If you’ve spent your first few hours in Valve’s new team-based hero shooter staring at the kill feed wondering why your name never pops up, you’re far from alone. Most new players spend their first dozen matches fumbling with ability cooldowns, misjudging map angles, and wasting shots on tanky targets before they pick up small tricks that make a huge difference. Learning how to get kills in Deadlock doesn’t require pro-level aim or 10 hours a day of practice — it just requires playing smarter, not harder, and focusing on small, consistent choices that set you up for success every round. I’ve put in over 120 hours in the closed and open betas, and climbed from the bottom Bronze tier to Platinum with these exact strategies, even with average aim that misses more flick shots than it lands.
How to Get Kills in Deadlock by Prioritizing Target Selection Over Raw Aim
When you first start learning how to get kills in Deadlock, it’s easy to fixate on your aim stats and spend hours in practice ranges trying to land perfect headshots. But the truth is, 80% of the kills you get in casual and low-ranked play won’t come from fancy aim — they’ll come from picking the right target at the right time. Most new players chase the closest enemy to them, even if that enemy is a full-health tank with a shield, while ignoring the half-health support hiding behind them keeping the entire enemy team alive.
Target priority order is the first thing you should memorize if you want to get more kills. Always go for low-health squishy targets (supports and DPS agents with 120-150 HP) first, then isolated mid-health targets, then tanks only if they’re alone or already below 30% health. I used to waste all my ammo on the enemy Warden charging at our team, until I realized that taking out their healer first makes the Warden melt in 2 seconds flat, even if he’s at full health.
Don’t chase kills across the map either. If a target runs out of your line of sight around a corner or into a building, it’s almost always better to turn back to help your team or capture an objective. Nine times out of ten, that running enemy is leading you straight into an ambush with their teammates waiting around the corner, and you’ll give up a free death instead of getting the kill you wanted.
Use Ability Combos to Secure Kills You’d Miss With Guns Alone
Deadlock’s agent abilities aren’t just for flashy plays or supporting your team — they’re your most reliable tool for securing kills even when your aim is off. Every agent has at least one ability that sets up easy kills, either by slowing, stunning, or revealing enemies, or by boosting your own damage or movement speed. The mistake most new players make is using all their abilities as soon as they see an enemy, instead of saving them to finish off targets that are trying to escape.
You don’t have to use all your abilities at once to get value out of them. For example, if you’re playing Rook, save your stun ability for when an enemy is low on health and running away, instead of using it as soon as the fight starts. The stun will hold them in place for 2 full seconds, giving you more than enough time to land two easy body shots and secure the kill without chasing them. If you’re playing support agent Lumen, your damage buff and flare ability can turn a teammate’s good shot into a kill even if you don’t fire a single bullet, and you’ll get partial kill credit for every pick your team gets on enemies you’ve revealed.
Even utility abilities that don’t do damage directly can lead to far more kills than your gun if you use them creatively. For example, placing a trip mine at the exit of a building where enemies are hiding will force them to run straight into your line of sight if they want to escape, or take damage from the mine if they stay put. I regularly get 3+ kills per match just from well-placed trip mines that catch enemies off guard as they rotate between objectives.
Positioning Tricks That Let You Pick Off Enemies Without Being Seen
The most consistent kill farmers in Deadlock don’t run straight into the middle of fights. They hold angles that enemies don’t check, use high ground, and attack from the side or behind instead of head-on, so they can get multiple shots off before enemies even know where they are. One of the most underrated tricks for how to get kills in Deadlock is to use map cover to break line of sight right after you take a shot, so enemies can’t shoot back before you reload.
You don’t have to memorize every single map angle to get this right. Just follow these simple rules for every match:
- Stick to the edges of team fights instead of the center: You’ll have fewer enemies aiming at you, and you can pick off players that are distracted fighting your teammates instead of being the first target everyone shoots at.
- Use high ground whenever possible: Enemies have to look up to shoot you, which is slower and less accurate, and you have a wider view of the fight to pick low-health targets before they can run away.
- Don’t hold the same angle for more than two kills: Enemies will start checking that spot once they see you get a couple of picks, so rotate to a new position every minute or so to catch them off guard.
- Avoid wide open areas unless you have backup: Running across an open field gives every enemy on the map a clear shot at you before you can get close enough to do damage, even if you have a fast agent.
Sound cues are just as important as visual cues in Deadlock when it comes to positioning for kills. If you hear an enemy reloading around a corner, you can pre-fire that spot to get a free kill before they even see you. I’ve won countless 1v1s just by listening for the click of an empty gun instead of rushing in guns blazing. Also, don’t forget that most abilities make distinct sounds too — if you hear a stun ability go off nearby, you can move to the side to avoid it and take out the enemy that used it while they’re on cooldown.
Team Play Habits That Drastically Increase Your Total Kills Per Match
Deadlock is a team game, and you’ll get way more kills playing with your team than trying to solo carry every round. I see so many new players run off on their own to look for kills, only to get ambushed by three enemies and give up a free death that puts their team at a disadvantage. Sticking with at least one teammate means you can trade kills if one of you goes down, and you can combine abilities to wipe entire enemy squads before they have time to react.
Pinging targets for your team gives you partial credit for kills even if you don’t land the final shot, and it helps your team focus fire to take down targets faster. Most new players forget to ping entirely, but it only takes one click to mark an enemy hiding behind cover, and your entire team will be able to see their position for 3 full seconds. Even if you don’t land the killing shot, you’ll get assist credit, and you’ll help your team win the fight faster, which leads to more kill opportunities later in the round.
If you’re playing a tank, you don’t have to get the final shot to rack up kills either. I used to think playing tank meant I’d never get on the kill feed, but I regularly get 15+ kills per match as Warden just by stunning groups of enemies and following up with my shotgun while they’re immobilized. My shield also lets my DPS stay alive long enough to get picks, which leads to more team wins and more overall kills for everyone on the roster. Just don’t steal a teammate’s res just to get a kill — if a teammate is reviving someone, cover them instead of running off after a low-health enemy, because that extra teammate will get you far more kills later in the round.
At the end of the day, getting consistent kills doesn’t require you to become a professional esports player overnight. Small, consistent changes to how you pick targets, use your abilities, position yourself, and work with your team will add up to more kills, a higher KD, and more wins over time. I still use every single one of these tips every time I play, even after hundreds of matches, because they work for every skill level and every agent role. If you’ve been struggling to climb or feel like you’re not pulling your weight in matches, give these tips a try for a few rounds and you’ll be shocked at how much easier it is to land picks. Now that you know how to get kills in Deadlock, jump into a quick play match and test them out for yourself — you might be surprised at how many kills you get without even trying.