In classic Valve fashion, a new massive update for Deadlock dropped unannounced on Sept. 26 and introduced us to a sparkling new hero, Mirage. Here are all of Mirage’s abilities and what they do.
All Mirage spells in Deadlock
Mirage, like all the other heroes in Deadlock, sports four abilities total: three basic ones and a powerful Ultimate. He is a ganking-roamer hero who can support his allies no matter where they are, but he also has some assassin niches built into him. Here’s a full explanation of his spells that are some of the most fun we’ve seen thus far in Deadlock:
| Symbol | Ability Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | 1: Tornado | Mirage becomes a sweeping Torando and moves in the target direction, knocking up enemies and dealing damage. Mirage also gains bullet evasion for the duration of the spell. |
 | 2: Fire Scarabs | Mirage surrounds himself with fiery scarabs, which he can launch at enemies, stealing part of their HP and reducing their bullet resist. Only one scarab can be applied to each enemy. |
 | 3: Djinn’s Mark | Mirage passively applies a stacking debuff on enemies. When it reaches max stacks, expires, or when Mirage activates the spell, it explodes to do multiplied damage based on how many stacks were applied (think Shadow Demon’s Q in Dota 2). |
 | Ultimate: Traveler | Mirage channels a teleport to an ally or visible enemy anywhere on the map and then appears at the spot where they stood upon the spell’s activation. The hero then gains increased movement speed and fire rate until he reloads. |
As we can see from the above, Mirage is a fantastic blend of several familiar heroes from Dota 2, albeit still manages to be unique and himself. The latest hero in Deadlock can use his teleportation skills to gank any lane on the map or run down escaping enemies while utilizing his solid ranged spells and disruptions to crush solo and grouped targets with relative ease. Where he particularly excels is the laning phase since Mirage can utilize the Djinn’s Mark to do devastating, constant damage to his lane opponents without breaking a sweat.
Mirage ability guide
In terms of prioritization, I suggest you first focus on leveling up the Djinn’s Mark for extra bullet damage and lane harassment. You can slowly apply the spell to enemies, and even if they manage to get out of sight, they will still get hit with the debuff’s multiplied damage.
Next, you should look into grabbing the Tornado if the team needs more teamfighting prowess or if your lane partner doesn’t have enough CC or disrupting spells to allow you to focus on Fire Scarabs. If you’re doing well in the lane and fighting relatively squishy and unobstructive enemies, I’d say the Scarabs are a good second option, but either of them works and could be chosen based on your preference.
Whatever you choose above, though, be sure to level up the ultimate at least once before focusing on anything else, as that 20-second cooldown reduction could prove invaluable during most matches. Mirage’s ganking could prove incredibly useful during any point in the game, especially during those middle sections where roaming becomes dominant and prevalent in most MOBAs, especially in Deadlock.
Once we get more familiar with this fantastic new hero, we will focus on a fully dedicated build guide to help you fully utilize this incredible addition to the ever-expanding Deadlock roster.
