Deadlock Kelvin Build
Overview
Kelvin is an easy-to-learn hero that can fit into both the support and damage dealing role depending on how you like to play and what items you buy on him. This build is a mix of both, making Kelvin a dangerous threat for the enemy team while also offering help to your team.
If you want to be the tough, front-line fighter who takes lots of damage for the team, Kelvin can do that. If you prefer to help your teammates by healing them and providing support, he can fill that role perfectly. And if you like to split off from the group to push lanes and create pressure all over the map, Kelvin is also a great choice thanks to his great mobility provided by Ice Path. Whatever your playstyle is, Kelvin can adapt to it.
- Very strong duelist thanks to Arctic Beam.
- Difficult to kill as self-healing and mobility helps a lot with keeping Kelvin out of trouble.
- Very good mobility, especially vertically when using Ice Path.
- Can get poked from afar to the point he cannot react, having a very difficult time dealing with heroes like Vindicta.
- Very reliant on Arctic Beam and low damage when Arctic Beam is on cooldown.
- High Skill Ceiling.
Items
Ability Path
Frost Grenade | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||
Ice Path | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||
Arctic Beam | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||
Frozen Shelter | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Skills
- Frost Grenade — Once upgraded, Frost Grenade can be used to heal yourself and your team, offering quick bursts of health while also remaining usable as an AOE slow. This is best used in the middle of a fight or inside your Frozen Shelter as it hits you, enemies and even team mates, maximizing Frost Grenade utility.
- Ice Path — Use this to always have a vertical advantage as you create a trail of ice that can take you up into the air and offer a great position to shoot down on the enemy team. Keep in mind that Ice Path can also be started while you are mid air, and is best used after jumping off a building in order to make it more difficult for enemies to follow you on the Ice Path.
- Arctic Beam — The most important damaging skill in your kit, Arctic Beam extends to other enemy players after hitting its initial target. It deals high damage and slowly freezing the enemy, stopping them from moving & attacking. Use it to win trades in lane while also putting high pressure on enemies in team fights.
- Frozen Shelter — Catch as many enemies as possible into your dome before using Alchemical Fire to deal incredible damage while you are being constantly healed by the Frozen Shelter regeneration coupled with Frost Grenade. It can also be used defensively against Haze's Bullet Dance or other AOE ultimates!
Early Game / Laning Phase
Focus on getting as many souls as you can while using Arctic Beam to push for favourable trades with the enemy if they are daring enough to contest you. Hollow Point Ward and High-Velocity Mag should be your first items to increase your bullet damage and improve your laning before getting Mystic Burst to boost Frost Grenade damage and improve your kill potential while Extra Charge adds another charge to it.
Gaining an early souls lead is key to a successful early game that can propel you achieve an even more successful mid game! Your goal during the laning phase is so to look for kills and abuse the enemy as often as you can. Try to play aggressive frequently to gain a lead and possibly even destroying the enemy guardian while abusing your healing items like Healing Rite and later Health Nova!
Fleetfoot should be your last item, helping with your mobility and improving the length of your Ice Path when used together.
Mid Game
When playing Kelvin as a support, your healing abilities become stronger during the mid-game, which is when you should try to gain the most momentum. On your own, you can be vulnerable, especially if your Arctic Beam ability is on cooldown. To avoid getting caught and killed, it's important to stay close to your team as much as possible. Focus on clearing nearby neutral jungle camps to boost your souls count when you are done with the first guardian. Keep an eye on your team mates and use Rescue Beam to heal up wounded team mates.
Always keep an eye on the Urns as they spawn, since collecting and delivering them can give you a significant advantage by providing extra souls. If an Urn is about to spawn, make sure to stay nearby so you can grab it quickly and deliver it for the bonus souls.
Once you have Alchemical Fire, you can use this in combination with Frozen Shelter during a team fight and burn enemies caught inside your Frozen Shelter. Make sure to keep your Arctic Beam for this occasion too. Alchemical Fire can also be used alongside Dynamo's Singularity if you have one in your team.
Improved Burst will even improve Frost Grenade's damage further while Superior Cooldown should be used on Frozen Shelter to minimize the time you are without it.
Stick with your team and look for opportunities to catch enemies off guard. If you and your allies can take down an enemy, or if you manage to do it alone, you can take advantage of their respawn time to clear more of the enemy's jungle camps. This helps you and your team build a stronger lead in the game.
Late Game
In the late game, make the Midboss your top priority, as it's the main objective during this stage. This is also when Kelvin starts to deal even more damage, so make the most of it. Your first item should be Headhunter, and after that, fill up your slots with Spirit items to boost your damage further.
Always stay with your team. Avoid moving around the map by yourself, as getting caught alone and dying can lead to a 5v6 situation for your team, putting them at a disadvantage. Aim to always contest the Midboss, and while it might seem like a good idea to push the enemy Patron, focus on claiming Midboss after every fight you win.
Make sure both Superior Duration and Improved Reach on your Frozen Shelter!
Your main role in team fights is to catch enemies in your Frozen Shelter as much as possible while throwing Frost Grenade to your allies to heal them. Focus on keeping them alive during battles, as this is crucial but Arctic Beam pressure shouldn't be neglected as it deals high damage!
Situational Items
These items can be bought up to counter certain heroes as they work perfectly for specific scenarios.
- Improved Spirit Armor - A great choice vs Spirit heavy teams that can help with winning the game if the game lasts too long, however, it shouldn't be a priority.
- Improved Bullet Armor - This is a fantastic choice for countering Bullet heavy teams, especially vs Haze and Wraith.
- Refresher - You can opt for buying Refresher into the late game for double Frozen Shelter and way better team fighting.
- Healbane - This is a great item choice against healing heavy heroes like Infernus or Abrams, helping you take them down.
- Ethereal Shift — This item is fantastic for engaging with all your abilities before using Ethereal Shift to become immune to damage. It is also good for avoid high damage skills like Guided Owl.
- Knockdown — Cheap item to counter both snipers like Vindicta and Grey Talon by knocking them out of the air. This also works on Seven while he is ulting and he will also be stopped.
- Silence Glyph — Buy this if you want to silence enemies and turn them into a quick kill. Works exceptionally well vs enemies that make use of short cooldowns like Lash. It is also great for countering Yamato as the silence can stop her from using the ultimate.
- Debuff Remover — This item removes all debuffs when pressed and can be amazing vs heroes like Bebop as it counters his Sticky Bomb entirely.
- Metal Skin — While not very useful against other heroes, this is very good vs Hazes ultimate, allowing you to reposition away from her while she uses it without taking any damage.