Deadlock was recently released as an early development title and players are already having loads of fun with it. New players have found the map especially overwhelming, as the game puts a lot of emphasis on map control. It is key to ensuring that you have a good start.
Having trouble figuring out the best way to use the map? Not to worry, we have you covered! In this guide, we’ll be providing you with tips and tricks that will allow you to control the map. Without further delay, let’s get into it!
Complete Map Guide
In Deadlock, there are various phases that will occur as you go through a game. Each phase will require you to take care of tasks on the map differently.
So, we’ll be looking at each of these phases and how you can use the map to your advantage.
Match Start
Each map of Deadlock consists of two solo lanes and two duo lanes. At the start, you will be assigned a lane from any of these. You can see which lane has been assigned to you by the color at the top of the screen on your character’s icon.
After that, you can use the colored zipline to travel to your lane area at the start of the match.
Our how to dominate your lane guide can also help you out here!
Early Laning Phase
The start of the match is known as the laning phase. During this phase, your goal should be to try to shoot as many enemy troopers as you can. Make sure to also shoot the souls flying above their heads as well for additional souls.
You’ll need to do this shooting souls part until you hit the 10 minute timer in the match. Before that, this is necessary so that you can get extra souls.
Otherwise, the additional souls will be given to the player who last shot the troopers. This can be an issue as enemy players can also shoot the souls and ensure you do not get them.
You can also shoot the orbs of troopers that enemies have stolen to steal their souls.
Getting as many souls as you can in this phase is crucial. It should be your main focus during the laning phase for the first two minutes at least. After that, you can start looking towards the item spawns.
Item Spawns
At the two minute marker, things will start to change a bit. Small creep camps will start to spawn, which are donated by small triangles on the mini map.
Killing these camps will give you even more souls.
However, we recommend that you first focus on the waves of troopers that approach your lane. Once you get rid of them, there is some time before they will respawn again.
During this extra time, you can clear creep camps until the troopers start arriving again. You can then use the extra souls you get and start purchasing items from the shop.
Keep in mind that these camps will not spawn until another 4 minutes.
At the three minute marker, you’ll also see new items spawn. The most important of these are gold urns which can give you permanent buffs that will stay with you throughout the match.
You can find three of these in your lane and many more throughout the buildings on the map. We strongly suggest you be on the lookout for these when you move around.
Additionally, you can also get extra souls from wooden boxes and jungle camps. Keep in mind that these give you Unsecured Souls, which will slowly trickle into your souls count. If you end up dying, you’ll lose these souls.
However, you can spend these souls at a shop, which is what we recommend you do.
Middle Laning Phase
For the laning phase, you want to make sure that you spend as much time as you can in your lane. This is because Deadlock rewards you a lot for pushing enemy towers early on.
Killing the enemy Walker early is an added bonus, as you’ll be given an additional item slot for killing each one.
But make sure that you still are killing the enemy troopers and gathering souls. Even if you manage to get a tower, it’s too early to think about pushing into the enemy’s base to win.
Hard Camps
At the 7 minute marker, things will start to change again in Deadlock. You’ll now see medium and large camps start spawning.
These are much more difficult but reward you with a lot of souls. The medium ones will spawn 6 minutes after being defeated while the large ones will spawn 8 minutes after being defeated.
At this point, if you do feel like you’re starting to win your lane comfortably, you can start thinking about helping out in your teammate’s lanes. Be sure to do this before the 10 minute mark.
This is because you get rewarded for helping your teammates before the 10 minute marker. During this time, all souls collected by two players will be given to both players.
So, in essence, you are able to get twice the number of souls. But if there are three or four people in a lane, then these souls will be divided.
As a result, we recommend you do not spend too much time on another lane. Instead try to time a good gank so that you can benefit the most with souls.
After the 10 minute mark though, souls will be divided no matter how many players there are.
Additional Spawns
At the 10 minute mark, a lot of things will change in Deadlock. You’ll start to see temporary buffs all around the map that you can pick up. These will give your stats a temporary boost.
They’ll spawn every 5 minutes no matter what time it gets picked up at.
There will also be the Mid Boss spawn at this time. This is a very difficult boss to defeat and it will require the efforts of all your teammates.
We recommend that you go for this boss when the enemy team is dead and the respawn timer is long. Otherwise, they’ll get an opportunity to catch up.
Killing it is worth it though as you get special buffs and even a respawn time deduction. Just make sure to use a charged melee attack at the end to actually get the buff.
You’ll also see slot machines appear. Hitting them will give you a big bonus of unsecured souls although it will deplete your HP.
Finally, you’ll also see Soul Urns appear after the 10 minute mark. You’ll find this on one side of the map and will need to bring them to the other side. Doing so will give you a massive soul boost.
Each of these urn spawns will be on alternating sides of the map.
Late Game
After the 10 minute mark, you’ll no longer get additional souls if you are in your teammate’s lane. While you do end up losing additional souls, it means you won’t have to worry about stealing your teammate’s souls.
Additionally, you will no longer get extra souls for last killing a trooper. Now, to get all the Souls, you will need to both kill the enemy and shoot their floating soul.
As a result, you can easily steal your enemy’s souls but they can also steal yours.
At the 15 minute mark, gold urns will get a massive buff. The permanent buffs will become even more powerful. So, make sure to get them as often as possible.
They will spawn every 3 minutes.
End Game
After this, you will start to see no other changes in the rules. So, your goal will be to push your lane as much as you can while destroying Walkers, Patrons, and Gun Shields.
The enemy team will have the same objective. So, you will start to see a lot of team fights.
So, we recommend two tips to keep in mind for these fights. The first is that you should always keep an eye on the mini map. It will show you where all the enemies are, provided someone has line of sight to them.
This will give you an indication of what you should be doing at the moment. If you do not see enemies, it’s best to stick with your teammates to avoid unexpected situations.
Likewise, if you detect an enemy solo pushing on you, you should ping the enemy to your teammates. After that, you can attack the enemy together to punish them.
Of course, it’s important that you target the correct players. For this, we recommend using the Tab button. This will allow you to see the enemy stats.
Players with the highest stats will be hardest to kill so always check them before you initiate an attack. Instead, try to target the weakest players, which includes players that have died a lot.
Going solo is not always a bad idea though if you have a good solo character. Our best solos carries tier list has you covered, as it’ll show you the best and worst ones to use!
That’s everything you need to know for the complete map guide for Deadlock. Be sure to utilize these tips so that you can take advantage of the entire map. With experience, you’ll be able to get the hang of it really fast!
