Deadlock

VALORANT’s agent Deadlock is the game’s fifth Sentinel, team members built to gather intel, lock down areas, and make their team’s life easier whether on attack or defense.

Deadlock is about as fearless as any human gets. She didn’t back down from a monstrous radivore bear, and barely hesitated to sacrifice her own arm to get the job done. Newly armed with nano-wire tech, she’s a welcome addition to the VALORANT roster, and boasts some mean crowd-control abilities.

"Here again, we face our death. And again, we will defy it." Iselin “Deadlock”

Lore

Before she joined VALORANT as Deadlock, she was Iselin – an elite Scandinavian hunter working for the Dutch security force, Ståljeger. She led a team of three such hunters to a facility called The Vault, on the isolated northern islands of Svalbard, as an escort for one of Kingdom’s Project Landfall scientists.

Their mission was to extract a hostile radivore bear from the facility. Despite best-laid plans and significant preparedness, the escaped bear swiftly tore through Iselin’s entire squad until only she remained.

Not one for backing down, she went toe-to-toe with the creature, and managed to snare it in a containment chamber, though at great personal cost.

In a final desperate move to escape captivity, the radivore clamped its jaws around Deadlock’s arm, flooding her system with radianite, and forcing her to fight off delirium and activate the chamber’s failsafe energy purge mechanism. The resulting explosion obliterated the radivore and her arm.

With ethereal voices echoing in her head, the world spinning around her, and the scientist dying at her feet, the one-armed Iselin used the last of her strength to activate a distress beacon, then collapsed.

Having intercepted word of Kingdom’s “Landfall” project and a cargo pickup in Norway, VALORANT had already sent Sova to investigate. He arrived shortly after Iselin’s showdown, and rescued her.

Back at VALORANT Headquarters, Iselin joined the Protocol as agent Deadlock, received a nanotech-powered prosthetic arm from Killjoy, and developed an instant dislike of Gekko and his friendly radivore critters, wary of their lethal potential.

There’s nothing she won’t do now to get vengeance on both Kingdom and radivores for what they did to her.

“Norwegian operative Deadlock deploys an array of cutting-edge nanowire to secure the battlefield from even the most lethal assault. No one escapes her vigilant watch, nor survives her unyielding ferocity.” Riot’s official description of Deadlock

FAQs

How do you unlock Deadlock in VALORANT?

You can unlock Deadlock the same way you’d get any other VALORANT agent – buy them or earn them.

If you want to get her fast, Deadlock won’t cost you much – you can unlock her by spending 1,000 VP (roughly $10).

Or you can get this agent on your team by spending 8,000 Kingdom Credits (earn this free in-game currency by playing matches and completing daily challenges in VALORANT).

If you’ve got an Xbox PC Game Pass, you can unlock Deadlock (and every other VALORANT agent) for free – just link your accounts and you’ll have access to every agent!

When was Deadlock released?

Deadlock joined VALORANT with the release of Episode 7, Act 1, on June 27, 2023.

She was the first Sentinel to come out since Chamber, nearly 1 year beforehand. Her release date was highly anticipated by a nail-biting cinematic and epic introduction at the VCT Masters Tokyo’s grand finals.

What ethnicity is Deadlock?

Deadlock is VALORANT’s first Norwegian agent. Alongside Breach, she is one of two agents with Scandinavian nationality.

You’ll see her speaking Norwegian in the Unmade cinematic for Episode 7, and showing the strength of her Nordic roots as she battles tooth and nail against the icy tundra and a terrifying radianite-infused bear.

How old is Deadlock?

As with most VALORANT agents, we only have an age range for Deadlock, and can place her somewhere between 25 and 30 years old.

Is Deadlock any good?

Deadlock is a great agent if you can get the hang of her crowd-control abilities. She’s not the easiest to get used to though, so if you want an easy Sentinel, look at Sage or Killjoy instead.

But if you put in the time to get to grips with her, Deadlock’s ability to locate and snarl up enemies can be a huge help to any team comp (especially if you’ve got agents whose abilities compliment hers, like Viper, Sova, Raze, or Gekko). So yes, like any agent really, Deadlock is good if you play her right.

What is Deadlock’s role in VALORANT?

As a former elite hunter for Ståljeger, a Norwegian security force, it fits that Deadlock has the role of Sentinel in VALORANT. That said, since her abilities are very focused on crowd control, you could consider her role a bit more like a hybrid of Sentinel and Controller. She’s definitely best at tracking down and trapping enemies.

