Comprehensive Guide to Paradox – Strategies, Builds, and Tips

Welcome to the guide for Paradox in Deadlock! As one of the more challenging characters, Paradox offers unique playmaking opportunities that can turn the tide of battle. This guide will explore optimal item builds, ability strategies, and gameplay tips to help you master Paradox and dominate your matches with her versatile toolkit.

Paradox

As one of the more challenging characters in Deadlock, Paradox rewards players who invest time in learning her with the ability to dominate the game through unique playmaking options.

While she can perform well on her own, Paradox truly shines when she coordinates with her team to maximize the effectiveness of her kit.

Paradox Weapon Stats

DPS	57
Bullet Damage	7.2
Ammo	40
Bullets per Second	7.94
Light Melee	63
Heavy Melee	116

Paradox Vitality Stats

Max Health	550
Health Regen	2
Bullet Resist	0%
Spirit Resist	0%
Move Speed	6.5 m/s
Sprint Speed	0 m/s
Stamina	3

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Deadlock Paradox Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Versatile with tools suitable for any situation.
• Capable of making massive plays with Paradoxical Swap.
• High skill ceiling with plenty of room for creativity in gameplay.

Weaknesses

• Can be challenging to pilot effectively due to the high skill ceiling.
• Lacks mobility and escape options.
• More reliant on team coordination to maximize the value of Paradoxical Swap.

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Deadlock Paradox Abilities

Pulse Grenade (1)

Throw a grenade that begins pulsing when it lands. Each pulse deals damage, applies movement slow, and provides stacking damage amplification for Paradox against the victim.

• Radius: 6m
• Pulses: 4
• Cooldown: 28s
• Pulse Interval: 0.8s
• Pulse Damage: 45
• Damage Amplification per Stack: 6%
• Amplification Duration: 8s
• Movement Slow: 30%
• Slow Duration: 2s

Pulse Grenade Upgrades

AP	Upgrade
1	+0.8s Duration
2	-8s Cooldown
5	+45 Pulse Damage and +0.75m Radius per pulse

Maxing out Pulse Grenade enhances Paradox’s AoE potential for wave clear, team fights, and taking neutral camps. It increases the number of pulses, reduces cooldown, and boosts damage per pulse.

Tips for Pulse Grenade

• The Pulse Grenade explodes in a large sphere, allowing it to wrap around cover and hit enemies behind it if your skillshot indicator shows them in range before casting.
• Remember that it can stick to walls and ceilings, so be creative with your placement!

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Time Wall (2)

Create a time-warping wall that stops time for all enemy projectiles and bullets that touch it. Enemies that make contact with the wall will take damage as a percentage of their max health and will be briefly slowed.

• Charges: 1
• Cooldown Between Charges: 8s
• Cooldown: 37s
• Time Stop Duration: 0.7s
• Max Health Damage: 10%
• Wall Duration: 7s
• Movement Slow: 80%
• Wall Width: 7m
• Wall Height: 3.5m

Time Wall Upgrades

AP	Upgrade
1	+2m Width and +1m Height
2	+1 Charge
5	Enemies that touch the Time Wall will be silenced for 2.5s

Maxing out Time Wall allows Paradox to maximize her defensive capabilities by increasing its size, providing a second charge, and silencing enemies who touch it.

Tips for Time Wall

When trying to escape enemies, newer Paradox players often turn around to place her Time Wall. There’s no need to do this, as it works in both directions—just place the wall in the direction you’re running and run through it.

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Kinetic Carbine (3)

Start charging your weapon to gain increased movement speed once it's fully charged. Your next shot will release the energy, dealing spirit damage and applying a time stop to the enemy hit. The damage dealt is an amplification of your current weapon damage. You can also slow time for yourself by pressing [RMC] while an empowered shot is available.

• Max Damage Amplification: +85%
• Min Damage Amplification: +25%
• Cooldown: 30s
• Min Stop Duration: 0.25s
• Bonus Speed: 25%
• Max Stop Duration: 0.5s
• Bullet Damage: 5
• Full Charge Time: 2.5s
• Speed Duration: 3.5s

Kinetic Carbine Upgrades

AP	Upgrade
1	+0.5s Max Stop Duration
2	-10s Cooldown and +2s Speed Boost Duration
5	+50% Max Damage Amplification

Maxing out Kinetic Carbine gives Paradox massive poke potential and enhances her playmaking capabilities. You’ll enjoy an increased max stop duration for better aiming, reduced cooldown, improved movement speed, and additional damage amplification.

Tips for Kinetic Carbine

• You can stall yourself in the air multiple times between dashes and any other movements while Kinetic Carbine is activated, allowing you to mix up your movement in a fight to secure the perfect shot.
• Improve your efficiency by reloading your weapon while your Kinetic Carbine shot is charging.

