How Many Dudes? is an autobattler roguelike from Butterscotch Shenanigans where you recruit an army of absurd Dudes and throw them at waves of toddlers, ducks, polar bears, and eventually gods. Runs live or die on which Dudes you pick and how their abilities stack. A handful of Dudes carry almost every deep run, and knowing them up front removes most of the early guesswork.
Quick answer: The strongest team is Viking + NecroDude + Spartan + Cleric. Vikings deal the damage, NecroDudes summon skeletons that soak hits and pull enemies, Spartans block on the front line, and Clerics heal the group. This composition has reached Wave 123, the hardest point in the demo.
The best build: Viking, NecroDude, Spartan, Cleric
This four-role core is the current meta because each Dude covers a job the others cannot. It was shown reaching Wave 123 in high-level play by streamer MoistCr1TiKaL, and the logic behind it holds up across most runs.
| Role | Dude | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Damage | Viking Dude | Berserk-style attacks shred high-HP enemies like Polar Bears and Unicorns. |
| Summons | NecroDude | Spawns skeletons that act as meat shields and distract enemies. |
| Tank | Spartan Dude | High block chance absorbs incoming damage on the front line. |
| Healer | Cleric Dude | AOE healing keeps the whole team alive through long fights. |
The NecroDude is the piece that makes it work. Its skeletons are disposable bodies that pull aggro away from your real Dudes, and with the right Relic they can gain Taunt to lock enemies onto the summons. That buys the Vikings time to clear high-HP targets while Spartans wall the front and Clerics top everyone off.
The Relics worth prioritizing for this build grant Taunt to summoned units, boost attack speed, and amplify healing. Any of the three tightens the loop of distract, damage, and sustain that keeps the team standing.
Dude tier list for deep runs
Not every Dude scales the same way. The ranking below reflects how consistently each performs in long runs. Relics can shift these placements, so treat the lower tiers as conditional rather than useless.
| Tier | Dudes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| S | Viking, Spartan, Zombie, Cleric, NecroDude, Vampire | Core picks for deep runs. Strong sustain or scaling damage. |
| A | FrankenDude, Medic, Wizard | Very strong, but often need a specific Relic to peak. |
| B | Knight, Ninja, Paladin | Good early, tend to fall off in damage or durability later. |
| C | Ghost | Niche and hard to keep alive without favorable RNG. |
| D | Bard, General | Need too many Relics to come online. Workable but risky. |
Note: Bard and Paladin spam builds do exist and can succeed, but they depend on very specific Relic combinations. Treat them as gambles, not defaults.
Two alternative builds that reach Wave 100+
Undead Army for infinite sustain
Run Zombie, NecroDude, FrankenDude, and Vampire together for a team that heals more than it loses. FrankenDudes gain Max HP and damage for every unconscious Dude, and because a NecroDude’s skeletons count as Dudes when they fall, your Frankens balloon into near-unkillable giants. Vampire lifesteal keeps squishier units alive through AOE hits, and Zombies grow stronger as allies drop, which snowballs late.
The weakness is raw damage. If you do not find damage-boosting Relics early, the team can survive without actually clearing enemies fast enough.
Cleric spam for an immortal wall
Recruit as many Cleric Dudes as you can, then add a couple of Knights or Spartans to hold the line. Stacked Clerics create overlapping AOE heals that make the whole team almost impossible to kill, and this approach has carried players to Wave 107. The catch is burst damage. In very late waves, if the healing tick can’t keep pace with a big incoming hit, the wall collapses fast.
Why Wave 123 ends most runs
Wave 123 is the demo’s filter, the point where casual teams fall apart. The wave throws a massive mixed swarm at you, and no amount of pure tanking survives it.
| Threat | Count | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Polar Bears | ~1,666 | Very high HP and damage. |
| Honey Badgers | ~1,000 | Fast attack speed that wears down healers. |
| Total enemies | 2,500+ | Too many hits landing at once to out-heal. |
Clearing it needs three things at the same time. You need high DPS from Viking berserk hits or Zombie cleave to thin the crowd, crowd control from Taunt-equipped skeletons so your main Dudes aren’t surrounded, and enough healing to stay alive while the damage lands. The meta four-role core is built to supply all three, which is why it is the one composition consistently credited with the clear.
Recruiting mistakes that end runs early
Most losses before Wave 50 come from a few repeatable errors. Fixing them matters more than finding a perfect build.
- Skipping a healer early. Grab a Medic or Cleric in your first one or two picks. Early healing saves large amounts of gold on revives.
- Taking Bard or General too soon. Both need multiple Relics before they do anything. Stick to S-tier Dudes for reliable results.
- Hoarding money. Spend on revives and temporary buffs when a wave threatens to end your run. Saved gold does nothing if you die.
- Underestimating bees. Small and giant bees both hit hard. Bring Taunt or strong AOE damage to handle swarms before they shred your team.
The demo spreads 42 Dudes across six families, so the meta will keep shifting as balance changes, but the core logic stays the same. Pair reliable damage with a summoner, a tank, and steady healing, and let your Relics push whichever piece needs help. You can try any of these teams in the free demo on Steam before committing to a build.
