Deadman Danny vs Apollo

Do

• Plan for Slowing Hex Slowing Hex 1,600 souls Tier 2TechPress +29s Cooldown +3.5s Duration +0.1s Cast Delay +16% Move Speed -26% Dash Distance — know which tier it sits in so you are not improvising at the shop.
• Know what Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration looks like. It is the cooldown this lane revolves around.

Avoid

• Walking to lane on the same path every wave against a hero with Apollo's engage range.

Do

• Only ~49 weapon DPS with 2.63 shots per second — he cannot burst a healthy laner down through raw gunfire
• Poor wave clear; he farms slowly compared to Calico or Drifter
• Strix Salvo Strix Salvo 35m Range30s Cooldown Danny fires a salvo of spirit missiles that stick in the ground along a line he aims by holding and dragging. Crowd Control A 40% slow that fades over 1.5s each time a charged shot consumes a mark. Damage 27 spirit damage per missile (+0.74 per Spirit) in a 3.5m blast. Defensive A line of missiles across a street or a doorway punishes anyone who chases… 1 -12s cooldown 2 +20 damage and +35 marked damage 5 +2 missiles, longer range, and better Spirit scaling zones the lane and marks a laner for extra damage from his charged shots

Avoid

• The no-falloff-to-25m weapon means he wins medium-range trades against heroes whose damage is already degrading at that distance
• Disengaging Sigil Disengaging Sigil 12s Cooldown Apollo inscribes a glowing sigil in the air ahead of him and springs backwards as it bursts, damaging and slowing anyone standing in it. Crowd Control Movement slow on enemies caught in the blast. Damage 85 base damage (deadlock.one). Mobility A backwards leap; at Tier 2 it also restores 1 stamina and resets his air… 1 +25% fire rate and +25% bullet velocity for 8s 2 restores 1 stamina and resets air jump / dash limit on hitting player targets 5 can be recast within 4 seconds lets him take an aggressive trade and immediately deny the counter-trade, which is very hard to punish

Do

• Their first real spike is Flawless Advance Flawless Advance 8s Duration26s Cooldown Apollo performs a run of lunges in whatever direction he chooses, driving piercing stabs out in front of him. Damage 25 base hold damage, 40 at maximum hold, 65 on a perfect release… Mobility Directional lunges usable in any direction; Defensive Tier 2 grants 60% bullet resistance during the lunges, which makes it a… 1 hero hits restore 35 health (1.3 spirit scaling) 2 -12s cooldown (from a 26s base) and 60% bullet resistance during the lunges 5 +65 damage with improved spirit scaling, plus increased lunge speed and distance T2 (roughly 4-6k souls) — respect it from that point, not before.
• Your spike is ult unlock: Close The Deal Close The Deal 10m Range135s Cooldown Danny grabs a nearby enemy and flies them high into the air, then crashes back to the ground. Crowd Control The grab itself takes the target out of the fight, then a 0.5s stun on… Damage 70 spirit damage on impact (+1 per Spirit) plus 3 per metre fallen (+0.09… Mobility Flies Danny and the target high into the air and lands them nearby. 1 +50 damage 2 -35s cooldown 5 +0.5s stun and +8 damage per metre adds a grab that carries one enemy out of a fight and stuns them

Avoid

• Taking an even fight against Apollo on their spike timing when you could take the same fight ten minutes later on yours.

Do

• Watch for Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% . The charge is a visible, immobilising wind-up — break line of sight behind a pillar during the charge and the slash cannot reach you
• Never fire into a stationary Apollo who is facing you — that is the Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration window. Feint a readable threat, let the parry expire, then commit the real damage into the 14-22s recovery

Avoid

• Spending your own escape before Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration is on cooldown.

• Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% Ultimate

  The one cooldown worth tracking on its own timer: stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow motion, plus a healing prevention effect for the duration.

  • The charge is a visible, immobilising wind-up — break line of sight behind a pillar during the charge and the slash cannot reach you
  • Do not spend your own burst or single-target ultimate while he is in the slow-motion effect; he is invulnerable and it is thrown away
  • Stay above half health when he has ultimate up — the bonus scales specifically against low-health targets and is where the execute damage comes from
• Disengaging Sigil Disengaging Sigil 12s Cooldown Apollo inscribes a glowing sigil in the air ahead of him and springs backwards as it bursts, damaging and slowing anyone standing in it. Crowd Control Movement slow on enemies caught in the blast. Damage 85 base damage (deadlock.one). Mobility A backwards leap; at Tier 2 it also restores 1 stamina and resets his air… 1 +25% fire rate and +25% bullet velocity for 8s 2 restores 1 stamina and resets air jump / dash limit on hitting player targets 5 can be recast within 4 seconds Ability 1

  Sticking power rather than damage: movement slow on enemies caught in the blast.

