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Rem Deadlock Guide: Abilities, Builds & Gameplay Tips

Rem knocks divers away with a pillow, rides on teammates to heal them, sends Lil Helpers across the map and ends fights with a sleep that passes through walls. This site explains what each of those tools actually does, when it's worth using and what to buy around it. Every game number is linked to a source, and the date we last checked it is shown on every page.

Explore Rem's Abilities View Rem's Build

Rem at a glance

Badges show which statements are checked game facts and which are our reading of the hero.

Facts

Official role: None. Deadlock does not assign hero roles. Verified
Released: January 26, 2026 Verified
Weapon: Long Night: 13-round magazine, 16 base bullet damage, reduced headshot bonus Verified
Base health: 680 Verified
Innate: Travels through vents into tunnels by crouching, outside of combat Verified

Source: The Deadlock Wiki, checked October 15, 2026.

Our read Editorial analysis

Identity: A support who keeps one teammate alive at a time and sets up fights, with Helpers adding value on parts of the map he isn't standing on.
Strongest at: Saving a teammate who is being dived, and starting fights in tight spaces where Naptime covers several enemies.
Weakest at: Playing alone, and facing teams that buy anti-heal, Slowing Hex or debuff resist.
Suits: Players who like watching the minimap and calling plays more than topping the damage chart, and teams with a frontliner or carry worth protecting.

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How Rem plays Editorial analysis

Most heroes are judged by what they do to the enemy. Rem is better judged by what he stops the enemy from doing to his team. His best moments rarely make the kill feed. A teammate who should have died walks away, a dive that was about to land gets knocked out of position, or a Helper keeps a lane moving while the rest of the team fights elsewhere.

Supporting teammates

Tag Along is the centre of the kit. You jump onto an ally, both of you get a heal, and while you're napping on them you can't be targeted or damaged. That makes it a heal and an escape in one button, but it is only as good as the ally you choose. Riding a teammate who is about to walk into five enemies keeps you safe for a few seconds, then leaves you exposed where they died.

Using Lil Helpers well

Lil Helpers are easy to forget because they don't hit anyone. Their value is that they work while you're elsewhere. A Helper on a trooper heals it, makes it stronger and gives you a Tag Along target in that lane. A Helper sent to a Curiosity Shop can buy queued items without you walking back. The usual mistake is leaving every Helper idle because the fight in front of you feels more urgent.

Map movement and objectives

Vent travel and Helpers both reward a Rem who keeps moving. While your team is grouping for an objective, send Helpers to keep the other lanes under some pressure, so the enemy has to choose between defending and contesting. Be careful with that last part. A trooper with a Helper is worth more souls to the enemy hero who kills it, so don't feed a strong farmer free bounty.

When to step in and when to stay out

Go in when a teammate is committed and losing a trade they could win with a heal, or when a single diver has jumped your backline and a Pillow Toss would knock them out of it. Stay out when the whole enemy team is already on your ally, when Tag Along is on cooldown, or when you'd have to walk through the enemy to get in range. In those cases a heal only delays the outcome, and you may die with your ally.

Where the kit is strongest

Narrow streets, stairwells and building interiors favour Naptime, because enemies can't spread out of a 19-metre radius and the gaze ignores walls and floors. Open areas with mobile enemies are harder: they can dodge the gaze, and a whiffed ultimate on a 200-second cooldown is a long time without your fight-starter.

The four abilities

A short version of each ability. Full values, upgrade tiers and interactions are on the abilities page.

Ability 1

Pillow Toss

Rem throws his pillow for spirit damage and a strong knockback, leaving the target with a movement slow that fades over a few seconds. Every hit also shaves time off Tag Along and Naptime.

Why it matters: Peel. It shoves a diving enemy off you or a teammate, and each landed hit brings your heal-hop and ultimate back sooner.

Tip: Throw it at the enemy who is already committed to a target, not the one waiting at range. Knockback is worth the most when it breaks a dive that has already started.

Pillow Toss in detail

Ability 2

Tag Along

Rem leaps onto an ally and naps on them. Both of you get a burst heal based on missing health, then a short heal-over-time. While napping you can hop to other allies, healing each one once, and any item you self-cast goes to the ally you are riding instead.

Why it matters: Sustain and safety. You heal a teammate mid-fight while becoming untargetable yourself, and your self-cast items get redirected onto someone who can use them.

Tip: Arrive slightly before your ally drops low, not after. The burst scales with missing health, but the heal-over-time only lands in full if you stay attached for its whole duration.

Tag Along in detail

Ability 3

Lil Helpers

Rem sends one of his Helpers out to do a job: break boxes, work a Sinner's Sacrifice, shop at a Curiosity Shop, or follow an ally hero or trooper. Following a hero gives spirit resist and a burst of speed; following a trooper makes it heal, hit harder and tank more, and gives Rem a Tag Along target.

Why it matters: Map presence. Helpers let you collect value and push lanes in places you are not standing, which suits a hero who wants to stay near teammates.

Tip: Each Helper has its own cooldown. Send a Helper to a trooper wave in a lane you are leaving, and it keeps pushing while you rotate.

Lil Helpers in detail

Ultimate

Naptime

Rem channels a wide gaze that passes through walls and floors. Enemies inside it are slowed, dash shorter and cannot use movement abilities. When the channel finishes they fall asleep, and on waking they take a large hit of spirit damage.

