Anti-heal in Deadlock: every item and when to buy it

Every healing-reduction item in Deadlock with its numbers, which one fits your build, when to buy it and when to save the souls.

What anti-heal does in Deadlock

Anti-heal items reduce the target's Incoming Healing, so every heal, lifesteal and regen effect on them returns less health while the debuff is up. Deadlock has six of them: Healbane, Toxic Bullets, Decay, Inhibitor, Crippling Headshot and Spirit Burn. They cost 1,600 to 6,400 souls and cut healing by 35% to 70%.

There's no healing reduction built into the game any more. The January 30, 2026 patch removed the old global 40% healing reduction and moved anti-heal onto specific items and abilities. A few abilities still carry it, like Venator's Consecrating Grenade (-30% Incoming Healing on burning targets), and Apollo's Itani Lo Sahn stops its targets healing at all while it lasts. Beyond those, someone on your team has to buy it.

Every anti-heal item at a glance

Numbers are from the current patch. Each item only applies through one damage type or one trigger, so pick the one that matches how you deal damage.

1. 01Healbane: 1,600 souls, Vitality, Tier 2. Your spirit damage applies -35% Incoming Healing for 8s, and you heal 275 if an enemy hero dies while affected.
2. 02Toxic Bullets: 3,200 souls, Weapon, Tier 3. Bullets build up a bleed of 1.9% max health per second for 4s, and bleeding targets get -35% Incoming Healing.
3. 03Decay: 3,200 souls, Spirit, Tier 3, active. Target an enemy within 20m for 12s of -50% Incoming Healing and a non-lethal bleed of 1.95% of their current health per second. 30s cooldown.
4. 04Inhibitor: 6,400 souls, Vitality, Tier 4. Bullets build up to a 5s debuff: -40% Incoming Healing and -30% outgoing damage on the target, plus 150 bonus health for you.
5. 05Crippling Headshot: 6,400 souls, Weapon, Tier 4. A headshot applies -35% Incoming Healing and -16% Bullet and Spirit Resist for 12s.
6. 06Spirit Burn: 6,400 souls, Spirit, Tier 4. Deal 500 spirit damage to one enemy within 5s and they burn for 8s with -70% Incoming Healing. Each target can only be burned once every 20s.

Which heroes you need anti-heal against

Buy anti-heal for the hero whose healing changes the fight, not for every enemy with a heal button. The kits that most often call for it:

Lady Geist's Life Drain heals her for 100% of the damage it deals. Abrams heals for 70% of Siphon Life's damage. Warden's Last Stand has 75% hero lifesteal. Lash's Flog heals him for 40% of the damage he deals to heroes, and Mo & Krill's Scorn heals off every hero it hits. On the support side, Dynamo's Rejuvenating Aurora restores 30 health a second to everyone in it, McGinnis's Medicinal Specter heals 25 a second, and Rem, Kelvin, Paige and Nurse Harrow all have big team heals.

Items count too. An enemy carry with Leech has 28% bullet and spirit lifesteal, and Vampiric Burst gives 70% bullet lifesteal for 5s. If someone keeps walking out of fights at full health, check their items on the scoreboard before you blame their kit.

1. 01You don't need anti-heal for Healing Rite. Any damage from an enemy player dispels it, so just shoot the target.

Healbane: the early anti-heal for spirit heroes

Healbane is the cheapest anti-heal in the game and the right first buy for most spirit heroes. Any spirit damage applies it, so an ability that hits several enemies spreads it to all of them, and the 275 heal when an affected hero dies keeps it useful even when the enemy isn't healing much.

Buy it in lane against a lifesteal hero like Abrams or Lady Geist, or as your first mid-game item when the enemy has a healing support. At 1,600 souls, buying it a little early costs you very little.

Toxic Bullets: anti-heal for gun builds

Toxic Bullets is the standard anti-heal for weapon carries. The bleed scales with max health, so it gets better against tanky targets, and the -35% Incoming Healing comes with it. Only bullets build it up; melee stopped counting in the May 22, 2026 patch.

Fast-firing guns build the bleed quickly, and slow guns with few bullets take longer to proc it. If yours is slow, test the buildup in the Sandbox before you rely on it.

Decay: targeted anti-heal from range

Decay's -50% is the strongest cut you can buy before Tier 4, and it's the only one you aim at a specific enemy. That makes it the best answer when one hero is the whole problem, like a Lady Geist who won't die or the healer keeping their carry alive. Its bleed can't kill anyone and doesn't trigger item procs, so treat it as a debuff, not damage.

The 20m range lets supports and casters apply anti-heal without getting close. With a 30s cooldown you get one use per fight, so put it on the target first, before you commit.

Inhibitor and Crippling Headshot: late-game options

Inhibitor is the late-game anti-heal for anyone who shoots a lot, and the -30% outgoing damage on the target is often the bigger reason to buy it. That makes it a strong pick against a fed enemy carry who also heals. The extra 150 health helps you live long enough to keep the debuff up.

Crippling Headshot only works if you land headshots, but its 12s duration is the longest of any anti-heal item, and the -16% Bullet and Spirit Resist helps your whole team kill the target. Buy it on heroes who already hit heads reliably. If you're not sure you do, take Toxic Bullets or Inhibitor.

Spirit Burn: the strongest healing cut

Spirit Burn has the biggest reduction in the game at -70%, but only after you deal 500 spirit damage to one enemy within 5 seconds. Burst casters get there in one combo. Heroes whose spirit damage trickles in may never reach it in a real fight.

Since the July 28, 2026 patch it only hits the primary target, and the cooldown is per enemy rather than on the item, so you can burn several enemies in one fight but each only once every 20s. Buy it as a damage item that also counters healing, not as your only answer to a healer.

When to buy anti-heal and when to skip it

Anti-heal is a counter-buy. It does nothing against a team that doesn't heal, and it only works on enemies you're actually hitting, so one on the hero who hits the healing target all fight is worth more than three on heroes who don't.

1. 01Buy it when one enemy keeps surviving fights they should lose.
2. 02Buy it early against a lifesteal laner. Healbane at 1,600 souls can win the lane by itself.
3. 03Agree on who buys it. Usually it's the hero who deals the most damage to the healing target, often your carry.
4. 04Skip it when the enemy team has no big heals. Bullet Resist or damage does more.
5. 05Skip it when your team already has one or two sources on the main target. Check the scoreboard first.

How to fight back against anti-heal

If you're the one getting anti-healed, Leech reduces the effect of healing reduction applied to you, and it's a lifesteal item you'd often want anyway. Dispel Magic purges every non-ultimate negative effect on you, anti-heal included, and heals you 250 if it removes something. Debuff Reducer cuts the duration of all negative effects on you by 25%.

Healing Booster gives you 20% more outgoing healing, so more of it survives the reduction. Often the simplest answer is to rely less on healing: buy Bullet Resist or Spirit Resist so there's less damage to heal back.