Deadlock Kelvin Build Guide: Be the Best Kelvin in Deadlock

Intro to Kelvin

In this Deadlock Kelvin guide, we're going to dive deep into Kelvin, one of the most versatile heroes in Valve's game Deadlock. Kelvin is one of the high-impact heroes that, when played well, can dominate enemy players in team fights and provide massive utility for your team. Kelvin's abilities make him a powerhouse of crowd control (CC) with a ton of utility, making him a must-pick if you love playing supportive yet disruptive roles on the battlefield in Deadlock. Whether you're slowing enemies with Frost Grenade and Arctic Beam, freezing them in their tracks, or offering your team a healing sanctuary, Kelvin has an answer for every situation. This guide will walk you through how to build Kelvin to perfection and be a menace in your matches.

Kelvin Overview

This Kelvin overview will help you understand how to maximize his potential in Deadlock. Kelvin excels at area-of-effect (AoE) control and support in Deadlock, allowing Kelvin to control the battlefield effectively. His playstyle revolves around zoning enemies and turning team fights with his potent abilities that either freeze, slow, or heal. Kelvin's freezing abilities allow him to control large portions of the map by creating icy obstacles that either buff allies or debuff enemies. Kelvin's ultimate, Frozen Shelter, is a game-changer, as it can turn losing fights into overwhelming victories by keeping your team alive while punishing any enemy caught in the AoE.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• AoE Crowd Control: Kelvin's abilities focus heavily on CC, with slows and freezes, making him ideal for disrupting enemy movements and keeping them locked down.
• High Utility: His Ice Path and Frozen Shelter provide immense utility for his team, offering movement speed buffs and healing in fights.
• Flexible Role: Kelvin can play defensively, zoning enemies and protecting allies, or offensively, engaging in fights with his ability to disrupt and damage multiple enemies.

Weaknesses

• Mobility: While Kelvin can boost his movement speed with Ice Path, he is relatively slow otherwise, making it easy for fast heroes to outmaneuver him.
• High Cooldowns: Kelvin's abilities, particularly his ultimate, have long cooldowns, so mistiming them can leave you vulnerable in crucial moments without rapid cooldown recovery options like Rapid Recharge.
• Vulnerability to Long-range Damage: Kelvin excels in mid-to-close range fights. However, characters that can hit him from a distance, especially those with stuns or silences, can easily interrupt his setup.

Abilities Explained

Frost Grenade

Frost Grenade is Kelvin's primary CC tool. When Kelvin throws a grenade, it explodes into a cloud of freezing ice, dealing damage and slowing enemies. You can upgrade it to heal allies, turning it into a versatile skill. This ability allows Kelvin to create ice grenades that not only hinder enemies but also assist teammates.

• Level 1: Extra Charge—+1 charge, allowing you to throw more grenades.
• Level 2: Frost Grenade now heals 145 HP to allies, making it a defensive tool as well as an offensive one, giving Kelvin and his teammates extra regen.
• Level 3: Improved Burst—+175 damage, ensuring your grenade packs a punch in fights, enhancing your damage output.

Ice Path

Kelvin creates an Ice Path that leaves a trail of ice, speeding up your movement while granting slow resistance. It's not just for Kelvin—your entire team can use it for better mobility during fights or retreats.

• Level 1: Sprint Speed Boost—+4 meters per second sprint speed, giving a noticeable movement speed boost.
• Level 2: Improved Cooldown—-16 second cooldown, so you can cast it more often, thanks to Improved Cooldown upgrade.
• Level 3: Kelvin gains 60—As you create the path, Kelvin gains 60 spirit power, boosting your spirit damage over time and providing extra spirit for abilities.

Arctic Beam

Arctic Beam is Kelvin's primary damage-dealing ability. It shoots a freezing beam that not only damages enemies but also slows their movement and fire rate. The longer you sustain the beam, the more damage Arctic Beam deals to the target, increasing your damage potential. This ability is especially effective for damaging targets and building up pressure in fights.

