Counterlock
Heroes / Venator / How to play
Field manual · Sep 29 patch

How to play VenatorHow to play

47.2% win rate · #30 of 44 · Devout · Arms Expert · Tactical

Updated 2026-10-30 01:19 UTC · n = 3,827,247 matches

How to play Venator

Hex-Lined Snap Trap1Hex-Lined Snap TrapConsecrating Grenade2Consecrating GrenadeIra Domini3Ira Domini

Your combo: Catch them in a Snap Trap (immobilise 1.25s, reveals them), burn them with Consecrating Grenade (−30% healing), then execute with Ira Domini under 8% health.

Don’t waste: Traps last 30s: lay them where enemies will walk, ahead of the fight.

Edge: Fight near walls, where Gutshot stuns.

From community hero guides, Oct 2026 patches, checked against deadlock.wiki. The same combo from the other side is on how to counter Venator.

Your kit

Consecrating Grenade
Consecrating Grenade
Ability 1 · 25s cooldown

Fire a grenade that bounces before exploding, dealing weapon damage and setting enemies on fire. Burning targets deal pure damage to enemies in the area and suffer from reduced healing.

Gutshot
Gutshot
Ability 2 · 23s cooldown · stun 0.6s

Fire a blast with your shotgun, dealing weapon damage and pushing enemies back. Enemies near a wall receive stun and take bonus weapon damage.

Hex-Lined Snap Trap
Hex-Lined Snap Trap
Ability 3 · 28s cooldown · immobilize 1.25s · tether 0.6s

Kick a trap that arms after a brief delay. The trap springs on the first enemy it touches, dealing spirit damage, applying immobilize, and revealing enemies for a duration afterwards.

Ira Domini
Ira Domini
Ultimate · 160s cooldown · ultimate

Load your crossbow with 3 stakes, dealing massively increased weapon damage.The final stake is blessed, dealing bonus pure damage and executing low-health enemies.

Skill order

Max first:Ira DominiIra Domini›Consecrating GrenadeConsecrating Grenade›Hex-Lined Snap TrapHex-Lined Snap Trap›GutshotGutshot

From the most common upgrade order (67k matches): the order abilities reach their last tier.

10m21m32m43m54m66m77m88m912m1013m1114m1218m1319m1422m1530m
Consecrating GrenadeConsecrating GrenadeAbility 1IIIIII
GutshotGutshotAbility 2III
Hex-Lined Snap TrapHex-Lined Snap TrapAbility 3IIIIII
Ira DominiIra DominiUltimateIIIIII

unlock I II III upgrade tiers · column labels are the average minute of each step

Build path with timings

Early
Mid
Late

Items that win most on Venator

Lanes you win

Lanes to play safe

When they counter you

−7.9 ppRat King

Buy against Rat King:

−7.0 ppGraves

Buy against Graves:

−6.8 ppPaige

Buy against Paige:

Best teammates

Notes from the best builds

Venator stats and buildsHow to counter Venator