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Tech

Tech (short for techniques) refers to advanced movement mechanics and unintended interactions in Deadlock that skilled players can exploit for competitive advantage. These go beyond the basic movement mechanics and often require precise timing and practice.

Basic Movement Fundamentals

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Sprint

Every character has a base movement speed (e.g., Calico is 7.2 m/s). After leaving combat for a few seconds, your character starts sprinting, increasing speed. Sprint Boots (+2 sprint speed) is lost in combat, while Enduring Speed (+2 move speed) persists in combat.

Sliding

You can slide when moving faster than 8.9 m/s. While sliding:

Stamina System

Dash Techniques

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Dash Sliding

Dashing makes you fast enough to slide. Get into the habit of sliding after every dash. You can cancel dashes early by sliding to:

Shooting While Dashing

If you’re holding M1 (fire) while dashing, there’s a delay before you can shoot again. This delay persists even if you cancel the dash early. Workaround: Release M1 briefly before dashing, then repress M1 once you’re sliding.

Dash Jump

Your stamina bar briefly turns blue while dashing. If you jump during this window, you perform a dash jump:

Mini Dash Jump (Single Stamina)

Bind crouch to scroll wheel (up or down). Then:

  1. Start a dash
  2. Scroll during the dash (before jumping)
  3. Jump

This gives you the dash jump speed boost but only consumes 1 stamina instead of 2. Useful for setting up edge boosts inside buildings.

Mantle Techniques

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Mantle Slide

Hold crouch while mantling to slide immediately after the mantle completes.

Super Glide

Jump right after a mantle slide to perform a super glide. You move fast enough to slide or slide bunny hop afterward.

Wall Jump Techniques

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Basic Wall Jump

Jump while in the air and near a wall to wall jump. Direction you’re facing doesn’t matter. Your first wall jump while airborne costs no stamina.

Wall Gliding

You can glide along walls, and at any point during the glide, jump to wall jump.

Momentum Conservation

Wall jumps carry your momentum. Dash jump before a wall jump to travel much further.

Efficient Climbing

Instead of double jump → mantle, use wall jump forward → mantle. This only consumes 1 stamina and is more efficient.

Avoiding Accidental Mantles

When trying to wall jump on small objects or ledges close to ground, you may accidentally mantle instead. To prevent this:

Mantle Slide Wall Jump

Some map spots allow you to chain mantle slide → wall jump for extra speed.

Air Strafing

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Air strafing is a Source Engine mechanic that allows you to turn in mid-air, giving you much more control over your trajectory. This is essential for escaping and chasing.

How It Works

While airborne:

  1. Release W - Don’t hold forward (you’re already moving forward)
  2. Hold A or D - Direction you want to turn
  3. Smoothly move your mouse in the same direction

This curves your trajectory in that direction. If you hold W, you travel in a straight line instead.

Why Release W

You don’t need to hold W in the air because you’re already going forward. Releasing W unlocks your ability to air strafe properly with full control over your trajectory.

Switching Directions

You can switch between air strafing left and right mid-air to:

Applications

If your opponent doesn’t know about air strafing and you do, they cannot catch you.

Zip Line Techniques

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Crouch Exit

Instead of jumping off zip lines, crouch off to keep your momentum. This is significantly faster.

Diagonal Air Dashing

After leaving a zip line (or any time in air):

Always dash diagonally in the air for more speed.

Instant Air Dash

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Press jump then dash in very quick succession (almost instant). Benefits:

Edge Boosting

Source: Movement Essentials Guide by Nathan (Eternus 6)

Edge boosting gives you a horizontal speed boost by wall jumping parallel to a corner right as you’re about to pass it.

How It Works

  1. Approach any corner on the map at speed
  2. Wall jump parallel to the corner right as your character is about to go past it
  3. The faster your speed going in, the bigger the boost

Execution Tips

Corner Boosting

Corner boosting is a movement technique that allows any hero to super jump onto buildings and navigate the map in ways that would otherwise require mobility abilities. This works by exploiting the vault mechanic on thin objects.

How It Works

When vaulting over a thin object (like a sign or railing), the game “ejects” you to the other side. By immediately chaining this into a wall jump, you gain extra vertical height for unexplained reasons.

Basic Execution

  1. Vault: Jump and hold space over a thin object (signs, railings) WITHOUT pressing W
  2. Wall Jump: Immediately press W + Space together (W first, or you’ll double jump instead)
  3. Double Jump: Press space again for additional height
  4. Heavy Melee: Hold space while heavy meleeing to slow your fall and travel horizontally
  5. Auto-Vault: Holding space during heavy melee triggers an automatic vault animation if near a ledge

The full sequence: Vault → Wall Jump → Double Jump → Heavy Melee (holding space) → Land on platform

Railing Variation

Railings cannot be vaulted normally (you land on top instead). The workaround:

  1. Press melee then jump immediately
  2. This allows you to vault over the railing
  3. Continue with wall jump → double jump → dash

Objects That Work

Practical Applications

Hero Synergies

Enhanced Version (Superior Stamina)

With Superior Stamina item (+2 stamina, +2m dash distance, +3.5m jump height):

Practice Method

  1. Go to Play → Explore Map
  2. Enable Fast Stamina (hold Tab, toggle it)
  3. Find thin signs around the map
  4. Practice the vault → wall jump → double jump → heavy melee sequence
  5. Look for nearby high ground to reach

Timing Tips

Bunny Hopping and Sliding

Combining bunny hops with slides preserves momentum, conserves stamina, and makes your hitbox unpredictable.

Benefits

Sliding Hitboxes

Some heroes have especially difficult-to-hit slide animations:

Stamina Banking

Instead of burning 3 stamina in quick succession, mix in slides and bunny hops. Having stamina “in the bank” lets you:

Heavy Melee Momentum Extension

Heavy melee in the air extends your distance and can redirect your momentum. Treat it as an additional air dash.

Uses

High-level players use this constantly. Watch any top streamer and you’ll see heavy melee woven into their movement.

Wall Stalling

Wall stalling lets you stay airborne for extended periods by exploiting wall jump’s internal cooldown.

How It Works

Wall jump has an internal cooldown. If you wait long enough between wall jumps, you get full height. The technique:

  1. Wall jump with proper timing for full height
  2. Spam wall jumps to maintain height on the wall
  3. Stall as long as possible

When to Use

Better on Lash than most heroes due to grapple synergy, but useful on anyone.

Unpredictable Wall Jumping

Use wall jumps defensively to be harder to kill and keep escape options open.

Applications

Sometimes surviving 5 extra seconds means your ultimate comes off cooldown and turns the fight.

General Philosophy

Good movement separates good players from amazing players. Deadlock’s movement system is rich and complex—be creative:

Sources