McGinnis is a formidable character in Deadlock, especially when it comes to securing zones and helping her team escape precarious situations. However, this is only possible if she is properly constructed.
Despite its emphasis on aiming and gunplay over other MOBAs, Deadlock also places a significant importance on using abilities, as they can greatly enhance your character’s performance. McGinnis, with her powerful turrets that can handle much of the combat, is often considered one of the simpler characters to play in Deadlock.
Nevertheless, mastering her gameplay at a competitive level necessitates understanding how to leverage her lane dominance and powerful split push capability to compensate for her typically underwhelming burst damage and the time required to set up her turrets.
We’re dedicated to assisting you in selecting the optimal items and abilities for McGinnis so she can reach her maximum potential in Deadlock.
Best Abilities to Use on McGinnis
If you are not acquainted with McGinnis’s arsenal and her actions in Deadlock, here is a brief summary:
- 1: Mini Turret
- Deploys a Mini Turret that automatically shoots enemies. The turret expires after a limited lifetime. Turrets have 30% of McGinnis’s max health, 60% Spirit Resist, and deal reduced damage to troopers and objectives.
- Level 1: +1 ability charge and turrets apply +25% movement slow
- Level 2: +10 meter attack range and +10% turret fire rate
- Level 3: +45 turret DPS
- Deploys a Mini Turret that automatically shoots enemies. The turret expires after a limited lifetime. Turrets have 30% of McGinnis’s max health, 60% Spirit Resist, and deal reduced damage to troopers and objectives.
- 2: Medicinal Specter
- Deploy a spirit that heals nearby units
- Level 1: +35% fire rate on units being healed by Medicinal Specter
- Level 2: -18 second cooldown
- Level 3: +5% max health regen per second
- Deploy a spirit that heals nearby units
- 3: Spectral Wall
- Creates a wall that divides the terrain in half. On creation, the wall deals damage and applies slow to enemies nearby. Can be triggered again to make the wall erupt before the detonation period and further damage to enemies.
- Level 1: Removes 1 stamina and amplifies McGinnis’s damage by 25% on hit enemies for 7 seconds
- Level 2: -15 second cooldown
- Level 3: Adds a 1 second stun to enemies hit by Spectral Wall
- Creates a wall that divides the terrain in half. On creation, the wall deals damage and applies slow to enemies nearby. Can be triggered again to make the wall erupt before the detonation period and further damage to enemies.
- 4: Heavy Barrage
- Unleashes a volley of rockets that home in on a targeted location.
- Level 1: Applies 35% movement slow
- Level 2: -50 second cooldown
- Level 3: +30 damage per rocket
- Unleashes a volley of rockets that home in on a targeted location.
The path for McGinnis’s abilities in Deadlock begins with her starting abilities and reaches its maximum potential. It is important to keep in mind that although McGinnis possesses a range of useful abilities, her ultimate may seem disappointing and may require coordination with other characters who are capable of stunning or rooting enemies.
- Ability starting path: 3>2>1
- Against characters who deal a lot of damage in the early stages of the game, getting your 2 first is advised for the extra sustainability.
- Ability max path: 1 point in 2>max 1>2 points in 3>1 point in 2>1 point in 4>max 2>max 3>max 4
- McGinnis features an unique kit of abilities, allowing you to modify your build path according to the requirements of each match. In games where your team has disablers, it is recommended to max out your ultimate first to deal massive bursts of damage in team fights, whereas it is better to focus on your other abilities when playing in a utility based role.
Investing a point in your Medicinal Specter ability is highly advantageous in the early game as it not only heals all nearby allied units but also increases their firing rate. This enables you to push your minions forward and gives you the necessary sustain and firing rate advantage to trade with your enemy on the lane.
The Mini Turret ability will undoubtedly be your go-to on McGinnis, as it enables you to deploy additional firepower onto the battlefield without putting yourself in direct danger. This can be especially useful when trying to evade enemies, as the turret can impede their pursuit.
Heavy Barrage only permits you to inflict harm on targets within your line of sight, making it essential to strategically trap your opponents with the Spectral Wall before unleashing the devastating burst damage of your ultimate.
Best build on McGinnis: Deadlock items explained
The items here are categorized into four sections: early game, mid-game, late-game/luxury purchases, and situational buys.
The initial three sections offer a broad overview of the items that you should consider purchasing on McGinnis at different stages of the game. However, if you are in a favorable position, you can skip ahead and focus on obtaining late-game items. Alternatively, situational items are specifically designed to counter specific mechanics and scenarios that may arise during a match.
To increase your chances of defeating the enemy’s Patron, make sure to purchase all the necessary items on McGinnis.
Early Game items
When used correctly, McGinnis possesses one of the strongest primary weapons in the game. Her minigun provides a high level of lane pressure that is incredibly challenging for opponents to combat. As a result, the enhanced damage against NPCs from Monster Rounds is ideal for pushing enemies into a corner. Additionally, Basic Magazine is an excellent choice for increased ammunition and can eventually be upgraded to Titanic Magazine.
The added stamina and regeneration from Extra Stamina and Extra Regen will assist you in maintaining your presence on the lane. As McGinnis prioritizes gathering souls and ability points by staying in lane, the bonus regen from Healing Rite becomes crucial during the initial phases of the game in case you get consistently harassed out of lane.
The addition of Extra Charge will allow you to deploy multiple Mini Turret charges, while Mystic Reach provides essential enhancements to spirit damage and range for all your abilities, with a particular focus on your turrets.
