Haze

0:09 Haze is a Deadlock assassin who sneaks up invisible, puts a target to sleep with a thrown dagger and then sprays bullets whose damage grows with every hit, ending fights with Bullet Dance, a spinning flurry that auto-aims at every enemy near her. Valve's game files describe her as "Sneaks in and sprays bullets" (deadlock-api's copy of the game files, Oct 26, 2026). She is one of the 21 original Heroes who were in the closed playtest before Valve's Aug 23, 2024 reveal, per PCGamesN's roster count, and one of the most played: deadlock-api measured her in 43.8% of normal matches from Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026. Deadlock is still an invite-only playtest, and Valve has not announced a release date.

Quick facts

Source: the game files as of Oct 26, 2026 (deadlock-api, heroes), Valve's Mar 6, 2026 update and deadlock-api's measurement of normal matches, Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026.

Abilities

Source: the game files as of Oct 26, 2026 (deadlock-api, items), with Valve's Mar 6, 2026 update for the two cooldowns it set.

10:44 Sleep Dagger is Haze's opener. The dagger deals 65 damage with 2.2 spirit scaling (cut from 2.8 on Jul 28, 2026) and puts the target to sleep for 2.75s: a sleeper can only shuffle at 1.5 m/s and wakes shortly after taking damage, and throwing it does not break her invisibility (game files, Oct 26, 2026). T1 makes the target take 10% more bullet damage for 6s on waking, T2 adds 1s of sleep and applies 15 Fixation stacks, and T3 cuts 17s from the cooldown and slows the woken target's movement and dashes for 3s (Valve set 50% on Jul 28; the game files list 40% and 45% after the Sep 16, 2026 cut of about 20% to every slow).

Smoke Bomb makes her invisible. She fades out over 1.5s and stays invisible with bonus sprint for 8s; attacking reveals her but items do not, and enemies within 18 m can see through it (game files, Oct 26, 2026). T1 adds 7 m/s of invisible sprint, T2 gives 2 charges 7s apart, and T3 dispels non-ultimate debuffs and grants 50% bullet lifesteal for 5s (raised from 40% on Jun 30, 2026).

Fixation is the passive that makes her gun deadly over time. Each bullet that hits a target adds a stack, and a headshot adds 3 since Valve's Sep 16, 2026 update; stacks last 6s, cap at 40, and each adds weapon damage against that target: +0.18 per stack in Valve's Mar 6, 2026 notes, though the game files list 0.2. T1 deals 40 spirit damage and a 12% slow for 2s every 20 stacks, T2 adds 40 more maximum stacks and 5s of duration, and T3 adds +0.11 damage per stack that also scales with weapon damage (set on Jul 28, 2026).

Bullet Dance is her ultimate. For 3.5s she fires with perfect accuracy at enemies within 16 m, with +7 bullet damage, 30% bullet evasion and extra fire rate: +20% in Valve's Mar 6, 2026 notes, though the game files list 25%. T1 adds 7 more bullet damage, T2 adds 10% fire rate and 3 m/s of move speed, and T3 adds 40% evasion and cuts 65s from the 165s cooldown (game files, Oct 26, 2026; Valve's Apr 30, 2026 note set -75s before the Jun 30 change to every ultimate's cooldowns). Stuns interrupt it, so PC Gamer suggests Unstoppable first.

How to play

2:10 Haze is weak in lane and strong once she has items. Mobalytics' Haze guide lists her strengths as being strong when ahead, invisibility and great farming, and her weaknesses as little team utility, an interruptible ultimate and no mobility. Farm safely early (Laning Guide), then roam with Smoke Bomb.

9:25 Her fights are one-sided picks. The game's own playstyle text says she "prefers to create one sided exchanges, avoiding damage then picking off unsuspecting targets up close" (game files, Oct 26, 2026). The usual pattern is Smoke Bomb to close in, Sleep Dagger on the target, then a full magazine into them so Fixation stacks; in team fights, Bullet Dance after the enemy has used its stuns.

5:28 Her power comes from her gun: since Valve cut her Spirit Power per boon from 1.1 to 0.5 on Mar 6, 2026, she scales through fire rate items, and her spikes are the first big fire-rate item and Bullet Dance.

Builds

Haze builds for fire rate. Mobalytics' Carry Haze by rina (Build ID 15304, updated Oct 22, 2026) is a "Fully standard Haze build, opting for all the fire rate items like Burst Fire and Swift Striker". Early it takes Extra Spirit, Fortitude for sustain while roaming, Titanic Magazine and Spirit Shielding or Weapon Shielding; mid game Burst Fire, Hunter's Aura, Ricochet ("to make Bullet Dance hit multiple people") and Unstoppable; late Vampiric Burst, Silencer and Diviner's Kevlar. Most are Weapon Items, with Vitality Items for defense.

15:38 The items players buy match it. deadlock-api measured Swift Striker in 93% of her games, Rapid Rounds 88%, Burst Fire 81%, Active Reload 79%, Extra Spirit 72%, Ricochet 69% (with a 57.4% win rate) and Bullet Lifesteal 62% from Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026; Silencer, bought in 36%, won 62.8%. Rina's situational picks are Cursed Relic against Lash or Pocket and Phantom Strike against fliers such as Vindicta, Grey Talon and Celeste. See Items and Shop and Builds and Itemization.

