Dashing is a fundamental part of movement in Deadlock. Dashing allows you to quickly evade attacks, to reposition fast and efficiently, and is a basic building block for other basic and advanced movement techniques.

Dashing
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Tech Type: Universal Tech
Difficulty: Basic Mechanics
Character Dependent: No
Inputs: Dash

Dashing takes one bar of stamina. You can dash both in the air and on the ground; when done in the air, it is called an Air Dash. You are only permitted one Air Dash per jump at the start of the game; this can be expanded to two with the Vitality Item Stamina Mastery.

Dash Directions

Using a keyboard, you can dash in four directions on the ground (the four cardinal directions) and nine in the air (the eight inter-cardinal directions plus directly down). If you are using a joystick to move, you can dash at any angle on the ground and in the air.

While in the air, you have access to one other direction to dash to; down towards the ground. When you dash towards the ground, it is called a Down dash. To down dash, double tap the duck key; once you press the duck key, you have a 28 ticks (0.44 second) window to press it again.[1]

 
Dash choices on the ground.

Dash Jump

0.3 seconds after starting a grounded dash, a window to execute a Dash Jump will open for 0.2 seconds,[2] during which the stamina bar flashes a light blue. This window is solely activated by starting a grounded dash; if you leave the ground after initiating the dash, you are still able to dash. For more information, view the dedicated page on Dash Jumping.

Dash Speed Buckets

While everyone in the roster has the same dash distance, they have different dash speeds. Characters fall into three buckets[3]:

  • Bucket 1 characters have the fastest dash speed, with peak speeds of 635 u/s on the ground and a total dash time of 0.62 seconds.[4]
  • Bucket 2 characters have 9% slower dash speed, with peak speeds of 579 u/s on the ground and a total dash time of 0.68 seconds.[5]
  • Bucket 3 characters have the slowest dash speed, being 12% slower than Bucket 1, with peak speeds of 562 u/s on the ground and a total dash time of 0.70 seconds.[6]

Dashing on the ground always sets your velocity to a fixed amount. Air Dashing is an impulse instead, meaning it can stack or conflict with prior momentum.

 
Dash choices in the air.

To dash, move and press the dash key. Your character will quickly move in that direction.

Hero Dash Buckets

Hero Dash Buckets
Bucket 1 Bucket 2 Bucket 3
  Calico   Apollo   Abrams
  Celeste   Billy   Bebop
  Grey Talon   Drifter   Dynamo
  Haze   Graves   Kelvin
  Holliday   Infernus   Lady Geist
  Ivy   Lash   Mo & Krill
  Mina   McGinnis   Paige
  Paradox   Mirage   Rem
  The Doorman   Pocket   Shiv
  Seven   Venator
  Silver   Victor
  Silver (Transformed)
  Sinclair
  Vindicta
  Viscous
  Vyper
  Warden
  Wraith
  Yamato

Dash Slow

Some abilities and items reduce dash speed for the target or, rarely, for the caster. This Dash slow applies to dash speed without affecting time dashing. The end result is reduction in dash distance.

Abilities that decrease dash speed

This is a dynamic list "dashslow". Edit contents · Edit notes.
Hero Ability Dash Slow Notes
  Bebop   Hyper Beam 40%
  Celeste   Shining Wonder 25% T1 upgrade increases dash slow by 15% (total 40%).
  Haze   Sleep Dagger 50% (T3)
  Kelvin   Arctic Beam 20%
  McGinnis   Heavy Barrage 18% (T1) Gives 35% dash slow for the caster.
  Mo & Krill   Sand Blast 30% (T2)
  Rem   Naptime 25%
  Victor   Aura of Suffering 25% (T1)
  Shocking Reanimation 30%

Items that increase/decrease dash distance

This is a dynamic list "dash distance". Edit contents.
Name CostCategoryStat change
  Slowing Bullets1,600  Weapon-22% Dash distance
  Weighted Shots3,200  Weapon-22% Dash distance
  Haunting ShotLegendary  Weapon-40% Dash distance
  Metal Skin3,200  Vitality-20% Dash distance
  Stamina Mastery3,200  Vitality+23% Dash distance
  Colossus6,400  Vitality-25% Dash distance
  Mystic Slow1,600  Spirit-12% Dash distance
  Slowing Hex1,600  Spirit-30% Dash distance
  Lightning Scroll6,400  Spirit-12% Dash distance
  Vortex Web6,400  Spirit-40% Dash distance

References

  1. Tested using exec_async, using the amount of space between +duck inputs.
  2. abilites.vdata, m_flDashJumpStartTime and m_flDashJumpEndTime
  3. Buckets is the official terminology used by Yoshi. Source: July 29, 2025 Update
  4. heroes.vdata, hero_tengu, EGroundDashDuration = 0.620000. This is the same for all Bucket 1 characters.
  5. heroes.vdata, hero_gigawatt, EGroundDashDuration = 0.680000. This is the same for all Bucket 2 characters.
  6. heroes.vdata, hero_shiv, EGroundDashDuration = 0.700000. This is the same for all Bucket 3 characters.