Comprehensive Guide to Pocket – Strategies, Builds, and Tips

Pocket

Welcome to the guide for Pocket in Deadlock! Pocket is a dynamic hero known for her ability to dive into battles with her shotgun, deliver high burst damage, and escape with ease. This guide will provide you with essential strategies, optimal item builds, and tips to harness Pocket's potential effectively. Whether you're looking to maximize your damage output or outmaneuver your enemies, you'll find valuable insights here to help you dominate your matches.

Pocket is a mobile shotgun wielder with a plethora of outplay potential embedded in their kit.

They excel at diving into the fray, dealing massive damage, and then escaping to fight another day.

Pocket Weapon Stats

Pocket Vitality Stats

Deadlock Pocket Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Extremely slippery thanks to Flying Cloak and Enchanter's Satchel.

• High mobility makes them a challenging split pusher to deal with.

• Among the best in class for AoE; all four of their abilities have AoE capabilities.

Weaknesses

• Can be poked down from a distance since the shotgun requires close to mid-range engagement.

• Has a decent learning curve due to core play patterns involving cancels.

Deadlock Pocket Abilities

Barrage (1)

Channel to begin launching projectiles that deal damage and apply movement slow around their impact point. Each projectile that lands on a hero grants you a stacking buff that amplifies all of your damage.

If you cast it while in the air, you'll float and maintain any horizontal momentum you started with.

• Channeling Time: 2s

• Radius: 4.5m

• Cooldown: 32s

• Amp Per Stack: 6%

• Damage Per Projectile: 35

• Movement Slow: 30%

• Projectile Amount: 4

• Slow Duration: 1.5s

Barrage Upgrades

Maxing out Barrage enhances Pocket's capability at longer ranges, increasing damage per projectile, halving cooldown, and boosting amp per stack.

Tips for Barrage

• Although Barrage can be used from the ground, you’ll be incredibly slow and an easy target while casting. Instead, use it from the air, off ziplines, and after air dashes, as you’ll carry momentum while casting and won’t be a sitting duck.

• Barrage deals the same amount of damage whether you’re close or far away, so utilize it as your long-range poke and as a finisher for mobile enemies trying to escape your shotgun.

Flying Cloak (2)

Launch a sentient cloak that travels forward and damages enemies. You can press [2] to teleport to its location.

• Radius: 5m

• Lifetime: 3.2s

• Cooldown: 32s

• Damage: 90

Flying Cloak Upgrades

Maxing out Flying Cloak allows Pocket to cast it more frequently, enhances its damage, and grants a Weapon Damage buff after teleporting. This ability is particularly useful for frequent split pushing.

Tips for Flying Cloak

• Before engaging, always have an escape plan in mind. Consider locations like higher roofs or down into the subway for a quick getaway.

• If you’re healthy enough to stick around, maximize the damage you inflict before teleporting to the cloak. Be sure to internalize the timing of your ability for optimal effectiveness.

Enchanter's Satchel (3)

Escape into your suitcase. When the duration ends, deal damage to nearby enemies. The duration can be ended early by performing any action.

• Radius: 12m

• Cooldown: 17s

• Escape Duration: 2s

• Damage: 100

Enchanter's Satchel Upgrades

Maxing out Enchanter's Satchel makes you difficult to kill, allowing you to cast it nearly every 10 seconds. You’ll also deal more damage and inflict a debuff that applies to enemies you hit with it.

Tips for Enchanter's Satchel

One of Pocket's classic suitcase cancel combos is to launch your Flying Cloak, prepare your Enchanter's Satchel, then teleport to your Flying Cloak. If you do this from a flank, you can devastate an enemy team and set up your allies for an easy cleanup.

Affliction (4)

Apply damage over time to all nearby enemies. Affliction's damage is non-lethal and does not trigger item procs.

• Radius: 14m

• Cooldown: 127s

• Damage Per Second (DPS): 23

• Debuff Duration: 18s

Affliction Upgrades

Maxing out Affliction transforms Pocket into an AoE damage-over-time powerhouse, featuring a reduced cooldown, suppressed healing, and increased damage.

