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Deadlock Tiers

Brawler · Heavy Hitter

Kelvin hero artKelvin Build & Counters

Freezes enemies in their tracks. Timely heals and splitting a teamfight properly is the difference between an easy victory or a ruinous defeat. Gliding around slowing enemies gives Kelvin's team the maneuvering advantage to make this happen.

Updated ·Refreshed daily from public match data·Methodology

Tier

S+

Win rate

53.6%▼ 0.1

Games

75K

15% pick

How to play Kelvin right now

Kelvin wins 53.6% of 75K games, 5.3 pts above the median hero. Strongest in Sentinel – Ritualist lobbies (54.8%), weakest in Initiate – Acolyte (52.8%). Bullies Shiv in lane (61%). Kelvin is a brawler (freezes enemies in their tracks). Build around Extra Charge, Improved Spirit, Extra Spirit, put early points into Frost Grenade, and respect Rat King in lane.
  • Core items: Extra Charge, Improved Spirit, Extra Spirit, Rapid Recharge
  • Max first: Frost Grenade
  • Hardest lanes: Rat King, Paige, Seven
  • Best teammates: Rat King, Graves, Paige

Last 7 days, all ranks

Kelvin stats

Win rate

53.6%

#6 of 41

Pick rate

15.1%

of matches

Ban share

2.0%

of ranked bans

K / D / A

5.0 / 5.6 / 15.0

KDA 3.60

Souls

41K

per game

Hero damage

30K

per game

Win rate, last 30 days

September 12, 2026 → October 11, 2026 · low 52.2% · high 55.3%

Compare Kelvin with another hero in the hero comparison tool.

Ranked matches, last 7 days

Kelvin by rank

Initiate – Acolyte

52.8%S

5.5K games

Sentinel – Ritualist

54.8%S+

6.0K games

Emissary – Phantom

54.8%S+

7.5K games

Ascendant – Eternus

55.8%S

1.4K games

See every hero for your bracket on the Deadlock tier list.

Items by game phase · last 7 days

Kelvin build

Buy rate = share of Kelvin games where the item was bought; grouped by average purchase time. Late items always show higher win rates because they are bought in longer, often winning games — compare items within the same phase.

Recommended build — buy in this order

The 12 items most Kelvin players buy, sorted by when they are usually bought.

  1. 1Extra RegenExtra Regen5m
  2. 2Extra ChargeExtra Charge5m
  3. 3Extra SpiritExtra Spirit8m
  4. 4Sprint BootsSprint Boots9m
  5. 5Healing BoosterHealing Booster12m
  6. 6Mystic ExpansionMystic Expansion13m
  7. 7Improved SpiritImproved Spirit14m
  8. 8Mystic VulnerabilityMystic Vulnerability18m
  9. 9Rapid RechargeRapid Recharge20m
  10. 10Superior CooldownSuperior Cooldown25m
  11. 11Escalating ExposureEscalating Exposure27m
  12. 12Boundless SpiritBoundless Spirit28m

High-rank build — Phantom and above

What Kelvin players in Phantom+ ranked lobbies buy (15K games, last 30 days), in buying order.

  1. 1Extra RegenExtra Regen4m
  2. 2Extra ChargeExtra Charge5m
  3. 3Sprint BootsSprint Boots8m
  4. 4Extra SpiritExtra Spirit9m
  5. 5Healing BoosterHealing Booster12m
  6. 6HealbaneHealbane14m
  7. 7Mystic ExpansionMystic Expansion15m
  8. 8Improved SpiritImproved Spirit16m
  9. 9Rapid RechargeRapid Recharge17m
  10. 10Mystic VulnerabilityMystic Vulnerability18m
  11. 11Superior CooldownSuperior Cooldown24m
  12. 12Escalating ExposureEscalating Exposure25m

Laning 0–10 min

Mid game 10–20 min

Late game 20+ min

Situational picks that win

Bought in under 20% of games, but with the highest win rates when they are.

