Best Ivy Build & Guide (2026) — Deadlock

Ivy is Deadlock's dedicated duo-lane support and the strongest pocket healer in the game. Her kit revolves around empowering a single ally through Watcher's Covenant, enabling aggressive plays with Air Drop, and controlling space with Kudzu Bomb. Whether you're picking her up for the first time or looking to optimize your ranked build, this guide covers everything you need to dominate with Ivy in 2026.

Ivy Overview

Ivy excels as a carry-enabling support who turns her linked ally into a nearly unkillable threat. Watcher's Covenant shares a percentage of all healing between Ivy and her tethered partner, effectively doubling their sustain in fights. Air Drop gives her team unmatched rotation speed by flying an ally across the map, and Kudzu Bomb provides reliable AoE slow and spirit damage for zone control. She's at her best when paired with an aggressive carry who can capitalize on the sustain she provides.

Strengths

• Best single-target healing in the game through Watcher's Covenant link
• Unique team mobility with Air Drop relocating allies across the map
• Strong zone control with Kudzu Bomb's AoE slow and spirit damage
• Excellent lane partner who enables aggressive carries to dominate their lane

Weaknesses

• Low solo kill pressure — almost entirely reliant on her partner for damage
• Vulnerable when alone with no reliable self-peel outside Stone Form
• Watcher's Covenant is fragile — the link breaks at range and she shares damage taken
• Countered by burst damage that kills her or her carry faster than she can heal

Recommended Item Build

Based on data from over 12,000 ranked Ivy matches tracked on dodge.gg, here's the highest winrate build path.

Early Game (0–10 min)

• Extra Spirit — Cheap spirit power boost that amplifies Kudzu Bomb damage and Watcher's Covenant healing
• Healing Rite — Passive sustain that stacks with your already-strong healing identity
• Extra Health — Tankiness to survive in lane while sharing damage through Watcher's Covenant
• Spirit Strike — Spirit power and sustain on ability hits to win early trades with Kudzu Bomb

Early Game (0–10 min)

Extra Spirit800I

Healing Rite800I

Extra Health800I

Spirit Strike800I

Mid Game (10–20 min)

• Cold Front — Spirit damage slow that layers on top of Kudzu Bomb for oppressive zone control
• Torment Pulse — AoE spirit damage aura that punishes enemies who dive into you and your carry
• Reactive Barrier — Burst protection that keeps you alive when enemies try to focus you down to break the link
• Enduring Speed — Permanent move speed to stay within Watcher's Covenant range of your carry

Mid Game (10–20 min)

Cold Front1,600II

Torment Pulse3,200III

Reactive Barrier1,600II

Enduring Speed1,600II

Late Game (20+ min)

• Boundless Spirit — Massive spirit scaling that supercharges both your healing output and Kudzu Bomb damage
• Ethereal Shift — Invulnerability dodge that saves you from burst; staying alive keeps Watcher's Covenant active
• Escalating Exposure — Stacking spirit amp on enemies hit by your abilities amplifies your entire team's damage
• Mystic Reverb — Ability hits echo for additional spirit damage, giving you meaningful damage contribution in teamfights

Late Game (20+ min)

Boundless Spirit6,400IV

Ethereal Shift6,400IV

Escalating Exposure6,400IV

Mystic Reverb6,400IV

Ability Priority

1. Kudzu Bomb — Max this first. Your primary damage and zone control tool. Each rank increases the AoE damage, slow strength, and duration. A max-rank Kudzu Bomb covers a massive area and chunks enemy health bars while making it impossible for them to escape.
2. Watcher's Covenant (Ultimate) — Level whenever available. The healing link is Ivy's signature ability. Higher ranks increase the shared healing percentage and reduce the link's cooldown, making your carry progressively harder to kill.
3. Stone Form — Max second after getting ult points. The self-petrify makes you invulnerable and heals you, buying time for cooldowns and surviving burst. Higher ranks increase the healing and reduce cooldown, giving you a more reliable safety net.
4. Air Drop — One early point for the rotation utility, then max last. Flying an ally across the map is powerful at rank 1; the scaling adds flight speed and range but is less impactful than your other abilities per rank.

Playstyle Tips

Laning Phase

Ivy is a lane enabler who turns her carry into a monster. Link Watcher's Covenant to your lane partner and play aggressively — the shared healing means you both sustain through trades that would force other duos to back off. Use Kudzu Bomb to zone the enemy off last hits and secure denies. When your carry goes for a kill, drop Kudzu Bomb on the escape route to prevent the enemy from running.

Against aggressive melee lanes, use Kudzu Bomb to slow them and kite backwards while your carry free-fires. Against ranged lanes, push forward with Watcher's Covenant sustain and force trades on cooldown — most duos can't out-sustain the shared healing.

Mid Game

This is where Ivy becomes the team's lifeline. With Cold Front and Torment Pulse online, your zone control becomes oppressive. Stick with your highest-value carry at all times — Ivy alone is a free kill, but Ivy linked to a fed carry is nearly impossible to beat. Use Air Drop to rotate your carry to objectives faster than the enemy team can respond. In teamfights, stay behind your frontline, keep Watcher's Covenant active on your carry, and use Kudzu Bomb to zone enemies away from key positions.

Stone Form is your panic button when enemies dive you. Don't use it preemptively — save it for when you're about to die, then let your team clean up while you heal back to full.

Late Game

Late-game Ivy is a force multiplier. With Boundless Spirit amplifying your healing and damage, your linked carry becomes virtually unkillable in extended fights. Your job is simple: stay alive, keep the link active, and use your abilities to control space. Ethereal Shift gives you a second safety tool alongside Stone Form — use one to survive the initial burst, then the other if they re-engage on you.

Position carefully and never overextend without your team. Ivy caught alone in the late game is an instant death and a lost teamfight. Use Air Drop before fights to reposition your carry for a flank or to bring a split-pushing ally back for the objective fight. Your survival is the win condition — if you're alive, your carry is alive. If your carry is alive, you win the fight.

Matchups

Favorable

• Mo & Krill — Your healing sustains through their predictable engage pattern, and Kudzu Bomb slows them after they commit
• Pocket — Your sustained healing outlasts his burst windows; he can't kill your carry through Watcher's Covenant
• Mirage — His poke damage gets healed back up before it matters; your sustain negates his entire gameplan

Even

• Dynamo — Both are top-tier supports; teamfights come down to which team capitalizes on their support's utility better
• Kelvin — His ice armor and CC match your healing utility; neither side has a clear advantage
• Viscous — His defensive tools match yours; the lane and fights are decided by which team's carries play better

Unfavorable

• Haze — Her burst damage kills your carry faster than Watcher's Covenant can heal; Bullet Dance deletes you both
• Wraith — She outscales your healing with raw damage and picks you off from range before fights start
• Abrams — He runs you down, ignoring your slow, and his anti-heal from items counters your entire identity

Track Your Ivy Stats

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