Complete Guide to Abrams in Deadlock – Skills, Builds, and Strategy

Abrams is a close-range hero with a tank role, able to withstand damage and dive into enemy lines to create chaos. He effectively closes the gap, stuns opponents, and has high survivability thanks to regeneration and defensive abilities.

This guide covers his abilities, skill upgrade recommendations, and optimal build. Abrams is most powerful with a focus on tankiness and melee damage. Start with items like Melee Lifesteal and Close Quarters and upgrade Infernal Resilience to boost his resilience.

Abrams

Abrams is a straightforward tank character with impressive innate survivability, largely due to his passive ability.

This powerhouse can quickly close gaps, stun enemies, and deal significant damage in close combat if built effectively.

Weapon Stats

Stat	Value
DPS	63
Bullet Damage	4.68
Ammo	9
Bullets per Second	1.67
Light Melee	63
Heavy Melee	116

Vitality Stats

Stat	Value
Max Health	570
Health Regen	1
Bullet Resist	0%
Spirit Resist	0%
Move Speed	6.5 m/s
Sprint Speed	0 m/s
Stamina	3

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Deadlock Abrams Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

• Exceptional health recovery and damage mitigation provided by his abilities.
• High mobility enables him to position strategically against opponents and maximize close-range damage.
• Strong crowd control (CC) abilities, especially effective in narrow spaces, make him an excellent ganker.

Weaknesses:

• Limited effectiveness at long range if his gap-closing ability is on cooldown.
• Vulnerable to anti-healing items and abilities, which greatly reduce his survivability.
• Can struggle in open areas when facing multiple ranged heroes and crowd control effects.

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Deadlock Abrams Abilities

Siphon Life (1)

Absorbs health from enemies within a radius in front of you.

• Radius: 10m
• Duration: 4s
• Cooldown: 42s
• Damage per Second: 35
• Heal vs Heroes: 100%
• Heal vs Non-Heroes: 50%

Siphon Life Upgrades

Upgrade Level	Effect
1 AP	-20s Cooldown
2 AP	+2s Duration
5 AP	+40 Damage per Second

Maxing Siphon Life enhances its usage frequency, duration, and damage, increasing life recovery. Although most opponents will try to move out of range, even a few seconds of exposure can shift the fight in your favor.

Tips for Siphon Life

• Extremely effective against neutral camps, allowing you to gain resources without slowing down your gameplay.
• Investing 1 point early on can improve sustain, even if you don’t plan on maxing this ability.

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Shoulder Charge (2)

Dash forward, colliding with enemies and dragging them along. Hitting a wall stuns enemies caught by Abrams, and speed increases after colliding with enemy Heroes.

• Duration: 1.2s
• Cooldown: 37s
• Damage: 40
• Stun Duration: 0.85s

Shoulder Charge Upgrades

Upgrade Level	Effect
1 AP	-20s Cooldown
2 AP	+0.5s Duration
5 AP	+5.5 Weapon Damage for 8s after collision

Maxing Shoulder Charge increases frequency, extends distance, and grants a damage buff when you slam opponents into a wall.

Tips for Shoulder Charge

• Easier to control in narrow corridors, making it ideal for ambushing enemies in tunnel systems while disrupting their resources. The odds are in your favor unless they regroup.
• Use it flexibly for both offense and defense—either to initiate a fight or to make a quick escape.

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Infernal Resilience (3)

Regenerates a portion of incoming damage over time.

• Damage Regenerated: 15%
• Regeneration Time: 18s
• Health Regen: +1

Infernal Resilience Upgrades

Upgrade Level	Effect
1 AP	+1.5 Health Regen
2 AP	+150 Health
5 AP	+8% Damage Regenerated

Though Infernal Resilience is a passive skill, it is essential to Abrams' durability. It’s often prioritized for maxing first, as it increases both health and health regeneration, significantly boosting resilience.

Tips for Infernal Resilience

• Keep in mind that regeneration occurs over 18 seconds, deflecting part of the incoming damage over time. In prolonged fights, finding cover briefly can provide a significant advantage over your injured opponent.

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Seismic Impact (4)

Leap into the air and target a ground location to smash down. Upon impact, all enemies within the radius are damaged and stunned. Press [LMC] to descend early.

• Stun Duration: 1s
• Impact Radius: 9m
• Cooldown: 159s
• Damage: 150

Seismic Impact Upgrades

Upgrade Level	Effect
1 AP	-40s Cooldown
2 AP	Gain 100 Max HP and 15% Fire Rate per hero hit (lasts 25s)
5 AP	Become immune to Stun, Silence, Sleep, Root, and Disarm (expires 3s after landing)

Maxing Seismic Impact reduces cooldown significantly, enhances HP and fire rate with each hit, and grants CC immunity upon impact, transforming Abrams into an unstoppable force.

