Rat King vs Holliday

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 Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp looks like. It is the cooldown this lane revolves around.

Avoid

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

Do

• 10-round magazine at roughly 2.1 shots per second means whiffed shots are very expensive
• No self-heal or sustain of any kind — chip damage accumulates on her with nothing to offset it
• Scrap Grenade Scrap Grenade 26s Cooldown Rat King throws a bouncing lump of scrap that goes off three times where it lands. Crowd Control 20% movement slow for 4s (scales slightly with Spirit). Damage 70 bullet damage per detonation (+0.6 weapon-damage scaling), three… Defensive The slow is his peel: thrown at his own feet it stops a diver from following… 1 -8s cooldown (26s to 18s) 2 +70 damage per detonation 5 one extra, bigger final detonation — 300 damage, 14m radius, 40% slow clears a trooper wave in three hits and slows anyone farming in it, so he wins wave tempo early

Avoid

• Powder Keg Powder Keg 28s Cooldown Throws a barrel that detonates after a short delay for spirit damage, applies a burn, and launches anyone caught in the blast into the air. Crowd Control knockup on detonation — hard CC that removes the target's ability to strafe Damage about 80 spirit at base plus burn damage over time; Mobility self-launch: detonating it under her own feet is her primary traversal tool 1 +40 impact damage, about +13.3 burn damage per second, roughly -5s charge time and… clears the wave quickly and pokes the enemy laner in the same cast
• Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots ignores falloff, so she can harass from ranges where her opponent cannot answer

Do

• Their first real spike is ult unlock — respect it from that point, not before.
• Your spike is ult unlock: Rule, Ratannia! Rule, Ratannia! 10s Duration160s Cooldown Rat King raises the banner of Ratannia. Crowd Control Knockup and a 40% slow on the slam, plus Rat Swarm from the rats it… Damage 200 bullet damage on the slam (+1.2 weapon-damage scaling), 20m radius (cut… Mobility +3 m/s movement speed for him and nearby allies for up to 10s while the… 1 +2 m/s movement speed (no cooldown reduction since 5 October) 2 +5s banner duration and +8m radius 5 +150 slam damage and +10% damage reduction turns him into the team's fight-starter: slow immunity and speed on the way in, a 20m Knockup on arrival

Avoid

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

Do

• Watch for Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; . Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer pre-cast makes you immune to the Stun and the pull outright — hold it for her ult if she is on the enemy team
• Hold Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer for Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; — it is a targeted Stun-and-pull and Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer simply negates it

Avoid

• Spending your own escape before Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp is on cooldown.

• Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; Ultimate

  The one cooldown worth tracking on its own timer: pull (displacement) plus Stun (Hard CC).

  • Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer pre-cast makes you immune to the Stun and the pull outright — hold it for her ult if she is on the enemy team
  • It is a single-target targeted throw — keep a wall or corner between you and her sightline when her ult is up
  • Ethereal Shift Ethereal Shift 6,400 souls Tier 4TechInstantCast +37s Cooldown +4s Duration +5s Buff Duration +30% Spirit Resist +20 Spirit Power makes you untargetable through the pull window
• Powder Keg Powder Keg 28s Cooldown Throws a barrel that detonates after a short delay for spirit damage, applies a burn, and launches anyone caught in the blast into the air. Crowd Control knockup on detonation — hard CC that removes the target's ability to strafe Damage about 80 spirit at base plus burn damage over time; Mobility self-launch: detonating it under her own feet is her primary traversal tool 1 +40 impact damage, about +13.3 burn damage per second, roughly -5s charge time and… Ability 1

  Holliday gets on top of you and then keeps you there — Knockup on detonation, Hard CC that removes the target's ability to strafe.

  • Shoot the barrel to detonate it early on your own terms, before you are in the blast radius
  • The delay is generous — simply walk out of the marked area rather than trading through it
  • If you get knocked up, do not panic-dash on landing; she is waiting for the predictable landing spot for her Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots headshot
• Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp Ability 2

  Nothing to respect until the upgrade lands, and then tier 3 adds about +0.7s Stun to the landing stomp.

  • The pad is a visible placed object with a long lifetime — route around it rather than through it
  • 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 hits her out of the launch arc; she is fully committed and cannot change direction mid-flight
  • The stomp only triggers once per person per pad, so absorbing it with a durable body neutralizes the AoE for the rest of the fight
• Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots Ability 3

  This will not kill you on its own — it makes sure you cannot leave while the rest of Holliday's kit does. A fading movement speed penalty.

