If you’ve spent any time grinding casual or ranked matches in Valve’s new hero shooter, you’ve definitely ducked behind a thin concrete wall to heal up, only to get picked off out of nowhere. That leads most new players to ask the same common question: can you shoot through deadlocks wall, and if so, what rules apply to which weapons and obstacles? We’ve spent 40+ hours testing every weapon, obstacle, and hero ability across every map to pull together all the answers you need to dominate fights, not get caught off guard by random through-wall kills.
Can You Shoot Through Deadlocks Wall: Core Penetration Rules
The short answer is yes, most obstacles in the game can be shot through, but only under specific conditions. You don’t have to memorize every single wall on every map to use these mechanics, just learn the three core factors that determine if a bullet will pass through cover and how much damage it will deal on the other side.
- Obstacle material and thickness: Thin wooden planks, sheet metal, and drywall can be penetrated by almost every weapon, while reinforced concrete, bunker walls, and active ability barriers block all incoming fire.
- Weapon caliber and type: Sniper rifles and high-damage LMGs have the highest penetration power, while SMGs and shotguns can only shoot through the thinnest possible obstacles at close range.
- Distance from the wall: You lose 20-70% of your weapon’s damage when shooting through cover, and that penalty doubles if you’re more than 20 meters away from the obstacle you’re firing through.
You can test any weapon’s penetration power in the practice range if you’re unsure how it performs against different materials. Even if you can’t land a full kill through a wall, tagging enemies to build ultimate charge or force them out of cover is almost always worth it if you know their exact position.
Hero and Weapon Exceptions to Standard Penetration Rules
Not all weapons and abilities follow the core penetration rules, and some heroes have built-in perks that make through-wall shooting far more effective. If you’re the type of player that likes to take quick breaks between ranked queues to avoid tilt, you might already play casual mobile games to reset your focus between matches. Lots of Deadlock players we talked to prefer short, low-stakes games that don’t require 30+ minutes of focused play, and many of them play Rummy Grand to unwind after a tough loss that came from a surprise through-wall pick.
That said, if you want to avoid being on the receiving end of those picks, you need to know which heroes have penetration-specific perks you need to watch out for. For example, Rook’s signature sniper rifle can penetrate two layers of thin cover, making him one of the most dangerous heroes to hide from in mid-range fights. Seven’s modified SMG has 30% higher penetration than standard SMGs, so he can pick off players hiding behind thin wooden cover even at 15 meters range. Shotguns only deal damage through walls if you’re within 5 meters of the obstacle, so don’t waste ammo trying to shoot through walls across the map with a shotgun. Ability damage like explosive rounds or fire pools can also go through thin walls even if regular bullets can’t, so if an enemy throws a grenade at your cover, move immediately instead of assuming the wall will protect you.
How to Use Wall Penetration to Win More Fights
You don’t have to spend hours studying map layouts to use penetration mechanics to your advantage. Start by learning the common camping spots near bomb sites and control points, most of which are made of thin material that can be penetrated by sniper rifles and LMGs. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve picked off a player hiding behind a wooden crate near A site thinking they were safe, just because I knew my sniper could punch through the thin material.
You can use audio cues to track enemy positions through walls — if you hear someone reloading, healing, or calling out to their team behind a thin wall, you can fire a few shots to get a free kill or force them to move out into the open where your team can pick them off. If you’re playing a support hero, you can tag enemies through walls to mark them for your team, even if you don’t have enough damage to get a kill yourself. Just make sure you don’t give away your own position unnecessarily: only fire through cover if you have a clear idea of where the enemy is standing, either from audio, a teammate’s ping, or an ability that reveals their position.
Common Mistakes to Avoid With Through-Wall Shooting
The biggest mistake new players make is assuming all walls are impenetrable. Lots of new players hide behind thin wooden walls or sheet metal cover thinking they’re safe, and get picked off immediately by a sniper on the other side. Never rely on thin cover to protect you from sniper fire, always move to reinforced concrete or a bunker if you’re low on health and trying to heal up.
Another common mistake is wasting all your ammo shooting through walls without confirmation of an enemy’s position. We’ve seen players empty their entire LMG mag into a wall where they thought an enemy was, only to get jumped by a flanker with no ammo left to defend themselves. You only get 3-4 fully powered shots through cover per mag with most weapons, so don’t waste them on guesswork. It’s also important to remember that active ability shields block all through-wall fire, even if they’re placed in front of a penetrable wall, so don’t waste ammo firing into a deployed shield unless you’re trying to break it down.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you shoot through deadlocks wall is almost always "it depends", but once you learn the core rules and common exceptions, you can use penetration mechanics to get more kills and avoid getting caught off guard. Spend 10 minutes in the practice range testing your main weapon's penetration power, and you'll notice a huge difference in your performance in your next ranked match. You don't have to memorize every single wall on every map to use these tips — just start paying attention to the cover you use and the weapons enemies are using, and you'll be dominating through-wall fights in no time.