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Some time ago, Valve's new game "Deadlock"(The Chinese name is temporarily translated as Deadlock, which is the same name as the hero in Valorant)The test started quietly.

At present, as the testing qualifications are further relaxed, as long as one person obtains the testing qualifications, he or she can "pass on the fire" to friends, so now many people can try it out.

This also allowed this game, which did not even have a Steam store page and only had an icon, to squeeze into the top 100 hot list during the testing period, with the peak number of players reaching nearly 30,000 at one point.

When it comes to the famous Valve, everyone is familiar with it.

He has many multiplayer online competitive games such as DOTA2, CS2, TF2, etc.

The former represents the origin of MOBA games, while the latter opens the era of multiplayer FPS battles.

The third one, TF2, can be seen as a combination of MOBA and FPS, adding tactical coordination such as hero selection, and is more inclined towards FPS.

As for this Deadlock, it is more MOBA-like.

It can almost be seen as a DOTA that is switched from a top-down perspective to a third-person perspective.

Many of the gameplays that everyone is familiar with are seamlessly inherited, which makes it a lot easier for old players and makes it almost mindless to get started.

Like Xiaofa LOL Even if players have little experience in DOTA, they can play with a few veteran players in the office with their eyes closed.

In fact, this form is not uncommon. Games like "Smite" and "Endless Warzone" are full of MOBA flavor and have been launched for quite a long time, and even have sequels.

However, its influence is very limited and it has been difficult to break out of the circle, becoming a veritable niche game.

However, Deadlock is produced by Valve after all, and with this brand name, the attention it receives is naturally different, so it is still worth talking about.

I need to explain in advance that this game is still in the testing phase, and the balance and in-game UI are not yet complete, so there will be an update log essay from time to time.

Therefore, this report on deadlock is just a preview of the experience, to talk to everyone about the gameplay and whether this kernel is fun or not.

First, some basic information.

The game's art style is still the American comic cartoon style that has become popular in the past two years.

Add in some magic + steampunk, some character but not much.

Combined with Valve's new engine, the overall graphics are basically neither good nor bad, and most people can accept it.

During the test, there are 21 heroes available.

Depending on the positioning, it can be roughly divided into output, interference, charge, assistance, melee, etc.

To put it bluntly, it is still the same classification as MOBA games, so there is no threshold to understand.

Moreover, the official has thoughtfully made markings to help test players quickly choose suitable heroes.

Each hero usually has 4 skills.

Basically, they are in the form of 2 active + 1 ultimate + 1 passive.

Like Brand, he is a powerful hero who combines control, charge and burst.

There are four lanes in the game, and players fight in a 6V6 format.

There is currently only one map for the game, and there is no definite news on whether a new map will be released.

But from the bird's-eye view, you can also see that the map design of Deadlock is somewhat complicated.

Corresponding to the 3D scene, it is even more complicated.

For example, the basement where the teleportation point is hidden.

For heroes who do not have flying skills, they can use a high diving platform.

And a launching point to get online quickly.

At the same time, treasure chests and power-up items are scattered around the map.

Therefore, making good use of the map will be a shortcut to greatly increase support, consumption, and resource accumulation.

However, the map is crisscrossed, with a lot of Y-axes and obstructions, making it difficult to digest in a short period of time. It takes a lot of time to explore and summarize.

When it comes to the actual game, players will be randomly assigned to a lane based on the selected hero.

It may be a solo laning, or it may be a 2V2 with teammates.

The way to go online and go home is quite unique, through a slide rail that can be used throughout the entire process.

Players only need to align their view to attach and move quickly.

In actual combat, it can occasionally be used for temporary escape or rapid displacement.

In terms of shooting experience, Deadlock is the type that doesn't rely too much on marksmanship.

The sense of attack is barely passing. It does not require a headshot, but it does require a certain ability to follow the gun. It is enough to just hit the person.

Moreover, the distance attenuation is quite serious, so even a long-range sniper cannot shoot very far.

What makes the intention even more obvious is that the official has only allowed the scope to be opened in the ultimate move, so you can't actually snipe very many times.

Valve encourages mid-range confrontation and the use of skills.

Consume the opponent when laning, and finally use a burst to get the kill.

