Buy anti-heal — NapalmNapalm20m Range25s CooldownSprays a burning mixture in front of him that deals spirit damage, slows whoever it touches, and leaves them coated in napalm that keeps burning.Crowd Controlmovement slow on everyone hitDamageabout 40 spirit at base plus the napalm coating over time (deadlock.one)Mobilitynone directly, though the slow effectively closes distance1+20% lifesteal2applies about +17% Damage Taken and -33% Healing to affected targets tier 3, Decay or Cursed RelicCursed Relic6,400 soulsTier 4TechPress+55sCooldown+3.25sDuration+0.1sCast Delay-25%Damage Penalty — because Life DrainLife Drain18m Range2.5s Duration34s CooldownOpens a tether onto an enemy that siphons their health over time and converts it into healing for her.Damageabout 24 damage per second at base spirit power (deadlock.one)Mobilityreduces her own movement speed while drainingDefensiveher only real sustain tool;1+2 charges and increased spirit scaling's 100% healing conversion is the whole hero
Fight her around corners: Life Drain requires unbroken line of sight, so a single pillar ends the tether instantly
Dive her whenever her health is low from Essence BombEssence Bomb14s CooldownShe pays a chunk of her own health to hurl a bomb that arms briefly before detonating for area damage.Damageabout 90 at base spirit power, with 1.35 spirit scaling;Defensiveactively negative — the self-damage is spirit damage, though it can be…1-5s cooldown2+2m radius and +50 damage5leaves a toxic ground effect dealing roughly 30% of the damage per second for about 6… or MaliceMalice6s CooldownSpends more of her own health to fire blood shards that each apply a stack of Malice.Crowd Controlstacking movement slow that decays over timeDamageabout 23 per shard at base spirit power;Defensivethe slow helps her disengage, but the health cost partly offsets that1-3s cooldown2about +25.2 damage and +4 blood shards5about +8% additional damage amplification self-damage; she has no dash and cannot escape a gap-closer like Phantom StrikePhantom Strike6,400 soulsTier 4ArmorPress+35sCooldown+0.35sCast Delay+8Spirit Power+15%Weapon Damage+40%Move Speed+3sSlow Duration or Flame DashFlame Dash3s Duration38s CooldownDashes forward with slow resistance, leaving a burning trail behind that damages anyone standing in it.Damageabout 30 damage per second from the trail;Mobilitya substantial forward dash, extendable by holding forwardDefensiveslow resistance during the dash makes it reliable as an escape even into…1-12s cooldown2+1.0s trail duration and about +20 damage per second52 ability charges with about a 14s recharge
Hold Ethereal ShiftEthereal Shift6,400 soulsTier 4TechInstantCast+37sCooldown+4sDuration+5sBuff Duration+30%Spirit Resist+20Spirit Power for Soul ExchangeSoul Exchange5.5m Range0.3s Duration220s CooldownSwaps her current health level with an enemy target.Crowd Controltier 2 silences enemies within about 25m for 3 secondsDamageno conventional damage;Defensivea large heal when used at low health on a healthy target1-50s cooldown2silences enemies within about 25m for 3 seconds5about +60 Spirit Power, +40% fire rate and +50% spirit resist for 8 seconds after the…, and do not be the highest-health hero standing within 25m of her when she is low
Strafe against Malice — the shards are a spread of projectiles and partial stacks means a much weaker slow and damage amp
Punish her 2.58s reload; with a 9-round magazine she has a dead window in almost every extended trade
Life Drain converts at 100%, so every second you leave her in line of sight she is turning your health bar into hers
Soul Exchange takes your health level if you are the healthiest target nearby — being at full health near a dying Geist is actively dangerous
Soul Exchange tier 2 silences everything within about 25m for 3 seconds, which ends channels like Bullet DanceBullet Dance3.5s Duration165s CooldownEnters a firing flurry, shooting her weapon at nearby enemies with perfect accuracy and added bullet damage.Damageadded bullet damage on top of her weapon;Mobilitytier 2 adds about +3 m/s move speed and +10% fire rate during the channelDefensivetier 3 grants 40% evasion, which is a substantial survivability window…1+10% fire rate and about +3 m/s movement speed240% evasion and about -65s cooldown or Arctic BeamArctic Beam5s Duration28s CooldownChannels a beam of freezing energy in front of him that damages targets and progressively cuts their movement speed and fire rate the longer it stays on them.Crowd Controlramping movement speed and fire rate reduction;Damageabout 45 damage per second at base;Mobilitynone — it constrains his own movement while he holds it1about -20% fire rate and move speed on targets2about +20 DPS with improved spirit scaling5about -13s cooldown and fires 2 additional beams at targets within 10m and blocks your escape items