Most played ability upgrade paths

Kelvin skill order

Most popular61.8% win4.1K games
Frost GrenadeFrost Grenade12··5·······
Ice PathIce Path···4·····1011·
Arctic BeamArctic Beam··3··6·89···
Frozen ShelterFrozen Shelter······7····12
Option 266.7% win3.4K games
Frost GrenadeFrost Grenade12··5····10··
Ice PathIce Path···4···89···
Arctic BeamArctic Beam··3··6····1112
Frozen ShelterFrozen Shelter······7·····
Option 362.3% win1.9K games
Frost GrenadeFrost Grenade12··5··8····
Ice PathIce Path···4·6··9···
Arctic BeamArctic Beam··3······101112
Frozen ShelterFrozen Shelter······7·····

Kelvin abilities

Frost Grenade1Frost Grenade30s cooldown

Throw a grenade that explodes in a cloud of freezing ice that heals allies and applies spirit damage and move speed reduction to enemies.

Cooldown 30sCast Delay 0.1sCharges 2Charge Delay 7sDamage 60Move Speed 32%Slow Duration 4sHeal Amount 60
  1. 1 AP+30 Damage and +30 Heal Amount
  2. 2 AP-10 Cooldown and debuff now freezes Stamina Regen
  3. 5 AP+2m Radius. Damage and Heal Spirit Scaling increased.

Ice Path2Ice Path50s cooldown

Kelvin creates a floating trail of ice and snow that gives movement bonuses to him and his allies. Kelvin gains 60% slow resistance for the duration. Enemies can also walk on the floating trail. Press Dash / Crouch / slide to travel up or down while in Ice Path.

Cooldown 50sDuration 8sCast Delay 0.2sIce Trail Duration 18sSlow Resist 60%Slide Distance 50%
  1. 1 AP+2m Move Speed and +35% Bullet Resist for Kelvin while on Ice Path
  2. 2 AP-25s Cooldown
  3. 5 AP+35% Spirit and +20 Spirit for Kelvin while on Ice Path

Arctic Beam3Arctic Beam28s cooldown

Shoot freezing cold energy out in front of you, damaging targets and progressively reducing their movement and fire rate the longer you sustain the beam on them. You have reduced move speed while using Arctic Beam. The beam may also claim Souls.

Cooldown 28sDuration 5.0sDamage Per Second 45Max Move Speed 16%Max Fire Rate 20%Time To Max Debuff 2.0sDebuff Linger Duration 2sSlow Duration 0.6s
  1. 1 AP-20.0% to Fire Rate and Move Speed
  2. 2 AP+20.0 DPS and increased Spirit Scaling
  3. 5 AP-13s Cooldown and Fires 2 additional Arctic Beams within 10m of the last target hit.

Frozen Shelter4Frozen ShelterUltimate185s cooldown

Target yourself or a Hero to freeze the air and create an impenetrable dome around them. While in the dome, allies gain rapid regeneration and enemies are slowed. Objectives become Invulnerable and Frozen under Frozen Shelter

Cooldown 185sDuration 5sCast Delay 0.2sHealth Regen 90Move Speed 28%
  1. 1 AP-20s Cooldown
  2. 2 AP+1.5s Duration
  3. 5 APPurges non-ult debuffs for you and your allies. +65 Health Regen and increased Spirit Scaling

Same-lane win rate · last 7 days

How to counter Kelvin

Kelvin has the hardest time in lane against Rat King, Paige, Seven. Items that work best into Kelvin: Fury Trance, Silencer, Active Reload.

Hardest lanes for Kelvin

Kelvin wins lane vs

Best teammates

Kelvin vs every hero — full counters table →

Last 30 days · win-rate gain over other items in the same games

Best items against Kelvin

Fury TranceFury Trance3,200 souls · 18K games+1.247.6% winSilencerSilencer6,400 souls · 115K games+0.955.7% winActive ReloadActive Reload1,600 souls · 78K games+0.949.7% winCursed RelicCursed Relic6,400 souls · 67K games+0.846.7% winSplit ShotSplit Shot1,600 souls · 41K games+0.746.5% winDecayDecay3,200 souls · 34K games+0.643.8% win

Compared with the other items bought into Kelvin, these ones lift their owner's win rate the most — good picks when you are laning against or chasing Kelvin.