Gamer’s Guide

Ready to learn how to play Deadlock like a pro?

Before we take a look at the tips and tricks for some epic Deadlock plays, here’s a quick rundown of her disruptive abilities…

Deadlock abilities

Here are all of Deadlock’s abilities, their official descriptions, and key stats. Armed with these, you’ll be well on your way to using Deadlock like a boss.

E – Barrier Mesh

EQUIP a Barrier Mesh disc. FIRE to throw forward. Upon landing, the disc generates barriers from the origin point that block character movement.

• Ability type: Signature
• Deploy time: 1 second
• Time to fortify: 3 seconds
• Total duration: 30 seconds
• Barrier length: 6 meters
• Outer orbs HP: 320 (initial) – 680 (final)
• Main orb HP: 570 (initial) – 1200 (final)
• Cost: Free
• Max charges: 1

Q – Sonic Sensor

EQUIP a Sonic Sensor. FIRE to deploy. The sensor monitors an area for enemies making sound. It concusses that area if footsteps, weapons fire, or significant noise are detected.

• Ability type: Basic
• Deploy time: 1.75 seconds
• Detection radius: 9 meters (l), 8 meters (w), 2 meters (d)
• HP: 20HP
• Invisible until: 3 meters
• Concussion duration: 3.5 seconds
• Cost: 200 creds
• Max charges: 2

C – GravNet

EQUIP a GravNet grenade. FIRE to throw. ALT FIRE to lob the grenade underhand. The GravNet detonates upon landing, forcing any enemies caught within to crouch and move slowly.

• Ability type: Basic
• Deploy time: 0.4 seconds
• Duration: 6 seconds
• Slow effect: 30% (crouched)
• Cost: 200 creds
• Max charges: 1

X – Annihilation

EQUIP a Nanowire Accelerator. FIRE to unleash a pulse of nanowires that captures the first enemy contacted. The cocooned enemy is pulled along a nanowire path and will die if they reach the end, unless they are freed. The nanowire cocoon is destructible.

• Ability type: Ultimate
• Deploy time: 1.1 seconds
• Duration: 10 seconds
• HP: 600 HP
• Travel duration: 7 seconds
• Ultimate cost: 7

How to play Deadlock

Focus on separating enemies, stalling pushes, and trapping opponents

The best Deadlock plays will set your team up to grab the win. Plan how to use your abilities carefully though – you can’t retrieve any of them once they’re deployed, and Barrier Mesh and GravNet can both affect your allies too.

Plan ahead and coordinate with your team so you can help them net those easy picks and stay alive while your enemies apply pressure. All of Deadlocks abilities are great ways to clear lanes and stop enemies dead

Each ability will help you keep lanes clear and stop enemies in their tracks. Play smart.

Use Deadlock on the right maps

Deadlock plays best on maps with small entries and narrow corridors, where her abilities will have maximum effectiveness.

She’ll be an excellent Sentinel choice for any team comp on these maps…

Ascent – all those tight doorways and site entryways were practically made for Deadlock to dominate. You’ll also have an easy go of it clearing all those cubbies with a well-placed GravNet, and get buckets of utility from Sonic Sensors in areas like Mid or B Site.

Bind – another great map for Deadlock plays, with plenty of spots that check the small entries and narrow routes rule. Deadlock’s abilities have insane potential on this map, and there are plenty of great spots to hit enemies with her Ult, too (A Tower, we’re lookin’ at you!).

Split – how many ways can we say “small entries, narrow corridors”. Deadlock is the Sentinel of choice for a map like Split.

Lotus – Deadlock can pretty easily hold any of Lotus’ three sites as a solo act if you play her right. Use her abilities to lock up any site’s main entrance, block flanks, and lure retaking enemies into your team’s line of sight for easy frags.

Fracture – play Deadlock as the flex in your team comp for Fracture and you’re good to go. She’ll combo especially well with the likes of Brimstone, Killjoy, or Breach.

Play Deadlock like a Sentinel/Controller hybrid

Deadlock isn’t exactly like VALORANT’s other Sentinels, since she doesn’t really get passive intel from her abilities – they only provide info when enemies make noise.

Play her more like a bit of a Controller (think Astra), and focus on stalling pushes and controlling areas by disrupting enemies and forcing them to change plans to suit your gameplan.

Yes, this kind of play means you’ll also probably need a more typical info-gathering Sentinel like Killjoy or Cypher on your team, as their intel will be your cue to deploy Deadlock’s abilities.

