Calico
Once a decorated member of The Baxter Society, Calico left the august order once she realized that killing monsters for free was less profitable than killing people for money. Now an in demand contract killer, Calico is living her best life ending someone else's.
- Tier
- A
- Win rate
- 51.7%
- Change
- -0.3
- Pick rate
- 27.0%
- Ban rate
- 5.1%
- measured matches
- 155K
How to play Calico in Deadlock: abilities and upgrades, skill order, items by phase and matchups, from the games of the last two weeks.
BalancedUtilityOffensiveDefensiveStrong against
Who this hero answers, and why.
- Mirage57.6%win rate in the matchup
Calico wins 57.6% of the 11,409 games measured against Mirage in the last two weeks.
- Sinclair56.8%win rate in the matchup
Calico wins 56.8% of the 14,820 games measured against Sinclair in the last two weeks.
- Viscous55.6%win rate in the matchup
Calico wins 55.6% of the 15,978 games measured against Viscous in the last two weeks.
- Paradox55.5%win rate in the matchup
Calico wins 55.5% of the 27,255 games measured against Paradox in the last two weeks.
- Shiv55.5%win rate in the matchup
Calico wins 55.5% of the 38,086 games measured against Shiv in the last two weeks.
Abilities
1Gloom Bombs14sThrow a cluster of bombs that detonate after a delay, dealing spirit damage. Enemies hit by multiple bombs take 65% damage.- Bomb Count
- 4
- Damage
- 45
2Leaping Slash13sRange 9mDash forward before slashing all enemies in a circle, dealing melee damage. If the ability hits at least one hero, heal a small amount of health.- Impact Damage
- 10
- Heal Amount
- 40
3Ava30sTurn to shadows and possess Ava. You gain bonus move speed that increases over time, and become hidden on the minimap. Taking damage from an enemy hero resets your bonus move speed and puts Ava on a brief cooldown.- Min Move Speed
- 30%
- Max Move Speed
- 65%
- Buff Duration
- 15s
- Time for Max Bonus
- 4s
- Interrupt Cooldown
- 6s
4Return to ShadowsUltimate115sInstantly turn to shadows, becoming untargetable, gaining bonus move speed, and dealing spirit damage. After a delay, return from the shadows, dealing spirit damage again.- Damage
- 150
- Move Speed
- +20%
- Explosion Delay
- 3s
Skill order
The most played order in 28.1K games of the last two weeks (54.3% win rate). Each ability takes four steps: the unlock and its three upgrades; 4 is the ultimate.
Max order:1›3›2
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | · | 1 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 1 | 1 | 1 | · | · | · |
| 2 | 2 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | · | · | 3 | 3 | 3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 3 | · | · |
| 4 | · | · | · | · | · | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Highest win rate order: 66.8% in 20.8K games
Max order:1›3›2
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | · | 1 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 1 | 1 | 1 | · | · | · | · |
| 2 | 2 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | · | · | 3 | 3 | 3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 3 | · | · | · |
| 4 | · | · | · | · | · | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Ability upgrades
All upgrades →Each ability unlocks with one point and has three upgrades, bought with ability points: T1 costs 1, T2 costs 2 and T3 costs 5.
- 1Gloom BombsT11 point-3s CooldownT22 pointsPer Bomb Touch: -6% Melee Resist for 6sT35 points+3 Bomb Count
- 2Leaping SlashT11 point+25 Heal AmountT22 pointsHeros killed within 3s grant +200 soulsT35 points+60 Damage & On Hero Hit: 50% Cooldown Refund
- 3AvaT11 point+15s Buff DurationT22 points+15 Health Regen & +40% Max Move SpeedT35 pointsGain Damage Amp over time, up to 18%. Lingers for 6s
- 4Return to ShadowsT11 point-20s CooldownT22 points+75 Damage and +20% Move SpeedT35 pointsOn Completion: Heal for 450 and refund all ability cooldowns
Items by phase
Shop →What Calico players buy most in each phase of the game, with the share that buys it and their win rate.
Laning phase
Melee Lifesteal93% buy it51.7%
Stalker78% buy it52.4%
Spirit Strike76% buy it52.0%
Sprint Boots45% buy it52.8%
Trophy Collector29% buy it54.8%
Cold Front17% buy it56.0%
Close Quarters7% buy it50.5%
Mid game
Spirit Snatch79% buy it52.2%- Cold Front68% buy it51.0%
- Trophy Collector36% buy it50.3%
Hunter's Aura29% buy it55.5%- Sprint Boots29% buy it49.7%
Enduring Speed24% buy it52.0%
Arctic Blast22% buy it60.6%
Torment Pulse19% buy it56.9%
Late game
Boundless Spirit56% buy it55.8%- Arctic Blast56% buy it50.9%
Improved Spirit41% buy it52.5%
Superior Cooldown40% buy it56.0%
Mystic Vulnerability36% buy it53.2%- Torment Pulse32% buy it53.1%
Transcendent Cooldown31% buy it58.2%
Escalating Exposure29% buy it58.9%
Items that win most
Highest win rate items bought with this hero (with enough games) and when they are bought on average. Late items win more partly because they are bought in games that were already going well.
Diviner's Kevlarbought at 38:02 · 5.1K games61.5%
Spirit Burnbought at 34:23 · 41.9K games60.4%
Focus Lensbought at 33:03 · 17.4K games59.5%- Escalating Exposurebought at 35:10 · 45.9K games59.3%
- Transcendent Cooldownbought at 35:27 · 48.5K games59.2%
Scourgebought at 32:15 · 51.5K games59.1%
Ethereal Shiftbought at 38:07 · 8.7K games58.4%
Crushing Fistsbought at 31:14 · 11.6K games58.3%
Indomitablebought at 37:34 · 17.1K games58.2%
Spirit Sapbought at 27:38 · 10.9K games57.4%
In-game builds
The most favorited Calico builds of the patch published in the game. Copy the ID and search it in the game's Hero Builds browser.
I love cat[girl]s! Skelly's Spirit Assassin Build
37.6K favorites · updated 2026-09-19
Fully annotated! This is a spirit build! Check out my melee bruiser Calico build (not updated as frequently): 209974
266497eido calico
27.2K favorites · updated 2026-09-11
basically L-R, choose enduring or trophy
313982ABL BOMBS (TWITCH ABLKZ)
23.5K favorites · updated 2026-09-07
TWITCH ABLKZ
340342
Matchups and teammates
Weak against
Best teammates
Wins the lane against
Measured over the last two weeks, with at least 200 games per pair (100 in lane). Lane matchups only count games where both heroes started in the same lane.
Calico builds
View all builds →From the guide «Calico guide»
The items Calico players buy most in each phase of the game over the last two weeks (154,992 games measured), with how many buy them and how they do. Skill points in the most played order (28,080 games, 54.3% win rate).
Calico · Assassin
Calico: “I love cat[girl]s! Skelly's Spirit Assassin Build” (in-game build)
The most favorited Calico build published in the game this patch: saved 37,577 times, last updated on 2026-09-19. Find it in-game in the Hero Builds browser by its ID: 266497. Its own categories are kept as notes on each item.
Items with the highest win rate when bought on Calico, among those bought in a meaningful share of games, placed by when they are bought on average. Win rate on items bought late is inflated by games that were already going well: read it as “what winning Calicos end up buying”.
The vitality items Calico players buy most, for games where you get focused or need to survive fights longer. Cheapest first.
Hero