk with Decrepify

How to play Pugna

Master the unholy magic of the Nether realm and blast apart any who dare to hamper our journey to power with our short yet detailed Hero guide. 

Starting Items

Head into your lane with a Tango and Healing Salve for basic HP regen and Clarity and Enchanted Mango for Mana regen. You can also pick up Iron Branches for some cheap attributes.

As a core, you can even start with a Null Talisman, as it gives you attributes, spell damage and more damage for last-hits. Furthermore, you can also pick up a Magic Stick if facing a spell-spamming enemy lineup. 

Early Game

In the early game, if you are playing as a support, try to stack the jungle camps and keep your carry safe. Both as a core and support, you should focus on gaining XP for your nuke damage. Push your lanes and try to take towers early on. 

Whichever role you play, try to get your Boots of Speed and transition into Tranquil Boots or Arcane Boots as soon as possible. If you are a core, you should also be able to farm an early Aether Lens for longer casting and Mana boosts. 

Mid Game

You are expected to take teamfights or push with your team as this game phase benefits spell casters a lot. Try to initiate every fight or push with a Nether Ward placed far away, spamming Nether Blast to nuke down enemies and towers quickly.

If you need more disjoint or mobility, getting a Force Staff or Glimmer Cape might be great cheap options, as getting a Blink Dagger or Eul’s Scepter of Divinity is also great at the expense end. As you will be taking fights and pushing, having items like Orchid Malevolence, Veil of Discord, Rod of Atos or Meteor Hammer can help you dish out more damage.  

Late Game 

You can have trouble with durability late game, so amplifying the usefulness of your Life Drain is vital to your survival. Grabbing yourself an Aghanim’s Scepter or Aghanim’s Shard will help you immensely, and picking up items like Black King Bar or Linken’s Sphere will help you survive disables and spell nukes much easier. 

If you have Gold to spare, you can pick up more defensive items like Guardian Greaves and Lotus Orbs, or even resort to more damage and disables with items like Shiva’s Guard and Scythe of Vyse.

Dota 2 Pugna Counters

Here are some Heroes who do not fear the Nether magic of Oblivion and have no difficulty bringing him down.

• Anti-Mage – His Counterspell can counter Life Drain and reduce incoming spell damage overall. Blink helps him negate most initiations and can devastate Pugna with a well-placed Mana Void. 
• Clockwerk – He can quickly close the gap between Oblivion and himself with a Hookshot. Battery Assault and Power Cogs are great at interrupting Life Drain, and as a Blade Mail carrier, and return most damage deal on him back. 
• Phantom Lancer – He can easily overwhelm and drain Pugna with his illusions and a Diffusal Blade. His Doppelganger ability also allows him to dodge Nether Blast when timed correctly. 
• Storm Spirit – He can easily initiate and nuke down Oblivion, who is extremely squishy. Especially with an Orchid Malevolence or Scythe of Vyse. Due to his Ball Lighting making him invulnerable when in use, Nether Ward does not counter him as hard. 

Conclusion

We regularly upload guides for your favorite Heroes, so watch for more to come.