Malice stacks slow you and amplify all of her damage against you specifically, so the exchange gets worse the longer it runs
Essence Bomb tier 3 leaves a toxic pool that makes holding an objective circle or a chokepoint genuinely costly
Essence Bomb first — it costs her health. Force it onto a wave or a durable frontliner, then engage while she is down that health and the cooldown is running
Life Drain second: make her tether onto a tanky ally who can simply walk around a corner, which wastes both the charge and her slowed positioning
Soul Exchange last — bait it by having your highest-health hero hold Ethereal Shift; a swap that resolves on an untargetable hero is a wasted ultimate and she is left at low health
Do not bait Malice deliberately; it is cheap and frequent. Deny it with lateral movement instead
Immediately after any Essence Bomb or Malice cast, when she has just paid health for the ability
The entire Life Drain channel — she is movement-slowed and anchored to line of sight on one target
Her 2.58s reload with only 9 rounds, which is one of the longest effective dead windows in the group
Any collapse at all, since she has no mobility ability — a two-person gap-close is simply lethal
The seconds before Soul Exchange comes off cooldown: without it, a low-health Geist has no way to reverse a losing fight
Personal sustain between 100% Life Drain conversion and Lifesteal itemisation
Soul Exchange reverses a losing duel outright and, at tier 2, silences an area on top
Hybrid damage — spirit abilities plus a hard-hitting pistol — so a single resist stat does not answer her
Malice provides a personal damage amp that makes her burst larger than the raw numbers suggest
Weak to
No movement ability at all, so once a team collapses on her she cannot leave
Her own kit damages her, so she is frequently at a health level a burst hero can finish
Life Drain is broken by line of sight and by range, so cover-heavy fights neutralize her sustain
Anti-heal items are a near-complete answer to her entire survivability plan
In lane, good at
Essence Bomb clears waves and pokes the enemy laner from safety
Life Drain converts any successful trade into a full health reset, so she wins attrition lanes
Malice keeps an opponent from disengaging cleanly after a bad trade
Reasonable health pool means she can absorb the self-damage cost of her own kit
In lane, weak to
9-round magazine with a 2.58s reload makes her gun trades very punishable in the dead window
Both Essence Bomb and Malice cost her health, so an aggressive laner can punish her right after a cast
No dash and no mobility ability at all — she cannot escape a coordinated gank
Life Drain slows her and requires line of sight, so it is nearly useless against a laner who plays around cover
Soul Exchange unlock — Makes her low-health dives into a resource instead of a liability
Life Drain tier 3 — +2 charges plus the raised spirit scaling turns her sustain from a single commitment into a repeatable engine
Essence Bomb tier 3 — The toxic ground pool converts her burst into area denial for objective fights
Soul Exchange tier 2 — The 25m 3-second Silence makes the ultimate a teamfight shutdown, not just a duel win
Heavy Pistol ("Johann's Gift")
Medium RangeHeavy Hitter
43.8DPS
Falloff Range 17m → 48m
Slow, high-impact single shots — about 2.1 rounds per second for roughly 20.7 damage each from a very small 9-round magazine with a 2.58s reload. Every shot counts, and the tiny clip means she is reloading constantly in extended fights, which is part of why lifesteal items are core to her.
20.70Bullet Damage
1Pellets per Shot
2.12Bullets per sec
9Ammo
2.58sReload Time
828m/sBullet Velocity
50Light Melee
116Heavy Melee
Vitality and movement
880Health
1Health Regen
6.30m/sMove Speed
2.40m/sSprint Speed
3Stamina
4.50sStamina Cooldown
Base values on patch data. Items and boons change all of these.
The heroes Lady Geist wins most with, against what their two win rates would predict.
