Deadlock, Valorant Agent 23: Abilities, Gameplay, Tiers

Riot Games revealed Deadlock, Agent 23 of Valorant, along with her skills, abilities, gameplay, and tiers. Check out more details below.

New Agent: Deadlock

Norwegian agent, Deadlock, is the newest Sentinel for the hero shooter game Valorant.

Deadlock deploys an array of cutting-edge nanowires to secure even the most lethal assault on the battlefield.

According to game designer Alexander Mistakidis, the new Valorant agent was symbolically inspired by a scorpion:

When creating the gameplay for Deadlock, I was imagining her symbolically as a scorpion. Spiders might spin their web and wait for it to do the work, whereas scorpions have to hide and then spring into action, putting themselves at risk. They use their pincers (abilities) to restrain and kill prey, or to prevent their own predation. Their venomous sting (ultimate Annihilation) is best saved for a dire defensive situation.

John Goscicki, Agent Lead, also thought of the new agent as one who can be utilized reactively as opposed to passively during gameplay:

A lot of what Deadlock is doing is lying in wait for people to come to you, and reacting to the situation at hand. There was an improvisational nature to it all, of someone that is honed in their craft, and knows what tool to use depending on what comes at them. This resonated with tropes of someone surviving against extreme/otherworldly odds, getting out alive with just what they were able to work with. Deadlock is bringing her skills, and tools to the game, it’s up to you to use them correctly to stall every enemy push.

Mistakidis also shared that designing the new agent is also a challenge for the team, as they had to plot out how to implement her abilities effectively:

As a player who loves playing hook characters like Blitzcrank [a champion in League of Legends] in any game, I took it as a personal challenge to explore ways to bring the thrill of a hook ability while also ensuring that it was tactical. It was a tough problem to crack that encouraged skepticism, as we didn’t want the hook to overpower gunplay or the fundamentals of the game. This was an adventure that took many iterations and attempts to build confidence in. From ultra bouncy hooks with arcing gravity to some that dragged through walls, or even locking players in prisons that had to be opened from the outside. My hope is that the Annihilation ability we landed with offers the high-skill outplay opportunities to Deadlock players while still being engaging for everyone involved.

Deadlock is set to release along with Valorant Episode 7 Act 1, which is slated for launch on June 27, 2023. This new patch also adds the Neo Frontier Skinline and a brand-new Battle Pass. Some of the features in the Battle Pass, like the Composite Phantom and Blush Operator, are based on futuristic shapes and designs. The Battle Pass also comes with the Smoke Maze spray and the Pancake Pile-Up.

Valorant Deadlock Abilities

The skills of Deadlock include the following when you press the respective keys during gameplay:

GravNet (C)

EQUIP a GravNet grenade. FIRE to throw. ALT FIRE to lob the grenade underhand. The GravNet detonates upon landing, forcing any enemies caught within to crouch and move slowly.

Sonic Sensor (Q)

EQUIP a Sonic Sensor. FIRE to deploy. The sensor monitors an area for enemies making sound. It concusses that area if footsteps, weapons fire, or significant noise are detected.

Barrier Mesh (E)

EQUIP a Barrier Mesh disc. FIRE to throw forward. Upon landing, the disc generates barriers from the origin point that block character movement.

Annihilation (X)

EQUIP a Nanowire Accelerator. FIRE to unleash a pulse of nanowires that captures the first enemy contacted. The cocooned enemy is pulled along a nanowire path and will die if they reach the end, unless they are freed. The nanowire cocoon is destructible.

Valorant Deadlock Gameplay

Deadlock's skill set is all about setting up traps that can catch and hurt other players in different ways.

Deadlock has a lot of zone control with her unbreakable Barrier Mesh, great crowd control (CC) with GravNet and Sonic Sensor, and a very powerful ultimate ability called Annihilation that can isolate and pull a player into the team like a spider catching its prey.

See also:

• Valorant Neo Frontier Skinline
• Valorant: How to Get Free Radianite Points

Agent Gear

Unlockable agent tiers for the new Valorant agent Deadlock include the following:

• Tier 1: Cyber Oak, Spray
• Tier 2: VALORANT Deadlock, Player Card
• Tier 3: Wired, Title
• Tier 4: Crossed Wires, Spray
• Tier 5: Kingdom Credits
• Tier 6: Nanowire Cartridge, Gun Buddy
• Tier 7: Deadlock Spray, Spray
• Tier 8: Ståljeger, Title
• Tier 9: Into the Vault, Player Card
• Tier 10: Resolution, Gun Skin (Classic)

Via Riot Games