experimental haze guide

haze-ricochet.md

Haze Ricochet Build Guide

Optimized for January 2026 patch | Data verified against deadlock-data

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Hero Overview

Haze is a high-skill-cap assassin who excels at close-range sustained damage through Fixation stacking. While Bullet Dance can be devastating, it's easily countered (walk out, interrupt)—Haze's real strength is prolonged M1 gunfighting with massive Fixation-boosted DPS.

You Are Squishy - Build Defense

700 base HP. Spirit burst heroes (Infernus, Seven, Bebop, Calico, Mina) will one-shot you without spirit defense.

Non-negotiable items:

• Spirit Shielding (1600) - buy by 4000 souls
• Ethereal Shift (6400) - first T4 item

Lifesteal does NOT save you from burst damage. You die before you can shoot. Build spirit resist FIRST, then stack DPS.

Core Stats

Stat	Value	Notes
HP	700 (+33/boon)	Squishy - needs itemization
DPS	50.1	9.52 RPS × 5.26 damage
Ammo	25	2.35s reload
Falloff Start	20m	20% more falloff than default
Falloff End	46m (10% damage)	Close range hero
Stamina	3	Standard

Weapon Characteristics

• Type: RapidFire, CloseRange
• Bullet Speed: 762 u/s
• Gravity Scale: 1.5x (bullets drop faster)
• Spirit Scaling (Ammo): 0.5 per spirit power

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Ability Data

Sleep Dagger [1]

Stat	Base	T1	T2	T3
Cooldown	26s	-	14s	-
Damage	65 (+2.6 spirit)	-	-	-
Sleep Duration	3s	-	-	-
Special	Doesn't break invis	-1 Stamina cost	-60% Stamina Regen 6s	-12% Bullet Resist, -40% Fire Rate 6s

Smoke Bomb [2]

Stat	Base	T1	T2	T3
Cooldown	30s	-	-	7s between charges
Duration	8s (+0.18/spirit)	-	-	-
Fade Time	1.5s	-	-	-
Spotted Radius	18m	-	-	-
Special	+2 m/s invis speed	+5 m/s invis sprint	+10% Bullet Lifesteal 8s	+1 Charge, 0.5s Phase Out

Fixation [3] (Passive)

Stat	Base	T1	T2	T3
Duration	6s	-	11s	-
Max Stacks	40	-	80	-
Damage/Stack	0.2 (fixed)	-	-	+0.12 (0.32 total)
Special	2 stacks on headshot	49.5 spirit dmg + 15% slow every 20 stacks	+5s duration, +40 stacks	+0.12 weapon damage/stack

T1 Spirit Scaling: The 49.5 proc damage scales with spirit at 0.366 ratio. Formula: 49.5 + (0.366 × Spirit Power). Extra Spirit (+25) adds ~9 damage per proc.

Fixation DPS Math:

• At 40 stacks with T3: 40 × 0.32 = +12.8 weapon damage per bullet
• Effective DPS at max stacks: (5.26 + 12.8) × 9.52 = 171.9 DPS (3.4x multiplier)
• The base 0.2 damage/stack is fixed (no spirit scaling)

Bullet Dance [4] (Ultimate)

Stat	Base	T1	T2	T3
Cooldown	165s	-	120s	-
Duration	3s (+0.06/spirit)	-	-	-
Fire Rate	+35%	-	-	-
Radius	15m	-	-	-
Weapon Damage	+6	+4 (+10 total)	-	-
Special	Can use items during	+4 Weapon Damage	-45s Cooldown	+60% Evasion, +3 m/s Dance Speed

Bullet Dance Limitations (Important)

Bullet Dance is powerful but counterable:

• Easy to dodge: Enemies just walk out of the 15m circle
• Interruptible: Stuns, silences, and knockbacks cancel it mid-channel
• Predictable: Enemies expect it and save CC for you
• Long cooldown: 165s (120s with T2) means one chance per fight

Practical reality: In many games, your sustained M1 (gun) damage outside of ult will contribute more than Bullet Dance. Don't over-invest in ult-only items at the expense of your general gunfighting ability.

When Bullet Dance works well:

• Enemies are CC'd (Sleep Dagger, teammate stuns)
• You have Unstoppable active
• Enemies are grouped and can't easily escape
• You have Smoke Bomb for repositioning

When to focus on M1 fighting instead:

• Enemy team has lots of interrupts (Seven, Kelvin, etc.)
• Enemies spread out in fights
• You're ahead and can win extended gunfights anyway

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Item Decision Tree

Early Game Philosophy

YOU ARE SQUISHY. SPIRIT BURST WILL KILL YOU.

Haze has 700 base HP. Spirit burst heroes (Infernus, Seven, Bebop, Calico, Mina) will one-shot you if you don't build defense early. Lifesteal does NOT save you from burst - you die before you can shoot.

First priority: Spirit Shielding (1600) gives auto-barrier when you take spirit damage. Buy this early.

Mid-game priority: Ethereal Shift (6400) lets you invuln their combo, then fight back.

