Crowd control (CC) is any effect that limits what an enemy can do: move, shoot or use abilities. Most team fights are decided by who lands their CC first, and who can avoid or cleanse it.
Every CC type
| Effect | What it does | Can you shoot? | Can you use abilities? | Can you move? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stun | Completely stops the target | No | No | No |
| Sleep | Like a stun, but the target can drift very slowly; damage wakes them up | No | No | Barely |
| Silence | Blocks abilities | Yes | No | Yes |
| Disarm | Blocks weapon fire | No | Yes | Yes |
| Root (immobilise) | Stops movement | Yes | Yes | No |
| Slow | Reduces move and sprint speed (some also slow dashes) | Yes | Yes | Slower |
| Displacement | Knock-ups, knockbacks and pulls; interrupts many actions | — | Interrupted | Forced |
| Curse | Interrupts, disarms and silences abilities and active items | No | No | Yes |
Notes:
- Silence doesn’t stop active items, except silence from Cursed Relic.
- Disarm only blocks your primary fire. Abilities that deal weapon damage without using your gun still work.
- Sleep is broken by any damage, so on Haze, open your attack on a slept target with your best shot.
- Slows were reduced across the board in September 2026: all movement slows by about 20% and ground-dash slows by about 10%.
Debuff resist
Debuff resist reduces how long debuffs last on you.
| Item | Debuff resist |
|---|---|
| Debuff Reducer (1,600) | +25% |
| Blood Tribute (3,200) | +35% |
| Frenzy (6,400) | +40% |
Some hero abilities also give it, for example Abrams’s Infernal Resilience T3 (+20%).
Exception: the parry stun (2.75 s) can’t be reduced by debuff resist.
Hard counters
Immunity
- Unstoppable: immune to stuns, silences, sleeps and roots for the duration. It’s available as an item (Unstoppable, 6,400) and from some abilities, such as Abrams’s Seismic Impact T3.
- Indomitable (6,400): blocks one crowd-control effect.
- Invincibility: blocks all damage and all hostile effects.
Cleansing (dispel)
- Dispel Magic (3,200): instantly removes active debuffs.
- Hero abilities that dispel: Dynamo, Haze (Smoke Bomb T3), Kelvin, Victor, Viscous and Yamato.
How to play around CC
- Know the enemy’s key CC. Before a fight, look for the abilities that can lock you down and track their cooldowns.
- Bait it out. Make the enemy waste their stun on your tank, then go in.
- Stay out of walls’ reach. Some CC is stronger near walls, such as Abrams’ Shoulder Charge.
- Spread out against area stuns. Big area ultimates are only devastating when your team bunches up.
- Time your immunity. Use Unstoppable or a dispel right before (or right after) the big CC lands, not at the start of the fight.
- Don’t double up your own CC. If your teammate just stunned the target, wait and use your CC to extend the lockdown.
Building against CC
| If the enemy has… | Consider |
|---|---|
| A few hard stuns | Debuff Reducer early, Unstoppable or Indomitable later |
| Lots of silences | Dispel Magic, which still works since items aren’t blocked by silence |
| Heavy slows | Enduring Speed and extra stamina |
| Divers who lock down your carry | Dispel or immunity on the carry, plus peel from your tank |
That’s the end of Core Mechanics. Next up: the soul economy.
Frequently asked questions
What does silence do in Deadlock?
Silence stops you from casting abilities, but you can still shoot, move and use active items. The one exception is Cursed Relic, which silences active items too.
Does debuff resist reduce parry stun?
No. The 2.75-second stun from a successful parry isn't shortened by debuff resist.
What is the best item against crowd control?
Debuff Reducer (25% debuff resist) is the cheap, all-round option. Dispel Magic removes debuffs on demand. Unstoppable makes you immune to stuns, silences, sleeps and roots for its duration. Indomitable blocks a single crowd-control effect.
Numbers on this page are checked against the game and the community-run Deadlock Wiki. Spotted something a patch changed? Tell us.