Billy
Kelvin
Mo & Krill
Rat King
Shiv
Silver
Victor
Warden
Apollo
Calico
Drifter
Haze
Mirage
Pocket
Vyper
Yamato
Baba
Celeste
The Doorman
Dynamo
Graves
Lady Geist
McGinnis
Paige
Rem
Seven
Sinclair
Solomon
Violet
Viscous
Deadman Danny
Grey Talon
Holliday
Infernus
Ivy
Mina
Nurse Harrow
Paradox
Venator
Vindicta
Wraith
AbramsOpportunity · Lane
Watch for
He needs close access to pressure you.
Do this
Use ranged pressure behind your partner and move before he closes. Avoid standing beside an easy charge pin.
How to play
How to play Violet in Deadlock
How to play Violet in Deadlock
DifficultyHard
RoleSpirit Carry · Support
Reviewed
Quick answer
- Your job
- Play behind an ally who can take the first contact. Land empowered Living Ink shots and brush damage on distracted enemies, then use Still Life when you can keep the target in view. Use ink to help your team hold a useful area.
- Positioning
- Stay behind or beside your first-contact teammate, close enough to follow their attack.
- How to win fights
- Follow your teammate’s pressure.
- When you’re in trouble
- Retreat toward teammates and cover.
Strong at
- Repeated pressureEmpowered hero hits reduce cooldowns.
- Space controlDrawn strokes and the ultimate change available routes.
- Team enablementFlow State improves allied sliding; the ultimate grants Spirit Power.
Weak to
- Broken sightCover makes sustained Still Life pressure harder.
- Close pressureAn enemy reaching your angle can force you to retreat.
- Poor placementWalls can obstruct friendly movement and fire.
How to play Violet
The full version of the quick answer.
Your goal
Play behind an ally who can take the first contact. Land empowered Living Ink shots and brush damage on distracted enemies, then use Still Life when you can keep the target in view. Use ink to help your team hold a useful area.
Positioning
Stay behind or beside your first-contact teammate, close enough to follow their attack. Keep a clear view of the target and nearby cover for yourself. Avoid drawing a wall across your team’s firing line or only retreat route.
How to fight
- Follow your teammate’s pressure. Aim Living Ink shots and Flow State through the enemy’s route; successful empowered hero hits help bring your cooldowns back sooner.
- Use Still Life on a visible target already occupied by your team. Keep aiming at them, but give up an unsafe angle rather than walking alone into the enemy team to finish a sketch.
- Place Abstract Landscape where allies can use its Spirit Power and enemies must contest the area. Watch its edge: an enemy leaving takes damage, silence and slow. It is an area commitment, not a guaranteed trap.
- Work with an ally who can start fights or hold a target in view. Violet provides ranged pressure, control and team buffs; she does not replace a durable first-contact hero or every kind of teammate save.
When an enemy threatens you
Retreat toward teammates and cover. A drawn stroke can restrict a route, but also blocks projectiles and can be broken with heavy melee. Do not rely on a wall as an invulnerable escape or keep chasing a sketch while isolated.
Violet Items & Ability Order
Popular Violet Items
Explore popular Violet purchases by game stage, with item trends for applying ranged pressure and influencing the space around a fight.
0–9 min
Mystic Regeneration79%
Extra Spirit76%
Extra Charge69%
Extra Regen58%
9–20 min
Radiant Regeneration66%
Rapid Recharge58%
Healing Booster53%
Spirit Shielding42%
20–30 min
Tankbuster43%
Superior Cooldown34%
Boundless Spirit31%- Rapid Recharge27%
30+ min
- Boundless Spirit24%
Spirit Burn17%
Escalating Exposure16%
Transcendent Cooldown12%
Violet Ability Order
Compare common Violet upgrade paths and how players develop lane pressure and their contribution to larger engagements.
| Ability point | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Still Life | 1 | 2 | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – |
 Living Ink | – | – | 3 | – | – | 6 | – | 8 | – | – |
 Flow State | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 10 |
 Abstract Landscape | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | – |
| Ability point | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still Life | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | 10 |
| Living Ink | – | – | 3 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 8 | – | – |
| Flow State | – | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Abstract Landscape | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | – |
| Ability point | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still Life | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Living Ink | – | – | 3 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 8 | – | – |
| Flow State | – | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Abstract Landscape | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | 9 | 10 |
Violet game plan
Timings are approximate. When teams start grouping and pushing objectives, use the next phase’s advice.
Early game
~0–10 minSecure trooper souls from a covered angle. Trade with empowered shots when enemies pause to farm; look for Still Life while your lane partner distracts them. Keep movement for the return attack.
Mid game
~10–25 minMove with a teammate and fight around useful routes. Follow their opening with damage and control, then collect safe waves between fights instead of chasing every sketch.
Late game
~25+ minSet up behind your team before an objective fight. Place the ultimate where allies can actually fight, keep walls clear of friendly routes, and reposition if an enemy reaches your angle.
Violet Still Life rewards: which stats does each hero give?
Violet’s third ability, Still Life, creates a collectible sketch when completed on an enemy hero. Picking it up grants permanent Bonus Health, Move Speed, Spirit Power or Weapon Damage, depending on the hero sketched. Use the table below to check each hero’s reward.
Bonus Health10 heroes
Move Speed9 heroes
Spirit Power14 heroes
Weapon Damage11 heroesSee all hero rewards
| Reward | Heroes |
|---|---|
| Bonus Health | |
| Move Speed | |
| Spirit Power | |
| Weapon Damage |
Tips
Good to know
- Use drawn strokes deliberately: they block projectiles as well as movement.
- Collect a completed sketch when safe; finishing Still Life alone does not grant its collectible reward.
- Track your ultimate upgrade: its final upgrade lets the ink persist after an enemy leaves.
- Expect different defensive responses: enemies may reduce status duration, gain protection after control or prepare control immunity. Watch which response has been used before committing more resources.
Avoid these mistakes
- Walking past teammates to maintain Still Life.
- Drawing a stroke across your own team’s route or firing line.
- Using the ultimate where allies cannot help contest the area.
If you’re struggling
Farm safe waves near allies and contribute damage and control to their fights. Stop forcing isolated sketches or starting fights from the front.
One useful tip
A safe follow-up that helps your team is better than finishing a sketch from a position where you die.
Matchups to watch
Heroes that change how you play Violet. Situational adjustments, not rankings.
BebopThreat · Lane
Watch for
A clean Hook can pull you out of your protected angle.
Do this
Use existing solid cover against the hook angle and keep your partner in help range; do not count on a freshly drawn stroke to block Hook.
LashThreat · Teamfights
Watch for
He can reach you from above the front line.
Do this
Watch his approach from height and move toward allies before he lands; do not focus on finishing Still Life while ignoring the dive.