Most-played in-game builds · last 7 days

Popular Kelvin builds

Community builds from the in-game build browser, ranked by how many games used them. Search the build ID in-game (Hero Builds → search) to import it.

ICE BEAM MASTERY [Made with Lockbuilds]53.8%424 games

Late Game. This is when you start snowba

InfuserInfuserTranscendent CooldownTranscendent CooldownRapid RechargeRapid RechargeMystic ReverbMystic Reverb

Kelvin - THE CARRY MACHINE - deadlocked.gg57.4%411 games
Cirno's Healnade51.3%335 games
Cirno's Medi-Beam56.6%295 games
Kelvin - Spirit-Initiator [61% WR] [tracklock.gg]54.4%270 games
Piggy`s Support Kelvin (twitch.tv/piggyxdd)52.8%163 games

Recent Kelvin changes

September 16, 2026 — Minor Update - 09-16-2026
  • • Frozen Shelter base ability health regen now scales with spirit power (0.2)
July 28, 2026 — Minor Update - 07-28-2026
  • • Frozen Shelter cooldown reduced from 195s to 185s
May 22, 2026 — Gameplay Update - 05-22-2026
  • • Frost Grenade damage spirit scaling reduced from 0.7 to 0.6
  • • When interrupted on Ice Path, it no longer creates an ice path below him and instead lets him fall to the ground
  • • Arctic Beam DPS spirit scaling reduced from 0.5 to 0.38

About Kelvin

Base stats (level 1)

Health
880
Health regen
1/s
Move speed
6.7 m/s
Sprint speed
1.1 m/s
Stamina
3
Light melee
50
Heavy melee
116

Kelvin lore

A famed adventuring scientist, Kelvin made it his life's mission to explore and understand the unknowable. So naturally when rumors surfaced regarding an 8th astral gate hidden in the arctic, Kelvin couldn't build an expedition team fast enough. Assembling the brightest minds of his generation, Kelvin and his team set forth with much fanfare.

They never returned.

A year and a half later the frozen body of Kelvin was found by a fishing trawler, his corpse clutching a rock etched with glowing runes. The crew chipped away at the ice, looking to get a closer look at the body and were shocked when Kelvin opened his eyes. They checked his vitals... there was no pulse. They sought to bandage his open wounds... there was no blood. And yet, impossibly, Kelvin was "alive".

Having no memory of what happened on the expedition, Kelvin is looking for answers.

Official in-game biography.

Kelvin voice linesListen to all 2,470 lines, grouped by situation.▶

Kelvin FAQ

Is Kelvin good in Deadlock right now?＋

Yes — one of the strongest heroes right now. Kelvin is S+ tier (#6 of 41) with a 53.6% win rate over 75K games in the last 7 days. Kelvin wins 53.6% of 75K games, 5.3 pts above the median hero. Strongest in Sentinel – Ritualist lobbies (54.8%), weakest in Initiate – Acolyte (52.8%). Bullies Shiv in lane (61%).

What is the best Kelvin build?＋

Most Kelvin players buy Extra Charge, Improved Spirit, Extra Spirit, Rapid Recharge — the four items bought most often. Start with Extra Charge, Extra Spirit, Extra Regen in lane, then Improved Spirit, Mystic Vulnerability, Healing Booster by mid game.

Who counters Kelvin?＋

In lane, Kelvin has the lowest win rate against Rat King (46.5%), Paige (47.2%), Seven (47.5%). Kelvin does best against Shiv (60.7%), Pocket (60.7%), The Doorman (59.6%).

How do you counter Kelvin?＋

Pick a hero that wins the lane into Kelvin — Rat King, Paige, Seven do best this week — and build Fury Trance or Silencer, which win more often than other items when Kelvin is on the enemy team.

What should I max first on Kelvin?＋

The most common skill order puts points into Frost Grenade first; it wins 61.8% of 4.1K games. Full order is in the skill order table above.

Other Brawler heroes

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Billy build →

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Mo & Krill build →

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Rat King build →

Brawler — scrappy, regal, tenacious, with a spreadshot weapon.

Shiv build →

Bleeds out foes, then goes in for a kill. Shiv has zero interest in playing fair, which is