Countering Every Hero: The Item-Buying Mindset
This guide pulls together community-reported item counters for every hero in Deadlock and groups them by phase. Treat it as a reference, not gospel: the picks below come from a community Steam guide, not from official patch notes, so always sanity-check the current build before committing souls to a counter item.
The single most important rule is this: you only have so many item slots and so many souls. Just because you are laning against a particular opponent does not automatically mean you must buy the item that counters them. Ask yourself how the lane is actually going, and how other opponents across the map are performing, before you spend.
The whole enemy composition matters too. Many items counter several heroes at once, so a single smart purchase can answer multiple threats. Some games you will be countering one fed carry; other games you will be spreading souls thin to cover three or four problem heroes.
Below, the counters are split into Early Game and Mid/Late Game, but every match unfolds differently — do not feel locked into these phase boundaries. Buy the answer when the problem shows up, not when a guide tells you to.
How to Counter Each Hero
Early-game answers
Early on your souls are tight, so favor the cheap, high-impact items. Defensive tools like Reactive Barrier answer stuns, hooks, and burst-initiations from heroes such as Abrams, Bebop, and Dynamo, while Extra Stamina and Warp Stone give mobility heroes like Ivy and Kelvin a way to simply leave a bad situation. Anti-heal (Healbane, Decay, and the items that build toward Toxic Bullets) is the go-to early answer against any opponent who heals through a fight.
Mid and late-game answers
As the game stretches, upgrade into the items that outright cancel ultimate abilities. Knockdown, Curse, Silence Glyph, and Unstoppable are the premier “shut down their ult” tools, and Debuff Remover clears the debuffs that heroes like Bebop, Grey Talon, and Infernus rely on. Ethereal Shift is the flexible escape button that saves you from being caught out of position.
- Anti-heal (Healbane / Decay / Toxic Bullets): universal answer for regen and lifesteal heroes — Abrams, Infernus, Ivy, Kelvin, and Lady Geist all fold to it.
- Knockdown / Curse / Silence Glyph: the ultimate-stoppers, used on Dynamo, Haze, Ivy, Kelvin, and Lady Geist.
- Debuff reducer / remover: the answer to traps and applied debuffs from Grey Talon, Bebop, and Infernus.
- Reactive Barrier / Ethereal Shift / Warp Stone: the survival suite — stun and hook insurance plus a clean disengage.
Hero-by-Hero Counter Reference
Abrams
Buy Decay or Healbane for anti-heal and Reactive Barrier to blunt his stuns, then add Slowing Bullets (which later builds into a Silencer) to keep him from closing distance. Late game, Toxic Bullets keep his self-healing in check, and Ethereal Shift gets you out if you get caught in his ultimate.
Bebop
Reactive Barrier answers his hook and uppercut in lane. Later, Debuff Remover wipes his bombs off you and allies, Rescue Beam pulls teammates out of a hook, and Ethereal Shift helps you survive if you are hooked or stuck with bombs.
Dynamo
Reactive Barrier blunts his first ability and his ultimate. Mid game, apply Knockdown before his ult to end it prematurely, and keep Rescue Beam ready to save allies from his first ability and ult. Late game, Unstoppable counters the first ability and ult, and Curse (which replaces Knockdown) shuts the ult down outright.
Grey Talon
Debuff Reducer counters his traps early, upgrading into Debuff Remover for the same job. Mid game, Knockdown drags him out of the air, and late game Ethereal Shift lets you dodge his ultimate.
Haze
Return Fire reflects the pressure of her primary fire and ultimate in lane. Knockdown prematurely ends her ultimate, and Warp Stone escapes it. Late game, Curse (replacing Knockdown) prevents the ult entirely, and Metal Skin shuts down both her primary fire and ultimate.
Infernus
Debuff Reducer or Debuff Remover handle his passive. Layer in anti-heal via Healbane, Decay, or Toxic Bullets. Late game, use Curse to slow him down when he is charging in with his ultimate.
Ivy
Extra Stamina or Warp Stone let you escape her abilities early, and anti-heal (Healbane, Decay, or Toxic Bullets) blunts her sustain. In the mid-to-late game, Knockdown or Silence Glyph knocks her out of the air and stops her from using stone form.
Kelvin
Extra Stamina counters his slowing effects and anti-heal (Healbane, Decay, Toxic Bullets) cuts through his sustain. Silence Glyph prevents his ultimate, and Ethereal Shift helps you burn the clock while inside it.
Lady Geist
Open with Bullet Armor and Spirit Armor against her damage, plus anti-heal (Healbane, Decay, Toxic Bullets). Mid game, Silence Glyph prevents her ultimate, and late game Curse does the same while locking her down.
Lash
Silence Glyph or Slowing Hex shuts down his movement abilities in the early game. Knockdown stops his movement outright and is especially punishing against his ultimate. (The community source list cuts off here — treat any further Lash counters as unconfirmed until the guide is complete.)
Practical Tips for Spending Souls Wisely
- Read the lobby, not just your lane. If one opponent is snowballing across the map, their counter item is often worth more than answering your direct lane opponent.
- Prefer multi-threat items. Anti-heal and ultimate-stopping tools each answer several heroes, so they rarely feel wasted.
- Layer cheap items early, upgrade late. Reactive Barrier, Extra Stamina, and Debuff Reducer are efficient early buys that feed into stronger versions later.
- Time your actives around ultimates. Knockdown, Curse, and Silence Glyph are far stronger when you fire them before the enemy commits, not after.
- Remember this is community data. The game is still evolving, so confirm the current item behavior before you rely on any single recommendation.