Deadlock is the new hit from Valve on Steam. The MOBA shooter is still in a closed testing phase and received a major update in January 2026. As part of the update, 6 completely new heroes were released, which for MeinMMO author Nico are among the best in the entire genre.
I have been playing MOBAs for over 13 years now. Starting with Dota 2 and later attempts in League of Legends, I have accumulated over 10,000 hours of experience.
In August 2024, it finally happened and I received my access to Deadlock. Since then, I have spent over 1,200 hours on it and play almost daily with great enthusiasm. For me, Deadlock is a masterpiece.
The most important element of a MOBA are the different heroes. Deadlock has received 6 new characters with the “Old Gods New Blood” update, the last of which was released on February 12. In the countless hours with various MOBAs, I tried over 330 characters, and for me, it is now clear: Deadlock has the best.
From the Priest with Three Weapons to the Unicorn Girl
A huge plus for Deadlock is the setting and the world. Deadlock takes place in an alternate world where a natural event called “The Maelstrom” has opened the gate between our world and the world of spirits and demons.
In 1940s New York, all sorts of creatures and people roam the streets of the giant city. Each of them is unique, like the unicorn girl Celeste or Venator, a priest who, on God’s behalf, wants to destroy every monster with his three weapons.
The entire setting of Deadlock just feels fresh and is something I have never experienced before. Valve also elaborates the lore significantly, as every character has a reason for participating in the ritual, which is a round of Deadlock.
Deadlock has one more dimension
The next big plus for Deadlock is the vertical gameplay principle. While Dota 2 or LoL have to rely on an ISO perspective and horizontal gameplay, Deadlock offers an additional dimension. And that is a huge advantage for the gameplay principle of most heroes.
Let’s stick with the new hero Celeste. She has the unique feature that she falls slower and can maneuver better in the air. Also, with her abilities, she can glide through the air a bit and attack her opponents from above.
Thanks to the third dimension, Deadlock offers significantly more options to design heroes that feel fresh and follow a unique playstyle.
Prefer extremely mobile or rather static?
So far, there are 38 different characters in Deadlock, which is of course not comparable to the almost 130 from Dota 2 or the over 170 from LoL. However, I believe that Valve, with their years of experience with MOBA heroes and the available mechanics of Deadlock, has created the most interesting heroes by far.
Especially the new 6 stand out immediately with their distinctly different playstyles:
- Apollo is an extremely mobile fencer and at the same time a strong team fighter.
- Venator is rather sluggish, has no movement ability, and relies on his ample arsenal of weapons.
- Rem is the new supporter and the first real small hero who can use the tunnel systems beneath the map. His playstyle is also a delightful change from all the other MOBA characters I know.
- Graves, the necromancer, plays very statically and relies on her zombie army once she places a large tombstone to play around.
- Silver is another unique feature. She starts the battle as a human, who is easily vulnerable, and ideally ends it as a strong werewolf who has taken on the entire enemy team.
- And last but not least, of course, Celeste, who flies through the air and rains down multiple abilities.
Of course, other MOBAs also have great characters with special playstyles. However, Deadlock invites to entirely new playstyles by perfectly combining systems like movement or items with the abilities of the Deadlock heroes.
The year 2025 brought many and really big changes for Deadlock. Not only were there a total of 10 new heroes, but the entire map was also revamped. Additionally, the item system received an upgrade. What exactly happened, you can find out here: Valve massively changed their new shooter on Steam in 2025, but the biggest problem still remains
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