Rat King Build Guide: Best Items, Skill Order and How to Play Deadlock's Strongest Hero
The best Rat King build in Deadlock is gun damage plus health, not spirit: open with Extra Health, High-Velocity Rounds and Monster Rounds, build into Fortitude and Ballistic Enchantment, and finish with Berserker and lifesteal. Rat King released on October 2, 2026 and is currently the strongest hero in the game, sitting around a 55 to 57% win rate and at or near the top of every public tracker.
Win rates and item stats below come from public match trackers in late October 2026. Trackers disagree slightly, so we give ranges, and every Deadlock patch moves them.
Role | Gun bruiser, frontline |
Released | October 2, 2026 (City Never Sleeps) |
Abilities | Scrap Grenade, Rat Swarm, Royal Pestments, Rule, Ratannia! (ultimate) |
Win rate | ~55 to 57%, #1 or #2 of 44 heroes |
Builds into | Weapon and Vitality |
Why Rat King Is So Strong
Rat King is a large, tanky hero who wins by staying alive in the middle of a fight and letting his gun do the work. Two abilities make that possible:
Rat Swarm chews through enemy bullet resist, and the shred benefits your whole team, not just you.
Royal Pestments turns enemy bullets back on them, and it scales from your maximum health, which is why every item that adds health is also a damage item on him.
Scrap Grenade is your lane poke and farming tool, and Rule, Ratannia! is a banner ultimate best saved for objectives and big fights. Note that his bullet and spirit lifesteal work at 75% effectiveness, so lifesteal items are good, not great.
Skill Order
The most popular order in ranked opens Scrap Grenade, Scrap Grenade, Rat Swarm for lane pressure and wave clear. A variant that front-loads Royal Pestments posts a higher win rate in tracked high-performing games, because it makes Rat King near impossible to trade with early. Either way, Royal Pestments tier 3 matters a lot: it raises the reflected damage cap to 250.
Item Build
Early (to 10 minutes): Extra Health, High-Velocity Rounds, Monster Rounds and Sprint Boots are bought in the large majority of games. Monster Rounds upgrades into Cultist Sacrifice almost immediately. Add Extra Regen or Grit if your lane is poking you.
Mid (10 to 20 minutes): Fortitude (health, which feeds Royal Pestments), Enduring Speed, Ballistic Enchantment imbued into Scrap Grenade, and Cultist Sacrifice. Fleetfoot and Slowing Bullets are the fix if you keep getting kited, because Rat King needs to stay close to deal damage.
Late: Berserker is core damage scaling. Siphon Bullets, Colossus and Spellslinger post some of the highest win rates on him. Buy a debuff remover if the enemy has heavy crowd control.
How to Play Him
Win lane with Scrap Grenade poke and use Monster Rounds to secure camps.
Walk into fights you would avoid on other heroes. Royal Pestments punishes anyone shooting you.
Open fights with Rat Swarm so your whole team hits through reduced bullet resist.
Save the ultimate for objectives. Rule, Ratannia! swings Midboss and base fights more than skirmishes.
How to Beat Rat King
His best matchups in tracked ranked games include Warden, Mirage, The Doorman and Paradox, and he wins more than half his games against every hero, so there is no hard counter. Practical answers: kite him, since he is big and slow to close distance without movement items; lean on spirit damage, since Royal Pestments punishes bullets; and focus him before he plants his ultimate near an objective.
Rat King is also one of the heroes that overperforms at low ranks, partly because newer players do not know how to answer him, so expect his edge to shrink as you climb.
Taking Rat King Into Ranked
Ranked is where a hero this new pays off, because most of the lobby still does not know the matchup. If the 60-win gate is between you and the ladder, Deadlock ranked unlock clears it, and placement matches get your calibration played at a high standard. Already ranked? Rank boosting takes you to a target rank, win boosting adds wins when you are a few games short of a boundary, and Deadlock Fast Games put a verified strong player in your duo slot while you learn Rat King yourself. Our ranks guide and climbing math explain what each step is worth.
FAQ
What is the best Rat King build in Deadlock? Gun damage plus health: Extra Health, High-Velocity Rounds and Monster Rounds early, Fortitude and Ballistic Enchantment mid, Berserker and lifesteal late.
Is Rat King the best hero in Deadlock? Currently he is at or near the top of every public tracker, with a win rate around 55 to 57%.
What is Rat King's skill order? The popular order opens Scrap Grenade, Scrap Grenade, Rat Swarm. Front-loading Royal Pestments is a strong alternative.
How do you counter Rat King? Kite him, use spirit damage instead of bullets into Royal Pestments, and fight him away from objectives.
You might also like