This feature is no different from most MOBAs.

Moreover, Deadlock also has various elements of MOBA games.

For example, the soldiers will also go online on a zipline like the players, and you will get money after killing them.

The only difference is that the growth and economic system of this game is no longer distinguished by experience and money, but the unified unit of "soul".

Melee can quickly replenish troops

You can even counter-attack here...

Whether it is your own or enemy soldier, after being killed, a soul will rise up and automatically explode after a certain period of time.

If the player can hit the soul before it explodes, they will receive a bonus.

The same thing about cutting off the minion line applies to deadlock.

At present, Xiaofa has not found a way to cut off his own military line.

But the opponent's troops can be shot down in advance because they are on the sliding track.

As long as you can grab the economic advantage, it will be quite suppressive in the early stage.

Because there is a store near the laning area, buying items is quite quick and it is easy to be suppressed by the opponent.

As for store locations, there is usually one in the hometown, one on the route, and several scattered around the map.

Skill items are sold in the store

Divided into active and passive skills

The higher the skill level, the higher the price.

Not to mention that there are jungle areas in the map, and the rhythm of clearing the jungle is also very important.

There is also a "big dragon", which can shorten the resurrection time and increase the strength of the military line.

Therefore, this game has a lot of information to process from the very beginning.

Lasting troops, consuming soldiers, cooperating, etc. can all continuously expand the advantage. In the later stages, the strong ones will become both tanky and have good output, which is still quite tricky.

It's a bit unfriendly to elderly players like Xiaofa.

As for the way to win, it is the same as everyone remembers - destroy the enemy crystal.

There is a defense tower 1 and a movable defense tower 2 in each of the four lanes.

At the doorstep of each team, there is also a "front tooth tower" and the core crystal of the innermost home.

The same rule requires the troops to advance in order to cause damage to the defense tower. If you approach directly, you will instantly attract the hatred of the defense tower and be attacked.

Naturally, there is also the concept of tower diving in Deathlock.

However, in the current test version, the strength of the defense tower is not very high, and the defense and damage are not good enough.

Perhaps further adjustments will be needed when it is officially launched.

Almost immediately after we pushed down the first tower, team fights began to break out frequently.

At this point, it actually has a strong visual sense of OW, with people cooperating when necessary and focusing fire when necessary.

The average duration of a game is about 30-40 minutes if nothing unexpected happens. Although Xiaofa has experienced games lasting more than an hour, it is not common.

So the overall game rhythm is just right. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but it takes about the same amount of time to play this as it does to play a game of DOTA2.

In short, Deadlock, like DOTA, still has a threshold.

At least it has a very high ceiling in terms of operation and game understanding, and the requirements for players are also relatively high.

Not to mention the matching between different heroes, just like the various skills in the store, when active and passive are added together, there are also many constructions that can be formed.

There are even some routines that it seems like the designers themselves don’t know about yet and still need to wait for players to develop.

Maybe Deadlock is still in the testing stage and the player community has basically not been established, but it is foreseeable that it will become more and more complicated with future updates, and its mechanism will not be inferior to DOTA2.

Therefore, if you are a DOTA player yourself, then this new game, which can be said to be a new version of the game but the essence remains the same, will definitely make you feel familiar and find some of the passion you had when you were young while playing the game.

Finally, is Deadlock fun?

Xiaofa can only say that when I opened the game, an afternoon had passed without me noticing.

In terms of playability, it is still quite attractive thanks to this unchanging underlying gameplay design.

What needs to be improved later may be the numerical values ​​and some UI materials.

Judging from the current update efficiency of the test server, I believe that the official public beta will be available soon.

By the way, there is no paid content in the testing phase. It is estimated that hero skins will be used as a payment point in the future. After all, there is definitely not much room for processing gun skins in the third-person perspective.

In short, I have to admire Valve. They have been holding a homework template and it is still fun and of high quality after more than ten years.

I wonder whether this kind of hardcore game with complex design and high entry threshold can be widely accepted by the market in the future.

But no matter what, this is still an opportunity for new players to get in touch with and understand Valve.

If you like challenges, are not averse to TPS shooting gameplay, and are familiar with MOBA gameplay, then it is not a bad idea to try this game.