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'''Strategy''' in [[Deadlock]], at a very basic level, involves leading your army into enemy territory down 3 lanes, destroying objectives and eventually killing the enemy team's [[Patron]]. However, the methods for doing this are where the depth and the complexity come in. [[The Cursed Apple]] is separated into Three lanes: York, Broadway, and Park. An army of [[Troopers]] will be deployed marching down each lane. 2 players will be sent down to each lane.

== Laning ==  
[[File:Map.png|thumb|The mini-map in the bottom-right corner of ''[[Deadlock|Deadlock's]]'' HUD.]]  

Laning is the process of managing the troopers on a lane and destroying objectives along it. At the start of each round, players are assigned to three lanes according to a 2-2-2 setup, with two players in each lane.  

Support-centric characters like Paige or {{HeroIcon|Dynamo}} typically perform best when paired with a high-DPS counterpart with sustain or poke abilities, like {{HeroIcon|Shiv}}.

'''Laning''' is strategically divided into three phases:  

* '''Laning Phase (Early game)''': Players focus on winning their lane by managing troops, [[Jungling]], looking for easy kills, and gaining a [[souls|Soul]] advantage.  
* '''Midgame''': Players who have secured an advantage in their lane begin roaming to assist teammates, while all players continue farming objectives to strengthen their team’s position.  
* '''Endgame''': Teams work to solidify their [[souls|Soul]] advantage, engage in most of the teamfights, and push to attack the enemy [[Patron]].  

This new three-lane setup encourages more dynamic teamplay, with an increased focus on coordination and rotations.
== Team Composition ==
A '''Team Composition''' is the 6 heroes a team employs in battle. Strategically employing heroes whose abilities complement each other, or who work best with a certain playstyle is significant for team strategy. For example a {{HeroIcon|Dynamo}} can use Singularity to trap a number of enemies, while a friendly {{HeroIcon|Infernus}} charges up his Concussive Combustion, guaranteeing that the explosion blasts every target in the vicinity.

== Objectives ==
Taking down Objectives is crucial to unlocking [[Extra Slots]], gaining more Souls for the entire team and earning control of the map, thus gaining a tactical advantage over the enemy.

It's important to find the opportunity to unlock Extra Slots as soon as possible. For example, if one [[Guardian|Guardian]] is down at the end of Laning Phase, it's usually more advantageous for the team to take down a second Guardian than try to attack [[Walker|Walkers]], as taking down all enemy Guardians unlocks an Extra Slot.

=== Secondary Objectives ===
The [[Soul Urn]] and the [[Mid-Boss]] are secondary objectives that aren't necessary to win the game, but can give a strong boost to the team who secures them, either to hold an advantage or to turn the tide in their favor. They can also be used to bait the enemy team into a fight and leave their main Objectives unprotected for a short time.

=== Pushing Lanes ===
Lanes are pushed by killing enemy troopers and objectives. The length of the lane (seen in the zipline and minimap) is based on the progress of the last trooper wave. A lane can only be pushed as far as the closest enemy objective. At the start of the game, the enemy and allied lanes are frozen at the midpoint until one of the Lane Guardians are destroyed. Attacking a Walker or a Base Guardian without pushing their lane first gives them backdoor protection, in which they take much less damage and can regenerate damage taken.

==Micro Strategies==

=== Uptime ===
'''Uptime''' is the amount of time you spend actively contributing to something in a match, usually by creating pressure against the enemy team or collecting Souls for your team. Time spent farming Denizens, harassing enemies, pushing troopers towards enemy Guardians, and Walkers contributes to '''uptime''', as opposed to "downtime" which can include time spent respawning, idly waiting for objectives to spawn, and rotating aimlessly around the map.

=== Positioning ===
Managing your '''positioning''' will allow you to control more space on the map, be effective in teamfights, deny enemy pushes, and utilize your Hero's abilities most effectively. Controlling more area of the map increases the viable farming area for both Denizens and enemy Troopers for your team. '''Positioning''' in teamfights or in smaller skirmishes is critical; staying safe but active in the fight will allow you to apply pressure to the enemy while removing the opportunity for them to gain an advantage by killing you. 

=== Cover Usage ===
Like any shooter, using corners and walls allows you to be covered against almost all skills and items, since most of them require Line of Sight to be activated or cause damage. Heroes will lean around cover when close to the cover's vertical edge, exposing their head hitbox. 

At present, the third person camera is locked to each Hero's right shoulder, which means that peeking on the right side of cover will always expose you less than the left side. Using this to your advantage in the laning phase will give you a significant advantage when trading weapon damage.

