You just installed Deadlock. Valve made a game with 43 heroes, a jungle full of monsters and a working economy, and then basically said good luck. Here is the tutorial they forgot to make.

You are going to die. A lot. Your teammates might blame you for it. That is normal.

The goal

Deadlock is 6v6. Each team protects a giant god called a patron. If you've played Dota or League, it's that, but you're the one aiming the gun. If you haven't, even better: you have no bad habits yet.

The map is a haunted version of New York called the Cursed Apple. One team's base is uptown, guarded by the Archmother. The other is downtown, guarded by the Hidden King. You win by pushing all the way into the enemy base and destroying their patron.

Lanes

There are three lanes: blue is Broadway, green is Greenwich, and yellow is York. In each lane, little puppet soldiers called troopers ride in on zip lines and march toward the enemy. Your job is to help yours win and kill theirs.

Every lane is guarded by defenses: first a guardian, then a giant walker behind it. They shoot back and they hurt, so don't hug them early.

At the start, your team splits across the lanes. Stay in yours, farm, and don't go sightseeing. Between the lanes is the jungle, full of monsters called haunts.

Souls

Souls are your money and your experience at the same time. You buy items with them and you level up with them.

  • When a trooper dies, a soul orb floats up. Shoot it quickly, or the enemy will shoot it first and steal your money.
  • As you collect souls you level up and earn ability points, which you spend to upgrade your abilities.

More souls, more power.

Heroes

Every hero fits one of four roles:

  • Brawlers, like Abrams, run in and take hits.
  • Marksmen, like Vindicta, win with their gun.
  • Mystics, like Seven, win with their abilities.
  • Assassins, like Kaze, hunt anyone who walks around alone. Don't be that person.

Every hero has a gun and four abilities, and the fourth is the ultimate. Guns all work differently: shotguns, sniper rifles, rapid-fire guns, even a bow. Try a few until one feels right in your hands.

How a game ends

In every lane you knock down the guardian, then the walker, then break into the enemy base. Destroy the base guardians and two shrines, and finally kill their patron.

The game also quietly helps whoever is losing, so comebacks happen all the time. It isn't over until the patron falls, so don't type GG at minute eight. When you die you respawn at base and ride the zip line back out: dying isn't the end of the world, just a long, embarrassing commute.

Next steps

Watch the follow-ups in the Basics series: the map, souls and items, how to stop dying, and your first ten games. All of them are in the Beginner Fundamentals section.