How to play Deadlock in Valorant – Ability and Strategy Guide

After nearly two years of waiting, Riot Games have finally released their fifth Sentinel agent to Valorant in the form of Deadlock. I always loved Sentinel class characters, as they bring a lot of team-based abilities to the table, and after testing Deadlock's kit for hours, I can assure you that she does not disappoint us in any way. In fact, she can be a vital Meta pick for your team's composition if you understand her abilities and devise proper strategies using them. So, if you are sentinel main and want to learn some insight about playing Deadlock, you can read and share some of the following tips.

All Abilities of Deadlock in Valorant - Strategy Guide

Below is a list of all the abilities of Deadlock and the ways to maximize their potential.

Gravinet (E)

Gravinet is a nade that works very similar to the KAY/O's flash grenade. Upon detonation, the nade will make all the enemies near its impact radius crouch and slow their movement speed. There are several ways to use this ability. Firstly, you can stall defusing enemies or even slow down hidden enemies when you diffuse the spike for yourself. Also, you can learn lineups for Gravinet to trap enemies in default locations while aggressively entering any site. Additionally, if you have any snipers, you can throw your Gravinet in peeking areas at the start of the round to help your snipers secure an early pick.

Sonic Sensor (Q)

I loved Yoru's Fakeout ability and always wanted another skill based on sound. I guess Riot Games have read my plea on Reddit and responded to it. Anyhow, the new Sonic Sensor is a pretty good ability that revolves around the concept of sound. It works very similarly to the Cypher Trap and can be called an audio version of it. Like the former, you need to deploy the two Sonic Sensors at the start of the rounds in suitable places, and any enemies moving over them will be concussed and will trigger an alarm informing Deadlock of their position.

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You can mainly use this ability to detect flanking enemies in attack rounds and to monitor the opponent's movement during defensive. Also, I found the piece to stick and work from every Cypher's trap position in the game.

Barrier Mesh (E)

On first look, the Barrier Mesh ability may sound like an overpowered ability that mimics the ultimate power of Astra. But that's not the case, as it's a highly balanced ability. When deployed, the user will place a four-way barrier in the shape of X. Any enemies trapped between these barriers cannot move forward until the time elapses. Players can make this utility work in quite a variety of ways. The most effective way is to stop the movement of enemy players while diffusing in a 1vs1 scenario.

For example, if the enemy player has planted the spike on A default in Bind and is hiding in A Bath. Throw the barrier inside A Bath and diffuse the bomb without any tension. Remember, Mesh Barrier can only stop the movement of players. They can still shoot you through the barriers. So, try to place the ability without a direct line of sight between you and the enemy.  

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Annihilation (X)

Annihilation is one of the unique abilities in Valorant. Upon activation, you can shoot a pulse of the beam toward players. The first enemy that can get hit by the beam will turn into a cocoon and die if none of their allies help. I found the ability highly useful in 1 v1 fights as it easily guarantees a free round, and even during regular team battles, it can be a significant distraction as enemies will be split into either saving their friends or fighting.

For more on Valorant, check out Best team composition for Gekko in Valorant or All Valorant Phantom Skins and how to get them on Pro Game Guides.