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While most characters inDeadlockare usually easy to learn, suiting different kinds of playstyles, few heroes feel beyond complicated and tough to master. Paradox takes the spotlight in this case, as her abilities use time and space manipulation to make the most of her kit.
Her playstyle works superbly when all her abilities are used together, shortly one after another. Her overall utility improves over time in the match, which requires a careful watch over which items you buy for her and the abilities you wish to upgrade first. Ironically, giving her the time she needs will help you master her talents, which will be worth it eventually.
Deadlock is in alpha, so everything in this guide is subject to change in the future.
Paradox Overview
Paradox has an interesting quality thatchanges her playstyle throughout a match. At the beginning of a round, she can push a lane all by herself andtake a one-on-one fight without any problems. However, this changes later on. Towards the end of the match, you’ll want to make use of her abilities in hopes ofeliminating the entire enemy squadif you can.
Unfortunately,her default weapon doesn’t do a lot of damagein the beginning. A mere57 damage-per-second (DPS)won’t be doing any favors for you, and hermaximum vitality of 550doesn’t make her a tanky character. Fortunately, an ability like Pulse Grenade is going to be quite helpful early on when you’re farming souls.
Paradox’s Abilities
It’s crucial to straightway jump into Paradox’s range of abilities. After all,mixing things up with her abilities is the ideal wayof playing her. It’s likely that you’re going to use herPulse Grenade most frequently, as it helps youfarm minions fasterthanks to themassive area-of-effect (AOE) damageyou can deal.
On the other hand, Time Wall createsa worthy obstacle between you and your enemythat serves multiple purposes. It distracts them for a few seconds, giving youa defensive opportunitywhile also creating an instance for them to slow down if they move through this space.
Description
Pulse Grenade
You throw a grenade that has a pulse in it.Each pulse applies some damage, slowing down enemies within its radius,and stacks the damage amplification for Paradox against the enemy.
Time Wall
You create a transparent wall that stops time for any enemy projectile and/or bullets that touch it. Any enemy that touches the wall takes damage and is slowed down for a while.
Kinetic Carbine
By triggering this, youstart charging your weapon and gain an increase in movement speedonce it’s fully charged. Shooting this charged-up shot will deal spirit damage and stop time for the victim. The damage dealt is also an amplification of the current weapon damage.
Paradoxical Swap
You fire a projectile thatswaps your position with an enemy hero. You also gain spirit lifesteal when the shot lands, and the enemy hero takes damage over a period of time.
Kinetic Carbine, over time, will become an ability for you thatfeels like a separate weapon in itself. The charged-up bullet deals massive damage (compared to your base weapon damage) and gives bonus movement speed that can be utilized well depending on the situation, making it a versatile ability.
Paradox’s Paradoxical Swap ability highlights her as a time and space-bending hero who can outsmart any opponent in the game. However,this is also the trickiest ability to useand will depend on what you’re trying to pull off. For instance, you can flank with this or simply confuse an opponent by catching them off-guard.
When using Kinetic Carbine, you’re able to slow down time for yourself by pressing right mouse click (RMC), once the charged-up shot is available.
Upgrades And Builds For Paradox
Since Paradox’s base weapon damage isn’t strong to begin with, focusing on items like Basic Magazine and High-Velocity Mag that help herbuild weapon damage early onis extremely important. Alongside this, items such as Extra Health and Extra Regen keep her vitality at the top.
Towards the mid-game scenario, pushing lanes by yourself (or with others) becomes an important part of the process. To ensure that this goes smoothly, you’ll need to invest souls in items like Mystic Shot, Improved Cooldown, and Bullet Resist Shredder. This will help youuse your abilities faster and keep your health in check.
Items
Early Game: Focus on improving base weapon damage and vitality.
Extra Health, Extra Regen, Basic Magazine, High-Velocity Mag, Sprint Boots, Mystic Burst and Mystic Reach.
Mid-Game: Focus on securing and pushing lanes by improving Spirit Damage and vitality.
Warp Stone, Bullet Resist Shredder, Mystic Shot, Bullet Armor, Improved Cooldown, Healbane and Slowing Hex.
Late Game: Focus on survival and maximizing Spirit Damage.
Improved Bullet Armor, Improved Burst, Superior Cooldown, and Fortitude.
Finally, you want to invest in items like Improved Burst, Superior Cooldown, and Fortitude in the late game.This ensures that your damage output stays consistently and high, and you don’t have to worry about your vitality. Additionally, you’re able to buy some situational items that will help you out.
Best Playstyle Strategy For Paradox
Take a look at Paradox’s abilities again. Notice how unique each and every ability is? That’ll give you a hint about how versatile and situational she can be. However, to build a proper strategy for her,it’s best to use her abilities in a synergized way, rather than using each ability for a particular situation.
attempt to use all of Paradox’s abilities to displace enemies andhit them all at oncerather than individually.
Use Pulse Grenade For AOE Damage
Paradox’s Pulse Grenade is an incredible tool thathelps you clear out groups of minions quicklyand efficiently. Once this ability is upgraded, you’ll be damaging an entire squad of opponents. However, make sure to use this one early on in the game tofarm souls in the best wayspossible.
Use Time Wall Mid-Fight
It’s tempting to place your Time Wall beforehand as a means of defense. After all, it’s there to protect you, right? Well, an excellent Paradox play is getting enemies to go through this wall as you fight or run from (or towards) them.After placing the wall, try swapping places with themby Paradoxical Swap. In doing so, you’ll be making them go through the wall.
Use Kinetic Carbine For One-On-One Encounters
When getting up close to an enemy hero,try using Kinetic Carbine before engaging in combat. Aiming can be a tough skill to master in Deadlock, and Kinetic Carbine will test your skill. But, if you can manage to land an empowered shot at long-range, you’ll intimidate an enemy before they can even think of a counter-play.
Use Paradoxical Swap For Displacing Enemies
Once this ability is fully upgraded, Paradox has a major upper hand in any battle. You can use Paradoxical Swap to pull enemies to your side of the battle (where teammates are), or you can use it to confuse and catch them off-guard. Regardless of how you choose to play it, remember thatParadoxical Swap simply aids your fight, but might not win it for you. That’s where other abilities come into play.
