Shiv is one of the most fun and challenging heroes in Deadlock, thanks to his mobility and ability to deal massive amounts of damage very quickly. We try to capitalize on his strengths in this build, aiming for survivability and lethality with Killing Blow.
Best Shiv build for close-range DPS and finishing kills
Build name to search: Slicer and Dicer Shiv – esports.gg
This Shiv build in Deadlock is about balance and staying healthy in the early game, but once you unlock Killing Blow you are unleashed upon the lobby. Use Slice and Dice to set up Killing Blow, rinse, and repeat.
Early game
Focus on wave early on and poke with your knives.
| Item Type | Item |
| Weapon | Restorative Shot |
| Spirit | Ammo Scavenger |
| Weapon | Close Quarters |
| Vitality | Extra Health |
| Spirit | Spirit Strike |
Mid game
Once your ultimate is online, look to keep your rage bar full and take fights.
| Item Type | Item |
| Vitality | Spirit Lifesteal |
| Vitality | Sprint Boots |
| Vitality | Enduring Spirit |
| Weapon | Mystic Shot |
| Weapon | Kinetic Dash |
| Spirit | Suppressor |
| Spirit | Mystic Vulnerability |
Late game
Scale your spirit here and focus on making your ultimate as lethal as possible.
| Item Type | Item |
| Spirit | Improved Cooldown |
| Spirit | Escalating Exposure |
| Vitality | Leech |
| Weapon | Point Blank |
| Vitality | Enduring Speed |
Uber late game
Fill flex spots as needed.
| Item Type | Item |
| Spirit | Torment Pulse |
| Spirit | Mystic slow |
| Spirit | Superior Cooldown |
| Weapon | Spiritual Overflow |
| Vitality | Unstoppable |
| Spirit | Diviner’s Kevlar |
Shivabilities and upgrades
Shiv scales here through Slice and Dice and Killing Blow primarily. Use these two abilities to keep Rage filled up and set yourself up late game.
- Serrated Knives: Throw a knife that damages and bleeds an enemy. Each additional hit adds a stack and refreshes the bleed duration, causing the bleed to increase per stack.
- Slice and Dice: Perform a dash forward, damaging enemies along the path.
- Ultimate Unlock: While rage is full an echo of Shiv retraces the dash path after a short delay, damaging enemies again.
- Blodletting: Take only a portion of incoming damage immediately and defer the rest to be taken over time. Activate to clear a portion of the deferred damage.
- Killing Blow: Activate to leap towards an enemy hero and instantly kill them if their health is below the kill threshold, otherwise deal 200 damage to them.
- Passive: Damaging enemies fills you with rage. While at full rage, Shiv gains increased damage and special properties on his other abilities.
Strengths and weaknesses of this Shiv build in Deadlock
As fun as this build is to play, it isn’t perfect and you will run into some counter play. Here are the main strengths and weaknesses that we have encountered with this build.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Lots of mobility in fights | Weak at range |
| Can finish off any target | Rage bar can be tough to keep filled |
| Lethal at close range | Gun can feel weak late game |
Be sure to check out our other Deadlock content at esports.gg!