Deadlock glossary
Know every callout before your team shouts it. One line per term, no wiki rabbit hole.
Updated · Patch Nov 4, 2026
- Ability Points (AP)Heroes
- Earned at soul thresholds. Spend 1, 2 and 5 AP to upgrade an ability through its three tiers.Ability Points come from your soul total at fixed thresholds; you don't buy them. You spend them to upgrade abilities you've already unlocked.RelatedAbility unlock · Souls · Power spike
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Each ability has three upgrade tiers costing 1, 2 and then 5 AP. Most heroes max one core ability first; every hero page lists the recommended order.Tips- Put early points where they win the lane, usually your main damage or trade ability.
- Save up for the 5-AP tier on your core ability — it's often the biggest spike in the kit.
- Ability unlockHeroes
- Earned at soul thresholds; unlocks one of your four abilities.Abilities unlock as your soul total crosses fixed thresholds; each unlock lets you pick one of your four abilities to learn.RelatedAbility Points (AP) · Power spike
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Your first unlocks are power spikes. If you hit one before your lane opponent, look for a trade straight away; if they hit theirs first, play safe for half a minute. - Active itemItems
- An item with a hotkey effect, as opposed to passive stat items.An active item takes a hotkey and does something when you press it, like an escape, a lockdown or a cleanse. Passive items just give stats.RelatedAnti-heal · Stun
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Actives win fights on timing. Most heroes want at least one.Tips- Bind actives where you can press them without looking.
- Watch for the enemy's key active before you commit.
- Anti-healItems
- Reduced incoming healing. Applied by items like Healbane and Toxic Bullets.Anti-heal reduces the healing a target receives: lifesteal, regeneration and healing abilities all count.RelatedActive item · Investment bonus
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Healbane applies it with spirit damage, Toxic Bullets with weapon damage. Both reduce incoming healing by 35% in the current shop data.Tips- Buy it as soon as one enemy keeps winning long fights with sustain.
- One anti-heal item on the right hero is enough; you don't need it on everyone.
- Base GuardianMap
- Defends the base entrance behind the Walkers.Base Guardians defend the entrance to each base, behind the Walkers. They're the last line before the Shrines.RelatedWalker · Shrine · Patron
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Structures fall in a fixed order — Guardian, Walker, Base Guardians, Shrines, Patron — and you can't damage one out of order. - Bullet ResistCombat
- Percentage reduction to incoming weapon damage.Bullet Resist is a percentage reduction to incoming weapon damage. Vitality items provide most of it.RelatedWeapon damage · Spirit Resist
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Against a gunner who is shredding your team, resist on your frontline is often worth more than another damage item.Tips- Buy resist against whatever is actually killing you, not what the enemy is buying.
- Dash-jumpMovement
- Dash then jump for extra distance.Dash, then jump right after: you carry far more distance than either move alone.RelatedStamina · Zipline
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It's how you chase people down and how you get away. Slide out of a corner, then dash-jump, to cross open streets faster than anyone walking. - DenyLaning
- Shooting an enemy’s soul orb so they don’t get it.Denying means shooting the soul orb from a trooper the enemy killed, before they can secure it. Every deny is souls they never get.RelatedSoul orb · Last-hit
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A clean deny is often worth more than a poke. Heroes with slow projectiles or burst weapons commit to the last-hit early, so their orbs are easier to steal.Tips- Track which trooper the enemy is aiming at and contest that orb.
- Shoot their orb first when yours is safe.
- DisarmCrowd control
- Can’t shoot.A disarmed hero can't shoot, but can still move and cast.RelatedSilence · Weapon damage
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It's the mirror of silence: devastating on weapon carries, much weaker against spirit casters. - FalloffCombat
- Bullet damage reduction at long range; every weapon has its own falloff range.Bullet damage drops with distance. Every weapon has a range where falloff starts and a range where it bottoms out.RelatedWeapon damage · Headshot
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Shotguns fall off fast; precision rifles barely at all. Fight at your weapon's range, not theirs.Tips- Close the gap against long-range gunners; keep your distance from shotguns.
