Deadlock beginner build: McGinnis first buys

By Hizzle Guides · Published 2026-11-04 · Facts checked 2026-11-04 · Game version checked: Windows PC playtest; October 30, 2026 gameplay update reviewed November 4; no in-game testing

This Deadlock beginner build uses McGinnis with a simple gun-focused opening: buy help for the problem you actually have, then add sustained-fire damage. Hizzle worked out this learning plan from the current item effects. UNSURE: it is not an optimized or in-game-tested best build, and it is not a turret or Spirit build.

Choose your first 800-soul purchase

Item	Current normal version	Buy it for
Monster Rounds, 800	+25% weapon damage and bullet resistance against NPCs; +1 out-of-combat regeneration	Help clearing troopers and attacking objectives. Its NPC bonus is not hero damage.
Extra Regen, 800	+2.5 health regeneration; +1.5 out-of-combat regeneration	Staying in lane when repeated poke sends you home.
Extended Magazine, 800	+30% maximum ammo; +8% weapon damage	A larger firing window when frequent reloads cost you farm.

These are alternatives, not an instruction to buy all three before responding to the match. See Deadlock how to get more souls and catch up if you cannot afford the next useful purchase.

A follow-up when you can keep shooting

Intensifying Magazine costs 1,600 souls. Its normal version adds 20% maximum ammo and ramps weapon damage to 45% over 2.5 seconds of continuous firing. That suits a sustained-fire exercise; it does less for you if you cannot stay exposed long enough to use it. Buy survival or reposition instead of assuming another damage item will fix every death.

How to grow beyond this opening

Open the shop's Default build or a community build through the Build Browser. Pick a current gun plan for the same hero, read its early/mid/late notes and check its update date against Deadlock patch notes: October 30 guide changes. Do not mix half a gun plan with half a turret plan without understanding the tradeoff. A popular build's age matters more than its old popularity total.

Shop tiers are 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 6,400 souls. An upgrade deducts the cost of components you already own. Extra Regen no longer builds into Healing Booster after October 30. Follow the current shop preview, not a stale upgrade arrow.

Sources we checked

UNSURE marks what this guide hasn't established. Hizzle Guides research from public sources; we don't claim in-game testing unless a page says so.