                              ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
                              │         GAME START              │
                              │   Defense FIRST, then DPS       │
                              └───────────────┬─────────────────┘
                                              │
               ┌──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┐
               │                              │                              │
               ▼                              ▼                              ▼
     ┌─────────────────────┐       ┌─────────────────────┐       ┌─────────────────────┐
     │   DPS FOUNDATION    │       │   SURVIVABILITY     │       │   ABILITY SCALING   │
     │                     │       │                     │       │                     │
     │   RAPID ROUNDS      │       │   EXTRA HEALTH      │       │   EXTRA SPIRIT      │
     │     800 souls       │       │     800 souls       │       │     800 souls       │
     │  +10% FR (passive)  │       │   +185 HP           │       │   +10 Spirit Power  │
     │  [Swift component]  │       │   [MANDATORY]       │       │   [Fixation procs]  │
     └──────────┬──────────┘       └──────────┬──────────┘       └──────────┬──────────┘
               │                              │                              │
               └──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┘
                                              │
                              ┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
                              │    SPIRIT DEFENSE (4000)      │
                              │                               │
                              │     SPIRIT SHIELDING          │
                              │        1600 souls             │
                              │   Auto barrier on spirit dmg  │
                              │   +125 HP, +8% spirit resist  │
                              │   [NON-NEGOTIABLE]            │
                              └───────────────┬───────────────┘
                                              │
                                              ▼
                              ┌───────────────────────────────┐
                              │     FIRE RATE CORE (5600)     │
                              │                               │
                              │       ACTIVE RELOAD           │
                              │        1600 souls             │
                              │   +25% FR, +18% LS (7s)       │
                              │   Best value: 64 souls/%      │
                              └───────────────┬───────────────┘
                                              │
                    ┌─────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┐
                    │                                                   │
                    ▼                                                   ▼
        ┌─────────────────────┐                           ┌─────────────────────┐
        │   STILL DYING?      │                           │   SURVIVING OK?     │
        │  (More defense)     │                           │  (Add DPS)          │
        │                     │                           │                     │
        │  SPIRIT RESILIENCE  │                           │  SWIFT STRIKER      │
        │     1600 souls      │                           │     1600 souls      │
        │  +30% spirit resist │                           │  +20% FR (passive)  │
        │  [STACK RESIST]     │                           │  [From Rapid Rds]   │
        └──────────┬──────────┘                           └──────────┬──────────┘
                   │                                                  │
                   └─────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                                         │
                                         ▼
                         ┌───────────────────────────────┐
                         │   FLEETFOOT + FURY (8800)     │
                         │   Movement + Fire Rate        │
                         └───────────────┬───────────────┘
                                         │
                         ┌──────────────┴──────────────┐
                         │      T3 ITEM CHOICE        │
                         │   Pick your build path     │
                         └──────────────┬─────────────┘
                                        │
        ┌───────────────┬───────────────┼───────────────┬───────────────┐
        │               │               │               │               │
        ▼               ▼               ▼               ▼               ▼
┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐
│  FURY TANK    │ │  SIMPLE DPS   │ │ vs HEALERS    │ │    AVOID      │ │ vs GUN CARRY  │
│ [RECOMMENDED] │ │               │ │               │ │               │ │               │
│ FURY TRANCE   │ │ BURST FIRE    │ │ TOXIC BULLETS │ │ BLOOD TRIBUTE │ │ METAL SKIN    │
│  3200 souls   │ │  3200 souls   │ │  3200 souls   │ │  3200 souls   │ │  3200 souls   │
│ +40% FR (6s)  │ │ +35% FR (7s)  │ │ 2% HP/s bleed │ │ +40% FR toggle│ │ 5s bullet imm │
│ +22% LS (6s)  │ │ +10% base FR  │ │ -30% healing  │ │ -30% heal rcv │ │ [fed Wraith]  │
│ +40% spRes    │ │ [FEWER ACTIV] │ │ [ANTI-HEAL]   │ │ [TRAP ITEM]   │ │               │
│ then → BURST  │ │               │ │               │ │               │ │               │
└───────┬───────┘ └───────┬───────┘ └───────┬───────┘ └───────┬───────┘ └───────┬───────┘
        │                 │                 │                 │                 │
        └─────────────────┴─────────────────┼─────────────────┴─────────────────┘
                                            │
                                            ▼
                         ┌───────────────────────────────┐
                         │   FIRST T4: ETHEREAL SHIFT    │
                         │   Invuln vs spirit burst      │
                         │   +30% spirit resist after    │
                         │         6400 souls            │
                         └───────────────┬───────────────┘
                                         │
                         ┌───────────────┴───────────────┐
                         │   SECOND T4: RICOCHET         │
                         │   Farm + AoE DPS              │
                         │         6400 souls            │
                         └───────────────┬───────────────┘
                                         │
                    ┌────────────────────┴────────────────────┐
                    │                                        │
                    ▼                                        ▼
        ┌─────────────────────┐                  ┌─────────────────────┐
        │   HEAVY CC ENEMY    │                  │    LOW CC ENEMY     │
        │  (Stuns, Silences,  │                  │  (Few interrupts)   │
        │   Sleeps, Roots)    │                  │                     │
        │                     │                  │                     │
        │   UNSTOPPABLE       │                  │    LUCKY SHOT       │
        │    6400 souls       │                  │    6400 souls       │
        │  5.5s CC immunity   │                  │  +27.5% avg DPS     │
        │  65s CD             │                  │  +40% ammo          │
        │  [MANDATORY vs CC]  │                  │  [MORE DAMAGE]      │
        └──────────┬──────────┘                  └──────────┬──────────┘
                   │                                        │
                   ▼                                        ▼
        ┌─────────────────────┐                  ┌─────────────────────┐
        │  Then: LUCKY SHOT   │                  │ Then: UNSTOPPABLE   │
        │    6400 souls       │                  │    6400 souls       │
        │  [MORE DPS]         │                  │  [EVENTUALLY]       │
        └──────────┬──────────┘                  └──────────┬──────────┘
                   │                                        │
                   └────────────────────┬───────────────────┘
                                        │
                                        ▼
                        ┌───────────────────────────────┐
                        │      THIRD T4 CHOICE         │
                        │   Which build path?          │
                        └───────────────┬───────────────┘
                                        │
               ┌────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┐
               │                        │                        │
               ▼                        ▼                        ▼
    ┌───────────────────┐    ┌───────────────────┐    ┌───────────────────┐
    │   DEFAULT FLEX    │    │  vs ANTI-HEAL     │    │  SITUATIONAL      │
    │                   │    │                   │    │  (Counter picks)  │
    └─────────┬─────────┘    └─────────┬─────────┘    └─────────┬─────────┘
              │                        │                        │
        ┌─────┴─────┐            ┌─────┴─────┐            ┌─────┴─────┐
        │           │            │           │            │           │
        ▼           ▼            ▼           ▼            ▼           ▼
┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│  DEFAULT  │ │PICK/FLANK │ │vs ANTIHEAL│ │   AVOID   │ │vs HEALERS │ │vs CASTERS │
│           │ │           │ │           │ │           │ │           │ │           │
│LUCKY SHOT │ │SHADOW     │ │LEECH      │ │VAMPIRIC   │ │ INHIBITOR │ │ SILENCER  │
│ 6400 souls│ │WEAVE      │ │ 6400 souls│ │BURST      │ │ 6400 souls│ │ 6400 souls│
│+27.5% DPS │ │6400 souls │ │+30% LS    │ │ 6400 souls│ │-35% dmg   │ │2.5s silent│
│+40% ammo  │ │18s stealth│ │reduces    │ │OVERKILL   │ │-40% heal  │ │1.04/shot  │
│[RECOMMEND]│ │+35% FR    │ │penalties  │ │Fury better│ │[ANTI-HEAL]│ │[vs SPIRIT]│
│           │ │[ASSASSIN] │ │           │ │for cost   │ │           │ │           │
└───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘

Build Path Summary

Path	Early (T1s)	Defense	T2 Items	T3 Item	T4 Items
Recommended	Rapid + Health + Spirit	Spirit Shielding	Active RL + Titanic + Enduring	Fury + Burst	Ethereal → Ricochet
Heavy Spirit Enemy	Rapid + Health	Spirit Shield + Spirit Resil	Active RL + Titanic + Enduring	Fury + Burst	Ethereal → Ricochet
Low Spirit Enemy	Rapid + Health + Spirit	Spirit Shielding	Active RL + Titanic + Enduring	Fury + Burst	Ricochet → Lucky

Fury Tank has +64% DPS and +316% healing over Simple build.

