Valorant Episode 7 Act 1 will begin in a few days, and Deadlock is all set to join the ranks. Before the action starts, Riot Games has revealed the new Sentinal, Deadlock, at the VCT Masters Tokyo final match. Recent Dev Diary details Valorant Deadlock’s inspiration and her abilities.
Till now, players were just teased with a glimpse of the new Agent. The snowy region where Sova was scouting for her seems to be her native place. Riot Games revealed the place to be Norway.
The Developer Diaries related to the Agent’s inspiration, concept, and design reveal the excruciating thought process behind creating Deadlock. Ensuring uniqueness to worthiness, the developers took care of everything.
Here is everything that goes in the background before creating an Agent.
Contents
- The Way of the Scorpion
- The challenges while creating Deadlock
- Brief overview of Deadlock
The Way of the Scorpion – Valorant Deadlock inspiration
The developers share that the thought behind creating her was to make an Agent who could control the activity on the ground with the help of a utility. The Agent should not rely on setting up their utilities before an attack.
The developers emphasized the profound process that went into creating an Agent like Deadlock. The basic concept that Deadlock is based on is the key features, hiding and attacking when no one is looking.
They had two options to draw inspiration from a spider or a scorpion. The developers chose the latter and crafted an agent inspired by it.
Now, she does not have pincers or a tail that stings but has abilities that could feel quite similar.
According to the developer diaries, drawing inspiration from a scorpion made more sense, and it clearly shows in Deadlocks gameplay. John Goscicki, Agent Lead, said:
“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.”
Players playing Deadlock as their Agent will have to be tactical in their approach and will have to hide and attack their enemies. However, wherever the situation requires, they must put themselves forward and at risk while using an attack. Goscicki added:
“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.”
While the fundamental purpose of utilities is to restrain an enemy, she would at no point refrain from killing.
It is her ultimate that does most of the lethal work. While she uses that only in dire situations, she can quickly wrap her enemy in the ultimate and kill them.
The challenges while creating Deadlock
As an Agent designer, Alexander Mistakidis says, multiple challenges might come in the way. One of the biggest challenges is drawing inspiration and making the Agent fun and someone who is easily acceptable in the game.
The developer in the diary says that they were looking to bring some thrill in the game as far as Deadlock’s abilities are concerned and also trying to ensure that she remains tactical. Mistakidis said:
“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.”
He emphasized that he didn’t want to make hook as the ability which overpowers her gameplay and was instead looking for areas that would give her a fair chance in front of other Agents.
Valorant Deadlock Inspiration: Brief Overview of Deadlock
Deadlock is the 23rd Agent added to Valorant. She comes of Norwegian descent, and with the teaser showing Sova’s drone trying to find her, one can presume she is exceptionally close to him. Both of them come from snowy regions, and Sova might know the terrain like the back of his hand.
Deadlock possesses impressive abilities that can trap, restrain and eventually eliminate enemies. Her abilities are mentioned down below:
- GravNet (C)
- Sonic Sensor (Q)
- Barrier Mesh (E)
- Annihilation (X)
Since the game will only reveal the Agent at VCT Masters Tokyo, players can expect her to become a part of the Agent queue when patch 7.0 comes out and Episode 7 Act 1 starts.
This is all for the inspiration behind creating the newest Valorant Sentinel, Deadlock. Players can check out our Valorant hub for more news, updates, and guides related to the game by clicking here.
