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Heroes

Silver Deadlock Guide: Abilities, Build, Lycan Curse and Counters

Silver is Deadlock's werewolf brawler: a short-range shotgun, a kick that opens fights and a transformation that can turn a losing one around. This guide covers her kit, then uses about 7,800 ranked games at Oracle and above since City Never Sleeps to show how strong Silver players build her and which heroes actually counter her.

Written byMax CalderDeadlock journalist

Published5 min read

Two hero cards of Silver, Deadlock's werewolf brawler

Who is Silver?

Silver is filed as a brawler and rated Easy in the game files, tagged Feral, Hot Mess and Transformation. Everything in her kit pulls her into close range: a shotgun that falls off fast, a kick, a bola that stops targets running, and Lycan Curse, a werewolf form that heals her and replaces her abilities while it lasts.

Base stats

Silver's base stats
Health
830
Damage per second
~42
7 pellets of 5.1 per shot
Shells per magazine
7
Falloff range
17-42 m
Full damage up to 17 m
Move speed
6.7 m/s
Health regen
2.5/s

Abilities and upgrades

Abilities and upgrades (tiers cost 1, 2 and 5 points)
  • Slam Fire25 s cooldownInstantly reload. Your next 3 shots fire much faster and add 2.5% of the target's current health as damage, at the cost of accuracy.
    1. +15% base weapon damage
    2. 10 s shorter cooldown
    3. Land every shot for +7% current health damage
  • Boot Kick21 s cooldownDash and kick the first enemy hit, pushing yourself off and marking them. Shooting the mark adds spirit damage.
    1. 6 s shorter cooldown
    2. Kicking a hero restores 2 stamina
    3. +80 damage, kicked enemies deal 35% less for 5 s
  • Entangling Bola23 s cooldownA bola for 40 spirit damage that slows and blocks movement abilities and stamina for 1.5 s.
    1. Stronger slow
    2. 8 s shorter cooldown
    3. +0.75 s and bounces to 2 more targets
  • Lycan Curse60 s cooldownDealing damage fills a bloodlust bar, faster at low health. Transform for 15 s: more health, a 30% missing-health heal, stacking fire rate and wolf abilities.
    1. +15% bullet and spirit resist
    2. +4 m/s move speed, +200 health
    3. Hero kills refresh abilities and duration

When the bloodlust bar fills, Lycan Curse casts itself. That makes it a comeback button as well as a fight starter: the lower your health, the faster it charges.

Which ability to max first

First ability maxed by Silver players at Oracle and above
Maxed firstShare of gamesWin rate
Lycan Curse81%48.7%
Boot Kick18%46.6%

Silver is one of the few heroes whose ultimate gets maxed first. With a 60 s cooldown, a heal on transform and a kill reset at the last tier, Lycan Curse is up in almost every fight, and the players who max it first also win more. Almost everyone still takes the first upgrade point in Slam Fire for the extra weapon damage in lane.

What high-rank Silver players build

Most bought items on Silver 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.

Sustain first, then reach. and are close to universal, and come in the mid game, and the late slots go to and . Those two are not random: they answer the crowd control that beats Silver, as the matchups below show.

How to play Silver

  1. Fight inside 17 m. Past that, your shotgun loses damage quickly.
  2. Open with Boot Kick, then shoot the mark. Kicking a hero at Tier 2 also gives back two stamina, so you can chase straight away.
  3. Throw Entangling Bola before the kill, not after. It blocks dashes and stamina, so the target cannot leave your range.
  4. Save Slam Fire for tanky targets. Its bonus damage scales with the target's current health.
  5. Do not panic at low health. Bloodlust builds faster when you are hurt, and the transformation heals 30% of your missing health.

Matchups and counters

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

Hardest

  • Rat King3,148 games, mostly before his nerf38.8%
  • Graves1,453 games39.4%
  • Paige1,805 games41.0%
  • Ivy1,111 games41.0%
  • Dynamo1,155 games41.1%

Easiest

  • Baba572 games57.5%
  • Grey Talon647 games54.9%
  • Mirage448 games53.3%
  • The Doorman739 games53.2%
  • Warden448 games53.1%

Unlike most heroes, Silver has counters that hold up after you account for how strong each hero is overall. Dynamo, Graves and Ivy beat her by about three points more than their strength explains. All three lock targets in place: Singularity, Grasping Hands, Stone Form and Entangling Thorns stop a hero who has to walk up to you. That is exactly what and are for.

Is Silver good right now?

Silver's ranked win rate by rank bracket
Average rank in the matchWin rate
Initiate to Mystic46.7%
Ritualist to Oracle48.2%
Phantom to Eternus48.2%

Silver wins 47.4% of ranked games since City Never Sleeps, which puts her in D tier on our tier list. She does better from Ritualist up, at 48.2%, where players use the kick and bola together. Rated Easy and built around simple close-range fights, she is still a fine hero to learn brawling on.

FAQ

Lycan Curse. 81% of Silver players at Oracle and above max it first and they win more often than those who max Boot Kick. Put your first point into Slam Fire.

Dealing damage fills a bloodlust bar that charges faster at low health. Lycan Curse casts itself when the bar is full, or you can cast it yourself, for 15 s of extra health, a heal and wolf abilities.

Heroes with stuns and immobilizes, especially Dynamo, Graves and Ivy, who beat her more than their overall strength explains. Silver players answer with and .

High-rank players open with , and , add and in the mid game, and finish with and .

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