Having the right Deadlock tier list can be your secret weapon to dominate the meta, helping you streamline drafts, avoid role overlap, and lock in the best heroes to win ranked games. Besides, with Valve’s hybrid MOBA-shooter evolving at a rapid pace, it’s even more important to stay on top of all the balance changes.

That’s why our Deadlock hero rankings are so valuable. Built on real match data, we’ve ranked every character from best to worst, while also highlighting a few solid beginner-friendly picks to help you climb with confidence.

Note: This tier list is accurate as of September 29, 2025, but may become outdated after significant balance changes and patch updates.

Deadlock Character Tier List: Best Heroes Ranked

Our Deadlock hero rankings are based on real public match data, factoring in their win rate, pick share, kill/death ratio, role flexibility, and overall reliability under imperfect execution. The goal here is to provide a quick reference guide or snapshot regarding the viability of all characters in the current meta.

Think of this Deadlock character tier list as the “front door” into the more granular analysis that follows, especially for identifying the top heroes for climbing.

Tier	Hero
S (meta)	Ivy, Seven, Abrams, Haze, Warden
A (excellent)	Wraith, Paradox, Dynamo, Kelvin, Drifter, Infernus, Calico, Lash
B (good)	Mo & Krill, Victor, Paige, Grey Talon, Lady Geist, Pocket, Yamato, Billy
C (average)	Doorman, Bebop, Vindicta, Sinclair, Holliday, Vyper, Viscous, Mina
D (bad)	Shiv, Sinclair

S-Tier Deadlock Heroes

These are the top Deadlock heroes to play—and none of these names should surprise you. Seven, Abrams, Haze, and Warden have sat at or near the top for weeks, but the real eyebrow-raiser is Ivy, whose popularity and win rate have surged more recently.

Abrams remains the frontline bully, initiating fights, soaking damage, and stalling with enough crowd control to keep messy fights on script. Meanwhile, Seven’s zone control punishes late rotations and anchors objective setups in Deadlock, a strength reflected in both win rate and pick share.

Warden is the “do everything” frontliner for comps that need stability. He’s less of a raw pick threat than Seven or Haze, but still a staple when guaranteed starts matter. Haze also cashes in on that meta: a single misstep is turned into tempo, and a high pick share and positive win rate reinforce that.

A-Tier Deadlock Heroes

Although these aren’t Deadlock’s strongest heroes, many of these characters could have pushed for S-tier in this patch. Wraith is a prime example, punishing rotation errors into clean picks while maintaining a sturdy win rate across all brackets. He feels more like an “S-minus” hero than anything.

Dynamo remains one of Deadlock’s best characters: he eats early cooldowns and hands his team a clean follow-up window. Likewise, Paradox offers tactical disruption scaling with coordination, while Kelvin adds forgiving pathing and chase insurance via Ice Path, trading initiation power for mobility and peel.

While traditional hyper-carries have cooled in Deadlock, Calico still stands tall among damage anchors with dependable DPS and off-angle pressure. Infernus burns time and resources at chokes, Drifter widens small leads through map pressure, and Lash rewards mechanics with fight-warping crowd control chains.

B-Tier Deadlock Heroes

Grey Talon is still one of the perennially annoying control picks in Deadlock. His traps shape pathing and punish sloppy corners. Even down in the B-tier, he is a respectable comfort choice—easier to deny than the elite anchors above, but perfectly serviceable when drafts cover his gaps.

Lady Geist sustains through trades and thrives when teammates manage her cooldown valleys, while Pocket turns early skirmish tempo into kills and sets up practiced plays. As mid-range duels sharpen, utility that cracks stalemates without over-commitment keeps this cluster steady among Deadlock B-tier heroes.

High-ceiling options like Yamato and Billy also deserve mention. Yamato’s payoff is especially noteworthy with precise cooldown cycling. However, Billy’s chain play and brawl can also pop off in coordinated dives. Both can be explosive, but their inconsistency is what ultimately locks them to the B-tier.

C-Tier Deadlock Heroes

These characters are better suited as pocket picks than go-to choices. Doorman epitomizes that perfectly: his portal plays can be game-breaking, but inconsistent execution in ranked games drags down his overall value. His kit can bend rotations and create instant crossfires, but his impact is unpredictable.

Vindicta is just as polarizing. The sniper fantasy is real and the highs are undeniable, but popularity is limited, and results often lag behind. Similarly, Vyper, Sinclair, Holliday, Viscous, and Mina all look terrific in certain maps or lanes, but their impact can fall a tier below more reliable anchors.

D-Tier Deadlock Heroes

This bracket hosts the game’s runt picks. At this point, most players are one-tricking, counter-picking, or experimenting rather than locking in the best Deadlock heroes. Shiv is arguably the best of the bunch—still dangerous with mastery—but the tank-plus-setup meta leaves him struggling in most lobbies.

Sinclair is an even tougher sell. He needs precise mastery, solid lane control, and a clean route to punish windows while roaming. Beyond that, his weak early game and narrow punish timing make it difficult to justify him over today’s bruisers and initiators, which is why he stays in the D-tier.

Who Are The Best Deadlock Heroes For Beginners?

Three heroes stand out as fantastic entry points, teaching the core fundamentals of Deadlock without sacrificing power: Warden (offers simple engage and peel tools), Kelvin (forgiving mobility and slows), and Abrams (a frontline anchor with easy-to-read windows).

These are great beginner Deadlock heroes to pick up, easing new players into objective timing, pathing, and front-to-back execution while staying relevant across patches. However, your background also matters, as picking characters that mirror existing habits can make the game a lot easier to learn.

For example, veterans from MOBAs like League of Legends or Dota will naturally lean more toward lane-control and utility picks, such as Warden, Ivy, Paige, and Paradox. If you’re coming from hero shooters, though, you might prefer aim-heavy heroes like Haze, Vindicta, Calico, Vyper, and Grey Talon.

FAQs

What is the best hero in Deadlock right now?

Ivy and Seven are currently the strongest heroes in Deadlock, with Abrams, Haze, and Warden rounding out the core group of meta picks.

Which Deadlock heroes are easiest to play?

Warden, Kelvin, and Abrams are the most beginner-friendly heroes in Deadlock, offering durable stat profiles and simple tools for engage, peel, and frontline play.

How often does this Deadlock tier list change?

These rankings change with every balance patch or new hero release, so treat these Deadlock hero rankings as a living snapshot of the current meta.

What tier is Doorman?

Doorman is currently ranked as a C-tier Deadlock hero. His portal plays can swing matches if they’re properly executed, but his impact is inconsistent and heavily situational and dependent on a player’s skill.