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Full Build Paths

Fury Tank Build (Recommended)

Total Cost: ~30,400 souls | Peak DPS: 1,318 | Peak Healing: 870 HP/s

Order	Item	Cost	Running Total	Purpose
1	Rapid Rounds	800	800	+10% FR, Swift component
2	Extra Health	800	1600	Lane survivability
3	Extra Spirit	800	2400	Fixation T1 proc scaling
4	Spirit Shielding	1600	4000	Auto barrier vs spirit
5	Active Reload	1600	5600	Best value: 64 souls/% FR
6	Swift Striker	1600	7200	+20% FR (passive)
7	Fleetfoot	1600	8800	Full speed while shooting
8	Fury Trance	3200	12000	+40% FR, +22% LS, +spRes
9	Titanic Magazine	1600	13600	+90% clip, +12% base dmg
10	Enduring Speed	1600	15200	+2 m/s (Fury blocks slide)
11	Burst Fire	3200	18400	+45% FR active
12	Ethereal Shift	6400	24800	Invuln vs burst combos
13	Ricochet	6400	31200	Farm + AOE (accelerates)
14	Flex (Lucky/Unstop)	6400	37600	Scaling

Simple Build (Fewer Actives)

Total Cost: ~27,700 souls | Peak DPS: 803 | Peak Healing: 209 HP/s

Order	Item	Cost	Running Total	Purpose
1	Rapid Rounds	800	800	+10% FR, Swift component
2	Extra Health	800	1600	Lane survivability
3	Active Reload	1600	3200	Best value FR item
4	Swift Striker	1600	4800	+20% fire rate (passive)
5	Slowing Bullets	1600	6400	Stick to targets
6	Burst Fire	3200	9600	Major DPS spike
7	Ricochet	6400	16000	Farm + AOE (accelerates)
8	Unstoppable	6400	22400	CC immunity if needed
9	Lucky Shot	6400	28800	+27.5% avg DPS

Anti-Tank/Healer Build

Total Cost: ~27,600 souls

Order	Item	Cost	Running Total	Purpose
1	Rapid Rounds	800	800	+10% FR
2	Extra Health	800	1600	Lane survivability
3	Active Reload	1600	3200	Best value FR
4	Slowing Bullets	1600	4800	Stick to targets
5	Toxic Bullets	3200	8000	% HP damage + anti-heal
6	Burst Fire	3200	11200	DPS spike
7	Ricochet	6400	17600	Spread bleeds to all
8	Inhibitor	6400	24000	Stack anti-heal to 70%
9	Unstoppable	6400	30400	CC immunity if needed

Assassin/Pick Build

Total Cost: ~27,200 souls

Order	Item	Cost	Running Total	Purpose
1	Rapid Rounds	800	800	+10% FR
2	Extra Health	800	1600	Lane survivability
3	Active Reload	1600	3200	Best value FR
4	Slowing Bullets	1600	4800	Catch targets
5	Point Blank	3200	8000	+50% damage close
6	Shadow Weave	6400	14400	Deep flanks
7	Ricochet	6400	20800	Farm + AoE damage
8	Unstoppable	6400	27200	CC immunity if needed

Fury Tank Activation Sequence

For the recommended Fury Tank build:

1. Reload (trigger Active Reload buff)
2. Smoke Bomb (exit for +10% lifesteal)
3. Fury Trance (activate)
4. Burst Fire (auto-activates on hit)
5. Unstoppable (if enemy has CC)
6. Bullet Dance

Peak Performance (all actives):

• Fire rate: 47 RPS (vs 28.6 RPS Simple build)
• DPS: 1,318 (vs 803 Simple build)
• Lifesteal: 66% (vs 26% Simple build)
• Healing: 870 HP/s (vs 209 HP/s Simple build)
• Over 3s ult: 2,610 HP healed

Item Efficiency (Cost per % Fire Rate)

Item	Cost	FR %	Souls/%	Verdict
Active Reload	1600	25%	64	Best value
Burst Fire	3200	45%	71	Excellent
Swift Striker	1600	20%	80	Good
Fury Trance	3200	40%	80	Good + lifesteal
Ricochet	6400	20%	320	Buy for AoE, not FR

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Fire Rate Item Analysis

Swift Striker (1600)

Stats: +20% fire rate (passive), +0.75 m/s sprint

For Haze:

• Always-on fire rate = reliable DPS increase
• No activation required
• Sprint speed helps rotations
• Builds from Rapid Rounds (500) for smooth progression

DPS Impact:

At base 22 RPS: +20% = 26.4 RPS
DPS increase: ~20% (multiplicative with other sources)

Verdict: CORE ITEM. Passive fire rate is always contributing to DPS - no execution required. The +20% multiplies with all other fire rate sources. Always buy this.

Active Reload (1600)

Stats: +25% fire rate, +18% bullet lifesteal, +20% clip size, +0.75 m/s (7s duration, 12s CD)

For Haze:

• Higher fire rate bonus than Swift Striker (+25% vs +20%)
• Massive lifesteal bonus (+18%)
• +20% clip size = longer M1 fights (Bullet Dance uses its own ammo)
• 58% uptime (7s/12s)
• Timing is easy (clear visual + audio cue, 300ms window)

DPS Impact:

At base 22 RPS: +25% = 27.5 RPS
Lifesteal: +18% (stacks additively)

Verdict: BEST VALUE fire rate item at 64 souls/%. Higher ceiling than Swift Striker. Timing is easy - always buy this.

Fleetfoot (1600)

Stats: 100% shooting move penalty removal (passive), +35% slow resist, +6% bullet resist, +35% slide distance, Active: +3 m/s for 5s (16s CD)

For Haze:

• Full speed while shooting - massive during Bullet Dance
• Chase targets walking out of your 15m radius
• Kite melee threats while dealing damage
• +35% slow resistance counters Slowing Bullets and other slows
• +6% bullet resist is free survivability
• Active gives burst mobility for repositioning

During Bullet Dance:

• Normally shooting slows your movement
• With Fleetfoot, you move at full speed while ulting
• This is the difference between targets escaping and dying

Verdict: Good if you want max mobility. Can skip if you're taking Titanic Magazine + Enduring Speed instead.