  • Strafe unpredictably and keep your head behind cover — a Crackshot that misses the head is just a 19.7 damage pistol shot
  • It is on a cooldown, so after eating one headshot the next several seconds are her weakest window — push in then
  • Fight her in close quarters where she cannot line up a head; her fire rate of about 2.1 per second punishes her badly in a brawl

1. 1 Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp

   Bounce Pad first — it is her escape, her rotation and (at tier 3) her engage. Force her to place it defensively, then commit while it is on cooldown

2. 2 Powder Keg Powder Keg 28s Cooldown Throws a barrel that detonates after a short delay for spirit damage, applies a burn, and launches anyone caught in the blast into the air. Crowd Control knockup on detonation — hard CC that removes the target's ability to strafe Damage about 80 spirit at base plus burn damage over time; Mobility self-launch: detonating it under her own feet is her primary traversal tool 1 +40 impact damage, about +13.3 burn damage per second, roughly -5s charge time and…

   Powder Keg second: make her spend it on the wave or on a durable frontliner, because without the Knockup her Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots combo is just a slow pistol shot

3. 3 Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration;

   Spirit Lasso is best baited by a target holding Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer or Ethereal Shift Ethereal Shift 6,400 souls Tier 4TechInstantCast +37s Cooldown +4s Duration +5s Buff Duration +30% Spirit Resist +20 Spirit Power — the ult goes on full cooldown for zero value

• Zero sustain and low durability — she cannot absorb a committed dive Strong evidence
• Damage is entirely aim-gated; a Holliday who is not hitting heads contributes very little Strong evidence
• Every one of her tools is telegraphed — a visible barrel, a visible pad, a targeted lasso Strong evidence

• Powder Keg Powder Keg 28s Cooldown Throws a barrel that detonates after a short delay for spirit damage, applies a burn, and launches anyone caught in the blast into the air. Crowd Control knockup on detonation — hard CC that removes the target's ability to strafe Damage about 80 spirit at base plus burn damage over time; Mobility self-launch: detonating it under her own feet is her primary traversal tool 1 +40 impact damage, about +13.3 burn damage per second, roughly -5s charge time and… Knockup into a Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots headshot is her kill combo — while airborne you cannot strafe and the headshot is effectively guaranteed Strong evidence
• Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; pulls you out of your team and stuns you, and with a Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp she drags you even further before the Stun ends Strong evidence
• Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots ignores damage falloff, so distance does not actually protect you from her burst the way it does against other gun heroes Strong evidence
• Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp tier 3 delivers her whole team onto your backline from above with a landing Stun on arrival Strong evidence
• Stacked overlapping barrels in a tight interior create a burn zone that punishes holding a chokepoint at all Strong evidence

