Strategy

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What's the plan?

Strategy in Deadlock refers to the game knowledge and techniques employed by players in pursuit of destroying the enemy Patron.

Phases

The state of the game flows erratically, with teams at advantages or disadvantages from any number of factors at play. However, players generally consider the game to occur in three major phases, with different priorities and objectives.

Laning

Laning is the opening phase of the game, where pairs of players from each team attempt to gain an advantage over the opposing team, while preventing the enemy from doing the same. Laning phase is generally considered to be over when half or more of the towers on the map have been destroyed, leaving players free to roam across the map. Not every lane is winnable, but mitigating a loss can also be valuable in the long run.

Some factors to account for during the laning phase are:

• Matchups, or the strengths and weaknesses of the players in your lane. This is based on your hero's inherent capabilities, your playstyle, individual skill or build.
  • For example, if you and your partner are supports with low capacity for damage (ex. Paige and Rem), it may be best to play under your Guardian, to avoid being overrun.
  • While on the initial zipline ride to lane, swapping with other players on your team can let you play with a more synergistic partner, or pair you with a less dangerous enemy duo.
• Resources, or understanding the tools available to players in your lane at each point in time.
  • Certain soul breakpoints can make you weaker or stronger than your opponents (ex. buying more/stronger items, or unlocking your abilities first).
  • Abilities are also a resource -- for example, Lash's Ground Strike can only be used twice a wave, and requires setup beforehand. Knowing when enemies have abilities helps you assess whether or not you should take a fight.
  • Objectives that spawn during lane can also be converted into resources (ex. camps, Bridge Buffs, and the urn).
• Wave Priority, which represents the state of the Troopers in your lane. Troopers will do a deceptively high amount of damage to you if overextended, and should not be ignored. By ensuring your troopers can push further up the lane, you create more safe space in the lane for you and your partner (and likewise a more dangerous space for the enemy duo).
  • If coordinated, you can strategically allow an enemy wave to destroy (or clash) with your own in a risky-to-reach spot. This can force enemies to make risky plays to secure your troopers, or risk missing out on the heal and souls.
• Ganks, where players might leave a lane to assist another.

Midgame

Midgame is the period immediately after laning ends, when players become free to roam across the map and are looking to solidify their leads. Players from each lane may join the midgame at different times, and it's important to pay attention to when different players may be free. Midgame generally ends once a substantial advantage is gained (ex. a large soul lead, multiple walkers down), and start looking to end the game.

Some factors to account for in the midgame are:

Lategame

Lategame is the period where players are looking to end the game. This stage of the game is marked by taking map objectives, sieging the enemy base and long respawn timers.

Some factors to account for in the lategame are:

Objectives

Objectives are universally relevant throughout the game, and can be claimed for rewards, or destroyed so that your team may advance. The Ritual takes place in pursuit of its ultimate objective of destroying the opposing Patron.

Defenses

Each team has a set of defenses that prevent the opposing team from advancing too far. While these defenses do not have to be destroyed to win the game, these objectives must be destroyed to allow your troopers to advance.

Destroying defenses also rewards the responsible hero and team. 30% of rewarded souls are given to the hero(s) responsible, with the remaining 70% being evenly distributed across the team.

• Guardians are the first layer of defense and stay in each lane. Destroying a Guardian rewards 1250 souls.
• Walkers protect the center of each lane. Destroying a Walker rewards 3500 souls and an extra slot.
• Base Guardians defend the entrance of the base from Troopers. They do not fully prevent enemy hero entry, but will prevent damage to Shrines until at least one set is destroyed. Destroying a Base Guardian rewards 1000 souls.

Base Defenses

Base defenses are the final layer of objectives required to win the game. These objectives are linked to one another, trigger retaliatory attacks from the enemy Patron, and often require coordinated pushes from the entire team.

• Shrines protect the Patron from attacks until both are destroyed. Destroying a Shrine rewards 2000 souls, sends stronger enemy troopers down its lane, and heals its partner shrine.
• The Patron is the ultimate objective of the Ritual, and must be destroyed in two phases. After the first phase is destroyed, the enemy team's respawn timers are drastically shortened, and it gains damage resistance while enemy players are in its radius.

Map Objectives

Map objectives are reoccurring objectives, unaffiliated with either team. While not necessarily required to win the game, they offer strategic advantages to the team that secures them. These objectives often cause teams to rotate or fight, creating opportunities to contest or push now-undefended defenses.

• The Soul Urn spawns at 10:00, then every 5 minutes thereafter. Claiming the Soul Urn rewards the hero responsible with permanent buffs, as well as a sizeable amount of deniable souls.
• The Unstable Rift spawns between 10:00 and 12:00, then every 8 minutes thereafter. Claiming the Unstable Rift rewards the winning team with souls and a wave of Rift Troopers. If a rift is contested for long enough, it will eventually expire.
• The Mid-Boss spawns at 0:00, and respawns faster every time it is destroyed. Destroying the Mid-Boss spawns the Rejuvenator, granting team-wide buffs and instant respawns until it is either consumed or expires. Rejuvenator charges are vital for pushes and provide a map-wide advantage to your team.

Macro

Macro is the strategic decisions made about the map, pressure and objectives. It is often referred to as the "invisible" influence your team exerts on the map, but can majorly influence the outcome of a game nonetheless.

Map Knowledge

Knowledge of the Map's layout helps with maximizing uptime, positioning, rotations, and other crucial aspects in greater strategies throughout the game. This includes, but is not limited to, knowing Cosmic Veil locations, Powerup locations, and Teleporter locations.

