Deadlock Laning Phase Guide: Last Hits, Trading and Winning Your Lane

The first ten minutes decide who has the souls for the rest of the game. You don’t need kills to win your lane. You need more souls than the player opposite you.

How lanes work

• Each lane is a 2v2. Your six players split into pairs across York, Broadway and Greenwich. See the map overview.
• Trooper waves come every 30 seconds (until 20:00). Each trooper is worth 100 souls + 2 per minute.
• Everyone starts with 600 souls. Your second ability unlocks at 1,100, the third at 2,000 and your ultimate at 3,800. See abilities and ability points.

Last hits, orbs and denies

This is where lanes are won and lost.

1. When a trooper dies, half its souls float up as an orb. Shoot it to secure it. If an enemy shoots it first, they deny it and you get nothing.
2. The other half drops on the ground and goes to you and nearby teammates.
3. Melee last hits give 100% of the souls instantly, with no orb to deny. Finishing low troopers with a light melee is one of the best habits in the game.
4. Deny the enemy’s orbs. Every orb you deny is souls they don’t have.

For the full numbers, see how souls work.

Trading

A trade is a short exchange of damage with the enemy laner. Win more trades than you lose and they have to back off, which means they miss souls.

• Trade when their key ability is on cooldown. If they just used their escape or their burst, step forward.
• Trade when they go for a last hit. They’re focused on the trooper, not on you.
• Don’t trade under their Guardian. It targets anyone who damages its allies nearby.
• Stay out of the enemy trooper wave. Troopers shoot you too, and that adds up.
• Work with your partner. Two players focusing one enemy wins most trades.

Health and staying in lane

• Every time you go back to base, you lose waves. Two missed waves can be several hundred souls.
• Buy regen early if you’re taking poke: Extra Regen, or a sustain item that suits your hero.
• Don’t fight at low health. Respawns are short early (8 seconds at 5 minutes), but the walk back costs you waves.

Using the jungle between waves

The jungle opens up in stages:

Time	What appears
2:00	Small camps
3:00	Crates and golden statues
5:00	Medium camps, power-ups on the bridges
8:00	Large camps and Sinner’s Sacrifice

Once your wave is cleared, take a nearby camp and come back for the next wave. Never let a wave die without you. Jungle souls are haunted (unsecured for a while), so don’t take risky fights while carrying a lot of them. See farming routes and haunted souls.

The lane Guardian

• It’s invulnerable unless enemy troopers or players are within 24 metres, so you can’t snipe it.
• It switches to anyone who attacks its allies within 15 metres. Don’t fight enemy heroes under it.
• Its damage resistance falls away until it’s gone at 12:00, which is when Guardians start to fall.
• Push it behind your trooper wave, so it shoots troopers, not you. Its melee slam can be parried.
• When it dies, that lane’s shop closes for good.

See objectives for its full stats.

Calling missing enemies

If your lane opponent disappears, say so in chat or ping the map. They’re probably ganking another lane or taking a camp. A quick warning saves teammates’ lives.

When laning ends

Laning winds down between 10:00 and 12:00:

• The first Soul Urn spawns at 10:00.
• The Unstable Rift first appears around 11:00.
• Guardians lose all damage resistance at 12:00.

From here, your lane is no longer the only thing that matters. See the mid game.

Laning checklist

1. Shoot every orb; melee low troopers.
2. Deny their orbs.
3. Trade when their cooldowns are down.
4. Don’t fight under their Guardian.
5. Take a camp between waves, then come back.
6. Call it when your opponent goes missing.

Next: The mid game →