Hero Mastery

Pugna

A bursty anti-caster mage: Nether Blast melts waves and towers, Decrepify turns a target ethereal for burst, and Life Drain siphons enemy HP while healing you.

Mastery parameters

Your GPM, last hits and damage per game against other Pugna players — average vs Top 20%.

Members only

Learning journey

1 Know the kit
2 Win the lane
3 Timing & rotations
4 Win the fights
5 Master

5 stages, each with one target from your own games and one short quiz. Make Pugna your mastery hero to start — progress shows on Home and Arcana.

Phase by phase

The 1v1: last hits + rune control

You 70%Team 30%

Skills in lane — Max Nether Blast (Q): a cheap AoE nuke that dominates the lane, clears waves, and chunks towers. Value points in Decrepify (W) to save/set up burst, and one early Nether Ward (E) against a spell-heavy lane.
Level 6 — Life Drain combo — Decrepify the target (ethereal = takes extra magic damage), Nether Blast, then Life Drain to melt them while topping yourself up. That's your first solo kill.

Skills 1–7

Starting items

Iron Branch25%
Tango16%
Blood Grenade12%
Faerie Fire9%
Magic Stick8%
Sentry Ward8%

Pros buy this phase

Arcane Boots83%
Kaya10%
Tranquil Boots8%

The Midlaner's job this phase

Focus on last hits & denies — a 10-creep lead by minute 5 is a real level advantage.
Minutes 6, 8, 10, …: check water/power runes. A full Bottle means you can spam spells.
Ask a support to arrive 30 seconds before power runes when your lane is rough.

Counters & weaknesses

Channeling heroMagic burst heroFragile hero (easy to catch)

The items that shut Pugna down, 3 heroes that trouble it, and your answer when you play it.

Members only

Why this way? How OpenAI Five learned

One hero, one role first
OpenAI's first bot played only Shadow Fiend, only mid, until it mastered it. Stay on Pugna in one role before moving on.
Small, measurable rewards
OpenAI Five was rewarded for last hits and staying alive long before it understood winning. That's why each journey stage has one number to hit.
From yourself to the team
Its 'team spirit' rose over the game: early on, look after yourself; late, play for the team. Each phase's meter shows the split.
Use proven builds
OpenAI Five's builds were hand-written, not trial and error. Start from the pro build, then experiment.

Phase items: what pros buy on this hero (OpenDota). Parameters: percentiles of players on this hero (OpenDota). Item effects checked against Valve's own item data.