If you're a fan of bleeding your enemies out and then delivering a sudden kill with one strike, you'll love Shiv. This Deadlock character is very flexible, and you can enhance his abilities even further by applying the best boosts available.
However, before doing so, you must be familiar with the items, skills, and weapons that Shiv can use to his advantage. In this guide, we'll help you make the best build for Shiv in Deadlock, so you can deal with your enemies in no time.
Table of Contents
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Deadlock Shiv Abilities
Shiv is perfect for weakening enemies before killing them, and the most effective abilities that help him do so are the Serrated Knives and the Slice and Dice. To defeat any remaining opponents, he uses his Ultimate called Killing Blow, which also stacks Spirit Power and reduces Cooldowns.
Slice and Dice
- Perform a dash forward, damaging enemies along the path.
Bloodletting
- 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.
Serrated Knives
- Throw a knife that damages and slows an enemy. Each additional hit adds a stack and refreshes the debuff duration, causing the damage to increase per stack.
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.
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Deadlock Best Shiv Build Items
Fortunately, Shiv's power isn't limited to his skills. He can use multiple items to enhance his abilities and become even stronger. Now it's time to take a look at all the boosts required to create the best Shiv build in Deadlock.
Best Early Game Items
The Close Quarters weapon item is exactly what it says on the tin - it deals 25% additional damage when you're at a 15-meter range from your target.
Extra Charge will give you one more throwing knife, and with Mystic Vulnerability, the knives will deal more damage. Moreover, the Mystic Burst can make the Slice and Dice hit way harder than before.
Close Quarters
- +85 Bullet Shield Health
- Is a Component of Point Blank
Enduring Spirit
- +11% Base Health
- +75 Bonus Health
- +8% Spirit Lifesteal
- +4 Spirit Power
Extra Stamina
- +1 Stamina
- +10% Stamina Recovery
- +7% Fire Rate
- Is a Component of Superior Stamina
Healing Rite
- +45 bonus health
- Is a Component of Rescue Beam
Extra Charge
- +1 Bonus Ability Charges
- +10% Cooldown Reduction for Charged Abilities
- +6% Weapon Damage
- Is a Component of Rapid Recharge
Mystic Vulnerability
- +6% Spirit Resist
- Is a Component of Escalating Exposure
Mystic Burst
- +40 Spirit Shield Health
- +6% Weapon Damage
- Is a Component of Improved Burst
Mystic Vulnerability is a passive item that reduces the enemy's Spirit Resist by 12% for 6 seconds after they take Spirit Damage. Mystic Burst grants an additional bonus Spirit DMG to all abilities if you manage to deal 125 damage or more in a single hit.
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Best Mid-Game Items
If you've reached the mid-game content, maybe it's time to get rid of some of the previous items to gain additional slots or upgrade them if you can. Sometimes you'll have to adapt to the occasion, so the order in which you'll be buying the items will depend on how the game is going.
We recommend purchasing the Spirit items first if you're winning. However, if you keep losing, prioritize getting Spirit Lifesteal and Soul Shredder Bullets instead.
Soul Shredder Bullets
- +6% Weapon Damage
Slowing Bullets
- +16% Weapon Damage
- +5 Spirit Power
- Is a Component of Silencer
Close Quarters
- +85 Bullet Shield Health
- Is a Component of Point Blank
Spirit Lifesteal
- +23% Spirit Lifesteal
- +75 Bonus Health
Healbane
- +75 Bonus Health
Extra Stamina
- +1 Stamina
- +10% Stamina Recovery
- +7% Fire Rate
- Is a Component of Superior Stamina
Improved Cooldown
- +16% Cooldown Reduction
- +1.5 Health Regen
- Is a Component of Superior Cooldown
Mystic Vulnerability
- +6% Spirit Resist
- Is a Component of Escalating Exposure
Improved Burst
- Components: Mystic Burst
- +100 Spirit Shield Health
- +8% Weapon Damage
Healbane is one of the best items to use if you're playing against a team that doesn't have strong healing abilities. Additionally, Shiv takes a lot of damage, so the heal-on-kill option can be helpful in any combat situation.
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Best Late Game Items
In the late-game content, Shiv needs to be able to burst down heroes like Infernus quickly, as well as everyone else who has low Health. Be aware that a lot of the items you'll purchase during this stage of Deadlock will just be upgraded versions of the ones you already have.
Point Blank
- Components: Close Quarters
- +15% Bullet Resist
- +1 Stamina
Siphon Bullets
- +28% Weapon Damage
Leech
- +35% Spirit Lifesteal
- +35% Bullet Lifesteal
- +175 Bonus Health
- +12 Spirit Power
- +15% Weapon Damage
Superior Stamina
- Components: Extra Stamina
- +3 Stamina
- +20% Stamina Recovery
- +30% Air Jump/Dash Distance
- +7% Fire Rate
- +8 Spirit Power
Bullet Armor
- +20% Bullet Resist
- +6% Weapon Damage
- Is a Component of Improved Bullet Armor
Mystic Slow
- Components: Suppressor
- +100 Bonus health
- +3 Health regen
- +6 Spirit Power
Escalating Exposure
- Components: Mystic Vulnerability
- +15% Spirit Resist
- +125 Bonus Health
- -15% Spirit Resist on Spirit Damage
Mystic Reverb
- +15% Spirit Lifesteal
- +15% Spirit Resist
- +15% Ability Range
Improved Spirit Armor
- Components: Spirit Armor
- +45% Spirit Resist
- +8 Spirit Power
All the items mentioned above focus on Spirit Power, and that's why it's crucial to get the Spirit items before anything else. However, if you're losing the game, save your resources for the Leech and Armor components.
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Deadlock Best Shiv Build Skills
Make sure to unlock the Serrated Knives and put one upgrade point into it to gain an extra knife charge. The Slice and Dice should be obtained immediately after, and upgrading it twice will give you additional burst damage. As far as the next two points are concerned, invest them into Bloodletting and Killing Blow.
The rest can go to Serrated Knives or Slice and Dice, depending on personal preference. If you want to establish mid-game dominance, don't hesitate to max out either of the two to increase the impact and DoT damage of your weapons. Have fun and good luck on your next adventure! For more information about Deadlock, you can check out this article.
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