How Lifestealer and Pudge perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41e, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41e, Lifestealer and Pudge win 54.09% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 37,200 matches.
Seeing a lone Pudge can be bait for a nasty surprise. Lifestealer can use Infest on Pudge, creating a delivery system for himself. When Pudge lands a Meat Hook, he can immediately follow up with Dismember, and Lifestealer can emerge to attack the helpless target. This combination of a long-range pull, a stun, and heavy physical damage makes it very difficult for most heroes to survive a successful hook. Pudge provides the initiation and lockdown that Lifestealer often lacks, allowing him to get on top of a key target without having to burn Rage defensively.
This pairing is strongest during the mid-game when the two can roam for pickoffs. The whole plan hinges on Pudge’s ability to find and land hooks; if he’s not successful, Lifestealer is losing valuable farming time by sitting inside him. Enemies with good map awareness and vision can also play around the threat by avoiding Pudge entirely. While the ganking potential is real, its dependency on a single skillshot and the potential for slowing down Lifestealer's farm keeps the overall advantage from being overwhelming.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.
| Rank | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 53.90% | 1,681 |
| Crusader & Archon | 54.41% | 6,076 |
| Legend & Ancient | 54.31% | 5,262 |
| Divine & Immortal | 53.08% | 1,901 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41e | 54.09% | ▲ +0.8pp | 37,200 |
| 7.41d | 53.27% | ▲ +1.2pp | 363,414 |
| 7.41c | 52.11% | ▼ -0.2pp | 169,017 |
| 7.41b | 52.29% | — | 198,710 |
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Data updated Aug 17, 2026.