Greetings to all Deadlock fans! The last patch of 2024 has recently been released, and the developers will likely take a well-deserved vacation for at least a month.
In this article, the Blix team has compiled key wishes and ideas that could enhance the game, making it more enjoyable and accessible to a broader audience. The following points represent the personal opinions of the Blix team, but some of these ideas may resonate with you or even the developers.
Deadlock: art
Contents
- 1 Simple and User-Friendly for Beginners
- 2 Improved Tooltips and Timings
- 3 Adjustable sound notifications
- 4 Training materials and modes
- 5 Enhancement of the Game’s Visual Elements
- 6 Transparency of Allies
- 7 Visibility through walls
- 8 Centralized Interface
- 9 Atmosphere of the Game
- 10 Additional Motivation for Players
- 11 Achievement system
- 12 Weekly and Daily Quests
- 13 Return-to-play Bonuses
- 14 Anti-Cheat
- 15 Game format: 5×5 instead of 6×6
- 16 Conclusion
Simple and User-Friendly for Beginners
Deadlock is a game with a high entry threshold, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the genre. To attract and retain new players, the developers should focus on the following aspects:
Improved Tooltips and Timings
Deadlock: Rune
- Runes. In the current version of the game, runes appear at the 10-minute mark and then every 5 minutes thereafter. While the sound effect for their appearance is already in place, adding a warning tone at 9:45 would help players prepare. Additionally, incorporating a countdown annotation stating “Runes in 15, 14, 13 seconds” could enhance the experience.
- Cooldown of Abilities. In intense battles, players often struggle to monitor skill cooldowns. When an ability or ultimate is ready, an audible alert can greatly enhance awareness.
- Jungle Creeps. Valve can place timers on the map for visibility when you press Alt or Tab, preventing interface clutter.
- Mid-boss. Providing a warning one minute before an event occurs will help teams better prepare for it.
Deadlock: Mid-boss
Adjustable sound notifications
- The sound customization should be flexible, allowing the volume to be disabled or adjusted entirely in the menu to prevent players from being frustrated.
Training materials and modes
- A tutorial that outlines basic mechanics like last-hitting, rune control, and item usage in a step-by-step format.
- Training mode featuring time-based tasks: eliminate a specific number of creeps within 5 minutes.
Enhancement of the Game’s Visual Elements
Deadlock: art
Deadlock is a game featuring intense graphics, but some elements could use improvement:
Transparency of Allies
- The view is obstructed when an allied character stands between the camera and your character. A potential solution is to add transparency for allies in such situations, similar to how environment objects are treated.
Visibility through walls
- Enhanced visibility of ally health and debuffs through walls, emphasizing critical effects such as support ultimates, shields, and key debuffs.
Centralized Interface
- The XP bar, active items, and ability cooldowns can be relocated to the center of the screen to enhance focus on combat.
- Interface simplification—replacing numeric values with percentage indicators for Net Worth and ultimate recharges.
Atmosphere of the Game
- The game’s visual style is often seen as dull and depressing. By incorporating more saturated colors and adjusting the color correction, Valve can breathe new life into the game.
- Incorporating dynamic weather effects such as rain, fog, or sunlight can make maps feel more vibrant and engaging.
Additional Motivation for Players
Deadlock: Ranks
Achievement system
- Similar to other popular games, implementing a churn system would encourage players to invest more time in the game. For example:
– “Deal 1,000 damage” – Earn a medal or points.
– “Execute 50 successful jumps using Kinetic Dash” – Unlock a unique skin.
- Each season, we can update the achievements to encourage players to return.
Weekly and Daily Quests
- While missions for cosmetic rewards have been introduced, this system could be enhanced by adding more variety to the challenges.
Return-to-play Bonuses
- Players who have not logged in for over a week may receive small rewards, such as a free chest or a limited-time promotion on unique items.
Anti-Cheat
- The issue of cheating continues to be a significant problem across all Valve games. Here are some potential solutions:
1. Integrate Faceit with anti-cheat measures specifically for high-level players.
2. Make the use of anti-cheat software mandatory for high-level ranked matches.
3. Establish a player reputation system: players who receive frequent complaints will be issued warnings and may face temporary lockouts.
Game format: 5×5 instead of 6×6
The 6×6 format creates more chaos, making it challenging for newcomers and the esports scene. Switching to 5×5 can:
- Simplify the perception of the game.
- Reduce the burden on organizations that must maintain large rosters.
- Strengthen the game as a competitive e-sport, establishing the 5v5 format as the standard.
- Simplify hero balancing, as fewer participants will require fewer adjustments.
Conclusion
Deadlock: Hero Paradox
Deadlock is currently in the early stages of development, and the game shows great potential. The Blix team hopes that Valve will listen to the community and implement changes to enhance the gameplay experience for all players. If you have any ideas, please share them in the comments—let’s work together to improve Deadlock! The Blix team is here for you. For more content related to Deadlock, we recommend visiting the Reddit thread.
