Best Deadlock Seven build: Abilities & Items

Seven is one of Deadlock’s premiere caster characters, with a game-changing ultimate that can take out the entire enemy team when used correctly. Here’s what you need to know to get the most out of this hero.

While Deadlock is much more focused on aiming and gunplay than most other MOBAs, there are still a good few caster characters. Seven is one of them, and his abilities are relatively straightforward.

Seven may be for you if you struggle with aiming but don’t like getting up close. His kit benefits much more from having game knowledge than it does raw mechanical skill, especially when it comes to buying the right items for the job.

Give Vindicta a shot if you’re looking for someone who requires more mechanical skill and less game knowledge, but know she’s not as new-player friendly as it tells you. Seven is one of the absolute best starter characters, though playing him against people who know what they’re doing gets tricky.

Here’s the best build for Seven in Deadlock including which items you should get, when you should buy them, and the abilities to max out first.

Is Seven good in Deadlock?

Seven is currently at A-Tier on our Deadlock tier list despite being hit with a whole slew of nerfs in the past few patches, and he’s good for a very different reason than he was at launch.

He’s gone from an ult bot to being a lethal damage dealer by maxing out his 3, making him a solid mixed damage carry with great poke, camp clear, and wave clear. That said, he’s pretty vulnerable to getting dived and will need some support from his team to truly shine.

Seven abilities explained: What should you max?

While Seven was recognized as a bit of an ult bot when he was released, his playstyle has long since changed. High-level players have developed a new build oriented entirely around his 3, Power Surge. Here’s an updated ability max list for the hero:

If you’re having a hard time chasing down targets, getting that extra +2 in Lightning Ball isn’t bad after you’ve got your 3 maxed out. Otherwise, follow this path for the best results.

Best items to build on Seven

Items here will be divided into four sections: Early game, mid game, late game/luxury buys, and situational purchases.

The first three sections will give you a general idea of what you should buy at each stage of the game, though it’s ok to jump to late-game items if you’re ahead. Situational items are all about countering certain mechanics.

For a character like Seven, counter-building is essential. As you play against better and better players, people will know how to counter you. You’ll have to switch up your build depending on who you’re playing against, so keep an eye on that last section.

Here’s what you should be buying to give yourself the best chance at winning:

Early Game items

Weapon Items:

• High-Velocity Mag: Great for the bullet shield and bonus bullet velocity, landing shots is a must while your 3 is active.
• Monster Rounds: All-around great buy, works against jungle camps as well.

Vitality Items:

• Enduring Spirit: The bonus health and lifesteal are fantastic if you’re struggling in lane.
• Extra Stamina: This is what you should go for over Sprint Boots early on unless you’re very ahead and want to rotate.
• Healing Rite: This is a must unless you crush the early game, you’ll want the bonus healing and movement speed to rotate.

Mystic Items:

• Extra Charge: Fantastic value with your 1 in the early game for some extra poke and wave clear.
• Extra Spirit: You’ll want to upgrade this into Boundless Spirit at some point anyways, so you might as well buy it early.
• Mystic Reach: Having a larger area of effect benefits most of Seven’s abilities, so you’ll want to grab this when you can.

Mid Game items

Weapon Items:

• Soul Shredder Bullets: These pair amazingly well with Seven’s 3, amping all of his damage and providing some great value. Considering how much value this offers for the price, it’s a great pickup.
• Fleetfoot: Essential for getting this build off the ground early and chasing down targets.
• Tesla Bullets: A must for early jungle clear. If you’re ahead, invest in this early on.

Vitality Items:

• Spirit Lifesteal: Great sustain for how much it costs and will keep you alive for trading in lane and jungling.
• Enduring Speed: While it’s good to get Extra Stamina early on, Enduring Speed is your best bet mid game to rotate and farm efficiently.

Mystic Items:

• Surge of Power: This is an absolute must-have on Seven. His 3’s duration scales with Spirit Power, so this is a massive power spike for him.
• Improved Spirit: If you’ve got the souls, just go for this item. Boundless Spirit is a huge boon late game, and Improved Spirit is a great power spike in the mid game.
• Mystic Vulnerability: Great for shredding through protections.

