Deadlock is quickly becoming the internet’s next favorite video game, and no, it isn’t just based on aura. If you haven’t played Deadlock before, you’ve probably seen a post or two praising the character design. The variance in aesthetics and theme for each character is really interesting, ranging from a regular warden to some sort of viper snake lady thing that’s somehow very charming and flirty. But the variance in hero design doesn’t just show through visual appeal; it also shows up in gameplay. Unlike other hero shooters on the market, such as League of Legends or Overwatch, you can play any Deadlock hero however you like.
Whenever a new hero or champion is released for MOBAs and hero shooters alike, it’s important to study their kit. I remember in the early days of studying League of Legends, the first thing I tried to understand was “what is this champion’s shtick?” Often, reading the ability description and stats is enough to get a sense of the playstyle the developers intended for the character. Some characters deal most of their damage with ranged abilities, and others are made to be tanky with a ton of sustain. Through these abilities, we form our game plan, and that's where most champions get shoehorned into a “role”.
Roles in MOBAs and hero shooters are commonly split into 3 groups: tank, damage, and support. From these three main groups, you can split them further into sub-groups such as shield tanks, roamers, CC support heroes, etc., and that’s the fun part. As Overwatch’s fairly recent perk mechanic shows, you can modify a hero’s kit to lean toward one or two sub-roles. The same is true in League of Legends’ ARAM augmentations, which help give heroes alternative game plans. Deadlock, on the other hand, cranks this up to 11.
Deadlock expands on the concept by giving every hero nigh-unlimited potential to be played how you want, and I don't think any other game in the genre can replicate this level of freedom. The reason lies in the genre itself: a MOBA hero shooter. Deadlock feels like the first in its genre because it does it so well, mixing the high skill ceiling of third-person hero shooters with the complexity of the MOBA genre and letting players express their preferred game plan more directly. A character whose whole kit revolves around hitting high-powered sniper arrows could suddenly pivot to an ult-spamming mortar cannon that can kill you from across the map, and that can change mid-game depending on the items that you build.
Another thing I have to applaud Deadlock for is the flexibility and emphasis on items. I remember playing League of Legends and feeling very perplexed about the items and how broad their effects were. Items like Heartsteel rewarded champions that wanted to get up close and personal during teamfights, but the effects were never enough to pivot a ranged sniper champion into becoming a bruiser. In Deadlock, items are focused and heavily affect how well you execute the game plan that you choose. It also helps that you can choose to empower specific abilities in your kit instead of generalized improvements, allowing for more diverse builds.
Deadlock has gotten ot the point where support characters can carry, damage characters can tank, and tanks can support their team. While this is easily one of the big reasons the game is so fun to play, I fear it's slowly becoming short-lived. As we’ve seen with the release of the new characters on the roster, the hero abilities and roles are starting to bloat. A quick comparison between older heroes and newly released heroes shows that there’s a huge increase in what each ability can do. A stun can’t just stun anymore; it has to increase armor shred, slow, and all the other keywords you can think of.
This ability bloat is a ticking time bomb waiting to burst, and the first thing that’s destined to go is the hero flexibility. I believe one reason Deadlock’s heroes have become so flexible is because of the simplicity of their kits. Having a simple kit means that your character is less shoehorned into a specific role, but having more complex abilities can lead to characters feeling like they’re meant to have a solid game plan or die trying.
But that’s all in the future. Deadlock is still a phenomenal game with a plethora of playstyles, and it still feels like each character on the long list of options is not fully solved. It’s also obvious that Valve’s design team is passionate about this project, and that makes me even more excited to see where the game goes. This game is as flexible as the games it includes, and I hope they stick to their design philosophy.