Deadlock Grey Talon Build
Overview
This is a spirit focused build which is built around the ultimate in the early game and transitions into a full dps build later game. We will take advantage of cooldown reduction early to build stacks on our Guided Owl (4). Each final blow grants 5 permanent spirit.
Grey Talon is the easiest character in the game to build and requires the least amount of items to still be impactful.
This build was created by Vegas. To find it in game, search for "Mobalytics - Grey Talon by Vegas" (BuildID: 30237)
Early Game
Grey Talon is a very oppressive laner, so we will put our first 3 skill points into our Charged Shot (1) and look to harass the enemy as frequently as possible to apply pressure. To maximize poke we will first purchase Extra Charge and Headshot Booster.
If things are going well, we are healthy, and we want to apply more pressure, pick up Mystic burst and Extra Spirit.
After that, aim to get Enduring Spirit and Hollow Point Ward not only for the spirit but to round out our weapon and vitality stats.
Our biggest focus should be harass the enemy and get to our ultimate as soon as possible. Grey talon has the biggest power spike of anyone in the game at 3000 souls, so we want to work with our lane partner to put the pressure on asap.
Mid Game
Our goal should be to get Improved Cooldown at the same time we first unlock our ultimate to reduce the downtime of this highly impactful ability.
Always look at your minimap and top of screen UI to scout out potential victims in execute range for your ultimate. It’s important to try & gain stacks as soon as possible.
Stay in lane, pick up waves, and farm local neutral camps for Enchanters Barrier and Improved Spirit. This will give us a big power spike along with some cooldown reduction and survivability, making it easier to participate in mid game skirmishes.
If you find yourself needing to fight close range often, buy Mystic Shot and Slowing Bullets. This will add attack damage to your kit but also provides some spirit which is our main focus.
Afterwards look to upgrade to Improved Burst and Superior Cooldown. This will increase our uptime on our ultimate and make it more powerful. This also provides a huge damage spike to our other main source of dps, our Charge Shot (1).
Late Game
We will use this time to transition from an ult focused character to a very valuable spirit damage carry. To do this we will look to upgrade to Boundless Spirit. At max level our charge shot gets a boost in its spirit scaling which makes boundless spirit the highest value item for raw damage.
Afterwards look to pick up Rapid Recharge, giving us 4 arrows instead of 3 as well as less time between shots.
If the game lasts longer, look to pick up another luxury item like Mystic Reverb or Diviners Kevlar. If you are having trouble picking between the two, as a general rule of thumb, kevlar is better if you are having trouble surviving or are getting dove in the backline. Mystic Reverb is overall a lot more damage but doesn't provide you with as much survivability.
Situational
Reactive Barrier is very high value against Lash as this will stop us from being killed in one burst early to mid game.
Ethereal Shift does this job better later game when we have the funds to spare.
Healbane can be beneficial late game against Ivy/Kelvin/Infernus