There might be a lot to learn if you’re a new player to the genre or even just to Deadlock itself. So here is a list of useful terms you might want to know.

A

• AoE (Area of Effect): Abilities or attacks that affect multiple targets within a specified area.

B

• Backdoor: Attacking the enemy base structures (like guardians/walkers) without the support of your team, often while the enemy is distracted.
• Bait: Luring an enemy into a disadvantageous situation or a trap.
• Buff: A temporary increase in stats or abilities. Also refers to neutral monsters that provide these boosts when defeated.

C

• CC (Crowd Control): Abilities that impair the movement or actions of an enemy, such as stuns, slows, or silences.
• Cooldown: The time it takes for an ability to be usable again after being cast.

D

• Dive: Attacking an enemy under their guardian or walker, often requiring coordination and risk.
• DPS (Damage Per Second): A measure of how much damage a champion or hero can deal per second.

E

• Engage: Initiating a fight or battle, usually with abilities designed to start a team fight.
• Escape: Abilities or items used to flee from combat or avoid being killed.

F

• Feed: Dying repeatedly to the enemy team, giving them Souls. Feeding can be intentional (griefing) or unintentional.
• Farming: Killing troopers/creeps or monsters to gain Souls.

G

• Gank: An ambush, usually by a jungler or another roaming player, to catch an enemy off-guard.
• Guardians: Defensive structures that deal significant damage to enemies within range. Protecting or destroying these is key to winning the game.

H

• Harass: Repeatedly attacking or using abilities on an enemy to chip away at their health without committing to a full fight.
• Heal: Restoring health, either through abilities, items, or regeneration.

I

• Initiate: Starting a team fight by engaging the enemy team, often with a crowd control ability.

J

• Jungle: The area of the map filled with neutral monsters, or the role of a player who primarily farms and ganks from this area.
• Juking: Dodging or avoiding an enemy’s skillshot or pursuit by moving unpredictably.

K

• KDA (Kill/Death/Assist): A ratio that represents a player’s kills, deaths, and assists. It’s often used to evaluate performance.
• KS (Kill Steal): Taking a kill that another teammate was about to secure, often seen as rude.

L

• Lane: The paths where minions travel and players fight.
• Last-Hit: Dealing the final blow to a minion or monster to earn gold.

M

• Map Awareness: The ability to keep track of the enemy’s movements and objectives on the map, often through the minimap.
• Meta: The most effective strategies, champions, or items in the current patch or season, often determined by the community or professional players.
• MIA (Missing in Action): A call to inform teammates that an enemy has disappeared from their lane, potentially setting up a gank elsewhere.

N

• Nerf: A reduction in the power or effectiveness of a champion, item, or ability, usually after it’s deemed too strong by developers.

O

• Objective: Key targets on the map, such as mid boss, which provide significant advantages when taken.

P

• Peel: Protecting an ally from enemy attacks by using crowd control or zoning abilities.
• Poke: Dealing small amounts of damage from a distance to weaken the enemy before engaging in a full fight.
• Power Spike: A moment in the game when a champion or hero becomes significantly stronger due to levels, items, or abilities.

R

• Roam: Leaving your designated lane to assist other lanes, often to set up ganks or secure objectives.
• Root: A form of crowd control that prevents an enemy from moving but still allows them to attack or use abilities.

S

• Snowball: Gaining a small lead and using it to build a larger and often overwhelming advantage throughout the game.
• Souls: The currency used to buy items in the game, earned by killing minions, monsters, and enemy players.
• Split-Push: Pressuring multiple lanes at once.
• Support: A role focused on assisting other team members, usually by providing healing, crowd control, or vision.

T

• Tank: A champion or hero designed to absorb damage and protect the team. Tanks typically have high health and defensive stats.
• Tilt: A mental state where a player becomes frustrated or angry, leading to poor decisions and play.

U

• Ult/Ultimate: A champion’s or hero’s most powerful ability, usually with a long cooldown.
• Utility: Non-damage effects that provide benefits to the team, such as shields, heals, or crowd control.

V

• Vision: The ability to see areas of the map, often through wards or abilities. Controlling vision is crucial for map awareness and securing objectives.

W

• Walker: Larger defensive structures that deal significant damage to enemies within range. Protecting or destroying these is key to winning the game.
• Wave: A group of toopers/creeps that spawn and travel down a lane toward the enemy base.

Z

• Zone: Controlling an area of the map or lane, often by threatening enemies with damage or crowd control.