Deadlock Controls and Best Keybinds

Deadlock gives you a lot to press: a gun, four abilities, up to four active items, two kinds of melee, a parry and a full movement kit. This page covers the default layout, what each key does, and which rebinds most players make.

All keys can be changed in Settings → Hotkeys.

Default keybinds

Movement

Action	Default key	Notes
Move	W A S D	You start sprinting on your own after 5 seconds out of combat
Jump / double jump / wall jump	Space	Press next to a wall to wall jump
Dash	Left Shift	Costs stamina, works on the ground and in the air
Crouch / slide	Left Ctrl	Crouch while moving fast to slide

Combat

Action	Default key	Notes
Fire	Left Mouse
Zoom (aim down sights)	Right Mouse	Zooming cancels your sprint speed
Reload	R
Melee	Q	Tap for a light melee, hold for a heavy melee
Parry	F	Blocks melee only; 4.5 s cooldown if you miss
Abilities 1–3	1 2 3
Ultimate	4	Unlocks once you reach 3,800 souls
Active items	Z X C V	Up to four active items

Interface

Action	Default key	Notes
Open shop	B	You can only buy while standing at a shop
Scoreboard	Tab	Also frees your cursor
Extra info / quick upgrade	Left Alt	Hold Alt and press 1–4 to spend ability points

How melee and parry work

Melee is a key part of Deadlock, so learn this early:

• Light melee (tap Q) comes out instantly but hits for less.
• Heavy melee (hold Q) winds up first, then hits much harder and lunges you forward about half a dash. Only heavy melee can break tough crates, pick up dropped soul bags and claim the Rejuvenator and power-ups.
• Parry (F) is active for the first 0.75 seconds of a one-second animation. If an enemy melees you during that window, they’re stunned for 2.75 seconds and take 25% more damage from everything. If you parry nothing, you can’t parry again for 4.5 seconds.

A killing blow dealt with melee on a trooper gives you its souls immediately, with no orbs to shoot. That’s a handy way to farm safely.

Recommended rebinds

The defaults work, but most experienced players change a few things.

1. Put melee on a mouse side button

Melee is used constantly: for last hits, for crates and for burst damage in fights. Moving it to a side button (Mouse 4 or Mouse 5) keeps your fingers on WASD while you swing.

2. Put your most important active item on a mouse button

Escape and save items such as a dispel or a shield need to come out instantly. Bind the one you’ll always buy on your build to your other side button.

3. Consider moving abilities off 1–4

Reaching 3 and 4 while strafing is awkward on some hands. A common alternative is E, R, G or mouse buttons. If you do this, move reload somewhere else too.

Where to practise

Use the sandbox from the main menu to try your binds without pressure. Spend five minutes on:

1. Dash-jumping across the map (the stamina bars under your crosshair turn blue when the dash-jump timing is right).
2. Light and heavy melee on troopers.
3. Firing every ability and item from your new keys.

Next: Your first 10 matches →