- GuardianMap
- First defensive structure in each lane.The Guardian is the first defensive structure in each lane. Early on it hits harder than any hero, so stop chasing as soon as it shoots you.RelatedWalker · Troopers · Shove
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It falls to a pushed wave plus one or two heroes. Killing it pays souls to your whole team and opens the lane for rotations.Tips- Trade inside your Guardian's range, never inside theirs.
- Kill the wave first, then the structure.
- HeadshotCombat
- A bullet to the head; deals bonus critical damage that is 1.65x for most heroes.A headshot deals bonus critical damage. The exact multiplier depends on the weapon, so some heroes get far more out of aim than others.RelatedWeapon damage · Falloff
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Heroes with precise, single-shot weapons gain the most. Moving unpredictably and fighting from cover makes you harder to headshot. - Heavy meleeMovement
- Charged melee attack; strong against troopers and careless heroes.Heavy melee charges up and hits much harder than a quick light melee. It's a guaranteed last-hit on low troopers and punishes anyone who walks too close.RelatedParry · Last-hit
- HoldLaning
- Last-hitting only, letting the wave drift toward your side.Holding means only last-hitting and avoiding wave damage, so the wave slowly drifts toward your side.RelatedShove · Last-hit
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A wave near your Guardian protects you from dives and pulls the enemy into gank range. It only works if you keep last-hitting — a wave you ignore pushes into your tower and you lose the souls.Tips- Hold when you're behind, low on health or waiting for a gank.
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- Initiator / Frontline / Support / Carry / PickStrategy
- Deadlock Bible team roles describing what a hero does in a fight (separate from Valve’s four classes).Team roles are Deadlock Bible's way of describing what a hero does in a fight, separate from Valve's four classes.RelatedPower spike
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Initiators start fights, Frontline heroes soak damage, Supports keep allies alive and peel divers, Carries deal sustained damage from safety, and Pick heroes hunt isolated targets. Every hero page lists theirs. - Investment bonusItems
- Extra weapon damage, health or Spirit Power earned by spending souls in that shop category.Spending souls in a shop category grants a bonus in that stat: extra weapon damage for Weapon, extra health for Vitality, extra Spirit Power for Spirit.RelatedSpirit Power · Weapon damage · Power spike
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Focused builds get the most out of it, but almost every hero mixes in some Vitality to survive. - Last-hitLaning
- Landing the killing blow on a trooper to earn its souls.A last-hit is the killing blow on a trooper. It's how most lane souls are earned, and it's what makes the soul orb yours to secure.RelatedSoul orb · Deny · Heavy melee · Hold
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Count the trooper's health, not the orb: on high-damage weapons, start your shot a bullet early. Heavy melee is a guaranteed last-hit on low troopers and leaves your gun free for the orb.Tips- Last-hit, then flick up and secure the orb.
- Glance at the minimap after every last-hit.
- Mid-BossMap
- Neutral boss at the centre of the map; grants the Rejuvenator.The Mid-Boss is a neutral boss at the centre of the map. Killing it grants your team the Rejuvenator.RelatedRejuvenator
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Take it after a won fight or when enemies are shown far away. Starting it with the enemy alive and nearby invites a fight on their terms.Tips- Shove the lanes next to it before you start.
- ParryMovement
- Blocks an incoming melee attack and stuns the attacker.Parry blocks an incoming melee attack and stuns the attacker, leaving them open.RelatedHeavy melee · Stun
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If you see an enemy wind up a heavy melee, parry. A whiffed parry goes on cooldown, so baiting one and then shooting is just as valid. - PatronMap
- Each team’s final structure. Destroy it to win.The Patron is each team's final structure. Destroy the enemy's to win.RelatedShrine · Base Guardian
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It can only be damaged once both of that team's Shrines are down. One decisive late-game fight usually opens it — check enemy respawn timers before you commit. - Power spikeStrategy
- The point, usually an item or ability unlock, where your hero gets much stronger.A power spike is the moment your hero gets much stronger: a key item, a new ability or a big upgrade tier.RelatedAbility Points (AP) · Investment bonus · Ability unlock
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Your first Tier I item and first ability unlock are spikes in lane; your first Tier III is the usual mid-game spike. Plan your build backwards from the moment it comes online.Tips- Fight right after you spike; play safe while the enemy is ahead of theirs.
