Deadlock Guide for the Laning Phase: Master the Lane

Introduction to Laning in Deadlock

In Valve’s Deadlock, the laning phase is a crucial part of the game that sets the tone for the rest of the match. Whether you're playing as Haze, a sneaky assassin, or Grey Talon, a long-range sniper, mastering the lane can make or break your game. The goal is to control trooper waves, farming souls, and strategically push towers.

Understanding how to dominate Deadlock’s laning phase, from managing your trooper waves to leveraging abilities, gives you the upper hand. During the early game, it’s all about securing last hits on troopers and outplaying your enemy laner. As the game progresses into the late game, your objective will shift toward more coordinated team fights and pushing for towers, especially in flex slot lanes.

Let’s dive into the specifics and unlock your potential in the lane guardians phase of Deadlock!

Understanding Trooper Waves and Last-Hitting

Troopers in Deadlock spawn every 30 seconds across four lanes: Yellow, Orange, Blue, and Purple. Farming souls by last-hitting troopers is essential for gaining an advantage over the enemy team. When you shoot soul orbs, you collect unsecured souls, but allowing the enemy to secure them can cost you heavily.

Pro Tip:

• Melee attacks allow you to last-hit without spawning an orb, guaranteeing the souls and preventing enemies from stealing them.
• After 10 min, troopers no longer grant direct souls. Instead, all souls are held in the orb, so secure them quickly!

Choosing Your Lane Wisely and Flex Slots

Selecting the right lane in Deadlock is crucial to your success. Your choice depends heavily on your hero’s strengths and weaknesses. If you're new to MOBAs like Deadlock and aren't sure which lane to choose, use this beginner's guide to help guide your decision. Heroes like Bebop, with strong melee capabilities, thrive in flex slot lanes that are heavily contested.

Side of the Map (Yellow and Purple/Pink):

• Great for heroes who need farming and more safety. Characters like Grey Talon and Vindicta dominate here due to their long-range attacks and ability to snipe from afar.

Mid Lanes (Originally Orange now Green and Blue):

• Best for brawlers like Abrams and Infernus who can deal heavy spirit damage and tank hits. Be prepared for heavy fighting, especially when neutral camps and mid bosses come into play later in the game.

Your playstyle will evolve as you push towers and gank the enemy laner or switch to help your team. Learning to switch from one lane to another lane and making good use of teleporters will enhance your performance in the laning phase.

Pushing Towers and Lane Objectives

During the laning phase, your focus is not only on farming souls but also pushing objectives. Each lane has lane guardians and towers that must be destroyed to advance. Use your troopers as meat shields to absorb tower shots, and hit hard when the enemy hero is out of position. Your goal is to push down towers while avoiding being killed by the enemy team.

Once you destroy a Tier 1 tower, the next target is the Tier 2 walker. This unlocks additional souls, which boost your team’s abilities. Be wary, however, of ganks from enemy players, as they’ll often come in to defend the walker.

Countering Heroes in the Laning Phase

In Valve's Deadlock, knowing how to counter each Deadlock hero is essential to winning your lane and the deadlock match. Below, you’ll find detailed tips for countering all 22 heroes. If you're looking to quickly access a specific hero, use the table of contents on the right-hand side of the screen to jump directly to the hero you need to learn about. Whether you're facing Haze, Vindicta, or Mo & Krill, understanding their weaknesses will give you the edge in the laning phase.

Each hero comes with its own unique playstyle, and this guide will help you unlock the knowledge needed to deal with their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Read on for comprehensive Deadlock tips to help you win the game.

Abrams - The Tanky Brawler

Abrams can be tough with his Siphon Life ability, but he’s vulnerable when kept at range.

How to counter Abrams:

• Range is your friend: Keep him at a distance with Grey Talon or Vindicta.
• Crowd control: Stun him with Kelvin or a Parry/block to stop him before he can throw his weight around.

Bebop - The Bruiser

Bebop is dangerous in melee range with Exploding Uppercut and Hook, but you can outmanoeuvre him.

How to counter Bebop:

• Kite him: Use Grey Talon or Haze to keep your distance.
• Slow and disarm: Heroes like Viscous can slow Bebop, limiting his engagement.

Grey Talon - The Sniper

Grey Talon deals heavy damage from afar but is weak up close.

How to counter Grey Talon:

• Close the gap: Use melee heroes like Lash to close in and kill him quickly.
• Force him to reposition: Use abilities like Lady Geist’s Essence Bomb to disrupt him.

Haze - The Stealth Assassin

Haze excels in stealth and ganks but can be countered with good positioning.

How to counter Haze:

• Stick together: Haze is less effective when enemies are grouped.
• Reveal her: Heroes like Ivy can expose her stealth, making it harder for her to engage.

Infernus - The Pyromancer

Infernus deals significant spirit damage over time but struggles to engage without positioning.

How to counter Infernus:

• Zoning abilities: Use abilities like Kelvin’s Frost Grenade to keep him from diving in.
• Burst him down: Take him out quickly before he builds up his fire stacks.

Ivy - The Airborne Harasser

Ivy excels at long-range poke, raining arrows on enemies from a safe distance. Her Air Drop ability reveals areas of the map, exposing stealthed or hidden heroes like Haze and Yumato, making her an excellent support hero.

How to counter Ivy:

• Close the gap quickly: Ivy is weak when opponents get too close. Use heroes like Shiv or Yamato to close the distance and prevent her from maintaining her ranged poke.
• Avoid her Stone form: Stay mobile and recognise when she activates it to dodge out and preceded to close the gap again.

Mo & Krill - The Roaming Duo

Mo & Krill are effective roamers, but you can mitigate their crowd control.

