I will tell you all the details you need to know about Deadlock, tips on the heroes, items and many important points in this guide.
Deadlock Items, Heroes and Goals
Complete guide about goals, heroes, items and much more.
Settings
The graphics in the game are not very demanding, so it works at a high frequency even on fairly old systems. But if you want to feel like a cyber-cutlet, you can set the graphics to minimum and get hundreds of FPS.
The mouse and keyboard settings may be unusual. If you played heroic shooters like Valorant or Overwatch, it will be strange that the abilities are tied to a number row. MMORPG players should have it easier.
If you are thinking about reassigning keys, then it is better to put the abilities next to WASD, like E, X, C, Q and F – if you are used to other shooters.
Mouse sensitivity settings also depend on skill and habit. Launch the training mode and try different settings to find the most optimal for you.
Gameplay
Players are randomly assigned to lanes, where two of the four lanes are 2v2 and the other two are 1v1.
Between the lanes are alleys filled with monsters that can be killed to gain Souls. There is a boss in the middle of the map that can be killed to gain an advantage.
The map is mirrored on both sides, and each lane has several towers that need to be destroyed to reach the enemy base.
Each lane spawns minions on both sides. You need to kill the enemy minions to gain Souls, which can be spent on items. You also need to destroy all the towers in the lane before reaching the enemy base.
There are three types of towers in the lane: Towers, Walkers, and Base Guardians.
• Towers are the first line of defense and where the early game begins.
• Walkers are the second line of defense, and the strongest of the three. They deal the most
damage and can take more hits, as they need to get in close to deal maximum damage.
• Base Guardians are the last line of defense. There are two of them next to each other in the
lane, and if they are killed, you will gain access to the base.
When your team gains access to the enemy base, you will face Temples and a Patron.
Temples are the equivalent of Inhibitors in LoL. You need to destroy both Temples before you can damage the Patron. Once both Temples are destroyed, you can start attacking the Patron. When it dies, it turns into a Weakened Patron, and if you destroy it, you win. If the enemy does the same to your base, you lose.
Goal
The goal in a Deadlock match is simple: destroy the enemy Patron in their base before they destroy yours. If you’ve played other MOBAs like League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, or Dota 2, it’s the same story.
The Patron is your ultimate goal. But to get there, you’ll need to constantly attack your opponent and destroy their defenders.
In a tight game, teams will be constantly attacking and defending, but in one-sided matches where one team is clearly stronger, breaking through the defense won’t be difficult.
Lanes and their purpose
In-game, lanes are indicated by color on the map and transit lanes. Players are assigned lanes based on hidden MMR (matchmaking rating) matches, but are otherwise randomly assigned. There are no fixed roles for each hero, meaning everyone should be actively farming and contributing to the team. The items you buy and the order in which you level up your abilities will determine the role you play with your hero, though some heroes may naturally lean towards certain roles.
Heroes and their choice
Based on the leaked build, Deadlock will offer 19 playable characters at release. We already know that each of them will have four usable abilities, and some of them are very reminiscent of characters from past Valve releases. For example, the Warden hero is almost an exact copy of the Soldier from Team Fortress 2.
It is impossible to derive the meta and estimate which of the characters will be strong or popular at the time of publication due to the too small sample of matches. In addition, judging by the leaked gameplay, the game is not so demanding on the mechanical aim skill due to the fact that all characters have different abilities that will decide the outcome of the fight.
To increase your chances of playing the desired hero, right-click to add them to your favorites during the hero selection before queuing for a match. Adding a hero to your favorites does not guarantee that you will get it, but it significantly increases the chances. If you favorite 2 of the 3 required heroes for the queue, you will almost always get one of the two in every match.
Items
Like any MOBA, Deadlock has a shop to buy items to help improve your character. Different items will improve your stats, and some of them have active abilities.
There are three classes of items: Weapon, Lifeforce, and Spirit.
Weapons improve your weapon by increasing damage, fire rate, reload time, or magazine size. Some upgrades also add effects like Lifesteal or Bleed.
Lifeforce improves your health by increasing your HP, Lifesteal, Bullet Shield, and Spirit Resistance. These items make you more durable.
Spirit combines elements of Lifeforce and Weapon, as well as other upgrades. Some items improve survivability, others improve attack, and some improve abilities.
Items can be purchased at shops located near each lane, in the center of the map, and at your base. The lane shops close when the local guardian is defeated, but the base and mid secret shops remain open throughout the match.
Managing Souls and Maintaining Leadership
If you find yourself falling behind in Souls, it’s likely because you’re too focused on chasing down the enemy rather than landing last hits and denying Troopers during the laning phase. Once laning, be sure to destroy the jungle camps between the map’s main objectives and “catch” the Trooper waves near your Guardians or Walkers to secure last hits. Staying up in Souls also requires actively engaging in kills and assisting your teammates. Additionally, smashing crates and vases around the map after the 3-minute mark can yield Souls, while Golden Idol statues provide small, permanent buffs that stack over time.
Saving Ammo
Ammo often runs out because you shoot too many enemies or unnecessarily attack soldiers with high health. You only need to shoot soldiers when their health is low enough to trigger their death animation, then shoot the Soul Orb that appears. The Ammo Scavenger item can help by returning ammo every time you successfully hit the Soul Orb for the last time.
What are soul spheres and why are they needed?
