Valve’s new hero-shooter Deadlock is here, and Seven is one of the many characters you can play on the battlefield. This shocking DPS hero uses his abilities to deal electricity damage to nearby opponents or chain his basic attacks between groups of minions.
If you want to decimate the battlefield with a surge of electricity, here is everything you need to know about the best build for Seven in Deadlock.
Seven’s abilities in Deadlock
Similar to every other character, Seven has access to a basic weapon, three abilities, and a devastating ultimate. Each of these can be upgraded throughout the match by spending ability points, which are earned from destroying structures and collecting souls. Here is a list of Seven’s four abilities:
- Lightning Ball: Shoot a ball of lightning that deals damage. On impact with enemies or structures, the ball moves slower.
- Static Charge: Throw an electric charge onto an enemy. This charge explodes after a short time, doing damage and stunning anyone in the area.
- Power Surge: Empowers Seven’s burst rifle bullets with electricity, which chains between nearby enemies.
- Storm Cloud (Ultimate): Float and channel an electric storm that damages all enemies within a large AOE. You cannot move while channeling the storm.
Seven’s best ability upgrade path is Power Surge > Storm Cloud > Lighting Ball > Static Charge.
Even though you’ll want to fully upgrade Power Surge first, you should unlock both Lightning Ball and Static Charge at the very start of the game. These two abilities make the laning phase easier by helping you clear minion waves and stunning any aggressive enemies. If you need extra help laning, you can deposit one ability point into upgrading Lightning Ball, as this gives you one extra charge.
Once you enter the mid-game, you’ll want to divert back to the build path and invest all your ability points into Power Surge and Storm Cloud. Upgrading your ultimate will give you some bullet resistance while channeling, while an empowered Power Surge will chain between more targets and deal even greater amounts of damage.
Best early-game Seven build in Deadlock
Since Seven is highly focused on dealing damage with his abilities you’ll mainly purchase purple Spirit Power cards from the shop These include the Extra Charge, Extra Spirit, and Mystic Reach.
The Extra Charge card gives you another charge to your Lightning Ball, so you can steadily launch projectiles at enemies. Meanwhile, Extra Spirit provides a small buff to all of your ability damage, and Mystic Reach makes your abilities deal damage in a larger AoE.
To supplement the dangers of the early game, you can purchase extra items such as Basic Magainze, Enduring Spirit, and Extra Regen. All of these cards will make it easier to kill minions in the laning phase and heal in between skirmishes.
Once you enter the mid-game, sell both Enduring Spirit and Extra Regen for better items.
Best mid-game Seven build in Deadlock
The most important cards you can purchase in the mid-game buff your ability power. Quicksilver Reload is an item that binds to one of your abilities and makes your gun instantly reload whenever you activate the skill. We recommend binding this item to your third ability Power Surge as this buffs your weapon’s attacks with electricity.
Improved Cooldown and Duration Extender make your abilities recharge faster and last longer, so you can continually dish out damage in any scenario. Occasionally enemies may build too much Spirit Armor, but thankfully Mystic Vulnerability will make your damaging abilities shred through these defenses.
If you’re struggling to stay alive during team fights, you can pick up either Spirit or Bullet Armor, which both curb hostile ability and weapon damage. You should always purchase Spirit Lifesteal, as this item heals you whenever your abilities deal damage to minions or enemies.
Finally, Soul Shredder Bullets weakens Spirit Armor whenever you deal damage with your weapon’s basic attacks. Since Power Surge is considered both basic attack and Spirit damage, you’ll instantly benefit from the item.
Best late-game Seven build in Deadlock
Once you destroy enemy structures in the end-game, you’ll unlock flex slots that allow you to purchase even more items. As always, you’ll want to focus on purchasing purple cards to buff your Spirit Damage.
Two of the best items you can purchase are Improved Reach and Mystic Slow, as they synergize perfectly with your ultimate ability. Improved Reach makes Storm Cloud have an even larger AOE, while Mystic Slow will hinder any enemies caught within the tempest. You can also upgrade older cards by purchasing Improved Spirit, Rapid Recharge, Superior Cooldown, Superior Duration, and Escalating Exposure.
While you probably won’t have enough souls to purchase all of these upgrades, you can still buy a few to improve Storm Cloud or Power Surge. Since you already own lesser versions of these items, you won’t have to make room for their upgrades.
Leech is a fantastic late-game item that gives massive healing from dealing damage with basic attacks and abilities, making you unstoppable while channeling your ultimate. Finally, you can use any spare souls to purchase Titanic Magazine, increasing your bullet capacity by 100 percent.
