Solomon

7:16 Solomon is a Deadlock hero who plays the city like a chessboard: he plants a Bishop that slides through enemies, promotes an ally to a shielded Knight, sends Rooks charging forward and finishes with a Queen that stuns and executes, as Valve's reveal post of Oct 9, 2026 describes him. He joined Deadlock that day, "just in time for National Chess Day", as the third of six heroes released by player vote in the City Never Sleeps Update, after Rat King and Baba. His vote against Baba was the closest of that set, decided by about 0.5% of more than 110 million votes (Valve, Oct 20, 2026); see Hero Voting and the whole roster on Heroes.

Quick facts

Source: the game files as of Oct 26, 2026 (heroes, abilities), current with Valve's Oct 14, 2026 update; win rate from deadlock-api's measured hero stats, 1,566,344 normal-mode matches.

Abilities

Source: the game files as of Oct 26, 2026.

2:35 Setup Bishop is his main damage and zone control. He places a Bishop up to 20 m away that stays indefinitely, with 25% bullet and 50% spirit resist; its Move slides it 12 m (3 seconds between moves), dealing 25 damage (spirit scaling 0.64) and a fading 30% slow for 3 seconds to enemies it passes, after which the diagonal squares around it deal 30 DPS (spirit scaling 0.7), per the game files. T1 adds 5 m of move and 15% slow, T2 adds a second piece and a recast within 8 seconds, and T3 adds a square of range and makes the squares shred 2.5% spirit resist per stack (up to 10).

3:25 Kingside Knight is his support tool. He promotes an ally within 28 m to Knight for 7 seconds, giving 1 stamina, an 80-point barrier (spirit scaling 0.8) and an invulnerable 13 m jump; cast on himself, he becomes King with double the barrier and a 7 m move instead (game files). T1 cuts 8 s of cooldown, T2 adds 80 barrier and 1 stamina, and T3 promotes two allies at once and lets his own King move remove debuffs.

4:51 Rook Battery is his catch. Two Rooks travel 12 m forward, dealing 50 damage (spirit scaling 1.3) and immobilizing enemies for 1 second, bouncing off one wall; activating it again splits them sideways, per the game files. T1 slows the target's fire rate by 25% for 5 seconds, T2 adds damage equal to 5% of current health, and T3 adds a second wall bounce, cuts 12 s of cooldown and adds 0.5 s of immobilize.

6:35 Develop Queen is his ultimate. He places a Queen within 30 m that moves 16 m and has two more moves 5 seconds apart; each move stuns enemies for 1.25 seconds and deals 120 damage (spirit scaling 1.4), and the Queen carries a 50 DPS aura (spirit scaling 0.7) with a 15% slow (game files, Oct 26, 2026). T1 cuts 40 s of cooldown, T2 adds 15% slow and executes heroes below 200 health (+5 per boon), and T3 adds two more moves and a square of range.

How to play

Solomon is a setup caster who controls ground. Mobalytics' Solomon guide lists his strengths as area control and defense once his pieces are up, a strong lane and area crowd control, and his weaknesses as vulnerability to engages, little mobility, setup time and dependence on location. In lane, the Bishop's 12-second cooldown and its lit squares let him pressure troopers and enemies at once; the Laning Guide covers the basics.

7:50 His fights are decided before they start. Because the Bishop stays on the map, he can place it where a fight will happen, slide it through enemies for the slow, follow with Rook Battery to immobilize, and save Develop Queen for when enemies are slowed or grouped. Kingside Knight protects an ally who dives in, or gives himself a barrier and a reposition when he is caught.

His power spikes are his Rook Battery upgrades and his first Queen. Dexerto's Solomon build (Oct 21, 2026) takes Setup Bishop first and puts 5 AP into Rook Battery by mid game; see Ability Points and Leveling.

Builds

8:52 Solomon players build mostly Spirit Items, with mobility from Vitality Items. What they bought between Oct 15 and Oct 25, 2026, as deadlock-api measured it:

Source: deadlock-api, measured item stats for Solomon, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026.

