If you play League, Dota or Heroes of the Storm, you already understand the hardest part: lanes, farming, items, objectives, and why the team ahead in gold usually wins. What's new is that Deadlock is a third-person shooter, where you aim everything yourself.

The dictionary

  • Gold and experience are one resource: souls.
  • Minions and creeps are troopers.
  • Towers are Guardians, then a giant Walker. In the base there are Base Guardians and two Shrines.
  • Nexus or Ancient is the Patron.
  • Jungle camps are Haunts.
  • Roshan or Baron is the Mid-Boss, in a pit under the middle of the map.
  • Shops are all over the map, so you don't have to walk home.

Farming

Part of a trooper's souls go to nearby allies and the rest float up as an orb you shoot. You deny by shooting the enemy's orb first. The best trick is a melee last hit: no orb spawns and you get everything instantly. Haunts don't drop orbs; all damage dealers are paid.

Waves have two ranged troopers, a melee trooper and a medic, spawning every 30 seconds and speeding up later. You can shoot trooper vessels on ziplines to pull the wave where you want.

Aiming

Your gun is your auto-attack and there's no target lock. There's no fixed range: bullets simply lose damage with distance, so every gun has a sweet spot that acts as your real range. Headshots do 1.65 times damage. Damage is either weapon (like attack damage) or spirit (like ability power).

Trade using cover, since walls block bullets, and keep strafing. Standing still is the most common MOBA-player mistake. Easy heroes to start on are Abrams, Infernus, Haze, McGinnis, Paige and Vyper.

Movement

Movement is its own skill. Shift is a dash that costs stamina, like a short-cooldown flash with a few charges. Dash jump when the bars turn blue, first wall jump is free, one air dash per jump, and double-tap crouch in the air to drop. The map is vertical with rooftops and ziplines, and no fall damage. Parry on F stuns a melee attacker for 2.75 seconds, and there are no wards: use sound, sight and the minimap.

Abilities and items

There's no mana, only cooldowns. Each ability has three upgrades, like a skill order. Items come in weapon, spirit and vitality, with bigger bonuses the more you spend in one category (the 4.8k spike). Sell misbought items before leaving the shop for a full refund. You can hold four actives, and every enemy Walker destroyed unlocks an extra slot, up to three. Buy bullet or spirit resist depending on what kills you.

Roles

Four roles: brawler, marksman, mystic, assassin. There are no fixed carry, mid or support positions. Everyone farms and needs items, and a hero who gives all their farm away falls behind fast.

Macro

  • Walkers are tanky early and weaken over the first eighteen minutes, so early Walker dives are usually wasted.
  • The Soul Urn spawns near a bridge, alternating yellow and green lanes. Carry it across the map for souls and buffs.
  • The Unstable Rift opens around minute eleven and then about every seven minutes.
  • The Mid-Boss drops the Rejuvenator as three crystals after the October 30 update, each giving your team a revive.
  • Comebacks are built in: the losing team earns extra souls and captures the Rift faster, so don't give up at minute ten.

Keep and drop

Keep farming every wave, tracking objective timers, spending souls and watching the map. Drop standing still while shooting, fighting at max range, early Walker dives and giving up early.