Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

As a seasoned Deadlock player with countless hours under my belt, I can confidently say that mastering Infernus is no small feat. His playstyle requires a keen eye for opportunity and a knack for stacking those crucial Afterburn stacks.


In the game called Deadlock, the character known as Infernus is a swift and fiery figure who possesses an array of skills that inflict continuous damage on his adversaries’ health. With the right strategies and team arrangements, this hero can potentially dominate the entire match single-handedly. The key to achieving such success lies in mastering the optimal build for Infernus, ensuring maximum effectiveness.

As a devoted fan, I’d like to share my insights on “Deadlock,” a game that offers an exhilarating single-hero experience with numerous playstyles. This strategic guide, focusing on Infernus, maximizes his abilities, transforming him into one of the most formidable duelists in the game.

Deadlock Infernus Overview & Ability Details

Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

Infernus excels in inflicting sustained damage through his abilities. His main tool of destruction shoots swift projectiles from his fingertips, accumulating burn damage on the target over time. Although his base movement speed might not be top-tier, he can swiftly pursue enemies or escape dangerous situations with his Flame Dash ability.

In the game, Infernus possesses three types of abilities: two active skills, one passive trait, and a powerful ultimate ability which becomes accessible once he accumulates 3,000 Souls. This is an overview of how each ability functions:

Infernus Ability Breakdown

Ability Name Effects Upgrades
Catalyst (1) Spew napalm that slows enemy movement and amplifies the damage Infernus does to them.

  • Damage: 50 (x0.3 Spirit scaling modifier)
  • Damage Amplification: 25%
  • Movement Slow: 40%
  • Debuff Duration: 8s
  • Slow Duration: 4s
  • Cooldown: 24s
  • Charges: 1
  • Charges Cooldown: 6s
1 AP: +1 Charges
2 AP: Infernus gains 15% Lifesteal against victims.
5 AP: +15% Damage Amplification and -40% Heal/Regen.
Flame Dash (2) Move forward at high speed and leave a flame trail that burns enemies. Infernus gains 30% slow resistance for the duration. Hold the Left Mouse Button to dash faster.

  • DPS: 40 (x0.7 Spirit scaling modifier)
  • Dash Speed: 12m/s
  • Max Dash Speed: 20m/s
  • Dash Time: 3s
  • Trail Duration: 4s
  • Trail Width: 4.5m
  • Cooldown: 38s
1 AP: +30% Fire Rate Slow for 6s
2 AP: +45 DPS
5 AP: -20s Cooldown
Afterburn (Passive) Your bullets build up to apply a burning effect on enemies. Infernus’s bullets and abilities will refresh the duration.

  • DPS: 15 (x0.5 Spirit scaling modifier)
  • Burn Duration: 3s
  • Buildup per Bullet: 10%
  • Headshot Buildup: 16%
  • Buildup Decay Time: 15s
1 AP: Victims deal -30% Spirit Damage.
2 AP: +1s Burn Duration
5 AP: +30 DPS
Concussive Combustion (4) Turns you into a living bomb that explodes after a short delay, stunning all enemies in its radius.

  • Damage: 160 (x1 Spirit scaling modifier)
  • Stun Duration: 1.25s
  • Explosion Delay: 3s
  • Explosion Radius: 12m
  • Cooldown: 120s
1 AP: -40s Cooldown
2 AP: +0.5s Stun Duration and +4m Radius
5 AP: +115 Damage and 100% Lifesteal from enemy heroes hit.

Infernus Build Guide (Ability & Item Progression) In Deadlock

Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

In Deadlock, it’s common for Infernus to top the damage charts at the end of the game. During the initial stages, he plays the part of a ganker, darting from one lane to another in search of kills. As the match advances, his playstyle evolves into that of a Damage Per Second (DPS) character, gathering items that boost his survivability and damage output.

Infernus Ability Build

Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

To make the most of Infernus, start by activating your passive ability, Afterburn. Following that, acquire Catalyst and Flame Dash, and aim to get the ultimate move Concussive Combustion when it becomes accessible. Prioritize upgrading all three levels of Afterburn with your AP before investing in anything else. Subsequently, allocate 8 AP into Flame Dash to reach its maximum level. Then, put 3 AP into Catalyst to raise it to level 2. Once that’s achieved, you can start putting points into your ultimate, raising it to the highest level possible. When Concussive Combustion is fully upgraded, allocate one more point to Catalyst to unlock its final upgrade.

Infernus Item Progression

Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

Generally, Infernus prioritizes gathering Vitality items to bolster his health and Lifesteal. Simultaneously, he enhances his damage using Spirit power from Afterburner. Initially, during the laning phase, his damage output is average. Nevertheless, as you equip the right items in your inventory, it becomes exceedingly challenging to engage Infernus in a one-on-one battle.

Here are the items that you want to build on Infernus as the game progresses in Deadlock:

Early Game:

  • Headshot Booster
  • Basic Magazine
  • Infuser
  • Enduring Spirit
  • Soul Shredder Bullets
  • Sprint Boots
  • Healing Rite (Situational)

Headshot Booster is an absolute must on this hero and should be your first purchase from the Curiosity Shop during the laning stage. This one pickup will significantly boost your damage output and harass potential — if you manage to land those headshots. Basic Magazine will help add some extra damage and ammo to your weapon, while Infuser gives you some Lifesteal and extra Spirit Power to beef up the damage from your Afterburn.

