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Ivy portrait

How to play Ivy

Best build by measured win rate · patch 09-29-2026 · updated Oct 14 · Ivy wins 53.1% overall

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The Ivy build

Each tier lists the items Ivy players win with most often, out of 255,096 Ivy games. Win % is how often Ivy 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 Ivy 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 Ivy 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 Ivy 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, Ivy 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 Ivy, 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 Ivy 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 Ivy plays

Strengths

  • True flight — she can go places no other hero in this group can reach, with an ally in tow
  • Kudzu Connection Kudzu Connection 16m Range12s Duration37s Cooldown Forms a link with a nearby ally, granting both of them fire rate, bullet lifesteal and replicated healing, and removing the movement penalty while shooting. Damage no direct damage; about +10% fire rate, +15% bullet lifesteal and 35%… Mobility removes the move-speed penalty while shooting, which is effectively a large… Defensive the bullet lifesteal and replicated healing are her main sustain for both… 1 about +8% fire rate and +8% bullet lifesteal 2 connection is always active is one of the few permanent ally buffs in the game, and at tier 3 it never turns off
  • Stone Form Stone Form 3s Duration40s Cooldown Turns Ivy into impervious stone and slams her into the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemies and healing her for a portion of her maximum health. Crowd Control area stun on landing; tier 3 extends the stun duration Damage about 75 at base spirit power (deadlock.one); Mobility a downward slam — it repositions her vertically, especially when combined… 1 increased stun duration and improved damage scaling provides a real invulnerability window plus a percentage-of-max-health heal plus a Stun
  • Layered teamfight contribution: buff, zone, barrier, Stun, Silence — she touches every phase of a fight

In lane

  • Entangling Thorns Entangling Thorns 4s Duration32s Cooldown Summons a patch of choking thorns that damages and slows every enemy inside its radius. Crowd Control movement slow; tier 3 upgrades the effect to an immobilize Damage about 40 damage per second at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Defensive dropped at her own feet it discourages a melee chase 1 +2m radius and improved spirit scaling on the DPS 2 immobilizes enemies in the patch clears the wave and denies the orb area at the same time
  • Kudzu Connection Kudzu Connection 16m Range12s Duration37s Cooldown Forms a link with a nearby ally, granting both of them fire rate, bullet lifesteal and replicated healing, and removing the movement penalty while shooting. Damage no direct damage; about +10% fire rate, +15% bullet lifesteal and 35%… Mobility removes the move-speed penalty while shooting, which is effectively a large… Defensive the bullet lifesteal and replicated healing are her main sustain for both… 1 about +8% fire rate and +8% bullet lifesteal 2 connection is always active 's fire rate and bullet Lifesteal make her duo lane trades favourable and self-sustaining
  • Stone Form Stone Form 3s Duration40s Cooldown Turns Ivy into impervious stone and slams her into the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemies and healing her for a portion of her maximum health. Crowd Control area stun on landing; tier 3 extends the stun duration Damage about 75 at base spirit power (deadlock.one); Mobility a downward slam — it repositions her vertically, especially when combined… 1 increased stun duration and improved damage scaling is a full invulnerability window plus a heal, which makes her extremely hard to gank

Power spikes

  • Air Drop Air Drop 22m Range21s Duration100s Cooldown Picks up an ally and takes flight with them; Crowd Control tier 2 adds a slow on the drop; Damage about 115 spirit explosion damage at base (deadlock.one) Mobility true flight for Ivy and the carried ally — the highest-freedom movement in… 1 about 300 barrier to Ivy and the ally when the flight ends, scaling with Spirit Power 2 adds a slow to the drop effect 5 adds a silence and improved scaling unlock — Turns every fight into one her team can start from an angle the enemy cannot defend
  • Kudzu Connection Kudzu Connection 16m Range12s Duration37s Cooldown Forms a link with a nearby ally, granting both of them fire rate, bullet lifesteal and replicated healing, and removing the movement penalty while shooting. Damage no direct damage; about +10% fire rate, +15% bullet lifesteal and 35%… Mobility removes the move-speed penalty while shooting, which is effectively a large… Defensive the bullet lifesteal and replicated healing are her main sustain for both… 1 about +8% fire rate and +8% bullet lifesteal 2 connection is always active tier 3 — The connection becomes always-on, so the buff no longer depends on holding line of sight
  • Entangling Thorns Entangling Thorns 4s Duration32s Cooldown Summons a patch of choking thorns that damages and slows every enemy inside its radius. Crowd Control movement slow; tier 3 upgrades the effect to an immobilize Damage about 40 damage per second at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Defensive dropped at her own feet it discourages a melee chase 1 +2m radius and improved spirit scaling on the DPS 2 immobilizes enemies in the patch tier 3 — The slow becomes an immobilize, upgrading her from soft CC to a genuine lockdown setter
  • Air Drop Air Drop 22m Range21s Duration100s Cooldown Picks up an ally and takes flight with them; Crowd Control tier 2 adds a slow on the drop; Damage about 115 spirit explosion damage at base (deadlock.one) Mobility true flight for Ivy and the carried ally — the highest-freedom movement in… 1 about 300 barrier to Ivy and the ally when the flight ends, scaling with Spirit Power 2 adds a slow to the drop effect 5 adds a silence and improved scaling tier 3 — The Silence on drop shuts down channelled ultimates on arrival

Weak points to cover

  • Very low burst; she cannot convert a short window into a kill on her own
  • Air Drop Air Drop 22m Range21s Duration100s Cooldown Picks up an ally and takes flight with them; Crowd Control tier 2 adds a slow on the drop; Damage about 115 spirit explosion damage at base (deadlock.one) Mobility true flight for Ivy and the carried ally — the highest-freedom movement in… 1 about 300 barrier to Ivy and the ally when the flight ends, scaling with Spirit Power 2 adds a slow to the drop effect 5 adds a silence and improved scaling is disabled briefly after she takes damage, so it is a proactive tool and not a panic button
  • Her value is heavily tied to having a competent linked ally and a correct target for the drop

Next

Ivy’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) 61.5% 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) 61.0% 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) 58.8% duo win

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