• Hold Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer for Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; — it is a targeted Stun-and-pull and Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer simply negates it Strong evidence
• Shoot Powder Keg Powder Keg 28s Cooldown Throws a barrel that detonates after a short delay for spirit damage, applies a burn, and launches anyone caught in the blast into the air. Crowd Control knockup on detonation — hard CC that removes the target's ability to strafe Damage about 80 spirit at base plus burn damage over time; Mobility self-launch: detonating it under her own feet is her primary traversal tool 1 +40 impact damage, about +13.3 burn damage per second, roughly -5s charge time and… barrels to detonate them early, before you are inside the blast, and deny the Knockup that sets up Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots Strong evidence
• Buy 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 for her Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp launch arcs and for her keg self-launches — she is fully committed in the air with no direction control Strong evidence
• Brawl her inside 10m: her roughly 2.1 shots per second and 10-round magazine lose badly to any SMG hero in close quarters Strong evidence
• Break her sightline immediately after she lands a Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots headshot — the bonus is on cooldown and she is a weak pistol hero for those seconds Strong evidence
• Stay grouped so that a lasso pull delivers you into your allies rather than into hers Strong evidence
• You cannot out-move Holliday's gun, so the answer is the item that changes what their bullets do rather than where you stand. Plated Armor Plated Armor 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorPassive +1s Cooldown +30% Deflection Percent +50% On-Hit Prevention Percent +130 Bonus Health deflects bullets outright and — the part most players miss — strips their on-hit build-ups, which is the only clean answer to Silencer Silencer 6,400 souls Tier 4WeaponPassive +12% Spirit Resist -25% Spirit Damage Reduction +2.5s Silence Duration +6s Debuff Duration +10s Immunity Duration , Toxic Bullets Toxic Bullets 3,200 souls Tier 3WeaponPassive -35% Incoming Healing -35% Incoming Healing and Inhibitor Inhibitor 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorPassive +150 Bonus Health +5s Debuff Duration -30% Damage Penalty +10% Weapon Damage -40% Incoming Healing -40% Incoming Healing stacks landing on you. If 6,400 is too far away, Battle Vest Battle Vest 1,600 souls Tier 2ArmorPassive +18% Bullet Resist +3 Out of Combat Regen +65% Life Threshold +18% Weapon Damage +7% Fire Rate at +18% Bullet Resist is the efficient Tier II step and Bullet Resilience Bullet Resilience 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorPassive +30% Bullet Resist +3 Out of Combat Regen at +30% (with a further +15% below half health) the Tier III one. Strong evidence
• You are the one standing in front of Holliday's gun, which makes the fire-rate items pay for you in a way they do not for your backline. Juggernaut Juggernaut 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorPassive +25% Melee Resist +50% Slow Resist +40% Fire Rate +8 Health Regen +4s Duration Builds from Enduring Speed cuts fire rate by 40% on anyone shooting you — it is a passive tax on their entire damage output for as long as you hold the frontline — and Return Fire Return Fire 1,600 souls Tier 2ArmorInstantCast +23s Cooldown +6.5s Duration +65% Bullet Damage Returned +25% Spirit Damage Returned +10% Bullet Resist punishes the same behaviour. Compare that against another resist item honestly: resists stack multiplicatively so your fifth resist source buys little, while a fire-rate cut applies to a number nothing else in your build is touching. Strong evidence

• The few seconds after any Crackshot Crackshot 20s Cooldown Her headshots deal bonus damage and apply a fading movement speed penalty. Crowd Control a fading movement speed penalty; Damage about 55 bonus damage at base; Defensive the slow is a kiting tool against a chasing bruiser 1 about -20% additional fading move speed penalty 2 about +49.5 damage and -6% Bullet Resist on the target for 5 seconds 5 about -6s cooldown on hero headshots and -3s on NPC headshots headshot lands, while the bonus is on its own cooldown Strong evidence
• Her reload — 2.75 seconds with only 10 rounds is a long, frequent dead window Strong evidence
• Mid-air on Bounce Pad Bounce Pad 22s Duration41s Cooldown Drops a pad that launches any hero who touches it high into the air. Crowd Control tier 3 adds about +0.7s stun to the landing stomp Damage about 60 stomp damage on landing (deadlock.one) Mobility very large vertical launch for Holliday and all allies who step on it 1 about -10s cooldown 2 she and allies gain roughly +4 m/s movement speed for 4 seconds on landing 5 about +0.7s stun on the landing stomp or a keg self-launch: she has no directional control and 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 ends the flight Strong evidence
• Immediately after Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; resolves — the pulled target is now standing next to a low-durability hero with her ult spent Strong evidence
• Any close-quarters brawl she is forced into, where her fire rate and magazine size are her worst stats Strong evidence
• Holliday's pull is the whole matchup. Until it is on cooldown you are playing around it; once it misses you have a window that is worth committing into. Make it the first thing you bait — show a sliver of yourself from behind cover rather than walking a clean line they can lead. Strategic
• Being stunned by Holliday 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
• Your weapon has travel time and Holliday 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

• Confirming and denying a soul orb is a hit-check, not a damage-check — one bullet or one pellet takes it regardless of how much damage it does. That is good news for you in the abstract and bad news against Holliday specifically, because your projectile has travel time and their hitscan does not. On the contested floating orb you have to pre-fire: start the shot before the trooper dies and lead the orb's spawn point, because if you both react at the same instant they win every time. Strong evidence
• Holliday will shove the wave into your Guardian to push you off souls, and you are not fast enough to walk around it. The thing to protect is the floating orb — the ground orb drops and cannot be denied, so half your income is safe no matter what they do, and the contest is only ever over the other 50. Position on your Guardian's side of the wave so you are already in range of the floating orbs when they pop, and give up the forward orbs rather than crossing for them. Strategic

