Combining the items, map, and leveling experience of a MOBA with third-person shooter combat, Valve’sDeadlockhas resurrected a fresh take on the MOBA genre from the ashes of similar games likeSuper Monday Night CombatandSmite. In comparison to those games,Deadlockstands out through its wholehearted embrace of popular movement mechanics commonly found inother shooting games. Sliding, air dashes, dodges, and a Stamina bar allow the player to have plenty of control over how they want to position and respond to the ebb and flow of combat.
Sliding in particular is an underrated feature in Deadlock. It performs similar to the slide used inApex Legends, while also providing some unique interactions that help Deadlock further standout from other MOBAs and shooting games. If you’ve been trying to figure out the best way to move around inDeadlock, learning how to slide is the perfect place to begin.
How To Slide
To slide, just hold crouch when you’re moving down a slope, moving quickly (10m/s or more), or during a dodge.Your character will glow blue for a moment, perform a slide animation, no stamina will be consumed, and you’ll extend the momentum of your speed until the slide is finished.
If you’re sliding after a dodge, verify you let most of the dodge finish before you input the crouch command. Too early, and you won’t slide very far or very fast.
Similar to otherpopular movement shooters,sliding down a sloped surface will also extend the length of a slide and provide a small boost as you slide downhill.You can also jump at the end of your slide to further preserve your momentum. However, this can only be done at the end of a slide down a slope or after a dash-jump slide.
Why Slide?
The best part about slides is how you can use them to get into and out of fights. Slopes and dash-jumps will now efficiently take you away from danger if you add a slide to the end of them. In fact, as you learn more movement techniques and other ways to move quickly around the map, slides will become more important as a means to preserve your speed over a long period of time. Doing this will also make Deadlock’s movementfeel much smoother.
Another benefit to keep in mind is that you’ll get infinite ammo while you’re sliding. This is also indicated in the bottom right of your cursor where your ammo bar will turn green to show you when this effect is applied and when its worn off. Whether you’re attacking or retreating, the infinite ammo offered by sliding will give you a key advantage over your opponents. This is made even more apparent by how long reload animations are in this game.
Best Times To Slide
If you’re trying to get somewhere fast, you can dodge-jump, then slide when you get close to the ground to conserve your momentum. Slides can also be used to preserve the speed you gained from the rail, or when you use a movement ability that brings you over 10 m/s. In general, slides should be used to smooth out your movement and keep your speed going.
You can also use a slide to shorten your dodges and act sooner out of the dodge animation.This is best used when you want to melee a minion to secure a last hit, or any time you just want to shoot or melee out of your dodge faster.
Another good usage of sliding is when you’re facing the opposing midlane Guardian. There are two stairways leading to these Guardians, and since you can always slide without using stamina on a sloped surface, you can shoot your gun, perform a short slide backward for infinite ammo, then walk forward again so you can micro-slide backward again. For characters with slow-firing weapons like the Warden, you can use this to slowly poke at the enemy Guardian without using any ammo. But if you’re short on time, this strategy can be used instead to just you a much larger magazine to damage the Guardian with.