Boosting your Spirit Lifesteal even more is the crucial addition of Enduring Spirit. Following this upgrade, you’ll accumulate 1,250 Souls to secure the Soul Shredder Bullets. These bullets inflict a stackable debuff on the target, amplifying your Spirit Damage output and enhancing your Spirit Lifesteal with each hit. Lastly, it would be advantageous to acquire Sprint Boots, as Infernus consistently profits from increased movement speed.

Pick up the
Healing Rite to heal your hero
if your lane opponent keeps harassing you.

Mid-Game:

  • Quicksilver Reload
  • Spirit Lifesteal
  • Toxic Bullets
  • Mystic Vulnerability
  • Duration Extender
  • Suppressor (Situational)
  • Bullet Armor/Spirit Armor (Pick 1)

In the laning stage, consider grabbing the “Quicksilver Reload” as your initial priority item. This acquisition significantly boosts your damage output. For optimal results, link it with your Catalyst ability. When you apply this on an enemy, your weapon will instantly reload, enabling you to continually accumulate Afterburn stacks without any delay.

Following that, the Spirit Lifesteal ability will amplify your Lifesteal percentage, boosting your survivability. Toxic Bullets is a staple in every Infernus build, inflicting a non-fatal bleeding effect on an enemy, slowly depleting their health. When paired with the continuous damage from Afterburn, this item allows Infernus to dish out immense damage over time on a specific target.

In this game, Mystic Vulnerability and Duration Extender are both powerful Spirit items that you’ll want to grab for a boost in your abilities. Lastly, it’s crucial to decide between Bullet Armor or Spirit Armor, based on the primary damage type dished out by the opposing team.

A suppressor could serve as an effective substitute for Quick Silver Reload in situations where your opponent’s team includes numerous weapon damage characters such as Vindicta or Wraith.

Late Game

  • Leech
  • Healing Booster
  • Enduring Speed
  • Fleetfoot
  • Titanic Magazine
  • Improved Bullet Armor/Improved Spirit Armor
  • Shadow Weave (Situational)
  • Inhibitor (Situational)
  • Unstoppable (Situational)
  • Crippling Headshot (Situational)
  • Ricochet (Situational)

As the match progresses into its later stages, the items you should choose with Infernus become more specific to the situation. By now, you’ve already acquired your essential items. In these late game phases, it’s important to pay attention to the damage types and playstyles of the opposing team in order to make strategic decisions about which additional items to add to your inventory.

Ensure you grab Leach and Healing Booster as your initial two items for a strong health regeneration throughout the game. This, along with other Lifesteal items already acquired, will ensure you won’t lose any health battles against opponents on the map. Upgrade your Sprint Boots to Enduring Speed and Basic Magazine to Titanic Magazine. Level up your armor to the next tier as well. Fleetfoot is a valuable item to consider picking up at this stage. Consider selling Headshot Booster for better results.

Once you’ve completed your tasks, it’s time to focus on some situational gear. Shadow Weave is an ideal pick for those playing as a ganker, as it allows for surprise attacks on enemies and swift movements across the map, causing turmoil. Inhibitor, on the other hand, is highly effective against mobile champions due to its passive ability, which slows down the target’s movement speed and reduces their damage output.

If you’re finding it difficult to navigate around an enemy team’s crowd control abilities, consider acquiring Unstoppable. Ricochet causes your bullets to hit two additional nearby targets and allows you to activate your passive effects on them. Purchase this item only when the enemy team tends to cluster together during team fights. Lastly, Crippling Headshot is a powerful late-game selection that can be used as an alternative to Headshot Booster or Fleetfoot if you’re seeking additional damage.

Ideally, you’ll want to
use your Flex Slots
to fill up on extra Vitality items on Infernus.

How To Play Infernus Effectively In Deadlock

Deadlock: How To Play Infernus Effectively

As a gamer, I find that mastering Infernus is all about strategically accumulating his Afterburn stacks to maintain a continuous damage-over-time effect on my targets. Unlike Bebop who excels in instant burst damage, Infernus can gradually chip away at an enemy’s health meter, whether I’m engaging from afar or closing in for a melee.

As we proceed, remember to zero in on your farming area as soon as you reach your lane, so you can grab the first item, Headshot Booster. After acquiring this item, feel free to alternate between securing last hits and harassing your opponents in the lane to stack up.

Initially, the protagonist may not excel in solo kill sprees. For a more effective approach against your opposing team in the lane, consider teaming up with your comrade or lane companion.

As the laning phase concludes, Infernus begins posing a significant danger on the battlefield when he acquires his essential items. The attack strategy is straightforward: from afar, you attack an enemy, dash towards them using Flame Dash, and in mid-dash, you apply Catalyst. Continue attacking to inflict damage, and then use your ultimate to stun or finish off the opponent.

With the Quicksilver Reload ability active on Catalyst, it automatically refills all your ammunition, making it an excellent item to find in the Infernus environment.

As the match progresses, Infernus transforms into a formidable fighter due to the life-stealing items amassed. His capacity to deal persistent, reliable damage to adversaries gives him a significant advantage over tough heroes in the game Deadlock.

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2024-09-10 22:24