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Item build

Rem Build: What to Buy and Why

A support build centred on the items that interact with Rem's kit, with the reasoning and trade-off for each, and guidance on when to change course. It's a plan to adapt, not a fixed order to copy.

What this build is based on

Editorial analysis This is an editor-reviewed build, last reviewed on . Item tiers, costs and effects come from the community-maintained Deadlock Wiki. Interactions with Rem's kit are marked Verified interaction only where the wiki documents them.

It is not based on win-rate or pick-rate data, and we don't claim any item is statistically "best". Community analytics sites such as deadlock-api.com (an independent project, not affiliated with Valve) publish observational item statistics. Those figures change with rank, patch and sample size, so check the filters before drawing conclusions.

Item tiers cost 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 6,400 souls. Spending on a category also unlocks investment bonuses: spirit spending raises spirit power, which scales Rem's heals, and vitality spending raises health. There is a large jump at 4,800 souls in a category.

Intended playstyle

The build supports one plan: stay close to your team, make each Tag Along count, peel divers and give your team a fight-winning Naptime. Your damage comes second. Each core item does at least one of these:

  • Makes your heals larger (Healing Booster, then Healing Tempo).
  • Gives you more saves while napping on an ally, because self-casts go to them (Guardian Ward, Rescue Beam, Divine Barrier).
  • Gets you to the fight on time, or out of it when caught (Enduring Speed).
  • Brings Tag Along back sooner (Compress Cooldown, then Superior Cooldown).

Early-game priorities

Start with cheap items that either build into your core or help you through the lane. Extra Regen and Sprint Boots both upgrade into core items, so nothing is wasted. Monster Rounds is a farming choice that also strengthens troopers your Lil Helpers follow.

Early items

  • Extra Regen

    Vitality Tier 1 · 800 souls

    Purpose: Passive health regeneration that keeps you in lane between trades, and the component for Healing Booster, so none of the cost is wasted.

    Trade-off: It does nothing to stop burst damage. If your lane opponent can kill you in one combo, a raw health item is the safer first purchase.

  • Extra Spirit

    Spirit Tier 1 · 800 souls

    Purpose: Spirit power raises Pillow Toss damage and every heal Rem provides, since Tag Along and Lil Helpers both scale with spirit. It also builds into Improved Spirit or Surge of Power later.

    Trade-off: The early gain per heal is small. On a lane where you mostly need to survive, defence pays off sooner.

  • Monster Rounds

    Weapon Tier 1 · 800 souls

    Purpose: Faster trooper and neutral clearing, plus a buff to any trooper one of your Helpers is following.

    Trade-off: It adds nothing against enemy heroes. Skip it if your lane is all about trading rather than farming.

    Verified interaction The wiki lists Lil Helpers among the summons Monster Rounds affects: it boosts the trooper a Helper follows.

  • Sprint Boots

    Vitality Tier 1 · 800 souls

    Purpose: Out-of-combat movement for a hero who spends a lot of time rotating between lanes, and the component for Enduring Speed.

    Trade-off: It does not help in a fight, so buy it once your lane is stable, not as a first item.

Core items

These four are chosen because of how they interact with Tag Along. If you only remember one thing from this page: while you're napping, self-cast items target your ally, and Tag Along's second upgrade boosts item range, item duration and barriers.

Core items list

  • Healing Booster

    Vitality Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

    Purpose: Increases the healing you give out. It amplifies both Tag Along and the Lil Helpers trooper heal, and it upgrades into Healing Tempo.

    Trade-off: It only increases healing you deal, not healing you receive from teammates. Enemy healing reduction cuts straight into its value.

    Verified interaction The wiki confirms that Healing Booster amplifies Tag Along and Lil Helpers.

  • Guardian Ward

    Vitality Tier 2 · 1,600 souls Active

    Purpose: A long-range barrier plus a short burst of speed on an ally. Its cooldown is halved when you cast it on someone else, which suits a hero built around saving teammates.