Dexerto's build (Oct 21, 2026) runs Opening Rounds, Long Range, Mystic Expansion and Extra Spirit early; Compress Cooldown, Stamina Mastery, Superior Cooldown, Tankbuster and Magic Carpet in the middle; Vortex Web, Echo Shard, Transcendent Cooldown, Refresher and Divine Barrier late. Item tiers and prices are on Items and Shop and Weapon Items; Builds and Itemization explains how to choose.

Counters and matchups

Diving him before his pieces are set is the standard answer to Solomon. Mobalytics advises respecting the pieces he can move from cover, engaging him hard before he sets up because he lacks mobility, and not fighting him in tight spaces where his pieces cover the whole area. Items that reach him quickly or stop his casts are on Counter Items.

Measured matchups put him below average. Between Oct 15 and Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api measured his lowest win rates against Rat King (38.8%), Graves (39.2%) and Victor (41.6%), and his highest against Mirage (52.4%), Pocket (51.9%) and The Doorman (51.8%). Rat King and Graves top nearly every hero's worst list in that window because they win more against everyone.

Patch history

No Valve patch note has changed Solomon since he was added: none from his release on Oct 9, 2026 through the Oct 14, 2026 update touched him; the numbers on this page are his release values as the game files list them on Oct 26, 2026. All of Valve's updates are listed on Patches and Updates.

Lore

Solomon is a chess player who, in a fast world, is content to sit and listen; at his table he plays tourists, criminals and titans of industry, for whom chess is "an equalizer", according to his biography in the game files. Dexerto (Oct 11, 2026) found that his board doubles as his ammo counter: magazine sizes from 8 to 32 pieces each show a different position from a famous game, such as the 1851 Immortal Game, Ashley vs Waitzkin (1999) and Carlsen vs Nakamura's double Bongcloud of 2021. The wider setting is on Lore and Setting.

Frequently asked questions

When was Solomon added to Deadlock? Valve added Solomon to Deadlock on Oct 9, 2026, the third hero of the City Never Sleeps update, chosen by player vote (Valve).

Is Solomon good in Deadlock? In Deadlock, Solomon had a 46.41% win rate between Oct 15 and Oct 25, 2026, 32nd of 44 heroes in deadlock-api's measurement, and appeared in 31.15% of matches at Phantom 1 and above. Mobalytics' expert list ranked him B (Oct 22, 2026).

What is the best Solomon build in Deadlock? Deadlock's Solomon players most often buy Extra Spirit and Opening Rounds in lane, Superior Cooldown and Compress Cooldown mid game, and Boundless Spirit late, as deadlock-api measured for Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026.

What does Solomon's ultimate do in Deadlock? Develop Queen places a Queen that moves up to three times, each move stunning enemies for 1.25 seconds and dealing 120 damage, with a damaging, slowing aura; its cooldown is 210 seconds in Deadlock's game files as of Oct 26, 2026.

How do you counter Solomon in Deadlock? Engage him before he sets up his pieces, since he has little mobility, and avoid fighting him in tight spaces, as Mobalytics advises for Deadlock.

Sources

• Make Your Move., Valve, Oct 9, 2026
• Shh... This Won't Hurt a Bit., Valve, Oct 20, 2026
• Minor Update - 10-14-2026, Valve, Oct 15, 2026
• Heroes (data read from the game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Items and abilities (data read from the game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, normal-mode matches Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, Phantom 1+ average badge, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero counter stats, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Item stats for Solomon, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026 (measured), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Solomon Guide, Mobalytics, undated, read Oct 26, 2026
• Best Solomon build in Deadlock, Dexerto (Cande Maldonado), Oct 21, 2026
• Deadlock's new hero secretly references famous chess matches, Dexerto (Callum Doyle), Oct 11, 2026
• Expert Deadlock Tier List, Mobalytics (RinaVX), Oct 22, 2026
• MEET SOLOMON! Deadlock New Hero Breakdown, DuckFilms, Oct 9, 2026 (video)