Titanic Magazine (1600)

Stats: +90% clip size, +12% base weapon damage (passive)

For Haze:

• Clip goes from 25 → 47 rounds
• +12% base damage is always active (no button press)
• Pairs perfectly with Fury Trance - don't need to reload during the 6s window
• At 47 RPS peak fire rate, 47 ammo = 1 second of shooting = entire Fury window covered

DPS Impact:

Base damage: 5.26 × 1.12 = 5.89
At max stacks: (5.89 + 12.8) × 47 RPS = 879 DPS

Verdict: CORE ITEM. The +12% base damage is multiplicative with everything. Huge clip means no reload during Fury Trance window.

Enduring Speed (1600)

Stats: +2 m/s move speed (passive), +25% slow resistance, +2 out-of-combat HP regen

For Haze:

• Fury Trance blocks sliding - Enduring Speed's +2 m/s compensates
• +25% slow resist stacks with Fleetfoot's +35% if you have both
• Passive move speed is always active

Verdict: CORE ITEM when running Fury Trance. The +2 m/s is your mobility when you can't slide.

Fury Trance (3200)

Stats: +40% fire rate, +22% bullet lifesteal (6s active), +40% spirit resist, +100 HP (passive)

For Haze:

• HUGE fire rate bonus (+40%)
• Massive lifesteal (+22%)
• Duration (6s) covers entire Bullet Dance (3s) with room to spare
• 18s CD = available for every fight
• +40% spirit resist is excellent defensive stat
• Builds from Bullet Lifesteal (synergy)

Limitation: While Fury Trance is toggled, you cannot crouch or slide. This doesn't matter during Bullet Dance (which also prevents crouching), but affects normal combat.

Compensate with:

• Titanic Magazine (+90% clip) - don't need to reload during Fury window
• Enduring Speed (+2 m/s) - passive move speed replaces slide mobility
• Fleetfoot (full speed while shooting) - if you want even more mobility

DPS Impact:

At base 22 RPS: +40% = 30.8 RPS
Combined with other items: multiplicative stacking

Verdict: CORE ITEM. The fire rate + lifesteal combo is unmatched at 3200 souls. Simulations show Fury Tank build has +64% DPS and +316% healing over builds without it. Always buy this.

Tesla Bullets (3200)

Stats: 15% proc chance, 33 + 0.19 spirit damage, chains to 4 enemies, 0.25s proc CD

For Haze:

• High fire rate = more proc chances
• BUT: 0.25s proc CD caps effectiveness
• At 47 RPS: ~4 procs/second max = 132 damage/s to chain targets
• Ricochet is generally better for AoE (65% damage to 2 targets vs small chain damage)

Math vs Ricochet:

Tesla at 47 RPS, 4 procs/s:
- Chain damage: 4 × 33 = 132 damage/s to nearby enemies

Ricochet at 47 RPS:
- Secondary target 1: 47 × 28 × 0.65 = 855 damage/s
- Secondary target 2: 47 × 28 × 0.65 = 855 damage/s

Verdict: Ricochet vastly outperforms for AoE. Tesla is a farming/wave clear item, not a teamfight item for Haze.

Blood Tribute (3200)

Stats: Toggle: +40% fire rate, +40% debuff resist, +2 m/s, -40 HP/s drain, -30% healing received

For Haze:

• +40% fire rate with 100% uptime (vs Fury Trance's 33%)
• +40% debuff resist makes you harder to CC during ult
• +2 m/s helps kiting during Bullet Dance
• BUT: -30% healing received kills lifesteal efficiency
• AND: -40 HP/s constant drain

Math comparison:

Lifesteal build with Fury Trance:
- 66% lifesteal × 1,316 DPS = 868 HP/s healing

Lifesteal build with Blood Tribute (no Fury Trance):
- 44% lifesteal × 1,316 × 0.7 penalty - 40 drain = 365 HP/s

Difference: -503 HP/s healing

Verdict: TRAP ITEM. The -30% healing penalty makes it strictly worse than Fury Trance in practice. You lose 503 HP/s healing for marginal DPS gain. Fury Trance is better in every realistic scenario.

Siphon Bullets (6400)

Stats: +15% base damage, +10% bullet resist, 35 HP steal/hit (1.2s proc CD), permanent stat stacking

For Haze:

• 1.2s proc CD at 47 RPS = 0.83 procs/s × 35 = 29 HP/s healing
• Compare to 66% lifesteal = 868 HP/s healing (peak)
• +15% base damage is always active (no cooldown)
• Permanent stacking helps in very long games

Sustained Analysis:

• Siphon's +15% base damage wins baseline DPS (+4%) when no actives are up
• But loses to Fury Tank when Active Reload is up (-20% DPS)
• Trade-off: simpler execution vs higher peak performance

Verdict: Not a trap, but a trade-off. Use if you want simpler sustained damage without managing Active Reload timing. Skip if you can execute the Fury Tank rotation.

If you're dying to spirit burst (Calico ult, Bebop combo), don't buy more lifesteal - you die before you can shoot. Buy Ethereal Shift (6400) for burst protection instead.

Capacitor (6400)

Stats: Active: 100 dmg, 75% slow, stamina silence (50s CD). Passive: 20% proc, 43 chain to 6 targets

For Haze:

• Active is a catch tool (75% slow + stamina prevention before ult)
• Chain damage still limited by 0.25s proc CD
• At 47 RPS: ~4 procs/s × 43 = 172 chain damage/s
• Ricochet does 1,710 damage/s to secondary targets

Verdict: Active is useful for catching mobile targets. Chain passive is a trap. Consider only if you need the catch active AND already have Ricochet.

---

T4 Weapon Item Comparison

Item	DPS Boost	Utility	Best For
Ricochet	+20% FR, 2.3x teamfight	Proc spreading	CORE - always buy
Lucky Shot	+27.5% avg	+40% clip	Simple, consistent
Glass Cannon	+15% (risky)	None	Snowballing only
Siphon Bullets	+15% base	Stacking	Skip for Haze
Capacitor	+5% FR	Catch active	Situational

Lucky Shot vs Other T4s

Lucky Shot (6400):

25% × 2.1 + 75% × 1.0 = 1.275 average multiplier
+27.5% average DPS
+40% clip size (25 → 35 ammo)
No activation required

Why Lucky Shot is often best after Ricochet:

1. No button press required
2. +40% ammo = longer sustained M1 fights before reloading
3. Consistent DPS increase
4. Works in all situations (Bullet Dance has its own ammo)

When to skip Lucky Shot:

• Going full lifesteal tank (Fury Trance better)
• Need anti-heal (Inhibitor)
• Need specific counter (Silencer vs casters)

---

Situational Item Decisions

vs Spirit-Heavy Comps (Calico, Bebop, Infernus, Mina, etc.)

