Vyper

Strengths and weaknesses

Abilities

1

Screwjab Dagger

10s cooldown

Throw a dagger for 50 spirit damage that slows by 28%. Hitting the same target again stacks (up to 3) for +25 damage and an extra 12% slow per stack. 2 charges.

Tier 1 1 point	+1 charge
Tier 2 2 points	-8% bullet resist on hit, plus -6% per stack
Tier 3 5 points	+2 max stacks, faster charges, and a 55% charge refund on hit

2

Lethal Venom

28s cooldown

Inject a target (10m) with venom that goes off after 3s, dealing 20 to 140 spirit damage depending on how low their health is (max damage at 30% health). It ignores Petrifying Bola's damage block.

Tier 1 1 point	+31.5 maximum damage
Tier 2 2 points	-40% incoming healing and -12s cooldown
Tier 3 5 points	Your bullets also build venom (4.5% per bullet)

3

Slither

Passive: slide 15% further, slide uphill, and turn faster while sliding.

Tier 1 1 point	+20% slide distance
Tier 2 2 points	+2 stamina
Tier 3 5 points	Sliding grants a 180 barrier for 4s (8s cooldown)

ULT

Petrifying Bola

115s cooldown

Throw an explosive bola that slows every enemy in 12m by 40% for 1.5s. A direct hit petrifies the target for 2.2s instead, blocking all damage to them until it ends, when they take 180 spirit damage.

Tier 1 1 point	+49.5 petrify damage
Tier 2 2 points	-20s cooldown
Tier 3 5 points	+1s petrify duration; petrifies every enemy in the area

Ability order

Spend points in this order. Each ability's tiers cost 1, 2 and 5 points.

1. Unlock Screwjab Dagger
2. Unlock Slither
3. Unlock Lethal Venom
4. Screwjab Dagger T1
5. Lethal Venom T1
6. Unlock Petrifying Bola
7. Screwjab Dagger T2
8. Slither T1
9. Lethal Venom T2
10. Petrifying Bola T1–T2
11. Screwjab Dagger T3
12. Lethal Venom T3
13. Petrifying Bola T3
14. Slither T2–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 10,456 Vyper matches from October 6–7, 2026 (all ranks). It keeps the items most Vyper 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

Rate this build in the build rater → See its grade, and the heroes it does well and badly against.

How to play

Vyper is a slippery close-range gun carry. The Rattler has the highest weapon DPS in these guides, Screwjab Dagger stacks damage and slow, Lethal Venom hits hardest on low-health targets, Slither improves her slides, and Petrifying Bola turns enemies to stone.

Laning phase (0–10 min)

• Stack daggers. Hitting the same target repeatedly stacks bonus damage and slow.
• Slide everywhere. Slither makes slides longer and lets you slide uphill.
• Get close to shoot. Your damage falls off quickly beyond 15 m.

Mid game (10–25 min)

• Lethal Venom wounded enemies. It hits hardest below 30% health.
• Slither T2 adds 2 stamina (6 in total), so you’re very hard to catch.

Late game and team fights (25+ min)

• Petrifying Bola T3 petrifies everyone in the area. Use it to stop an enemy engage, or to set up your team.
• Careful: petrified enemies can’t take damage (except from Lethal Venom). Time your burst for when it ends.

Combos

1. Dagger stack: Screwjab Dagger x2 → shoot → Lethal Venom when they’re low.
2. Petrify setup: Lethal Venom → Petrifying Bola (venom still hurts them) → shoot when petrify ends.
3. Escape: slide (T3 barrier) → dash → slide again.

Matchups

• Good against: heroes who fight up close, and low-health targets.
• Hard against: long-range snipers and bullet-resistant tanks.

Pro tips

• Screwjab Dagger T3 refunds 55% of the charge on hit, so you can throw a lot of daggers.
• Lethal Venom ignores Petrifying Bola’s damage block, so venom your target before petrifying them.

Lore

Vyper is an impulsive criminal who's been locked up all over the tri-state area, and has broken out just as often. Life on the street has left her with a web of allies and enemies across the city.

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.