DenyPick

Try a hero name, an item, a problem like “healing”, or two heroes with “vs”.
Infernus portrait

How to play Infernus

Best build by measured win rate · patch 09-29-2026 · updated Oct 14 · Infernus wins 48.8% overall

Facing Infernus instead? How to counter Infernus →

The Infernus build

Each tier lists the items Infernus players win with most often, out of 426,655 Infernus games. Win % is how often Infernus 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 Infernus 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 Infernus 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 Infernus 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, Infernus 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 Infernus, 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 Infernus 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 Infernus plays

Strengths

  • Excellent sustained damage that keeps ticking after he leaves line of sight
  • Hybrid damage profile means neither Bullet Armor nor Spirit Armor alone answers him
  • Native anti-heal at Napalm Napalm 20m Range25s Cooldown Sprays a burning mixture in front of him that deals spirit damage, slows whoever it touches, and leaves them coated in napalm that keeps burning. Crowd Control movement slow on everyone hit Damage about 40 spirit at base plus the napalm coating over time (deadlock.one) Mobility none directly, though the slow effectively closes distance 1 +15% lifesteal 2 applies about +17% Damage Taken and -33% Healing to affected targets tier 3, which is scarce and highly valued
  • An uninterruptible AoE Stun ultimate that cannot be cancelled once committed

In lane

  • Napalm Napalm 20m Range25s Cooldown Sprays a burning mixture in front of him that deals spirit damage, slows whoever it touches, and leaves them coated in napalm that keeps burning. Crowd Control movement slow on everyone hit Damage about 40 spirit at base plus the napalm coating over time (deadlock.one) Mobility none directly, though the slow effectively closes distance 1 +15% lifesteal 2 applies about +17% Damage Taken and -33% Healing to affected targets harasses the enemy laner and clears the wave in a single cast, so he farms and pressures simultaneously
  • Afterburn Afterburn His weapon hits build a burning effect that deals spirit damage over time. Damage about 14 spirit damage per second at base (deadlock.one) 1 burning targets suffer about -35% spirit damage 2 +3.0s maximum burn duration keeps damaging after the trade ends, so every exchange is worth more than it looks
  • Flame Dash Flame Dash 3s Duration38s Cooldown Dashes forward with slow resistance, leaving a burning trail behind that damages anyone standing in it. Damage about 30 damage per second from the trail; Mobility a substantial forward dash, extendable by holding forward Defensive slow resistance during the dash makes it reliable as an escape even into… 1 +1.0s trail duration and about +20 damage per second 2 2 ability charges with about a 14s recharge covers the lane quickly for orb denial or a step-up kill

Power spikes

  • Laning 0-10min — Napalm Napalm 20m Range25s Cooldown Sprays a burning mixture in front of him that deals spirit damage, slows whoever it touches, and leaves them coated in napalm that keeps burning. Crowd Control movement slow on everyone hit Damage about 40 spirit at base plus the napalm coating over time (deadlock.one) Mobility none directly, though the slow effectively closes distance 1 +15% lifesteal 2 applies about +17% Damage Taken and -33% Healing to affected targets plus Afterburn Afterburn His weapon hits build a burning effect that deals spirit damage over time. Damage about 14 spirit damage per second at base (deadlock.one) 1 burning targets suffer about -35% spirit damage 2 +3.0s maximum burn duration is one of the strongest lane harass packages in the game
  • Napalm Napalm 20m Range25s Cooldown Sprays a burning mixture in front of him that deals spirit damage, slows whoever it touches, and leaves them coated in napalm that keeps burning. Crowd Control movement slow on everyone hit Damage about 40 spirit at base plus the napalm coating over time (deadlock.one) Mobility none directly, though the slow effectively closes distance 1 +15% lifesteal 2 applies about +17% Damage Taken and -33% Healing to affected targets tier 3 — +17% damage taken and -33% healing turns him into a native anti-heal and a team-wide damage amp
  • Flame Dash Flame Dash 3s Duration38s Cooldown Dashes forward with slow resistance, leaving a burning trail behind that damages anyone standing in it. Damage about 30 damage per second from the trail; Mobility a substantial forward dash, extendable by holding forward Defensive slow resistance during the dash makes it reliable as an escape even into… 1 +1.0s trail duration and about +20 damage per second 2 2 ability charges with about a 14s recharge tier 3 — Two dash charges turn him from a committal diver into a repeatable skirmisher
  • Concussive Combustion Concussive Combustion 190s Cooldown Turns Infernus into a living bomb that detonates after a delay, dealing spirit damage and stunning every nearby enemy. Crowd Control area stun on detonation; Damage about 125 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Defensive uninterruptible, so it functions as a panic button that punishes whoever… 1 about -65s cooldown and +100% explosion lifesteal 2 +0.9s stun duration and +10m radius tier 3 — +10m radius and +0.9s Stun makes his ult a genuine teamfight-winning AoE

Weak points to cover

  • Almost no burst — every kill requires several seconds of contact
  • Must be at close range, where he is also easiest to focus down
  • Low durability with no defensive ability besides the dash

Next

Infernus’s hardest matchups

Best teammates

  • Rat King Rat King BruiserSupportClose rangeBullet damage Makes his whole team's guns better: stacking bullet-resist shred from Rat Swarm Durability high (2/3) Burst high (2/3) Mobility low (1/3) Healing low (1/3) 56.5% duo win
  • 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) 55.6% 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) 55.2% duo win

More on Infernus