When facing multiple spirit burst heroes, you need to itemize defensively early or you'll feed.

Spirit resist stacking (buy 2-3 of these):

Item	Cost	Effect
Spirit Shielding	1600	Auto-barrier on spirit damage
Spirit Resilience	1600	+30% spirit resist
Enchanter's Emblem	1250	Spirit resist + spirit power
Debuff Remover	4250	Cleanse DOTs + spirit resist

Burst protection:

Item	Cost	Why
Ethereal Shift	6400	Invuln when bursted + spirit resist buff after
Silencer	6400	Silence shuts down ability-dependent heroes

Lifesteal does NOT counter burst. If you're getting one-shot by Calico ult or Bebop combo, stacking more lifesteal won't help - you die before you can shoot. You need Ethereal Shift to survive the initial burst, THEN lifesteal keeps you alive in extended fights.

Siphon is for sustained fights where you can stack it. Against burst, buy Ethereal Shift instead.

vs Fed Hypercarry

When one enemy is significantly ahead (5k+ soul lead), you need to itemize to survive or shut them down.

Fed gun carry (Haze, Wraith, Grey Talon):

Item	Cost	Why
Metal Skin	3200	5s bullet immunity - pop when they focus you
Bullet Armor	1250	Cheap early option
Fortitude	3200	HP + bullet resist

Fed spirit carry (Infernus, Seven, Bebop):

Item	Cost	Why
Ethereal Shift	6400	Invuln their combo
Spirit Resilience	1600	Cheap spirit resist
Debuff Remover	4250	Cleanse DOTs and CC

Fed assassin (Shiv, Calico):

Item	Cost	Why
Ethereal Shift	6400	Survive their burst
Fortitude	3200	Raw HP to not get one-shot
Curse	6400	Shut them down proactively

Defensive Flex Options

Situation	Item	Cost	Why
Spirit burst (PRIORITY)	Ethereal Shift	6400	Invuln + spirit resist - THE answer
Enemy Wraith/Vindicta	Metal Skin	3200	5s bullet immunity blocks their ult
Heavy DOT (Infernus, Mirage)	Debuff Remover	4250	Active cleanse
Spirit poke (not burst)	Spirit Shielding	1600	Auto-barrier on spirit damage
Need escape	Warp Stone	3200	Teleport + bullet resist

Offensive Flex Options

Situation	Item	Cost	Why
Can maintain HP advantage	Hollow Point	3200	+35% weapon damage above 65% HP
Want more slow	Point Blank	3200	+50% close range + 25% slow
Wave clear needed	Tesla Bullets	3200	Chain lightning to 4 targets
Need silence	Focus Lens	6400	4s silence active + fire rate

Bullet Resist Shredder Analysis

Stats: 1600 souls, -12% bullet resist (8s), +65 HP, +7% bullet resist

How Haze applies it:

• Sleep Dagger (spirit damage) - applies before fight
• Fixation T1 (49.5 spirit damage every 20 stacks) - reapplies during combat

When to buy (mid-late game only):

• After 15-20 min when enemies start building bullet resist (Bullet Armor, Fortitude, Metal Skin)
• Against tanky heroes who have innate resist (Abrams, Kelvin, Seven)
• Your team is bullet-heavy (enables teammates too)
• Stacks with Sleep Dagger T3 (-12%) for total -24% bullet resist

When to skip:

• Early game (nobody has armor yet at 13 min - wasted value)
• Enemy team is squishy and not building armor
• You haven't taken Fixation T1 yet (can't maintain the debuff)

Math:

Enemy at 30% bullet resist:
- Your damage: 70% effective
- With Shredder (-12%): 18% resist = 82% effective
- Damage increase: +17%

Enemy at 0% bullet resist:
- With Shredder: -12% resist = 112% damage taken
- Damage increase: +12%

Verdict: Not core, but efficient at 1600 souls when enemy is armor-stacking. Buy after Slowing Bullets + Bullet Lifesteal if you see armor in their builds.

---

Items NOT to Buy (Traps and Ineffective)

Item	Reason
Blood Tribute	-30% healing received makes it WORSE than Fury Trance. 164 HP/s vs 870 HP/s. The +40% FR doesn't compensate.
Glass Cannon	-13% HP, lose stacks on death. Lucky Shot gives +27.5% DPS with +40% ammo and no downside.
Siphon Bullets	Lower peak (29 HP/s vs 870 HP/s) but +15% base damage is always on. Trade-off for simpler builds.
Vampiric Burst	80% lifesteal is overkill. Fury Trance costs half (3200 vs 6400), has longer duration (6s vs 4.5s), shorter CD (18s vs 30s), and +40% spirit resist.
Sharpshooter	Haze has 20% worse falloff, wants close range
Long Range	Same reason - avoid long range items

---

Silencer Stats

Silencer (upgrade_proc_silence) IS enabled in the current build:

• Cost: 6400
• Build-up: 1.04 per shot (5s duration)
• Silence Duration: 2.5s
• +15% Spirit Resist
• -25% Spirit Damage dealt by target (6s)
• 10s immunity after silence expires

Note: Great for shutting down ability-reliant heroes during Bullet Dance.

---

Power Spike Timing

Soul Benchmarks

Souls	Time (avg)	What You Should Have
1500	~4 min	Third ability unlock
3000	~7 min	Ultimate unlock
5000	~10 min	Slowing + Lifesteal + T1 spirit
8500	~14 min	Burst Fire complete
15000	~20 min	First T4 item (Unstoppable or Ricochet)
22000	~26 min	Two T4 items

Ability Unlock Priority

See "Revised Ability Upgrade Priority" in Deep Theorycrafting for detailed phased breakdown.

