How to beat Rat King
Rat King is a close-range brawler with no dash. His rats make your team easier to shoot, his armour sends bullets back, and his banner starts fights. Take away the armour, shake off the rats and fight him from range.
How to Beat Rat King in Deadlock: Counters, Items & Punish Windows What changed since the video
The video came out on 9 October, before the Halloween patch of 30 October. That patch made Rat King weaker. The advice in the video still holds. A few numbers moved:
- His gun does 5% less damage, and it grows 20% less as he levels up.
- Scrap Grenade does 60 damage per blast, down from 70.
- His ultimate is on a 180 second cooldown, up from 160. Its knock-up is half as long.
- If you stun or sleep him before he plants the banner, it drops with no damage and no knock-up. He still loses the ultimate.
- He can now be banned.
The full list is in our Halloween patch write-up.
Answer each ability
Scrap Grenade
The grenade bounces, then goes off three times in the same spot. Each blast slows you. If you stay in the circle, you take all three. Leave after the first blast and you take one.
The grenade is a real object until it explodes. You can melee it away from you. It always keeps at least 0.4 seconds on its fuse after a hit, so knock it, don't stand next to it.
Rat Swarm
The rats jump on you and keep biting. Each bite lowers your bullet resist a little. That makes you easier to kill for his whole team, not just for him.
Every dash throws off one rat, on the ground or in the air. So dash early, as soon as they land. Don't start a long gunfight while you are covered in rats. The lowered resist wears off 4 seconds after the last bite.
Royal Pestments
His armour gives him a barrier. While it holds, some of your bullets bounce back at you. Only bullets bounce. Spirit damage breaks the barrier safely.
If you can't do spirit damage, stop shooting and wait out the 6 seconds. Then he is an ordinary brawler with no way to run.
Rule, Ratannia!
He raises a banner first. You get 2 seconds of warning. While he carries it, his team moves faster and can't be slowed. Then he slams it down: everyone near him is knocked up and slowed, and rats pour out.
- Spread out when you see the banner go up, so the slam can't catch everyone.
- Stun or sleep him before he plants it. That wastes his ultimate.
- Don't spend your slows while the banner is up. They do nothing to his team then.
- Once it is planted, his team takes less damage near it. Step back and come back when it falls.
The lane
Early on, Rat King clears waves fast with the grenade, and his rats reach 50 metres. His gun is the weak part. The pellets are slow and lose damage after 20 metres. Stay at range, strafe his shots, and trade when his armour is down.
He has no dash, leap or blink. If a teammate can come and help, he can only walk away.
When he gets stronger
- Ultimate unlocked: from now on he starts team fights. Watch for the banner.
- Grenade tier 2: the grenade becomes a real trade, not just wave clear. Leave the circle sooner.
- Armour tier 2: the barrier comes back every 14 seconds. Plan your gun trades around it.
- Armour tier 3 (late): no single hit can do more than 250 to the barrier. Spread your damage over many hits.
When to punish him
- Right after his armour ends. It is down for 22 seconds (14 at tier 2), and he has no escape.
- Right after he throws the grenade. It is his only slow outside the ultimate.
- While he carries the banner. He can't slide or crouch, so he is easier to hit.
- In a fight. His tunnels only work out of combat, so keep him fighting and he has to walk out.
His hardest matchups today
Rat King wins 53.9% of all games in Halloween 2026.
The heroes Rat King does worst against, beyond what their own strength explains:
-
Haze Haze Single-target sustained DPS ramps up once Fixation is stacked Durability low (1/3) Burst high (2/3) Mobility high (2/3) Healing high (2/3) : Rat King wins 49.4% (full matchup) -
Abrams Abrams Heals himself through Siphon Life and Infernal Resilience's regeneration Durability very high (3/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility low (1/3) Healing very high (3/3) : Rat King wins 50.3% (full matchup) -
Lady Geist Lady Geist Personal sustain between 100% Life Drain conversion and lifesteal itemisation Durability high (2/3) Burst high (2/3) Mobility low (1/3) Healing very high (3/3) : Rat King wins 50.8% (full matchup)
Paige Paige Peel — Plot Armor is a save and a damage buff on one button. Durability low (1/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing high (2/3) (46.6%) and 
Graves Graves Map pressure while away from the fight via Borrowed Decree Ghouls marching at objectives Durability low (1/3) Burst low (1/3) Mobility none (0/3) Healing low (1/3) (47.6%) also do well against Rat King, but they do well against almost everyone this update, so they are not about Rat King in particular.
These numbers refresh every night. How we pick counters.
What to buy
- Bullet resist, like Bullet Resilience. His gun, the grenade and the banner slam are all bullet damage. Only the rat bites are spirit damage.
- Debuff Reducer or Dispel Magic. Both cut the rats' resist shred and the grenade's slow short.
- Spirit damage on your build, if you can. It breaks his armour without anything bouncing back.
The checklist
- Dash as soon as the rats land.
- Leave the grenade circle after the first blast, or melee the grenade away.
- Break the armour with spirit damage, or wait out its 6 seconds before you shoot.
- Spread out when the banner goes up, and stun him before he plants it.
- Fight him from beyond 20 metres. He has no way to close the gap.
More on Rat King: his hero page (every matchup and ability), and his build.