  • The leap goes backwards along a predictable vector — cut the retreat line rather than chasing directly behind him
  • The sigil has a visible draw animation before it detonates; step out of the sphere and he gets neither the damage nor the slow
  • Once the sigil is spent (12s base cooldown), his next approach has no exit and that is when to commit
• Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration Ability 2

  Movement and control on the same button, which is what makes it awkward to trade against: Stun on the counter-dash target.

  • Do not throw your damage into an Apollo who is standing still and facing you — that pose is the parry, and feeding it hands him a Stun and a free dash
  • Bait it with a readable but harmless action, let the window lapse, then commit the real burst into the recovery
  • Attack from multiple angles at once; a single perfectly-timed deflection cannot answer crossfire from two directions
• Flawless Advance Flawless Advance 8s Duration26s Cooldown Apollo performs a run of lunges in whatever direction he chooses, driving piercing stabs out in front of him. Damage 25 base hold damage, 40 at maximum hold, 65 on a perfect release… Mobility Directional lunges usable in any direction; Defensive Tier 2 grants 60% bullet resistance during the lunges, which makes it a… 1 hero hits restore 35 health (1.3 spirit scaling) 2 -12s cooldown (from a 26s base) and 60% bullet resistance during the lunges 5 +65 damage with improved spirit scaling, plus increased lunge speed and distance Ability 3

  His main damage tool and his in-fight movement at the same time. The timing mechanic means a skilled Apollo does roughly two and a half times the damage of a careless one with the same ability.

  • The lunges are linear and telegraphed — strafing perpendicular denies the piercing stab entirely
  • Do not shoot bullets into him during the lunges once he has Tier 2; the 60% bullet resistance makes it a wasted magazine. Use Spirit Damage or wait
  • Deny the hero hit and he loses the Tier 1 heal, which is most of his in-combat sustain

1. 1 Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration

   Riposte first, always — it is the hero. Show a readable threat, hold the real damage half a second, and punish the recovery. With Riposte down he is a low-durability duellist with a 49 DPS gun

2. 2 Disengaging Sigil Disengaging Sigil 12s Cooldown Apollo inscribes a glowing sigil in the air ahead of him and springs backwards as it bursts, damaging and slowing anyone standing in it. Crowd Control Movement slow on enemies caught in the blast. Damage 85 base damage (deadlock.one). Mobility A backwards leap; at Tier 2 it also restores 1 stamina and resets his air… 1 +25% fire rate and +25% bullet velocity for 8s 2 restores 1 stamina and resets air jump / dash limit on hitting player targets 5 can be recast within 4 seconds

   Disengaging Sigil second — it is his exit and his dash reset. Force it early in a skirmish and his next approach has no way out; the base cooldown is 12s so you have a real but short window

3. 3 Flawless Advance Flawless Advance 8s Duration26s Cooldown Apollo performs a run of lunges in whatever direction he chooses, driving piercing stabs out in front of him. Damage 25 base hold damage, 40 at maximum hold, 65 on a perfect release… Mobility Directional lunges usable in any direction; Defensive Tier 2 grants 60% bullet resistance during the lunges, which makes it a… 1 hero hits restore 35 health (1.3 spirit scaling) 2 -12s cooldown (from a 26s base) and 60% bullet resistance during the lunges 5 +65 damage with improved spirit scaling, plus increased lunge speed and distance

   Flawless Advance third — baiting the lunges denies both his damage and the T1 heal, and the 60% Bullet Resist window closes

• Very little teamfight contribution — his ultimate is single-target and his damage is duel-shaped Strong evidence
• Low durability; a Stun chain he cannot parry kills him quickly Strong evidence
• Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration is a read that can be baited, and a wrongly-spent parry leaves him exposed for 14-22s Strong evidence
• Apollo threatens you two ways at once — a combo that kills and a disable that makes the combo land — and the three big defensive actives are deliberately orthogonal, so you have to decide which half you are answering. Metal Skin Metal Skin 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +24s Cooldown +5s Duration +12% Bullet Resist -20% Dash Distance blocks Bullet Damage and no statuses; Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer blocks statuses and no damage; Ethereal Shift Ethereal Shift 6,400 souls Tier 4TechInstantCast +37s Cooldown +4s Duration +5s Buff Duration +30% Spirit Resist +20 Spirit Power blocks everything but takes you out of the fight and cancels your own channels. Buying two is the honest answer if you have the souls; buying the wrong one is the same as buying nothing. Strong evidence

• Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration turns your committed damage against you: it deflects, makes him briefly invulnerable, then dashes him onto you with a Stun and a -30% melee resist debuff Strong evidence
• Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% freezes you in slow motion with healing disabled, then detonates for 200+ delayed damage — and the bonus is amplified against targets under half health, so a chipped hero is dead outright Strong evidence
• Flawless Advance Flawless Advance 8s Duration26s Cooldown Apollo performs a run of lunges in whatever direction he chooses, driving piercing stabs out in front of him. Damage 25 base hold damage, 40 at maximum hold, 65 on a perfect release… Mobility Directional lunges usable in any direction; Defensive Tier 2 grants 60% bullet resistance during the lunges, which makes it a… 1 hero hits restore 35 health (1.3 spirit scaling) 2 -12s cooldown (from a 26s base) and 60% bullet resistance during the lunges 5 +65 damage with improved spirit scaling, plus increased lunge speed and distance perfect-timing hits do roughly 65 base compared to 25 on a lazy release, so a good Apollo's damage in a duel is far higher than his DPS number suggests Strong evidence
• Disengaging Sigil Disengaging Sigil 12s Cooldown Apollo inscribes a glowing sigil in the air ahead of him and springs backwards as it bursts, damaging and slowing anyone standing in it. Crowd Control Movement slow on enemies caught in the blast. Damage 85 base damage (deadlock.one). Mobility A backwards leap; at Tier 2 it also restores 1 stamina and resets his air… 1 +25% fire rate and +25% bullet velocity for 8s 2 restores 1 stamina and resets air jump / dash limit on hitting player targets 5 can be recast within 4 seconds resets his dashes and air jumps at T2, so a fight you thought you had cornered him in usually ends with him leaving and you slowed Strong evidence
• Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration can interrupt channelled ultimates — Bebop's Hyper Beam Hyper Beam 120s Cooldown Bebop channels an enormous beam of energy that deals heavy spirit damage over time and slows anything it touches. Crowd Control Applies a movement slow to everything hit. Damage Tier 2 adds +108 DPS. Channel lasts about 11s with a 1s cast delay.… Mobility Bebop is slowed and locked into the channel; 1 roughly -20s cooldown from the 120s base 2 +108 damage per second 5 heals for 65% of hero damage dealt and 20% of non-hero damage and similar channels are not safe in front of him Strong evidence
• Apollo can take you from healthy to dead inside one combo, so health-bar management is not a useful frame in this matchup — being visible at all inside their range is the risk. Assume any moment you are in their line of sight at full health is a moment they can kill you. Strong evidence
• Your mobility is a real advantage here, and Apollo's slows exist to delete it. Note that Debuff Resist barely helps against short hard slows because it only trims duration — spacing and cover do more than an item will. Strong evidence

• Never fire into a stationary Apollo who is facing you — that is the Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration window. Feint a readable threat, let the parry expire, then commit the real damage into the 14-22s recovery Strong evidence
• Attack from two angles at once; Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration answers one incoming attack, and crossfire defeats it by definition Strong evidence
• Engage him from the air where you can — tracklock notes the Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration counter-dash loses reliability against airborne targets because Apollo descends during it Strong evidence
• Stop shooting bullets during Flawless Advance Flawless Advance 8s Duration26s Cooldown Apollo performs a run of lunges in whatever direction he chooses, driving piercing stabs out in front of him. Damage 25 base hold damage, 40 at maximum hold, 65 on a perfect release… Mobility Directional lunges usable in any direction; Defensive Tier 2 grants 60% bullet resistance during the lunges, which makes it a… 1 hero hits restore 35 health (1.3 spirit scaling) 2 -12s cooldown (from a 26s base) and 60% bullet resistance during the lunges 5 +65 damage with improved spirit scaling, plus increased lunge speed and distance once he has T2 — the 60% bullet resistance makes it a wasted magazine; use Spirit Damage or simply strafe out of the linear lunges Strong evidence
• Break line of sight while he charges Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% ; the wind-up immobilises him and any pillar or corner denies the slash entirely Strong evidence
• Stay above half health when his ultimate is up — the execute bonus keys off low-health targets, and topping up before a contest removes most of its damage Strong evidence
• Do not burn burst or a single-target ultimate while he is invulnerable (during the Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration deflect or the ultimate's slow-motion); wait the window out Strong evidence
• Against Apollo the item that changes the matchup is Slowing Hex Slowing Hex 1,600 souls Tier 2TechPress +29s Cooldown +3.5s Duration +0.1s Cast Delay +16% Move Speed -26% Dash Distance , and not for the slow. It silences movement abilities and movement items — that is their dash, their blink, their Warp Stone Warp Stone 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +16s Cooldown +30% Bullet Resist +6s Buff Duration and their Phantom Strike Phantom Strike 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorPress +35s Cooldown +0.35s Cast Delay +8 Spirit Power +15% Weapon Damage +40% Move Speed +3s Slow Duration all turned off at once — and raises their gravity to 120% on top. At Tier II Spirit for 1,600 it is the cheapest way to convert a mobility advantage into a stationary target, and you deal the Spirit Damage needed to apply the follow-up. Strong evidence