Late Game/Luxury

Weapon Items:

• Burst Fire: This has some great value on Seven when it comes to bursting down a target, especially considering you don’t wanna build too heavily into Weapon damage seeing as most of his damage output is in Spirit anyways.
• Titanic Magazine: Useful for staying topped up on ammo, though not necessary. The epitome of luxury.
• Spiritual Overflow: If you’re really, really fed, this can be a great choice. I’d opt for other Spirit Damage options over this first and buy it late if you’re short on item slots.

Vitality Items:

• Leech: This is your absolute best sustain option since you’ll be dealing a mix of bullet and spirit damage. Also makes you that much harder to kill in ult.
• Improved Bullet Armor: Good against weapon damage.
• Improved Spirit Armor: Good against mystic damage.
  • Note: Take these options if you’re having a hard time into one damage type in particular, but prioritize offensive items when possible. You’ll get more mileage out of them.
• Majestic Leap: A must-have for getting in the right position to drop your ult.

Mystic Items:

• Boundless Spirit: A must-have late game item, gives you all the stats you want and has a straightforward upgrade path. Pricy, but worth it.
• Escalating Exposure: Fantastic whether you’re investing in your ult or your 3, easy upgrade from Mystic Vulnerability.
• Superior Duration: If you take this, use it in your ult. Your 3’s uptime vs its cooldown should only leave a few seconds of downtime by this point in the match.
• Superior Cooldown: Again, I’d use this on your ult rather than your 3 for the same reason.
• Mystic Slow: Very strong against slippery targets, take it if you’re struggling to secure kills.

Situational items

Seeing as these items are situational, here’s each one broken down by when you should buy it and what you’re countering:

Weapon Items:

• Warp Stone: If you’re looking for a quick escape, this item is for you. Grab it if you’re getting dived and need an out.
• Kinetic Dash: Can be worth taking over Fleetfoot if you’re good at nailing the timing and like the extra burst of mobility.

Vitality Items:

• Divine Barrier: Divine Barrier is your lifeline if you get put behind, and can be popped before ulting in a pinch to get more tank stats.
• Debuff Remover: Works against more than you’d think. Cleanses everything from Infernus’ burn to Pocket’s ult. Take this if you’re dying to DoTs or getting hit with some annoying soft CC.
• Metal Skin: Against heavy bullet damage, this is your best friend. Your best anti-Haze tool.
• Unstoppable: Take this if you’re getting CC’ed a lot, especially in your ult.
• Healbane: Seven’s best anti-heal option. It’s cheap, effective, and allows him to cut the healing of the entire enemy team. If you’re struggling against an Abrams, this is worth buying early.

Mystic Items:

• Decay: If you’re in need of some serious anti-heal and Healbane isn’t doing the job, this can help.
• Slowing Hex: Great if you’re getting dived early or are struggling to lock down a target in the time it takes for your 2 to pop.
• Ethereal Shift: Getting bursted down in an instant? This is the item for you. Take only if you really don’t have any other ways to survive.
• Knockdown: Knockdown pairs well with your 2’s stun to keep an enemy CCed for a couple of seconds, more than long enough to kill them with your burst damage. Take this if you’re particularly annoyed with someone diving you.
• Silence Glyph: Good against some specific, ability-reliant heroes like Pocket and Lash.
• Refresher: Solid if you find yourself hindered by your ult’s long cooldown. Most people won’t expect two ults in one fight.
• Curse: The ultimate item to make sure one person in particular has a bad day. Take it against someone who’s fed to try and shut them down.
• Mystic Reverb: Hilarious when put on your ult, probably more effective overall on your 3. Which ability you toss this on is up to personal preference.

That’s everything you need to know to start taking home Ws with Seven in Deadlock! He’s one of the easier characters in the game, but don’t get discouraged if the first few matches don’t go your way. You’ll get it if you keep practicing.

If you’d prefer to try another hero instead, check out our full character tier list, and the best builds for Pocket, Warden, Lady Geist, and Shiv.