Infernus

30:49 Infernus is a Deadlock marksman who sets enemies on fire: his bullets build a burn, Napalm coats them so they take more of his damage, Flame Dash chases them down through a trail of fire, and his Concussive Combustion ultimate makes him a living bomb that stuns a whole team. Valve's game files describe him as "Lights up enemies and watches them burn" (deadlock-api's copy of the game files, Oct 26, 2026). He 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. 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); the 190s cooldown follows Valve's Mar 6, 2026 165s and its Jun 30, 2026 15% increase to every ultimate.

3:10 Napalm is his opener. He spews a 20 m cone of incendiary mixture for 40 spirit damage (0.6 spirit scaling) and a 28% slow for 4s, and enemies it coats take 16% more damage from him for 8s, values Valve set on Mar 6, 2026 (game files, Oct 26, 2026). T1 adds a second charge 6s apart, T2 gives him 15% lifesteal against coated targets, and T3 makes them take 17% more damage and heal 33% less.

4:47 Flame Dash is his only mobility. He dashes for 3s at 12 m/s, up to 20 m/s holding W, with 50% slow resistance, leaving a 4.5 m flame trail for 4s that deals 30 damage per second; Valve cut its spirit scaling from 1.0 to 0.7 and halved its damage to objectives on Apr 30, 2026. T1 cuts 12s from the 38s cooldown, T2 adds 20 damage per second and 1s of trail, and T3 gives 2 charges with a 14s recharge (game files, Oct 26, 2026).

1:02 Afterburn is the passive that makes his weak gun dangerous. Each bullet builds 8.1% of a burn and each headshot 15.4%, and since Mar 6, 2026 melee builds it too; a full burn deals 14 spirit damage per second for 3s, abilities refresh it, and bullets extend it (game files, Oct 26, 2026). T1 adds 16 damage per second, T2 makes burning enemies deal 35% less spirit damage, and T3 lets the burn grow to 3s longer.

Concussive Combustion is his team-fight ultimate. He becomes a living bomb and, after an uninterruptible 3.25s, explodes for 125 spirit damage and a 1.25s stun in 12 m (game files, Oct 26, 2026). T1 adds 100 damage, T2 cuts 65s from the 190s cooldown and makes the explosion heal him, and T3 adds 0.9s of stun (raised from 0.75s on May 22, 2026) and 10 m of radius. Valve's Mar 6, 2026 notes set the T2 lifesteal at +85% of the explosion's damage; the game files list 100%.

How to play

Infernus is a damage-over-time carry who wins long fights. Mobalytics' Infernus guide lists his strengths as great area damage and engage, chasing escaping enemies with ease, and high damage over time from Napalm and Afterburn; his weaknesses are low range, a telegraphed ultimate and no vertical mobility. His gun keeps full damage only to 18 m (game files, Oct 26, 2026), so he wants to fight close. TheGamer recommended him as a beginner hero in Aug 2024.

15:50 In lane he trades with burns, which keep ticking after he stops shooting (Laning Guide). He can farm with Flame Dash, but Mobalytics warns that enemies wait for him to spend it on camps before jumping him.

12:08 In fights he engages with Flame Dash, coats the enemy team with Napalm, and lands Concussive Combustion while they are slowed. The wind-up cannot be interrupted, so the best ultimates come while enemies are already locked down. His power spikes are the first Afterburn upgrade, which Mobalytics' build says can "triple his Burn Damage as early as 1,000 souls", and Concussive Combustion with T2. See Ability Points and Leveling.

Builds

Infernus builds burn damage and sustain. Mobalytics' Carry Infernus by rina (Build ID 15306, updated Oct 22, 2026) is "more dash-based now, focusing on sustain and utility with Rapid Recharge and Radiant Regeneration". Early it takes Extra Spirit, Extra Health, Titanic Magazine and Swift Striker to proc Afterburn ("Infernus has a really weak gun"); mid game Radiant Regeneration with Healing Booster, Dispel Magic, Infuser, Boundless Spirit, Spirit Rend and Escalating Exposure; late, Ricochet and Toxic Bullets, Unstoppable against Lash's Death Slam or Mo & Krill's Combo, and Spiritual Overflow. The build mixes Weapon Items, Vitality Items and Spirit Items.

15:10 Players buy more gun items than the guide. deadlock-api measured Improved Spirit in 92% of his games, Spirit Lifesteal 85%, Titanic Magazine 82%, Rapid Rounds 82%, Extended Magazine 79%, Extra Spirit 79%, Superior Duration 75% and Toxic Bullets 74% from Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026; Escalating Exposure, in 58%, won 53.9%. See Items and Shop and Builds and Itemization.