Why it matters: Team-fight setup. A good Naptime holds several enemies in place long enough for your team to line up damage on them.

Tip: Remember that sleep breaks after a set amount of damage. Tell your team to wait for the wake-up damage or burst one target together, rather than chip at everyone and wake them early.

Naptime in detail

Build preview

This build makes your heals and saves count, rather than turning Rem into a damage dealer. We picked it because each core item interacts with his kit in a way the wiki documents. It is an editor-reviewed recommendation, not a ranking based on win rates. Editorial analysis

Core

Healing Booster: amplifies Tag Along and the Helper trooper heal.
Guardian Ward: a targeted barrier that Tag Along redirects to your ally and strengthens while you nap.
Enduring Speed: gets you into range in time and away when you're caught.
Compress Cooldown on Tag Along: more heals and more escapes.

Situational

Knockdown: a second disable to set up or protect Naptime.
Slowing Hex: for one mobile diver who keeps reaching your carry.
Monster Rounds early if you plan to farm and push with Helper troopers.

Defensive

Debuff Reducer against heavy crowd control.
Spirit Shielding against spirit burst.
Metal Skin or Majestic Leap for the moments when no ally is in reach.

Team-dependent

Healing Nova when your team fights tightly grouped.
Heroic Aura for a team that pushes objectives together, since it also affects Helper troopers.
Divine Barrier when you have one carry worth saving at all costs.

See the full build, with trade-offs and when to change it

Strengths and weaknesses

Each point is based on a verified mechanic. The judgement about how much it matters is ours.

Where Rem shines

A heal that's also a dodge. Napping on an ally makes you untargetable and immune to damage, so Tag Along can save you as well as heal your teammate.
Support items reach further. While napping, self-cast items target your ally, and Tag Along's second upgrade adds 35% item range, duration and barrier strength.
Value from a distance. Helpers can buy items from any Curiosity Shop, including enemy ones, and keep trooper waves alive in lanes you have left.
An ultimate cast from cover. Naptime's gaze passes through walls and floors.
Peels speed up your rotation. Every Pillow Toss hit takes 5 seconds off Tag Along and Naptime.

Where Rem struggles

No ally, no plan. Tag Along needs a target within 23 m. Caught alone, your only defensive tool is a knockback.
Common items answer him. Slowing Hex stops Tag Along, and anti-heal cuts both of his heals. Debuff resist, Unstoppable and Indomitable all blunt Naptime.
A slow, punishable ultimate. Naptime is a 1.9-second channel with a 200-second cooldown, and it can be interrupted until the third upgrade.
Helpers can feed. A trooper with a Helper gives the enemy who kills it 20% more souls.
Not an objective carrier. Casting Tag Along makes you drop the Soul Urn.

Five tips for your first Rem games

Keep a teammate within 23 m at all times. That is Tag Along's range. Outside it, you are a hero with a pillow.
Throw Pillow Toss at whoever is attacking, not whoever is closest. The knockback breaks a dive, and the hit speeds up your other cooldowns.
Don't leave Helpers idle. Each Helper has its own cooldown, so send one out whenever it's ready rather than saving them.
Ride the ally who will survive. Tag Along keeps you safe only for as long as your target is alive and not stunned by an ultimate.
Tell your team before Naptime. Sleeping enemies wake up after taking enough damage, so a coordinated follow-up beats scattered shots.

More practical tips, grouped by situation

Frequently asked questions

What role does Rem play in Deadlock?

Deadlock does not give heroes official roles, so any label is an interpretation. Ours is that Rem plays as a support and utility hero. His kit heals allies (Tag Along), peels divers (Pillow Toss), creates map pressure without him being there (Lil Helpers) and sets up team fights (Naptime). He has a gun and can farm, but very little in his kit rewards playing as the team's main damage dealer.

What does each Rem ability do?

Pillow Toss deals spirit damage and knocks the target back, and each hit takes 5 seconds off Tag Along and Naptime. Tag Along jumps you onto an ally to heal both of you while you are untargetable. Lil Helpers sends a Helper to break boxes, shop, work a Sinner's Sacrifice, or follow a hero or trooper. Naptime channels a gaze through walls that slows enemies and then puts them to sleep. The abilities page has the current values and upgrades.

Which items work well with Rem?

Items that interact directly with his kit are the most reliable. Healing Booster amplifies both Tag Along and the Lil Helpers trooper heal and upgrades into Healing Tempo, which Tag Along also triggers. Targeted support actives such as Guardian Ward benefit because Tag Along redirects self-casts to your ally, and its second upgrade improves item range, duration and barriers while you nap. The build page explains each choice and when to skip it.

How should beginners play Rem?

Stay within Tag Along range (23 m) of a teammate, use Pillow Toss to push away whoever is diving them, and keep at least one Helper working somewhere useful. Treat Naptime as a call for your team to follow, not a solo combo. The full guide walks through a match phase by phase.

What are Rem's main weaknesses?

He relies on allies: without one in range he has no heal and little escape besides a knockback. Several common items blunt him. Slowing Hex stops Tag Along, healing reduction cuts his heals, and debuff resist, Unstoppable and Indomitable all weaken Naptime. See the counters page for how to play around them.

How can I keep up with Rem's balance changes?

Official patch notes are posted on the Deadlock forums and Steam news. We keep a sourced, Rem-only log on the updates page and show the date we last reviewed the game information at the bottom of every guide. If the in-game tooltip disagrees with this site, trust the tooltip and let us know.