Deadlock Hero Overview: Mastering Wraith

Intro

Deadlock by Valve Corporation has delivered a wide range of heroes to experiment with, but few stand out like Wraith. Known for her versatile kit and ability to both deal damage and manipulate fights, Wraith is a fantastic choice for players looking for mobility, consistent DPS, and crowd control. In this Wraith guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know to dominate your games with the best Wraith Guide.

Introduction to Wraith in Deadlock

Whether you're a player who likes to teleport around the battlefield or someone who prefers to stay on the fringes, dealing damage from a safe distance, Wraith can accommodate a variety of playstyles. Her versatile kit allows her to adapt to different situations, making her one of the most flexible heroes in Deadlock.

Wraith excels in lane by providing sustained damage and crowd control through her abilities, while also having enough mobility to avoid getting caught in sticky situations. Her signature skill, Telekinesis, lets her control the battlefield by lifting enemies into the air, stunning them for a short time, and creating an opening for your team to capitalize on. When the lift ends, the opponent is vulnerable to your team's burst damage.

But mastering Wraith isn’t just about her mobility or utility. To truly shine, you need to understand her strengths, weaknesses, and the correct timing for using each of her abilities. This Wraith build guide focuses on improving your gameplay, helping you dominate your lane opponents and eliminate enemies efficiently.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

• High Mobility: Wraith's Project Mind ability allows her to teleport short distances, letting her reposition easily in both offensive and defensive situations. This teleportation can be used as an exit strategy when things get tough.
• Sustained Damage: With Full Auto, Wraith’s damage output skyrockets, making her a powerful asset in longer team fights where consistent damage is needed. The increased fire rate and amount of bullets help you hit enemies more frequently.
• Crowd Control: Telekinesis lets Wraith lift enemies into the air, stunning them for a short duration and opening up opportunities for your team to focus down priority targets.
• Poking Power: Card Trick offers Wraith the ability to deal damage from a distance, allowing her to harass enemies or finish off low-health targets. It's a great way to poke and weaken your opponents before engaging fully.

Weaknesses:

• Limited Burst: Wraith doesn’t have the heavy burst damage that some other heroes possess. Instead, she excels in sustained fights where she can chip away at opponents.
• Cooldown Reliant: Wraith is very ability-dependent, meaning she’s significantly less effective when her skills are on cooldown.
• Squishy: Wraith doesn’t have much health, so she can be vulnerable if caught out of position or if her mobility options are unavailable.

Wraith's Abilities Explained

Card Trick

Wraith’s primary poking ability, Card Trick, lets her summon and throw cards toward enemies, dealing damage at a distance. It's an excellent ability for chipping away at opponents and finishing off low-health foes trying to escape. By putting one point into Card Trick first, you get three stacks of Card Trick early, maximizing your poking potential in the lane.

Upgrades:

• +1 Charge
• +50 Damage
• +50% Card Summon Rate

Tips:

• Use Card Trick to harass enemies from a safe distance before committing to a fight.
• Mix Card Trick with basic attacks to apply pressure while maintaining your positioning.
• It's an excellent tool for securing kills on retreating enemies, so don’t be afraid to use it if an opponent is trying to flee.
• Upgrading Card Trick first to get three cards allows for more frequent poking and lane control.

Project Mind

Wraith’s main mobility tool, Project Mind, lets her teleport to a target location. This ability makes Wraith highly elusive, allowing her to dodge abilities, escape danger, or dive into fights to catch enemies off guard. Additionally, it grants her a bullet shield upon teleporting, making it even more valuable in prolonged engagements.

Upgrades:

• +15 Meter Cast Range
• 300 Bullet Shield for 8 seconds
• -30 Second Cooldown

Tips:

• Use Project Mind aggressively to dive into combat or defensively to quickly escape dangerous situations.
• The bullet shield gained from teleporting is a significant defensive boost, so don’t hesitate to use it to block incoming bullet damage.
• Break line of sight with this ability to confuse and escape from chasing enemies.
• Teleport can be used to reposition for better angles or to secure objectives around the map.
• The extra range upgrade allows you to teleport further, giving you more options in both offense and defense.

Full Auto

Full Auto temporarily boosts Wraith’s fire rate by 20%, making her a consistent damage dealer in extended fights. Nearby allies also receive half of the fire rate bonus, providing a team-wide boost in firepower. Upgrading this ability adds spirit damage and bullet lifesteal, making Wraith even harder to deal with in prolonged engagements.

Upgrades:

• -15 Second Cooldown
• +5 Spirit Damage per Bullet
• +35% Bullet Lifesteal

Tips:

• Activate Full Auto as soon as a team fight starts to maximize your damage output and give your team an offensive edge.
• The bullet lifesteal upgrade helps Wraith stay in fights longer, allowing her to heal while dealing damage.
• Stick close to your teammates when using Full Auto so they can also benefit from the increased fire rate.
• Pair Full Auto with attack speed items to further enhance Wraith’s sustained damage potential.
• With the cooldown reduction, you can use Full Auto twice in extended fights, significantly increasing your damage output.

Telekinesis (Ultimate)

Wraith’s ultimate, Telekinesis, lifts an enemy hero into the air, stunning them and dealing damage when they land. When fully upgraded, it can target multiple enemies at once, making it a devastating AOE crowd control tool in team fights.

