VALORANT’s fifth sentinel agent, Deadlock, has garnered mixed reactions, thanks to her hit-or-miss kit powered by nanowires. Despite many players dismissing her powers, however, you cannot deny the extreme value she can bring if wielded by an expert. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already met a well-trained Deadlock in your games and want to learn counters before you meet another.
The Norwegian “Ståljeger” may seem difficult to tackle, but her kit isn’t perfect and flaunts a steep learning curve, mostly due to her rather inaccurate cocoon ultimate, Annihilation. Her Barrier Mesh allows bullets but blocks movement, requiring proper placement to squeeze value. Her Sonic Sensors aren’t the best to control a lurk, while her GravNet can very easily miss a target if deployed unawarely.
Having played her in multiple competitive matches, I’ve experienced her flaws firsthand and am here to share some massive counters you can implement to render her potent abilities ineffective. Counters are mentioned separately for each of her abilities for your convenience.
How to counter Deadlock in VALORANT
Barrier Mesh
The Barrier Mesh has to be Deadlock’s most influential ability, and not only because of how incredibly healthy it is. Of course, it takes almost a full magazine of the Vandal and Phantom to destroy the main origin point and around 15 to 18 bullets to destroy just one small orb, but its movement-blocking mechanic is similarly useful.
Another feature of the barrier is that it takes three seconds to fortify, and before it does, the smaller orbs have 320 HP each, while the central one has 680 HP. If you and your allies can fire at the barrier’s orbs immediately after deployment, it’ll take fewer bullets to break it.
After fortification, the smaller orbs have 570 HP each, while the central one flaunts a whopping 1,200 HP. So, make sure to break just the orbs you need to free up your movement conditions.
Movement plays a massive role in your gun fights. If an object restricts your movement, even if you can shoot through it, you’ll be disadvantaged over a player who can freely strafe.
A good Deadlock usually tries blocking chokepoints with her barrier to block your movement and prevent you from peeking comfortably. But remember not to take on aim battles when you’re horizontally restricted. You can break one or two of the smaller orbs to free up space. You can also ask your ally to peek with you for an advantage.
If you’ve enough time and no one to help you out, wait for the barrier to dissipate; it stays on for 30 seconds. You can also rotate to a different site or take a different route. Note that Deadlock has only one of these barriers per round, so faking a site and rotating to another after she deploys her barrier can be an excellent strategy to adopt.
GravNet
One of Deadlock’s basic abilities, GravNet, can be incredibly effective if combined with damage-inflicting abilities like that of Raze’s Paint Shells, Brimstone’s Incendiary, Breach’s Aftershock, and more. But that’s only if she manages to time it properly and coordinate with her teammates.
Related: Best agents to pair with Deadlock in VALORANT
GravNet is a toned-down version of Fade’s Seize—it’ll force you to crouch and restrict your movement speed, but you can still shoot. You can also press F and remove the net, like Cypher’s Spy Dart. Some agents can escape the net with their mobility or teleport abilities, like Jett’s Tailwind (dash), Raze’s Blast Pack, Yoru’s Gate Crash, Reyna’s Dismiss, and Chamber’s Rendezvous.
GravNet doesn’t pose much of a threat unless the enemy Deadlock is a combo expert. If you get seized, and they send in a second deterrent utility to follow up, it’s pretty much game over for you. To avoid this, be aware of an incoming combo and dodge it accordingly. If Deadlock and her allies target a particular spot multiple times, move to a different spot, and they’ll end up wasting utility.
Sonic Sensor
Deadlock’s Sonic Sensors listen for audio cues in an area and concusses if it detects footsteps, weapon sounds, and certain mobility abilities. So, if you walk around it, those sensors will detect nothing.
Now, a clever Deadlock will not place her traps in places where you’re expected to walk while on a lurk. On attack, she’ll usually watch the lurk herself while placing the traps near the Spike or retake chokepoints to annoy your moves. On defense, she’ll place her traps in spots in or near plant sites where there’s at least some form of noise for her traps to work.
Note that Sonic Sensors aren’t much effective for lurk control, so a Deadlock expert will try to counter its flaws. Make sure you’re aware of your surroundings and ready for a gunfight at all times while backstabbing a team with Deadlock in it.
Annihilation
Deadlock’s “My Territory, My Rules!” is not just a chilling voice line, but it’ll pull you to your grave in a cocoon if you get hit with Annihilation’s pulse. That being said, even an expert will find it difficult to be accurate and find kill value with Deadlock’s ultimate.
But things can become a tad bit difficult to tackle if a Deadlock in your enemy team is having a ‘good VALORANT day.’ Don’t worry, though—there are a couple of counters you can adopt for Annihilation.
For starters, it’s easy to dodge the pulse—simply strafe in the opposite direction to make it miss. If you get cocooned, ask your teammates for help—they can break it to free you.
You can also bait your life to pull Deadlock out of hiding. If you get trapped in the nanowire cocoon, chances are that Deadlock and her allies will try to confirm your kill and even move out of their safe spots to do so. Your teammates can capitalize on their mistakes.
Yoru’s kit offers a direct counter to Deadlock’s Annihilation—you can send in his clone toward the pulse to take the bullet for you. Annihilation’s Nanowire Accelerator detects Yoru’s Fakeout as a real enemy. And there’s no way for Deadlock and her allies to know whether her ultimate captured a clone or the real player until its timer ends. This can also be a great way to confuse an enemy Deadlock and her team.
Related: VALORANT Deadlock tips and tricks: How to best play Deadlock
As you can see, Deadlock has her limits and isn’t close to overpowered. But it’s a mistake to underestimate her—put her in the hands of someone who plays to her strengths and watch her become the best sentinel agent in VALORANT. That being said, keep these counters in mind, and she shouldn’t be able to unfairly threaten you anymore.
If you’re still struggling against her, just main KAY/O and focus on shutting down Deadlock’s kit every round.
