Mechanics
36Deadlock borrows ideas from shooters and from lane games, so a few systems are easy to miss at first. These pages cover the ones that decide most matches.
Each topic is grouped by where it matters, from the early lane to late-game objectives. Pages also list the words players actually use, so a search for slang lands on the right page.
Progression
Getting started Getting started means learning one repeatable match loop and knowing where to practice it. Master the loop on a singl... Hero levels & ability points The same souls you spend in the shop also raise your hero level. The early levels hand you your four abilities for fr... Boons (level-up stats) Boons are the free stat boosts your hero earns automatically just by accumulating souls — extra Health, weapon damage... Ranked, MMR & leaderboard Ranked is the competitive ladder: a hidden rating (MMR) tracks your skill and surfaces as a named badge from Initiate... Glossary & meta A plain-language dictionary of the terms you'll hear every match — souls, deny, AP, Imbue, flex slot, Boon, Urn, Mid-...
Economy
Souls Souls are Deadlock's one resource: the money you spend in the shop and the experience that levels you up, tracked in ... Last-hitting Last-hitting is landing the killing blow on a trooper or jungle creep so its souls go to you. Only that final hit cla... Soul orbs & denies When you kill a trooper its souls split in two: roughly 60% falls as a ground orb that's guaranteed to your team, and... Net worth, leads & comeback Net worth is the running total of souls each player and each team has earned all match — the headline number on the s... Lanes and troopers Troopers are the AI soldiers that march down each of the map's three lanes in waves. Killing them is your main early ... Neutral camps & breakables Denizen camps, Sinner's Sacrifice machines and breakable crates are your second income stream on top of lane. The cat...
Combat
Hero roles, tags & complexity Deadlock locks no roles and never makes you queue for one — every hero can flex with the item shop. The hero card sti... Weapon vs Spirit damage Deadlock has exactly two damage types. Weapon (bullet) damage is your gun and most basic items, and it climbs as you ... Bullet & Spirit resist (armor) Bullet Resist and Spirit Resist are percentage cuts to incoming damage: Bullet Resist softens guns and melee, Spirit ... Shields & barriers Shields and barriers stack a pool of temporary health on top of your HP bar that soaks incoming damage of every type ... Headshots & bullet falloff Every gunshot carries two range-and-aim modifiers: a headshot lands on the head hitbox for a 1.65x weapon-damage bonu... Light & heavy melee Every hero has a melee on one button: a quick light tap for finishing and free damage, and a charged heavy that winds... Parry Parry (F by default) is a short defensive window that catches an incoming melee and slams the attacker flat for about... Active reload Active reload is a quick-time event you only get from the Active Reload weapon item: while reloading, press Reload as...
Movement
Stamina, charges & sprint Stamina is a small pool of charges (three for most heroes) that fuels every dash, air-jump and wall-kick and refills ... Dash, air dash & air jump A dash is a quick burst-step in any direction; you can fire one off the ground, fire one in mid-air, and tap an extra... Dash-jump & slides Dash-jump cancels a dash into a jump to fling you much farther than the dash alone; chaining that launch into a slide... Mantling & wall jumps Mantling auto-climbs you over low ledges at zero stamina cost, and wall-jumping kicks you off a surface to redirect o... Ziplines Ziplines are the team-colored transit lines that run the length of every lane and ring the map; hop on with your jump...
Objectives
Guardians Guardians are the towers that gate every lane: the first Guardian out front, plus the inner Base Guardians that wall ... Walkers Walkers are the towering lane bosses standing guard behind each Guardian — the second objective in every lane. Cracki... Shrines & Patron The Patron is the giant idol at the heart of each base and the only thing you must destroy to win the game. Reaching ... Mid-Boss & Rejuvenator Mid-Boss is the neutral super-boss in the central pit. Kill it and it drops the Rejuvenator: a 4-minute team buff tha... Soul Urn The Soul Urn is a soul prize you grab off the bridge and run to a drop-off. Slamming it down opens a king-of-the-hill... Objectives Objectives are the map's structure chain and your only win condition: tear down each lane's Guardian and Walker, then... Flex slots Flex slots are four extra item slots on top of your 12 base slots, and unlike the base ones they hold an item from an...
Items
Shop tiers, investments & components The Curiosity Shop sells items in three columns — Weapon, Vitality, Spirit — across four soul tiers (800 / 1,600 / 3,... Imbues Imbue items don't buff you across the board — when you buy one, you bind it to a single ability, and its effect plus ... Active vs passive items Most items in the shop are passive: buy one, slot it, and the stats and effects just apply on their own. Active items... Builds & the build browser A build is a hero's whole plan in one place: its role, ability order, which items to buy and roughly when, where your...
Status effects
Nothing matches your filters.
I am new. Where should I start?
Start with Souls and last-hitting. They drive your money and your level, and most early mistakes trace back to them.
Does buying items lower my level?
No. Spending Souls in the shop never costs you levels. Souls count as both your money and your experience at the same time.