Upgrades:

• -30 Second Cooldown
• +0.5 Second Duration
• Telekinesis Targets Enemies in an Area

Tips:

• Use Telekinesis on high-value targets, such as enemy carries or supports, to take them out of the fight temporarily.
• In team fights, lift enemies right before they use critical abilities to disrupt their game plan.
• The area-of-effect upgrade can target multiple enemies, making it a powerful initiation tool when your team needs to engage.
• Combine Telekinesis with follow-up damage from your team to quickly eliminate lifted targets.
• The increased duration upgrade gives your team more time to focus down the stunned enemies.

Upgrade Order: The Best Wraith Build

To get the most out of Wraith, you’ll want to prioritize upgrading her abilities in a way that enhances her mobility and damage output. This Deadlock Wraith build guide focuses on improving her key strengths while mitigating weaknesses.

1. Project Mind: Reducing the cooldown and increasing the range of Project Mind should be your first priority. The bullet shield upgrade also provides additional survivability. With the phase with extra charge, you can teleport more frequently, giving you a significant advantage.
2. Full Auto: Increasing the damage and lifesteal from Full Auto will boost your sustained damage, keeping you effective in longer fights. The bullet lifesteal not only increases your damage output but also provides extra regen during fights.
3. Telekinesis: The area-of-effect upgrade for Telekinesis is crucial for team fights, allowing you to disable multiple enemies at once. Putting one point into Telekinesis early can help in ganks and securing kills.
4. Card Trick: While useful for poking, Card Trick should be upgraded last as its impact doesn’t scale as well in the late game compared to Wraith’s other abilities. However, the extra damage and charges can help in clearing minions and applying pressure in the lane.

Early Game Strategy

In the early game, focus on using Card Trick to poke your lane opponents and gain an advantage. Wraith is one hero who can control the lane with her range and burst fire capabilities. Put one point into Card Trick first to get three stacks, which allows for consistent harassment.

• Lane Choice: Wraith performs well in both mid and safe lanes. Her ability to harass and escape makes her a strong duelist in one-on-one situations.
• Farming: Use Card Trick and basic attacks to last-hit minions efficiently. Prioritize gaining experience and gold to get your core items.
• Itemization: Early items like Basic Magazine and Combat Barrier can increase your weapon damage and survivability. Consider picking up Vitality Items for extra regen or Healing Rite to sustain in the lane.

Matchups and Counters

Understanding matchups is crucial for mastering Wraith in Deadlock.

Strong Against:

• Low Mobility Heroes: Wraith excels against heroes who lack mobility. Her ability to teleport and poke from a distance allows her to harass and kite them effectively.
• Squishy Targets: Heroes with low health pools are vulnerable to Wraith's sustained damage and crowd control.

Struggles Against:

• High Burst Damage Heroes: Wraith's low health makes her susceptible to heroes who can eliminate her quickly before she can react.
• Silencers and Disablers: Heroes who can prevent Wraith from using her abilities can severely limit her effectiveness.

Team Synergy

Wraith pairs well with heroes who can capitalize on her crowd control and sustained damage.

• Initiators: Heroes who can start fights allow Wraith to follow up with Telekinesis and Full Auto.
• Healers and Buffers: Allies who can provide additional regen, shields, or buffs enhance Wraith's survivability and damage output.
• Burst Damage Dealers: Heroes who can deliver high burst damage can quickly eliminate targets lifted by Wraith's Telekinesis.

Alternative Wraith Builds

Depending on the match situation, you might want to adjust your Wraith build.

Defensive Build:

• Focus on items that increase bullet resist and health, such as Restorative Shot and Warp Stone.
• Upgrade Project Mind for maximum teleport range and bullet shield duration.

High Burst Build:

• Emphasize weapon damage and burst capabilities with items like Mystic Burst and Infuser.
• Maximize Card Trick and Full Auto upgrades to increase your burst fire potential.

Tips and Tricks

• Cooldown Management: Always be aware of your ability cooldowns. Wraith is less effective when her abilities are unavailable.
• Positioning: Stay at the edge of fights, using your range and mobility to avoid being focused.
• Objective Control: Use your teleport and mobility to secure objectives like towers and buffs.
• Vision Control: Wraith's mobility allows her to place wards and gain vision for the team, providing valuable information.

Macro Play with Wraith in Deadlock

In addition to mastering her abilities, playing Wraith effectively requires strong macro play. Her teleportation ability, Project Mind, allows her to quickly move across the map, making her excellent at split pushing or rotating between lanes. Wraith is one hero who can turn the tide of battle with her presence in the right place at the right time.

As Wraith, you should focus on:

• Objective Control: Use your mobility to help your team contest important objectives while using your Full Auto to deal consistent damage to enemies trying to contest.
• Split Pushing: When team fights are on cooldown, push lanes with Card Trick and Full Auto to pressure the enemy’s base.
• Team Fight Positioning: Stay near the backline during team fights, using Telekinesis to disable enemies while dealing damage from a safe distance.

By managing Wraith’s positioning and ability usage, you can maximize her impact on the game and help secure victory for your team.

Conclusion

Wraith is one of the most versatile heroes in Deadlock, offering mobility, sustained damage, and crowd control. While she may lack burst damage, her ability to poke, reposition, and control key targets with Telekinesis makes her a formidable force on the battlefield.

Mastering Wraith involves understanding when to use her abilities, upgrading them strategically, and building the right items to suit your playstyle. By following this Deadlock Wraith Play guide, you’ll be well on your way to dominating matches as Wraith.

Want to learn more about the Deadlock heroes? Check out our other articles at SaveGame or our Deadlock lore article.

Disclaimer: This guide is based on the current patch and may change with future updates. For the most up-to-date strategies, be sure to check the latest guides and gameplay videos.