How to counter Mo & Krill:

• Stay mobile: Evade their abilities with heroes like Vindicta.
• Large hitbox: Use ranged & high-DPS heroes like Warden to punish their large frame.

Dynamo - The Support

Dynamo is strong in team fights but vulnerable when focused down.

How to counter Dynamo:

• Focus him: Take him out first in team fights before he can heal his team.
• Interrupt his healing: Stun him with Lady Geist to prevent him from healing.

Vindicta - The Sniper Spirit

Vindicta is dangerous at long range but weak in close combat.

How to counter Vindicta:

• Close the gap: Heroes like Yamato can rush her before she can snipe.
• Crowd control: Heroes like Warden can lock her down before she charges up her shots.

Warden - The Tanky Bruiser

Warden excels at soaking damage and crowd control but can be countered with mobility.

How to counter Warden:

• Stay spread out: Prevent him from locking down your team with his area-of-effect abilities.
• Harass from a distance: Use ranged poke to whittle down his health.

Viscous - The Goo Support

Viscous controls the battlefield with goo, healing and slowing enemies in the lane.

How to counter Viscous:

• Stay mobile: Avoid his goo zones with dash abilities from Haze or Kelvin.
• Silence him: Use silence effects like Lady Geist’s Blood Shard to disrupt his healing.

Yamato - The Assassin

Yamato is deadly at close range, especially with her burst combos.

How to counter Yamato:

• Stay at a distance: Poke her with ranged heroes like Vindicta to prevent her from closing in.
• Disengage: Use abilities like Pocket’s Enchanter’s Satchel to escape when she dives in.

Lady Geist - The Health Manipulator

Lady Geist excels at manipulating health to swing fights in her favour.

How to counter Lady Geist:

• Burst her down: Eliminate her quickly before she can swap health with enemies.
• Stuns and interrupts: Stun her with abilities like Mo & Krill’s Burrow to prevent her from using her health-swapping abilities.

Lash - The High-Mobility Bruiser

Lash excels at diving onto enemies and disrupting teams with crowd control.

How to counter Lash:

• Disengage: After Lash dives in, use escape tools like Vindicta’s Flight to get away.
• Counter-engage: Punish him when his abilities are on cooldown.

Seven - The Lightning Powerhouse

Seven deals massive area-of-effect damage in team fights, excelling at zoning and disrupting the enemy team.

How to counter Seven:

• Avoid AoE: Stay spread out to avoid his area damage.
• Burst him down: Focus on taking him out before he can charge up his abilities.

Shiv - The Executioner

Shiv thrives on executing low-health enemies but struggles when caught in crowd control.

How to counter Shiv:

• Don’t fight alone: Team up with allies to avoid getting executed.
• Crowd control: Use stuns like Mo & Krill’s Sand Blast to prevent him from executing.

Pocket - The Burst Shotgunner

Pocket excels at quick burst damage but is reliant on positioning.

How to counter Pocket:

• Zone him out: Use abilities like Infernus’s Catalyst to prevent him from getting close.
• Burst him first: Kill him quickly before he can escape with his mobility.

Paradox - The Trickster

Paradox confuses enemies by swapping positions and creating chaos on the battlefield.

How to counter Paradox:

• Stay spread out: Prevent her from swapping with you by maintaining distance.
• Burst her down: Don’t let her trick you with her position-swapping—take her out quickly.

McGinnis - The Engineer

McGinnis is a turret and wall-building engineer who controls the battlefield with defensive structures.

How to counter McGinnis:

• Destroy his turrets: Take out his structures quickly to make him vulnerable.
• Zone him out: Use ranged attacks to keep him from setting up safely.

Kelvin - The Ice Man

Kelvin excels at slowing enemies and freezing them in place with his ice-based abilities.

How to counter Kelvin:

• Stay mobile: Use abilities like Haze’s Smoke Bomb to avoid getting frozen.
• Disrupt his combos: Use stuns or silences to prevent him from locking you down with his ice abilities.

Wraith - The Spirit Dealer

Wraith is fast and deals consistent damage but is fragile in prolonged fights.

How to counter Wraith:

• Focus fire: Burst him down quickly, as he can’t sustain in long fights.
• Crowd control: Use stuns and silences to prevent him from dashing around.

Itemization for Laning

As you farm souls and collect spirit urns during the laning phase, upgrading your gear is crucial to staying ahead of the enemy laner and winning fights. Focus on active items that increase your damage output and sustain during engagements. Here are some key items to consider for the early game:

• Basic Magazine: This item boosts your ammo capacity, allowing for more consistent poke and sustained damage output in the lane. It’s essential for ranged heroes like Grey Talon and Vindicta who rely on long-range engagements.
• Bullet Lifesteel: This item provides lifesteal on ranged attacks, making it especially effective for tankier heroes like Abrams and Mo & Krill. The lifesteal lets you restore health while dealing damage, making it easier to stay in the fight without having to go back to base too frequently. It’s an excellent choice for heroes who take lots of hits but need to remain in the lane to secure last hits and push objectives.

Deadlock Tips and Tricks: Objectives and Winning the Game

To win a Deadlock match, you need to balance individual skill with teamwork. Push towers, secure Jungle neutral camps, and coordinate team fights to gain the upper hand. Here are some tips for new and experienced players:

• Learn how to play the minimap to anticipate enemy movements.
• Use teleporters and ziplines to move around the map and help other lanes.
• Focus on unlocking flex slots to gain strategic flexibility.

Conclusion

Mastering the laning phase in Deadlock is essential for your success. Whether you’re new to MOBAs or a seasoned veteran, focusing on farming souls, countering enemies like Haze, and choosing the right items will give you a significant advantage. Follow this deadlock guide, queue for a match, and dominate in the lane!

Stay tuned for more build guides and deadlock tips and tricks as you learn to play and excel in Deadlock.