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Violet vs Billy

Not out yet

Written for the Violet player. Playing Billy? See Billy vs Violet →

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 →

How to beat Billy

  • Break line of sight against Chain Gang Chain Gang 12m Range2.8s Duration175s Cooldown 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 — the chain explicitly snaps when he loses sight of you, so putting a pillar, crate Crates Breakable Streets, rooftops and tunnels — about 500 of them Ordinary breakables. Each has a 60% chance to drop souls; a Tough Crate always drops, for double. Souls 23 souls a crate, 60% of the time +2 a minute or building corner between you is the intended escape rather than a dash
  • Do not stand within 12m of a Billy holding his ultimate; his cast range is short and a spread formation turns a four-man Chain Gang Chain Gang 12m Range2.8s Duration175s Cooldown 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 into a one-man one
  • Fight him at range. He has literally no ranged tool — kiting outside his gun's effective band makes him a non-factor
  • Sidestep Rising Ram Rising Ram 0.3s Duration32s Cooldown 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 rather than backing up; the 0.35s cast delay is readable, and the miss costs him 32s instead of the 16s a hit would

Bait these first

  • Bashdown Bashdown 4m Range35s Cooldown 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 first — at base he has a single charge on a 35s cooldown, and it is both his interrupt and his anti-air. Force it against a trooper wave or a non-committal step and his next several seconds have no control
  • Rising Ram Rising Ram 0.3s Duration32s Cooldown 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 second — it is his only gap-close, and a miss puts it on the full 32s rather than the halved cooldown. Bait it by standing just inside charge range in open ground and dashing laterally
  • Chain Gang Chain Gang 12m Range2.8s Duration175s Cooldown 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 is best denied rather than baited: stay spread and keep geometry between yourself and him so the 175s ultimate catches one target and then breaks on line of sight

What Billy does to you

  • Chain Gang Chain Gang 12m Range2.8s Duration175s Cooldown 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 does not slow your escape, it deletes it — while chained you cannot use Wraith's blink, Calico's Leaping Slash Leaping Slash 9m Range13s Cooldown Calico lunges forward and then sweeps everything around her with a melee slash. Damage 10 impact damage plus 40 heal scaling per Spirit Power at base… Mobility A committed forward dash — good for closing, mediocre for escaping since it… Defensive Heals on hero hit (+25 at Tier 1), giving her a reason to stay in a fight… 1 +25 heal amount 2 +200 bonus gold on kill and +3s bounty duration 5 +10 damage, +50% cooldown refund and +60 impact damage , Apollo's 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 or any other movement ability, and pulling against it heavily slows you before the yank
  • Bashdown Bashdown 4m Range35s Cooldown 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 yanks airborne heroes straight to the ground, so air-mobility escapes (Vindicta, Grey Talon, a Calico mid-leap, anyone mid-dash) are actively worse than standing still against him
  • Rising Ram Rising Ram 0.3s Duration32s Cooldown 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 launches you into the air alongside him, where you cannot dash and cannot dodge his 74 DPS gun at point-blank range

How to counter Billy →

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