Welcome to our comprehensive Deadlock Pocket Guide. Pocket is one of the most versatile and unique heroes in Deadlock. Acting as a mid-ranged DPS hero, Pocket excels at dealing large amounts of damage while maintaining significant mobility and utility. Whether you're harassing opponents with powerful AoE abilities like Barrage or using your Flying Cloak to teleport and outmaneuver enemies, Pocket has tools for every situation.
Pocket's playstyle revolves around hit-and-run tactics, leveraging abilities that deal damage and apply movement slow to control the battlefield. With abilities like Barrage and Affliction, Pocket can dominate both in close quarters and from a distance. This combination of versatility and adaptability makes Pocket a strong pick in various team compositions in Deadlock, whether you need to deal sustained damage, crowd control, or kite enemies with hit-and-run tactics.
However, mastering Pocket isn't a simple task. You’ll need to understand the rhythm of when to engage enemies and when to fall back, as well as how to properly weave your abilities together to create devastating combos. Timing is critical with Pocket—especially when it comes to executing your escapes with Flying Cloak and Enchanter’s Satchel or setting up deadly ambushes.
This Deadlock hero guide is designed to help you get the most out of Pocket. We’ll break down the hero’s strengths and weaknesses, provide an in-depth look at each ability, discuss build strategies including the best Pocket build, and provide insight into how to play Pocket effectively across all phases of the game. Let’s dive in!
Let’s take a deep dive into Pocket’s set of abilities and how to best use them in different scenarios.
Barrage is Pocket’s bread-and-butter ability. It allows you to channel to start launching projectiles that deal damage and apply movement slow around their impact point. Each projectile landed on a hero grants you a stacking buff that amplifies your weapon damage. This ability is fantastic for harassing enemies from a distance, zoning opponents during team fights, or cleaning up low-health enemies trying to escape.
The key to using Barrage effectively is to time it when enemies are grouped together or confined to a narrow space. This will maximize the number of enemies hit and, by extension, the number of damage stacks you gain.
Pro Tip: When used mid-air, Barrage allows you to float and maintain any horizontal momentum you started with, enabling you to stay mobile while unleashing your attack.
Using Barrage at point blank range can maximize your damage output, especially in close-range confrontations.
Pocket's signature mobility ability, Flying Cloak, launches a sentient cloak forward, dealing spirit damage to enemies along its path. The real utility of this ability, however, lies in its second activation, which allows you to decide whether to teleport to the cloak’s location. This makes Flying Cloak an excellent tool for both initiating fights and escaping dangerous situations.
You can use Flying Cloak to reposition during a fight, jump behind enemy lines, or quickly chase down fleeing opponents. Alternatively, if you find yourself in trouble, you can send the cloak in one direction and teleport to safety.
Pro Tip: Always think two steps ahead when using Flying Cloak. Launch it toward a safe zone before engaging in a fight so that you have an escape route if things go south.
Using Flying Cloak can feel like a majestic leap across the battlefield, giving you the edge over less mobile heroes.
Enchanter’s Satchel is Pocket’s unique defensive tool. It allows Pocket to escape into a suitcase, becoming invulnerable for a short duration. After the duration ends, Pocket deals damage to nearby enemies. The versatility of Enchanter’s Satchel comes from the fact that you can cancel it early if needed, allowing you to react to threats dynamically.
While it may seem defensive, Enchanter’s Satchel can also be used offensively by timing its damage burst with an enemy’s attack or by using it to stall while your team closes in for a counterattack.
Pro Tip: Use Enchanter’s Satchel in conjunction with Flying Cloak and Enchanter’s Satchel to create tricky scenarios where enemies won’t be able to track your movements.
Pocket’s ultimate ability, Affliction, applies spirit damage over time to all nearby enemies. While this damage is non-lethal and does not apply item procs, it’s excellent at whittling down enemy health during prolonged engagements. In addition, Affliction suppresses healing by 60%, making it incredibly potent during team fights where opponents rely on healing or regeneration to stay alive.
The key to using Affliction is timing. Pop it at the start of team fights or when multiple enemies are grouped together to maximize its effect.
Pro Tip: Combine Affliction with AoE abilities like Barrage to force the enemy into a difficult position where they are taking constant damage and cannot recover through healing suppression.
To maximize Pocket’s potential, follow this upgrade order during your matches:
Mastering Pocket requires understanding how to chain abilities together for maximum effect. Here are some useful combos to keep in mind:
Choosing the right items for Pocket can dramatically enhance your performance. Here’s a basic Pocket build guide to consider:
Later-game items like Warp Stone and Titan Magazine are also strong choices to consider as you transition into more prolonged engagements, giving you increased damage output and durability. Items like Mystic Burst and Soul Shredder Bullets can further enhance your burst damage capabilities.
This best Pocket build in Deadlock focuses on maximizing your strengths while compensating for weaknesses, making it one of the best builds you can choose.
Pocket thrives in both team fights and skirmishes, but your macro play is just as important as your micro. Here are some key tips for macro play with Pocket in Deadlock:
As matches progress and enemies become stronger, consider investing in defensive items to mitigate incoming damage. Items like Spirit Resistance can help you survive against magic damage dealers, while Warp Stone provides additional mobility.
As the game progresses, you'll need to adapt your item build in Deadlock. Investing in defensive items can help you survive incoming damage from stronger opponents. Items like Spirit Resistance increase your survivability against magic damage, while Warp Stone and Kinetic Dash enhance your mobility, allowing you to escape dangerous situations.
In the late-game, positioning becomes even more critical. Use Flying Cloak and Enchanter’s Satchel wisely to engage enemies or escape tight situations. Remember, your abilities also have significant cooldowns, so manage them carefully.
Pocket can outmaneuver heroes like Wraith or Haze with her mobility, giving you the upper hand in engagements. Keep applying pressure with Affliction to cause a spiritual overflow in the enemy team, overwhelming their defenses.
Pocket is a highly adaptable hero who, when played correctly, can dominate both in skirmishes and large-scale team fights in Deadlock. The hero’s combination of mobility, crowd control, and area-of-effect damage makes Pocket a strong pick for players who like to keep their enemies guessing. By focusing on ability upgrades, understanding the right item builds, and playing smart in both macro and micro scenarios, you can turn Pocket into a devastating force on the battlefield.
So go ahead, get out there, and play Pocket in Deadlock—whether it’s launching projectiles that deal damage and apply movement slow around their impact point, floating out of harm's way while maintaining any horizontal momentum you started with, or dealing constant pressure with Affliction, Pocket offers endless possibilities for creative and impactful play!
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.
