Vyper

0:00 Vyper is a Deadlock assassin who slides around fights spraying a rapid-fire gun that never runs dry while she slides, then finishes weakened targets with poison and a petrifying bola. Valve added her to normal matchmaking on Jan 17, 2025, together with Holliday, Calico and The Magnificent Sinclair, and introduced her in its post that day with a question: "Did you know that when you slide your gun has infinite ammo? Vyper does." She is one of the 44 Heroes in the invite-only playtest on Oct 26, 2026.

Quick facts

Source: the game files as deadlock-api republishes them (heroes and weapons), as of Oct 26, 2026, after Valve's Oct 14, 2026 patch; win rates measured by deadlock-api over 1,566,344 normal-mode matches and its Phantom 1+ sample.

Abilities

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

Screwjab Dagger throws one of two daggers (4s apart) for 50 spirit damage (spirit scaling 0.8) and a 28% slow for 2s, per the game files. More daggers on the same target within 10s add 25 damage and 12% slow each, up to 3 stacks. T1 adds a charge; T2 strips 8% bullet resist plus 6% per stack; T3 adds 2 max stacks, cuts the charge delay from 4s to 2s and refunds 55% of the charge cooldown on a hit, the last two from Valve's Jun 30, 2026 update.

Lethal Venom injects a target within 10m (plus 0.2m per boon); after 3s it deals 20 to 140 damage, the most when the target is at 30% health or less, per the game files. It is a finisher, not an opener: cast it on someone already hurt. T1 adds 31.5 max damage, T2 cuts healing by 40% and the cooldown by 12s, and T3 lets her bullets build up venom.

Slither is a passive: 15% more slide distance, sliding uphill and sharper turns mid-slide. Because her gun has infinite ammo while sliding, Slither is her reload and her escape at once. T1 adds 20% slide distance, T2 adds 2 stamina, and T3 gives a 180 barrier (spirit scaling 0.8) for 4s when she slides, on an 8s cooldown; Valve's Sep 16, 2026 update cut that barrier from 5s to 4s.

1:36 Petrifying Bola explodes in a 12m area for 50 damage and a 40% slow for 1.5s; a direct hit deals 180 (spirit scaling 2.046) and petrifies the target for 2.2s, during which they block up to 200 damage but cannot act, per the game files. T1 adds 49.5 petrify damage, T2 cuts 20s, and T3 adds 1s and petrifies everyone in the area.

How to play

Vyper wins short trades in lane. Mobalytics' Vyper guide calls her gun one of the highest-DPS in the game, made for rushing down solo laners, with the stamina to dodge back out: she is one of only four heroes with 4 stamina in the game files, Ivy and Celeste among them. Her gun's base 94.0 DPS in the game files is the core of her damage. Slide in, empty the magazine while sliding, and step back out before the other laner can answer.

Daggers set up kills. Two Screwjab Daggers stack slow and spirit damage, and Lethal Venom then lands when the target's health is low enough to make it hit hard. Pair it with a laner who can hold someone in place, and the 3s delay becomes a near-certain kill.

2:14 Farm between fights, then look for picks. Her weak points, by Mobalytics' account, are short range, a reload that depends on stamina and sliding, and crowd control: a stun or a knock-up ends her slide and her damage at once. Fight where she can slide on flat ground and reach a target in one dash.

3:58 The ultimate is her team-fight tool. Since Valve's Aug 12, 2026 update widened Petrifying Bola from 8m to 12m, its slow covers a group; land the direct hit on the enemy carry, then turn your gun on the others while the stone target waits out 2.2s. See Laning Guide and Movement and Combat for the slide and dash basics she depends on.

Builds

Players build her gun first. Deadlock-api's measured item stats for Vyper's matches from Oct 15 to 25, 2026 show these as the most bought:

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

6:02 Most of these are Weapon Items: Close Quarters and Rapid Rounds cost 800 souls, Burst Fire 3,200, Ricochet and Silencer 6,400, per the game's price table. Silencer stands out: bought late in 18% of her matches, it won 57% of them, deadlock-api measured. Bullet Lifesteal and Vampiric Burst are Vitality Items; Extra Spirit, Quicksilver Reload and Mercurial Magnum are Spirit Items.

Dexerto's Vyper build (Mar 9, 2026, before many of 2026's patches) takes a more spirit-leaning path: Improved Spirit, Mystic Burst, Quicksilver Reload, Bullet Resist Shredder and Rapid Rounds early; Enduring Speed, Tesla Bullets, Toxic Bullets, Bullet Lifesteal and Mercurial Magnum in the middle; Frenzy, Spellbreaker, Witchmail, Spirit Resilience and Enchanter's Emblem late. Its ability order: Slither is set at level 1, then Screwjab Dagger and Lethal Venom. The shop's rules are on Items and Shop and Builds and Itemization.