• The 14-22s after a wasted Riposte Riposte 22s Cooldown Apollo readies a deflection. Crowd Control Stun on the counter-dash target; Damage No direct damage listed; Mobility A targeted dash to an enemy hero after a successful deflection — a… 1 -8s cooldown (from a 22s base) 2 melee resist reduction increased to -30% 5 +1.6s stun duration — no parry, no counter-dash, and a fragile hero with low weapon DPS Strong evidence
• During the Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% charge: he is immobilised while holding it, so a flank or a long-range burst catches him standing still Strong evidence
• Immediately after Disengaging Sigil Disengaging Sigil 12s Cooldown Apollo inscribes a glowing sigil in the air ahead of him and springs backwards as it bursts, damaging and slowing anyone standing in it. Crowd Control Movement slow on enemies caught in the blast. Damage 85 base damage (deadlock.one). Mobility A backwards leap; at Tier 2 it also restores 1 stamina and resets his air… 1 +25% fire rate and +25% bullet velocity for 8s 2 restores 1 stamina and resets air jump / dash limit on hitting player targets 5 can be recast within 4 seconds is spent (12s base cooldown) — his next engage has no exit and no dash reset Strong evidence
• In extended fights after his cooldowns are through; dramalock notes he specifically 'falters in extended fights after cooldown usage' Strong evidence
• Any time he is caught in layered CC he cannot parry — his durability is low and he has no sustain beyond the 35 health per Flawless Advance Flawless Advance 8s Duration26s Cooldown Apollo performs a run of lunges in whatever direction he chooses, driving piercing stabs out in front of him. Damage 25 base hold damage, 40 at maximum hold, 65 on a perfect release… Mobility Directional lunges usable in any direction; Defensive Tier 2 grants 60% bullet resistance during the lunges, which makes it a… 1 hero hits restore 35 health (1.3 spirit scaling) 2 -12s cooldown (from a 26s base) and 60% bullet resistance during the lunges 5 +65 damage with improved spirit scaling, plus increased lunge speed and distance hero hit Strong evidence
• Being stunned by Apollo now pauses your reload rather than restarting it, as of 09-16-2026. That quietly changes when it is safe to reload in this matchup: a reload caught by their Stun resumes where it left off instead of costing you the whole cycle, so the old rule of never reloading inside their engagement range is too conservative now. The compensating change is that parrying also pauses your reload, so a defensive parry no longer buys you free reload time. Documented
• Parry is your best tool against Apollo's arrival and it is now a commitment rather than a hedge. Since 09-16-2026, parrying during a dash cancels the dash and its momentum, so you cannot both reposition and hold F. The cooldown maths makes the decision for you: a successful parry costs 0.5 seconds and stuns them for 3 with no Debuff Resist reduction possible, while a whiff costs 4.5 seconds — against a hero who arrives on a cooldown, that whiff is the entire window they needed. Documented
• Your weapon has travel time and Apollo is fast enough to make that matter. Lead into where their movement is constrained rather than where they are — the closer the fight, the less your projectile speed costs you. Strategic

• Your escape route is vertical and the 09-16-2026 patch aimed at exactly that: slows now affect air drag at 35% of their value, where previously they mostly did not bite in the air. Going airborne to break Apollo's slow no longer restores your full movement — you carry a fraction of it into the air with you, at the moment you are also a stationary silhouette. The slow cut of ~20% partly offsets it, but the net is that air-escaping a slow is worse this patch than last. Documented

