Melee Attack and Parry

Every hero can press melee (Q by default) for an instant light attack or hold it for a heavier, wind-up attack. Damage varies by hero and scales with boons, items and 50% of weapon-damage bonuses. A melee last hit on a trooper grants the 50% of souls normally obtained by confirming the orb without producing one; melee-damage abilities do the same. Melee attacks can also secure orbs, although denying an enemy orb requires a short delay.

A melee hit on a hero climbing a ledge or rope applies an 80% slow tapering to 20% over two seconds. A hit forces a Soul Urn carrier to drop it. Melee is the only way to interact with Sinner’s Sacrifice and triggers 80 retaliation damage for either attack type. A melee briefly reduces the attacker’s speed by an amount that depends on the hero and attack; slow resistance can mitigate it. Melee interrupts reload: light attacks freeze the timer immediately except for Billy’s, while heavy attacks freeze it as the lunge starts. Reload resumes after the animation.

Heavy melee

A heavy melee lunges about half a dash, can be charged in the air, and can lead into a mantle at a ledge. It uses no stamina for the lunge but restricts turning during the animation. Its cooldown is one second, or 1.3 seconds after a miss. Heavy melee is required to claim Powerups, Rejuvenator crystals and unsecured soul bags. The October 30, 2026 update limits Baba’s Granny Long Legs heavy-melee stomp to the closest Rejuvenator in range. The wind-up and travel give opponents time to parry. Some abilities or active items can cancel the attack and bait a parry.

Parry

Press F by default to parry. The animation lasts one second, with incoming melee attacks parried during its first 0.75 seconds. A successful parry blocks damage, stuns the attacker for 2.75 seconds and makes them take 25% more damage from all sources. Debuff Resist does not shorten the stun; Unstoppable and equivalent effects prevent it. Success ends the animation early but leaves a 0.3-second recovery before another action; holding parry can catch multiple heroes. An unsuccessful parry has a 4.5-second cooldown. Rebuttal reduces it to 2.75 seconds, and Rebuttal and Counterspell add effects.

Trooper attacks can be parried to block damage and stun them, but do not reset the cooldown or end the parry early. Guardian melee can be blocked; the Guardian is prevented from attacking briefly and will not immediately melee again, without resetting cooldown. Walker stomps cannot be parried. Melee Haunts and the area special attack of Crabbage Pot II and III can be parried. Most hero abilities cannot, except Viscous’s Puddle Punch and Baba’s Granny Long Legs heavy-melee ground pound.

Sources and editorial notes

The official October 30, 2026 gameplay update was checked on 2026-11-01 for the Baba interaction.

Adapted from Melee Attack, revision 218010, by Deadlock Wiki contributors; checked 2026-11-01. Source-derived content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Voice line and media omitted; damage values by hero are on the separate Melee Damage page.