I’ve been hooked on Deadlock ever since it first appeared in August. After scavenging through Reddit and Discord for an invite, I eventually got to sample it—and I love it.
I’m a solo traveler, and those hotel nights can get very lonely, especially when insomnia kicks in. Nothing comes in handy during such times as a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game. Valve’s latest hero shooter game, Deadlock, seems to be my perfect pastime.
If you aren’t in the loop, Deadlock is Valve’s new hero shooter game inspired by some of their previous games, including Overwatch, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2. If you loved those games, Deadlock will blow your mind.
If you’ve just got an invite from a friend and don’t know how to play the game, we’ve compiled a simple Deadlock guide to help you get your feet wet before you tune into the action.
What is Deadlock About?
Deadlock is just like Overwatch or Smite, but it’s better. It is a 6-on-6 shooter game (third-person shooter) by Valve where you and your hero squad try to capture territory on a map, pushing your opponents behind the enemy line. That’s not all.
Besides your crew, the designers ensured you command a bunch of NPCs down four lanes (I will explain more below), cutting down their defenses, like most MOBA games.
Deadlock Beginner’s Guide: The Basics
Deadlock is the real deal for MOBA lovers; it differs greatly from typical shooter games. Valve ensured gamers got decent movement and aim. We all understand how movement makes for a perfect shooter game, and Valve included jumps (double jumps) and slides.
It’s not your typical MOBA designed in 2D. It’s designed in a verticle play space where you can experience some cool reflexes during action – above, below, behind, and even pull surprise moves on your opponents. Simply put – it has a lot of that shooter game DNA.
However, what will bake MOBA buff noodles is the Curiosity Shop. There’s tons of artillery here. You not only get to have body shots but can go extremely dark with headshots. That’s not all. The game modes make this game enticing. The objective is not just the regular shot, kill, and win.
If anything, the core objective of this game is to push your opponents behind enemy lines, taking over territory. Players get to destroy buildings, shoot at the enemy squad, and eventually take over their base and kill the Patreon (much like the Nexus in League of Legends).
And while this is action gamer 101, your character is usually very weak in Deadlock when you begin the game. But as you progress and shoot more troopers – your character earns powers and gets stronger to the point they can destroy buildings and gain advantage over the enemy by getting to their base.
That’s essentially the core objective of Deadlock. There are several ways to do it, and with multiple characters to choose from, something that makes Deadlock – a must-have in 2024.
Laning in Deadlock
Now that you’ve understood the idea behind Deadlock and its objective let’s discuss the details more. Perhaps you must first familiarize yourself with the term ‘Laning.’
To understand Laning, you’ll have to check out Deadlock’s map. You’ll discover that the game is segmented into four lanes. From the right going left, you’ll note these lanes marked in purple, blue, orange, and yellow.
Don’t panic if you are colorblind. When you begin, the lanes will be marked with the first letter of the color. For instance, ‘purple’ will be marked by the letter ‘P.’
As you get into the lane, the action begins, and you’ll spot both friendly NPCs and enemy troopers after about every 30 seconds. You must get into the lanes and take them out, forcing yourself further into enemy territory and eventually pushing the map.
Transit Lines
You’ll notice that transit lanes hover over each lane (Yellow, Orange, Blue, and Purple). These transit lanes are a big part of Laning on the Deadlock game. And it’s quite simple what they do – off the base, the character can jump on them and get transported to the lane that’s been assigned to them.
However, you can still take advantage of the transit lines occasionally, especially if you want to get to Laning early in the game. Some players might use the transit line boost to get to their lanes quicker than their opponents. While it could give a competitive advantage – it doesn’t do much to help you progress in the game.
Also, it is impossible to jump on the transit lines while you are in combat. You’ll notice that the character won’t be able to jump high enough to get to the transit lines on Deadlock (when you are getting shot at).
Once you are on the transit line for three seconds, there’ll be a sort of halo outline over the character that will prevent you from getting shot at by your opponents.
Quick Tip: A rule of thumb is to save the boost for when you progress into the lane rather than use it early on the transit lines. Also, check on your opponents before jumping on the transit lines – be strategic to avoid getting hit.
