Calico
Calico is an Assassin hero in Deadlock, with a Complexity of 2 in the game files. The game sums up the role as "Wreaks havoc from the sidelines." Calico has 730 base health and 2 health regen. Calico's gun fires 9 bullets of 1.84 damage per shot from a 12-round clip. Each level adds 37 health and 0.043 bullet damage.
Open the most-bought Calico build
The 4 items bought most in each phase of 66,486 Calico matches, October 30 to November 1, 2026, measured by deadlock-api.com.
How Calico plays
Calico uses the shadows to her advantage, weaving in and out of combat to hunt down her enemies one by one.
Calico counters
Calico's toughest matchups, the furthest below what both heroes' overall win rates predict, are Billy (47.3% over 9,480 matches, 1.7 points below expected), Solomon (49.7% over 4,509 matches, 1.6 points below expected) and Rem (51.2% over 10,013 matches, 1.4 points below expected), and its best, the furthest above, are McGinnis (49.2% over 4,086 matches, 1.3 points above expected), Rat King (45.4% over 17,772 matches, 1.3 points above expected) and Viscous (52.7% over 4,789 matches, 1.1 points above expected), in all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, measured by deadlock-api.com.
Measured from matches at all ranks from October 30 to November 1, 2026, starting on the day patch 6833 was released (October 30, 2026), by deadlock-api.com. These are match results, not numbers from the game files. A pairing shows its win rate only with at least 500 matches. Expected is what both heroes' overall win rates predict (computed), and each list is ordered by the gap between it and the win rate, not by the rate alone: how the order is computed. Across all its matches in the same window, Calico won 48.3% over 66,486 matches.
Toughest matchups
| Enemy | Calico win rate | Expectedcomputed | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
 BillyMatchup lab | 47.3% | 49.0%1.7 below | 9,480 |
 SolomonMatchup lab | 49.7% | 51.3%1.6 below | 4,509 |
 RemMatchup lab | 51.2% | 52.6%1.4 below | 10,013 |
 KelvinMatchup lab | 42.6% | 43.9%1.3 below | 4,942 |
 VyperMatchup lab | 51.3% | 52.3%0.9 below | 4,823 |
Best matchups
| Enemy | Calico win rate | Expectedcomputed | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
 McGinnisMatchup lab | 49.2% | 47.9%1.3 above | 4,086 |
 Rat KingMatchup lab | 45.4% | 44.1%1.3 above | 17,772 |
 ViscousMatchup lab | 52.7% | 51.6%1.1 above | 4,789 |
 HollidayMatchup lab | 51.7% | 50.8%1.0 above | 8,117 |
 InfernusMatchup lab | 49.6% | 49.0%0.7 above | 12,151 |
Match data: deadlock-api.com. deadlock-api.com is not endorsed by Valve and does not reflect the views or opinions of Valve or anyone officially involved in producing or managing Valve properties. How a rate is computed: methodology.
Most-bought Calico build
On Calico, players bought Melee Lifesteal in 97.6% of matches (64,883 of 66,486), Spirit Strike in 94.6% of matches (62,885 of 66,486) and Stalker in 92.7% of matches (61,615 of 66,486), in all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, measured by deadlock-api.com.
