Character Skills

Overview

Colt is the sole playable character in Deathloop. His abilities are split into two categories: Innate Abilities (passive traits you always have) and Slabs (active supernatural powers you acquire by killing Visionaries and infusing them with Residuum). You can equip up to two Slabs at once, and each Slab has three upgrade tiers that alter or enhance its effect. This guide covers every skill in detail, including effects, cooldowns, upgrades, combos, synergies, recommended builds, and optimal use cases.

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Innate Abilities (Always Available)

Reprise

• Effect: You have two "lives" per loop. Upon dying for the first time, you respawn at the last safe location (e.g., a tunnel entrance) but lose all Residuum gained in that district. Upon dying a second time, the loop resets completely and you lose everything not infused. The number of deaths before loop reset can be extended with Trinkets.


• Cooldown: None – passive. The two deaths are granted per new district entry; leaving and returning resets your Reprise charges.


• Upgrades (via Trinkets):

- Reprise Charge (increases from 2 to 3 deaths before loop reset).
- Reprise Bonus (grants extra health or power on revive).

• When to use: Always active; manage your deaths carefully. Use your first death aggressively to test dangerous areas.




Double Jump



• Effect: Jump again while airborne for extra height and distance. Essential for navigation and ambush positioning.


• Cooldown: None.


• Upgrades: Cannot be upgraded.


• When to use: Constantly; chain with Shift for long-range movement.




Slab/Hackamajig (Gadget, not a skill)



• While not a skill, the Hackamajig allows you to hack turrets, mines, and security panels. It complements your slab loadout and is carried as a gadget.


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Slabs (Active Powers)



Each Slab is obtained by killing a specific Visionary and infusing it. You can then spend Residuum to unlock upgrades at the Sacrificial Sink in your bunker. All Slabs have a short cooldown after use (usually 15–30 seconds) and consume Power (the blue bar on your HUD). Upgrades either reduce cooldown, increase duration, or add new mechanics.



1. Aether (Invisibility)



• Obtained from: Egor Serling (The Complex – Lab, any time of day) or killed at the party.


• Effect: Turn nearly invisible for a short time. Enemies lose sight of you, but movement and noise still attract attention.


• Base Duration: ~8 seconds.


• Cooldown: ~15 seconds (starts after invisibility ends).


• Upgrades:

- Ghost: Moving while invisible does not reduce duration. (Highly recommended – enables full stealth movement.)
- Phase: Become completely intangible, passing through enemies and laser tripwires without detection.
- Flicker: Briefly become visible when you attack, then instantly re-cloak. Useful for hit-and-run tactics.

• Synergies:

- Shift (teleport) to reposition while invisible.
- Nexus (link enemies) for mass assassination from stealth.
- Trinkets: Swift Cloak (faster movement while invisible), Extended Duration (increases Aether up-time).

• Recommended Build: Ghost upgrade + Shift slab + silenced gun + Extended Duration trinket = ultimate stealth assassin.


• When to use: Infiltrating heavily guarded areas, bypassing enemies, setting up multi-kills. Best for a pacifist or ghost playstyle.




2. Havoc (Super Strength & Damage Reduction)



• Obtained from: Aleksis "The Wolf" Dorsey (Karl’s Bay – night, party).


• Effect: Enter a rage mode that drastically reduces incoming damage (up to 75% with upgrades) and increases melee attack damage. Also knocks back nearby enemies when activated.


• Base Duration: ~10 seconds.


• Cooldown: ~20 seconds.


• Upgrades:

- Absorptive: Health and Power are restored for each enemy killed while Havoc is active.
- Withdrawal: Upon activation, create a shockwave that disorients and damages nearby foes.
- Tank: Increase damage reduction even further; melee kills cause area-of-effect explosions.

• Synergies:

- Nexus (link enemies) so that melee kills chain damage across linked targets.
- Karnesis (telekinetic throw) to lift and slam enemies for synergy.
- Trinkets: Everlasting (increases Havoc duration), Hard Landing (damage on landing).

• Recommended Build: Tank + Nexus + Octrans helmet (electrified melee) for a full-on brawler.


• When to use: When you need to survive heavy fire, clear rooms, or take on multiple enemies at close range. Excellent for boss Visionaries.




