New Players

Do these before you queue your first real match:

• Get access. Deadlock is invite-only on Steam — ask a friend who plays to invite you.
• Run the tutorial match. It's short and teaches moving, shooting, and buying.
• Set Casting Mode to Quick Cast. Abilities and items can be Instant, Confirm, or Quick Cast — Quick Cast fires when you release the key, so you can hold to check range first. It's the best of both worlds.
• Pick one hero and stick with them. Abrams (tanky brawler), Seven (straightforward damage), or Wraith (all-rounder with an escape) are forgiving first picks. Don't random.
• Load a build code. Pick your hero on the Builds page, type the code into the in-game Build Browser, and you'll never wonder what to buy.
• Warm up in Street Brawl. 4v4, one lane, best-of-five skirmish rounds with randomized item builds — pure combat, no farming, no pressure on your matchmaking rating.

Ranked unlocks later: 60 Standard wins + 15 wins each on 3 separate heroes. Every game on your main counts.

Deadlock is Valve's 6v6 mashup of a hero shooter and a MOBA. Think the gunplay and movement of a shooter mixed with the lanes, minions, items, and objectives of a game like Dota 2 — set in an occult 1940s New York where magic and industry collide.

Two teams of six pick unique heroes, fight across three lanes, earn souls (the game's currency) by killing troopers and heroes, spend those souls on items at shops, and push lanes to destroy the enemy's structures. The team that destroys the enemy Patron wins.

Matches typically run 30–50 minutes. The game is currently in invite-only playtest on Steam — if a friend plays, they can invite you.

1Pick a forgiving hero. For your first games, choose someone hard to kill with a simple gameplan — Abrams (tanky brawler: run at people), Seven (straightforward damage), or Wraith (solid all-rounder with an escape). Don't random. Browse all heroes →

2Go to your assigned lane and stay there. The game places you in one of three lanes — York (yellow), Broadway (blue), or Park (green, also called Greenwich). Head there immediately. An empty lane bleeds structures — your team needs you in position.

3Shoot your soul orbs. Troopers march down each lane and fight. When one dies it drops a soul orb — your money. Your orbs are green, enemy orbs are orange. Shoot your green orbs to collect the souls. Shoot their orange orbs to deny them souls. Orb control wins lanes.

4Spend souls at the shop. Once you have 800+ souls, visit the shop near your lane and buy items. Don't hoard souls — unspent souls do nothing. Buy early, buy often. (See Your First Items below for safe picks.)

5Push with your troopers. When your trooper wave reaches the enemy Guardian, help damage it — but let troopers go in first so they eat the Guardian's laser, not you. Destroy structures in order, group up for Walker fights when your team pings them, and keep an eye on the minimap.

You win by destroying the enemy Patron at the heart of their base. To reach it, your team must break through their defenses in order, lane by lane:

1. Guardians

The first structure in each lane. Team-wide soul bounty when destroyed.

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2. Walkers

Massive lane guardians. Killing one gives everyone an extra item slot.

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3. Base Guardians

Two guard each base entrance. Crack them to get inside.

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4. Shrines

Base defenses. Destroying both upgrades your troopers into Super Troopers.

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5. Patron

The enemy's core. Burn through its first health bar and it transforms into a weakened second phase, rooted in place — finish it there to win.

Kills feel good, but structures win games. A team that takes objectives beats a team that only chases kills.

Souls are everything in Deadlock — they're how you buy items, and items are how you get stronger. You earn them three ways:

• Troopers — your bread and butter. Last-hit them and shoot the green soul orbs they drop. Deny enemy orbs by shooting the orange ones.
• Hero kills — big payouts that grow as the match goes on, but risky. Don't chase them early.
• Objectives — Guardians, Walkers, and Shrines pay bounties split across the team (part goes to nearby heroes, the rest to everyone). If your team is behind, the comeback mechanic adds bonus souls to objectives like the Soul Urn — falling behind is never a death sentence.

You spend souls at shops (there's one near every lane). Items come in four tiers with fixed prices:

• Tier 1 — 800 souls. Cheap early-game stats.
• Tier 2 — 1,600 souls. Solid mid-game pickups.
• Tier 3 — 3,200 souls. Major power spikes.
• Tier 4 — 6,400 souls. Game-defining legendaries.

You start with 9 item slots (any item fits any slot), plus 3 Extra Slots that unlock as your team destroys enemy Walkers. Some Tier 2+ items have a component from a lower tier — if you already own it, the component is consumed and its cost is discounted off the upgrade. Changed your mind? You can sell items back for half their cost — or a full refund if you sell before leaving the shop area.

Dying drops a chunk of your unsecured souls where you died — enemies can grab them. Spend before risky fights. Try the Soul Calculator →

The Soul Urn is the single biggest free soul swing in the early-mid game. The first one spawns at 10:00, then a new one every 5 minutes, by the bridge on the Yellow or Green lane (first is always Yellow).