Laning, bought before 10:00
| Item | Bought by | Win rate when bought | Average buy time |
|---|---|---|---|
 Melee LifestealIn the shop | 96.3%64,040 of 66,486 Calico matches | 48.6%64,040 matches | 1:44 |
 Spirit StrikeIn the shop | 90.4%60,115 of 66,486 Calico matches | 48.7%60,115 matches | 5:04 |
 StalkerIn the shop | 85.0%56,501 of 66,486 Calico matches | 49.1%56,501 matches | 5:18 |
 Sprint BootsIn the shop | 60.8%40,445 of 66,486 Calico matches | 49.1%40,445 matches | 6:55 |
 Cold FrontIn the shop | 52.9%35,143 of 66,486 Calico matches | 51.3%35,143 matches | 8:07 |
 Trophy CollectorIn the shop | 43.2%28,752 of 66,486 Calico matches | 50.6%28,752 matches | 7:42 |
Mid game, bought 10:00 to 19:59
| Item | Bought by | Win rate when bought | Average buy time |
|---|---|---|---|
 Spirit SnatchIn the shop | 75.0%49,860 of 66,486 Calico matches | 48.8%49,860 matches | 13:42 |
 Hunter's AuraIn the shop | 36.3%24,124 of 66,486 Calico matches | 51.1%24,124 matches | 15:48 |
| Cold FrontIn the shop | 33.6%22,312 of 66,486 Calico matches | 45.5%22,312 matches | 12:21 |
 Enduring SpeedIn the shop | 26.6%17,671 of 66,486 Calico matches | 48.5%17,671 matches | 13:48 |
 LifestrikeIn the shop | 20.7%13,778 of 66,486 Calico matches | 51.2%13,778 matches | 16:01 |
 Arctic BlastIn the shop | 20.0%13,290 of 66,486 Calico matches | 57.2%13,290 matches | 17:31 |
Late game, bought at 20:00 or later
| Item | Bought by | Win rate when bought | Average buy time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic BlastIn the shop | 57.3%38,099 of 66,486 Calico matches | 49.0%38,099 matches | 25:37 |
 Boundless SpiritIn the shop | 54.1%35,938 of 66,486 Calico matches | 53.5%35,938 matches | 29:51 |
 Superior CooldownIn the shop | 41.8%27,798 of 66,486 Calico matches | 52.3%27,798 matches | 29:29 |
 Improved SpiritIn the shop | 39.9%26,538 of 66,486 Calico matches | 50.1%26,538 matches | 25:42 |
 Mystic VulnerabilityIn the shop | 37.0%24,594 of 66,486 Calico matches | 49.7%24,594 matches | 26:33 |
 Transcendent CooldownIn the shop | 30.2%20,096 of 66,486 Calico matches | 55.2%20,096 matches | 34:34 |
Measured from matches at all ranks from October 30 to November 1, 2026, starting on the day patch 6833 was released (October 30, 2026), by deadlock-api.com. These are match results, not numbers from the game files, and the most bought items, not a recommended build. Each table counts the items bought in one part of a match, by the game time of the purchase: laning before 10:00, mid game 10:00 to 19:59 and late game at 20:00 or later. "Bought by" is the share of all Calico matches in which the Calico player bought the item in that phase, counting matches that ended before it began. The win rate is how often those players won, which describes the players who bought it, not what the item itself adds. The average buy time is the average game time of those purchases, also measured by deadlock-api.com. A copy the Broker corrupted is not counted. An item shows only with at least 500 matches.
Match data: deadlock-api.com. deadlock-api.com is not endorsed by Valve and does not reflect the views or opinions of Valve or anyone officially involved in producing or managing Valve properties. How a rate is computed: methodology.
Calico ability order
On Calico, players unlocked Leaping Slash, Gloom Bombs, Ava, then Return to Shadows in 90.5% of matches (60,458 of 66,815), and Gloom Bombs, Leaping Slash, Ava, then Return to Shadows in 5.7% of matches (3,784 of 66,815), in all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, measured by deadlock-api.com.
| Unlock order | Matches |
|---|---|
| 90.5%60,458 of 66,815 | |
| 5.7%3,784 of 66,815 |
Measured from matches at all ranks from October 30 to November 1, 2026, starting on the day patch 6833 was released (October 30, 2026), by deadlock-api.com. These are match results, not numbers from the game files, and the most common orders, not a recommendation. An unlock order is the order of each ability's first point; the share is the Calico matches that used it out of every Calico match counted, including players who spent no point. An order shows only with at least 500 matches.
Match data: deadlock-api.com. deadlock-api.com is not endorsed by Valve and does not reflect the views or opinions of Valve or anyone officially involved in producing or managing Valve properties. How a share is computed: methodology.
Calico lore
Once a decorated member of The Baxter Society, Calico left the august order once she realized that killing monsters for free was less profitable than killing people for money.
Now an in demand contract killer, Calico is living her best life ending someone else's.
