If you’ve ever been trapped in Deadlock’s GravNet ultimate mid-clutch, you’ve probably yelled into your mic asking one urgent question: can teammates break deadlock ult fast enough to save you before the enemy team picks you off? This ability is one of the most frustrating crowd control tools in the current meta, and mismanaging how you respond to it can cost you entire rounds, even matches, if you’re playing in high elo ranked lobbies. Most new players assume only the trapped agent can break out, but that’s not actually the case once you understand how the ability’s damage threshold works.
Can Teammates Break Deadlock Ult: The Short Answer
The short answer is yes, teammates absolutely can break Deadlock’s ultimate if they deal enough damage to the GravNet tether holding their ally in place. The GravNet has a set health pool of 300 HP, which means any combination of damage from the trapped player and their teammates can destroy it in seconds if you coordinate correctly. You don’t need to use specific abilities to break it — regular gunfire, melee hits, and even utility damage from molotovs or shock darts all count towards the total health pool. A common mistake new players make is wasting their own ultimate abilities to free a teammate, when a few well-placed rifle shots would get the job done just as fast. Knowing how to respond when your ally gets caught will make answering can teammates break deadlock ult second nature for your entire squad.
Fastest Ways for Teammates to Break Deadlock’s Ult
Not all methods of breaking the GravNet are created equal, and choosing the fastest option can mean the difference between saving your teammate and watching them get picked off by the enemy team. We’ve tested every possible method across hundreds of unrated and ranked matches to find the most reliable options, no matter what agent you’re playing. Here are the top 3 fastest ways to free an ally:
- Full auto rifle fire from 2+ teammates: Two Vandal users firing at the GravNet can destroy it in less than 0.7 seconds, which is faster than most enemy teams can line up a headshot on the trapped player.
- Melee swarm from close-range allies: If you’re within 5 meters of the trapped ally, three to four quick melee hits will break the ult instantly, no ammo required.
- Area of effect utility splash damage: If you don’t have a clear line of sight, abilities like Brimstone’s molotov or KAY/O’s frag grenade can deal full damage to the GravNet through walls, as long as the explosion radius touches it.
If you want to practice coordinating these breaks without risking your ranked rank, you can jump into custom lobbies with your team to run drills, or use third-party practice tools to refine your reaction time. Many pro scrim groups use AAGAME to run quick ability interaction drills between scrim blocks, since it lets you spawn specific abilities on demand without going through the full warmup process in a regular custom lobby. It cuts down on practice time by almost 40% for most teams, which is a huge win when you only have a few hours a week to train together.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Breaking Deadlock’s Ult
Even if you know you can break the ult, it’s easy to make costly mistakes that end up hurting your team more than helping. The first big mistake is peeking an open angle to shoot the GravNet when the enemy team is clearly holding that line of sight. You’re far better off using splash damage through walls if you don’t have a safe angle to shoot from, even if it takes a second longer to break the tether. Another common mistake is forgetting that the trapped player can also deal damage to the GravNet, so make sure you call out that you’re working on breaking it so they don’t waste their own utility trying to get out alone. Never sacrifice two players to save one when breaking the ult, even if the trapped player is your team’s top fragger. You also don’t want to group up too close to the trapped player, since Deadlock often uses her ult to set up enemy Sage or Brimstone area of effect ults that can wipe your entire team if you’re clustered together.
How to Use This Interaction to Your Advantage When Playing Deadlock
If you’re the one playing Deadlock, you can use the fact that teammates can break your ult to bait the enemy team into making bad plays. For example, if you ult an enemy player near a corner, you can hold that angle and wait for their teammates to peek out to try to break the tether, picking them off one by one as they expose themselves. You can also pair your ult with area of effect damage abilities from your own teammates to force the enemy to choose between letting their ally die or taking massive damage when they group up to break the GravNet. Just remember that the 300 HP threshold is lower than most new Deadlock players think, so you’ll want to follow up on your ult quickly instead of waiting for the tether to pull the enemy player all the way to you. If you wait too long, even one enemy teammate can break the ult before you get a pick.
At the end of the day, the answer to can teammates break deadlock ult is a clear yes, as long as you coordinate with your team and avoid the common mistakes that cost players rounds every day. Take time to practice your reaction time and coordinate with your squad, and you’ll find that Deadlock’s ult stops feeling like an unbeatable threat and starts feeling like an easy opportunity to catch the enemy team out of position. Whether you’re playing Deadlock or playing against her, understanding this ability interaction will help you climb ranks faster and have more fun in every match you play.