Barrier Mesh tips

Try to deploy Barrier Mesh deep into a lane or entry point where you can. You can throw it pretty far and it’s worth taking advantage of that.

The best play for this ability is using it to block enemies at a distance and stop them swinging out or shooting through your barrier. Never forget that – Barrier Mesh isn’t bulletproof or ability-proof.

Spend time learning the best lineups for Barrier Mesh, and don’t be afraid to get creative – you’ll find loads of sweet spots to deploy this ability and catch enemies with their pants down. Keep your eyes peeled for walls and windows that’ll give you that element of surprise.

Sonic Sensor tips

Location, location, location – where you place Sonic Sensor is absolutely critical, especially since you can’t retrieve it once it’s deployed, and it won’t activate until enemies make sound within range.

Still, play this ability right and Deadlock stands shoulder-to-shoulder with intel-gathering Sentinels like Killjoy or Cypher.

Never use Sonic Sensor as a passive way to watch your flank, that’s just asking for trouble. It’s way too easy for enemies to sneak past it, which makes it far too unreliable.

Instead, deploy it in locations where enemies are likely to make a load of noise. Look for spots where players are likely to drop down from a height. Highly contested areas like bombsites are also great spots as enemies are super likely to trigger the trap and give your team the advantage you need to win.

Whether you’re on attack or defense, Sonic Sensor is a post-plant nightmare – an excellent ability for putting the hurtin’ on players planting or defusing the spike.

The only way Sonic Senor works even slightly passively is if enemies destroy it and you spot it disappear from your minimap (in so doing showing you their movements), or if it’s placed at a different site to the one you’re holding, and gives you noise indications there.

GravNet tips

GravNet is easily Deadlock’s most aggressive ability – it’s an absolute beast at clearing corners and stopping retakes.

Throw it, lob it, bounce it off walls, you can make some great plays any way you use it.

On attack, we cannot overstate the value of GravNet’s ability to drop enemies to a crouch, and force them to move slow or put their gun away to free themselves. Combo this with an ability that deals heavy damage, like Raze’s Paint Shells, and it’s lights-out for the enemy.

It also pairs devilishly with any smoke to stop enemies pushing.

On defense, GravNet + any chokepoint = pure savagery. Again, our top tip is to pair this ability with another that deals damage. The same strat works on enemies planting the spike, or any location attackers are trying to hold.

Annihilation tips

Since your enemies can destroy it to save their ally, Deadlock’s Ultimate is most effective in any 1 vs. 1 scenario. Be patient and only deploy Annihilation when you’re sure no one will be able to free your target.

That said, a sneak tactic involves bouncing it off the ceiling – any enemy you catch from this kind of use will be dragged upwards with the ability and suffer fall damage when freed.

Annihilation is a great way to pull enemies off the defuse (and will guarantee your team wins if they’re the last agent standing on their team).

Tips for Deadlock on Attack

We’ve already covered some solid tips for attacking with Deadlock, but here’s a quick-hitting list for ya…

• Don’t dump your utility the first chance you get, save it for post-plant (thank us later).
• Use GravNet to clear cubbies and corners so your Duelists can rush the site easier.
• Use Barrier Mesh to stop enemies reaching the spike.
• Use Sonic Sensor to stop anyone defusing the spike.
• Save Annihilation for any 1 vs. 1 – it’ll make up for Deadlock’s lack of any damaging abilities, and buy time for the spike to detonate.

Boo-yah – you’ve been Deadlocked.

Tips for Deadlock on Defense

And here’s some quick-hitting tips for defending as Deadlock…

• Only use Barrier Mesh or GravNet when you need to instantly lock down a path, and save the other ability for if/when you rotate.
• Use Sonic Sensors where the enemy has to make noise – somewhere they’ll drop off or a common plant location works best.
• Save one Sonic Sensor for when the enemy is planting the spike.
• Use Annihilation for retakes – enemies will either sacrifice their agent or abandon their plans to save them, either way it’s a great opportunity for your team to move in.

Agent combos with Deadlock

Deadlock works well in team comps that can both give cues as to the best time for her abilities, and can capitalize on the enemies she traps and rain down some heavy damage.

That means most Deadlock teams should probably have a strong information-gatherer in play – Killjoy or Sova are your best bet for that really, as both can also dole out the damage with their abilities.

Brimstone and Raze are also wise choices for a Deadlock team, thanks to their access to some seriously heavy firepower.