VALORANT devs reveal Deadlock was inspired by Blitzcrank

Deadlock is the latest Agent set to arrive on the VALORANT roster, and the adaptive Sentinel is all about controlling and locking down areas of the map.

To achieve this, they make use of a Sonic Sensor to track foes, a Barrier Mesh to block enemy movement, and even a GravNet Grenade that slows an opponent's movement speed.

Despite this, it's the Annihilation Ultimate ability that's getting the most attention as it's capable of being such a powerful tool if used correctly - especially in 1v1s.

Well, a VALORANT dev has revealed that the grab-style Ultimate was actually inspired by the League of Legends character, Blitzcrank.

Blitzcrank inspired new Valorant agent Deadlock

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Blitzcrank is one of the most recognisable and popular characters in League of Legends, regularly causing havoc on Summonor's Rift with their Rocket Grab ability. This long-range grab will pull an enemy all the way to Blitzcrank, leading to the swift death of the vulnerable target.

Deadlock's ability is a similar concept, unleashing a pulse of nanowires that capture the first enemy contacted. The cocooned enemy is pulled along a nanowire path and will die if they are not freed and reach the end.

In a recent interview with Dexerto, VALORANT Game Designer Alexander Mistakidis revealed that Deadlock's Ultimate was inspired by Blitzcrank.

"As a player who loves playing hook characters like Blitzcrank in any game, I took it as a personal challenge to explore ways to bring the thrill of a hook ability while also ensuring that it was tactical," said Mistakidis.

Elaborating on the ability more, Mistakidis revealed that their '"hope is that the Annihilation ability we landed with offers the high-skill outplay opportunities to Deadlock players while still being engaging for everyone involved."

When is Deadlock set to release in VALORANT?

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Deadlock is set to release in VALORANT on June 27, 2023, alongside the beginning of Episode 7 Act I. For now, it's impossible to know how powerful they're going to be in the meta.

However, knowing they're inspired by Blitzcrank, it'll be interesting to see if they gain a polarising reputation in the community just like League of Legends' infamous robot.