Deadlock Hero Guide

Abrams is a heavy tank excelling at charging into battle and controlling the battlefield. His skill kit makes him the core frontline of any team.

• Q - Charge: Rush forward, damaging and stunning enemies on impact.
• W - Shield: Activate a shield reducing incoming damage.
• E - Ground Slam: Slam the ground, damaging and slowing nearby enemies.
• R - Devastation: Ultimate. Leap to target area, dealing massive damage and knocking up enemies.

Playstyle: Use Charge to initiate fights, Shield to absorb damage, and Ground Slam to control enemies. Ultimate is for finishing or interrupting key enemy abilities.

What Not to Do

• Charging in without backup: Abrams' Charge is tempting, but diving alone into 3+ enemies just gets you killed. Wait for your team to be in position.
• Wasting Shield on poke: Don't pop Shield for minor harassment. Save it for team fights or when you're below 50% health.
• Missing Ground Slam: Ground Slam has a small delay. Leading targets incorrectly wastes your main crowd control.
• Ultimate on full-health targets: Devastation is best used on clustered, low-health enemies. Using it on a single full-health tank is a waste.

Advanced Techniques

• Charge + Ground Slam combo: Charge into a group, then immediately Ground Slam. The stun from Charge guarantees the Slam hits.
• Shield baiting: Activate Shield just before enemy burst abilities land. The damage reduction can absorb 500+ damage if timed right.
• Body blocking for carries: Stand between your damage dealers and enemy assassins. Your hitbox blocks skillshots and forces enemies to target you first.
• Patron setup: Use Devastation to knock enemies away from the Patron pit, letting your team secure the objective uncontested.

Bebop is a mobile tank specializing in hooking enemies and area control.

• Q - Hook: Fire a hook, pulling enemies toward you.
• W - Energy Shield: Provide a shield to a teammate.
• E - Rocket Jump: Use rocket propulsion to jump to target location.
• R - Black Hole: Ultimate. Create a black hole at target area, pulling in and damaging enemies.

Playstyle: Hook key targets (like enemy damage dealers) for team focus fire. Black Hole can turn team fights.

What Not to Do

• Hooking tanks: Pulling an enemy tank into your team backfires. They absorb your team's damage while their team collapses.
• Wasting Rocket Jump: Using Rocket Jump aggressively leaves you with no escape. Save it for repositioning or retreating.
• Black Hole on single targets: Black Hole's value is area denial. Using it on one enemy wastes its potential.
• Shielding the wrong ally: Shielding a full-health tank instead of your low-health damage dealer is a common error.

Advanced Techniques

• Hook + Black Hole combo: Hook an enemy carry, then drop Black Hole on them. Their team will try to peel, getting pulled in too.
• Rocket Jump over walls: Use Rocket Jump to bypass terrain for surprise hooks from unexpected angles.
• Shield pre-emptively: Shield your damage dealer before they engage, not after they take damage. The shield lasts 4 seconds.
• Objective denial: Drop Black Hole on teleporter exits to prevent enemy rotations during Patron fights.

Haze is a precision marksman excelling at long-range sniping and burst damage.

• Q - Precision Shot: Fire a high-damage single shot.
• W - Smoke Grenade: Throw a smoke grenade, obscuring vision.
• E - Roll: Roll in target direction to dodge attacks.
• R - Sniper Mode: Ultimate. Enter sniper mode, massively increasing range and damage.

Playstyle: Maintain safe distance for output. Use Smoke for covering teammates or yourself. Sniper Mode for finishing low-health targets.

What Not to Do

• Standing still while scoped: Haze is immobile in Sniper Mode. Predictable positioning makes you an easy flank target.
• Wasting Smoke: Using Smoke on cooldown for no reason leaves you vulnerable when you actually need vision denial.
• Rolling forward: Rolling toward enemies is almost always wrong. Roll sideways or backward to maintain distance.
• Not checking flanks: Haze has no escape beyond Roll. If an assassin gets behind you, you're dead.

Advanced Techniques

• Smoke + Sniper Mode: Throw Smoke on yourself before entering Sniper Mode. Enemies can't see you, but you can still shoot out.
• Quick-scope Precision Shots: Tap Precision Shot without fully charging for 60% damage in half the time. Great for finishing low-health targets.
• Roll-cancel animation: Roll immediately after firing to cancel the recovery animation and reposition faster.
• High-ground advantage: Always take elevated positions. You get better sightlines and assassins have a harder time reaching you.

