Sinclair
Sinclair is a Mystic hero in Deadlock, with a Complexity of 4 in the game files. The game sums up the role as "Misdirect and hex enemies." Sinclair has 730 base health and 1 health regen. Sinclair's gun fires 16.5 damage per bullet from a 16-round clip. Each level adds 38 health and 0.55 bullet damage.
Open the most-bought Sinclair build
The 4 items bought most in each phase of 40,927 Sinclair matches, October 30 to November 1, 2026, measured by deadlock-api.com.
How Sinclair plays
With the help of their unwilling assistant, The Magnificent Sinclair can confuse enemies with curving hexes and rapid bolts.
Sinclair counters
Sinclair's toughest matchups, the furthest below what both heroes' overall win rates predict, are Baba (38.3% over 2,567 matches, 1.8 points below expected), McGinnis (43.0% over 2,255 matches, 1.6 points below expected) and Vindicta (43.8% over 6,121 matches, 1.6 points below expected), and its best, the furthest above, are Paige (40.5% over 5,941 matches, 1.4 points above expected), Mina (51.4% over 7,106 matches, 1.3 points above expected) and Seven (41.4% over 6,381 matches, 1.3 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, Sinclair won 45.0% over 40,927 matches.
Toughest matchups
| Enemy | Sinclair win rate | Expectedcomputed | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
 BabaMatchup lab | 38.3% | 40.1%1.8 below | 2,567 |
 McGinnisMatchup lab | 43.0% | 44.6%1.6 below | 2,255 |
 VindictaMatchup lab | 43.8% | 45.3%1.6 below | 6,121 |
 KelvinMatchup lab | 39.3% | 40.7%1.3 below | 2,991 |
 Mo & KrillMatchup lab | 45.9% | 47.1%1.2 below | 4,364 |
Best matchups
| Enemy | Sinclair win rate | Expectedcomputed | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
 PaigeMatchup lab | 40.5% | 39.1%1.4 above | 5,941 |
 MinaMatchup lab | 51.4% | 50.1%1.3 above | 7,106 |
 SevenMatchup lab | 41.4% | 40.1%1.3 above | 6,381 |
 PocketMatchup lab | 51.8% | 50.6%1.2 above | 3,767 |
 CelesteMatchup lab | 48.2% | 46.9%1.2 above | 6,785 |
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 Sinclair build
On Sinclair, players bought Extra Charge in 87.8% of matches (35,931 of 40,927), Improved Spirit in 87.6% of matches (35,866 of 40,927) and Rapid Recharge in 83.6% of matches (34,217 of 40,927), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Extra ChargeIn the shop | 84.3%34,517 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 45.2%34,517 matches | 4:08 |
 Extra SpiritIn the shop | 76.1%31,154 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 45.3%31,154 matches | 4:49 |
 Improved SpiritIn the shop | 62.6%25,638 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 46.0%25,638 matches | 7:04 |
 High-Velocity RoundsIn the shop | 40.4%16,535 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 44.9%16,535 matches | 2:11 |
 Opening RoundsIn the shop | 37.6%15,370 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 45.1%15,370 matches | 4:15 |
 Rapid RechargeIn the shop | 25.9%10,583 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 48.8%10,583 matches | 8:35 |
Mid game, bought 10:00 to 19:59
| Item | Bought by | Win rate when bought | Average buy time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid RechargeIn the shop | 49.0%20,041 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 43.6%20,041 matches | 12:57 |
 Mystic ExpansionIn the shop | 45.6%18,648 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 45.5%18,648 matches | 14:38 |
 Enchanter's EmblemIn the shop | 34.0%13,896 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 45.3%13,896 matches | 13:52 |
 Greater ExpansionIn the shop | 25.7%10,537 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 47.9%10,537 matches | 16:44 |
 Trophy CollectorIn the shop | 23.8%9,728 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 44.8%9,728 matches | 12:59 |
| Improved SpiritIn the shop | 21.8%8,917 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 42.4%8,917 matches | 12:41 |
Late game, bought at 20:00 or later
| Item | Bought by | Win rate when bought | Average buy time |
|---|---|---|---|
 Boundless SpiritIn the shop | 55.0%22,511 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 47.1%22,511 matches | 27:10 |
| Greater ExpansionIn the shop | 51.6%21,118 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 45.3%21,118 matches | 26:29 |
 Superior DurationIn the shop | 51.1%20,896 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 46.5%20,896 matches | 28:18 |
 Superior CooldownIn the shop | 49.9%20,405 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 47.2%20,405 matches | 28:37 |
 Transcendent CooldownIn the shop | 32.3%13,235 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 49.6%13,235 matches | 34:14 |
 Spirit BurnIn the shop | 31.7%12,975 of 40,927 Sinclair matches | 53.4%12,975 matches | 33:25 |
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 Sinclair matches in which the Sinclair 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.
