bad news guys, this game is actually very fun and is probably the wave

I have been loving it lately, dare I say addicted. Little nerd essay for anyone who hasn't tried it or played it in a while.

also for reference, I have At Least scraped above 1k hours in tf2(obv), cs, siege, dota and league. So I like these sorta super greasy nerd games (and I swear I lead a fulfilling life outside of computer)

The movement has a skill ceiling and floor that At first seems low on both ends, but after breaking some personal plateaus I've found its very rewarding and difficult to squeeze the max momentum you can out of rotating between lanes/chasing and escaping. Chaining wall jumps and dashes to get to vents, or to go on the top of buildings makes it feel like a new game. Also juking around while waiting for ability CD's is super fun and can allow for crazy 1vX's if ur raw as hell.

The new heroes are all a bit overtuned, mostly in health/resistances/sustain. I'll often see players get rewarded for investing like <5k in green items while just stacking purple/orange on the new guys. Hopefully that'll be fixed with time, but rn don't be surprised when your game is rolled by Apollo or Graves just rushing good damage/sustain items and somehow being tankier than your Abrams.

Farming efficiency, like any moba, has a very high ceiling with running boxes/slot machines between waves, learning the spawn timers will instantly make you better than your noobert peers (2 minutes for boxes and small camps, 5 minutes bridge buffs, 8 minute "sinners" or slot machines iirc)

Every hero has a lot of build freedom honestly. While there are undeniable meta builds for certain heroes, you can definitely do some "troll" builds, and as long as you're executing the idea in your head of What makes the items good with your guy, you can be insanely effective. Even at somewhat high elo.

For the longest time team fights felt like visual clutter and just chaos. I can happily say at the 300 hour mark, I'm finally able to process what spells I need to worry about in a 12 player fight, who I should be focusing, what abilities my teammates have that I need to wait/combo with, what items need to be used before I can be effective, etc etc etc

Final thoughts; at the end of the day, it's definitely a moba before anything. I played a 52 minute game last night that ended because one guy getting caught lazily pushing waves. Being on the receiving end of that is enough to make someone uninstall, it requires a certain type of tism to get past the pains of the game. You Will play games where you're snowballing, poised to carry epically, and then the enemy team itemizes and plays to counter you perfectly. It sucks. But even when that happens, you probably made at least 20+ glaring mistakes, some probably game losing. and that's cool to me.
The game has so many counter items to counter other counter items, it's genuinely endlessly sweaty in the shit you can do, Which honestly is a turn on or turn off depending on what kinda games you like.
Like any game, it's infinitely more fun to play/learn with friends, so do that.
and feel free to add me, I've been so nerded out abt this game. I have a playing with noobs alt and will gladly share my limited retard knowledge B)

Just got back into deadlock after a long hiatus. the last time i played the game it had 4 lanes and the art style was very much in a state of transition. While I do miss some "arenas" the old 4 lane map had, like that whole intersection between the secret shop and the big mid building, I think 3 lanes focuses the game and leads to way less confusing and weird rules about splitting souls in solo vs duo lanes. The area's between the lanes just need a little development to make them into more interesting combat spaces since right now theres a lot of "flat ground with small buildings/" that feels very samey.

artistically, the game is looking great. I was worried it was going to come off like some hazbin hotel theater kid shit but I think they did the whole occult new york thing very well. The characters are interesting while not being overdesigned since theyre about as detailed as a tf2 class with some cosmetics equipped. There are a few characters I think were little over-redesigned though. Pocket looks way too kpop and mcginnis lost her butch.

From a gameplay perspective, I hope they make the two sides of mid lane more visually distinct because its really easy to walk the wrong way after coming out from the tunnels below around there, and I think the last base areas are a tad too dark. You know how metalworks is dark but its still well lit? Yeah I think the last base area should be more like that.

I still have some gripes with the movement system, like the lack of air control and having to dash jump within a specific, but generous window, but I've grown to appreciate its strengths. Managing your stamina is really important since its extremely valuable in fights, so when you figure out ways to move around the map while farming and you get to survive an encounter you would have been trapped in due to that extra bar of stamina you have, you feel rewarded for learning the system. What I find most intriguing at the moment about movement is that it seems like they're experimenting with giving different characters their own movement rules. For example, there is a new hero named Celeste who is allowed to just staight up kz around the map and there's also a character named Holliday who has increased air control after using her jump pad. This gives me hope that they'll add an explosive jumping character or maybe even a scout-esque character in the future.

Here are some characters I recommend for tf2 enjoyers:

Pocket: an early/mid game focused hero with a shotgun who the ability to shoot projectiles that amplify the damage of his aoe abilities. He is a hit and run, burst damage character who requires good movement to play effectively, and has a tool for dealing with some moba aids abilities. He farms quickly due to his ability to nuke the shit out minions which makes him feel less tedious to play than a lot of other characters.

Holliday: Her kit is a little disjointed but basically you're like an ambassador spy with a launch pad, a quickie bomb, and a mantreads stom. Shes a pretty hard character to play but shes a ton of fun. If you decide to play her i highly recommend spending some time in the sandbox figuring out how her kit works. For example, its practically required for you to arm your barrels by meleeing them as you launch so that they explode on impact.

celeste: bhop character

lash: the og movement character with a kit that feels designed specifically around the game's movement mechanics. Learning to play this character will force you to learn the fundamentals of movement and he is pretty fun.

deadlock is the moba equivalent of a "i don't like rap but i like this" white rapper

no thx

Every TF2 player I talk to swears they'll never play this game and yet the number of boomers on my friends list playing it is steadily doubling every 3 months. The game is good and fun.

The movement system is maybe a little polarizing but I do think that a lot of people who are complaining about it haven't spent any real time with it. If you are consistently instant dashing, wall jumping and corner boosting you can fly around the map in a really fluid and satisfying way that reminds me a lot of getting decent at rocket jumping for the first time.

2026 and people are still trying to make this game stick ICANT