Deadlock
Drifter

Assassin · Hard to play · Spreadshot

Drifter build & counters

Drifter is a assassin in Deadlock. Since the 10-14-2026 patch Drifter has a 50.6% win rate over 129,244 games, which is A tier across all ranks and B tier in Phantom to Eternus games. The most-bought Drifter items after the first shop are Stalker, Hunter's Aura and Silencer. Most players max Rend first. Drifter's hardest matchup is Graves.

Tier
A
Win rate
50.6% +0.3
Pick rate
34.6%
KDA
2.62
Souls / game
42,230
Games
129,244

Tier by rank

Best Drifter items

The items Drifter players buy most at each shop tier this patch, with the win rate of the players who bought them. Late items show higher win rates because winning players can afford them, so compare items within a tier.

Tier 1 · 800 souls

  • Melee Lifesteal76% buy · 50.5% win
  • Spirit Strike63% buy · 50.6% win
  • Close Quarters54% buy · 51.5% win
  • Sprint Boots52% buy · 51.6% win

Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

  • Stalker85% buy · 51.1% win
  • Trophy Collector47% buy · 52.0% win
  • Kinetic Dash36% buy · 50.6% win
  • Swift Striker31% buy · 50.5% win

Tier 3 · 3,200 souls

  • Hunter's Aura63% buy · 53.3% win
  • Spirit Snatch62% buy · 51.1% win
  • Tankbuster46% buy · 50.9% win
  • Fortitude43% buy · 52.7% win

Tier 4 · 6,400 souls

  • Silencer18% buy · 60.4% win
  • Crushing Fists18% buy · 56.9% win
  • Spirit Burn18% buy · 57.7% win
  • Vampiric Burst18% buy · 56.2% win

Drifter abilities and skill order

Most common skill order

  1. 1
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 2
  7. 4
  8. 1
  9. 1
  10. 3
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 4
  15. 4

Numbers match the abilities above: each box is one ability point, left to right. This exact order wins 58.1% of 3,854 games. Rend is maxed first in 68% of common orders.

Drifter counters and matchups

How to counter Drifter

Enemies that lower Drifter's win rate most

Good against

Enemies Drifter beats most often

Best teammates

Allies that raise Drifter's win rate

Percentage points against Drifter's overall win rate of 50.6%, all ranks, pairs with at least 300 games.

Recent official changes

Minor Update - 08-12-2026 · Aug 12, 2026

  • Rend spirit scaling reduced from 1.7 to 1.4
  • Stalker's Mark cooldown increased from 24s to 26s
  • Stalker's Mark T2 reduced from -12s Cooldown to -10s

Minor Update - 07-28-2026 · Jul 28, 2026

  • Rend spirit scaling reduced from 1.8 to 1.7
  • Rend T3 silence duration reduced from 2.3s to 2s

Minor Update - 07-09-2026 · Jul 9, 2026

  • Bullet damage per boon reduced from +0.616 to +0.49
  • Bloodscent T3 reduced from +12% to +11%
  • Stalker's Mark cooldown increased from 20s to 24s
  • Stalker's Mark T2 increased from -8s Cooldown to -12s
  • Stalker's Mark T3 reduced from +2% Bleed to +1.5%

Minor Update - 06-30-2026 · Jun 30, 2026

  • Health per boon increased from 41 to 43 (global hp boon reduction is after this)
  • Rend cast time reduced from 0.5s to 0.4s
  • Rend post cast time reduced from 0.5s to 0.4s
  • Rend T2 increased from -7s Cooldown to -8s
  • Bloodscent T1 increased from +2m/s while near an isolated enemy to +3m/s
  • Bloodscent T2 increased from 18% missing health heal to +24%

FAQ

What is the best Drifter build?

By purchase rate this patch: tier 1: Melee Lifesteal, Spirit Strike; tier 2: Stalker, Trophy Collector; tier 3: Hunter's Aura, Spirit Snatch; tier 4: Silencer, Crushing Fists. Percentages above show how often Drifter players buy each item and how often they win when they do.

How do you counter Drifter?

Pick heroes Drifter struggles against. Drifter wins least often when the enemy team has Graves, Paige and Rat King. Win rates compare games with that enemy against Drifter's overall 50.6%.

Updated Oct 19, 2026.