    Trade-off: It takes one of your four active-item slots and only helps against damage that lands while the barrier is up. Cast too early, it expires before the real threat arrives.

    Verified interaction While you are napping with Tag Along, self-cast items target your ally. The Tag Along second upgrade boosts item range, item duration and barrier effectiveness while napping.

  • Enduring Speed

    Vitality Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

    Purpose: Move speed and slow resist. That gets you to the fight in time to Tag Along and helps you walk away when the gap closes on you.

    Trade-off: If the enemy team has few slows, half of the item's value disappears and a plain defensive item may be better.

  • Compress Cooldown

    Spirit Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

    Purpose: Imbue it on one ability to shorten that ability's cooldown. On Rem, Tag Along is the editorial pick because it is both your heal and your escape.

    Trade-off: It only helps the one ability you imbue. Lil Helpers interacts with cooldown reduction only partially, so it is a poor imbue target.

    Verified interaction The wiki notes that cooldown reduction only shortens Lil Helpers' nap time and the cooldown of non-follow actions.

Mid-game and late-game options

Upgrade what you already own, then add one larger save. Healing Tempo turns each heal into a burst of fire rate and move speed for the ally. Divine Barrier removes non-stun debuffs and shields the target.

Late items

  • Rescue Beam

    Vitality Tier 3 · 3,200 souls Active

    Purpose: Heals an ally and yourself for a share of maximum health, and can pull the ally towards you once. It is a second rescue tool when Tag Along is on cooldown.

    Trade-off: Pulling an ally to you is only safe if you are standing somewhere safe. It is an expensive item that does nothing for your own damage.

  • Superior Cooldown

    Spirit Tier 3 · 3,200 souls

    Purpose: The upgrade path from Compress Cooldown. More cooldown reduction means more Tag Along casts, more Pillow Toss peels and an earlier Naptime.

    Trade-off: Most of its value only shows up in long, drawn-out fights. If games are being decided by short picks, a defensive item may be worth more.

  • Healing Tempo

    Vitality Tier 4 · 6,400 souls

    Purpose: The upgrade from Healing Booster. Healing a teammate also gives them a burst of fire rate and move speed, which turns each Tag Along into a damage boost.

    Trade-off: It is a 6,400-soul item. If your team is losing fights before the heal matters, buy survivability first.

    Verified interaction The wiki confirms that Tag Along triggers Healing Tempo, and that Lil Helpers triggers it only when cast on troopers.

  • Divine Barrier

    Vitality Tier 4 · 6,400 souls Active

    Purpose: Removes non-stun debuffs from an ally and gives them a barrier and move speed. It is the strongest single-target save in this build.

    Trade-off: It does not remove stuns, and its high cost delays everything else you buy. It is wasted if your team has no focal player worth saving.

Situational picks

Buy these when the match calls for more control. A second disable helps set up or protect a Naptime, and a targeted slow handles one dangerous diver.

Situational items

  • Knockdown

    Spirit Tier 3 · 3,200 souls Active

    Purpose: A delayed stun that lasts longer on airborne targets. It gives you a second disable for setting up or protecting a Naptime.

    Trade-off: The two-second delay makes it easy to dodge against mobile targets, and it takes an active slot from your support items.

  • Slowing Hex

    Spirit Tier 2 · 1,600 souls Active

    Purpose: Slows an enemy and silences their movement abilities. It is an answer to a single mobile diver who keeps reaching your backline.

    Trade-off: It handles one target at a time. Against a team with several divers, a defensive item usually does more.

    Verified interaction The same item in enemy hands prevents you from casting Tag Along.

Defensive choices

Match these to what is killing you. Look at the death recap: crowd control, spirit burst and gun damage each have a different answer. The counters page explains the threats in more detail.

Defensive items

  • Debuff Reducer

    Vitality Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

    Purpose: Shortens the crowd control you suffer. Buy it when the enemy team relies on stuns, silences or slows to catch you out of position.

