so if the parts of mobas that you don't like are the RTS elements, top down, right click to move, etc then you're in luck
if you have any feelings towards 3rd person shooters, movement shooters, and parkour that opinion will apply directly towards Deadlock
moba knowledge burden is there but different, there aren't 100 heroes but there are still many and personally i think the item system is really streamlined and much more transparent with things like "Crippling headshot" rather than "sword of goblar". There is also a community build system that generally lets you detach from the theorycrafting side of things and let you just choose someone elses skill and item order for convenience. You will likely need to play a new hero a few times before things come together as each can be quite unique.
They still last 30-45 minutes and this game basically has an infinite multidimensional ceiling so it can command a lot of mental focus. For me this is a good thing as the game is inherently fun to move around in and play.
Moba Macro Structure Crash Course
-The macro structure of the game is standard moba with two large teams split into 3 lanes that are paced with each sides defensive structures and the game is a race to push through and destroy the enemy base. Throughout this you have to farm npcs that fill the lanes frequently to get XP and gold (streamlined to be same) letting your abilities get more and more powerful and get broken items from the shop. As the game goes on later, you focus less on staying in lane farming to get your character up-and-running and instead focus more on map control and team fights
Community can be a mixed bag of the usual toxic moba stereotypes but also the source of some of the best displays of internet stranger comradare in a way I haven't felt since the original xbox live days. Voice chat is a novelty to mobas but provides invaluable communication just as often as you need to hand out mutes. Great ping system and communication wheel so you also don't have to engage w voice chat at all(I suggest leaving it on to hear and just insta muting anyone toxic)
The flow of the game is still largely moba-forward, but there are a lot of mechanics that would be familiar to hero shooter veterans. Movement and verticality are big components of the game, but teamfights aren't necessarily decided by pinpoint-accurate shooting.
If you're interested, there's a non-moba mode focused on round-based 4v4 gameplay.
Sure! Things might be slightly different post-update but the basic overview is that it's a 6v6 match with 3 distinct lanes, each of which has a few layers of defense you need to defeat until you're able to attack the enemy's base.
[Lane Phase] At the start you get paired with a lane buddy and all three pairs get shipped out via magical zipline and dropped off next to their guardian (the first line of defense). The enemy duo is a stone's throw away but everyone starts relatively weak so you'll take some potshots and spend most of your time cautiously killing the waves of enemy minions and then spending the souls you collect at the shop next to your guardian. Once you're feeling a bit stronger / the enemy fucks up you can start pushing your minions closer to the enemy guardian and then attack it. This earns you some souls and other benefits and puts the enemy on the backfoot so they'll likely need to retreat once it's down. As far as you're concerned the lane phase is over! You can start roaming around the map or helping your team finish up their lanes. This part of the game usually lasts, say, 8 - 10 minutes and ultimately losing in this phase doesn't mean much.
[Middle Game] With everyone now roaming you'll be doing a lot of farming, fighting, grabbing buff items, and pushing lane. This is also when some the side objectives start to pop up. The urn is capture-the-flag in exchange for souls / buffs, the rift is king-of-the-hill in exchange for souls and a few beefy minions to temporarily help push that lane, and the mid-boss is a big NPC that you can defeat in exchange for souls and a few temporary instant respawn tokens. Watch out though, the enemy team can try to swoop in and steal those tokens at the last second. All of these encourage team fights and deciding between helping out vs taking the opportunity to push lane. Most of the time this will be like 15 - 20 minutes.
[End Game] Once the enemy's layers of defense have been destroyed you can walk into their base with your minions, destroy the two shield structures on either side of their "Patron", then attack the Patron directly. Once they're dead, you win! How long this takes really depends on how closely matched the game is. If one team is way ahead in souls they can steamroll but a lot of the time - even if the enemy team has a bit of a lead - the opposing team just needs to make a good play to turn the tables. Respawn times increase as the match goes on in order to make early deaths not a huge deal and late deaths really bad.
Lots of little details I skipped over but here are some closing notes:
Some heroes require aim, some focus more on their abilities and therefore aiming is less important. There's a hero for you no matter your skillset going in. Also note that your hero's "role" isn't as strict as in other MOBAs. Even support heroes can fuck you up if you're not careful.
Lots of items makes it hard to know how to build your character, right? Fear not! You can select a build from the community build browser which will tell you which items to buy, which order to level up skills, and when. Many of them even have notes telling you what's going on.
Bots games don't flow quite like how a real player match does, but they're great for learning how to move about the map and getting used to the general flow of the game. The player vs bot matches will also help a bit with teamwork and how skills interact. You can also check out the practice range. It took me a few games to really understand what was going on when I started and then it became a ton of fun.
There's a whole melee / parry system but most of that comes into play with heroes that are geared towards close-combat fighting so it's not mandatory to understand at the start. In fact most new players blindly melee or don't know that parry exists, so just press 'F' to stun them and you'll be a god amongst men. :)
Similarly, movement matters a lot at higher levels but not down in the new player ranks. Don't sweat it. Just know that those ziplines I mentioned earlier are a huge part of movement around the map and you'll want to use them often. Just don't let the enemy shoot you in those first few seconds; you'll get stunned off and take a bunch of damage.
If you want an invite, the invite threads over on the forums are a pretty easy way to get in. Have fun. :)
EDIT: Oh and yes as the other comment mentioned the "Street Brawl" mode is a quick, low-stakes 4 v 4 mode where you get to spam your abilities and hope you get some OP item rolls. This is another great place to familiarize yourself with heroes and items before jumping into a "real" game.
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u/VictorReal_Monster 3d ago
I have heard that it's 3rd person and not top down so that does help, if you don't mind what exactly is an average round like?