Deadlock Lash Build
Overview
Lash is one of the most mobile and mechanically intricate heroes in Deadlock offering high-octane gameplay as he aims to get close to the enemy to deal high burst damage while remaining capable of changing the course of team fights with his Death Slam which can pull an entire team before throwing them to the ground and following up with his unique combo.
Lash is the perfect hero for players looking for a challenge in mastering a very mobile hero that focuses on ganking and close range fights before getting away with style.
- Extremely Mobile, making Lash a great ganker.
- Great AOE CC.
- High Burst Damage.
- Good self-sustain through the use of Flog.
- Difficult to play well.
- Needs to be close to do damage and struggles vs heroes like Vindicta or Grey Talon.
- Long cooldowns during the early game.
Items
Ability Path
Ground Strike | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||
Grapple | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||
Flog | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||
Death Slam | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Skills
- Ground Strike — This skill is Lash's bread and butter. You should always aim to use this by dropping down from a higher position in order to do increased damage based on the distance between yourself and the target, throwing the enemies into the air and slowing them. You can achieve a higher distance by either dropping down from the transit line/buildings or by comboing with Grapple to go up in the air.
- Grapple — Your main mobility skill, this can be used to move across the map as it throws Lash high into the air and can be used on both enemies and friendly players. Keep in mind that Grapple can also be used on Guardians and Walkers or even Troopers!
- Flog — Use this to heal yourself but also part of your combo when bursting someone as it does considerable damage. Because of its instant cast, it can be used instantly after Ground Strike while enemies are still thrown in the air.
- Death Slam — Being one of the most powerful ultimates in the game, Death Slam pulls enemies to Lash before throwing them to the ground again to stun them. You can catch as many as 6 enemies with Death Slam before throwing and stunning them so you can follow up with Ground Strike. Keep in mind that the stun only happens once enemies hit the ground while throwing them into walls will force them towards the ground for the stun. Try to always use Death Slam from high in the air to have a better chance of catching multiple enemies.
Early Game / Laning Phase
Lash is a strong laning hero as long you aren't against long range enemies like Vindicta or Grey Talon. Due to long cooldowns early game, you have to use your powerful gun burst fire to poke at the enemy from around cover in order to get them low enough for a Grapple, Ground Strike and Flog combo to finish them off.
Focus on clearing the wave during the laning phase and denying as many souls as possible to gain an advantage against the enemy. If you are on the duo lanes, use this opportunity to gank adjacent lanes whenever the enemy is pushing your team into the guardian, turning it into a quick 3vs2 or 2vs1. Because of your incredible ganking potential with Grapple, Ground Strike & Flog combo, you should always keep an eye out for possible ganks.
Basic Magazine, Headshot Booster & Mystic Shot are very cheap items that boost your already good gun damage, allowing you to deal incredible damage from the beginning of the game. Follow up by buying Extra Charge to get a second charge to Grapple and greatly increase your mobility.
Buy Mystic Burst and Mystic Reach to further boost your Ground Strike damage and greatly improve your kill potential while Extra Health & Enchanter's Barrier are fantastic defensive choices.
Warp Stone is the last item you should buy in the early game as it offers great mobility with the teleport and also gives you bullet resistance.
Early Game Situational
If you are struggling in lane, Healing Rite can offer great healing without requiring you to go back to the base but you must remain outside of enemy range as any attack you receive from enemies will cancel the item. You should sell this later into the game as its value lowers while the game advances.
Mid Game
During the Mid Game, Lash becomes a serious threat to the enemy. Focus on pushing the enemy lane guardian and taking it down before roaming the map to gank enemies, hunt, and clear neutral jungle camps while pressuring enemy walkers. Keep an eye on all lanes and gank whenever enemies are attacking your guardian or walker, catching them off-guard.
Thanks to Lashs mobility, he is a great split pusher, capable of also pushing lanes before moving away once enemies realised their base is falling and come to help. Couple this with neutral jungle camps and ganks during the mid game and you should be able to pull ahead!
Don’t forget about the Urn! It provides a big souls advantage for you and your team. Stay alert for enemies trying to take it, or deliver it yourself when possible.
Superior Stamina is a must-have item for Lash, improving mobility even further while both Improved Burst and Improved Reach increase your kill potential. Use Improved Reach on your Death Slam to prepare for late game when Death Slam becomes very important.
Follow up by buying Pristine Emblem and Bullet Lifesteal to gain more gun damage and improve survivability.
Improved Cooldown is an obvious choice and the turning point when Lash long cooldowns become less of an issue.
Late Game
Lash doesn't change much in the late game, focus remaining on split pushing and getting kills solo in 1vs1s. However, team fights become much more important as ressurection time increases. Try to avoid staying in the frontline of team fights though as Lash excels at flanking instead. Using Death Slam correctly is very important as it heavily impacts the team fight. Wait for the fight to start before popping into the air and using Death Slam to throw enemies into your team before following up with your combo.
You can also use Death Slam to pull stacked enemies in the Midboss pit off the Rejuvenator while they are waiting for it then drop down to claim it for yourself. Death Slam can also be used defensively though as you can pull enemies and throw them into your own base so they take heavy damage!
Both Superior Cooldown (apply to Death Slam) and Rapid Recharge should be a priority while Boundless Spirit greatly increases your damage before you should start looking into the situational items so you can counter the enemy team setups.
Situational Items
These items can be bought up to counter certain heroes as they work perfectly for specific scenarios.
- Decay is one of the best items in the game and the perfect counter to tanks and healing enemies as it deals damage based on the amount of HP the enemy has while also greatly lowering enemy healing. This works great vs heroes like Abrams, Viscous or Infernus and can be coupled with Healbane.
- Shadow Weave — This is a fantastic choice as a luxury item in the end game when you have too many souls and a full build but you are still struggling against Vindicta and Grey Talon.
- Ethereal Shift — Great to 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.
- Curse — This item interrupts spellcasting, silences and disarms a target while also making them incapable of using items for the duration. While it is expensive, it can help a lot vs the Dynamos Singularity and many more and its one of the most powerful items in the game.
- 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.
- Soul Rebirth — Another item worth buying late into the match as it brings you back to life and allows you to initiate, pull enemies to kill you while you do maximum damage then revive. Keep in mind that enemies can see that you've got this item under your hero's icon at the top of the screen.