What it's worth: 250 souls + 70 per minute of game time, locked in when it spawns. So the 10:00 urn is worth 950, the 15:00 urn 1,300, and the 20:00 urn 1,650. Holding it longer doesn't grow it — and after 45 seconds of carrying, it starts decaying until it's worthless.

• Pick it up with a melee attack. The courier gets +2 m/s move speed, +1 stamina, and shrugs off slows — but can't ride ziplines or use teleporters, and can't parry.
• Deliver it to the opposite side of the map. Step onto the drop-off point and the souls burst out as orbs your team secures. If your team is behind, the drop-off moves closer to your side (look for the green candles).
• Protect the courier. A melee hit or any stun knocks the urn loose. Escort them — a stolen urn is a stolen team payday.
• Comeback bonus. If your team is behind on souls, the urn pays extra. It's the best catch-up tool in the game.
• The courier also banks 4 random permanent stat buffs on delivery — fire rate, health, spirit power, and more.

New player rule: when the urn is up, go to it. Contest it, carry it, or escort it — but never ignore it.

• Three lanes: York (yellow), Broadway (blue), Park (green, also called Greenwich).
• The jungle sits between lanes — neutral camps (Haunts) that give souls, plus the mid-boss pit at the center. Killing the mid-boss drops the Rejuvenator: team-wide buffs including faster respawns and stronger troopers.
• Ziplines run down every lane. Riding one is free, fast, and costs no stamina — it's the fastest way to rotate.
• Shops sit near each lane's Guardian, plus your base. Buy without walking home. There are also underground Secret Shops by the teleporters.
• Teleporters are available from the start of the match — two pairs by the underground Secret Shops. They take 4 seconds to channel and give you a small speed boost on arrival. Use them to join fights, not to wander.
• The Soul Urn spawns at 10:00 (then every 5 minutes): carry it to the opposite side of the map for a huge team payout — but you can't ride ziplines or use teleporters while holding it, and a melee hit or stun knocks it loose.

Worth knowing:

• Steam Vents — stand in one for temporary invisibility and health regen. Great for ambushes and escapes.
• Healing Snacks — hidden around the map, they restore health when grabbed.
• Tough Crates — armored crates that only heavy melee can crack open. Regular wooden crates are worth smashing too: about 60% drop souls.
• Buff Containers — smash these for a random permanent stat buff (fire rate, health, spirit power, resists, and more). They respawn, so keep breaking them.
• Sinner's Sacrifice — strange machines around the map that only respond to melee attacks. Break one for souls plus a buff container.
• Medic Troopers — killing one drops a healing pack that restores health to you and nearby allies.

Explore the full interactive map →

Items come in three categories, color-coded in-game: Weapon (orange, gun damage), Vitality (green, health and survivability), Spirit (purple, ability power). Start with cheap Tier 1 (800 souls) items — these are safe first buys on almost any hero:

Weapon

Extended Magazine

Bigger magazine, reload less. Simple and always useful.

Rapid Rounds

Fire rate up — more bullets, more damage, more orb secures.

Monster Rounds

Bonus damage vs troopers and neutrals. Farm faster, hit harder.

Vitality

Extra Health

Raw health. Harder to kill is the simplest advantage in the game.

Extra Regen

Health regen keeps you in lane longer without backing.

Extra Stamina

+1 stamina pip. More dashes, more escapes. Good on literally everyone.

Spirit

Extra Spirit

Boosts ability damage. The starting point for any ability-focused hero.

Extra Charge

An extra charge on an ability — more casts, more pressure.

Mystic Burst

Bonus burst damage when you land abilities. Great for trading.

What do I buy first? Monster Rounds — bonus damage against troopers and NPCs means you clear waves faster, and the faster you melt their troopers, the more scared the enemy laner is to push into you. Lane pressure wins lanes. Then grab one more item that matches your hero (Weapon for gun heroes, Spirit for ability heroes, Vitality if you're getting bullied). Or pick a full build for your hero →

Movement is the biggest skill gap in Deadlock. Three things to learn first:

• Keep one stamina pip banked. Always. That's your dodge and your escape.
• Slide everywhere. It's free, it's fast, and your gun never needs reloading mid-slide.
• Ride ziplines. They cost nothing and launch you across the map — jump off to keep the momentum.

All keys can be remapped in Settings. Full movement guide → · Advanced tech (later) →

Ranked Mode is the competitive queue — solo or duo only, with visible ranks from Initiate up to Eternus. To unlock it you need:

• 60 wins in Standard mode (wins only — losses don't count).
• 15 Standard wins each on 3 separate heroes. Those three become your ranked-eligible pool.
• No active matchmaking bans or restrictions.

Then you'll play 8 solo placement matches to earn your starting rank. Street Brawl wins don't count toward any of this — ranked eligibility is earned in Standard. Until then, treat Standard as your training ground: one hero, one build, and the fundamentals on this page.

New heroes are exempt from the 15-win requirement for a short time after release, so the newest drops are always playable.