Rem →His healing numbers are making fights drag forever
Apply reliable anti-heal such as Healbane, Toxic Bullets, Decay, or Spirit Burn.
Rem can produce large healing totals, so healing reduction directly attacks the reason the fight is not ending.
HealbaneHealbane Counter Guide
Healbane turns your spirit damage into healing reduction, making it a natural counter-buy for ability users facing sustain. Apply it before the enemy gets full value from healing, then use the reduced recovery to help your team secure the kill.
How to Use Healbane
Who should buy Healbane?
Spirit-damage users who can reliably apply healing reduction through their normal damage pattern.
When to activate or apply it
Apply spirit damage before the target gets full value from the sustain exchange. Keep reliable contact through the part of the fight where healing matters.
Against Rem: Apply reliable anti-heal such as Healbane, Toxic Bullets, Decay, or Spirit Burn. Rem can produce large healing totals, so healing reduction directly attacks the reason the fight is not ending.
Watch out for
Choose an anti-heal item you can apply consistently. A spirit-triggered purchase has less purpose if your build cannot reliably deliver that damage to the target.
When to Buy Healbane in Deadlock
Buy it when healing starts deciding trades and your normal abilities can reliably reach the target. It is a practical early anti-heal option without needing to build around repeated weapon hits.
Average purchase: 14.8 minutes
Game-stage ranges are approximate, and average purchase times are a guide rather than a deadline. Buy sooner when this item would change your next fight.
Purchase timing data & context
| Stage | Average purchase |
|---|---|
| Early game · 0–10 min | 8.1 min |
| Mid game · 10–20 min | 14.7 min |
| Late game · 20+ min | 21.4 min |
Best Against
Healing-dependent opponents that your spirit damage can reach.
Rem →
Shiv →Shiv keeps healing or stabilizing through extended fights
Apply Healbane or another anti-heal source before the long trade.
Shiv gets far more value when fights drag on and he can recover around deferred damage, so healing reduction makes the eventual burst much more likely to stick.
Warden →Last Stand sustain is keeping him alive too long
Apply anti-heal before the ultimate fight.
Warden's healing is not the only threat, but reducing it makes surviving and finishing the ultimate window much more realistic.
All 15 recommended hero matchups
These hero guides recommend Healbane. Check the individual matchup for the build, situation, and timing.
AbramsSituational counter option
CalicoSituational counter option
CelesteSituational counter option
GravesSituational counter option
KelvinSituational counter option
Lady GeistSituational counter option
MirageSituational counter option
PaigeSituational counter optionRemPriority situation answer
SevenSituational counter optionShivPriority situation answer
SilverSituational counter option
VictorSituational counter optionWardenPriority situation answer
YamatoSituational counter optionAlternatives & Comparisons
Toxic Bullets
Toxic Bullets gives weapon users anti-heal and percentage-health bleed after repeated shooting. It fits carries who can keep landing shots on a sustain target, with the application built before the enemy's important healing window.
Compare this option →
Decay
Decay gives you a direct way to put healing reduction on a sustain target, alongside current-health damage over time. It suits fights where you need anti-heal applied deliberately before the enemy starts winning the health trade.
Compare this option →
Spirit Burn
Spirit Burn rewards builds that can reach its spirit-damage trigger, adding an explosion, damage over time, and healing reduction. It combines damage scaling with anti-sustain pressure, but you must trigger the effect before the enemy's recovery decides the fight.
Compare this option →