Deadlock Baba: abilities, build and how to win with her

Deadlock Baba is the second heroine from the City Never Sleeps vote, in the game since Tuesday 6 October 2026. She started weak but is catching up: in our tier list she wins 48.1% of ranked queue matches and sits 32nd out of 41 heroes (as of 12 October 2026).

She is an old New York lady from a Central Park bench who feeds pigeons. Rumour has it she leads the witches of Soho. The character is based on Baba Yaga. I broke down her abilities with numbers, what players buy, her hard matchups and how to get more out of her than the first stats show.

Base stats and weapon

• Health: 780 (+45 per Boon), regeneration 2.5, 8% spirit resist.
• Move speed 6.5 m/s, dash 14.7 m/s, 2 stamina points.
• Bunko-Night Special weapon: 3 pellets per shot, 15 rounds, 2.5 s reload, damage falls off between 15 and 42 metres. Critical hits give her 20% less than other heroes.

The weapon is not her main source of damage. Baba makes her damage with abilities and with the Spirit Power she steals from opponents.

Baba abilities

Threadsap

A thread follows your crosshair and bursts for 50 damage. Each hit steals 10 Spirit Power from the target for 22 s, up to 45. While Baba holds stolen Spirit, every bullet deals an extra 8 spirit damage. 35 m range, 26 s cooldown. At tier three you get a second charge and a 7 m pull on the target.

Granny Long Legs

The bench extends its legs for 10 s. You get bonus speed, higher jumps, 30% debuff resist and 30% melee resist. A light melee kicks the enemy back 10 m, and a heavy melee pounds the ground for 75 damage, knocks up and slows by 50% for 4 s. 30 s cooldown.

Baba’s Brew

The tea in a 6 m radius cycles through three effects: a 100 barrier for 8 s, a 3 s silence and a scald for 12 damage per second over 8 s that also lowers spirit resist. Zooming pauses the cycle on the effect you want. 12 m range, 25 s cooldown.

Ult: Feed The Birds

Baba scatters bread for 6.5 s. The slow builds up to 32%, and the pigeons deal up to 450 damage and briefly turn targets into pigeons. 18 m range, 150 s cooldown, 55 s shorter at tier two.

Baba build: what players buy

Items from our tier list: what players buy on Baba in the ranked queue over the last 7 days, with the win rate and tier of each item. The table refreshes daily together with the tier list.

Players focus on charges and cooldowns, which means more frequent Threadsap. In the ranked queue over the last 7 days, 86% of players level abilities in the order Threadsap, Threadsap, Baba's Brew.

Baba's hard matchups

In our tier list Baba wins least often against Paige (39.5%), Rat King (39.6%), Dynamo (40.2%), Ivy (40.4%) and Haze (40.5%). She does best against Mirage (52.9%) and Warden (52.1%), although those results come from a few hundred matches. Ranked queue data as of 10 October 2026, with the full breakdown in the Matchups tab of the Deadlock tier list.

How to play Baba

In my view the low numbers from the first days come largely from players still learning her. Threadsap follows the crosshair and is easy to miss, and every miss means 26 s without stealing Spirit. Her kit gives you a simple plan:

• Aim Threadsap at heroes who scale with Spirit Power, such as Infernus or Shiv. You steal the most from them.
• Pause Baba’s Brew on the effect you need right now: the barrier when enemies engage, the silence on their initiator, the scald in a longer fight.
• Granny Long Legs is your escape and your engage, but the heavy melee can be parried, so do not jump into an opponent who is waiting for you.

You can follow how Baba changes after future patches in our daily Deadlock tier list. You can analyse your matches with her for free in the Deadlock Replay Analyzer, and if you want to learn her faster, book 1-on-1 Deadlock coaching.

Baba still wins fewer than half of her matches, but her result has been climbing since release. Her strength lies in a landed Threadsap and a well-chosen tea effect, and that takes time. You will find the other heroes with their Valve tags on the list of all Deadlock characters.

Frequently asked questions

When did Baba come to Deadlock?

On Tuesday 6 October 2026 at 23:00 Polish time. She was the second winner of the City Never Sleeps hero vote, after Rat King.

Is Baba weak?

For now she wins fewer than half of her matches: 48.1% in the ranked queue and 32nd place out of 41 heroes in our tier list (as of 12 October 2026). Her result has been rising since release as players learn to land Threadsap.

What build should I play on Baba?

Most players buy Extra Charge and Mystic Regeneration first, Radiant Regeneration and Spirit Strike in the mid game, and Rapid Recharge and Spirit Snatch later.

How does Baba’s Brew work?

The tea cycles through a barrier, a silence and a scald. Zooming pauses the cycle, so you throw it with the effect you need at that moment.

Who counters Baba?

In our tier list the hardest matchups for her are Paige, Rat King, Dynamo, Ivy and Haze, with results from 39.5% to 40.5% in the ranked queue.

Is Baba based on Baba Yaga?

Yes. Deadlock.wiki says the character is based on Baba Yaga, and her name is the Slavic word for grandmother.