3. Karnesis (Telekinesis)



• Obtained from: Fia Zborowska (Conditions: Usually at the Complex – Afternoon, may need to set up).


• Effect: Throw enemies or objects with telekinetic force. Can lift single targets and slam them into walls or off ledges.


• Base Cooldown: ~10 seconds (short cooldown).


• No duration – instant cast. The lift lasts ~2 seconds before slam.


• Upgrades:

- Long Reach: Increases range of the grab.
- Slam: Enemies thrown take extra damage and explode on impact with the ground.
- Raid: Pull enemies toward you instead of throwing them away. Useful for close-quarters kills.

• Synergies:

- Havoc (melee-enhanced) – lift then melee.
- Nexus – lift a linked enemy to affect all linked.
- Shift (teleport above crowd) + lift/slam for area damage.

• Recommended Build: Long Reach + Slam + Faster Cooldown trinket for constant disruption.


• When to use: Crowd control, environmental kills (railings/mines), separating tough enemies, disabling turrets by lifting them. Extremely versatile.




4. Nexus (Enemy Linking)



• Obtained from: Charlie Montague (Fristad Rock – Evening, condition: find the password).


• Effect: Link up to 3 enemies (base) so that damage or status effects apply to all linked targets simultaneously. Headshots from a single bullet can kill the entire group.


• Base Duration: ~10 seconds of link.


• Cooldown: ~12 seconds.


• Upgrades:

- Ripple: After killing a linked enemy, the link jumps to nearby unlinked enemies automatically.
- Influence: Increases the number of enemies you can link (up to 5).
- Anchor: Linked enemies are slowed and cannot move as effectively.

• Synergies:

- Aether (invisible massacre) – link then execute with silenced weapon.
- Havoc (linked enemies take melee explosion damage).
- Karnesis (lift linked enemies to damage all).
- Trinkets: Brain Boost (faster power regen) to spam Nexus.

• Recommended Build: Ripple + Aether + silenced SMG = chain-kill entire rooms without a sound.


• When to use: Groups of patrols, crowded parties (e.g., Aleksis's mansion), before triggering alarms. Best crowd-control slab.




5. Shift (Teleportation)



• Obtained from: Wenjie Evans (The Complex – Morning / Afternoon, after disabling her security).


• Effect: Teleport to a targeted location within line of sight. Can be used for instant repositioning, climbing, or escaping.


• Base Range: ~15 meters.


• Cooldown: ~8 seconds (very short).


• Upgrades:

- Airborne: Aim and teleport while in midair (allows double Shift during a single jump).
- Reach: Doubles teleport range.
- Hover: Briefly slow time in midair after teleporting, allowing easier aiming.

• Synergies:

- Aether (teleport while invisible for silent approach).
- Nexus (teleport above linked enemies for aerial assault).
- Karnesis (teleport behind a lifted enemy).

• Recommended Build: Airborne + Reach + Sidewinder trinket (tighter aim while moving) for mobile gunplay.


• When to use: Always valuable for exploration, flanking, escaping tight spots, and creating vertical advantage.

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Recommended Slab Builds

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Trinkets & Passive Boosts

While not skills, Trinkets significantly enhance your slab performance. Key trinkets for each:

• Extended Duration (Aether/Havoc): +30% duration.


• Swift Cloak (Aether): Move faster while invisible.


• Everlasting (Havoc): +50% duration.


• Brain Boost (All): +40% Power regeneration rate.


• Faster Cooldown (All): Slab cooldown -30%.


• Sidewinder (Mobility): Tighter hip-fire while moving/shifting.


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General Tips




• Infuse your favorite slabs early; Residuum is scarce at first.


• Each slab can be used offensively or defensively; experiment with upgrades.


• The Hackamajig is not a skill but is invaluable for turning turrets against enemies – pair with Aether for safe hacking.


• Reprise charges refresh when entering a new district (tunnel). If you die once, you can still retreat and return to reset charges.


• Remember that Slabs consume Power; use Trinkets like Brain Boost to keep your blue bar full.

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This guide covers every character skill in Deathloop for Colt. Mastering these abilities is the key to breaking the loop efficiently.