Timings

Knowing Timings for events on the map can allow you or your team to gain significant advantages for a duration of time, or help you know what's available for you to do.

Timings to know regarding enemy heroes:

• Ultimate abilities are available to unlock when the enemy reaches 3.8k souls, which can significantly tilt fights in lane.
• Zipline Boost is unlocked at 6 minutes. If you kill an enemy hero at 6 minutes, they can generally return to the lane much sooner than usual.
• Respawn timers become longer as the match goes on, reaching about 35s at 20 minutes. As such, kills become more significant as the match goes on, representing missed income for the deceased and map pressure for the opposing team.

Timings to know regarding the map:

• Bridge Buffs spawn every 5 minutes, and are a significant force multiplier for the next 160s.
• The Spirit Urn spawns every 5 minutes, and can be used to secure a soul lead.
• The Unstable Rift spawns every 8 minutes after its initial spawn, and can be used to secure a soul lead as well as apply significant pressure on a lane.
• Waves spawn every 30s in lane, with increasing frequency as the game goes on (see Troopers). If you plan on leaving lane, it is generally best to do so right after securing the wave. In a similar vein, it is best to return to lane after leaving or dying before the next wave arrives.
• Midboss spawns every 6 minutes, with increasing frequency after each Midboss killed. Care should be taken not to die while Midboss is (or is soon-to-be) available.

Timings to know regarding pushing objectives:

• WIP

Uptime/Presence

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, and 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.

Pressure

Pressure represents a team's effective threat on a map -- for example, the risk of a fight breaking out, a gank on an enemy player, or the amount of farm available to safely claim. Pressure can be manipulated by player leads, hero rosters, or pushing and freezing lanes. By being aware of pressure, you can anticipate what might happen next in a match, and have more objectives available to you and your team.

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 Guardians and Walkers, further pressing your advantage.

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 limiting your damage to the wave, it is possible to 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.

The healing from the medic pack dropped by a medic trooper can heal your minions and change the balance of the wave state, inadvertently causing your wave to push and breaking the freeze. You can prevent this from happening by keeping your distance from your own wave as it dies and collecting the medic pack only after a few of the minions in your wave have died.

Micro

Micro is the tactical decisions made during individual fights, and represents mechanical player skill. By understanding and improving upon micro, small changes in your gameplay can lead to winning major fights and maintaining map-wide presence through rotations.

Cover

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.

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.

Movement

Main article: Movement

The process of moving and positioning your Hero. Involves Ziplines and Stamina usage in addition to sliding. Movement can let you avoid damage and is critical to rotate around the map effectively.

Economy

Economy refers to the overall soul situation on your team. Players and teams with more souls can afford more items and become stronger, gaining significant advantages in all aspects of the game. Economy is closely intertwined with macro and micro -- good macro will lead to a better economy, and a better economy will improve your micro advantages in each fight.

Tempo

Tempo refers to the efficiency of your economy and build. Generally speaking, builds are designed to reach important power spikes for your hero as soon as possible, without compromising upon your survival or versatility. By farming more efficiently, cutting down on less useful items, or knowing when to reach certain spikes in response to different situations, tempo can be improved, allowing you to "race ahead" of enemy players in terms of power.

Counterbuying

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:

• Debuff Reducer, Dispel Magic and Divine Barrier are effective against heroes who rely on passive damage over time, such as Bebop, Infernus, Mirage, and others.
  • These items are also useful against heroes who depend on stuns, sleep, and similar crowd-control effects, such as Haze, Warden, Seven, and others.

• Metal Skin, Return Fire, Battle Vest, Weapon Shielding, and Bullet Resilience are effective against heroes who deal high burst weapon damage, such as Haze and Venator.

• Healbane, Decay and Toxic Bullets are effective against heroes with strong healing abilities, such as Abrams, Lady Geist, and Victor.

• Slowing Hex is effective against heroes who rely on movement-based abilities, such as Apollo, Shiv, Calico, and others.

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

Soul Lead

Earning more souls than your opponent makes you and your team stronger and more likely to win. During the laning phase generating a soul lead over your opponent causes you to get your ultimate before your enemies which can then be used to snowball your advantage.

Box Running

Box running refers to moving around the map in certain routes to collect souls and buffs from Crates and Golden Statues. Pushing the wave into the enemies' tower can give you time to box run and get back to lane without missing out on collecting souls from troopers.

Jungling

"Jungling" or "farming" refers to clearing Neutral camps to earn more souls. Unlike some MOBAs, Deadlock doesn't have a dedicated Jungler role, but some heroes can clear camps faster than others. Some items such as Cultist Sacrifice and Ricochet also help players clear camps more efficiently.

Clearing a trooper wave is generally faster and rewards more souls than a Neutral camp, so it's recommended to clear camps in between trooper waves. The camp respawn timer only starts once all of its Neutrals are dead, so players should clear the entire camp when possible to avoid stalling respawns (Sinner's Sacrifices must be cleared as well). Or alternatively, players can leave one or more Neutrals alive in camps in enemy territory to stall its respawn.

When jungling, players need to be careful to avoid roaming assassin heroes who might steal their unsecured souls.

Funneling

Funneling refers to when the collection of souls on a team is purposefully imbalanced so that a hero can earn more souls than the rest of their team. This is most relevant on carries who become strong with a soul lead. The simplest method of funneling is to have only one person collect the souls from a lane so that the souls aren't split between two players.