How the Deadlock Shop Works: Tiers, Slots, Selling and Upgrades

Souls are only worth what you turn them into. This guide explains how the shop works, so every purchase does as much as possible. For every item’s stats and when to buy it, see the full item list.

The three categories

Category	Colour	What it improves
Weapon	Orange	Gun damage, fire rate, ammo, bullet effects
Vitality	Green	Health, regen, resists, mobility, lifesteal
Spirit	Purple	Spirit power, cooldowns, ability range and duration

Most heroes lean on one damage category (Weapon or Spirit) and buy Vitality for survival. Hybrids mix both.

The four tiers

Tier	Cost	What to expect
1	800 souls	Cheap stat boosts and simple effects for the laning phase
2	1,600 souls	Your first real power items, and many upgrade components
3	3,200 souls	Strong effects that define a build
4	6,400 souls	Late-game items with game-changing effects

There are also legendary items, but they only exist in Street Brawl, where you draft items instead of buying them.

Where you can shop

• Your base: the spawn-room shop.
• Lane shops: one beside each of your Guardians. It closes for good when that Guardian dies.
• Secret shops: two underground shops between Broadway and the side lanes. Both teams can use them.

You have to be standing at a shop to buy. See them all on the interactive map.

Item slots

• You start with nine slots.
• Each enemy Walker your team destroys unlocks one extra slot, up to twelve.
• Only four items can be active (pressed with Z X C V) at once. Once you have four actives, you can’t buy another until you sell one.

Selling and refunds

• Selling returns half the item’s price.
• If you sell before leaving the shop area where you bought it, you get a full refund. Changed your mind at the counter? It’s free.
• Late in the game, selling cheap early items to make room for tier 4 items is normal.

Upgrades and components

Many items are built from a cheaper item. When you buy the upgrade, the component is used up and its price comes off the cost. For example, buying Improved Spirit (1,600) while holding Extra Spirit (800) only costs you 800 more.

So it pays to buy components early when you know where your build is going: you get the cheaper item’s stats now, and nothing is wasted later. Every item page lists what it’s built from and what it builds into.

Investment bonuses

Buying items in a category also gives you a bonus that grows with how much you’ve spent in that category:

Spending on	Gives bonus
Weapon items	Weapon damage
Vitality items	Health
Spirit items	Spirit power

The bonus keeps growing up to 28,800 souls spent in one category, with a notable jump at 4,800 souls. So focusing a category often beats spreading souls thinly, and it’s one reason “pure” gun or spirit builds are strong.

Shopping habits that win games

1. Spend souls whenever you pass a shop. Unspent souls do nothing.
2. Buy components first when you can’t afford the full item.
3. Defend with the right resist. Bullet resist against guns, spirit resist against abilities. See damage types and resistances.
4. Don’t forget anti-heal against healers and lifesteal: Healbane, Toxic Bullets, Decay or Spirit Burn.
5. Use the secret shops when you’re far from home. They’re shared, so watch for enemies.

Next: Weapon items →