Shroud raves about Deadlock’s depth, calling it “the first arena shooter MOBA that’s actually good”

The existence of Valve’s hero shooter MOBA hybrid Deadlock has only just been officially recognized, and seasoned esports pros and star streamers like Shroud are already raving about it after just a few hours of play.

“Yes, this game will easily – and I mean easily – take over when it comes out,” Shroud stated, sounding confident about Deadlock‘s potential during his first public session with the upcoming competition on Saturday, August 24. Shroud added: “It’s the first arena shooter MOBA that’s actually good. All the others kind of stink.”

Shroud elaborated on this the next day, writing Deadlock‘s pedigree to its deep mechanical complexity. “It has the most mechanics I’ve ever seen in a third-person shooter. It’s f***ing crazy. I don’t even think 1,000 hours would be enough to learn the game.”

One of the biggest things the star streamer said he loved was that Deadlockisn’t just about shooting and melee skills, but a fusion of many other nuances. Elaborating, he talked about the multitude of movement and traversal mechanics he’s already played with in the MOBA-come-shooter: the infinite ammo-granting slide, the stamina-bar-draining double jump and dash, and then the combination of those, as quick dashes into slides.

The only thing Shroud was missing was wall riding, which he suspects will eventually be added via a new hero skill.

Like Dota2 has been for more than a decade, Deadlock was designed with the same old Valve philosophy, according to Shroud: if every playable hero is completely broken, then there is none. However, unlike its decade-plus old MOBA cousin, Deadlock combines several other genres, namely arena shooter and MOBA elements.

In its current form, Deadlock is not all that different from older attempts such as To hit, Battle Born, Battle RiteAnd PaladinsAt least from a cursory glance. But, as Shroud pointed out, with deep MOBA influences and fairly tight early third-person shooter gameplay, Valve’s new game is already delving into uncharted territory.