Paradox in Valve’s Deadlock is an exceptional hero that revolves around manipulation of time, space, and reality. Known for her mind-bending abilities and fluid gameplay, Paradox excels at outplaying opponents, offering both crowd control and heavy burst damage. Her unique mechanics make her one of the more challenging yet rewarding characters in this third-person shooter MOBA. This Paradox guide will help you master her skills and provide the best Paradox build in Deadlock to dominate your enemies.
As a hybrid damage dealer and utility caster, Paradox specializes in disorienting enemies while dishing out massive weapon damage. Her kit is designed around slowing time, stopping projectiles, and repositioning both herself and enemy heroes. Whether you're controlling the flow of team fights or securing kills with perfectly timed abilities, Paradox in Deadlock is built to adapt to nearly any situation. However, her skill ceiling is high, meaning you’ll need to master timing, positioning, and map awareness to maximize her potential.
Paradox throws a grenade that begins pulsing when it lands. Pulse Grenade is a crowd control tool that deals AoE spirit damage over time while slowing and applying damage amplification to enemies caught in its pulses. The pulse applies damage and movement slow, making it excellent for area denial in both lane control and team fights.
Strategy: Use Pulse Grenade to control choke points or set up for engagements. It works wonders in forcing opponents to reposition, making them vulnerable to follow-up attacks from your team.
Pro Tip: Combo Potential – Cast Pulse Grenade just before engaging with Kinetic Carbine to maximize damage. The stacked slow and damage amplification will allow you to burst enemies faster than they can react.
Paradox creates a Time Wall that stops enemy projectiles and damages foes who pass through it. Enemies that touch the wall are not only slowed but also silenced, and take damage as a percentage of their max health, making this a versatile defensive and offensive tool. The wall also provides increased movement speed to Paradox when she passes through it. The time stop effect occurs when enemy projectiles hit the wall, nullifying them completely.
Strategy: Place Time Wall between you and ranged enemies to negate incoming projectile damage, or use it aggressively in skirmishes to silence key targets, preventing them from casting crucial abilities.
Pro Tip: Predict Enemy Positioning – Don’t just use Time Wall defensively. Cast it in front of enemies trying to escape or engage, forcing them to cross it and eat a silence. This can often turn the tide of a fight.
This is Paradox’s bread-and-butter offensive ability. Charging up her carbine increases movement speed and empowers her next shot, dealing amplified spirit damage and applying time stop to the target enemy hero hit. The charged shot to deal significant damage makes it essential for securing kills. The next shot will release an empowered projectile that swaps damage and movement speed advantages in your favor.
Strategy: Look for opportunities to engage with this ability fully charged. Its stopping power can disrupt enemy formations, allowing you or your team to capitalize on briefly slowed enemies for a quick takedown.
Pro Tip: Charge on the Move – Use the increased movement speed while charging to dodge skill shots and position for a surprise attack. Using the bonus movement speed from charging Kinetic Carbine can help you reposition throughout the match. Enemies often don’t expect the burst of mobility, making it easy to outplay them.
Her ultimate swaps her position with a target enemy hero. This sudden repositioning not only damages the enemy over time but also grants Paradox a substantial spirit lifesteal bonus, making her deceptively durable in one-on-one situations. The enemy hero takes damage over time, allowing Paradox to secure kills even after the swap. It's like firing a projectile that swaps places, turning the tide of battle instantly.
Strategy: Use Paradoxical Swap to dive the enemy backline or escape a dangerous engagement. With careful use, you can turn the tide of a fight by disorienting key targets while also healing yourself.
Pro Tip: Swap Wisely – Don’t use Paradoxical Swap recklessly. Always aim for high-value targets like enemy carries, or use it to escape a dive. Remember, the spirit lifesteal and the enemy hero takes damage over time effect can keep you alive in tough situations, so time it when you need that burst of survivability.
In the early stages of the game, prioritizing Kinetic Carbine early is crucial. Focus on items that increase your mana pool, cooldown reduction, and weapon damage amplification. Paradox’s reliance on her abilities means you’ll want to cast them as often as possible. Item progression in Deadlock should align with maximizing your abilities' effectiveness.
Key Items:
Pro Tip: Focus on Farming – Paradox needs items to shine. Focus on getting as many souls as possible by last-hitting troopers and clearing jungle camps. Avoid unnecessary fights until you have a couple of core weapon damage items.
As the game progresses through different stages of the game, focus on items that amplify your burst damage and provide some survivability. This ensures you can dish out additional damage while surviving long enough to reset and re-engage.
Key Items:
Pro Tip: Adapt Your Build – If you’re facing heavy burst damage, consider items like Bullet Armor for some added defense. If you're ahead, focus on amplifying your damage and movement speed even further with items like Soul Shredder.
Depending on the flow of the game, you may need to adjust your build. If you're getting focused by enemy assassins, consider picking up utility items like Bullet Armor or Combat Barrier to sustain yourself in fights. Health regeneration effects can also be beneficial.
Pro Tip: Don’t Be Afraid to Sell – If you’ve built early-game items that don’t fit into the late-game strategy, sell them to make room for stronger upgrades. Flexibility is key with Paradox players.
Paradox thrives in controlling the pace of the lane. Use Pulse Grenade to harass enemies and zone them off important resources. Her ability to stop projectiles with Time Wall can save you from early aggression while you focus on farming.
Key Tips:
Pro Tip: Time Your Trades – Use Pulse Grenade and Kinetic Carbine to set up short, powerful trades. With proper timing, you can chunk enemy health while staying safe behind your Time Wall.
In team fights, Paradox excels at being both a disrupter and damage dealer. Your main role is to silence critical enemy heroes with Time Wall and eliminate key targets with Kinetic Carbine.
Key Tips:
Pro Tip: Engage Carefully – Paradox works best when played on the edges of a fight. Wait for enemies to burn key cooldowns before diving in with Paradoxical Swap to maximize your impact. Using the bonus movement speed from charging Kinetic Carbine can help you reposition throughout the match.
Macro play is all about controlling objectives and map positioning. Paradox’s ability to displace and silence enemies makes her excellent at defending towers and contesting objectives.
Key Tips:
Pro Tip: Master Map Awareness – Always be aware of enemy rotations. With Paradoxical Swap, you can turn isolated enemies into easy kills or quickly rotate between objectives. This allows Paradox to be a constant threat on the map.
Mastering Paradox requires a deep understanding of timing and positioning. Her kit rewards players who can think ahead and manipulate the battlefield to their advantage. Learning to use Paradoxical Swap at the right time can single-handedly win team fights, while smart use of Time Wall can shut down enemy damage dealers.
Pro Tip: Practice Timing – Paradox’s skill set is all about timing. Spend time practicing her abilities in custom games to get a feel for when to engage, swap, and reposition. This is essential for playing Paradox at a pro-level.
Paradox is a rewarding and highly skill-dependent hero in Deadlock. With a well-rounded kit that offers burst damage, crowd control, and mobility, she can control the flow of fights and carry games if played correctly. Whether you're using Pulse Grenade to zone enemies, Time Wall to block projectiles, or her ultimate to outplay the enemy team, Paradox's gameplay is a delight for strategic players who enjoy manipulating time to their advantage. Master her abilities, and you’ll dominate the battlefield with calculated precision.
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.
