Deadlock Guide: How to Play Valve’s New Gem

The biggest mistake you can make when playing Deadlock is to think of it as a basic shooter and hope your good aim can carry you. It’s part Overwatch, part LOL/Dota and it can be brutal if you don’t know what you’re doing. Valve clearly designed this one to reward players who actually learn the systems, not just run and gun. That’s where this guide comes in. Whether you’re figuring out which hero fits your style, how to build gear that actually matters, or just how not to feed your team into oblivion, I’ll break down everything you need to get a head start.

Deadlock Heroes & Roles

Deadlock has 32 heroes to pick from and while playing/testing all of them is a fun idea, it’s not recommended if you want to get better. Here are some of my tips when it comes to hero selection:

Team Comps

Before jumping into the match, you’re going to need to pick a hero that you want to play with. When you play solo, the ability to adjust according to your team composition could potentially increase your chances of winning. 

In order to have a balanced team, the best practice is to have at least one tanky hero, one healer/support, and reliable damage dealers. And when I say the tank, I mean more of someone who can front line and force some ults to deal with them. 

Heroes with a lot of health/resistance can be in fights longer and make some disruptive and risky plays. You get the gist of it and while all of this is peachy, until we get pick/bans draft matches, there’ll always be some matchups where your team will feel completely off. 

Hero Mastery

The best way to make sure that you aren’t the problem is to focus on a handful of heroes instead of swapping every match. Try to get a decent amount of knowledge about one hero before you move onto the next one. You having a grasp on your hero can be a deciding factor on whether you win or lose. 

You know that saying: “Jack of all trades, master of none” (but without the “better than master of none” part).

Core Gameplay & Basics

Getting a grasp of the fundamentals should be no-brainer. Yet many of us overlook it and don’t dedicate enough time to it. Rather, we assume we know it and just move onto more complicated stuff. So my advice to you is to focus on mastering these things before doing that:

Movement

Movement is everything. Positioning wins fights. Being able to know where to put yourself in a fight is massive. Also, to get yourself from point A to B quickly  and how to get out of fights is a great skill to have. With the right combination of jumps, zips, dashes and slides – you’ll be flying all over the map.  

Map awareness

Since there’s only one map right now, learn the choke points, high grounds, and rotation routes. Getting yourself familiar with the map will benefit you immensely. Knowing the fastest route to each lane will make the difference in your team winning fights or losing, every second counts. So my advice to you is to take 30 minutes or more, enter “explore NYC” mode, and just run around. Check every nook and cranny. See where everything is. You’ll thank me later.  

Do your objectives

In a Deadlock, having the most kills still means nothing if you don’t finish your objectives. Yes, you can blame it on your team but whose fault is it, really? Securing points and pushing the lane matters more than chasing frags. I can’t stress the importance of this enough. Not only will you get stronger, unlock more slots for gear but if your lane is cleared, you’ll have more time to help teammates. Which ultimately leads to victory. 

Deadlock Combat Tips

Now,I’ve mentioned this multiple times but there’s more to being good in Deadlock than just having a good aim. Here are a few tips to help you win fights easier:

Pick fights wisely 

Deadlock punishes solo heroics. Chances of you winning ganks/2v1 are slim to none unless you’re playing against complete noobs). Stick with your team. Be the one who ganks not the other way around. And if you see that enemies are stronger, just step back and focus on your objectives. 

Burst damage vs. sustain damage

If you already listened to what I have to say so far then the next thing will be a no-brainer for you. It’s important to know which heroes excel at melting squishy targets versus holding down areas. Knowing which one you are and which your opponent is, will make all the difference. Especially at the start and mid game. If you’re a squishy target trying to 1vs1 a tanky enemy with a ton of survivability, guess who is going to win. I’ll tell you, definitely not you.

Use your surroundings

One of the traits that makes a great player is being able to use everything at your disposal. Which also includes being able to use your surroundings to win fights. Grappling above enemies or setting up ambushes from rooftops is one example. Using walls and other things to avoid damage is another.

Deadlock Gear & Upgrades

Ok, I know I’ve already said this multiple times but this is actually one the most important things to master. Gear management is what makes a difference between a good and a bad player. Here is everything you need to know about it:

Early economy management

In the early stages of the game it’s important to remember to not overspend. Focus on impactful upgrades first, upgrades that will help you the most with a progression. You don’t want to come to mid or late game and regret all of your decisions that you made earlier on, just because you thought it’s good or you were tilting and wanted to get revenge “faster”. That’s one thing I see newer players make mistakes with.  

