Souls are the one resource in Deadlock. You don't earn gold for items and experience for levels separately. Every soul you collect counts towards your next level and can be spent in the shop. Buying an item never costs you a level.
What souls do
You collect souls by killing troopers, enemy heroes, neutral creatures and objectives. Your level depends on how many souls you have collected in total, so a hero who farms well levels up and buys items faster at the same time. That is why last hits matter so much in the lane: every soul is both power now and power later.
Level table
There are 36 levels. This is how many souls each one takes and what you get when you reach it.
| Level | Total souls | You get |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Ability unlock |
| 2 | 200 | Ability point + Boon |
| 3 | 500 | Ability unlock + Boon |
| 4 | 900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 5 | 1,400 | Ability unlock + Boon |
| 6 | 2,000 | Ability point + Boon |
| 7 | 2,600 | Ability point + Boon |
| 8 | 3,200 | Ability unlock + Boon |
| 9 | 3,900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 10 | 4,600 | Ability point + Boon |
| 11 | 5,300 | Ability point + Boon |
| 12 | 6,000 | Ability point + Boon |
| 13 | 6,800 | Ability point + Boon |
| 14 | 7,600 | Ability point + Boon |
| 15 | 8,400 | Ability point + Boon |
| 16 | 9,200 | Ability point + Boon |
| 17 | 10,100 | Ability point + Boon |
| 18 | 11,000 | Ability point + Boon |
| 19 | 11,900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 20 | 12,800 | Ability point + Boon |
| 21 | 13,800 | Ability point + Boon |
| 22 | 14,900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 23 | 16,100 | Ability point + Boon |
| 24 | 17,400 | Ability point + Boon |
| 25 | 18,900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 26 | 20,600 | Ability point + Boon |
| 27 | 22,500 | Ability point + Boon |
| 28 | 24,600 | Ability point + Boon |
| 29 | 26,900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 30 | 29,400 | Ability point + Boon |
| 31 | 32,100 | Ability point + Boon |
| 32 | 35,000 | Ability point + Boon |
| 33 | 38,100 | Ability point + Boon |
| 34 | 41,400 | Ability point + Boon |
| 35 | 44,900 | Ability point + Boon |
| 36 | 48,600 | Ability point + Boon |
Abilities and ability points
You start with one ability unlocked. You get the other three at levels 3, 5 and 8, so all four, ultimate included, are available by 3,200 souls.
Every other level gives an ability point. Each ability has three upgrades that cost 1, 2 and 5 points, which is 8 per ability and 32 for the whole kit. A full match gives you exactly 32, so you can buy every upgrade if the game goes long enough. Early on you can't, which is why the order you upgrade in matters.
A common pattern: put the 1 point upgrades on the abilities you use most, then save for the 5 point upgrade on your best ability. Each hero page lists what every upgrade does, and ability pages show the numbers after each one.
What a boon gives
From level 2 onward every level is a boon, 35 in total. A boon permanently raises your base stats. The amounts depend on the hero: health per boon ranges from 27 on Mina to 65 on Mo & Krill, and most heroes gain about 1.1 spirit power per boon.
Boons are small one at a time, but they add up. By level 36 a hero has 35 boons stacked on top of their starting stats. Every hero page shows that hero's growth, and the comparison table lines them all up.
Quick answers
What is a boon in Deadlock?
A boon is a level-up. Every level from 2 to 36 is a boon, and each one permanently adds a little health, weapon damage, melee damage and spirit power. That's 35 boons in a full match.
What is the max level in Deadlock?
Level 36, which takes 48,600 souls.
When do you get your ultimate in Deadlock?
You get your fourth and last ability unlock at level 8, after 3,200 souls. From then on you can have all four abilities, ultimate included.
How many ability points do you get?
32 over a full match, which is exactly enough to buy all three upgrades (1, 2 and 5 points) on all four abilities.