In-game build

Possibly Solved Venator Dopamine MaxxingPossibly Solved Dopamine Maxxing

by player 148373228 · updated 2026-10-18

Items in buying order

Early Game L-RCan get battle vest after or before 1.6k gun items

Restorative Shot 800Some gun dmg and very useful sustain. can swap order with cq if u want, sell first

Close Quarters 800Gives the most dmg to gutshot / nades this early, builds into point blank later if needed otherwise sell 2nd

Opening Rounds 1,600Still one of the highest t2 weapon dmg items in the game. The immediate dmg at any point at 50% or above is still strong, sell lategame or if slotlocked

Weakening Headshot 1,600Roughly ~14% weapon dmg in shred that teammates can take advantage of + works on jungle camps. Rip Slowing Bullets

Battle Vest 1,600Resist, regen, dmg. Swap for a t2 optional if needed and Sell later for better defensive items

Extra Health 800

Fortitude 3,200We might be coming full circle. Get after Battlevest and skip enduring and bullet lifesteal, get enduring after or before charges

Section 2optionalCancer lanes. Replace BV with any T2

Extra Regen 800~150hp regen a minute, super efficient

Reactive Barrier 1,600bepop, graves, haze etc. honestly a life safer and builds into Indomitable

Spirit Shielding 1,600still the best early anti spirit nuke option

Enduring Speed 1,600Ven is the least mobile AND slowest char in the entire game AND has bucket 3 stam.

Bullet Lifesteal 1,600HP, weapon dmg, lifesteal, can come in very clutch more than not. Builds into vampiric if needed

Mid Game L-RShould have 4.8k green by now. Charge Items still timed for T3 Nades

Berserker 3,200Im sorry weighted shots. But this deathball meta makes zerker too easy of a pick atm.

Hollow Point 3,200Nearly 50% weapon dmg after the bullet shred procs. Almost unmatched raw dmg for T3 gun

Extra Charge 800Cheap easy buy timed for nademax

Recharging Rush 1,600One of his best synergizing items. Nade and gutshot can pop it on their own + fairly low CD

Ballistic Enchantment 3,200imbue → Consecrating GrenadeCORE. HUGE for teamfights, pit fights, midboss, and defending shrines. Can give GC levels of dmg amp easily. Fine to delay a bit if there isn't much grouping

Rapid Recharge 3,200Multiplies dmg output and utility through nades, can delay this however much you prefer

Vampiric Burst 6,400Survivability and DPS spike that also functions as an auto reload. Almost no reason to not consider this. Can skip if not necassary or hyper mobility enemies

Cultist Routeoptional

Monster Rounds 800Rem/Graves lanes or if unable/need to get lane prio. Otherwise follow cultist route

Cultist Sacrifice 3,200Get MR > Opening > Extra Health > Cultist > Battlevest / Fortitude. If u want to still go rest shot + cq, Skip opening AND slowing

#Citadel_HeroBuilds_LateGameRoughly ordered in value. NOT L-R strict, get whatever you need

Silencer 6,400Lovely sexy gorgeous. We apply it easily and it's super useful vs heavy spirit shitting comps

Inhibitor 6,400Reduce their dmg + more anti heal + extra weapon dmg and hp. This thing is still ridiculous for a green

Spellslinger 6,400MASSIVE dps boost and stacks very fast on ven with how spammable our nades and traps are. Insane powerspike, can get earlier if snowballing

Crippling Headshot 6,400LOTS of shred + anti heal and more hp. Always good late if no one has it (it's no longer bugged with hollow point either incase you have it)

Siphon Bullets 6,400Even after the global hp nerfs it's still technically always an ok buy, but generally there's better options to prioritize. Also completely ignores anti heal

Colossus 6,400Given Ven's low hp being a weakness, this is still his largest lategame vitality boost you can get

Ricochet 6,400I don't care for the change and I think people are overreacting over niche situations where I'd still prefer something else personally. If nothing else to buy why not

Alternativesoptional

Fleetfoot 1,600It's not bad, im starting to opt it in much more

Titanic Magazine 1,600Weakening headshot alternative if u hate it. No more slowing + titanic fun, go with intense mag

Intensifying Magazine 1,600SPECIFICALLY combined with titanic mag early for your 4.8k. Not bad, still not a fan of it on it's own

Point Blank 3,200Buffs us for playing in our Ideal range. Great slotlock, the slow also always helps

Weighted Shots 3,200RIP Weighted. Honorable mention

Defensives / Counter Buysoptional

Spirit Resilience 3,200Exodia. Might as well be core, great basically every single game. Sell battlevest if slotlocked

Counterspell 3,200Counterspell

Dispel Magic 3,200For when they have multiple STDs

Metal Skin 3,200Exodia. Haze / Heavy m1 burst, otherwise consider juggernaut or plated armor depending on the comp

Warp Stone 3,200Glorp

Ethereal Shift 6,400Kommify Agarthian secret dark magician undercover psyop tech

Juggernaut 6,400Slot locked

Indomitable 6,400I mean it's alright. It does have inconsistencies though, check deadlock mythbusters video.

Unstoppable 6,400Mass CC comps / Dynamo

Spellbreaker 6,400Mass spirit nuking

Plated Armor 6,400Anti haze/wraith/infernus etc.

Ability order

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
Consecrating GrenadeAbility 1										I	II	III
GutshotAbility 2					I	II									III
Hex-Lined Snap TrapAbility 3													I	II		III
Ira DominiUltimate							I	II	III

unlock I II III upgrade tiers

Build from Deadlock's in-game build browser; win rate from matches played with it this patch (all ranks). All Venator builds →