Solomon brings a full chess-themed kit to Deadlock, with abilities built around moving pieces, protecting teammates, and catching enemies in dangerous squares. His four abilities are Setup Bishop, Kingside Knight, Rook Battery, and Develop Queen, with upgrades that add everything from Spirit Resistance reduction to a low-health execution.
There’s plenty to learn here, especially because several abilities have separate movement commands. Here’s how each part of Solomon’s kit works, based on the supplied in-game screenshots. He was first introduced in the new City Never Sleeps update alongside five other heroes.
In brief:
- Setup Bishop damages and slows enemies, then creates diagonal squares that punish enemies who step on them.
- Kingside Knight gives allies a barrier and bonus stamina, while self-casting gives Solomon double the barrier.
- Rook Battery launches bouncing rooks that immobilize enemies and can split sideways.
- Develop Queen deals area damage and stuns, with an upgrade that executes heroes below 200 health.
How Solomon’s Abilities Work in Deadlock
Solomon’s kit rewards careful placement and timing. Bishops create dangerous paths, his knight ability helps reposition a protected teammate, and his rooks catch enemies for follow-up attacks. The queen adds repeated area damage and crowd control.
The numbers below are values displayed in the screenshots. Some reflect the character’s current scaling or purchased upgrades, so they should not be treated as universal base stats. Valve also describes Deadlock as being in early development with experimental gameplay, meaning abilities can change through updates.
Solomon’s Abilities:
Setup Bishop: Slow Enemies and Control Diagonal Squares
Setup Bishop creates a bishop that stays in place indefinitely. Using its move command sends it through enemies, dealing Spirit damage and applying a fading movement slow.
After a delay, the bishop activates diagonal squares that deal additional Spirit damage when enemies step on them. Reactivating the ability recalls all bishops and ends it.
The screenshot shows 74 impact damage, 26 square damage, and a 30% fading slow lasting three seconds. Moving the bishop has a separate three-second cooldown.
Its upgrades are:
- 1 Ability Point: Adds 5 meters of move distance and 15% fading slow.
- 2 Ability Points: Adds one maximum piece and allows a recast within eight seconds.
- 5 Ability Points: Adds one square of range. Squares reduce Spirit Resistance by 2.5% per stack, stacking up to 10 times.
Based on these effects, bishop placement should be useful around narrow routes and contested areas. Enemies have to account for both the moving piece and the squares it leaves active.
Kingside Knight: Protect and Reposition Your Team
Kingside Knight promotes an ally to a knight, granting a temporary barrier and bonus stamina. Self-casting makes Solomon the king instead, giving him double the barrier without the stamina bonus.
Its move command relocates the affected piece and makes it invulnerable during the movement before landing. That gives the ability potential as both a rescue tool and a way to help a teammate move into a fight.
The screenshot displays an 82-point barrier, one bonus stamina, and a seven-second buff duration. It also lists different movement distances for the king and knight.
Its upgrades are:
- 1 Ability Point: Reduces cooldown by eight seconds.
- 2 Ability Points: Adds 80 barrier and one stamina.
- 5 Ability Points: Allows targeting two allies within a radius. When used on Solomon, moving removes all debuffs afterward.
Rook Battery: Bounce Projectiles and Immobilize Enemies
Rook Battery releases a pair of rooks that travel forward, dealing Spirit damage and immobilizing enemies. Hitting a wall reflects them in the opposite direction.
Reactivating the ability splits the rooks perpendicularly, letting Solomon change their path after launching them.
The screenshot shows 53 damage, a one-second immobilize, and one wall reflection.
Its upgrades are:
- 1 Ability Point: Hits reduce enemy fire rate by 25% for five seconds.
- 2 Ability Points: Hits deal additional damage equal to 5% of the target’s current health.
- 5 Ability Points: Adds one wall reflection, reduces cooldown by 12 seconds, and extends the immobilize by 0.5 seconds.
The immobilize offers a clear setup opportunity for Solomon’s other abilities. Wall placement and the timing of the split should also give players room to get creative with their shots.
Develop Queen: Area Damage, Stuns, and Checkmate Executions
Develop Queen summons a queen that crashes down and deals Spirit damage in an area. After a delay, she releases squares in straight lines that deal Spirit damage again and stun enemies.
Using the move command makes the queen leap to a target location and repeat those effects. Solomon can also reactivate the ability to recall her early.
The screenshot lists 123 damage, a 1.25-second stun, two additional moves, and a five-second move cooldown.
Its upgrades are:
- 1 Ability Point: Reduces cooldown by 40 seconds.
- 2 Ability Points: Adds 15% slow and enables Checkmate, executing heroes below 200 health.
- 5 Ability Points: Adds two moves and one square of range.
The execution upgrade gives Solomon a way to finish weakened heroes, while additional queen moves let him keep applying pressure as a fight shifts. Judging by the ability descriptions, combining the bishop’s slow or rook’s immobilize with the queen’s delayed attacks looks like a natural starting point for learning his combos.
