Our Deadlock guide has everything you need to know to master the game in no time. As a new title experimenting with both the MOBA and hero shooter genres, this Deadlock beginners guide will get you on the right track to dominating every lobby you enter.

MOBA Game Logic defines Deadlock
The premise of Deadlock is similar to any MOBA out there. As a team-based game, six players face off against one another on a map which consists of four lanes. On either side of the map, teams must defend their base and Patron while attacking the enemy.
The most basic aspects of this Deadlock guide are outlined in the in-game tutorials titled, ‘Get Started’, ‘Hero Training’ and ‘Lane Training’ – definitely worth checking out.
After selecting their particular hero, players earn souls (the in-game currency), fight over control of the lanes, and take out enemy structures. As the game progresses, players have the opportunity to buy items and upgrade their characters. Once strong enough, winning involves storming the enemy base and destroying the enemy Patron.
The over-arching aim of how to play Deadlock is to:
- Earn souls to purchase items and upgrade your hero
- Take down enemies and enemy structures
- Defend your structures

Third-Person Shooter Gameplay
While the narrative of a match is typical of any MOBA, players interact with Deadlock as a third-person shooter.
All Deadlock how to play guides need to focus on teaching you mechanical skill, be it aim training, positioning or lane dynamics. Unlike the 2D nature of other MOBAs such as Dota, players in Deadlock have control of the three-dimensional movements of heroes. This involves moving in all directions, jumping, taking ziplines and relying on mechanical aim to target enemies and structures.
Accordingly, mastering Deadlock tips involves getting to grips with the movement which is similar to third-person shooters like Fortnite for example.
Specifically, this involves using a mouse and keyboard with inputs to:
- Move in all directions
- Jumping and sprinting
- Sliding
- Melee attacks and charged melee attacks
- 3 standard abilities
- Ultimate abilities
Your Deadlock Guide to all Characters and Roles

Kicking off with 21 heroes, Valve hasn’t revealed whether or not a role system is to be implemented in Deadlock, such as in other MOBA titles.
Here’s a table of all the Deadlock characters currently in the game:
Abrams | Bebop | Dynamo |
Grey Talon | Infernus | Ivy |
Kelvin | Lady Geist | Lash |
McGinnis | Mo & Krill | Paradox |
Seven | Shiv | |
Vindicta | Viscous | Warden |
Wraith | Yamato |
Upon experimenting in the Hero Sandbox, you’ll notice that some heroes have their unique Deadlock roles. Considering queueing for a match involves picking three heroes (some as Priority or High Priority), we recommend becoming familiar with at least three of them.
Roles include the following:
- Engage/Tanks – Abrams, Mo & Krill, Warden
- Poke/Snipers – Grey Talon, Paradox, Vindicta
- Duelist/Split Pushers– Lady Geist, Wraith, Yamato
- Healer/Supports – Dynamo, Ivy, Viscous
- Assassins – Wraith, Pocker
Each hero has its own standard abilities and ultimate ability. In addition, heroes devised for jumping between lanes are known as junglers and are designed for Deadlock jungling. Meanwhile, depending on the particular build, heroes can be made to adapt to certain roles.
Helping teammates to take down enemy heroes is known as ganking.
When it comes to Deadlock characters, each one is presented with a certain build. This is the pairing of a hero with certain items to emphasize certain abilities. Deadlock offers an in-game database of public builds which players can copy.
Deadlock Map Design & Lanes

One of the more unique aspects of the title is the Deadlock map design. Upon loading up a game, players are assigned a random lane to kick off the laning phase – whether it’s purple, blue, orange and yellow. From 6 players, two lanes will feature 2 players and two lanes will only feature one player.
- In the laning stage, Deadlock objectives have players share souls with allied heroes close to you, this mechanic ending with the mid-game.
Like any other MOBA, laning helps players build momentum by farming souls and claiming space. Once enough souls are earned, buying items is possible which helps in achieving the objective of destroying the enemy Guardian. Creeps are little minions that are easy to take out while Walkers take a bit more effort.
Deadlock’s version of a MOBA Tower, Lane Guardians need to be taken down in order to progress in an enemy’s lane and end the laning phase.
- Once the laning phase is over, the mid-game starts.
Between Lane Guardians, enemy Walkers and Creeps occupy the area up until reaching the Base Guardian. Meanwhile, friendly troopers charge the enemy.
With a pair located in each lane, the Base Guardian is the final barrier ahead of the enemy base accessed in the late-game.
- Late game play, usually involves taking down the enemy “base”, with two Shrines being your last challenge, before being able to destroy the enemy Patron.
Those familiar with MOBA gameplay, immediately realize this is similar to all other MOBA titles out there. In that sense, Deadlock betting will likely follow the same game logic and betting markets as other MOBA titles.
Other Key Elements of Deadlock

Now that you’ve mastered the anatomy of the Deadlock map, let’s dive into some more detail in this Deadlock guide.
Firstly, in between the four lanes lie neutral camps (green triangles). Consisting of neutral characters available to both team junglers for farming, controlling these camps is essential.
In addition, the middle of the map features a Mid Boss which is a huge challenge to take down. Once dead through, it drops a powerful item – The Rejuvenator – granting 50% speed and strength buffs to the team that claims it.
Moreover, the Spirit Urn is another map item which teams can claim to reap souls.
Beyond souls, gold idols and crates offer buffs for characters and temporary powerups.
Moving around the map involves the use of either ziplines or teleports to speed things up compared to running.
Deadlock Items

Souls are needed to buy Deadlock items from The Curiosity Shop, but how does one earn souls?
After taking out creeps or neutral cramps or any target for that matter, players have one step further to claim the reaped souls – shooting the soul orb. Only in the case of melee hits do soul orbs not appear.
These floating orbs are also open for your enemies to claim, so beware of stealing.
With souls aplenty, there are three types of items available for purchase in Deadlock:
- Weapon – upgrade weapon damage, fire rate and ammo capacity
- Vitality – upgrade health pool, resistance to damage and rate of regeneration
- Spirit – upgrade spirit damage, cooldown, abilities and bonus effects
Every item has four tiers – the higher the tier the more expensive and powerful.
Players have the opportunity to occupy four slots for each item type. Pick the right ones early and develop them or be forced to sell them later on. Flex Slots are offered by taking out the following:
- First Walker
- All Walkers
- All Enemy Lane Guardians
- First Shrine
Items are either passive or active. Passive items offer benefits without any input, while active items are activated with a press of a key such as Z or X.

Deadlock Ranks
In the early access stage so far, Valve has been tight-lipped about Deadlock ranks.
While winning and losing does affect your MMR, which influences match-making, it cannot be tracked and Valve hasn’t outlined how it works.
While there are rumours of separate hero-based and lane-based MMR, developers are still working on a ranked system.
Deadlock Tips to Win
With so much to consider in this Deadlock guide, here are a few tips to help out both rookies and veterans with their first Deadlock game:
- Farm fast – in the laning phase, take out as many creeps as possible and build your soul count. This could also involve heading to neutral camps should you have the chance. Early fights could be successful – but is worth the risk?
- Deny enemy souls – let your enemy do the work and swipe in to steal the souls and snowball your farming to earn an early lead.
- Use public builds – instead of going through the painful process of experimenting, use what others have made
- Stay up to date – so early in the game’s life, huge changes are likely