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How to play Baba

Best build by measured win rate · patch 09-29-2026 · updated Oct 14 · Baba wins 51.9% overall

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The Baba build

Each tier lists the items Baba players win with most often, out of 366,803 Baba games. Win % is how often Baba wins when the item is bought; the green or red number is how far that is above or below the rest of the same tier. Popularity is the share of Baba games the item was bought in; Bought at is the average time. Only items bought in at least 1,500 games and by at least 5% of Baba players count, so a lucky streak can’t make the list.

Lane · Tier 1 · 800 souls

Early mid game · Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

Mid game · Tier 3 · 3,200 souls

Late game · Tier 4 · 6,400 souls

Situational / optional

Fewer Baba players buy these, usually against particular enemies, but those who do win clearly more than the rest of the same tier. Each still has at least 1,500 games behind it.

Popular, but behind the rest of their tier

Not wrong to buy, and sometimes the right answer to a specific enemy. On average, Baba players who buy these win less than those who buy something else at that point.

How this build is chosen

Source: deadlock-api.com item results for Baba, City Never Sleeps matches since 2026-09-30, refreshed daily. Items are compared with the rest of their own tier, because late items always show higher raw win rates (only players who are ahead can afford them). Ranking uses the low end of each item’s 95% confidence range, so more games beat a lucky few. It shows what winning Baba players buy; it can’t prove the item caused the win. For what to change against a specific enemy team, use the matchup tool.

How Baba plays

Strengths

  • Three kinds of control in one kit: Silence, a hex and several slows
  • Steals Spirit from enemy casters while powering up her own bullets
  • Can shield allies with the soothing brew
  • Strong self-peel against melee divers while the bench is up

In lane

  • Threadsap Threadsap 35m Range26s Cooldown Baba throws a spool of thread that follows her crosshair as it flies, then bursts along the whole line it drew. Crowd Control none at base. Tier 3 makes each hit pull the enemy 7m along the thread. Damage 50 spirit damage on the burst. Defensive Taking Spirit away from a caster lowers the damage of their next abilities… 1 +8 spirit damage per bullet while she holds stolen Spirit 2 -12s cooldown and +8s on the steal 5 +1 charge, and every hit pulls the enemy 7m reaches 35m and steals Spirit from both laners at once if they stand in line, so she wins spirit trades early
  • Granny Long Legs Granny Long Legs 10s Duration30s Cooldown Baba's bench grows legs for 10 seconds. Crowd Control Kick: 10m knockback. Ground pound: a short knockup and a 50% slow for 4s.… Damage 75 spirit damage on the ground pound (+0.6 per Spirit). Mobility +5 m/s movement speed for 10s, higher jumps and a charged high jump from… 1 +2.5 m/s movement speed 2 -7s cooldown 5 +15% debuff resist and melee resist, and +50% melee lifesteal gives her a speed burst and a knockback, so a single diver has a hard time sticking to her
  • Baba Baba New hero Released 6 October Released 6 October. A spirit controller: Threadsap steals enemy Spirit and powers up her bullets, her bench grows legs for speed and a knockback kick, Baba’s Brew cycles between a barrier, a silence and a burn, and Feed The Birds hexes everyone in her cone into pigeons. 's Brew lets her Silence an all-in or shield herself, depending on what the lane needs

Power spikes

  • Feed The Birds Feed The Birds 18m Range150s Cooldown Baba channels for up to 6.5 seconds, covering enemies in front of her with bread. Crowd Control A stacking slow up to 32% during the channel (64% at Tier 1), then a pigeon… Damage Up to 450 spirit damage per target at full stacks (+1.6 per Spirit), reached… Mobility She can keep moving while she channels. 1 +4m cast range and +32% max slow 2 -55s cooldown 5 +125 max damage, +1.5 Spirit scaling and +0.5s on the hex unlock — Lets her slow and hex a whole team that walks into her cone
  • Threadsap Threadsap 35m Range26s Cooldown Baba throws a spool of thread that follows her crosshair as it flies, then bursts along the whole line it drew. Crowd Control none at base. Tier 3 makes each hit pull the enemy 7m along the thread. Damage 50 spirit damage on the burst. Defensive Taking Spirit away from a caster lowers the damage of their next abilities… 1 +8 spirit damage per bullet while she holds stolen Spirit 2 -12s cooldown and +8s on the steal 5 +1 charge, and every hit pulls the enemy 7m T1 — +8 more Spirit Damage on every bullet while she holds stolen Spirit doubles the payoff of a hit
  • Baba Baba New hero Released 6 October Released 6 October. A spirit controller: Threadsap steals enemy Spirit and powers up her bullets, her bench grows legs for speed and a knockback kick, Baba’s Brew cycles between a barrier, a silence and a burn, and Feed The Birds hexes everyone in her cone into pigeons. 's Brew T2 — The brew comes back every 13 seconds, so the Silence, barrier or burn is ready in nearly every fight
  • Feed The Birds Feed The Birds 18m Range150s Cooldown Baba channels for up to 6.5 seconds, covering enemies in front of her with bread. Crowd Control A stacking slow up to 32% during the channel (64% at Tier 1), then a pigeon… Damage Up to 450 spirit damage per target at full stacks (+1.6 per Spirit), reached… Mobility She can keep moving while she channels. 1 +4m cast range and +32% max slow 2 -55s cooldown 5 +125 max damage, +1.5 Spirit scaling and +0.5s on the hex T2 — -55s on the ultimate brings it to 95s, often once a fight

Weak points to cover

  • Low health and a weak gun until Threadsap Threadsap 35m Range26s Cooldown Baba throws a spool of thread that follows her crosshair as it flies, then bursts along the whole line it drew. Crowd Control none at base. Tier 3 makes each hit pull the enemy 7m along the thread. Damage 50 spirit damage on the burst. Defensive Taking Spirit away from a caster lowers the damage of their next abilities… 1 +8 spirit damage per bullet while she holds stolen Spirit 2 -12s cooldown and +8s on the steal 5 +1 charge, and every hit pulls the enemy 7m lands
  • Her ultimate is a long channel that a Stun or Silence cuts short
  • Almost everything she does is Spirit Damage or a debuff, so Spirit Resist and debuff resist answer most of her kit

Next

Baba’s hardest matchups

Best teammates

  • Paige Paige SupportControllerMid rangeSpirit damage Currently among the strongest heroes in the game: deadlocklabs.gg records 54.1% win rate at 2.8% pick, S tier, after a recent buff package worth about +2.2 points. Durability low (1/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing high (2/3) 59.9% duo win
  • Graves Graves ControllerSummonerClose rangeHybrid damage Best-in-class unattended map pressure via Borrowed Decree Ghouls marching at objectives Durability low (1/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing low (1/3) 58.9% duo win
  • Kelvin Kelvin SupportControllerMid rangeHybrid damage Frozen Shelter is a hard physical barrier that stops ranged damage and ultimates outright Durability high (2/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility high (2/3) Healing very high (3/3) 57.5% duo win

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