Deadlock Paradox Build Guide

This Deadlock Paradox build guide is for intermediate and advanced players in Valve’s new shooter. Paradox is a difficult-to-master Hero in Deadlock, but once you become familiar with her abilities, you can outplay your opponents with ease.

Paradox is a mysterious character, and thus aptly named. Possibly of a scientific origin, this Hero carries an hourglass on her back, with tubes coming out of it, which reportedly charge her gun and abilities. Moreover, she has a glass head and uses a charged burst-fire carbine as her primary weapon.

Paradox’s kit is not the easiest to use in the game. However, her support and fragging abilities are unmatched once you get the hang of it. Therefore, with the correct Deadlock Paradox build you can dominate high MMR gameplay.

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How to play Paradox in Deadlock

Deadlock Paradox gameplay (Image via Valve)

Paradox’s kit revolves around space and time manipulation. She can slow, stop, and deal damage with her Pulse Grenade, Time Wall, and Kinetic Carbine abilities simultaneously making her extremely annoying to face. Additionally, her Paradoxical Swap damages and allows her to swap places with an enemy Hero. Before we get into the Deadlock Paradox build guide, here is a detailed overview of her abilities.

Deadlock Paradox build: Abilities explained

• Pulse Grenade - Paradox throws a pulsing grenade on the ground. Each pulse deals damage, slows enemy movement, and stacks damage amplifier for Paradox. (Cooldown time is 28s)
• Time Wall - Paradox creates a wall in front of her. Enemies that touch the wall take damage as a percentage of their maximum health and are briefly slowed. (Cooldown time is 37s)
• Kinetic Carbine - Paradox starts charging up her weapon and gains increased movement speed once fully charged. The next weapon shot deals Spirit damage and applies a time stop to the target hit. (Cooldown time is 30s)
• Paradoxical Swap - Paradox fires a projectile that swaps her location with the target enemy Hero. During the effect, she gains Spirit lifesteal and the enemy Hero takes damage over time. (Cooldown time is 48s)

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Deadlock Paradox build: Items explained

Items for Deadlock Paradox build (Image via Valve)

Numerous items in The Curiosity Shop can help you upgrade your Hero throughout the match and ultimately achieve your preferred build. These items are divided into early, mid, and late game purchases according to their cost. Use your Spirits efficiently to get the most out of your Deadlock Paradox build.

1) Early game

The basic items to buy for the Deadlock Paradox build during early game:

• Mystic Shot: +12% Weapon damage, +4 Spirit power, Passive - next bullet deals bonus Spirit damage (67) (Passive has a cooldown of 5.2s)
• Warp Stone (Active): +20% Weapon Damage, +8 Spirit Power. Upon activation, 11m teleport range, +30% Bullet Resist (for 5s) - cooldown of 16s
• Bullet Armor: +20% Weapon resist, +6% Weapon damage
• Divine Barrier (Active): +8% Ability range, +75 Bonus health, +1m/s Sprint speed. When activated, provides the target with Bullet shield (260), Spirit shield (260), and increased movement speed (+2m/s) for 5s. It can be self-cast. The cast range is 38m, and the cooldown time is 30s.
• Slowing Hex (Active): +1m/s Sprint Speed, +5 Spirit Power. Upon activation, 70 + (0.59 * Spirit Power) Spirit Damage, 30% Movement Slow, 25m Cast Range (3s Duration). The cooldown time is 26s.

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2) Mid game

The basic items to buy for the Deadlock Paradox build during mid game:

• Headhunter: +50% Bullet Velocity, +15% Weapon damage, +150 Bullet Shield Health, (+140 Bonus Headshot Damage, 8% Heal per Headshot, +2m/s Move Speed for 3s with a 6s cooldown - Passive)
• Fortitude: +275 Bonus Health. Passive 1 - after not taking damage for 11s, you gain 4% Max health regen. Passive 2 - when you are above 75% health, you gain bonus Weapon damage (+25%) and Movement speed (+2m/s)
• Spirit Armor: +20% Spirit Resist, +5 Spirit Power
• Enduring Speed: +1.4m/s Move speed, +2m/s Sprint speed, +75 Bonus health, +1.5 Health regen, Passive - reduces the effect of enemy Movement slow by 40%
• Improved Burst: +100 Spirit shield health, +8% Weapon damage, Passive - abilities deal bonus spirit damage (9% max health bonus damage) if they deal 125 or more damage in a single hit. (Cooldown of Passive is 5s)
• Improved Cooldown: +16% Cooldown reduction, +1.5 Health regen
• Curse (Active): +20% Weapon damage, +8 Spirit Power. Upon activation, curses an enemy - interrupting, silencing, disarming, and preventing item usage. The cast range is 20m and the enemy is silenced for 3.25s.

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3) Late game

The basic items to buy for the Deadlock Paradox build during late game:

• Siphon Bullets: +28% Weapon Damage. 45 Max HP Steal from enemies per bullet (Passive) - 20s steal duration and 0.8s maximum frequency. Enemies regain their stolen health once the debuff expires. Permanently steal 1 stack of health if a siphoned target dies and lose 2 stacks if you die.
• Improved Bullet Armor: +45% Bullet Resist, +10% Weapon Damage
• Improved Spirit Armor: +45% Spirit Resist, +8 Spirit Power
• Soul Rebirth: +15% Cooldown reduction, +12 Spirit power, Passive - if you die, you respawn at your death location after 4s with partial health (50% health)
• Superior Cooldown: +32% Imbued ability cooldown reduction, +24% Non-Imbued ability cooldown reduction, +4 Health Regen.
• Diviner's Kevlar: +20% Spirit Lifesteal, +12% Cooldown Reduction. Passive - after casting an ultimate ability, you gain a temporary Bullet shield (700), Spirit shield (700), and Spirit power (+40) for 15s. Cooldown time is 56s.
• Mystic Reverb: +15% Spirit lifesteal, +15% Spirit resist, +15% Ability range, Passive - imbue an ability to apply slow in a radius (18.4m) around the target (50% Movement slow) and deal an additional percentage (40%) of the damage dealt to enemies around the target after a short delay (3s) (Cooldown of Passive is 6.2s)

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Paradox is an excellent option for players who enjoy outplaying enemies. Use your earned Spirits wisely throughout the match and upgrade items through early, mid, and late games to find your preferred Deadlock Paradox build.

Read more Deadlock articles here:

• Deadlock Infernus build guide
• Deadlock Shiv build guide
• Deadlock Lash build guide
• Deadlock Mo & Krill build guide
• Deadlock Viscous build guide