Sinclair ability order
On Sinclair, players unlocked Spectral Assistant, Vexing Bolt, Rabbit Hex, then Audience Participation in 85.7% of matches (35,260 of 41,140), and Vexing Bolt, Spectral Assistant, Rabbit Hex, then Audience Participation in 8.0% of matches (3,281 of 41,140), 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 |
|---|---|
| 85.7%35,260 of 41,140 | |
| 8.0%3,281 of 41,140 |
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 Sinclair matches that used it out of every Sinclair 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.
Sinclair lore
Henry's parents told him he was too young and impulsive to mess with real magic, and so they gave him a deck of cards to play with. He took to sleight of hand naturally and soon was dazzling his classmates with fantastic feats of illusions that were done without mystic artifacts or incantation.
When he was in high school he met Savannah, and their mutual love of stage magic sparked a whirlwind romance. Soon they fell in love and created an act together. Obviously they were meant to be; and so at prom, Henry proposed to Savannah and they married soon after graduation.
Unsurprisingly both sets of parents were not thrilled at this prospect, but Henry and Savannah knew they were soulmates. And so they cemented their love for one another by having a blood mystic bind their souls for eternity.
When an on-stage accident claimed both their lives, no one was sure who to blame. Henry claims Savannah was out of position. Savannah says Henry didn't wait for his cue. But one thing's for sure, since their souls are tied to each other neither one of them have been able to move on. Now a bickering pair of ghosts, Henry and Savannah need to work together if they want to have any chance of undoing their eternal union.
Sinclair stats
Sinclair abilities
| Slot | Ability | Damage | Cooldown | Scaling | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ability 1 |  Vexing Bolt | 60Minimum Damage | 24s | +0.93 x SpiritMinimum Damage | Fire a bolt of magic that deals Damage, increasing as it travels. If you have an Assistant, they also cast Vexing Bolt at reduced damage. Press Ability 1 to redirect the bolt towards your crosshairs. |
| Ability 2 |  Spectral Assistant | 15Damage | 40s | +0.36 x SpiritDamage | Summon an Assistant at the targeted location. The Assistant attacks whenever you fire your weapon, dealing Damage. While the Assistant is out, you can press Ability 2 to swap positions with your Assistant. Casting Spectral Assistant also reloads your weapon. |
| Ability 3 |  Rabbit Hex | 26s | +0.0558 x Spirit (% points)Damage Amp | Hex a target area and transform all enemies into a Rabbit for a limited duration. Rabbits are small and move faster, but take increased Damage and are unable to perform most actions. Hex does not interrupt abilities. | |
| Ultimate |  Audience Participation | 85s | Copy the Ultimate of an enemy hero for a limited time. Reactivating the ability will use the Copied Ultimate instead. Copies will inherit this ability's upgrade points. Audience Participation will also copy the cooldown. |
Hero
- Type
- Mystic
- Complexity
- 4
- Tags
- Trickster, Copycat, Versatile
Starting stats
- Max Health
- 730
- Health Regen
- 1
- Move Speed
- 7.2
- Sprint Speed
- 1.6m
- Stamina
- 3
- Stamina regen per second
- 0.222222
- Light Melee
- 50
- Heavy Melee
- 116
- Ground dash distance
- 10m
- Air dash distance
- 8m
Gun
- Bullet Damage
- 16.5
- Bullets per shot
- 1
- Cycle time
- 0.525s
- Rounds per second
- Not modelled
- Weapon DPS
- Not modelled
- Clip size
- 16
- Shots per burst
- 2
- Time between burst shots
- 0.105s
- Reload Time
- 2.5s
- Bullet Velocity
- 11811 units/s
- Falloff start range
- 787.402 units
- Falloff end range
- 2362.205 units
- Damage scale at falloff end
- 0.3
Rounds per second and weapon DPS are not modelled: this gun fires in bursts of 2, and how the game times a burst is not confirmed in game. Reload and falloff are not modelled either. Ranges and bullet speed are in the game file's own units.
Sinclair vs every hero
Body shots Sinclair needs to kill each other hero, and each hero needs to kill Sinclair, both at level 1 with no items. Each number opens that matchup in the lab.
| Hero | Sinclair kills themcomputed | They kill Sinclaircomputed |
|---|---|---|
| Abrams | 49 | 22 |
| Apollo | 47 | 40 |
| Baba | 48 | 28 |
| Bebop | 54 | 147 |
| Billy | 50 | 116 |
| Calico | 45 | 45 |
| 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 |
| Solomon | 48 | 30 |
| The Doorman | 46 | 31 |
| Venator | 50 | 92 |
| Victor | 49 | 61 |
| Vindicta | 46 | 60 |
| Violet | 44 | 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
- 0.55
- Alt-fire bullet damage per level
- 0.55
- Health per level
- 38
- Melee damage per level
- 1.58
- Boons per level
- 1
- Spirit power per level
- 1.3
Souls and investment
Same soul curve as every hero: Sinclair reaches level 36 at 48,600 souls. See souls per level and investment bonuses.