---

Deep Theorycrafting

DPS Progression Table

State	Fire Rate	Dmg/Bullet	DPS
Base weapon	9.52	5.26	50.1
+ Fixation 40 stacks	9.52	18.06	171.9
+ Bullet Dance (T1)	12.85	28.06	360.6
+ Burst Fire (active)	19.09	28.06	535.6
+ Ricochet	22.91	28.06	642.9
+ Lucky Shot (avg)	22.91	35.78	819.8

Ricochet + Proc Interactions

Ricochet applies ALL bullet procs to secondary targets:

• Fixation stacks build on ALL enemies hit
• Toxic Bullets bleeds ALL enemies
• Silencer builds on ALL enemies
• Slowing Bullets slows ALL enemies

Teamfight DPS with Ricochet (3 targets):

Primary:     642.9 DPS (819.8 with Lucky Shot)
Secondary 1: 417.9 DPS (65%)
Secondary 2: 417.9 DPS (65%)
────────────────────────────────────────────
Total:       1,478.7 DPS (1,883.4 with Lucky Shot)

Over 3s Bullet Dance:
- Without Lucky Shot: 4,436 total damage
- With Lucky Shot:    5,650 total damage

Silencer + Ricochet Synergy

Silencer build-up: 1.04/shot, ~100 to trigger

Single target: 22.9 RPS × 1.04 = 23.8/s → ~4.2s to silence (too slow for 3s ult)

With Ricochet: All 3 targets build independently → AoE silence in teamfights

Sleep Dagger T3 + Bullet Dance Combo

Sleep Dagger T3 debuffs last 6s after waking:

• -12% Bullet Resist
• -40% Fire Rate (enemy can't fight back)

Optimal execution:

1. Sleep Dagger → target sleeps
2. Position/wait for team
3. Wake with damage → 6s debuff window starts
4. Bullet Dance immediately

Combined with Bullet Resist Shredder: Total -24% bullet resist

Glass Cannon Trap

Glass Cannon gives +15% DPS but costs -13% HP and you lose stacks on death. Lucky Shot gives +28% average DPS with +40% clip size and no downside. Lucky Shot is mathematically superior with no risk.

Why Ricochet is Mandatory

1. +20% fire rate - direct DPS increase
2. AoE Fixation - stacks build on all targets
3. Proc spreading - Toxic, Silencer, Slowing hit multiple
4. 2.3x teamfight multiplier - with 3 targets

Without Ricochet: single-target assassin With Ricochet: teamfight carry

Burst Fire Uptime Analysis

• Duration: 3.5s
• Cooldown: 7s
• Uptime: 50% in sustained fights

During 3s Bullet Dance: Full uptime (one activation covers entire ult) Post-ult cleanup: ~3.5s gap before next activation

This means Burst Fire value is highest during short burst windows.

Revised Ability Upgrade Priority

Based on synergy analysis:

Phase 1 (0-3000 souls) - Lane & Setup:

Fixation → Sleep Dagger → Smoke Bomb → Bullet Dance
Fixation T1 (damage procs + slow)

Phase 2 (3000-8000 souls) - Ult Online:

Bullet Dance T1 (+4 weapon damage)
Fixation T2 (+5s duration, +40 max stacks)
Smoke Bomb T2 (+10% lifesteal 8s) ← Higher priority than before
Sleep Dagger T2 (-12s CD)

Phase 3 (8000-15000 souls) - Teamfight Ready:

Bullet Dance T2 (-45s cooldown)
Fixation T3 (+0.12/stack) ← Massive damage spike
Sleep Dagger T3 (-12% resist, -40% fire rate)

Phase 4 (15000+ souls) - Scaling:

Bullet Dance T3 (60% evasion)
Smoke Bomb T3 (charges + phase out)

Key change: Smoke Bomb T2 moved up due to lifesteal synergy with Bullet Dance.

---

Matchup-Specific Itemization

Hard Counters (Adjust Build)

Enemy	Threat	Item Response
Kelvin	Frozen Shelter blocks ult	Wait out dome, don't commit ult
Seven	Static Charge stun	Rush Unstoppable, pre-activate
Paradox	Time Wall slows bullets	Reposition during ult, avoid wall
Vindicta	Extreme kite range	Shadow Weave for gap close

Favorable Matchups (Aggress)

Enemy	Why Favorable	Item Optimization
Abrams	Outrange his abilities	Slowing Bullets keeps distance
Shiv	Out-DPS in sustained fight	Fixation stacks > his burst
Pocket	Squishy, predictable	Point Blank for burst

---

Game Phase Strategy

Haze as a Carry

Haze is a squishy carry that benefits from the post-boon changes to green items. Unlike tanky heroes (Kelvin, Warden), green investment is strong on Haze throughout the game due to lower base HP.

Carry Flowchart:

Phase	Priority
0-15 mins	Get rich: sinners > tier 3 camps > boxes
15-25 mins	Take walkers solo, win side lane 1v1s
25+ mins	Win teamfights with Bullet Dance, push with team

Laning (0-10 min)

Lane philosophy for Haze:

• Haze can win lane with Fixation stacking and Sleep Dagger combos
• Focus on hitting troopers, not extended trades
• Build Fixation stacks in short trades, then disengage
• One deny in first two waves = hit 2nd ability before opponent (small power spike)

Power spike items for lane:

Category	Item	Purpose
Orange	Rapid Rounds	+10% FR (passive), builds into Swift
Orange	Headshot Booster	+45 burst in short trades
Green	Extra Health	+185 HP unconditional (3x value of LS)
Purple	Extra Spirit	+10 Spirit, boosts Fixation T1 procs

Skip early:

• Bullet Lifesteal (1600 for ~119 HP value in short trades - Extra Health is 3x better)

Trading pattern:

1. Peek from cover, build 10-20 Fixation stacks
2. Disengage before they can trade back
3. If they overcommit → Sleep Dagger → burst
4. Push wave → farm boxes/sinners → return

After taking guardian:

• Get out of mid immediately - everyone fights mid with no purpose at lower ranks
• Side lanes = solo walker opportunities = how carries snowball
• Mid is the last place you want to be

Mid Game (10-20 min)

Priority: Farm efficiently, take solo walkers, gank with Smoke Bomb

Economy management:

• Unsecured souls (from jungle/boxes) are dropped when you die
• Spend money at even intervals (1600, 2400, 3200) before fighting
• Big unsecured bags (800+) = huge risk if caught

Sinners (center sacrifices):

• Equal value on all heroes (everyone punches at same speed)
• Highest priority farm between waves
• When ahead: steal enemy double sinners to deny comeback souls

Urn timing:

• First urn at 10 minutes
• If it's a comeback urn (spawns on your side), drop everything and secure it
• Worth more than 1 guardian, less than 2

Ult Usage: Don't hold - 120s CD with T2 is short enough to use aggressively

Solo Walker Strategy

This is how Haze snowballs. Solo walker kills grant most souls to you (~2-3k depending on timing).