• If you are behind and planning to fight Apollo on the Rift point because of the comeback bubble, recheck the number. As of 09-16-2026 the behind-team resist bonus inside the 35m radius is no longer a flat 35% — it is 10% + 1% per minute, capping at 40% only at 30:00, which is roughly 20% at the first Rift. Twenty percent does not turn a losing fight against burst into a winning one. The reduced capture time (floor 6 seconds) is the part of the comeback package that is still worth playing for. Documented
• Apollo will be their Urn runner and you are the one who can stop it. The Urn cannot be voluntarily dropped — it comes loose only on melee, a Stun, or death — so chip damage and slows do not deny a delivery, your Hard CC does. Hold it for the carry rather than spending it on the approach fight, and note the favoured team gets +50% Bullet and Spirit Resist in a 60m bubble while carrying and depositing, which is why trying to burst the runner down usually fails. Documented

• Your habit of taking the fight vertical to reset spacing against Apollo is weaker on 09-16-2026 than it was. Slows now apply to air drag at 35% of their value, so the air is no longer a slow-free zone, and 2026 has been a steady closing of exactly these loopholes — wall jumping costs 25% stamina regeneration for 5 seconds, and knockups came under debuff reduction in May. Going up is still correct against their ground CC; it is no longer a way to ignore their slows. Documented
• Fight Apollo under cover — indoors, under walkways, inside stairwells. Taking away the vertical axis removes most of their kit's value before you spend a single item slot on it. Strategic
• Riding a zipline in Apollo's line of sight is worse than walking. Enemy hero damage while you are riding knocks you off for 15% of your max health, a 2.5-second Stun and a fall — for a hero with your health pool that is most of a death handed over for free. You gain knockoff immunity only after 3 consecutive seconds of riding, signalled by a blue particle effect, so the dangerous part is the first three seconds. Mount out of their sight line, not near it. Documented

• Apollo fights from the air, which is exactly what Knockdown Knockdown 3,200 souls Tier 3TechPress +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius exists for: it applies +100% gravity to an airborne target (raised from +50% in March 2026) and its Stun scales with altitude, up to about +1.5s at 30m. The higher they commit, the harder the punish — and Debuff Resist will not shorten that Stun for them. Documented
• Against Apollo's burst, a reactive mitigation active beats flat health. Flat health raises the number they have to hit; a barrier or damage-reduction active on a short cooldown breaks the combo itself, which is what actually saves you. Strong evidence
• Slowing Hex Slowing Hex 1,600 souls Tier 2TechPress +29s Cooldown +3.5s Duration +0.1s Cast Delay +16% Move Speed -26% Dash Distance (spirit T2) — Apollo's Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% is what you are buying against here. The community-standard answer to escape artists: buy it when an enemy repeatedly dashes, blinks or flies out of your kill window. Documented
• Vortex Web Vortex Web 6,400 souls Tier 4TechPress +42s Cooldown +4s Duration +0.2s Cast Delay +0.5s Tether Duration +28% Move Speed -36% Dash Distance +8% Ability Range +8% Radius Builds from Slowing Hex (spirit T4) — Apollo's Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% is what you are buying against here. Buy to set up team wipes against scattered, mobile enemies — it groups them and takes away their escapes at once. Documented
• Knockdown Knockdown 3,200 souls Tier 3TechPress +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius (spirit T3) — The consensus answer to flying and airborne heroes and to channelled aerial ultimates — buy it whenever an enemy fights from the sky. What you are answering here: Apollo's Itani Lo Sahn Itani Lo Sahn 145s Cooldown Apollo winds up a wide, long-reaching slash. Crowd Control Stasis-style lockdown — the target cannot take action and is stuck in slow… Damage 200 delayed damage base (deadlock.one); Mobility Tier 1 adds +8m dash range to the slash; 1 +8m dash range 2 -35s cooldown (from a 145s base) 5 adds maximum-health damage and increases the bonus against half-health enemies by 50% . Documented

• The wrong instinct in the first six minutes is treating your health bar as a resource you can spend down to trade. Against Apollo it is not: they do not need you low, they need you in range once. With no self-sustain you also have no way to convert a survived trade into anything — you just stand there at 40% until the combo comes back. Your first 1,600 should be the item that breaks the combo, not the one that wins the poke war. Strategic
• Your instinct is to jump on Apollo's backline the moment you see an opening, and the mistake is not checking what is above you. A Walker's Stomp is 350 damage + 15% of your max health inside 15m with a 2-second Stun on a 7-second cooldown — a 2-second Stun handed to a team with peel is a death. Dive under their Walker only with Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer pre-cast or after the Stomp has just gone off. Strong evidence