- RejuvenatorMap
- Mid-Boss buff: faster respawns and stronger troopers for your team.The Rejuvenator is the Mid-Boss reward: your team respawns faster and your troopers hit harder.RelatedMid-Boss · Walker · Shrine
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It's a push window. Use it to take Walkers or Shrines while the buff lasts instead of farming. - RootCrowd control
- Can’t move, but can still act.A rooted (immobilised) hero can't move, but can still shoot and cast.RelatedStun · Slow
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Roots set up skillshots and stop escapes, but a rooted enemy can still fight back, so don't treat it like a stun. - ShoveLaning
- Clearing the enemy wave quickly to push your troopers into their structure.Shoving means killing the enemy wave fast so your troopers walk into their Guardian. That buys you time to clear a camp, shop or rotate, while the enemy has to stay and defend.RelatedHold · Troopers · Guardian
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Ability waveclear is fastest, so save it for when you actually plan to leave.Tips- Shove before every shop trip, rotation or objective.
- Never leave a big wave pushing toward your own Guardian — crash it first.
- ShrineMap
- Two per base; both must fall before the Patron can be damaged.Each base has two Shrines, and both must fall before the Patron can be damaged.RelatedBase Guardian · Patron
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Games are often won by a team that takes one Shrine, resets, and comes back for the second at full health rather than forcing both at once. - SilenceCrowd control
- Can’t use abilities.A silenced hero can't use abilities, but can still move and shoot.RelatedStun · Disarm
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It shuts down ability-reliant heroes and escape abilities. Against gun-heavy heroes it matters less. - SleepCrowd control
- Like a stun, but broken by damage.Sleep works like a stun (no moving, shooting or casting), but any damage wakes the target up.RelatedStun
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That makes it a setup tool: sleep a target, line up your burst, then hit them all at once. Accidentally shooting a sleeping enemy wastes it.Tips- Don't poke a sleeping enemy — wait for the big hit.
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- Soul orbLaning
- The orb a trooper drops on death. Shoot it to secure the full value; the enemy can shoot it to deny it.When a trooper dies, a glowing soul orb pops into the air for a moment. If you landed the killing blow, shoot the orb to claim its full value; your lane partner gets a share either way.RelatedLast-hit · Deny · Souls
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The enemy can shoot an orb from a trooper they killed on your side. That's a deny, and those souls are simply gone. In a contested lane the orb is the real target; the trooper is just the timer.Tips- Pre-aim where the orb will appear, not the trooper.
- When you both go for one orb, the deny is worth as much as the secure.
- Soul UrnMap
- Neutral objective carried to a delivery point; the runner gets the soul payout.The Soul Urn spawns periodically. Pick it up and carry it to the delivery point for a large soul payout: it goes to the runner, shared with any teammate who grabs the orbs it releases.RelatedSouls · Unstable Rift
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The carrier is the target. Escort them, and if the enemy has it, catch the carrier rather than fighting the escort. - SoulsEconomy
- The only currency. Earned from troopers, heroes, camps, crates and objectives; spent on items. Your soul total also unlocks abilities and Ability Points.Souls are Deadlock's only currency. Troopers, enemy heroes, neutral camps, crates, statues and objectives all pay them out.RelatedSoul orb · Last-hit · Deny · Ability Points (AP)
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They do two jobs at once. You spend them in the shop on Weapon, Vitality and Spirit items, and simply earning them raises your soul total, which unlocks abilities and grants Ability Points at fixed thresholds. You never spend souls to level up.The team with more souls usually wins the fight, so the early game is an economic race, not a deathmatch. An 800-soul lead is a full Tier I item.Tips - Spirit damageCombat
- Damage from most abilities and many item effects. Reduced by Spirit Resist.Spirit damage comes from most abilities and many item effects. It's reduced by the target's Spirit Resist.RelatedSpirit Power · Spirit Resist · Weapon damage