Tips for Seismic Impact

• Coordinate with an ally’s ability for greater impact, as the long animation and descent setup make it difficult for enemies to respond. Hitting multiple enemies can give your team a decisive advantage.
• Consider taking at least one point early on; maxing the ability is extremely powerful due to the reduced cooldown, allowing for frequent usage in both offensive and defensive scenarios

Ability Point Order for Abrams

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How to Counter Abrams

• Maintain distance and use long-range attacks to chip away his health. If his health is low, he’s less likely to engage.
• When he closes in, be prepared to Parry or use your movement abilities to avoid being cornered against walls.
• Build anti-healing items to reduce his self-sustain and tankiness.

Recommended Anti-Heal Items

	Item	Cost
	Toxic Bullets	6200
	Healbane	1250
	Decay	1250

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Deadlock Abrams Build

Abrams is a close-range bruiser who excels at diving into the enemy’s backline or engaging frontline battles to create space and disruption. Currently, Abrams performs best when focusing on tanky items and gun damage, which boosts his survivability significantly.

Early Game

• Start with Melee Lifesteal or Extra Health, depending on whether you need extra sustain in your lane matchup.
• Close Quarters and Extra Regen are essential items for solo lanes, as they support both survivability and aggression.
• Allocate 1 point each to Infernal Resilience and Shoulder Charge early on. Then, initiate with heavy melee attacks and shotgun bursts to maximize Close Quarters damage, especially when combined with Spirit Strike.

Recommended Early Game Items for Abrams

	Item	Cost
	Melee Lifesteal	500
	Extra Regen	500
	Ammo Scavenger	500
	Spirit Strike	500
	Extra Health	500
	Close Quarters	500

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Mid Game Build Recommendations

The initial items to focus on during the mid-game are Kinetic Dash and Melee Charge. Aim to combine Shoulder Charge with Spirit Strike for significant burst damage.

Since Abrams has limited mobility outside of Seismic Impact, consider adding Slowing Hex to help close gaps on more mobile targets.

Bullet Resist Shredder is also beneficial after Shoulder Charge for reducing the bullet resistance of targets, allowing for increased damage.

For improved survivability, acquire Enduring Speed to reduce movement-slowing effects, along with Bullet Armor and Spirit Armor. You may also want to sell Extra Health and Extra Regen to free up inventory slots.

Shoulder Charge is an excellent tool for combos and burst damage but can also serve as an escape mechanism. Pair it with Duration Extender for added flexibility.

Recommended Mid Game Items for Abrams

	Item	Cost
	Kinetic Dash	1,250
	Melee Charge	1,250
	Enduring Speed	1,750
	Bullet Resist Shredder	1,250
	Duration Extender	1,250
	Slowing Hex	1,250
	Bullet Armor	1,250
	Spirit Armor	1250

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Late Game Build Recommendations

If you’re ahead, consider using the first flexible slot for Hunter’s Aura.

Upgrading your Tier 1 gun item to Point Blank provides a significant boost to bullet resistance and weapon damage within a 15m radius.

The first major item for Abrams in the late game should be Vampiric Burst, which enhances lifesteal, fire rate, and ammo capacity, while increasing overall weapon damage by 25%. With a 35-second cooldown, this active can be used frequently during teamfights.

Once your damage is high, focus on adding Improved Bullet Armor and Improved Spirit Armor as enemies also scale, and you’ll need extra tankiness to withstand fights.

Finally, the Frenzy gun item enhances movement speed, fire rate, and spirit resistance, adding a 30% boost to weapon damage overall, providing greater sustain when combined with Vampiric Burst.

Recommended Late Game Items for Abrams

	Item	Cost
	Hunter's Aura	3,000
	Point Blank	3,500
	Vampiric Burst	6,200
	Improved Bullet Armor	4,250
	Improved Spirit Armor	4,250
	Frenzy	6,200

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Luxury and Situational Items for Abrams

• Healbane: Essential when facing enemies with heavy lifesteal, as it provides healing upon kill.
• Phantom Strike: An effective choice to disable an enemy carry.
• Debuff Reducer or Debuff Remover: Ideal against teams with multiple debuffs and stuns, especially useful against Knockdown and Slowing Hex.
• Curse: Prevents item usage, making it a strong counter against heavily fed opponents or those specifically built to counter Abrams.
• Warp Stone: A valuable item for extra mobility, providing temporary weapon damage and bullet resistance.
• Superior Stamina: An alternative to Enduring Speed, offering additional stamina and increased fire rate.
• Refresher: A great option for enhanced mobility, allowing for double Seismic Impact usage.

Situational Items for Abrams

	Item	Cost
	Warp Stone	3,000
	Healbane	1,250
	Colossus	6,200
	Phantom Strike	6,200
	Debuff Remover	4,250
	Refresher	6,200
	Superior Stamina	3,500
	Curse	6,200