Deadlock’s Solomon Is Now Playable With a Chess-Themed Kit
His kit pairs damaging chess-piece hazards with an invulnerable L-shaped ally jump and a movable queen that can stun a broad area.
Solomon is now playable in Deadlock, and his chess-themed kit gives him several ways to shape where a fight happens. He can throw pieces for long-range damage, leave hazards across the streets, reposition a teammate through an invulnerable L-shaped jump, and move a queen across a broad area to repeat a stun attack.
His Oct. 9 debut follows Baba’s Oct. 6 arrival and comes just ahead of National Chess Day. Players can vote on which hero joins next Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m. PDT as Valve’s six-hero rollout continues.
Solomon’s pieces control space
Solomon throws chess pieces at opponents for long-range damage that scales with Spirit. Reloading plays a short sequence of chess moves, with the pieces on his board matching his ammunition count. Items that increase his ammo add to that number. He also floats around Cursed Apple without footstep sounds, and his slightly lower gravity gives his jumps a slower arc.
Setup Bishop stays on the field until Solomon moves it. The piece damages and slows enemies along its path, then leaves damaging squares on its diagonals after a short delay. Upgrades add another Bishop and more squares, while reducing the Spirit resistance of enemies caught in the effect.
Rook Battery sends two rooks forward in a line, damaging and immobilizing enemies they pass. They rebound off walls, and Solomon can reactivate the ability to redirect them at a right angle. Upgrades add damage based on targets’ current health, another wall bounce, longer immobilization, and a shorter cooldown.
Kingside Knight can reposition an ally or Solomon
Targeting a teammate with Kingside Knight gives them a barrier and an extra stamina notch. Targeting Solomon instead doubles the barrier but does not grant the stamina bonus. Solomon can then send the chosen target along an L-shaped path, leaving them invulnerable during the move. At its highest rank, Kingside Knight can target two allies at once, or let Solomon cleanse his debuffs when he targets himself.
A Deathy gameplay clip shows how a misjudged destination can send a teammate into the underground tunnels.
Develop Queen can repeat its stun across a wide area
Develop Queen slams down in a broad square area, then spreads damaging squares that stun enemies. Solomon can move the queen to repeat the attack in new locations. Its initial area is roughly the size of the Midboss pit. Upgrades reduce the cooldown, add a slow and an execution against enemy heroes below 200 health, then grant two more moves and extra range for later stun zones.
Solomon’s introduction also includes the line, ‘There’s a lot you can learn from losing to a master,’ in Valve’s Steam announcement.
What kind of setup would make the best use of Solomon’s ability to reposition an ally? Follow the remaining hero arrivals and vote-driven picks on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
Deadlock
Developed by Valve