Calico stats
Calico abilities
| Slot | Ability | Damage | Cooldown | Scaling | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ability 1 |  Gloom Bombs | 45Damage | 14s | +0.644 x SpiritDamage | Throw a cluster of bombs that detonate after a delay, dealing spirit damage. Enemies hit by multiple bombs take 65% damage. |
| Ability 2 |  Leaping Slash | 10Impact Damage | 13s | +0.8 x Light Melee DamageImpact Damage | Dash forward before slashing all enemies in a circle, dealing melee damage. If the ability hits at least one hero, heal a small amount of health. |
| Ability 3 |  Ava | 30s | Turn to shadows and possess Ava. You gain bonus move speed that increases over time, and become hidden on the minimap. Taking damage from an enemy hero resets your bonus move speed and puts Ava on a brief cooldown. | ||
| Ultimate |  Return to Shadows | 150Damage | 115s | +0.609336 x SpiritDamage | Instantly turn to shadows, becoming untargetable, gaining bonus move speed, and dealing spirit damage. After a delay, return from the shadows, dealing spirit damage again. |
Hero
- Type
- Assassin
- Complexity
- 2
- Tags
- Tricksy, Slippery, Burst Damage
Starting stats
- Max Health
- 730
- Health Regen
- 2
- Move Speed
- 6.8
- Sprint Speed
- 1.6m
- Stamina
- 3
- Stamina regen per second
- 0.222222
- Light Melee
- 63
- Heavy Melee
- 116
- Ground dash distance
- 10m
- Air dash distance
- 8m
Gun
- Bullet Damage
- 1.84
- Bullets per shot
- 9
- Cycle time
- 0.21s
- Rounds per second
- 4.76computed
- Weapon DPS
- 78.9computed
- Clip size
- 12
- Reload Time
- 2.6s
- Bullet Velocity
- 12500 units/s
- Falloff start range
- 787 units
- Falloff end range
- 2264 units
- Damage scale at falloff end
- 0.1
Weapon DPS is computed at level 1 with no items: bullet damage x bullets per shot x (1 / cycle time). Burst fire, reload and falloff are not modelled. Ranges and bullet speed are in the game file's own units.
Calico vs every hero
Body shots Calico needs to kill each other hero, and each hero needs to kill Calico, both at level 1 with no items. Each number opens that matchup in the lab.
| Hero | Calico kills themcomputed | They kill Calicocomputed |
|---|---|---|
| Abrams | 49 | 22 |
| Apollo | 47 | 40 |
| Baba | 48 | 28 |
| Bebop | 54 | 147 |
| Billy | 50 | 116 |
| Celeste | 42 | 41 |
| Deadman Danny | 45 | 49 |
| Drifter | 46 | 13 |
| Dynamo | 54 | 58 |
| Graves | 45 | 203 |
| Grey Talon | 48 | 32 |
| Haze | 45 | 139 |
| Holliday | 48 | 38 |
| Infernus | 51 | 133 |
| Ivy | 46 | 165 |
| Kelvin | 54 | 40 |
| Lady Geist | 54 | 36 |
| Lash | 48 | 87 |
| McGinnis | 48 | 121 |
| Mina | 40 | 100 |
| Mirage | 45 | 50 |
| Mo & Krill | 57 | 65 |
| Nurse Harrow | 45 | 51 |
| Paige | 42 | 23 |
| Paradox | 45 | 108 |
| 48 | 25 | |
| Rat King | 49 | 63 |
| Rem | 42 | 46 |
| Seven | 45 | 68 |
| Shiv | 51 | 26 |
| Silver | 51 | 21 |
| Sinclair | 45 | 45 |
| Solomon | 48 | 30 |
| The Doorman | 46 | 31 |
| Venator | 50 | 92 |
| Victor | 49 | 61 |
| Vindicta | 46 | 60 |
| Violet | 43 | 25 |
| Viscous | 48 | 71 |
| Vyper | 48 | 111 |
| Warden | 49 | 43 |
| Wraith | 45 | 130 |
| Yamato | 45 | 28 |
Computed with the matchup lab's formula, body shots with every pellet hitting, level 1, no items: damage per bullet = bullet damage x (1 - defender bullet resist / 100); bullets to kill = ceil(defender max health / damage per bullet); body shots = ceil(bullets to kill / bullets per shot). Each number's tooltip holds its inputs.
Not modelled:
- Headshots: the gun files give a 1.65 bonus, a game setting gives 1.25, and only the game shows which applies.
- Damage falloff over range, and the game-unit to meter conversion.
- Resist shred and negative resist.
- Reload, burst-fire and spin-up timing, so time to kill is shown only when the kill fits in one clip of a gun that neither bursts nor spins up.
- Item procs and actives, spirit damage amplifiers, and ability upgrades (every ability is at its base tier).
- Health regen, barriers and healing during the fight.
