Yamato

0:39 Yamato is a Deadlock assassin who fights with a katana: she charges Power Slash for a long-range cut, grapples onto enemies with Flying Slash, heals with Crimson Slash, and turns into a shadow with her ultimate, which refreshes her abilities and makes them 60% faster. She is one of the original heroes, in the game before Valve's Aug 23, 2024 reveal (PCGamesN counted 22 heroes before Jan 17, 2025), and one of the 44 Heroes in the invite-only playtest on Oct 26, 2026. Dot Esports (Aug 25, 2026) counts her among the hardest heroes to play, and both Dexerto (Oct 9, 2026) and Mobalytics' expert list (Oct 22, 2026) rank her S tier.

Quick facts

Source: the game files as deadlock-api republishes them (heroes and weapons), as of Oct 26, 2026; win rates measured by deadlock-api and its Phantom 1+ sample.

Abilities

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

Power Slash is channeled for up to 1.4s with 60% bullet resist, then released as a 22m slash for 145 damage at full charge (spirit scaling 1.85); released early it deals 30% or 50% of that, per the game files. Since Valve's Mar 6, 2026 update holding it no longer fires it by itself, and she can parry in the middle of the channel to fire it and parry at once. T1 slows 32% for 3s, T2 cuts 4s, and T3 adds 8m, 150 damage and 0.5 scaling.

Flying Slash (called Flying Strike until Mar 6, 2026) grapples her to an enemy within 26m and strikes with light melee damage (scaling 1.2), slowing them 40% for 2.5s. T1 cuts 18s, T2 gives 35 Spirit Power for 6s, and T3 adds 15m of range, a second charge (5s apart) and, with alt-cast, grappling to allies.

Crimson Slash cuts in 13m for 55 damage (spirit scaling 0.37) and lowers the targets' fire rate by 30% for 4s; if it hits a hero she heals 55 (spirit scaling 1.04). T1 adds 30% melee damage for 4s, T2 adds 6% of her max health to the heal, and T3 cuts 10s and raises both scalings.

Shadow Transformation starts with a 1.5s invincible transformation; then for 5s her abilities are refreshed and 60% faster, and she is immune to debuffs with 30% more bullet and spirit resist. Each hero kill heals 15% of her max health and adds 2s. T1 adds 7 weapon damage, T2 adds 4 m/s and cuts 20s, and T3 adds 3s and 30% resists. Valve's Mar 6, 2026 notes set its cooldown at 130s with a 25s T2; the game files on Oct 26, 2026 show 150s and 20s.

How to play

13:20 Yamato has one of the highest skill ceilings. Mobalytics' Yamato guide lists top-tier chasing mobility, dueling and split pushing as her strengths, and names her weaknesses: squishy early, a long Power Slash charge, and weak without her ultimate. Her 8.2 m/s base speed is tied for the fastest in the game files, with Haze and Holliday.

In lane, Power Slash pokes. A full charge hits from 22m and the channel gives her 60% bullet resist, so she can wind it up under fire. Released early, it still deals 30% or 50% of its damage.

7:32 Her kit leans on melee. Flying Slash deals light melee damage, and the items bought most often on her (below) include Melee Lifesteal, Spirit Strike and Lifestrike, which trigger on melee hits. Grapple in, Crimson Slash to heal and cut the enemy's fire rate, then melee.

12:44 The ultimate wins fights. Shadow Transformation refreshes every ability, so cast Power Slash, Flying Slash and Crimson Slash first, then transform and cast them again at 60% faster; each kill adds 2s. The first 1.5s are the invincible transformation itself, so time it before the enemy's burst lands. See Movement and Combat and Laning Guide.

Builds

19:27 Yamato's players build melee and spirit. Deadlock-api's measured item stats for her matches from Oct 15 to 25, 2026 show the most bought:

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

Refresher, which resets every cooldown, won 59% of the matches in which it was bought late, deadlock-api measured; with Shadow Transformation's own refresh it gives her a second full rotation. Restorative Shot and Stalker are Weapon Items; Melee Lifesteal, Healing Booster and Lifestrike are Vitality Items; Spirit Strike, Spirit Snatch, Radiant Regeneration, Boundless Spirit, Superior Cooldown and Refresher are Spirit Items.

Dexerto's Yamato build (Mar 9, 2026) goes Restorative Shot, Extra Spirit, Improved Spirit, Extra Health and Mystic Burst early; Healbane, Counterspell, Point Blank, Compress Cooldown and Superior Cooldown in the middle; Witchmail, Phantom Strike, Colossus, Spellbreaker and Diviner's Kevlar late. Its ability order: Power Slash, Crimson Slash, then Flying Slash to 5 AP. More on Items and Shop and Builds and Itemization.

Counters and matchups

8:17 Dodging and line of sight counter Yamato. Mobalytics advises saving stamina to dodge Power Slash in lane, not dueling her alone when she is ahead, and breaking line of sight during the ultimate's wind-up so she cannot Flying Slash to you. Mobalytics' Street Brawl guide (Aug 27, 2026) names Cursed Relic against her. More on Counter Items.