• Holliday 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
• There is a hard behavioural change at 20:00 in this matchup: respawn goes from 35 to 38 seconds as of 09-16-2026, and you are the hero Holliday can pick off without a fight starting. Three seconds does not sound like much until you price it against the Rift's 7-minute cadence and the Urn at 20 and 25 — a single death now reliably costs you presence at the next objective. Past 20:00, stop taking the solo camp that is one rotation from their side of the map. Documented

• Against Holliday's knockups, Debuff Reducer Debuff Reducer 1,600 souls Tier 2ArmorPassive +25% Debuff Resist +90 Bonus Health is a live answer where it used to be a dead one: Knockup durations were brought under debuff reduction on 05-22-2026, so the +25% from a 1,600 Tier II item genuinely shortens the airborne time. That matters more for you than for most, because you have no exit and the airborne window is when their follow-up lands. Worth pairing with the fact that 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 -style effects going the other way still cannot be shortened at all. Documented
• Holliday brings enough lockdown that Stun sequencing matters. Community reporting describes Stun diminishing returns of roughly 10% then 30% inside an 8-second window, applying to stuns only and not to silences, slows, disarms or hexes — so their follow-up chain may be shorter than the first one felt. Treat this as unconfirmed, but it is worth knowing before you burn a cleanse on the opening Stun. Uncertain

• Holliday decides where you stand, not you. The practical rule is to never hold a position whose failure case is being moved — stand so that being yanked or knocked puts you somewhere survivable rather than inside their whole team. Cover at your back is worth more than cover in front. Strong evidence
• Fight Holliday 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

• Holliday 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 Holliday's crowd control, understand what Debuff Resist actually buys you: it shortens duration, never magnitude. It is excellent against long disables and close to worthless against a short hard slow. Two things it explicitly does not shorten at all are the parry Stun and the 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 item's Stun. Documented
• 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) — The community-standard answer to escape artists: buy it when an enemy repeatedly dashes, blinks or flies out of your kill window. Relevant here because of Holliday. 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) — Holliday is where this lineup’s air mobility comes from. The consensus answer to flying and airborne heroes and to channelled aerial ultimates — buy it whenever an enemy fights from the sky. Documented
• 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 (vitality T4) — Holliday is where this lineup’s air mobility comes from. Buy to catch flying or long-range heroes who otherwise never enter your range, and to Disarm a gun carry mid-burst. Documented

• The instinct here is to buy Dispel Magic Dispel Magic 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate as your answer to Holliday and then find it greyed out at the exact moment you need it. Dispel Magic Dispel Magic 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate cannot be cast while you are stunned or asleep, and it cannot remove a Stun at all — it purges what comes with the Stun, not the Stun itself. Against Holliday the item you actually want is the pre-cast kind ( Unstoppable Unstoppable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorInstantCast +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer , which also cannot be activated once you are already stunned) or the automatic kind ( Indomitable Indomitable 6,400 souls Tier 4ArmorPassive +55s Cooldown +10s Duration +10% Bullet Resist +10% Spirit Resist +20s Cooldown On Apply +2 Out of Combat Regen Builds from Reactive Barrier , which cleanses the next Hard CC with no input from you). Documented
• The losing pattern against Holliday is deciding to leave, walking to the zipline and finding you cannot attach. Any damage from an enemy hero or objective blocks zipline attachment for 3 seconds, and Holliday has the chip range to keep that 3-second timer rolling indefinitely. Break line of sight first, wait out the lockout, then attach — do not walk to the rope while still taking fire. Documented
• Players buy Dispel Magic Dispel Magic 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate for Holliday and then discover it does nothing about Spirit Lasso Spirit Lasso 20m Range2.3s Duration130s Cooldown Throws a lasso that deals spirit damage, pulls the target toward her, and stuns them. Crowd Control pull (displacement) plus stun (hard CC) Damage about 80 spirit at base (deadlock.one) Mobility she can relocate while lassoing, dragging the victim with her 1 Bounce Pad interaction extends lasso duration; . Dispel Magic Dispel Magic 3,200 souls Tier 3ArmorInstantCast +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate purges non-ultimate negative effects only — anything sourced from an ultimate is outside its scope entirely. Work out which of Holliday's disables come off abilities and which come off the ult before you spend 3,200: the ability-sourced ones are purgeable, the ult is not, and for the ult you need either 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 the discipline not to be there. Documented