Deadlock Character Roles Guide

Competitive gaming warfare has been set by world-class gaming titles; for example, DOTA 2, League of Legends and Overwatch 2 in terms of character roles and team makeup. It has come to be the norm that every game has a structured approach to roles whether it is Tank, Damage or support. Not in case of Deadlock, as it is turning this convention on its head by offering more casual and fluid character roles.

What are the roles in Deadlock?

As opposed to conventional MOBAs or team shooters Deadlock has no set roles or positions for the characters to play. One of four lanes will be given out at a random by the game to the players competing either 1v1 or 2v2 and the four lanes consist of Purple, Blue, Orange, and Yellow. In addition to this the players also need to select three characters of which any character whom the system randomly chooses once the game starts can become theirs.

Credit: Valve Corporation

So this system gives more weight to the ability to adapt and ones skills rather than roles that are preset. Instead of having similar roles compete against one another as twinners in twinners games for example Mid vs. Mid in League of Legends, Deadlock utilizes a skill based approach to pair players with other players of a similar skill level. This means players of different versatility can come in and adopt new play styles and characters, creating more and more differentiation in the game’s meta.

Credit: Valve Corporation

In Deadlock, the attention goes away from having fixed responsibilities to more general roles and how synergies between them fit in a team composition. All of the heroes in the game are developed with wide ranging tool kits so that they can switch between strategies based on their build and play style. Some of the common roles identified in the Deadlock fandom include the following:

Engage / Tank Heroes

Poke and Sniper heroes are able to stand off a distance and smoothen up all of the “rough edges” for when the actual fight breaks out or even make it much easier for their team by damaging the enemies before the fight starts.

• Grey Talon: Applies accurate long-range casting of skills.

• Paradox: Bends space and time at will to reposition against the enemy.

• Vindicta – Shoots with a rifle from high distances without being noticed.

Strengths: Dealing damage from a distance and controlling areas.

Weaknesses: Weak at close-range combat, vulnerable from the sides.

Poke / Sniper Heroes

Poke and Sniper heroes are effective with distanced attacks. Even before the team fight starts they are able to reduce the enemies’ health points considerably which greatly helps the team.

• Grey Talon: A sniper who lands skill shots upon enemies from a long distance.

• Paradox: Manipulates time and space to outwit the enemies.

• Vindicta: Stealthily and silently snipes the enemies who least expect it.

Strengths: Output large amounts of damage from afar, control the battle zone.

Weaknesses: Gets outmatched during skirmishes and gets outrunned or surrounded.

Duelist / Split Pusher Heroes

The role of Duelists and Split Pushers lies in harassment and skirmishes. They are proficient in a 1 vs 1 as well as forcing the enemy team to react to their aggressive pushes.

• Lady Geist: Exchanges her health to siphon it from her foes instead.

• Wraith: Has a talent for completely obliterating a targeted single enemy.

• Yamato: Consumes a lot of energy during charged attacks, yet performs them quite elegantly.

Strengths: Good at fights, can apply pressure on the area of the map.

Weaknesses: Can be weak in the team fight when undergeared or underfarmed, have less utility than other classes.

Healer / Support Heroes

In Deadlock, support heroes are not that passive, they also have a huge impact shoe is able to change the games. They offer healing, shields, and other helpful mechanics.

• Dynamo: Uses attacking abilities that can throw opponents off balance.

• Ivy: Partners well with other teammates by using skills that synergizes together.

• Viscous: Rolls onto teammates to deflect bullets for protection.

Strengths: Improves the chance of staying alive for the team whilst also being good for controlling the area.

Weaknesses: Makes them reliant on their teammates, has a target on their back.

Flexibility in Character Builds: The Case of Kelvin

So far in this article we saw that one of Deadlock's considerable advantages is the flexibility in character builds. Kelvin serves as a prime example of this design philosophy. Depending on ability upgrades and itemization, Kelvin can serve multiple roles:

• Healer / Support: Maxing out Frost Grenade turns Kelvin into a healer, providing area-of-effect heals to allies.

• Split Pusher: Just focus on Ice Path also. It would allow me to move from place to place and threat key target.

• Frontline Tank: Move into Arctic Beam or Frozen Shelter to do the damage, this will allow me great crowd control and some reasonable survivability. Because I would be a good tank.

The Primary thing which I think Kelvin will allow me to do is retain certain attributes and aid myself or any of my team members. This would also be a huge contradiction in terms of how I normally play, as in most instances I am tasked with staying back. It is a good indicator of how much Deadlock values depth in gameplay and emphasizes on the fact that most of the time the outcome is dependent on how well strategy is employed.

Conclusion

As for me the game Deadlock has some pretty good mechanics as it is reframing competitive gaming by redefining the roles of characters unnecessarily. For most of the time it is the case that players are shackled to set role due to various reasons, however in Deadlock that just does not happen. And as players it is exciting for me. There’s tons of opportunity to build the character how I want to and with the knowledge of the rules, make sure to claim victory for my team.