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Most Mystics deal mainly spirit damage, and it usually scales with Spirit Power. Knowing whether an enemy is weapon or spirit damage is the first step to building defensively. - Spirit PowerCombat
- Stat that scales most ability damage and effects.Spirit Power is the stat that scales most abilities. Depending on the ability, more of it means more damage, bigger heals, or longer and wider effects.RelatedSpirit damage · Investment bonus
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Spirit items raise it directly, and spending in the Spirit column also grants a Spirit Power investment bonus. Ability tooltips show how much each point is worth. - Spirit ResistCombat
- Percentage reduction to incoming spirit damage.Spirit Resist is a percentage reduction to incoming spirit damage. It's your answer to burst casters.RelatedSpirit damage · Bullet Resist
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Spirit shields and resist items are the standard picks when a Mystic keeps deleting you before you can act. - StaminaMovement
- Pips spent on dashes; regenerates over time.Stamina pips are spent on dashes and refill over time. Most heroes start with 3 — check each hero's stat panel.RelatedDash-jump · Slow
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An enemy who has just spent their stamina can't escape; that's one of the best trade windows in the game.Tips- Keep one pip for escaping.
- Count the enemy's dashes before you chase.
- StunCrowd control
- Can’t move, shoot or cast.A stunned hero can't move, shoot or cast for the duration. It's the strongest form of crowd control, and most kill combos start with one.RelatedSleep · Silence · Root · Parry
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Chained crowd control wins fights; overlapping it wastes it. Debuff Reducer shortens stuns, and Unstoppable makes you immune for a short time.Tips- Throw your stun as your partner's ends, not at the same time.
- TroopersMap
- AI units that march down each lane in waves.Troopers are AI units that spawn on a timer and march down each lane in waves. They're the main source of lane souls.RelatedLast-hit · Shove · Hold · Guardian
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Where the waves meet decides who's safe: the closer the fight is to your Guardian, the safer you are. Troopers walking next to you also absorb Guardian shots, which is why dives only work with your wave ahead. - Unstable RiftMap
- Comeback objective whose resistance bonus scales with game time.The Unstable Rift is a comeback objective. Its resistance bonus scales with game time: 10% plus 1% per minute, capped at 40% at 30 minutes (September 16, 2026 patch).RelatedSoul Urn · Mid-Boss
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Because the bonus grows, it matters more the longer a game goes. A team that's behind late can use it to swing the next fight. - WalkerMap
- Large lane boss behind the Guardian; fights back.Walkers are the large lane bosses behind each Guardian. They're much tougher than Guardians and actively fight back.RelatedGuardian · Base Guardian
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Never take one without your trooper wave, and spread out so its attacks can't hit everyone at once. Two Walkers down is the classic mid-game spike.Tips- Group up after the first Walker falls and take the second together.
- Weapon damageCombat
- Damage from bullets and melee. Reduced by Bullet Resist.Weapon damage is everything that comes from bullets and melee. It's reduced by the target's Bullet Resist.RelatedBullet Resist · Headshot · Falloff · Spirit damage
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Weapon items and the Weapon investment bonus raise it. Marksmen and gun-heavy carries deal mostly weapon damage, so they're countered by Bullet Resist and shields against bullets. - York / Broadway / GreenwichMap
- The yellow, blue and green lanes.The map has three lanes: York (yellow), Broadway (blue) and Greenwich (green). The City Never Sleeps update gave each its name and its own districts.RelatedZipline · Guardian · Troopers
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Each lane has a zipline along its length and the same chain of structures. Two heroes from each team start in every lane. - ZiplineMovement
- Rail along each lane that carries you hands-free.A zipline runs along each lane and carries you hands-free, so you can still shoot and cast while riding. You can boost to go faster.RelatedYork / Broadway / Greenwich · Dash-jump
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You can drop off at any point. The best ganks come from a zipline over the enemy's head, not from the end of the line.Tips- Never ride into an enemy you can't see.
- Use ziplines to rotate one wave early for objectives.