Deadlock: Best Haze build

Deadlock is, essentially, a fusion of shooter and MOBA concepts. And if you’re looking for a character who can really shoot, Haze is a top contender.

This operative from the Sandman Division puts foes to sleep with daggers and bullets alike. Her core kit revolves around positioning, movement, finding the right moment, and unloading a hailstorm of rounds. Here’s our best build for Haze in Deadlock.

(Before we get started, a quick shoutout to Chrome, whose Haze build isn’t just a fantastic primer on this hero, but one of the best early examples of quality in-game Deadlock guides. Their work was foundational for putting our own guide together, and they’re worth following if you’re looking for in-game options.)

Best Haze ability point order

First, let’s take a brief look at Haze’s abilities. They’re fairly straightforward and give us a good outline of what Haze’s main goal in the game should be: doing bullet damage.

1. Sleep Dagger: Throw a dagger that damages and sleeps the target. Sleeping targets wake up shortly after being damaged. Throwing a Dagger does not break your invisibility. Sleep Dagger does not interrupt channeling abilities. (25 sec. cooldown, 0.2 sec. minimum sleep time, 3 second sleep duration)
2. Smoke Bomb: Fade out of sight, becoming invisible and gaining sprint speed. Attacking removes invisibility. Close enemies can see through your invisibility. (35 sec. cooldown, 1.5 sec. fade time, 18m spot radius, +2m/s invis sprint speed)
3. Fixation: Shooting a target increases your bullet damage on that target. Gain one stack per bullet hit, two if the hit is a headshot. (+0.2 per stack Weapon Damage, 30 max stacks, 6 sec. duration)
4. Bullet Dance: Enter a flurry, firing your weapon at nearby enemies with perfect accuracy. During the flurry, Haze gains a fire rate bonus and will evade some of the bullets shot at her. (130 sec. cooldown, 3 sec. duration, 15m radius, +25% fire rate, 1 targets hit per shot, +2 weapon damage, 50% evasion chance)

Some of these do scale with certain factors, like Spirit Power; for example, the duration of Bullet Dance and the invisibility duration of Smoke Bomb both scale up with Spirit Power. We’ll get into our items in a moment, but if you’re following this build, you’ll want to max Fixation first, with one point each in Dagger and Smoke Bomb early and one point in Bullet Dance when you first can.

After that, priority depends on what you need: I prefer maximizing Dagger next, followed by Bullet Dance and Smoke Bomb. Other guides may prioritize your utility, like Smoke Bomb, faster. Experiment with what works best for you and what you feel you need in a given match.

Best Haze build order

Here’s a fairly standard build order for Haze in Deadlock, and as you’ll notice, we’re focusing on bullet damage and fire rate. Haze can fire a lot of bullets in a short amount of time, so mixing on-hit procs, fire rate upgrades, and enhancements that amplify her burst window will be a recipe for success.

First buys: Headshot Booster, Ammo Scavenger, Rapid Rounds, Extra Stamina

These are core building blocks for making your life in lane easier. Headshot Booster helps with last-hitting, Ammo Scav cuts down on time spent reloading, and Rapid Rounds is an obvious early pick-up for any early scraps.

Extra Stamina is a general quality-of-life purchase and honestly worth considering on just about any hero. Healing Rite is an optional choice if your lane phase is going poorly and you need some regen.

Second buys: Active Reload, Quicksilver Reload, Bullet Resist Shredder, Bullet Lifesteal

Credit to Chrome for the incredible synergy of Active Reload and Haze. The additional fire rate and bullet lifesteal are lifesavers as fights start to pick up. We also have consistent Bullet Lifesteal on the table here, as well as a Bullet Resist Shredder to whittle enemies down fast. Put your Quicksilver Reload on your Sleeping Dagger so you can get the instant reload and launch right into a burst of damage.

If you’re roaming a lot at this point, it’s also a good time to look at investing in some Sprint Boots or even upgrading further to Enduring Speed. Haze can make for an effective Urn courier in a pinch.

Third buys: Tesla Bullets, Swift Striker, Burst Fire, Withering Whip

Tesla Bullets are an essential piece of the puzzle for any Haze build in Deadlock. It gives her additional damage and fire rate, makes it easy for her to handle lane control, and also procs during Bullet Dance. Swift Striker and Burst Fire amplify those strengths even further.

Withering Whip is another interesting one, and if you’re not comfortable with Active items yet, it can feel odd. It’s a great option for increasing Haze’s burst potential though, and keep in mind: Whip doesn’t do damage, so it won’t wake up someone who’s been Sleep Daggered.

Fourth buys: Lucky Shot, Ricochet, Ethereal Shift

At this point, you want all three items, but you should prioritize based on what you need. Is a Bullet Dance in the middle of the enemy team your primary contribution? Consider Ricochet. If you’ve been mostly solo-targeting enemies, go for Lucky Shot first. And if you’re getting hard-targeted, Ethereal Shift can be a good answer.

Finishing out your build

Now you have your core items, and it’s all about what you need from here on out. Options like Siphon Bullets or Silencer can further improve your damage, while Unstoppable and Vampiric Burst help you live longer in fights. Some additional Vitality items, like Bullet and Spirit Armor, can help here, too. Or get experimental, like a Refresher / Diviner’s Kevlar build for maximum Bullet Dancing. The world’s your oyster.

How to play Haze in Deadlock

With this build, you’ll be focused mainly on positioning and shooting. Early on, your lane phase won’t be as harass-heavy as others, but items can quickly ramp Haze into a fighter. Cloak yourself, then look for openings to Dagger and burst fire someone down. In big fights, Bullet Dance can make a huge swing, so don’t get choice paralysis and hold it; better to drop it for one kill than hold it for none.

Later in the game, you’ll be one of the highest-damage characters around, but selecting targets will be key. Look for core characters who are typically low health and don’t have solid escape plans: Vindicta, Grey Talon, Shiv, and so on. Others, like Dynamo or Pocket, will have options for running after the sleep wears off. Time your Bullet Dances in fights to maximize output and when the enemy is near each other, so that your Tesla and Ricochet procs do the most they can.

It can be tricky to learn at first, but Haze will probably become a fast favorite if you can learn her playstyle and kit.