    Trade-off: Against a team that wins with raw damage rather than crowd control, the extra health is the only part you will notice.

  • Spirit Shielding

    Vitality Tier 2 · 1,600 souls

    Purpose: Gives you a barrier and temporary spirit resist when you take a burst of spirit damage. It is a cheap answer to spirit burst heroes who try to delete you before you can Tag Along out.

    Trade-off: It does nothing against gun damage, and its long internal cooldown means it only saves you once per fight.

  • Metal Skin

    Vitality Tier 3 · 3,200 souls Active

    Purpose: A few seconds of bullet immunity. It covers the moments when you cannot Tag Along, such as when it is on cooldown or no ally is in range.

    Trade-off: It does nothing against spirit damage. Since Tag Along already makes you immune to damage while napping, it only covers the gaps between naps.

  • Majestic Leap

    Vitality Tier 3 · 3,200 souls Active

    Purpose: Launches you into the air with a barrier. It is a solo escape for when no ally is nearby to jump to.

    Trade-off: It cannot be used for a few seconds after an enemy hero hits you, so it has to be pressed early rather than as a last resort.

  • Unstoppable

    Vitality Tier 4 · 6,400 souls Active

    Purpose: Brief immunity to stun, silence, sleep, root and disarm. Use it to finish a Naptime channel before the third upgrade, or to stay active through a lockdown ultimate.

    Trade-off: It cannot be cast while you are already stunned or slept, so it has to be used before the enemy commits. Naptime's third upgrade already covers the channel.

Team-dependent choices

Some items are only good if your team plays a certain way. Group heals and auras need teammates close to you. Single-target saves need a teammate worth saving.

Team-dependent items

  • Healing Nova

    Vitality Tier 3 · 3,200 souls Active

    Purpose: Heals you and allies around you. It is valuable when your team groups tightly and wins by trading for a long time.

    Trade-off: It is weak when teammates spread out or split-push. In that case the single-target saves are better value.

  • Heroic Aura

    Weapon Tier 3 · 3,200 souls Active

    Purpose: Fire rate and move speed for you and nearby allies, with troopers getting double value. It fits a team that wants to push objectives together.

    Trade-off: It only pays off if teammates are close and shooting. It also takes an active slot that a save item could use.

    Verified interaction The wiki lists Heroic Aura among the effects that apply to troopers your Lil Helpers follow.

Ability points and upgrades

Verified Each ability has three upgrades costing 1, 2 and 5 ability points.

Editorial analysis General priorities rather than a fixed sequence:

  1. Tag Along first upgrade (-8 s cooldown) early. More heals and more escapes, for 1 point.
  2. Pillow Toss first upgrade (-7 s cooldown). More peel and more cooldown reduction for the rest of your kit.
  3. Naptime's third upgrade when you can afford it. The 55-second cooldown cut and the channel protection make it the most impactful single upgrade in the kit. Plan your points around reaching it.
  4. Tag Along's second upgrade once you own targeted support items, since that is what it boosts.
  5. Lil Helpers upgrades earlier if you're farming and pushing with Helpers, later if you're mostly grouped with your team.

Full upgrade text for every tier is on the abilities page.

When to change the build

  • The enemy has anti-heal. Healing items lose value. Move barrier and cleanse items (Guardian Ward, Divine Barrier) ahead of Healing Tempo.
  • The enemy has Slowing Hex. Tag Along can be blocked. Debuff Reducer and your own escape items matter more.
  • Your team splits up. Tag Along will often be out of range. Self-sufficient defence and Helper farming become more important.
  • You're dying to spirit burst. Spirit Shielding early.
  • You're dying to guns. Metal Skin, and stay closer to your team.
  • You're far ahead. Spirit items that raise your spirit power make every heal, Pillow Toss and Naptime hit harder.

When this build is the wrong plan

If your team lacks damage and has nobody to protect, a support build has less value. In that case buying more spirit power and fighting alongside your team may contribute more than another save item.

Item sources