Walker damage resistance:

• Decreases over time (reaches 0% at 18 minutes)
• Increases with more enemy players nearby
• Mid walker is tankiest

Execution:

1. Push side lane wave into walker
2. Check map for enemy rotations
3. With Burst Fire + Fixation stacks, walkers melt fast
4. If contested: Smoke Bomb → disengage → wait for opportunity
5. TP out if enemy collapses

Timing windows:

• 15-18 mins: Walkers still have resist but Haze DPS is coming online
• 18+ mins: 0% resist, solo easily with Burst Fire
• Side walkers > mid walker (easier to take uncontested)

Anti-Deathball: Don't Group Too Much

The game punishes deathballing:

• Soul splitting with 5 players = griefing (minimal souls each)
• Walkers take less damage with more enemies nearby

For Haze: This is good. You want to split push side lanes while team creates pressure elsewhere. 4-1 split or 3-1-1 is optimal for carry farming.

Late Game (20+ min)

• Priority: Win teamfights with Bullet Dance
• Win Condition: Ricochet spreading damage to grouped enemies
• Positioning: Flank, don't front-to-back engage
• After fights: push with team, don't split when mid boss is spawning

Mid Boss Priority

Mid boss is the most powerful objective—more impactful than Roshan in Dota.

Rewards:

• Health, fire rate, and spirit power for entire team
• Team down 40k souls can flip the game with mid boss

The only throw condition with a big lead:

• Bad teamfight right before mid boss spawns
• If you're up 20k+ souls, don't take risky fights near mid boss timer

Haze's role in mid boss fights:

• Don't start the fight—let frontline engage
• Smoke Bomb in, wait for CC to be blown
• Unstoppable → Bullet Dance → clean up
• Ricochet spreads damage to grouped enemy team fighting for objective

---

Counter-Play Awareness

Items That Counter You

Item	Effect	Your Response
Metal Skin	5s bullet immunity	Wait it out, don't waste ult
Unstoppable	Blocks Sleep Dagger	Target someone else first
Reactive Barrier	Barrier on CC	Sleep → wait 1s → then burst
Debuff Remover	Cleanses Sleep	Treat as if they have Unstoppable

When to NOT Ult

• Enemy has Metal Skin active
• Kelvin Frozen Shelter is available
• You don't have Unstoppable and enemy has stuns
• Enemies are too spread (>15m apart)
• Enemies are simply walking out of your circle (reposition first)

When to Skip Ult and Just M1

Sometimes Bullet Dance is the wrong play. Just shoot them normally when:

• You're already winning the fight with sustained damage
• Enemy has multiple interrupt threats ready
• You can secure the kill without committing ult
• Ult is on cooldown (obviously) - your M1 DPS is still great

Bullet Dance Movement

Note: You CANNOT crouch or slide during Bullet Dance. The ult locks you out of crouching. Fury Trance (while toggled) also prevents crouching.

Your DPS is wasted if you're standing still getting kited. During Bullet Dance:

1. Fleetfoot removes shooting move penalty - you move at full speed while ulting
2. Strafe constantly - A/D movement makes you harder to hit
3. Use stamina dashes to reposition if enemies create distance
4. T3 gives +3 m/s dance speed and 60% evasion - this is your survivability
5. Track targets with camera - bullets follow your aim

Without Fleetfoot: Shooting slows you down, targets walk out of your 15m radius. With Fleetfoot: Full speed chase - targets can't escape by walking.

Lifesteal math is in the Fury Tank Activation Sequence section above.

---

Summary

Core Philosophy: Stack fire rate + lifesteal multiplicatively. The Fury Tank build does 1,318 DPS with 870 HP/s healing—64% more DPS and 316% more healing than the Simple build.

Bullet Dance is easy to counter (walk out, interrupt). Your sustained M1 damage with Fixation stacks + fire rate items is reliable and always available. The Fury Tank build does 361 DPS with 202 HP/s even outside of ult.

Recommended Build Path:

1. Rapid Rounds → Extra Health → Extra Spirit (cheap T1 foundation)
2. Spirit Shielding (you will die to spirit burst without this)
3. Active Reload → Swift Striker → Fleetfoot (fire rate + mobility)
4. Fury Trance (power spike)
5. Titanic Magazine + Enduring Speed (Fury blocks sliding - these compensate)
6. Burst Fire
7. Ethereal Shift → Ricochet → Flex

Always Buy:

1. Extra Health (you are squishy)
2. Spirit Shielding (auto barrier saves your life)
3. Active Reload (best value: 64 souls/% FR)
4. Swift Striker (+20% FR passive)
5. Fleetfoot (full speed while shooting)
6. Fury Trance (+40% FR, +22% LS, +40% spirit resist)
7. Titanic Magazine (+12% base dmg, huge clip for Fury window)
8. Enduring Speed (+2 m/s to replace slide mobility)
9. Ethereal Shift (invuln their burst combo, then kill them)
10. Ricochet (farm acceleration + AoE carry)

If still dying to spirit:

• Spirit Resilience (1600) - +30% spirit resist passive
• Debuff Remover (4250) - cleanse DOTs + more spirit resist

Skip:

• Bullet Lifesteal (Fury Trance + Active Reload provide enough)
• Glass Cannon (you're already squishy enough)

Never Buy (Trap Items):

• Blood Tribute (-30% healing makes it worse than Fury Trance)
• Glass Cannon (Lucky Shot is better with no downside)
• Siphon Bullets (unless you want simpler sustained build without active management)
• Vampiric Burst (overkill - Fury is half the cost with better uptime)
• Long range items (Sharpshooter, Long Range)

Flex Slots Based On:

• Default → Lucky Shot (+27.5% DPS)
• vs Anti-heal → Leech (reduces healing penalties)
• vs Casters → Silencer (AoE silence with Ricochet)
• vs Sustain → Inhibitor (-72% heal with Toxic)

HAZE.md

Haze

Overview

Haze is a stealth assassin who excels at isolating and eliminating targets from the shadows. Her kit revolves around invisibility, crowd control, and devastating close-range damage. She uses Sleep Dagger to disable enemies before unloading her rapid-fire weapons, and her Bullet Dance ultimate allows her to melt multiple foes while evading return fire.

Base Stats

Vitality

• Health: 700 (+33/boon)
• Stamina: 3
• Move Speed: 8.2 m/s
• Sprint Speed: 9.8 m/s

Weapon

• DPS: 50
• Bullet Damage: 5.26 (+0.143/boon)
• Ammo: 25
• Fire Rate: 9.52/s
• Reload Time: 2.35s

Abilities

[1] Sleep Dagger

Throw a dagger that damages and sleeps the target. Sleeping targets wake up shortly after being damaged. Throwing a Dagger does not break your invisibility. Sleep Dagger does not interrupt enemies' channeling abilities.