Tips for Affliction

Learn which characters have healing abilities and get into the habit of tracking enemy build paths throughout a game to identify the best targets for your healing suppression.

Ability Point Order

How to Counter Pocket

Pocket is one of the slipperiest heroes in the game, so don’t fall into a wild goose chase if you don’t have the tools to lock them down.

If they use Flying Cloak to engage, you may have a window to punish them while it’s on cooldown.

The best way to deal with Pocket is through itemization, especially against their ultimate, Affliction. Be sure to budget around some of the following options:

Item Costs

	Предмет	Стоимость
	Debuff Reducer	1,250
	Debuff Remover	4,250
	Silence Glyph	3,000
	Curse	6,200

Deadlock Pocket Build

Pocket excels at diving into the fray and quickly escaping while dealing impressive burst damage. This build focuses on amplifying those traits by maxing out Barrage (1) first.

Early Game Build for Pocket

Start by purchasing Headshot Booster and Close Quarters to farm effectively in lane. Pocket’s gun has low base damage, so these items will help you poke the enemy and farm efficiently.

Next, buy Enduring Spirit if you need assistance surviving in lane. Otherwise, prioritize Mystic Burst for stronger poke, aiming to proc this on your Cloak and Satchel when possible.

If possible, save for Mystic Shot, which, combined with Headshot Booster, provides substantial poke and kill potential. The damage from these items scales with your Barrage's damage amplification, so try to maintain as many stacks as possible in lane. If you encounter difficulties, consider purchasing Mystic Reach early to assist you.

Once you are ready to roam, buy Extra Stamina and Sprint Boots for improved mobility.

	Предмет	Стоимость
	Headshot Booster	500
	Close Quarters	500
	Enduring Spirit	500
	Mystic Burst	500
	Mystic Reach	500
	Mystic Shot	500
	Extra Stamina	500
	Spirit Boots	500

Mid Game Build for Pocket

Next, acquire Kinetic Dash and Cold Front. These two items provide Pocket with a significant power spike that should not be wasted. Aim to roam and look for ganks to snowball your lead.

If you're having trouble surviving, consider purchasing Enchanter's Barrier and Spirit Lifesteal.

This core set of items should grant you enough strength to save for your first 3k item, which can be either Majestic Leap or Warp Stone. This choice is purely a matter of preference, but I find Warp Stone to be of higher value, as both provide mobility, but Warp Stone also offers a bit more damage.

	Предмет	Стоимость
	Cold Front	1,250
	Kinetic Dash	1,250
	Spirit Lifesteal	1,250
	Improved Cooldown	1,250
	Mystic Vulnerability	1,250
	Improved Burst	3,000
	Warp Stone	3,000
	Enchanter's Barrier	1,250
	Enduring Speed	1,250

Late Game Build for Pocket

In the late game, focus on upgrading to Improved Burst and Enduring Speed.

Ethereal Shift is a valuable tool that should not be overlooked. This item provides Pocket with an escape option after their initial burst and pairs very well with Warp Stone.

For luxury items, Divine Kevlar or Phantom Strike are your best options. The choice between them depends on your preference and the enemy team's composition. If you’re facing many flying characters or weapon carries like Haze and Wraith, I recommend opting for Phantom Strike over Divine Kevlar.

	Предмет	Стоимость
	Ethereal Shift	3,000
	Silence Glyph	3,000
	Phantom Strike	6,200
	Diviner's Kevlar	6,200
	Superior Cooldown	3,000

Situational Items for Pocket

If the enemy team has a strong Yamato or Lash, purchasing Silence Glyph can help contain them while you finish your burst.

If the enemy team possesses a high amount of spirit armor, acquiring Mystic Vulnerability early on is very beneficial.

	Предмет	Стоимость
	Majestic Leap	3,000
	Pristine Emblem	3,000
	Healbane	1,250