Counters and matchups

Crowd control and fire-rate debuffs counter Vyper. Mobalytics names Disarming Hex, Juggernaut, Hunter's Aura and Suppressor, all of which cut her gun's damage, and says knock-ups and slows stop her slides; kill her before her items come online and force big team fights, where she cannot isolate anyone. More on Counter Items.

Her measured matchups are hardest against the strongest heroes of the patch. Deadlock-api's counter stats (Oct 15 to 25, 2026) show her winning 37.7% against Graves, 41.1% against Rat King and 41.2% against Paige, but those three beat almost everyone that week. Her best matchups were Pocket (52.6%), Paradox (51.3%) and Viscous (51.1%).

Tier lists and win rate

Vyper is a high-rank hero. In all ranks she won 46.24% of her matches, 34th of 44, but at Phantom 1 and above she won 53.27%, 7th, deadlock-api measured over Oct 15 to 25, 2026. Outlets disagree on her: Dexerto's Oct 9, 2026 tier list put her in C tier, while Mobalytics' expert list (RinaVX, Oct 22, 2026) put her in A. See Hero Tier List.

Patch history

• Sep 16, 2026: Slither T3 barrier lasts 4s instead of 5s; Petrifying Bola's cooldown rose from 105s to 115s (Valve).
• Aug 12, 2026: Petrifying Bola's radius grew from 8m to 12m and its petrify from 2s to 2.2s (Valve).
• Jun 30, 2026: Screwjab Dagger T3 also cuts the charge delay from 4s to 2s; Slither T3's spirit scaling rose from 0.6 to 0.8 (Valve).
• May 22, 2026: Screwjab Dagger T2's bullet resist per stack went from -5% to -6%, and T3 adds 2 max stacks (Valve).
• Apr 30, 2026: bullet damage growth cut by 10%; Lethal Venom's cooldown rose from 24s to 28s, its T2 from -8s to -12s, and its range fell from 15m to 10m, now growing with boons (Valve).
• Nov 21, 2025: health per boon raised from 33 to 35 (Valve).

Every change is on Patches and Updates.

Lore

Vyper is a jailbreaker. The game's hero text, as deadlock-api republishes it, says she is bad at not getting caught but even better at breaking out, and has done time in every major prison in the tri-state area. Before her release a hero with her kit was playable in Hero Labs under a temporary name; Valve's Jan 17, 2025 post warned that the four new heroes had "a much higher degree of temporary art than usual". More on Lore and Setting.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vyper good in Deadlock? In Deadlock, Vyper won 46.24% of normal-mode matches in all ranks but 53.27% at Phantom 1 and above from Oct 15 to 25, 2026, as deadlock-api measured, so she rewards skilled players more than most.

What is the best Vyper build in Deadlock? Deadlock players most often open Vyper with Close Quarters, Rapid Rounds and Extra Spirit, then Burst Fire and Quicksilver Reload, per deadlock-api's measured item stats for Oct 15 to 25, 2026.

How do you counter Vyper in Deadlock? In Deadlock, stuns, knock-ups and slows stop Vyper's slides, and Mobalytics recommends Disarming Hex, Juggernaut, Hunter's Aura and Suppressor against her gun.

Does Vyper have infinite ammo in Deadlock? Yes: in Deadlock, Vyper's gun has infinite ammo while she slides, as Valve's Jan 17, 2025 post says, which is why her Slither passive matters so much.

When was Vyper added to Deadlock? Valve added Vyper to Deadlock's normal matchmaking on Jan 17, 2025, along with Holliday, Calico and The Magnificent Sinclair, in its post that day.

What does Lethal Venom do in Deadlock? In Deadlock, Vyper's Lethal Venom injects a target and, after 3s, deals 20 to 140 damage, more the lower their health, with a 28s cooldown in the game files as of Oct 26, 2026.

Sources

• Holliday, Vyper, Calico, and The Magnificent Sinclair, Valve, Jan 17, 2025
• 11-21-2025 Update, Valve, Nov 21, 2025
• Gameplay Update - 04-30-2026, Valve, Apr 30, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 05-22-2026, Valve, May 22, 2026
• Minor Update - 06-30-2026, Valve, Jun 30, 2026
• Minor Update - 08-12-2026, Valve, Aug 12, 2026
• Minor Update - 09-16-2026, Valve, Sep 16, 2026
• Heroes (game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Items and abilities (game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Generic data: item prices (game files), deadlock-api, read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero stats, Phantom 1+, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), read Oct 26, 2026
• Hero counter stats, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), read Oct 26, 2026
• Item stats for Vyper, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Vyper Guide, Mobalytics, read Oct 26, 2026
• Best Vyper build in Deadlock, Dexerto (Cande Maldonado), Mar 9, 2026
• Deadlock Tier List: Best characters to pick in the 2026 meta, Dexerto, Oct 9, 2026
• Expert Deadlock Tier List, Mobalytics (RinaVX), Oct 22, 2026
• Deadlock Vyper Ability Guide, How To Play, And Item Breakdown, FiveKWatts, Aug 29, 2025 (video)