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How to play Venator

Best build by measured win rate · patch 09-29-2026 · updated Oct 14 · Venator wins 47.1% overall

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The Venator build

Each tier lists the items Venator players win with most often, out of 465,858 Venator games. Win % is how often Venator 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 Venator 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 Venator 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 Venator 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, Venator 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 Venator, 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 Venator 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 Venator plays

Strengths

  • Layered crowd control from three separate slots: knockback plus wall Stun, a 30s-lifetime immobilizing trap, and area denial from burn
  • Native anti-heal on a 20-25s cooldown, which no item purchase is required to enable
  • Reveal on the trap gives his team map information and a 30% damage amplifier at T3
  • Highest-in-group base health for a ranged hero (820), so he is not deleted by a single dive

In lane

  • Consecrating Grenade Consecrating Grenade 25s Cooldown Lobs a grenade that bounces once or twice before detonating in a roughly 4.5m area. Damage 35 impact (about 1.0x weapon scaling) plus roughly 10 burn DPS (about 1.6x… 1 -5s cooldown (25s base) 2 +1.5m radius and +1s burn duration 5 an additional 20% healing reduction on top of the base 30%, and grants extra charges denies the enemy laner's Healing Rite Healing Rite 800 souls Tier 1ArmorPress +70s Cooldown +0.2s Cast Delay +20s Regen Duration and regen trades in a fixed 1v1 lane where the 4.5m burn is hard to fully avoid
  • Hex-Lined Snap Trap Hex-Lined Snap Trap 28s Cooldown Kicks out a trap that arms after a short delay and then sits on the ground for up to 30 seconds. Crowd Control 1.25s immobilize (T2 pushes it to 2.25s) Damage 80 spirit (about 2.2x spirit scaling); Defensive Acts as a tripwire behind Venator so flankers cannot reach him unpunished 1 -11s cooldown (28s base) 2 +1s immobilize duration 5 +1 charge and +30% damage dealt to revealed targets placed behind the enemy's own guardian or on their retreat path punishes any greedy last-hit push
  • 820 base health is on the higher side for a marksman, so he survives early all-ins that would kill a 730 HP hero

Power spikes

  • Laning 0-10min — Consecrating Grenade Consecrating Grenade 25s Cooldown Lobs a grenade that bounces once or twice before detonating in a roughly 4.5m area. Damage 35 impact (about 1.0x weapon scaling) plus roughly 10 burn DPS (about 1.6x… 1 -5s cooldown (25s base) 2 +1.5m radius and +1s burn duration 5 an additional 20% healing reduction on top of the base 30%, and grants extra charges 's 30% healing reduction makes him a strong counter-laner against any regen-based opponent
  • Hex-Lined Snap Trap Hex-Lined Snap Trap 28s Cooldown Kicks out a trap that arms after a short delay and then sits on the ground for up to 30 seconds. Crowd Control 1.25s immobilize (T2 pushes it to 2.25s) Damage 80 spirit (about 2.2x spirit scaling); Defensive Acts as a tripwire behind Venator so flankers cannot reach him unpunished 1 -11s cooldown (28s base) 2 +1s immobilize duration 5 +1 charge and +30% damage dealt to revealed targets T2 (+1s immobilize) — A 2.25s Root is long enough to chain a full Gutshot Gutshot 10m Range23s Cooldown A point-blank shotgun burst within about 10m that shoves everyone hit backwards. Crowd Control knockback on everyone hit; Damage 60 base (about 0.7x weapon scaling) plus 30 bonus (about 0.8x scaling) when… Mobility none for Venator himself 1 +25 damage 2 -10s cooldown (23s base) and +0.4s stun duration 5 after a wall stun, Venator's next heavy melee becomes blessed plus weapon burst without help
  • Ira Domini Ira Domini 15s Duration160s Cooldown For a limited window Venator loads three heavy stakes instead of normal bolts. Damage 120 per stake (about 1.5x weapon scaling); Mobility T1 grants +1.2 m/s move speed while active 1 +1.2 m/s move speed while Ira Domini is active 2 -15s cooldown (160s base) and +65 bonus damage 5 all three stakes become blessed unlock — Gives him an execute for the first time, converting his CC chain into confirmed kills
  • Late 35min+ with Ricochet Ricochet 6,400 souls Tier 4WeaponPassive +65% Ricochet Damage +18% Fire Rate — Post 09-16-2026 Ira Domini Ira Domini 15s Duration160s Cooldown For a limited window Venator loads three heavy stakes instead of normal bolts. Damage 120 per stake (about 1.5x weapon scaling); Mobility T1 grants +1.2 m/s move speed while active 1 +1.2 m/s move speed while Ira Domini is active 2 -15s cooldown (160s base) and +65 bonus damage 5 all three stakes become blessed bounces and splits, turning the ultimate from a single-target execute into a teamfight nuke

Weak points to cover

  • Currently the weakest hero in this group by win rate (roughly 45% as of the 09-09 to 09-20 2026 sample on deadlock.io)
  • Zero sustain, zero barrier and no escape ability — the entire kit is offense and control
  • 6.4 m/s base speed makes him the slowest of this group and an easy gank target

Next

Venator’s hardest matchups

Best teammates

  • Seven Seven MageControllerMid rangeSpirit damage Best-in-class wave and jungle clear, so he reaches item breakpoints ahead of most mid-laners Durability low (1/3) Burst high (2/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing none (0/3) 54.2% 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) 54.4% duo win
  • 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) 54.8% duo win

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