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Heroes

Rem Deadlock Guide: Abilities, Build, Ability Order and Matchups

Rem is Deadlock's sleepy support: he rides on allies, heals them and puts whole teams to sleep. This guide explains every ability, then uses about 9,000 ranked games at Oracle and above since City Never Sleeps to show what strong Rem players build, what they max first and which matchups actually matter.

Written byMax CalderDeadlock journalist

Published5 min read

Two hero cards of Rem, the sleepy Deadlock support in a nightcap

Who is Rem?

In the lore, Rem is a stowaway from the world of dreams, stranded in New York and looking for a way home. The game tags him Helpful, Tiny and zZzzZ, files him as a mystic and rates him Hard to play. In practice he is a support: most of his value goes into the ally he is riding.

Rem's official splash art: the sleepy dream creature in a nightcap holding a candle, tagged Helpful, Tiny and zZzzZ
Rem's official splash art. He was the first hero released by player vote in the Old Gods, New Blood update, on January 26, 2026.

Base stats

Rem's base stats
Health
680
Among the lowest in the game
Damage per second
~61
16 per bullet, 3.8 shots a second
Ammo
13
2 s reload
Falloff range
20-58 m
Full damage up to 20 m
Move speed
7.2 m/s
Stamina charges
3
Rem's weapon, a green candle in a brass holder
Rem's gun is a candle. It fires 16-damage shots, 13 to a magazine, and loses damage past 20 m.

Abilities and upgrades

Abilities and upgrades (tiers cost 1, 2 and 5 points)
  • Pillow Toss25 s cooldownA pillow for 75 spirit damage and heavy knockback. Each hit takes 5 s off your other cooldowns.
    1. 7 s shorter cooldown
    2. +2 m radius, -35% enemy fire rate
    3. +100 damage and a second charge
  • Tag Along40 s cooldownJump onto an ally for 5.5 s. You both heal for 15% of missing health, then regenerate. Your items and self-casts go to the ally.
    1. 8 s shorter cooldown
    2. +35% item range, duration and barriers while napping
    3. +15% and +35 spirit power during and after
  • Lil HelpersHelpers rest 15 s after useSend a Helper to an ally for spirit resist and speed, to a trooper for healing and damage, or to boxes and Sinner's Sacrifices.
    1. +1 Helper, +1.5 m/s move speed
    2. +1 Helper, +15% trooper damage and resist
    3. +1 Helper, +15% spirit resist
  • Naptime200 s cooldownA 1.9 s gaze through walls slows enemies and blocks movement abilities. They sleep for 4 s, then wake for 120 spirit damage.
    1. Waking costs a stamina charge
    2. +3 m radius, +0.75 s sleep
    3. 55 s shorter cooldown, unstoppable while channeling
A Lil Helper, one of Rem's small dream creatures with glowing eyes and a striped hat
A Lil Helper. Rem starts with one and gains another at every upgrade tier, up to four.

Which ability to max first

First ability maxed by Rem players at Oracle and above
Maxed firstShare of gamesWin rate
Tag Along71%47.2%
Pillow Toss17%51.1%
Lil Helpers10%49.3%

Most Rem players max Tag Along first. The one in six who max Pillow Toss first win almost four points more often. That group is only 333 games, so treat it as a strong hint rather than a rule, but the kit explains it: every Pillow Toss hit takes 5 s off your other cooldowns, so a faster Pillow Toss also means more Tag Along and an earlier Naptime.

What high-rank Rem players build

Most bought items on Rem at Oracle and above, in buying order

Share of Oracle-and-above games where the item was bought, and the minute it is usually bought.

The pattern is clear: an extra charge early, then healing and barrier items that work on whoever you are riding. and land on your ally during Tag Along, and both items halve their cooldown when cast on someone else, which is why they are so common. We show how often items are bought rather than their win rates, because late items always look better: they only get bought in games that last long enough.

How to play Rem

  1. Ride your strongest ally. Tag Along heals both of you on landing and your items go to them, so pick the teammate who is already winning their fight.
  2. Hop instead of waiting. Pressing the ability again moves you to another ally and heals them as well, once per ally.
  3. Land Pillow Toss for the cooldowns, not only the damage. Every hit makes your next Tag Along and Naptime come sooner.
  4. Keep your Helpers busy. Boxes and Sinner's Sacrifices in quiet moments, troopers when you leave lane, allies just before a fight.
  5. Cast Naptime from cover. The gaze goes through walls and floors, and sleeping enemies wake once they take 100 damage, so wait until your team can burst them.
  6. Respect ultimate stuns. Being stunned by an ultimate knocks you off your ally.
  7. Use the vents. Rem is small enough to crouch and walk straight into one, and inside he moves 70% faster. Vents lock for 4 seconds after you deal or take damage, so slip in before a fight starts, not halfway through it. Every route is on our Deadlock tunnel map.

Matchups

Rem's win rate against each enemy hero, ranked games since City Never Sleeps

Hardest

  • Rat King4,776 games, mostly before his nerf38.4%
  • Graves2,674 games40.4%
  • Seven2,330 games40.7%
  • Victor1,902 games41.1%
  • Dynamo2,313 games41.8%

Easiest

  • Baba754 games56.0%
  • Grey Talon1,149 games53.8%
  • Paradox2,025 games52.9%
  • Viscous1,051 games52.4%
  • Shiv1,982 games51.9%

Look closer and the hard list is simply the top of our tier list. Once you account for how strong each hero is overall, no matchup costs Rem more than about two points. Rem does not have a real counter; he loses to strong heroes like everyone else. The genuine edges run the other way: against Vyper, Grey Talon and Viscous, Rem wins about three points more than the two heroes' strength would predict.

Is Rem good right now?

Rem's ranked win rate by rank bracket
Average rank in the matchWin rate
Initiate to Mystic45.3%
Ritualist to Oracle45.7%
Phantom to Eternus47.2%

Not on paper. Rem wins 45.7% of ranked games since City Never Sleeps, which puts him in F tier. The number improves as you climb, to 47.2% at Phantom and above, and it has been 47.0% since October 6. He is a hero whose value depends on his team, which is great in a coordinated Duo and harder in random solo queue.

FAQ

Yes, in practice. Valve has no official roles, but Rem's kit heals, shields and buffs allies, and the game files list him as a mystic.

Valve's own description of Rem refers to him as "himself", so Rem is a he.

Most Oracle-and-above players max Tag Along first, but the smaller group that maxes Pillow Toss first wins more often: 51.1% against 47.2% in our sample.

He wins 45.7% of ranked games since City Never Sleeps, one of the lower rates, but 47.2% at Phantom and above. He is strongest with a coordinated partner.

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