Violet vs Grey Talon
Written for the Violet player. Playing Grey Talon? See Grey Talon 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 Grey Talon
- Dive him — he has the lowest durability in the group and only one escape;
Phantom Strike Phantom Strike +35s Cooldown +0.35s Cast Delay +8 Spirit Power +15% Weapon Damage +40% Move Speed +3s Slow Duration , Haze 
Smoke Bomb Smoke Bomb Vanishes from sight and gains bonus sprint speed. Mobility significant sprint speed bonus while active; Defensive the strongest single-hero escape in the group — at tier 3 it also purges… 1 grants 2 ability charges 2 removes non-ultimate debuffs on cast and grants 50% bullet lifesteal for 5 seconds approach, or Abrams charge kills him outright - Buy
Knockdown Knockdown +35s Cooldown +0.1s Cast Delay +2s Stun Delay +0.5s Stun Duration +75 Bonus Health +5% Ability Range +5% Radius specifically for 
Rain of Arrows Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion : it drops him out of the glide and stuns him, removing his escape and his damage window simultaneously - Pre-activate
Unstoppable Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer BEFORE approaching a trapped choke, because 
Spirit Snare Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius 's Curse blocks item activation after it lands - Strafe laterally against
Charged Shot Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… and 
Guided Owl Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… — both are slow projectiles with travel time, not hitscan
Bait these first
- Rain of Arrows Rain of Arrows Launches Grey Talon high into the air and lets him glide down slowly, gaining bonus weapon damage and firing multiple arrows per shot while airborne. Crowd Control tier-1 upgrade adds roughly a 24% movement slow to his arrows while airborne Damage no direct damage; tier 1 adds about +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow… Mobility high vertical displacement plus a slow controlled glide 1 +3 weapon damage and a 24% movement slow applied by his shots 2 +30% bullet lifesteal, +30% spirit lifesteal and +30% bullet evasion first — it is his only escape. Show a fake commit, make him launch, then engage on the landing when he has neither the glide nor the evasion
- Spirit Snare Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius second: force it with a durable body walking the obvious approach lane, since the Curse is what actually stops your dive
- Guided Owl Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… is worth baiting only when you can punish the cast — pull him into using it on a target with
Ethereal Shift Ethereal Shift +37s Cooldown +4s Duration +5s Buff Duration +30% Spirit Resist +20 Spirit Power or full health, then kill him during the flight
What Grey Talon does to you
- A tier-3 Charged Shot Charged Shot Draws back a heavy shot that can be held at full charge and pierces straight through everything it hits. Damage about 80 at base spirit power, +54 at tier 2 (deadlock.one, metabot.gg) 1 +54 damage 2 roughly -3s charge delay plus improved spirit scaling, turning it from a setpiece into a… hits your whole wave and you behind it, from roughly 50m, on a short enough cooldown that you cannot hold the lane through it
- Spirit Snare Spirit Snare Throws down a trap that arms after a short delay and triggers when an enemy enters its radius, applying Curse and a movement slow. Crowd Control Curse (silence + disarm + item lockout + interrupt) plus a movement slow; Damage minimal direct damage; Defensive the primary anti-dive tool — placed at his own feet or on the approach, it… 1 applies -15% Bullet Resist for 10 seconds 2 +1s Curse duration and +1.5m radius 's Curse silences, disarms and blocks item use — if you step on it you cannot press
Dispel Magic Dispel Magic +45s Cooldown +10% Spirit Resist +3s Buff Duration +250 HP Healed On Activate , Unstoppable Unstoppable +60s Cooldown +5.5s Duration +125 Bonus Health +25% Debuff Resist Builds from Debuff Reducer or 
Warp Stone Warp Stone +16s Cooldown +30% Bullet Resist +6s Buff Duration to get out - Guided Owl Guided Owl After a short cast, Grey Talon takes control of a spirit owl and flies it across the map; Crowd Control area stun on detonation Damage about 230 at base spirit power (deadlock.one) Mobility none for Grey Talon — in fact he is locked in place 1 instantly kills enemies below about 22% health and grants permanent Spirit Power per… at tier 3 executes anyone under about 22% health anywhere on the map; retreating at low health is not actually safe
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 Grey Talon
- Nurse Harrow vs Grey Talon from 16 Oct