Deadlock Comprehensive Guide
Deadlock is a new hero-based MOBA-shooter developed by the legendary studio Valve, known for iconic game series like Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Dota, Team Fortress, and Portal. Deadlock is currently in closed testing on Steam, and to get access, you need an invite either from Valve or from someone who already has access. We were lucky to get one of these invites at the end of summer, and after playing actively for over a month, we have plenty to share. We hope our Deadlock Comprehensive Guide will be useful to you.
Table of content
About Deadlock
Though Deadlock is a hero-based MOBA-shooter, unlike Overwatch and its imitators, and even Valve’s own TF2 where the focus is on shooting, Deadlock places a heavier emphasis on MOBA mechanics. These mechanics are well-crafted, and it’s rumored that IceFrog, the legendary developer behind Dota 2, is behind the game’s design. Deadlock feels like it has IceFrog’s signature touch. If we were asked to describe Deadlock based on our first impressions, we’d say it feels like Dota from a third-person perspective—the influence of IceFrog is that strong. But if you dive deeper, you'll see that the game mechanics are highly diverse, leading to a unique gameplay experience all its own.
Deadlock Gameplay
In Deadlock, like in traditional MOBAs, there are towers, creeps, and a main structure that you must destroy to win. The game features 4 lanes and 6 players per team, meaning some lanes will have two players while others will have one. The game automatically assigns players to lanes, and if you’re in a party of two, you’ll be placed on the same lane. To reach your lanes, you’ll use monorails that run along the 4 lanes, from base to base.
Currently, there are 22 characters in Deadlock, with 3 more in active development. Additionally, there are 117 items in the game, making every match unique, much like other MOBAs. However, since Deadlock is also a third-person shooter built on Source 2, movement plays a crucial role, further adding variety to in-match strategies. Even among other third-person MOBAs, Deadlock stands out due to its vertical gameplay in addition to the usual horizontal gameplay typical of the genre.
Deadlock Farming
As in classic MOBAs, to buy items and level up, you need to farm creeps. The main currency in Deadlock is souls, which are used to purchase items. Skill points, required to upgrade abilities, can be gained by collecting a certain number of souls (whether you spend them or not). You can view your current progress towards skill points by holding the ALT key and hovering over the flask icon. You also gain skill points when enemy buildings are destroyed or when you or your teammates deliver a Souls Urn.
Apart from the lane creeps that spawn every 25 seconds, there are neutral creeps in camps that provide temporary souls, which you lose upon death. These souls become permanent after a certain time. The neutral creeps are divided into:
- Small creeps: spawn at 2 minutes, granting 45 souls, respawning every 4 minutes.
- Medium creeps: spawn at 7 minutes, granting 95 souls, respawning every 6 minutes.
- Large creeps: spawn at 7 minutes, granting 240 souls, respawning every 8 minutes.
In Deadlock, "last-hitting" is crucial. When you kill a creep, hero, or building, souls will drop, and you need to shoot or hit them in melee to collect them. If no one collects the souls in time, they will automatically go to the last person who landed the kill. However, enemies can also collect the souls, depriving you of them. You can do the same to their kills. A melee kill will instantly grant you the souls. Up until the 10th minute, some souls from lane creeps will go directly to you after a kill, but after that, all souls must be actively collected.
Other Activities in Deadlock
Besides lane and neutral creeps, there are other objectives in Deadlock. For example, the Souls Urn spawns at the 10-minute mark on the outer lanes and reappears every 5 minutes. The objective is to carry the Soul Urn to the opposite lane from where it spawned. Doing this rewards your team with souls and the carrier with a skill point. While carrying the Souls Urn, you can’t shoot, melee, use skills, or items, so if you have an ability to increase your speed, you should use it before picking up the Urn. Your team receives 60% of the souls instantly, while 40% drop and need to be collected. The carrier also earns an additional 25%. The soul reward is calculated as 1500 + 200 souls per minute, so at 10 minutes, the Urn will contain 3,500 souls.