• Cooldown: 26s | Damage: 65 | Sleep Duration: 3s | Min Sleep Time: 0.2s | Wake Up Time: 0.1s

Upgrades:

• T1: -1 Stamina Cost
• T2: -12s Cooldown
• T3: -12% Bullet Resist & -40% Fire Rate (6s on wake)

[2] Smoke Bomb

Fade out of sight, becoming invisible and gaining sprint speed. Attacking removes invisibility, but using items does not. Close enemies can see through your invisibility.

• Cooldown: 30s | Duration: 8s | Fade Time: 1.5s | Spot Radius: 18m

Upgrades:

• T1: +5 m/s Invis Sprint Speed
• T2: +10% Bullet Lifesteal (8s after invis)
• T3: +1 Charge & 0.5s Invincibility

[3] Fixation

Shooting a target increases your bullet damage on that target. Gain one stack per bullet hit, two if the hit is a headshot.

• Duration: 6s | Max Stacks: 40 | Damage per Stack: 0.2

Upgrades:

• T1: 49.5 Spirit Damage & 15% Slow (every 20 stacks)
• T2: +5s Duration & +40 Max Stacks
• T3: +0.12 per stack Weapon Damage

[4] Bullet Dance

Enter a flurry, firing your weapon at nearby enemies with perfect accuracy and added Bullet Damage.

• Cooldown: 165s | Duration: 3s | Radius: 15m | Fire Rate: +35% | Weapon Damage: +6

Upgrades:

• T1: +4 Weapon Damage
• T2: -45s Cooldown
• T3: +60% Evasion & +3 m/s Dance Speed

Strengths

• Exceptional close-range burst damage with rapid-fire weapon and Fixation stacks
• Powerful stealth engagement with Smoke Bomb for surprise attacks
• Strong crowd control through Sleep Dagger to lock down targets
• Devastating team fight ultimate that shreds multiple enemies
• Good mobility with enhanced sprint speed during Smoke Bomb
• Lifesteal sustain after invisibility fades
• High skill ceiling with excellent outplay potential

Weaknesses

• Squishy with no defensive abilities outside of invisibility
• Sleep Dagger can be cleansed by damage, reducing combo reliability
• Vulnerable when Smoke Bomb is on cooldown
• Struggles against teams with detection abilities or crowd control
• Bullet Dance is easy to counter (walk out, interrupt)

Recommended Build (Venon)

Haze wants to shoot for extended periods to build Fixation stacks. Early green investment for survivability is essential.

Early Game

• Extra Spirit - more dagger damage and ammo
• Rapid Rounds + Active Reload - fire rate is everything for Fixation stacking
• Rush 4.8k green (vitality) investment early - this is key

Mid Game

• Fury Trance + Extra Health - survive the mid game. Haze at 1,600+ HP is twice as tanky as base
• Surge of Power - imbue on Sleep Dagger for massive damage and movespeed maintenance
• At this point you have Active Reload so don't worry about sliding during ult

Late Game

• Ricochet + Silencer + Inhibitor - the devastation combo. All procs apply to ricochet targets, enemies deal 40-50% less damage while you stack Toxic Bullets and Fixation
• Ethereal Shift - required vs spirit burst (you cannot lifesteal if you're dead instantly)

Items to Avoid

• Siphon Bullets - completely over-nerfed, worst item in the game. Use Fury Trance or Vampiric Burst instead
• Clip size items for Bullet Dance - the ult uses its own separate ammo, not your clip

Defensive Priority

Haze with 700 base HP will get one-shot by spirit burst without early defense:

• Spirit Shielding (1,600) by 4,000 souls
• Ethereal Shift (6,400) as first or second T4
• DPS items are worthless if you're dead

LASH_HAZE_DUO.md

Lash + Haze

Rating: A

Lash and Haze possess one of the most lethal ultimate synergies in the game, capable of wiping entire teams when coordinated. While their early lane phase can be bullied by high-range opponents, their mid-game gank potential and late-game scaling make them a formidable duo.

Key Combos

The Death Blender

• Timing: teamfight
• Difficulty: medium
• Setup: Lash Grapple/Majestic Leap into Death Slam
• Follow-up: Haze Bullet Dance (with Unstoppable)

Lash uses Death Slam to group and stun multiple enemies, slamming them into a concentrated area where Haze immediately activates Bullet Dance to shred them.

The Sleep-Stomp

• Timing: gank
• Difficulty: easy
• Setup: Haze Sleep Dagger
• Follow-up: Lash high-altitude Ground Strike

Haze hits a Sleep Dagger on a priority target, allowing Lash to position for a maximum-height Ground Strike for massive burst damage.

Lane Strategy

• Objective: Maintain soul parity and reach ultimate power spikes safely.
• Positioning: Lash utilizes high ground and pillars to threaten Grapples; Haze stays near cover to focus on last-hits and denies.
• Trades: Lash uses Flog to sustain through poke; Haze follows up on Lash's slows with Fixation stacks.
• Wave Control: Freeze the wave near the Guardian to force enemies to overextend into Lash's Grapple range.

Teamfight Playbook

• Initiation: Lash initiates from the air using Grapple or Majestic Leap to catch 2+ targets with Death Slam.
• Focus: Priority is given to grouped targets or squishy backliners caught in the Lash slam.
• Peeling: Lash uses Ground Strike and Flog slows to peel divers off Haze if she is targeted before her ultimate.
• Disengage: Disengage if Lash's Death Slam is interrupted or if Haze is forced to use Smoke Bomb defensively before the combo.

Weaknesses

• Vulnerable to long-range poke from heroes like Vindicta or Grey Talon
• Heavy reliance on long ultimate cooldowns (145s+)
• Susceptible to Silence and Stun effects that interrupt their channels

Counters

• Kelvin (Frozen Shelter can negate Bullet Dance damage)
• Vindicta (Can kite both heroes from extreme range/height)
• Knockdown (Active item that can interrupt both Lash and Haze ultimates)

Item Builds

Lash

• Core: Majestic Leap, Echo Shard, Bullet Armor, Spirit Reach
• Situational: Superior Cooldown, Knockdown
• Reasoning: Majestic Leap provides the necessary height for Ground Strike scaling and Death Slam positioning. Echo Shard allows for double Ground Strike bursts.

Haze

• Core: Ricochet, Unstoppable, Silencer, Tesla Bullets
• Situational: Leech, Glass Cannon
• Reasoning: Ricochet is essential for maximizing Bullet Dance damage across multiple targets. Unstoppable is mandatory to prevent CC from interrupting her ultimate during the combo.

Summary

This duo excels at 'womb-combo' execution where Lash provides the displacement and grouping for Haze to deliver overwhelming AOE damage. They transition from a cautious laning phase into a high-impact roaming duo that dominates mid-to-late game teamfights.