HazeHazeAssassinCarryClose rangeBullet damageSingle-target sustained DPS ramps up once Fixation is stackedDurabilitylow (1/3)Bursthigh (2/3)Mobilityhigh (2/3)Healinghigh (2/3)58.6% together+5.5% above expected
GravesGravesControllerSummonerClose rangeHybrid damageMap pressure while away from the fight via Borrowed Decree Ghouls marching at objectivesDurabilitylow (1/3)Burstlow (1/3)Mobilitynone (0/3)Healinglow (1/3)60.2% together+5.3% above expected
Deadman DannyDeadman DannySkirmisherInitiatorMid rangeHybrid damageFree flight: he picks his angles and reaches heroes others can'tDurabilitylow (1/3)Bursthigh (2/3)Mobilityvery high (3/3)Healinglow (1/3)57.8% together+4.1% above expected
PaigePaigeSupportControllerMid rangeSpirit damagePeel — Plot Armor is a save and a damage buff on one button.Durabilitylow (1/3)Burstlow (1/3)Mobilitynone (0/3)Healinghigh (2/3)58.6% together+4.0% above expected
SevenSevenMageControllerMid rangeSpirit damageWave and jungle clear through Lightning Ball and Power Surge, which helps him reach item breakpoints soonerDurabilitylow (1/3)Bursthigh (2/3)Mobilitynone (0/3)Healingnone (0/3)58.0% together+4.0% above expected
VictorVictorBruiserInitiatorClose rangeSpirit damageEffectively two health bars via Shocking Reanimation, which invalidates the normal 'focus the bruiser' planDurabilityvery high (3/3)Bursthigh (2/3)Mobilityhigh (2/3)Healingvery high (3/3)57.4% together+4.0% above expected
Lady Geist wins 52.6% of games overall.
Who counters Lady Geist and who Lady Geist counters: all 43 opponents, from Lady Geist's hardest to easiest, with how far each sits from that average. Lady Geist strugglesLady Geist does well
Paige and Graves are strong against almost every hero this patch, so they sit near the top here too.
The counters that are about Lady Geist in particular: Haze (Lady Geist wins 48.3%) and Abrams (Lady Geist wins 49.2%).
Pick an ability to see what it does and how to play around it.
Essence Bomb
Ability 1 · Self-Damaging Thrown Explosive
She pays a chunk of her own health to hurl a bomb that arms briefly before detonating for Area Damage.
Purpose: Her main burst and her wave-clear — paid for with health she expects to drain back.
Damage
About 90 at base Spirit Power, with 1.35 spirit scaling; tier 2 adds +50 and +2m radius (deadlock.one, metabot.gg; scaling is game data, 30 October 2026)
Defensive
Actively negative — the self-damage is Spirit Damage, though it can be mitigated by Spirit Resist
How to play against it
There is a visible arm time before detonation — leave the radius rather than trading through it
It costs her health every cast, so punish immediately after she throws it; she is fragile in that instant
Spirit Armor is the correct resist for the bomb and for the tier-3 ground
Deny the tier-3 ground by not contesting the same spot; the pool is static and lasts only about 6 seconds
Interactions
The self-damage is spirit type, so Spirit Armor on Lady Geist reduces the cost of her own ability
Spending health on purpose only works because Life Drain and Lifesteal items give it back — the two abilities are one system
Tier 3 leaves toxic ground behind (about 30% of the damage per second for roughly 6 seconds as of 09-16-2026), turning it into area denial
Combos with Malice: land Malice stacks first so the bomb hits an amplified target
Upgrade tiers
Tier 1: -5s cooldown
Tier 2: +2m radius and +50 damage
Tier 3: leaves a toxic ground effect dealing roughly 30% of the damage per second for about 6 seconds
Life Drain
Ability 2 · Sustained Single-Target Tether
Opens a tether onto an enemy that siphons their health over time and converts it into healing for her. The target must stay in line of sight and within range, and her movement is reduced while draining.
Purpose: The button that makes her health-sacrifice loop work — it turns any prolonged contact into a full heal for her and a slow bleed for the target.
Damage
About 24 damage per second at base Spirit Power (deadlock.one)
Mobility
Reduces her own movement speed while draining
Defensive
Her only real sustain tool; since the July 28, 2026 change it converts at 100% of damage dealt into healing
How to play against it
Break line of sight — the tether requires an unobstructed view, so a single corner ends it instantly
Out-range it: it has a maximum distance and she is slowed while draining, so backing up simply snaps it
Anti-heal (Napalm tier 3, Decay, Cursed Relic) counters it because the healing, not the damage, is the point
She is slowed during the drain — that is the window to gap-close and burst her, not to retreat
Interactions
She can fire her weapon and use abilities while draining, so the correct pattern is drain-plus-shoot, not drain alone
It breaks on line of sight or range, which is the primary counterplay — corners beat it
Tier 3 grants +2 charges, turning it from a single commitment into a repeatable tool
Anti-heal effects cut directly into the healing conversion, which is her entire survivability plan
Upgrade tiers
Tier 3: +2 charges and increased spirit scaling
Malice
Ability 3 · Self-Damaging Multi-Projectile Debuff
Spends more of her own health to fire blood shards that each apply a stack of Malice. Every stack slows the victim and increases the damage they take from her specifically. The slow decays over time.
Purpose: Her stick-and-amplify tool — it keeps a fleeing target in range of her slow pistol and makes everything she does to them hit harder.