Counters and matchups

Pressure Haze early and group up late. Mobalytics says to bully her weak laning phase, not to over-push a lane when she is missing from the map, and to adapt to her items. PC Gamer advises staying near teammates against divers like her and names Ethereal Shift against Bullet Dance. Any stun interrupts Bullet Dance, and Mobalytics' Street Brawl guide lists Cursed Relic against her. More on Counter Items.

deadlock-api's matchup measurement (Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026) found Haze's lowest win rates against Graves (45.8%), Rat King (47.6%), Paige (47.8%), Victor (47.8%) and Kelvin (49.1%), and her highest against Sinclair (58.6%), Shiv (58.3%), Mirage (58.0%), Pocket (57.6%) and Rem (57.4%).

Outlets rate her highly: S tier at Dexerto (Oct 9, 2026), S+ at Esports.gg (Jul 25, 2026) and A in Mobalytics' expert list (Oct 22, 2026). At Phantom and above she won 51.12% and was the second most picked hero, in 56.3% of matches, per deadlock-api (Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026). See the Hero Tier List.

Patch history

• Sep 16, 2026: Fixation headshots give 3 stacks instead of 2, and Fixation T3's weapon scaling rose from 0.0003 to 0.00035 (Valve).
• Jul 28, 2026: Sleep Dagger's damage scaling from 2.8 to 2.2, its T2 and T3 swapped, and Fixation T3 from +0.14 to +0.11 per stack plus weapon-damage scaling (Valve).
• Jun 30, 2026: Sleep Dagger T1 from -8% to -10% bullet resist and Smoke Bomb T3 lifesteal from 40% to 50% (Valve); the same update raised every ultimate's cooldowns by 15%.
• Apr 30, 2026: Bullet Dance range from 15 m to 16 m, 30% base evasion and new T2 and T3 (Valve).
• Mar 6, 2026: a rework: Spirit per boon from 1.1 to 0.5, Sleep Dagger 26s to 30s, Smoke Bomb 30s to 33s, and Bullet Dance's fire rate bonus from 30% to 20% (Valve).

Valve's Oct 5 and Oct 14, 2026 updates did not name Haze; all changes are on Patches and Updates.

Lore

23:20 Haze's in-game biography makes her a member of the Sandman Division of the Occult Security and Investigation Commission (OSIC), "a black box government organization that makes the CIA look transparent", who infiltrates dreams and, when needed, puts people to sleep (game files, Oct 26, 2026). Her twin guns are named "Censure & Penance". The setting is on Lore and Setting.

Frequently asked questions

Is Haze good in Deadlock? Yes: Haze won 52.95% of normal Deadlock matches from Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026, as deadlock-api measured, and Dexerto ranked her S tier on Oct 9, 2026.

What is the best Haze build in Deadlock? Deadlock players build Haze for fire rate: Swift Striker, Rapid Rounds, Burst Fire, Active Reload and Ricochet are her most bought items (deadlock-api, Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026), and Mobalytics' Carry Haze build adds Hunter's Aura, Unstoppable, Vampiric Burst and Silencer.

How do you counter Haze in Deadlock? In Deadlock, bully Haze in lane, stay grouped later so she cannot pick anyone off, and save a stun for Bullet Dance, which any stun interrupts. Cursed Relic and Ethereal Shift are items outlets name against her.

What does Haze's ultimate do in Deadlock? Bullet Dance makes Haze fire with perfect accuracy at every enemy within 16 m for 3.5s, with +7 bullet damage and 30% evasion, on a 165s cooldown in Deadlock's game files as of Oct 26, 2026.

How does Haze's Fixation work? Fixation is Haze's passive in Deadlock: each bullet hit on a target adds a stack (3 for a headshot since Sep 16, 2026), up to 40, and each adds weapon damage against that target for 6s, +0.18 per stack in Valve's Mar 6, 2026 notes.

Sources

• Assets API: heroes, deadlock-api (game files), Oct 26, 2026
• Assets API: items, deadlock-api (game files), Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, Phantom and above, Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), Oct 26, 2026
• Hero counter stats, Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), Oct 26, 2026
• Item stats, Haze, deadlock-api (measured), Oct 26, 2026
• Minor Update - 09-16-2026, Valve, Sep 16, 2026
• Minor Update - 07-28-2026, Valve, Jul 28, 2026
• Minor Update - 06-30-2026, Valve, Jun 30, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 04-30-2026, Valve, Apr 30, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 03-06-2026, Valve, Mar 6, 2026
• Deadlock adds four new heroes, PCGamesN (Jamie Hore), Jan 17, 2025
• Carry Haze by rina, Mobalytics (rina), Oct 22, 2026
• Deadlock Haze Guide - Abilities, Overview & More, Mobalytics, undated, read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Street Brawl Mode Explained, Mobalytics (dxvis), Aug 27, 2026
• Expert Deadlock Tier List, Mobalytics (RinaVX), Oct 22, 2026
• Deadlock Tier List: Best characters to pick in the 2026 meta, Dexerto, Oct 9, 2026
• Deadlock Hero Tier List: Best Characters Ranked (July 2026), Esports.gg (XC Enriquez), Jul 25, 2026
• If Deadlock is your first MOBA, here are 6 tips to suck less at it, PC Gamer (Harvey Randall), Sep 4, 2024
• Don't sleep on Deadlock's active items, PC Gamer (Sarah Richter), Oct 10, 2024
• The ONLY Haze Guide You Will Need - DEADLOCK Hero Guide, smeefu, Sep 8, 2024 (video)
• The Complete Lore Of Valve's Next Game | Deadlock Story Explained, OhHeckItsTristan, Mar 28, 2026 (video)