Valorant
The new Act of Valorant is here, and with it, we have a new agent: Deadlock, a sentinel class agent from Norway. In our previous articles, we’ve discussed at length how crucial sentinel agents are to the game’s meta. The unique part about this agent is her Ultimate. Within this article, we’ll look at Deadlock’s ideal maps and agents her utility pairs well with.
Looking at her abilities briefly, first, we have Gravnet, a single-charge grenade that forces all the characters in its range to crouch and slow down (although opponents can remove the netting.)
Her next ability is the Sonic Sensor, a sensor that can be placed on a wall. It detonates by any sound, such as footsteps or bullets. Barrier Mesh is her third ability, which spawns a wall in the form of an X shape, preventing players from moving through it, but bullets can still pass through it, as well as most abilities. Although some abilities, such as Gekko’s Trash, won’t get through Barrier Mesh.
Finally, Deadlock’s Ultimate is Annihilation. This Ultimate traps the closest player in its area of effect due to the nanowires inside a cocoon for 10 seconds. The opponent that is cocooned is being drawn along a nanowire path; if they reach the end without being released, they will die. The nanowire cocoon can be destroyed, but the opponent's teammates must shoot at the cocoon. This ability will be clutch in 1v1 situations during the post-plant.
Best maps To Make The Most Of Deadlock
Ideally, a map with narrow pathways and entry to sites would be ideal. Thanks to Barrier Mesh, most players would be blocked from entry into the site. Its wall has 2000 HP, meaning it would take around 27 bullets from a phantom to break the wall completely. As such, a map like Split would be ideal for Deadlock. Instead of using a smoke, she can use the wall at B main while also having a site on the orb. Her wall can also be used at mid-mall or even A main to stop the push onto the site or ramps too. Because Sonic Sensor gets triggered by sounds made by opponents, the ideal spot to place them would be at jump points. This could be either B Heaven or A Rafters as well.
Another map to use her on is Bind. Deadlock could be utilized as the agent opposing teams rushing onto a given site. An example is Paper Rex with their Reyna team comp. With her Barrier Mesh, Deadlock can stop the push into Hooka as well as Showers on the map. Doing so forces the opponents to push onto the site by either A main or B main. Her Sonic Senor would be ideal for the post-plant, resulting in the player getting stunned and pushed away from the spike on the diffuse.
Another map that Deadlock is quite a viable pick on is Ascent. Her Barrier Mesh can be a crucial ability thanks to the map having multiple choke points and narrow entry lanes. Her wall can easily stop the push into A main and B main. Due to her sensors having no radius of limitation, she can rotate to either site while placing the sensor either at mid or at A link. As the middle of the map is a heavily contested spot during most matches, it will be curious to see if teams use Annihilation at the start of the map round. By being so aggressive, they could easily scout the location of the opponent team. Ideally, most Deadlock players will be playing on the B site, with her Sonic Sensor providing key utility.
Best Agents To Pair Up With Deadlock
Being a sentinel, Deadlock’s abilities should mainly be used to block entry onto the site. Thanks to her ability Gravnet, taking control over a chokepoint at the start of the map gets easier. This could be the Lotus on the entry point on either of the three sites. This makes the best characters to use with her Raze, Kay/0, Brimstone and Breach.
Looking at Raze as a duelist, her cluster grenade causes quite a lot of spread damage. Combine the grenade or showstopper with the Gravnet and you could have a lot of enemies killed instantly.
Breach will be mainly helpful in combining his Aftershock and binds with her Barrier Mesh. While abilities can pass through the Barrier Mesh, one must keep in mind the amount of bullets opponents will spend on breaking the wall. On the bullet sound queue, Breach can use his flash to push onto the site and catch the opponents off guard on site.
Kay/0, on the other hand, can suppress opponents with his knife. They’ll have to break the knife before it scans them to avoid being suppressed. The bullet sound queue will result in Sonic Sensor being activated, and thanks to the flashes as well, it will be easier on the defense to make the opponent realize they are within the area of effect of the Gravnet.
Brimstone, as a controller, will be mainly useful for his smokes. On the post-plant, using a lineup of the Gravnet and his mollie, the opponents will be stopped from being able to diffuse the spike. His ultimate will be crucial in getting control of the map or blocking off the opponent using Deadlock’s Barrier Mesh.