Gains per level
- Bullet damage per level
- 0.043
- Health per level
- 37
- Melee damage per level
- 1.58
- Boons per level
- 1
- Spirit power per level
- 1.1
Souls and investment
Same soul curve as every hero: Calico reaches level 36 at 48,600 souls. See souls per level and investment bonuses.
Calico change history
| Patch | Change | State |
|---|---|---|
| November 5, 2026build 6860from build 6742 | No player-facing change in 37 builds (October 2 to November 5, 2026). | Unchanged |
| October 1, 2026build 6731 | Calico's shop stat panel now lists Lifesteal Effectiveness under Vitality. | Changed |
| September 30, 2026build 6726from build 6642 | No player-facing change in 17 builds (July 28 to September 30, 2026). | Unchanged |
| July 25, 2026build 6640 | First recorded in Deadlock. | Baseline |
Calico FAQ
Who is Calico in Deadlock?
Calico is an Assassin hero in Deadlock, with a Complexity of 2 in the game files. Once a decorated member of The Baxter Society, Calico left the august order once she realized that killing monsters for free was less profitable than killing people for money.
How do you play Calico in Deadlock?
Calico uses the shadows to her advantage, weaving in and out of combat to hunt down her enemies one by one.
Who counters Calico in Deadlock?
In all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, Calico did furthest below what both heroes' overall win rates predict against Billy (47.3% over 9,480 matches, 1.7 points below expected), Solomon (49.7% over 4,509 matches, 1.6 points below expected), Rem (51.2% over 10,013 matches, 1.4 points below expected), Kelvin (42.6% over 4,942 matches, 1.3 points below expected) and Vyper (51.3% over 4,823 matches, 0.9 points below expected). These are match results measured by deadlock-api.com, not numbers from the game files.
What items do players buy most on Calico in Deadlock?
In all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, Calico players bought Melee Lifesteal in 97.6% of matches (64,883 of 66,486), Spirit Strike in 94.6% of matches (62,885 of 66,486) and Stalker in 92.7% of matches (61,615 of 66,486). These are match results measured by deadlock-api.com, not numbers from the game files, and the most bought items are not a recommended build.
What are Calico's abilities in Deadlock?
Calico has four abilities. Gloom Bombs (first ability, 14 second cooldown): Throw a cluster of bombs that detonate after a delay, dealing spirit damage. Enemies hit by multiple bombs take 65% damage. Leaping Slash (second ability, 13 second cooldown): Dash forward before slashing all enemies in a circle, dealing melee damage. If the ability hits at least one hero, heal a small amount of health. Ava (third ability, 30 second cooldown): Turn to shadows and possess Ava. You gain bonus move speed that increases over time, and become hidden on the minimap. Taking damage from an enemy hero resets your bonus move speed and puts Ava on a brief cooldown. Return to Shadows (ultimate, 115 second cooldown): Instantly turn to shadows, becoming untargetable, gaining bonus move speed, and dealing spirit damage. After a delay, return from the shadows, dealing spirit damage again.
What do Calico's abilities scale with?
Two of Calico's four abilities scale with Spirit in the game files: Gloom Bombs (45 Damage, +0.644 x Spirit) and Return to Shadows (150 Damage, +0.609336 x Spirit). Leaping Slash scales with Light Melee Damage (10 Impact Damage, +0.8 x Light Melee Damage). Ava has no damage scaling in the files.
What order do players unlock Calico's abilities in Deadlock?
In all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, Calico players unlocked Leaping Slash, Gloom Bombs, Ava, then Return to Shadows in 90.5% of matches (60,458 of 66,815), and Gloom Bombs, Leaping Slash, Ava, then Return to Shadows in 5.7% of matches (3,784 of 66,815). These are match results measured by deadlock-api.com, not numbers from the game files, and the most common order is not a recommendation.
How much health does Calico have in Deadlock?
Calico starts with 730 max health and gains 37 health per level, before items.
How much damage does Calico's gun do?
Calico's gun fires 9 bullets of 1.84 damage per shot from a 12-round clip. That is about 78.9 damage per second at level 1 with no items, computed as bullet damage x bullets per shot / cycle time, ignoring reload and falloff.
How many souls does Calico need to reach max level?
Calico reaches level 36 at 48,600 souls (Boon 35 in the game's HUD).
Was Calico changed in the latest patch?
No. Calico is unchanged in the latest build of Deadlock on file (the November 5, 2026 patch, build 6860). It last changed in the October 1, 2026 patch.