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Paradoxical Swap (4)

Fire a projectile that swaps your position with the target enemy hero. While the effect is active, you gain spirit lifesteal, and the enemy hero takes damage over time.

• Range: 25m
• Cooldown: 65s
• Swap Damage: 125
• Spell Lifesteal: 100%

Paradoxical Swap Upgrades

AP	Upgrade
1	-15s Cooldown
2	+100 Swap Damage
5	+20m Range

Maxing out Paradoxical Swap makes her ultimate easier to use with a longer cast range, increases the damage dealt, and allows her to cast it more frequently.

Tips for Paradoxical Swap

This might be obvious for Paradox veterans, but use the crowd control (CC) from your Kinetic Pulse, Time Wall, and Kinetic Carbine abilities to set up an easier Paradoxical Swap.

You can also perform tricks like throwing a grenade on the ground and then swapping your enemy into it. Be creative and look to swap your enemy into the most fatal situations, whether you’re setting it up solo or with allies.

Ability Point Order

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How to Counter Paradox

Paradox has long cooldowns, especially in the early game. If she misses any of her abilities, you'll likely gain the upper hand.

If you're playing a tank, try to block line of sight to your backline to deter or block the ultimate Paradoxical Swap. This tactic can even help you set up a favorable counter-engagement.

When fighting in narrow areas like long hallways, it’s okay to shoot at Paradox's Time Wall, as it will eventually break. Some newer players mistakenly believe they shouldn’t shoot at the wall at all.

Item Costs

	Item	Cost
	Warp Stone	3,000
	Superior Stamina	3,500
	Ethereal Shift	3,000

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Deadlock Paradox Build

Paradox is a formidable character who initiates engagements by forcing fights and punishing poor positioning with Paradoxical Swap.

This build focuses on achieving high uptime and damage with Kinetic Carbine, effectively forcing out-of-position players into harm's way. Paradox excels in the early to mid-game stages and has the potential to snowball the game in her favor.

Early Game Build for Paradox

Start by purchasing Basic Magazine to increase both damage and magazine size, which allows for stealing and confirming more souls.

Next, buy High-Velocity Mag to enhance your poke damage.

Follow this with Extra Regen and Extra Health to sustain yourself in the lane.

The next item to acquire is Sprint Boots to stack up more early-game damage and increase your movement speed.

Finally, purchase Mystic Burst and Mystic Reach during the laning phase. These items will help you deal more damage with Kinetic Carbine and provide a 15% increase in ability range for your Paradoxical Swap.

	Item	Cost
	Basic Magazine	500
	High-Velocity Mag	500
	Extra Health	500
	Extra Regen	500
	Sprint Boots	500
	Mystic Burst	500
	Mystic Reach	500

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Mid Game Build for Paradox

Start by purchasing Mystic Shot to increase bullet damage and spirit power. Next, buy Bullet Resist Shredder to decrease any bullet resistance after hitting an enemy with Kinetic Carbine.

The next two items are essential to Paradox's kit: Improved Cooldown and Warp Stone, both providing a significant power spike and increased mobility.

After achieving this power spike, Bullet Armor becomes a necessity to gain more resistances and a slight increase in damage. Pair it with Healbane to apply healing reduction to your spirit damage, and upon getting a kill, restore 350 health.

Slowing Hex is also a good option to limit heroes with a lot of mobility, making it easier to secure kills.

	Item	Cost
	Mystic Shot	1,250
	Slowing Hex	1,250
	Warp Stone	3,000
	Bullet Resist Shredder	1,250
	Improved Cooldown	1,250 дш
	Bullet Armor	1,250
	Healbane	1,250

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Late Game Build for Paradox

Improving the cooldown on Kinetic Carbine with Superior Cooldown provides more uptime for engaging and forcing fights.

At this stage of the game, Paradox's damage may begin to lag behind, so acquiring Improved Burst helps to compensate for that.

The final items for the late game are Improved Bullet Armor and Fortitude, which increase survivability while allowing you to swap to counter enemy scaling.

	Item	Cost
	Superior Cooldown	4,250
	Improved Burst	3,500
	Improved Bullet Armor	4,250
	Fortitude	3,000

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Situational and Luxury Items for Paradox

During the mid to late game, many team fights are initiated by Paradoxical Swap. For increased survivability, Diviner's Kevlar is a solid choice, while Curse offers greater shutdown potential against key enemy heroes.

	Item	Cost
	Diviner's Kevlar	6,200
	Curse	6,200
	Debuff Remover	4,250
	Divine Barrier	1,250
	Reactive Barrier	1,250
	Improved Spirit Armor	4,250