Billy vs Violet
Written for the Billy player. Playing Violet? See Violet vs Billy →
Violet is announced but not out yet. New heroes release Tuesdays and Fridays at 2:00 pm Pacific, in an order set by player vote; the next slot is Friday 16 October.
This page becomes the full matchup guide on release day: the measured win rate, who is favoured, how to win, a phase-by-phase plan and the abilities to watch. Everything known about Violet so far →
Your side: Billy in lane
Lane strengths
- The melee-reload loop from
Blasted Blasted Billy's melee hits refill his gun's ammunition and leave the victim 'wrecked' for several seconds. Crowd Control none (the wrecked status is a damage debuff, not crowd control) Damage 70 melee bonus health scaling with Spirit Power at base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 grants +2.25 m/s bonus movement speed. 1 +2.25 m/s bonus movement speed 2 +1 Bashdown charge on use and +7% wrecked bullet amplification 5 +50 melee bonus health and improved spirit scaling means he never has to stop shooting to reload in an extended lane trade -
Rising Ram Rising Ram Billy lowers his head and charges into an enemy, carrying both himself and them up into the air. Crowd Control Knockup on the target — they are carried airborne alongside Billy. Damage 40 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one). Mobility A committed forward charge with a 0.35s cast delay and a short 0.3s… 1 +25% weapon damage for 5s on impact 2 +0.4s charge duration 5 -13s cooldown (from a 32s base) and +10% max health for 16s on hero hit into the sidewalk of a lane converts into a Knockup and a full 74 DPS magazine at point-blank range -
Bashdown Bashdown Billy drives his bat into the ground. Crowd Control Pulls airborne enemies downward plus a knockup shockwave on the ground — two… Damage 35 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one); Defensive The knockup interrupts an incoming dive or a channelled ability. 1 -10s cooldown (from a 35s base) 2 +1 charge and +2m radius 5 -3s charge time and now deals 50% heavy melee damage punishes any laner who tries to jump or air-dash away from a trade by dragging them straight back down
Lane weaknesses
- Zero ranged threat — he has no poke whatsoever and cannot contest a laner who stays at distance
- Both Bashdown Bashdown Billy drives his bat into the ground. Crowd Control Pulls airborne enemies downward plus a knockup shockwave on the ground — two… Damage 35 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one); Defensive The knockup interrupts an incoming dive or a channelled ability. 1 -10s cooldown (from a 35s base) 2 +1 charge and +2m radius 5 -3s charge time and now deals 50% heavy melee damage (35s) and Rising Ram Rising Ram Billy lowers his head and charges into an enemy, carrying both himself and them up into the air. Crowd Control Knockup on the target — they are carried airborne alongside Billy. Damage 40 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one). Mobility A committed forward charge with a 0.35s cast delay and a short 0.3s… 1 +25% weapon damage for 5s on impact 2 +0.4s charge duration 5 -13s cooldown (from a 32s base) and +10% max health for 16s on hero hit (32s) have long base cooldowns, so a baited cast leaves a large dead window
- A missed Rising Ram Rising Ram Billy lowers his head and charges into an enemy, carrying both himself and them up into the air. Crowd Control Knockup on the target — they are carried airborne alongside Billy. Damage 40 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one). Mobility A committed forward charge with a 0.35s cast delay and a short 0.3s… 1 +25% weapon damage for 5s on impact 2 +0.4s charge duration 5 -13s cooldown (from a 32s base) and +10% max health for 16s on hero hit in open ground is close to a free kill for the opponent
Power spikes
- Bashdown Bashdown Billy drives his bat into the ground. Crowd Control Pulls airborne enemies downward plus a knockup shockwave on the ground — two… Damage 35 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one); Defensive The knockup interrupts an incoming dive or a channelled ability. 1 -10s cooldown (from a 35s base) 2 +1 charge and +2m radius 5 -3s charge time and now deals 50% heavy melee damage T2 (+1 charge, +2m radius) — Two charges turn his anti-air pull and Knockup from a single interrupt into continuous area control
- Blasted Blasted Billy's melee hits refill his gun's ammunition and leave the victim 'wrecked' for several seconds. Crowd Control none (the wrecked status is a damage debuff, not crowd control) Damage 70 melee bonus health scaling with Spirit Power at base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 grants +2.25 m/s bonus movement speed. 1 +2.25 m/s bonus movement speed 2 +1 Bashdown charge on use and +7% wrecked bullet amplification 5 +50 melee bonus health and improved spirit scaling T2 — The Bashdown Bashdown Billy drives his bat into the ground. Crowd Control Pulls airborne enemies downward plus a knockup shockwave on the ground — two… Damage 35 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power (deadlock.one); Defensive The knockup interrupts an incoming dive or a channelled ability. 1 -10s cooldown (from a 35s base) 2 +1 charge and +2m radius 5 -3s charge time and now deals 50% heavy melee damage charge refund plus +7% wrecked amplification ties his damage engine to his CC and roughly doubles his effective output in a sustained brawl
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Chain Gang Chain Gang Billy chains every nearby enemy to himself. Crowd Control Movement-ability lockout plus heavy slow for the ~2.8s duration, ending in a… Damage 120 spirit damage scaling with Spirit Power on the yank (deadlock.one). Mobility none for Billy 1 +40% spirit and bullet resist 2 -40s cooldown (from a 175s base) 5 +5m range and +1.3s Unstoppable per hero pulled unlock — Gives him the ability to switch off enemy escapes entirely, which reframes every fight around whether he gets close
What Valve has shown of Violet
Abilities not shown yet. Valve's words for Violet: ambitious, nimble, creative. A painter. Likely a zoning or terrain-painting kit; nothing confirmed yet.
Other new heroes against Billy
- Billy vs Nurse Harrow from 16 Oct