When you last hit an enemy soldier, hero, or structure, they release green soul orbs that disappear after a short time, giving you your full soul value. Enemies can shoot these orbs to drain your souls, so you should shoot the contested orbs, but you can skip shooting the green orbs if there is no enemy threat. After 10 minutes, only the soul orb gives souls, so the last hit on soldiers becomes less important.
Jungling
Jungling are valuable, and all heroes can become junglers to some degree. There is no dedicated jungler role because camps respawn slowly and soldier waves offer more rewards. Clear out jungler camps when you are not busy with primary objectives. Camps are marked on the map with green triangles with various symbols indicating their difficulty level. Additionally, “safe” camps have Sinner’s Sacrifice machines that give extra souls at the cost of health.
Unprotected Souls and their Provision
Unprotected souls can be obtained from neutral jungle camps, and are dropped on death for others to collect. These souls gradually become protected over time, but are more reliable to secure by spending them on items. The number of unprotected souls is indicated by a red icon next to the soul counter.
Levels and Ability Points
Your level is based on the total number of souls you collect in a match, regardless of whether they’re spent. Holding ALT and hovering over the flask icon in the bottom left corner of your health bar will show you when you’ll receive level-up bonuses, including unlocking new abilities, gaining ability points (AP), and increasing your hero’s power stats like health and damage.
Navigating the Item Shop
If the item shop is overloaded, you can view player build recommendations by clicking on the Heroes option in the main menu and selecting your hero. During the laning phase, aim to buy a few Tier 1 items to improve your laning performance, then Tier 2 core items if you’re doing well. Each item category provides a specific bonus, such as increased weapon damage for weapon items or extra health for life force items.
Flex Slots and their Unlocking
Items in your inventory are categorized by type, with the rightmost block reserved for flex slots. These slots can hold items from any category, and are unlocked by destroying enemy targets in the following order: a walker in one lane, all four enemy walkers, base guards in one lane, and one of the shrines inside the enemy base.
What is the Power of Spirit?
Spirit Power is a damage type represented by the color purple, similar to bullet (or gun) damage, which is orange. Some hero abilities and stats scale with Spirit Power, represented by a purple star with an arrow pointing up. The exact scaling can be seen by holding the ALT key in-game.
Mastering the Running Jump
Your stamina bar flashes blue, indicating the time to perform a running jump, which uses the same stamina as two dashes but covers a greater distance. This move is useful for getting into combat, escaping, or quickly moving around the map.
Melee and Parry
Melee attacks deal damage based on your level and weapon items. Parrying, which performs an F attack, silences the enemy hero who melees you, making them vulnerable to increased melee damage from your attack. Parrying is especially useful against heroes who rely on melee fighters in the ranking, such as Abrams. Melee can also provide kills on soldiers without the risk of them being denied.
Urn of Souls
The Urn of Souls is an objective that spawns 10 minutes into the match inside chalk outlines on yellow or purple bars. You can carry it to the opposite spawn point to collect souls for your team, with a 25% bonus for the carrier and +1 ability point.
The souls generated by the urn can be deflected, so be sure to shoot or melee them before leaving after delivery. The urn limits your ability to cast spells, use items, or shoot, but if you have a movement ability, you can activate it right when picking up the urn for extra mobility.
Middle Boss
The mid boss spawns 10 minutes into the match and drops an item called Rejuvenator when defeated. This item speeds up your team’s respawns, buffs your soldiers with extra HP, and increases your fire rate to help you push lanes.
The mid boss can only be damaged after passing a DPS check and must be actively attacking someone to be vulnerable. Rejuvenator can be obtained by hitting him with a strong melee attack, but be aware that it can be stolen by the enemy team.
Transit Line Mechanics
When you join a transit line, an enemy shot stuns you, deals damage, and often kills you. Avoid using transit lines during combat or near enemies. After safely joining a line, you gain a buff for 3 seconds (or immediately if you are joining from inside your base) that makes you immune to shots, indicated by a blue glow around your hand.
Movement Speed and Sprint Speed
Each hero has a base movement speed, which is displayed in the lower left corner of the screen. Sprint speed is added to your movement speed if you haven’t taken damage recently, which is indicated by a change in your running animation and white lines trailing behind you. Sprint speed is a stat from certain items, and is innate to some heroes, such as Bebop and Lady Geist.
Space Curtains
Space curtains are gray barriers that either block your view or only allow you to see in one direction, appearing as walls or iridescent walls. These curtains do not impede movement, but they do affect what you can see depending on your position relative to them.
Goals after the Guard
Once you take down the enemy Guardian in your lane, help your teammates with ganks, group up to take map objectives like the Urn, mid boss, or enemy walkers, and keep farming camps and soldier waves to maintain your lanes and steady income.
Distribution of Souls
Souls are split equally between nearby teammates, with the exception of hero kills, where the killer gets the majority. Up until 10 minutes, both lane partners gain full soul value while next to each other from soldiers. After 10 minutes, souls are only given when a Soul Orb is confirmed, making denials more meaningful.
Handling Disconnections and Replacements
If a player leaves your game, you can request a replacement in Discord with the match ID and report the person leaving if it was intentional. You can pause the match with the P key if the player is likely to return soon. If a player leaves the game, the match becomes safe for everyone else. To subscribe to a match, spectate it and look for the replace button in the ESC menu.
View Match History and Replays
You can view your match history and replays by clicking the view profile button in the top right corner of the main menu. Select a match to play the demo. If you encounter a fragment error, try watching another match before returning to the one you want to watch.