Around the Deadlock map, you’ll find boxes and vases that drop souls or temporary buffs when broken. These buffs can also be found on bridges between the outer and middle lanes. In the middle of the map, there’s a mid-boss. Defeating this boss gives your team souls, strengthens your creeps, and provides a respawn boost to all living teammates. After depleting the boss's HP, a crystal appears, slowly descending to the ground. You must hit the crystal with a powerful melee attack to get the rewards. If the enemy hits the crystal instead, they receive the benefits, regardless of who killed the boss.
Deadlock Movement
Movement in Deadlock is a skill-based mechanic that is challenging to master. The game offers numerous movement tools, such as:
- Double jump
- Wall jump
- Dash
- Air-dash
- Sliding
Mastering the combination of these mechanics and the game’s physics allows you to surprise your enemies with unpredictable movement. Movement in Deadlock isn’t just about getting around quickly; it’s an integral game mechanic. Using movement techniques properly can help you farm more efficiently, fight better, or escape from enemies. For instance, sliding grants you an infinite ammo magazine, so even when farming, you need to think about how to move efficiently to farm faster. A downward dash allows you to descend quickly from heights, useful for dodging skills or escaping. Most movement abilities consume stamina, which is displayed next to your crosshair.
There are also subtle movement tricks. For example, melee attacks give your character a slight boost forward, and sloped surfaces can increase speed, allowing you to "surf" and move faster.
Deadlock Melee Combat
Deadlock introduces a unique melee combat system. Each character has both a basic attack and a charged attack. The charged attack causes the hero to lunge forward slightly. If performed in the air, the hero momentarily pauses and then glides forward, creating an opportunity to improve movement around the map and reach certain locations. In addition, there is a blocking mechanic. Blocking a melee hit will stop incoming damage, and if it’s a charged attack, the attacking character and nearby enemies will be stunned for a short time. Blocking lasts for a brief moment and has a cooldown, so it must be used with precise timing.
Deadlock Items
As in most MOBAs, Deadlock allows players to buy items and create builds to enhance their effectiveness in combat or when pushing buildings. For new players, there is a list of recommended builds provided by Valve, but much like Valve's previous MOBA, the starting builds aren't ideal. Even beginners are advised to simply pick the most popular build.
Items in Deadlock are divided into three categories:
Weapon Items - focus on increasing damage and offensive utility.
Vitality Items - focus on improving survivability and defensive utility.
Spirit Items - increase Spirit power, which enhances the effectiveness of active skills and items, along with boosting damage and survivability.
Spirit power is a stat responsible for strengthening active skills and items.
Each hero has 4 item slots for each type of item (Weapon, Vitality, Spirit). However, there is an additional locked block with 4 universal slots. These can be unlocked by destroying enemy buildings, and in these slots, you can equip items of any type. Items can be either active or passive, and active items take up one of the four available slots for active abilities.
Deadlock Game Stages
Much like Valve's previous MOBA, Dota, Deadlock is divided into three phases:
- Laning Phase: This is a skill-based stage where how well you play your lane will determine the next 10-15 minutes of the game. If you win your lane, you can roam the map and assist your team. If you lose, you’ll have to focus on farming for 10 minutes, as you won't be able to do much else. Winning this phase requires strong micro-skills and an understanding of your opponent's intentions.
- Mid Game: This phase is influenced by your hero and early game. If you have a strong hero and didn’t lose your lane, you’ll start moving between lanes to help your teammates push. You aim to control as much of the map as possible, making it easier for farming heroes to get what they need.
- Late Game: By this point, heroes will have built up many items, making team coordination the most important factor. When everyone has a lot of stats, it becomes difficult to solo-kill enemies. Winning in the late game requires good positioning, target selection, proper ability usage, and the right item choices for your build.
Conclusion on Deadlock
Deadlock is a unique MOBA-shooter, not because it's the first of its kind, but because it’s the first to perfectly combine both genres without feeling like a shooter with MOBA elements or a MOBA with third-person mechanics. The movement mechanics, in particular, stood out during our playthrough. While it seems simple at first, the more you play, the more you realize that the movement, combined with the map design, is highly polished and strategic. Does Deadlock have potential? Absolutely! The game is highly addictive, and the more you play, the more you want to keep playing. We believe the game is worth your attention, and we hope this guide has been helpful!
Change Log
- xx.xx.2024 - Deadlock Comprehensive Guide published.