Her measured matchups: deadlock-api's counter stats (Oct 15 to 25, 2026) show her worst as Graves (39.2%), Paige (41.6%) and Seven (42.6%), and her best as Mirage (53.9%), Pocket (53.0%) and Paradox (52.7%). Graves and Paige beat almost every hero that week, so read those numbers against Yamato's own average.

Tier lists and win rate

Outlets rate Yamato higher than her measured win rate. She won 47.76% of normal-mode matches in all ranks, 28th of 44, while appearing in 25.87% of them; at Phantom 1 and above she won 51.71% in 30.50%, deadlock-api measured over Oct 15 to 25, 2026. Dexerto's Oct 9, 2026 tier list and Mobalytics' expert list (RinaVX, Oct 22, 2026) both put her in S tier. TheGamer (Aug 31, 2024) called her hard to learn, so she is not on most lists for new players; see Best Heroes for Beginners and Hero Tier List.

Patch history

• Sep 16, 2026: Crimson Slash T3 also raises the heal's spirit scaling by 0.4; Flying Slash's light melee scaling rose from 1.0 to 1.2 (Valve).
• Jul 28, 2026: Flying Slash T2 cut from +40 to +35 Spirit Power and T3 from +2 charges to +1, with 5s between charges (Valve).
• Jul 9, 2026: Flying Slash's range cut from 28m to 26m; T3's ally grapple now needs alt-cast (Valve).
• May 31, 2026: Power Slash's scaling cut from 2.1 to 1.85; Flying Slash's range from 30m to 28m (Valve).
• May 22, 2026: Power Slash's post-cast time cut from 0.4s to 0.2s and its scaling raised to 2.1; Flying Slash's range raised to 30m; Shadow Transformation T1 from +5 to +7 weapon damage (Valve).
• Mar 6, 2026: a rework: Power Slash no longer fires by itself and can be parried out of; Flying Strike became Flying Slash, light melee damage on a 36s cooldown; Crimson Slash cuts fire rate 30%; Shadow Transformation's cooldown rose from 110s to 130s (Valve).
• Nov 21, 2025: base regen cut from 2.0 to 1.0; Crimson Slash's cooldown raised from 11.5s to 15s (Valve).

Every change is on Patches and Updates.

Lore

Yamato is a crime boss's heir. The game's own hero lore, as deadlock-api republishes it, says she was born into a crime boss's family and led the syndicate Seventh Moon with her brother until a revolt, in which he died protecting her, and that she escaped to America; that passage was read in the game's Japanese text, as the English text was not available. Her gun is named Sister's Lament. The game's playstyle text says her precise strikes decimate rivals but leave her exposed, so every shot must count. More on Lore and Setting.

Frequently asked questions

Is Yamato good in Deadlock? Deadlock outlets rank Yamato highly: Dexerto (Oct 9, 2026) and Mobalytics' expert list (Oct 22, 2026) put her in S tier, though deadlock-api measured a 47.76% win rate in all ranks from Oct 15 to 25, 2026.

Is Yamato hard to play in Deadlock? Yes: Deadlock's game files rate Yamato's complexity 3 of 3, and Dot Esports (Aug 25, 2026) lists her among the hardest heroes to play.

What is the best Yamato build in Deadlock? Deadlock players most often open Yamato with Restorative Shot, Melee Lifesteal and Spirit Strike, then Spirit Snatch and Lifestrike, per deadlock-api's measured item stats for Oct 15 to 25, 2026.

How do you counter Yamato in Deadlock? In Deadlock, save stamina to dodge Yamato's Power Slash, avoid dueling her alone when she is ahead, and break line of sight during Shadow Transformation's wind-up, as Mobalytics advises.

What does Shadow Transformation do in Deadlock? In Deadlock, Yamato's Shadow Transformation refreshes her abilities and makes them 60% faster for 5s, with debuff immunity and 30% more resist, after a 1.5s invincible transformation, per the game files as of Oct 26, 2026.

Is Yamato an original Deadlock hero? Yes: Yamato was in Deadlock before Valve's Aug 23, 2024 reveal, one of the 22 heroes PCGamesN counted before Jan 17, 2025.

Sources

• Deadlock adds four new heroes, PCGamesN (Jamie Hore), Jan 17, 2025
• Beginner Tips And Tricks For Playing Deadlock, TheGamer (Tanay Sharma), Aug 31, 2024
• 11-21-2025 Update, Valve, Nov 21, 2025
• Gameplay Update - 03-06-2026, Valve, Mar 6, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 05-22-2026, Valve, May 22, 2026
• Minor Update - 05-31-2026, Valve, May 31, 2026
• Minor Update - 07-09-2026, Valve, Jul 9, 2026
• Minor Update - 07-28-2026, Valve, Jul 28, 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
• 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 Yamato, Oct 15 to Oct 25, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Yamato Guide, Mobalytics, read Oct 26, 2026
• Deadlock Street Brawl Mode Explained, Mobalytics (dxvis), Aug 27, 2026
• Best Yamato 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 tier list: Best characters and heroes ranked, Dot Esports (Elizbar Ramazashvili), Aug 25, 2026
• How To ACTUALLY Play Yamato // Deadlock Guide, FredTheFinch, Oct 27, 2025 (video)