Prioritize mobility or damage early

One of the choices that you’ll have to make early on is either focus on mobility which keeps you alive and helps you to go to other lanes faster to maybe assist your teammates. Or focus on damage which snowballs faster if you’re winning fights. It all depends on a hero that you pick and your playstyle. 

Synergy builds

In Deadlock, what separates a good player from a bad one is the ability to match your gear with your hero’s role. If you prefer to play tanks, investing in sustain is always a good option. Or if you enjoy playing assassins then you should invest in burst. You get the gist of it. In case you’re having a hard time determining what gear to get, there’s a tab with a suggested build from another player. You can see what they use and why they do it. It’s a great system that I suggest using until you get a better grasp of things.

Deadlock Counter-picking

As important as knowing what gear your hero needs to shine is also what gear shuts down other heroes. Which leans more to the advanced side but with time and practice, you’ll learn how. All you need to do is step back and think, having prior knowledge of what each hero can do is a must. Let’s take for example one of the heroes that usually can be a pain to deal with, Ivy. She has a great fire rate and life steal, so in order to deal with her we’ll need some sort of equipment that reduces that, right? Yes, for example if you buy Healbane, it reduces healing effects on target. You get the point, knowing what’s the strength of each hero also means you can find how to deal with them. 

Deadlock Map Control

Getting a monopoly over the map is a vital part of a game that many of us don’t pay attention to. In order to have a better map control, i suggest following these advices:

Hold high ground

Just like in most shooters, holding a high ground in fights adds a certain percentage to your chances of winning fights.

Vertical advantage = vision + survivability.

Also, don’t force high ground, there’re times when you can do more damage from ground. I know it kinda contradicts what I said but what I’m trying to say is to pick your moments. If your team is in a fight and you ulting can save a day, it makes no sense to be up.

Lane rotations

As important as clearing your lane is, knowing when to rotate is equally important. Don’t overcommit to one side, Deadlock rewards flexible lane swaps. If you manage to clear a wave on your side and then rush to teammates to help them gank, it would be huge. It would put you above 90% of players who play the game.

Spawn timing awareness

And in order to successfully achieve lane rotations and gain advantage over the enemy, knowing when items or objectives reset is essential. It’s such a miniscule thing but the benefit from learning it is huge. For example in Deadlock, small jungle camps spawn at 2 minutes and respawn every 4 minutes, while medium and hard camps (tier two and three) spawn at 7 minutes and respawn after 6 and 8 minutes.

Advanced Tips

You followed all of my advice so far or you already knew all of it and you’re wondering what else you can do to improve. Don’t worry, I got you:

Communication & pings

Being able to communicate to your team valuable information is another thing that separates good from bad players. Even without voice chat, effective pings win games. If you let your teammates know that you’re coming, you can prevent them from diving too soon. Or if enemies disappear, you can let them know. All the information can be provided by simple click. And I’m not saying that you have to spam, just share vital info. You don’t need to do a full report every time you take a breath.

Ult economy

In a huge fight, timing is everything. I know how adrenaline rush can hit you and you just start spamming everything at your disposal. Which might work for you in some cases but against an experienced player that won’t work. Don’t use ultimates randomly, stagger them for constant pressure. That’s the best way to get your “money’s” worth.

Mental & Strategy

If you ever played any competitive game in your life then you know that it can get stressful. And no matter how hard you try, you might start a match on a bad note. In those moments it’s important to stay calm and try to do your part as best as you can. In order to do that, here’re a couple of tips that might help:

Play the long game

It might not look good for you now but Deadlock has MOBA pacing, small leads snowball over time. Just keep grinding, clear waves, help teammates, and eventually you’ll be able to turn tides to your advantage. It will pay out eventually.

Adapt builds mid-match

It’s important to adapt across the match and the best way to do that is to counter enemies with gear swaps. Which is why I said in the previous paragraph to keep your head down and grind. Once you’ve done that, the element of surprise is on your side. 

Stay alive > high KDA

Lastly, it has to be said, deaths hurt more than kills help. Especially when you’re in a late game, if you die and it’s 60 seconds till respawn, lets just say a lot can change. Your team is automatically at a disadvantage and chances of losing are higher than ever. So remember to check yourself occasionally and there’s no shame in stepping back.

Conclusion to Deadlock Guide

Deadlock is still a new game and as we come close to the launch, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of changes that will affect how you play the game. I’ll make sure to keep this article up to date. 

I sincerely hope this guide helps you get better in Deadlock or atleast improve your winrate. Is there anything important that I missed? Let me know in the comments.