Deadlock Guide for Deadly Danny: Abilities, Best Build, and Leveling

Deadly Danny in Deadlock attacks with rockets, flies using a jetpack, and grabs enemies to crash to the ground with them. This hero combines weapon and spiritual damage, and his effectiveness depends on the accuracy of his charged shots and his ability to manage overheating. Let’s break down Deadly Danny’s abilities, item builds, and combat strategies.

Fires rockets that line up along a selected path. They explode after a short delay or upon detecting an enemy, dealing spirit damage and leaving marks.

A charged shot fired at a marked enemy consumes a mark, deals additional spirit damage, and slows the target. You can change the direction of the line by holding down the ability button and moving the crosshair.

The jetpack allows you to fly while holding the jump button. Heat builds up while in the air: once overheated, Danny dives and explodes upon impact with the ground, dealing damage and knocking nearby enemies into the air. You can initiate the dive early by pressing the second ability button.

If the explosion does not hit an enemy hero, Danny stuns himself. After overheating, you must wait for the jetpack to cool down. Slows remain active while in flight.

The sprayed fuel deals periodic weapon damage and reduces enemies’ bullet resistance. At the end, there is a flash that deals spirit damage and knocks Danny himself backward.

Fuel hits also cool down the backpack. This ability helps maintain flight and weaken enemies before follow-up shots.

Danny grabs an enemy, rises into the air with them, and falls to the ground. Both characters take damage during the fall and upon impact.

The ultimate deals more damage to enemies with less than half their health remaining. Use it to finish off enemies, but keep an eye on your own health and where you land.

For a backpack-and-explosive-damage playstyle, use the following priority:

The final Chimera Mk1 upgrade adds spectral damage and reduces the cooldown when hitting a hero. Therefore, precise landing is especially important.

To start, a hybrid build works well: weapon items boost your gunfire, while spiritism enhances your rockets and explosions. Below is a build focused on the Chimera Mk1, based on Sharky’s build. You can find it in-game under ID 886764.

If you’re constantly losing health on the lane, you can add Life Shot or Extra Regeneration.

This part of the build boosts your abilities and helps you survive close encounters with enemies. For additional weapon damage and resistance to negative effects, you can take Heavy Shots.

Depending on the situation, Disembodiment can be useful for weathering a dangerous moment. Arctic Blast can be combined with a dive attack or your ultimate. Don’t delay building defense until you’ve fully built your damage items if you’re dying after every engagement.

On the lane, start your attack with Strix Salvo, then hit the marked target with a charged shot. If you just fire rockets indiscriminately without using marks, some of your damage will go to waste. Position your rockets across the enemy’s path to make it harder for them to escape the blast zone.

While in flight, choose your landing spot in advance. Don’t wait until you overheat over an empty area: a missed explosion will leave Danny stunned by his own blast. Jettison Fuel hits help cool down the backpack, but you actually need to deal damage for this to work.

In a team fight, first weaken the target with rockets and gunfire. When they’re down to less than half health, use Close The Deal. Before capturing the objective, check whether your allies can back you up after you land.

Among Danny’s most troublesome opponents are Busya, Plushchik, and Paige. These are preliminary stats for the new hero, so the counterpicks may change over time. Danny’s general weakness is his reliance on a successful landing. If you step out of the explosion’s radius and force him to miss, you’ll have the opportunity to attack while he’s stunned.