• Level 1: Superior Cooldown—-8 second cooldown to fire the beam more frequently.
• Level 2: +40 DPS, ramping up the damage on sustained targets, especially useful as the longer you sustain the beam.
• Level 3:Fires additional beams toward nearby enemies, making it a devastating crowd control tool in team fights.

Frozen Shelter (Ultimate)

Kelvin's ultimate, Frozen Shelter, creates an impenetrable dome around that provides healing for allies while slowing enemies trapped inside. It's perfect for both defensive and offensive plays, turning the tide of battles by keeping your team alive while punishing foes who venture too close. Allies rapidly regenerate health inside the dome, thanks to the health regen scaling with spirit power.

• Level 1: Fire Rate Slow—+40%fire rate slow for enemies, making it harder for them to escape.
• Level 2: Improved Cooldown—-40 second cooldown, allowing you to use this game-changing ability more frequently.
• Level 3: +70 health regen— for allies inside, scaling with spirit power for better sustainability, effectively giving your team extra regen.

Tips:

• Try to use Frost Grenade at choke points or objectives to maximize its slowing effect on enemy players, making Kelvin freezes more impactful.
• In team fights, aim Arctic Beam at enemy carries to limit their damage output, affecting their movement and fire rate.
• Save Frozen Shelter for moments when your team is engaging or retreating—it can be a game-saver by creating a safe dome around your teammates.

Best Deadlock Kelvin Build

Early Game Build Progression

In the early game, Kelvin thrives with items that enhance his utility and survivability. Focus on Basic Magazine and Close Quarters to buff your health and weapon damage. Pair these with Healing Booster to improve your sustain, especially during laning phases. Items that enhance your early game presence are crucial.

Item Priority:

1. Basic Magazine – Boosts ammo and weapon damage, helping you deal more consistent damage.
2. Close Quarters – Provides health and bullet armor, giving you the durability needed for early trades.
3. Healing Booster – Increases spirit resist and health regen, keeping you alive through early skirmishes.

Tips:

• Be conservative with Ice Path early on. Use it only when necessary for positioning or escaping, conserving cooldown resources.
• Try to harass the enemy with Frost Grenade, but save the healing version for when your lane partner needs it most.
• Give Kelvin items like Spirit Armor to enhance his CC capabilities for better control.

Mid to Late Game Items

As the game progresses into the mid game and late game, transition into more spirit-focused items that increase your utility and CC potential, enhancing Kelvin's spirit damage. Spirit Lifesteal and Frozen Shelter Upgrades are ideal for providing team-wide benefits. For aggressive plays, consider picking up Mystic Burst to bolster your damage potential.

Core Items:

1. Spirit Lifesteal – Boosts your survivability in prolonged fights.
2. Frozen Shelter Upgrades – Amplifies your ultimate's healing and slow effects, making Kelvin's abilities even more impactful.
3. Mystic Burst – Increases weapon damage, giving you a solid mix of offense and defense, and ties into the mystic theme of Kelvin's kit.
4. Warp Stone can be a valuable item for Kelvin in certain situations.

Tips:

• Position Ice Path creatively in mid-game to help your team rotate between objectives faster, boosting overall movement speed.
• Don't forget to communicate with your team when using Frozen Shelter—timing it well can win team fights.
• Equip Boundless Spirit to increase Kelvin's spirit power and mystic abilities.

Situational Items

Kelvin's kit requires adaptation based on the enemy heroes and team composition. If you're facing high-damage dealers, opt for Bullet Armor to increase your resistances. Against mobility-heavy teams, Slowing Bullets helps keep them locked in place. Warp Stone can be considered for added mobility, allowing Kelvin to reposition quickly.

Tips:

• Pick up situational items like Slowing Bullets when facing mobile or evasive heroes.
• If you're taking too much poke damage, consider Bullet Armor for extra defense.
• Using the right items makes Kelvin even more formidable in any team composition.

