Healing in Deadlock Ultimate Guide: Top Strategies to Stay Alive

In Deadlock, where every second counts, managing your health is critical to staying in the game. The last thing you want is to be limping around the battlefield with a fraction of your health while your opponents are primed to take you down. With every moment offering opportunities for ambushes and counter-attacks, understanding how to heal effectively can be the difference between life and death. In this guide, we’ll dive into all the best ways to keep your hero in peak condition and ensure you stay ahead of the competition.

Why Healing Is Essential in Deadlock

In Deadlock, losing health isn’t just a setback; it can turn the tide of the entire match. If you’re stuck fighting with half your health, enemies will swoop in to exploit your vulnerability, and soon you’ll find yourself losing ground. Worse yet, they’ll be farming Souls off your hero, gaining an insurmountable advantage in damage and survivability. Without proper healing, you’ll struggle to win duels, contest last hits, or apply kill pressure on your foes. The game’s intense pace requires you to heal strategically, ensuring you remain a threat on the battlefield at all times.

But how do you heal effectively in Deadlock? There are multiple ways to restore health, and each has its place depending on the situation. Let’s break them down.

Natural Health Regeneration: A Small but Steady Boost

The simplest way to heal in Deadlock is through natural health regeneration. Every hero in the game recovers a small amount of health over time, but the rate varies depending on the character. Heroes like Mo & Krill and Bebop boast the highest natural regen rates, which can help during those intense laning phases. However, the regeneration isn’t nearly enough to sustain you through prolonged skirmishes.

Think of natural health regen as your last-ditch safety net. It can give you that tiny edge in a drawn-out battle, but it won’t keep you alive during a full-on assault. For significant healing, you’ll need more potent methods.

Heading Back to Base: Full Heal, High Cost

The most reliable way to recover all of your health is by returning to base. The Transit line, or zipline, allows you to quickly retreat from battle and head back to base, where your hero will heal to full health.

Sounds like the perfect solution, right? Well, there’s a downside. Every second you spend riding the zipline back to base is time you’re not farming Souls, defending your Guardian, or pressuring your opponent. If you leave your lane unattended, the enemy will likely seize the opportunity to push forward, taking down your minions and possibly damaging your Tower Guardian. Even worse, your lane partner will be left to fend off two opponents, which can lead to a swift death if they’re not careful.

To minimize the downsides, make sure to push out your lane or secure a kill before heading back to base. Use the Zip Line Boost to get back into action quickly, as this speed boost will persist for a short time after you re-enter the battlefield.

Stick Close to Your Banner Trooper

If returning to base feels too risky, your next best option is to stay near your Banner Trooper. Every lane in Deadlock spawns a group of four Troopers every 25 seconds: two Ranged, one Melee, and one Banner Trooper. The Banner Trooper offers a healing aura that restores 40 HP every six seconds to nearby allies, including heroes.

This might not seem like much in the heat of battle, but during the laning phase, every little bit of healing helps. Stick close to your Banner Trooper to top up your health while staying active in the fight. Be mindful, though your enemies will likely target your Banner Trooper first to deny you the healing boost, so keep a close eye on them.

Once a Tower Guardian falls and the laning phase ends, the Banner Trooper’s healing effect doubles, providing 80 HP to nearby heroes. While it’s not a game-changer, it can definitely give you a slight edge in team fights.

Buying Healing Items: The Curiosity Shop’s Best-Kept Secrets

One of the key elements that separates Deadlock from other hero-based shooters is its item system. By collecting Souls, you can purchase various items from the Curiosity Shop to boost your hero’s stats and survivability. There are several items specifically designed to enhance your health regeneration or provide direct healing, and knowing which ones to buy can significantly increase your chances of survival.

Best Passive Healing Items

• Extra Regen: This item grants an additional 2.8 health regeneration per second. It’s a great option for heroes who need to recover small amounts of health while staying active in the lane.
• Healing Booster: For 2 Souls per second, Healing Booster gives you an extra 2 health regeneration. It’s a cost-effective option that works well for sustained battles.
• Fortitude: This item heals your hero for 4% of their maximum health after being out of combat for 11 seconds. It’s a powerful tool for maintaining your health during downtime between fights.

Top Active Healing Items

• Healing Rite: This 500 Souls item regenerates 370 HP over 17 seconds and increases your sprint speed, making it an excellent tool for both healing and mobility.
• Restorative Locket: This item stores charges when enemies use abilities near you. Activating the locket releases 35 health per charge stored, healing both you and your allies.
• Health Nova: For 1,250 Souls, Health Nova heals 260 HP to everyone within an 18m radius and increases the healing by 20% for each additional ally.
• Rescue Beam: One of the most powerful healing items in the game, Rescue Beam heals a target ally for 30% of their maximum health over 2.5 seconds. It also heals you for the same amount, making it a lifesaver in dire situations.

These items are invaluable when you’re in a pinch, but choosing the right one depends on your situation. If you’re playing a more aggressive role, prioritize items like Healing Rite for burst healing during fights. If you’re playing a supportive role, Health Nova and Rescue Beam can turn the tide of a team battle.

Life steal: Healing Through Damage

Sometimes, the best defence is a good offense. Life steal items allow you to recover health by dealing damage to enemies. The more damage you deal, the more you heal, making life steal an excellent option for aggressive players who thrive in close-quarter skirmishes.

There are three main types of life steal in Deadlock:

• Bullet Lifesteal: Recovers health for each bullet you hit with your primary weapon. It’s perfect for heroes who deal consistent ranged damage.
• Spirit Lifesteal: Heals you based on the spirit damage dealt by your abilities. This is ideal for heroes who rely on their abilities to dish out damage.
• Melee Lifesteal: Recovers health when you land melee attacks. If you play a close-range hero, this type of lifesteal can help you sustain yourself in the thick of battle.

The key to using lifesteal effectively is knowing when to commit to a fight. Lifesteal becomes more effective as your damage output increases, so if you’re behind in Souls, lifesteal might not save you from a fully-geared opponent. However, once you start dealing serious damage, lifesteal can help you survive even the most intense skirmishes.

Utilizing Hero Abilities for Healing

Many heroes in Deadlock come equipped with their own healing abilities, which can make them incredibly difficult to kill. Heroes like McGinnis and Abrams have built-in lifesteal or health regeneration abilities that allow them to play more aggressively and survive longer in fights.

• Abrams: His Siphon Life ability drains health from nearby enemies, allowing him to heal during combat. While he can’t heal his allies, Abrams is a powerhouse when it comes to self-sustain.
• McGinnis: Her Medicinal Specter ability creates a healing aura that regenerates 25 HP per second to nearby allies. This ability is perfect for team fights, as it keeps both McGinnis and her teammates alive.

Experimenting with different heroes and their abilities is key to mastering Deadlock. Some heroes excel at self-sustain, while others can support their team with healing auras or abilities. Understanding how to use your hero’s unique kit will help you survive longer and dominate the battlefield.

Final Thoughts: Mastering Healing in Deadlock

Healing in Deadlock is more than just topping off your health bar; it’s a strategic element that can determine the outcome of a match. Whether you’re returning to base, sticking by your Banner Trooper, or using a lifesteal item to recover health mid-fight, the ability to heal effectively will give you a crucial advantage over your opponents.

To truly master healing in Deadlock, you’ll need to find the right balance between staying in the fight and knowing when to retreat. Healing items, abilities, and strategies all have their place, and using them wisely will keep you alive and in control of the game. So the next time you find yourself low on health, don’t panic heal up, get back in the fight, and show your enemies what true resilience looks like.