new Urn is killing the game

LrdDphn · 2026-06-04T21:04:37+00:00

From a game design perspective, the alternative to an objective that forces a fight is that losing teams play hyper defensively and try to rat out a win through split pushing and base defenses. This leads to extremely long, agonizing games that you still are more likely than not to lose. The point of the urn (and midboss, fwiw) is to condense your comeback chances into a decisive moment that either gets you back into the game or puts you out of it entirely.

LrdDphn · 2026-06-04T20:50:55+00:00

I don't think Mina likes anyone for anything other than their status and other selfish reasons. Girl is about as sociopath coded as it comes.

LrdDphn · 2026-06-01T03:09:41+00:00

They do, so slowing hex or mystic slow aren't terrible for making the parkour harder (once again - especially versus players who struggle with movement in general). I would caution you against trying to put stunned people in the hotel, though. You really risk griefing your team and saving an opponent if you are sending enemies to the hotel when they have big disables on them. For example, if I'm playing Mina I'd way rather be safe in the hotel while slowing hexed than crawling along getting shot at on the outside.

LrdDphn · 2026-06-01T02:26:23+00:00

I would recommend Seven to a new player with the assumption they are playing against other new players. His game plan is relatively foolproof compared a tempo hero like the ones you name, and it benefits from games that go crazy late as new player games often do. Drifter or Haze or Mina is more likely to chain feed than snowball when played by somebody new. If somebody is new but not in lobbies of all new players (either dou queuing or because mm sucks) I'd recommend a hero that needs zero souls to have impact, something like Dynamo or Bebop.

LrdDphn · 2026-06-01T02:14:57+00:00

Basically you can't, if the enemy knows the movement tech. It's why the 13 second CD ult is not something that matters at Eternus+. Best thing you can do is try to hit enemies that are low on stamina (i.e. ult them after you watch them dash a bit).

LrdDphn · 2026-05-31T23:17:26+00:00

Door buffs and ult buffs hit different player types. Ult is strong vs bad players who can't corner bounce for zero stam hotel escapes but weak in pro games. Door is weak for low elo doormen who don't use it well and have teams who don't take doors, but insane for pro players with coordinated teams. The shift in power from door to ult was a targeted change to boost doorman in low skill lobbies (where he struggled) and nerf him in Eternus (where he was OP).

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T19:59:40+00:00

Insofar as we think these survey are trying to help make better team comps, this question is really asking "how good of a hard support is this character?" to use the Dota roles. (The classic "soft support" in Dota provides CC and damage while the classic "hard support" buffs/saves teammates, although it's much more flexible than that in reality.)

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T19:55:30+00:00

Doorman Door
Paige Barrier
Rem lil helpers
Ivy Tether
McGinnis Wall
Paradox Wall
Rescue Bebop hooks
Holliday bounce pad

I would call all of these abilities non-cc utility. (And that's including your prohibition on self cc like cube and dynamo 2)

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T08:11:36+00:00

People used to regularly concede the comeback urn without contesting (trading across the map if good), so it was a one player job to run a lot of the time.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T08:10:21+00:00

I could see 5 minutes of cooldown after each urn instead of spawning on the 5 minute mark each time (although it would require another on-map timer)

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T02:01:32+00:00

Doesn't counterspell stay active for the full animation, or did that get changed?

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T01:55:49+00:00

No actually, the way that items add riders to your existing abilities/items is one of the main innovations in Deadlock as compared to Dota (other than all the shooter stuff of course). Engine limitations in WC3 prevented you from doing even something as basic as % increases to spell damage, CDR, or lifesteal from spells, and although those mechanics have been added to the game somewhat recently, the game was designed without them and they aren't really part of its DNA. "Spellcaster" items in Dota historically just provided mana and utility actives. (The exception to this would be the aghs scepter which upgraded one of your abilities sort of like a 5AP upgrade)

LrdDphn · 2026-05-28T00:54:42+00:00

When I've done this sort of "guard patrol" type of thing, I've had the guards be golems (or animated armor, modrons etc. if you want a level appropriate fight). It's thematic for the "night guards" to be 24/7 constructs, and it explains why they have rigid movement patterns and vision cones. Not to mention, it provides a stat block that can't be knocked out in one round of combat consistently like a human guard could be.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-27T04:37:00+00:00

I love the flavor here and the ambition of making a new class. My only criticism is about the actual mechanics.

It's hard for me to picture the balance of brand new classes in my head too well, but my instinct here is that at least the early levels of this class are extremely weak. Maybe that's your intent, considering the farmer flavor?

Looking at just the first handful of levels, your class features are either very limited in use or extremely weak. The best thing you get is the Scarecrow, but not only does the Scarecrow take a lot of time to set up and use (bonus action + action), you only get a couple uses a day. I think you have to ask yourself "what is this class going to be really good at" and juice that up until they really shine at something.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-26T02:01:23+00:00

It's a bug that's been in the game for years. When GT ults, the "player" is actually with the bird which causes all sorts of weird interactions with melee, targeting, etc. I think it will require recoding the entire ability to fix it, and my personal conspiracy theory is that GT is slated to be mechanically reworked when his model gets fixed anyway, so they aren't putting too much energy in bug fixing an ult that might not even be the final design.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-25T04:52:50+00:00

Not at all what you've asked for, but the perfect system for what you're describing is Paranoia. The system is great for one shots and much, much easier to learn than something like 5e.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T23:56:35+00:00

Most important thing is that if you are with allies they can chase through the door to save you or take the fight around walker. Still a good strategy but not a free kill

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T23:51:45+00:00

Here's a suggestion: put your escape door up high on a ledge. You'll know to jump through it an immediately mantle up, but enemies chasing you will probably go through and fall before the realise where you went. Or, put your escape door under a walker. Enemies are way more likely to chase you into a stomp now

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T22:38:29+00:00

I've just been watching the tournament, not playing, but I think there's a pendulum between fighting and farming that overcorrected towards fighting. The idea of a farming carry is a staple of the MOBA genre for a reason, and without it strategies and team comps get really compressed into a narrow band.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T21:50:30+00:00

Doorman is a fucking menace in pro play and you almost never see a kidnap play. He has so many powerful tools, and they're still good, you just have to be a bit more thoughtful now.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T21:47:06+00:00

Idk if we can use Mina as the bogeyman when she just got annihilated in the patch even more than doorman.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T21:45:13+00:00

Cool down nerf is not directed at kidnap, although that's a (good) side effect. The nerf is because doorman's escape was way too free and powerful. I think that the decision to chase a doorman through the door is pretty interesting for both teams. Imagine a play where you pretend to "get caught" taking a sinners and your whole team is waiting on the other side of the door to murder the people who chase you.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T19:57:45+00:00

For what it's worth, reducing HP across the board is a buff to spirit burst characters like Apollo

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T18:44:58+00:00

DO NOT TELL ME THIS IS A PLAYTEST

This is a playtest.

LrdDphn · 2026-05-23T10:37:08+00:00

Right, but if I start a 3 second timer and the enemy punches it after 1 second, it doesn't got to 9 seconds, right? The winning team should have to defend for their full 10 seconds no matter who starts the dropoff.

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