Strengths and weaknesses
Good at
- Safe, long-range playstyle; turrets do damage while you stay back
- Spectral Wall splits fights and blocks escapes
- Medicinal Specter gives her whole team sustain
- Heavy Barrage zones out objectives and choke points
Struggles with
- Limited mobility; divers and assassins are a threat
- Turrets are easy to destroy if you place them in the open
- Slowed while using Heavy Barrage, which makes her an easy target
- Lower solo kill pressure than carries
Abilities
Mini Turret
Deploys an automated turret that shoots enemies for spirit damage. Turrets have 100 health and last 35 seconds.
| Tier 1 1 point | +10 turret DPS and +10m attack range |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 2 points | +2 charges |
| Tier 3 5 points | +25% turret fire rate and +12s turret lifetime |
Medicinal Specter
Summons a spirit that heals allies within 6m for 6.5 seconds.
| Tier 1 1 point | +1.5s duration |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 2 points | -20s cooldown and +100% stamina recovery |
| Tier 3 5 points | +2% max HP regen, +3m heal radius and +40% spirit resist |
Spectral Wall
Raises a wall that slows enemies passing through it. Detonate it early to erupt and damage nearby enemies. Enemies can break it with melee.
| Tier 1 1 point | McGinnis deals +20% damage to enemies hit for 7s |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 2 points | -20s cooldown and +2s duration |
| Tier 3 5 points | Spawns 2 Mini Turrets by the wall for 8s; +24% slow |
Heavy Barrage
Fires homing rockets at a target area for 8 seconds. McGinnis is slowed while firing, but can still use stamina.
| Tier 1 1 point | Rockets apply a 24% move and dash slow for 1s |
|---|---|
| Tier 2 2 points | -45s cooldown and +6s duration |
| Tier 3 5 points | +2m radius and +15 damage per rocket |
Ability order
Spend points in this order. Each ability's tiers cost 1, 2 and 5 points.
- Unlock Mini Turret
- Unlock Spectral Wall
- Unlock Medicinal Specter
- Mini Turret T1
- Mini Turret T2
- Unlock Heavy Barrage
- Spectral Wall T1
- Medicinal Specter T1
- Mini Turret T3
- Spectral Wall T2
- Heavy Barrage T1–T2
- Medicinal Specter T2
- Spectral Wall T3
- Heavy Barrage T3
- Medicinal Specter T3
Item build
A starting build that works in most games. Swap pieces based on the enemy team; the notes explain what each stage is for.
Checked against 8,293 McGinnis matches from October 6–7, 2026 (all ranks). It keeps the items most McGinnis players buy and fills the other slots with the items that won most often. See the item tier list for how we measure that.
WeaponVitalitySpirit
| Stage | Items |
|---|---|
| Laning (800-soul items)Extra Charge and Mystic Expansion are on most McGinnis players, for more and bigger Mini Turrets. Extra Stamina has the best results of her cheap items. | |
| Mid game core (1,600–3,200)McGinnis is built on spirit: Mystic Vulnerability, Mystic Slow and the cooldown line into Superior Cooldown. Heroic Aura has the best results here, and Stamina Mastery adds the Vitality this build needs. | |
| Late game (6,400)Escalating Exposure is the usual finisher. Spirit Burn and Healing Tempo both do better in our data. | |
| SituationalSuperior Duration for longer Spectral Walls, Trophy Collector for extra souls, Boundless Spirit for raw power, Indomitable to survive dives. |
Monster Rounds
Extra Charge
Extra Stamina
Compress Cooldown
Mystic Vulnerability
Rapid Recharge
Superior Cooldown
Escalating Exposure
Healing Tempo
Spirit Burn
Superior Duration
Boundless SpiritRate this build in the build rater → See its grade, and the heroes it does well and badly against.
How to play
McGinnis is a support and zone-control hero. She shapes the fight before it happens: turrets watch the angles, Spectral Wall cuts the enemy team in half, Medicinal Specter keeps allies alive, and Heavy Barrage rains rockets on anyone who stands still. She’s ideal for players who’d rather out-think opponents than out-aim them.
Laning phase (0–10 min)
- Turrets win lane trades. Put a Mini Turret next to your trooper wave so it chips the enemy hero whenever they come forward.
- Place turrets behind cover. They only have 100 health, so a turret in the open is free souls for the enemy.
- Your machine gun is strong. Services Rendered has high DPS, so don’t forget to shoot alongside your turrets.
Mid game (10–25 min)
- Defend objectives. Turrets plus a wall make an objective very hard to take. Set up before the enemy arrives.
- Use Spectral Wall to split fights. Drop it between the enemy frontline and backline, or behind a fleeing enemy to block their escape.
- Heal through fights. Medicinal Specter heals everyone nearby. Drop it under your frontliner while they’re taking damage.
Late game and team fights (25+ min)
- Heavy Barrage on choke points. Fire it at shrine platforms, the Patron pit, Mid Boss fights or anywhere enemies have to stand still.
- Stay behind your frontline. You’re slowed while firing Barrage, so start it from a safe spot.
- Spread turrets around the fight, not in one spot, so a single area ability can’t wipe them all.
Combos
- Wall trap: Spectral Wall behind a fleeing enemy → turrets around them → shoot and detonate the wall when they try to break through.
- Objective lockdown: Turrets on high ground → Spectral Wall across the entrance → Heavy Barrage on the enemies who push in.
- Sustained push: Medicinal Specter under your frontliner → turrets on the objective → focus your gun on the nearest enemy hero.
Matchups
- Good against: slow heroes and teams that fight in tight groups. They walk into walls, turrets and rockets.
- Hard against: fast divers and assassins (such as Haze) who can reach you, and long-range heroes who can pick off your turrets from a distance.
- If you’re being dived: keep a wall between you and the diver, and consider Enduring Speed, Spirit Resilience or Divine Barrier.
Pro tips
- Turrets no longer shoot heroes on ziplines (since the August 12, 2026 patch), so don’t rely on them to stop zipline rotations.
- Detonating Spectral Wall deals burst damage, so walls are useful for poke as well as for blocking.
- Medicinal Specter T2 adds +100% stamina recovery, which helps you and your team dash and chase.
Lore
Margaret McGinnis has been building machines since childhood and now runs the military research division at Fairfax Industries. She prefers hands-on work to theory, and blends engineering with occult technology to build devastating weapons.
Frequently asked questions
Is McGinnis good for beginners?
Yes. McGinnis plays from range, her turrets deal damage on their own, and her healing makes her valuable even when you're still learning to aim. She's a great hero for learning the map and team fighting.
Where should I place McGinnis turrets?
Behind cover, on high ground or in corners where enemies have to turn to shoot them. Turrets in the open get destroyed in seconds. Place them before a fight starts, at choke points and near objectives.
How do you counter McGinnis?
Destroy her turrets first, since they only have 100 health. Then dive her, because she has little mobility and is slowed while using Heavy Barrage. You can break Spectral Wall with melee to escape.
Ability numbers are checked against the game and the community-run Deadlock Wiki after every patch. Builds are our own recommendations, checked against public match data. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.