McGinnis is a turret-type damage dealer specializing in area control and sustained damage.

• Q - Deploy Turret: Deploy an auto-attacking turret.
• W - Rocket Barrage: Fire multiple rockets, damaging an area.
• E - Repair Tool: Repair turrets or teammate shields.
• R - Nuke: Ultimate. Launch a nuke, dealing devastating damage to a large area.

Playstyle: Position turrets to control key areas. Nuke for team fights or clearing minion waves.

What Not to Do

• Turrets in the open: Placing turrets in exposed positions lets enemies destroy them for free. Always use cover.
• Nuking minion waves: Nuke has a 90-second cooldown. Using it on waves instead of team fights throws away your ultimate.
• Ignoring turret health: Turrets have limited health. Repair them between fights or they die quickly in the next engagement.
• Poor positioning: McGinnis is immobile while deploying. Standing in the open to place turrets gets you picked off.

Advanced Techniques

• Turret stacking: Place two turrets in overlapping fields of fire. Enemies can't focus both at once, doubling your damage output.
• Nuke + Rocket Barrage: Fire Rocket Barrage first to slow enemies, then drop Nuke. The slow guarantees Nuke hits.
• Repair during downtime: Use Repair Tool on turrets between waves. A full-health turret deals 40% more damage than a damaged one.
• Bait with turrets: Place a turret in a slightly exposed position to lure enemies, then collapse with your team.

Kelvin is a healing support specializing in sustained healing and team buffs.

• Q - Heal Beam: Continuously heal target teammate.
• W - Shield Boost: Enhance target teammate's shield.
• E - Cleanse: Remove negative effects from a teammate.
• R - Mass Resurrect: Ultimate. Revive all downed teammates in range.

Playstyle: Prioritize healing frontline tanks. Cleanse for removing key crowd control. Mass Resurrect can turn the tide of battle.

What Not to Do

• Healing full-health allies: Don't waste Heal Beam on allies at 90% health. Save it for when they drop below 50%.
• Wasting Cleanse: Using Cleanse on a 1-second slow is wasteful. Save it for stuns, silences, and roots.
• Mass Resurrect timing: Using Mass Resurrect when 3 enemies are alive just gets your revived teammates killed again.
• Positioning too far forward: Kelvin has no mobility. If you get caught out, you die and your team loses all healing.

Advanced Techniques

• Cleanse prediction: Watch enemy ability animations and Cleanse before the CC lands. This requires knowing enemy hero kits.
• Heal Beam juggling: Rapidly switch Heal Beam between two low-health allies. The beam has no cooldown, so you can keep both alive.
• Shield Boost before fights: Pre-cast Shield Boost on your tank before engagements. The shield decays slowly and absorbs opening burst.
• Mass Resurrect zones: Use Mass Resurrect behind cover or near your tower. Revived allies need protection while they recover.

Paradox is a time assassin specializing in teleportation and burst damage.

• Q - Time Slash: Quick slash dealing damage.
• W - Rewind: Return to position from seconds ago and restore health.
• E - Time Stop: Briefly freeze target enemy.
• R - Time Rift: Ultimate. Create a time rift, dealing massive damage to enemies in range.

Playstyle: Use Rewind for high-risk assassinations and safe retreat. Time Stop for locking down key targets.

What Not to Do

• Rewind without escape route: Rewind returns you to your previous position. If that position is also dangerous, you just delayed your death.
• Time Stop on tanks: Stopping a tank for 2 seconds does nothing. Save it for enemy damage dealers and supports.
• Diving without vision: Paradox is squishy. Diving into unwarded areas often results in walking into 3 enemies.
• Wasting Time Rift: Using Time Rift on a single target is inefficient. Wait for team fights where you can hit 3+ enemies.

Advanced Techniques

• Rewind bait: Intentionally take damage, then Rewind to full health while enemies waste cooldowns. This baits out ultimates.
• Time Stop + Time Slash: Stop an enemy, walk behind them, and Slash. The back-hit deals 25% bonus damage.
• Teleport ganks: Use Rewind from a safe position, dive for a kill, then Rewind back. You take zero risk.
• Time Rift zoning: Drop Time Rift on chokepoints during retreats. Enemies either take massive damage or let you escape.