=== Aiming ===
Some Heroes require more accuracy and skill expression regarding '''aiming''', such as {{HeroIcon|Vindicta}}, but overall '''aiming''' is a crucial part of ''[[Deadlock]]''.

=== Map Knowledge ===
Knowledge of the [[Map|Map's]] layout. This includes, but is not limited to, [[Cosmic Veil]] locations, [[Powerup]] locations, and [[Teleporter]] locations.

=== Rotations ===
The process of traversing one part of the map to enter another. '''Rotation''' can be related to concepts such as ganking or roaming. Terminology from DOTA 2 calls ganking in the art of appearing from a fog of the jungle to surprise - and potentially kill - enemies, but '''rotations''' are more broad and are related to creating space in different lanes and related concepts.

=== Movement ===
{{Main|Movement}}
The process of moving and positioning your Hero. Involves [[Ziplines]] and [[Stamina]] usage in addition to sliding.

=== Troop Management ===
The process of killing enemy [[Trooper]]s and '''denying''' the enemy from getting [[Souls]] from their Trooper kills. Can also be referred to as Creep Management.

'''Creep/Troop denial''' is a crucial part of the game's laning phase and involves shooting the Souls of one's own trooper when they are killed. This prevents enemy laners from obtaining Soul Orbs by killing Troopers. Denying Souls is still effective after the laning phase, as Souls increase in value as the game continues. Denying Souls after the lane phase grants all Souls to the denier, which can be an effective way to individually gain more Souls if you are farming for an important item. 

Pushing up lanes by killing enemy Troopers spreads your team's area of control and removes farmable space from the enemy. If your team is able to control more of the map by pushing up Troopers, friendly Ziplines will extend and allow Trooper reinforcements to help push [[Guardian|Guardians]] and [[Walker|Walkers]], further pressing your advantage.

=== Freezing a Lane ===
By carefully damaging enemy troopers to equalize the number of troopers on each team within a lane, it is possible to "freeze" a lane in place so that the troops neither advance nor fall back. By only last-hitting troopers as they die, it is possible to deal very little additional damage to the lane and effectively keep it "frozen" indefinitely. 

This tactic is useful to keep troops close to your Guardian or Walker for your own safety. By preventing your troops from pushing forward, you can stay within the safe zones of your defenses.

It is also useful for denying your opponent's access to farm due to the distance from their defenses. Since your guardian or walker is the point furthest from their guardian or walker, freezing a lane on your side of the map can make retreat difficult for your opponent.

=== Counters ===
Using counter items is an important strategy to deal with strong enemies. Picking counters requires knowing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and which items are the most effective against them. Active items are often a good choice. Here are some examples of counter items:

* {{ItemIcon|Debuff Reducer}} and {{ItemIcon|Debuff Remover}} are effective against heroes who rely on passive damage over time, such as {{PageRef|Bebop}}, {{PageRef|Infernus}}, {{PageRef|Mirage}}, and [[Debuff_Remover#Heroes_with_abilities_that_are_removed_by_Debuff_Remover|others.]]  
** These items are also useful against heroes who depend on stuns, sleep, and similar crowd-control effects, such as {{PageRef|Haze}}, {{PageRef|Mo & Krill}}, {{PageRef|Seven}}, and [[Debuff_Remover#Interactions_with_Crowd-Control|others.]]  

* {{ItemIcon|Metal Skin}}, {{ItemIcon|Return Fire}}, {{ItemIcon|Battle Vest}}, {{ItemIcon|Weapon Shielding}}, and {{ItemIcon|Bullet Resilience}} are effective against heroes who deal high burst weapon damage, such as {{PageRef|Haze}} and {{PageRef|Vyper}}.  

* {{ItemIcon|Healbane}}, {{ItemIcon|Decay}} and {{ItemIcon|Toxic Bullets}} are effective against heroes with strong healing abilities, such as {{PageRef|Abrams}}, {{PageRef|Lady Geist}}, and {{PageRef|Shiv}}.  

* {{ItemIcon|Slowing Hex}} is effective against heroes who rely on movement-based abilities, such as {{PageRef|Vindicta}}, {{PageRef|Grey Talon}}, {{PageRef|Holliday}}, and [[Slowing_Hex#Heroes_with_abilities_that_are_silenced_by_Slowing_Hex|others.]]  

* {{ItemIcon|Silence Wave}} and {{ItemIcon|Silencer}} are effective against heroes who rely on constant ability usage. As they apply a {{Silenced|silence}} effect to the target and reduce outgoing spirit damage respectively. This makes them strong counters to heroes such as {{PageRef|Yamato}}, {{PageRef|Pocket}}, and {{PageRef|Lady Geist}}.
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