Deadlock Holliday build guide

Creating an ideal Deadlock Holliday build can be challenging, especially considering the character's recent addition to the game. Holliday was added to Deadlock on October 24, 2024, alongside five other characters that are part of the Hero Labs — an experimental category added for players to try new Deadlock heroes that are likely to be added to Deadlock in the future. Holliday features a unique cowboy aesthetic with futuristic elements.

According to the lore, Holliday was a sheriff of a small and peaceful town. Her life changed when multiple gruesome murders began, with bodies torn apart, indicating some supernatural activity. Her investigation led to The Troubadour, a musician who transformed into a crow and ran away upon confrontation. Now, Holliday is in New York trying to find answers.

Here's the best possible Deadlock Holliday build to help you dominate the lanes.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

How to play Holliday in Deadlock: Brief overview

Holliday is all about domination. She features multiple high-damage abilities and a revolver similar to Pocket's, which could potentially make her one of the best Deadlock characters for beginners upon the official release.

It is to be noted that Holliday has a low health pool, so if you are weak and have no allies, don't keep pushing as you can lose your control over the Lanes.

Holliday's strengths and weaknesses in Deadlock

Strengths:

High damage and moderate weapon range.
Easy to understand.
One of the best primary abilities.

Weaknesses:

Low health pool.
Ultimate's duration is much less.
The landing accuracy of the Bounce Pad is low.

Deadlock Holliday build: Abilities explained

Holliday has four abilities, which are:

Powder King: Place a barrel that explodes when shot, or on landing after launched via melee attack or bounce pad. Has a minimum arm time before it can explode. (32s cooldown duration)
Bounce Pad: Drop a bounce pad in the world that sends you and other heroes flying. You will stomp down on landing, dealing damage to any nearby enemies. (37s cooldown duration)
Crackshot: Headshots deal bonus Weapon damage and applies a Fading Slow. This effect can only occur when off cooldown. Crackshot ignores range damage fall-off. (20s cooldown duration)
Spirit Lasso: Grab an enemy with your lasso and drag them along behind you. The enemy is stunned and Astro is slowed slightly during the lasso. Lasso duration is paused for 2s during the first usage of a bounce pad. (159s cooldown duration)

Deadlock Holliday build: Best items

Deadlock Holliday build (Image via Valve)

Here are the best items you can buy from The Curiosity Shop to make an effective Deadlock Holliday build:

1) Best early-game items

Close Quarters: +85 Bullet Shield Health, +25% Weapon Damage within a 15m range.
Headshot Booster: +5% Fire Rate, +40 Bullet Shield Health.
High-Velocity Mag: +30% Bullet Velocity, +12% Weapon Damage, +50 Bullet Shield Health.
Long Range: +20% Ammo, +140 Bullet Shield, +40 Weapon Damage beyond 15m range.
Point Blank: +15% Bullet Resist, +1 Stamina. Within 15m range, +45% Weapon Damage and +25% Movement Slow effect for 2s
Extra Stamina: +1 Stamina, +14% Stamina Recovery, +7% Fire Rate.
Sharpshooter: +20% Ammo, +15% Weapon Fall-off Range, +30% Weapon Zoom, +175 Bullet Shield.

2) Best mid-game items

Mystic Shot: +12% Weapon Damage, +4 Spirit Power.
Slowing Bullets: +16% Weapon Damage, +5 Spirit Power, Opponents get a 25% Movement Slow effect for 1.3s.
Bullet Lifesteal: +28% Bullet Lifesteal, +75 Bonus Health.
Combat Barrier: +325 Bullet Shield Health, +25% Weapon Damage while shielded, +6% Fire Rate while shielded.
Bullet Resist Shredder: +100 Bonus Health, +5% Bullet Resist. While dealing Spirit Damage, enemies get -12% Bullet Resist.
Improved Cooldown: +16% Cooldown Reduction, +1.5 Health Regen.
Superior Stamina: +3 Stamina, +20% Stamina Recovery, +30% Air Jump/Dash Distance, +7% Fire Rate, +8 Spirit Power.
Headhunter: +50 Bullet Velocity, +15% Weapon Damage, +150 Bullet Shield. Hitting a headshot gives you +140 Bonus Damage, +8% Heal and +2m/s Move Speed for 3s.
Pristine Emblem: +25% Weapon Damage, +12 Spirit Power, +12 Spirit Resist.

3) Best end-game items

Superior Cooldown: +32% Imbued Ability Cooldown Reduction, +24% Non-Imbued Ability Cooldown Reduction, +4 Health Regen.
Inhibitor: +25% Weapon Damage, +175 Bonus Health.
Glass Cannon: +70% Weapon Damage, +10% Fire Rate, +1 m/s Move Speed, -15% Max Health, +10% Weapon Damage per kill (stacks up to 5 times).
Lucky Shot: +30% Ammo. There is a 35% chance that your bullet will give 80% Bonus Damage and 30% Movement Slow to the enemy.
Crippling Headshot: +20% Weapon Damage, +10% Bullet Lifesteal, +10% Spirit Lifesteal. Headshot grants 24% Bullet Resist Reduction and Spirit Resist Reduction for 5s.

Best tips to remember while playing Holliday in Deadlock

Here are some tips to follow while making the Deadlock Holliday build or playing the character:

Do not solo push at low health, you could lose your Lane control. Rather, focus on steadily pushing with NPCs.
Explore the indoor areas for small yet effective perks and extra Souls by breaking the crates and Gold Urns.
Make space for end-game items by selling early items.

FAQs about Deadlock Holliday

Q1) Can we currently play Holliday in Deadlock?

A) Holliday is only available as an "Experimental Hero" to try in the Sandbox and Hero Labs mode. It is yet to be added to the main game.

Q2) Is Holliday good for beginners?

A) Holliday is a great character for beginners. It has straightforward abilities that players can figure out within the first few sessions.

Q3) Is Holliday related to any character in the lore?

A) Although there are no direct connections, it is likely that Abrams is helping Holliday to investigate. This is because the lore of Abrams suggests that he is a top-level detective investigating very similar occurrences in New York City.

More Deadlock build guides:

Deadlock Seven Build Guide
Deadlock Calico build guide
Deadlock Shiv build guide