The Jungle
You’ve probably heard of the Jungle if you played League of Legends or Dota. Well, Valve carried out this name to Deadlock. It doesn’t look much like a jungle (more of a concrete jungle) like in the previous games.
In this concrete jungle, you meet neutral camps with glowing monsters. In contrast with the lanes, these monsters won’t attack unless you shoot at them. So, why bother them? Well, destroying them gives you souls that add to your ultimate level.
There are three different types of camps, each with their difficulty level marked at their locations on the maps. Make sure you check on these as you proceed.
Quick Tip: Look for the rectangle icon with a circle on the map. They are marked ‘Sinner’s Sacrifice,’ and when maleed, offer a ton of souls to the character. They look like some sort of soul slot machine.
Curiosity Shop
You’ll see a green marker at the bottom left of your screen indicating the number of souls in your inventory and what you can spend on the items in the shop. You only need to press “B” on your keyboard to see what’s in the shop. You can do this anytime during the game – the only restrictions are on making a purchase. Purchases can only be made at your base or at the many shops on the map.
The Items Store ‘Curiosity Shop’ is categorized into Builds, Weapons, Vitality, and Spirit.
It is important to understand this part since it causes the most challenges for most newbie gamers. Still, the Item’s Store on Deadlock is easier to use than other MOBA games.
Quick Tip: During the game’s onset, each team will have five Item shops on their side of the map. You’ll find one at the end of the lanes. Watch out for the ‘Secret Shops’ in the middle of the lanes. Also, the Curiosity Shops will only be open as long as the Guardians are alive. Once they are shot – the shops will be closed.
Souls and Player Levels
As stated earlier, your character will be very weak at the onset of the Deadlock game, but as you progress and shoot your opponents, they will gradually strengthen. Your character in the game will get stronger by getting souls.
Once you shoot an opponent, a soul will appear. When your character picks this soul, they’ll get stronger. There’s more perks to this. You’ll get more weapon damage, better base health, and more abilities.
The number of souls needed to level up each character is the same. Still, some characters have different abilities from others as they level up. You can check these stats on the flask icon on your health bar.
Quick Tip: Keep tabs on the number of souls you have (and your opponents) during the laning phase. It’ll give you a competitive advantage over your opponents progressing in the lanes. It’ll give you a better chance of getting your ultimate ability earlier than your opponent.
The Boss
You’ll meet the Boss (Mid Boss) at some point in the game. Challenging the boss when you have acquired a good number of souls, take out your opponents, and have some backup from your team is important.
The Mid Boss is located in the middle of the map and comes out (respawns after ten minutes). As stated, getting rid of this boss is a team effort and requires the help of your squad.
Quick Tip: You can’t destroy this boss alone if you don’t have the damage. When you halve the boss’s life, a sound queue will play for everyone to hear (including the opponents). When you kill the boss, you’ll hear the sound queue, “The rejuvenator is descending.” You’ll not have killed the boss entirely. They’ll morph into a green crystal requiring the teams to break open for rewards.
The Soul Urn
The Mid-Boss is not the last objective of the Deadlock game. You still have another objective – the Soul Urn. While overlooked by novice players, the Urn is quite beneficial during the mid-game. The objective is to pick it up and drop it off at a designated spot on the map (to a different color lane).
Quick Tip: Once you pick the Soul Urn, your opponents can see it on the map and the designated drop-off point. If you successfully drop it to the spot, the rewards will be split equally among your squad members. The character who does the task gets more bonus than others in the team (25% extra souls).
While I could talk all day about what I’ve learned on Deadlock, I wouldn’t want to spoil your fun. The best part about playing games, like in real-life situations, is overcoming challenges. I’ll let you figure out the rest of the stuff as you acclimate.
If you have access to the game and would like to try out Deadlock with your friends, you can send out an invite and enjoy this amazing MOBA hero shooter game. If you want to see a first-hand view of the game, we recommend checking out MarcoStyle on YouTube for a candid tour.