Shiv
A loyal member of "The Baxter Society", an international order of monster hunters, Shiv travels across North America looking to put down creatures that prey on the living. While his less polished nature and criminal past make some of the more traditional members of the Society wary, no one can deny his effectiveness.
- Tier
- D
- Win rate
- 46.0%
- Change
- -0.6
- Pick rate
- 41.6%
- Ban rate
- 10.4%
- measured matches
- 238.7K
How to play Shiv 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.
- Sinclair52.0%win rate in the matchup
Shiv wins 52.0% of the 21,728 games measured against Sinclair in the last two weeks.
- Mirage51.5%win rate in the matchup
Shiv wins 51.5% of the 19,667 games measured against Mirage in the last two weeks.
- Viscous50.6%win rate in the matchup
Shiv wins 50.6% of the 24,666 games measured against Viscous in the last two weeks.
- The Doorman50.1%win rate in the matchup
Shiv wins 50.1% of the 21,075 games measured against The Doorman in the last two weeks.
Abilities
1Serrated Knives16sThrow a knife that bleeds an enemy. Each additional hit adds a stack and refreshes the bleed duration, causing the bleed to increase per stack.- Bleed DPS Per Knife
- 10
- Bleed Duration
- 5s
- Current Health Damage
- 3.5%
- Movement Slow
- 28%
- Charges
- 2
2Slice and Dice16sPerform a dash forward, damaging enemies along the path. Hit Enemies have their spirit resist reduced. This debuff can stack.- Impact Damage
- 75
- Dash Range
- 12m
- Spirit Resist
- -6%
- Debuff Duration
- 14s
3Bloodletting25sTake only a portion of incoming damage immediately and defer the rest to be taken over time. Activate to clear a portion of the deferred damage.- Incoming Damage Deferred
- 25%
- Deferred Damage Duration
- 6s
- Deferred Damage Cleared
- 30%
- Incoming Damage Deferred
- +15%
4Killing BlowUltimate145sRange 12m- Damage
- 200
- Enemy health threshold
- 18%
- Full Rage Damage Bonus
- +8%
Skill order
The most played order in 13.6K games of the last two weeks (49.1% 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: 66.6% in 3.7K games
Max order:1›2›3
| 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.
- 1Serrated KnivesT11 point+2s Bleed DurationT22 points+2 ChargesT35 points+12.0 Bleed DPS with increased Spirit scaling
- 2Slice and DiceT11 point-6s CooldownT22 points-4% Spirit Resist +2m Dash RangeT35 points+50 Impact Damage -2s Cooldown per Hero hit.
- 3BloodlettingT11 point-15s CooldownT22 points+40% Deferred Damage ClearedT35 points+15% Incoming Damage Deferred
- 4Killing BlowT11 point+6 m Range +2 m/s in Full Rage.T22 points+16% Full Rage Bonus Damage -25s CooldownT35 points+10% Enemy Health Threshold
Items by phase
Shop →What Shiv players buy most in each phase of the game, with the share that buys it and their win rate.
Laning phase
Mystic Regeneration63% buy it46.0%
Restorative Shot60% buy it43.8%
Close Quarters53% buy it43.5%
Extra Charge32% buy it46.8%
Extra Regen30% buy it46.4%
Battle Vest23% buy it45.3%
Bullet Resist Shredder20% buy it44.7%
Cold Front12% buy it45.9%
Mid game
Radiant Regeneration80% buy it44.8%
Hunter's Aura42% buy it44.9%
Healbane35% buy it46.9%- Battle Vest27% buy it42.4%
- Mystic Regeneration27% buy it42.7%
- Bullet Resist Shredder27% buy it43.2%
Express Shot23% buy it47.0%
Dispel Magic22% buy it49.1%
Late game
Arctic Blast30% buy it47.5%- Express Shot30% buy it41.5%
Berserker29% buy it46.4%
Lucky Shot26% buy it50.8%
Escalating Exposure24% buy it51.4%
Spirit Resilience23% buy it44.2%
Superior Cooldown23% buy it49.0%- Dispel Magic22% buy it43.5%
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.
Mystic Reverbbought at 32:53 · 41.7K games57.1%
Spirit Burnbought at 40:38 · 7.4K games57.0%
Scourgebought at 36:03 · 19.6K games56.7%
Witchmailbought at 36:48 · 28K games56.1%
Ethereal Shiftbought at 34:36 · 33.5K games55.8%
Glass Cannonbought at 33:17 · 28.6K games54.5%
Infuserbought at 35:33 · 17.3K games54.2%
Boundless Spiritbought at 35:18 · 18.2K games54.0%
Transcendent Cooldownbought at 34:59 · 54.5K games53.6%
Juggernautbought at 37:12 · 19.8K games53.1%
In-game builds
The most favorited Shiv builds of the patch published in the game. Copy the ID and search it in the game's Hero Builds browser.
PREDATOR HUNTER SHIV (THE METRO FILES)
32.6K favorites · updated 2026-09-23
tank everything and kill everything
377503FIRST I STICK EM THEN I FINISH EM (marky v4)
29.6K favorites · updated 2026-09-29
STICK EM IS BACK. (AGAIN) A full bleed Shiv that focuses on lots of sustain and anti-heal, then cleaning up with ultimate right after. Message 'starlyn.' on discord for suggestions/questions. Thank you. (v4.8.2 - 9/29/26)
196212salty shiv
22.6K favorites · updated 2026-09-30
THE BAXTER SOCIETY SAVED MY LIFE, AND NOW I'M GONNA SAVE YOURS. (9/29/2026) twitch.tv/saltytaba
216888
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.
Shiv builds
View all builds →From the guide «Shiv guide»
The items Shiv players buy most in each phase of the game over the last two weeks (238,678 games measured), with how many buy them and how they do. Skill points in the most played order (13,614 games, 49.1% win rate).
The most favorited Shiv build published in the game this patch: saved 32,635 times, last updated on 2026-09-23. Find it in-game in the Hero Builds browser by its ID: 377503. Its own categories are kept as notes on each item.
Items with the highest win rate when bought on Shiv, 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 Shivs end up buying”.
The vitality items Shiv players buy most, for games where you get focused or need to survive fights longer. Cheapest first.
Hero