Bebop →His airborne ultimate is zoning the whole fight
Cast Knockdown while he is channeling in the air.
The stun can interrupt the channel and the anti-air bonus makes airborne targets easier to punish.
KnockdownKnockdown Counter Guide
Knockdown gives your team a delayed stun to punish airborne targets and interrupt vulnerable channels. The delay is the key detail: cast while there is still time for the stun to land, and have damage ready when the target is controlled.
How to Use Knockdown
Who should buy Knockdown?
Players who need to ground an aerial target or interrupt a vulnerable commitment with team follow-up.
When to activate or apply it
Account for the delay and cast while the target can still be affected. Against a channel, track whether protective immunity has already changed the interrupt opportunity.
Against Bebop: Cast Knockdown while he is channeling in the air. The stun can interrupt the channel and the anti-air bonus makes airborne targets easier to punish.
Watch out for
The delayed stun is not an instant response. Protected channels and movement interactions need matchup-specific timing.
When to Buy Knockdown in Deadlock
Buy it when a flying enemy or interruptible channel is repeatedly taking over fights. Confirm your team can follow up and that immunity will not protect the target when the delayed stun arrives.
Average purchase: 21.1 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 | Not available |
| Mid game · 10–20 min | 17.8 min |
| Late game · 20+ min | 24 min |
Best Against
Aerial targets and vulnerable channels that your team can punish after the stun.
Bebop →
Celeste →She is staying airborne and impossible to finish
Use Knockdown while she is elevated.
Forcing Celeste back to the floor removes the safe angle that lets her keep dealing damage while your team cannot reach her.
Dynamo →Dynamo is channeling Singularity without Unstoppable
Use Knockdown as soon as the vulnerable channel begins.
The stun interrupts channeled abilities, so forcing Dynamo to buy or pre-use Unstoppable is valuable even when Knockdown is not a permanent answer.
Grey Talon →He is sniping safely from the air in teamfights
Use Knockdown while he is airborne.
The extended anti-air stun drops him into a position where your team can actually finish him.
Ivy →She keeps split pushing and flying away
Knockdown the flight.
Grounding Ivy cancels the safe escape angle and forces her to spend the cooldown without getting the rotation she wanted.
Kelvin →Ice Path lets him cast safely from above every fight
Use Knockdown while Kelvin is airborne.
The anti-air control can force him through the path to the floor and remove the protected casting angle.
All 18 recommended hero matchups
These hero guides recommend Knockdown. Check the individual matchup for the build, situation, and timing.
BebopPriority situation answerCelestePriority situation answerDynamoPriority situation answerGrey TalonPriority situation answer
HazeSituational counter option
HollidaySituational counter optionIvyPriority situation answerKelvinPriority situation answer
LashSituational counter option
McGinnisPriority situation answer
PaigeSituational counter option
PocketSituational counter option
SevenPriority situation answer
SinclairPriority situation answer
VenatorSituational counter option
VindictaPriority situation answer
ViscousSituational counter option
VyperPriority situation answerAlternatives & Comparisons
Phantom Strike
Phantom Strike lets you commit directly to an enemy, ground them, and create a slowed, disarmed window. It can help punish an aerial carry, but the arrival point matters: your hero must survive where the target is standing.
Compare this option →
Slowing Hex
Slowing Hex is a targeted answer to movement-dependent escapes. Use the slow and movement-skill silence before the relevant escape begins, with allies already in range to punish; a catch has little value if no one can finish the target.
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Cursed Relic
Cursed Relic creates a powerful team focus-fire window by interrupting, silencing, disarming, locking items, and removing non-ultimate buffs. Its outgoing-damage penalty makes allied follow-up central to the purchase: choose the target together and be ready to punish.
Compare this option →