Deadlock just got a matchmaking update, and its pretty much what the game always needed to become even more alive than it already was. I have a feeling that Deadlock might become the ultimate competitive multiplayer game, provided people does not get burnt out by the experience other games bring to the table. I generally don’t care about this genre of games anymore as it feels more like a fad, but its interesting for Valve to still be interested in the live service format. Of course, they need to provide people with the ability to host their own servers, if not it would be a pointless game to play.
Deadlock gets better
This new update ads ranks to the game, the usual Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond along with many before and after, clearly made to pad and make ladder climbing harder. It is neat that this exists for those who want it I guess, but the best part of Deadlock is the fact that you will have to be proficient at the game to play it in the first place. To play Ranked, you need to have won at least 60 Standard matches to prove your own worth to the system.
At the same time, the game also wants you to learn your champions too, so it will only allow you to use the ones that have at least 15 wins earned. This will ensure that when you play a game, you know what you are doing because you are forced to use that character. I feel like Valve might be onto something, however, they still have to deal with the fact that people will be smurfing their accounts or paying others to play for them. There’s no proper way to make a game like this work, only 1v1 games feel the most competitive.