Mid-Game Items
To ensure your sustainability, it is recommended to invest in both Enduring Speed and Fortitude. These items provide valuable regeneration and movement speed, making them essential for optimal gameplay. Fortitude also aids in jungling neutral creeps and split-pushing, as its max-health regen ensures you stay healthy while rotating. Ultimately, excelling in split-pushing is the main reason for choosing McGinnis as your hero.
Neglecting McGinnis’ turrets will not be beneficial. In order to be successful in the mid game, it is recommended to purchase Improved Cooldown and Suppressor to decrease the cooldown of your abilities and reduce the firing rate of your opponents. By using the Suppressor with your turret, it becomes challenging for opponents to exchange damage and can later be upgraded to Mystic Slow.
Late Game/Luxury
McGinnis’ rapid firing ability enables her to effectively utilize Weapon damage items that inflict Spirit power debuffs on enemies, such as Spiritual Overflow. When combined with Titanic Magazine, Spiritual Overflow enables her to accumulate significant Spirit Damage on foes, making it possible to take down even the toughest of champions.
To effectively defend against enemy heroes who can ambush you in the later stages of the game, it is crucial to have Improved Bullet Armor and Improved Spirit Armor. The Inhibitor is also essential as it provides both a movement slow and damage reduction, allowing you to create distance from these heroes and mitigate their attacks.
McGinnis heavily relies on Spirit damage from her abilities and excels with reduced cooldowns and increased ability damage. To fully utilize her arsenal, it is recommended to acquire items such as Rapid Recharge, Echo Shard, and Superior Cooldown in the late game. Using Echo Shard to quickly deploy multiple turrets can be a life-saving tactic.
Additionally, her turrets have a short duration, so choosing Superior Duration is a great way to keep them active for a longer period of time. This, combined with bonus cooldown reduction items, can lead to minimal downtime. Furthermore, using Mystic Slow can also guarantee that enemies will be slowed even further.
In addition, it is highly recommended to obtain Escalating Exposure and Boundless Spirit in order to enhance McGinnis’s Spirit damage to its fullest potential. This will make her a formidable character to contend with during the late game.
Situational Items
In order to maximize their benefits, it is important to purchase these items at the appropriate time for McGinnis. Below is a breakdown of each item and the ideal scenario in which it should be obtained.
- Warp Stone: This item grants you a convenient short-distance teleport that can be used to strategically reposition yourself in battles. Additionally, it provides a boost to both your weapon damage and spirit power. It is particularly effective when facing opponents who possess a teleport or dash ability.
- The item “Toxic Bullets”enables you to inflict bleed damage on enemies and reduce their healing capabilities. As the amount of damage from the bleed effect is based on the enemy’s current health, this item is particularly effective against heroes with high HP and regeneration abilities.
- Active Reload: For McGinnis, who prioritizes bullet damage over spirit damage, utilizing Active Reload is essential. This feature allows for an immediate reload and grants a boost in firing rate and bullet lifesteal, making it a crucial component for a successful build.
- Leech: For McGinnis, this ability is a game-changer, particularly in matches where she has been trailing. By providing bonus lifesteal for both bullet and spirit damage, Leech enables her to prolong battles and endure for extended periods, ultimately enabling her to turn the tide of the game.
- Unstoppable is an incredibly powerful item in the game, especially when facing a team with many disabling abilities. It greatly aids in countering your opponents’ attempts to shut down your ultimate, making it much more manageable. This item effectively prevents enemies from applying disabling effects on you.
- Beneficial Addition: Adding a Debuff Remover to your arsenal can prove advantageous if your opponents consistently disable or silence you during team battles. This tool enables you to remove a majority of negative debuffs and continue using your abilities in fights, unless you are stunned or put to sleep.
- Rescue Beam: Since McGinnis is sitting in the back most of the time, upgrading your Healing Rite to a Rescue Beam can be a strong choice.
- Reactive Barrier: Activates a protective barrier on yourself whenever McGinnis is incapacitated by enemy abilities or items, granting temporary bullet and spirit armor. This item is particularly useful for McGinnis in situations where the enemy team is targeting you, as your turrets can continue to inflict damage while you are under crowd control.
- Slowing Hex: This hex is particularly effective against agile heroes with abilities such as dash and teleport, as it not only reduces their movement speed, but also disables any movement-based abilities or items they may have.
- Withering Whip: This item can be used on an enemy hero to apply a debuff that slows their fire rate and reduces their resistance to bullets for a brief period of time. It is primarily useful on McGinnis when facing an opponent who constantly pursues and attacks with a boosted fire rate.
- Ethereal Shift: This ability allows you to become invulnerable and unable to be targeted for a brief period of time if you are caught off guard by enemies. However, you will be unable to move or take any actions during this time. In addition, you will receive an instant reload and a boost to your spirit power. This is a valuable ability to have when facing enemy heroes who have the ability to quickly ambush and defeat you.
- Knockdown: This active item can be used to apply a debuff on an enemy, which will stun them after a brief period of time, rendering them unable to take any action. When your team lacks sufficient disables to complement your ultimate ability, using this item on McGinnis can be particularly effective.
- Curse: McGinnis can utilize Curse to inflict a debuff on an enemy hero, causing them to be silenced, disarmed, and unable to use any items for a brief period of time. This ability is particularly useful in late game scenarios when you are struggling to restrain an enemy hero who constantly uses their abilities or deals heavy amounts of damage.
Despite feeling somewhat underwhelming in the current state of the game, she remains one of the simpler characters to begin with and understand the complex mechanics.
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