Sinclair change history
| Patch | Change | State |
|---|---|---|
| November 5, 2026build 6860from build 6757 | No player-facing change in 33 builds (October 6 to November 5, 2026). | Unchanged |
| October 5, 2026build 6753 | Sinclair's Health Regen changed from 2 to 1. Sinclair's Bullet Damage changed from 17.76 to 16.5, Falloff end range from 2400 units to 2362.205 units and Falloff start range from 1000 units to 787.402 units. | Changed |
| October 4, 2026build 6746from build 6742 | No player-facing change in 3 builds (October 2 to October 4, 2026). | Unchanged |
| October 1, 2026build 6731 | Sinclair's shop stat panel now lists Lifesteal Effectiveness under Vitality. | Changed |
| September 30, 2026build 6726from build 6712 | No player-facing change in 3 builds (September 29 to September 30, 2026). | Unchanged |
| September 29, 2026build 6711 | Sinclair's Alt-fire bullet damage per level changed from 0 to 0.55. | Changed |
| September 25, 2026build 6701from build 6642 | No player-facing change in 13 builds (July 28 to September 25, 2026). | Unchanged |
| July 25, 2026build 6640 | First recorded in Deadlock. | Baseline |
Sinclair FAQ
Who is Sinclair in Deadlock?
Sinclair is a Mystic hero in Deadlock, with a Complexity of 4 in the game files. Henry's parents told him he was too young and impulsive to mess with real magic, and so they gave him a deck of cards to play with. He took to sleight of hand naturally and soon was dazzling his classmates with fantastic feats of illusions that were done without mystic artifacts or incantation.
How do you play Sinclair in Deadlock?
With the help of their unwilling assistant, The Magnificent Sinclair can confuse enemies with curving hexes and rapid bolts.
Who counters Sinclair in Deadlock?
In all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, Sinclair did furthest below what both heroes' overall win rates predict against Baba (38.3% over 2,567 matches, 1.8 points below expected), McGinnis (43.0% over 2,255 matches, 1.6 points below expected), Vindicta (43.8% over 6,121 matches, 1.6 points below expected), Kelvin (39.3% over 2,991 matches, 1.3 points below expected) and Mo & Krill (45.9% over 4,364 matches, 1.2 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 Sinclair in Deadlock?
In all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, Sinclair players bought Extra Charge in 87.8% of matches (35,931 of 40,927), Improved Spirit in 87.6% of matches (35,866 of 40,927) and Rapid Recharge in 83.6% of matches (34,217 of 40,927). 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 Sinclair's abilities in Deadlock?
Sinclair has four abilities. Vexing Bolt (first ability, 24 second cooldown): Fire a bolt of magic that deals Damage, increasing as it travels. If you have an Assistant, they also cast Vexing Bolt at reduced damage. Press Ability 1 to redirect the bolt towards your crosshairs. Spectral Assistant (second ability, 40 second cooldown): Summon an Assistant at the targeted location. The Assistant attacks whenever you fire your weapon, dealing Damage. While the Assistant is out, you can press Ability 2 to swap positions with your Assistant. Casting Spectral Assistant also reloads your weapon. Rabbit Hex (third ability, 26 second cooldown): Hex a target area and transform all enemies into a Rabbit for a limited duration. Rabbits are small and move faster, but take increased Damage and are unable to perform most actions. Hex does not interrupt abilities. Audience Participation (ultimate, 85 second cooldown): Copy the Ultimate of an enemy hero for a limited time. Reactivating the ability will use the Copied Ultimate instead. Copies will inherit this ability's upgrade points. Audience Participation will also copy the cooldown.
What do Sinclair's abilities scale with?
Three of Sinclair's four abilities scale with Spirit in the game files: Vexing Bolt (60 Minimum Damage, +0.93 x Spirit), Spectral Assistant (15 Damage, +0.36 x Spirit) and Rabbit Hex (15% Damage Amp, +0.0558 x Spirit in percentage points). Audience Participation has no damage scaling in the files.
What order do players unlock Sinclair's abilities in Deadlock?
In all-rank matches from October 30 to November 1, 2026, from patch 6833's release day, Sinclair players unlocked Spectral Assistant, Vexing Bolt, Rabbit Hex, then Audience Participation in 85.7% of matches (35,260 of 41,140), and Vexing Bolt, Spectral Assistant, Rabbit Hex, then Audience Participation in 8.0% of matches (3,281 of 41,140). 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 Sinclair have in Deadlock?
Sinclair starts with 730 max health and gains 38 health per level, before items.
How much damage does Sinclair's gun do?
Sinclair's gun fires 16.5 damage per bullet from a 16-round clip. It fires in bursts of 2, and how the game times a burst is not confirmed, so this site computes no damage per second for it.
How many souls does Sinclair need to reach max level?
Sinclair reaches level 36 at 48,600 souls (Boon 35 in the game's HUD).
Was Sinclair changed in the latest patch?
No. Sinclair is unchanged in the latest build of Deadlock on file (the November 5, 2026 patch, build 6860). It last changed in the October 5, 2026 patch.