Ability Upgrade Order

Prioritize upgrading Frost Grenade early for its utility and CC, followed by Ice Path to keep you mobile. Max out Arctic Beam for damage in mid-game, and upgrade Frozen Shelter whenever possible for team fight dominance.

Tips:

• Always keep an eye on your cooldowns—Kelvin's abilities can easily turn the tide of battle but are long enough to leave you vulnerable if mistimed. Consider Rapid Recharge to mitigate this.
• Don't spam Frozen Shelter—save it for high-pressure moments or key objectives.
• Allocate your ability points wisely to maximize Kelvin's effectiveness, focusing on improved spirit abilities.

Gameplay Strategies

Early Game Laning

Kelvin's early game revolves around zoning enemies and helping your laning partner secure farm. Use Frost Grenade to harass enemies and control the lane, while positioning Ice Path for fast rotations or escapes. This strategy makes Kelvin in Deadlock a strong presence from the start.

Tips:

• Harass with Frost Grenade as much as possible while also looking for opportunities to zone enemies away from farm.
• Set up Ice Path to help your team secure objectives in the early game.
• Use Ice Path to boost your movement speed, allowing Kelvin to reposition quickly.

Team Fights

In team fights, Kelvin shines as a disruptor. Open with Frost Grenade to slow the enemy team, then follow up with Arctic Beam to lock down priority targets. Drop Frozen Shelter when your team is taking damage to turn the fight in your favor.

Tips:

• Coordinate with your team to initiate fights after slowing the enemy with Frost Grenade and Arctic Beam, maximizing the effects of Kelvin's freezing abilities.
• Time Frozen Shelter carefully to maximize healing when your team is fully engaged, leveraging the health regen and spirit power scaling.
• Kelvin freezes enemies with his abilities, making it easier for your teammates to secure kills.

Macro Play with Kelvin

On a macro level, Kelvin is exceptional at controlling objectives and zoning key areas of the map in Deadlock. Use Ice Path for quick rotations between lanes and Frozen Shelter to secure crucial fights around major objectives like the Urn or Mid Boss. This gameplay approach ensures that you're always contributing to your team's success.

Tips:

• Use Ice Path to rotate between lanes quickly during critical moments, boosting your team's movement speed.
• Don’t hesitate to use Frozen Shelter in choke points to force the enemy team to retreat or engage in bad positions.
• Understanding Kelvin's gameplay is crucial for success in Deadlock, especially when facing various enemy heroes.

Mastering Kelvin

To truly master Kelvin, you'll need to get the timing and positioning of his abilities just right. Frost Grenade and Frozen Shelter can turn the tide of any battle, but using them prematurely or too late can leave your team in a vulnerable position. Practice timing your Frozen Shelter to maximize its healing benefits, and always look for opportunities to disrupt the enemy with Arctic Beam. This makes Kelvin a formidable force and builds for Kelvin a reputation as a game-changer.

Tips:

• Watch for enemy positioning—casting Frost Grenade in a choke point can significantly slow down the enemy's retreat or engage.
• Time Frozen Shelter with enemy ultimates for the most value, turning potential defeats into victories.
• With the right items and an optimal item build, you can make Kelvin an unstoppable force.

Conclusion

Kelvin is one of the most impactful heroes in Deadlock that, when played well, can dominate team fights and provide massive utility for your team. With his strong CC and healing capabilities, Kelvin is an invaluable asset in any match of Deadlock. By understanding his strengths and weaknesses, mastering his ability timings, and knowing the best Deadlock Kelvin build, you can be the best Kelvin on the battlefield.

Whether you're a seasoned player or new to Deadlock, this Deadlock Kelvin guide aims to provide you with the knowledge to excel with Kelvin. Remember, practice makes perfect, and with time, you'll master Kelvin's abilities and become a formidable opponent in any match. Makes Kelvin a hero worth investing time in, especially when you build Kelvin with the best items.

By following this Deadlock Kelvin build guide, you can ensure that you're making the most of Kelvin's kit and adapting to any team composition or set of enemy heroes you face.

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.