Damage
About 23 per shard at base Spirit Power; tier 2 adds about +25.2 damage and +4 shards (deadlock.one, metabot.gg)
Crowd control
Stacking movement slow that decays over time
Defensive
The slow helps her disengage, but the health cost partly offsets that
How to play against it
The shards are projectiles fired in a spread — strafing denies most of the stacks, and partial stacks means a much weaker amp
The slow decays on its own, so breaking contact for a couple of seconds resets her advantage
Dispel Magic removes the stacks outright, which also removes the damage amplification
She pays health for every cast — a Geist who spams Malice into cover is a Geist you can burst
Interactions
The damage amplification applies only to damage from her, so it does not help her teammates the way a resist shred would
Amplification was trimmed from 8% to 7% on July 28, 2026 with tier 3 compensating at about +8%
The correct sequence is Malice first, then Essence Bomb, so the bomb lands into the amp
More health spent, so it stacks the same self-damage tension as Essence Bomb
Upgrade tiers
Tier 1: -3s cooldown
Tier 2: about +25.2 damage and +4 blood shards
Tier 3: about +8% additional damage amplification
Soul Exchange
Ultimate · Targeted Health Swap
Swaps her current health level with an enemy target. There is a floor on how low the enemy can be brought and a floor on how much health she can receive based on the victim's current health.
Purpose: A fight-reversing button — she can deliberately dive at low health, then take the healthy target's health bar and hand them hers.
Damage
No conventional damage; it transfers health levels rather than dealing it
Crowd control
Tier 2 silences enemies within about 25m for 3 seconds
Defensive
A large heal when used at low health on a healthy target
How to play against it
Do not be the healthiest target in range of a low-health Geist — that is exactly who she is looking for
Ethereal Shift makes you untargetable through the cast; UnstoppableUnstoppable6,400 soulsTier 4ArmorInstantCast+60sCooldown+5.5sDuration+125Bonus Health+25%Debuff ResistBuilds from Debuff Reducer prevents the tier-2 Silence chain
Force her to use it early by bursting her before she has closed distance, so she swaps at a bad ratio
After tier 3 she gets an 8-second combat buff on top of the swap — plan to disengage for those 8 seconds rather than trading through them
Interactions
Best used at her lowest health against the healthiest enemy — the swap value is the gap between the two bars
The tier-2 25m Silence for 3s makes it an area shutdown, not just a duel-winner — it interrupts channels including Bullet Dance and Arctic Beam
Tier 3 grants a large combat buff after the swap (around +60 Spirit Power, +40% fire rate and +50% Spirit Resist for 8 seconds)
It pairs with her whole health-sacrifice loop: the more health she spent on Essence Bomb and Malice, the more the swap gains her
Upgrade tiers
Tier 1: -50s cooldown
Tier 2: silences enemies within about 25m for 3 seconds
Tier 3: about +60 Spirit Power, +40% fire rate and +50% Spirit Resist for 8 seconds after the swap
Patch history for these abilities (1)
Life Drain And its spirit scaling was raised to +0.45 on 09-16-2026.
Values were last changed in patch 10-30-2026.
Lady Geist's win rate by game length
Game length changes little for Lady Geist compared with other heroes: #7 of 44 in games under 25 minutes, #11 of 44 from 25 to 40, #11 of 44 past 40.
above 50%below 50%under 1,000 gameshow many games end then
See the numbers
Minutes
Wins
vs usual
Games
10–15
49.2%
−3.4%
1,298
15–20
52.3%
−0.3%
2,741
20–25
55.9%
+3.3%
7,765
25–30
55.6%
+3.0%
25,023
30–35
53.5%
+0.9%
55,560
35–40
52.7%
+0.1%
65,424
40–45
51.3%
−1.3%
45,709
45–50
51.1%
−1.5%
24,387
50–55
50.5%
−2.1%
11,992
55–60
50.2%
−2.4%
4,722
60+
49.4%
−3.2%
2,410
"vs usual" is against Lady Geist's 52.6% over all these games. Faded rows have under 1,000 games, where a few percent either way is noise; under 300, no win rate is shown.
Each point is how often Lady Geist won games that ended at that length, not the chance of winning at that minute.
Short games are usually one-sided, so the left side is about closing out a lead and the right side about long, close games.
Games under 10 minutes are left out. Every hero by game length →
Sources and confidence for this record
Record confidence: Strong evidence. Compiled for patch 10-30-2026, researched 2026-10-30.
Difficulty rating: deadlocklabs.gg hero page lists in-game complexity as 2 of 3 stars (★★☆)