Counters and matchups

Anti-burn items and range counter Infernus. Mobalytics says to avoid long lane trades against his damage over time, fight him vertically, ambush him after he spends Flame Dash on camps, save stuns for Flame Dash, cleanse his burns with Dispel Magic and avoid his ultimate with Counterspell. Mobalytics' expert tier list (Oct 22, 2026) calls Rat King and Plated Armor natural counters and says Baba's spirit theft blunts him. More on Counter Items.

deadlock-api's matchup measurement (Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026) found Infernus's lowest win rates against Graves (41.9%), Rat King (43.4%), Paige (43.7%), Victor (45.2%) and Kelvin (45.6%), and his highest against Sinclair (55.8%), Shiv (54.2%), Rem (54.1%), Mirage (54.0%) and Pocket (54.0%). His fast-firing gun also chips down Mina, whose low health Mobalytics' Mina guide says suffers against it.

Outlets put him in the middle. Dexerto rated him B tier on Oct 9, 2026 and Mobalytics' expert list C tier on Oct 22, 2026. He is popular: deadlock-api measured him in 26.7% of matches at Phantom and above with a 49.07% win rate (Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026). See the Hero Tier List.

Patch history

• Jun 30, 2026: every ultimate's cooldowns rose by 15%, taking Concussive Combustion from 165s to 190s (Valve).
• Jun 11, 2026: fixes to Afterburn's maximum duration and to Concussive Combustion's cooldown updating (Valve).
• May 22, 2026: bullet size from 3 to 4 and Concussive Combustion T3 stun from +0.75s to +0.9s (Valve).
• Apr 30, 2026: Flame Dash spirit scaling from 1.0 to 0.7, and half damage to objectives (Valve).
• Mar 6, 2026: a rework: Napalm 46 to 40 damage with double the scaling, Flame Dash T3 a second charge, melee building Afterburn and new Afterburn upgrades, Concussive Combustion 150 to 125 damage with a 3.25s delay, a 12 m radius and a 165s cooldown, and reload from 2.491s to 2.25s (Valve).
• Nov 21, 2025: Afterburn builds 10% slower on body shots and Napalm T3's damage amp fell from 20% to 17% (Valve).

Valve's patch notes since Jul 2026 do not name Infernus; all changes are on Patches and Updates.

Lore

26:35 Infernus's in-game biography makes him a creature from another plane with "a supernatural mastery over fire", whose youth was "arson, murder, and evidence disposal"; mellowed now, he works at a bar with good live music (game files, Oct 26, 2026). His gun is "Incendiary Remarks", and Mobalytics names Phil Morris as his voice actor. The setting is on Lore and Setting.

Frequently asked questions

Is Infernus good in Deadlock? Infernus is close to average in Deadlock right now: deadlock-api measured a 49.27% win rate in normal matches from Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026, and Dexerto ranks him B tier (Oct 9, 2026).

What is the best Infernus build in Deadlock? Deadlock players build Infernus around burn and sustain: Improved Spirit, Spirit Lifesteal, Titanic Magazine, Rapid Rounds, Extra Spirit and Toxic Bullets are his most bought items (deadlock-api, Oct 15 to Oct 26, 2026); Mobalytics' Carry Infernus build adds Radiant Regeneration and Escalating Exposure.

How do you counter Infernus in Deadlock? In Deadlock, Dispel Magic removes Infernus's burns, Counterspell avoids his ultimate, and stuns saved for Flame Dash leave him without an escape. Mobalytics names Rat King and Plated Armor as natural counters.

Can you interrupt Infernus's ultimate? No: Concussive Combustion's 3.25s wind-up cannot be interrupted in Deadlock's game files as of Oct 26, 2026, so move out of its 12 m radius or use Counterspell.

Is Infernus good for beginners in Deadlock? Infernus has the easiest complexity rating, 1 of 3, in Deadlock's game files, and TheGamer recommended him for beginners in Aug 2024 alongside Seven and Abrams.

How does Infernus's Afterburn work? Afterburn is Infernus's passive in Deadlock: each bullet builds 8.1% of a burn and each headshot 15.4%, and a full burn deals 14 spirit damage per second for 3s (game files, Oct 26, 2026).

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, Infernus, deadlock-api (measured), Oct 26, 2026
• Minor Update - 06-30-2026, Valve, Jun 30, 2026
• Minor Update - 06-11-2026, Valve, Jun 12, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 05-22-2026, Valve, May 22, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 04-30-2026, Valve, Apr 30, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 03-06-2026, Valve, Mar 6, 2026
• 11-21-2025 Update, Valve, Nov 21, 2025
• Deadlock adds four new heroes, PCGamesN (Jamie Hore), Jan 17, 2025
• Carry Infernus by rina, Mobalytics (rina), Oct 22, 2026
• Deadlock Infernus Guide - Abilities, Overview & More, Mobalytics, undated, read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Mina Guide, Mobalytics, undated, read Oct 26, 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
• Beginner Tips And Tricks For Playing Deadlock, TheGamer (Tanay Sharma), Aug 31, 2024
• The Ultimate Guide To Infernus - Hardcarry 1v6 DPS, Metro Deadlock, Oct 19, 2025 (video)
• The Complete Lore Of Valve's Next Game | Deadlock Story Explained, OhHeckItsTristan, Mar 28, 2026 (video)