Ivy Deadlock Guide (2026): Build, Abilities, Support & Combos

Updated July 21, 2026: Ivy is a high-complexity marksman-support who controls ground with Entangling Thorns, links to an ally through Kudzu Connection, becomes an impervious healing stun with Stone Form, and carries a teammate into or out of danger with Air Drop.

Ivy's value depends on relationships. The correct connection target, landing point, heal timing, and Air Drop passenger can matter more than personal damage. She is strongest when her partner knows what the next move is.

Current meta snapshot: Tracklock’s standard-mode, all-rank table showed Ivy at a 36.09% pick rate and 53.99% win rate when checked July 21. These numbers move as matches arrive; they explain why this guide exists, not what every future patch will look like.

Ivy At A Glance

Ivy Abilities

Kudzu Connection needs line of sight, and Air Drop is briefly disabled after taking damage. Ivy therefore benefits from starting the plan before the enemy reaches her rather than using every utility button as a late panic response.

Best Ivy Ability Order

Tracklock’s largest completed skill-max route on the July 9 patch prioritized:

1. Kudzu Connection
2. Air Drop
3. Stone Form
4. Entangling Thorns

The largest completed route currently maxes the ally link first. Damage-oriented Ivy builds can prioritize Thorns or Stone Form differently, especially when the team does not need a full support route.

Ivy Build

This route is support-forward and differs from the older Spirit-control specialist build already on DramaLock. Both can be real; the correct choice depends on whether Ivy is enabling a carry, controlling space, or supplying personal damage.

This is a dated route, not a shopping script. Check the live Ivy pro-build sample, compare alternatives in the Deadlock builds guide, and use the items guide when the enemy composition demands a counter purchase.

Situational Purchases

• Use anti-heal when the enemy front line erases your team's repeated pressure.
• Buy direct armor or debuff protection when Stone Form is never available in time.
• Choose Spirit Burn, Echo Shard, or exposure tools only when the match supports the more aggressive Spirit-control route.

How To Play Ivy

Lane

Connect to the ally who can actually use shared pressure and healing. Place Thorns where the opponent must cross them, not where they were standing a second ago.

Mid Game

Move with a high-impact partner and arrive early enough to choose the Air Drop route. Stone Form should answer a real burst or control window, not become routine chip damage.

Teamfights

Maintain connection line of sight, share healing through the active core, and decide whether Air Drop is an engage or a rescue. Those two plans want very different passengers and landing zones.

Late Game

Protect the ally whose survival decides the fight. Ivy can carry, stun, heal, and amplify, but spending all four jobs on different low-value moments leaves the team without the one answer it needed.

Ivy Combos And Fight Patterns

• Support entry: Kudzu Connection, Air Drop the initiator to the chosen landing, then Thorns the enemy retreat and Stone Form the counter-engage.
• Defensive turn: connect to the pressured carry, share healing, Stone Form the diver, then Air Drop the ally to safety if the fight remains lost.
• Area control: place Entangling Thorns under allied control, Stone Form the grouped targets, then maintain connected gun pressure through the escape.

Ivy Strengths And Weaknesses

How To Counter Ivy

• Break line of sight between Ivy and the connected ally.
• Pressure Ivy before she can begin Air Drop.
• Spread from the landing zone and Entangling Thorns.
• Bait Stone Form, then commit the main burst after it ends.
• Apply anti-heal when the build centers on shared sustain.

Common Ivy Mistakes

• Connecting to the nearest ally instead of the most valuable partner.
• Using Air Drop without deciding whether it is an engage or rescue.
• Spending Stone Form for minor damage before the enemy dive.
• Ignoring line of sight and repeatedly breaking Kudzu Connection.
• Copying a Spirit build when the team actually needs support durability.

Ivy Lore

Ivy awakened as a gargoyle while protecting the Arroyo family, then spent 18 years dismantling the Mendoza Syndicate in Spanish Harlem. With that mission complete, she is finally discovering what exists beyond vigilante justice.

Read the full Ivy lore guide, then browse the complete 38-character roster or compare jobs in the hero roles guide.

Ivy FAQ

Is Ivy beginner friendly?

Ivy is complexity 3 of 3. Her mechanics are readable, but partner choice, line of sight, healing, Stone Form timing, and Air Drop routing create a high decision burden.

What is the best Ivy build?

The current pro sample is support-forward: weapon stability and sustain early, Healing Booster and expansion in the core, then duration, cooldown, and team aura items.

Can Ivy Air Drop allies?

Yes. Ivy carries an ally, drops them for an explosion, and gives both characters a post-flight outgoing-damage bonus.

What counters Ivy?

Broken connection line of sight, pressure that delays Air Drop, anti-heal, baiting Stone Form, and spreading from her landing zones all reduce her team value.

Sources And Methodology

Hero type, complexity, starting stats, ability names, and ability descriptions were checked July 21, 2026 against the current Deadlock API asset data. That independent project parses the live game files; it is not Valve.

The meta snapshot comes from Tracklock’s standard hero table. The item package comes from its rolling 88-game Ivy pro sample, and the skill priority comes from completed normal matches on the July 9 patch. Tracklock says it captures a large proportion of matches, not every match. Pick rate, win rate, item frequency, and completed-build win rate answer different questions and must not be treated as interchangeable proof.

Valve’s July 9, 2026 update is the current official patch reference. Deadlock remains in active development, so recheck the live build and patch notes before copying a route into a later version.