Deadlock Training Arc [Q1-Q2 2026] :: During "Variety Arc 5"
Previous Chapter: Variety Transition Arc 5(Part2 HERE)
Deadlock Training Arc!
-
I saw a lot of hype around Deadlock with it's NEW Game Mode, Characters & more! They revamped everything that I originally saw when I tried Deadlock in 2024 (See this Part 4 of this blog for initial experience). (Return-Day2 noob gameplay, Silver came out, We started around Graves release)
Since I'm not a MOBA main, the street brawl 4v4 mode enticed me to try the game out again because I wouldn't have the barriers of the MOBA restrict me as much so I can focus more on the gameplay with mechanics, heroes & such to learn the game. It really was a fun experience as it made learning the game much more fun and easier.
It encouraged me to try 6v6 but I immediately was doing very poorly and decided to continue playing mostly street brawl to learn the game more. I really loved playing Silver and Celeste when they released, their playstyles both reminded me of Spellbreak in different ways and made outfits/cosplays for them with my VTuber model.
Honestly, at first the vibe was off due to various factors but things better later on (people were pressuring me to do 6v6, get really competitive with my items, discussions about how the game should be played just felt really off. I could tell I had mixed/lower elo people watching me due to the casual nature of the content which was kind of mixing things up in my mind & interrupting my flow with learning the game). I noticed my activity was a bit lower while continuing to do Deadlock & my content didn't really feel good (It was hard to read chat & get into my usual vibe with commentary and theatrics due to how focused I was on learning the game).
I decided not to be streaming the game temporarily and play it for fun off stream. It's been a VERY long time since a PVP Shooter like Deadlock has interested me enough to want to play off-stream & dive deeper into the game. For the past few years, 99% of everything I play has been on stream, I haven't had the desire to try to grind/do anything like that off-stream due to how beneficial it has been to just stream these experiences. But for Deadlock, I wanted to make sure I was approaching this game as a player first then a content creator. I wanted to make sure my experience is catered towards the joy I get from playing the game & improving. I spent the next month or so playing the game nearly every day off-stream. Stream days I would get 1-3 games in, off-days I would play it for longer sessions. The game is just that much fun to learn & experience to me, and it's been wonderful to finally have a game I can enjoy just for being a game regardless of the content creation aspects.
I started doing 6v6 off-stream and got placed in the bottom tier, initiate. (I had like 200+ games back in 2024 but was never ranked in the system). I spent the next few weeks watching a lot of guides, streams & such to improve at a steady rate and hit Arcanist2. At this time I saw a post from @Deathy about a DeathSlam CC Event where Creators will be Coached from top players and face off against eachother in a huge showmatch event. I applied and sent Deathy a DM (giving him a short summary of everything about me + my struggle getting into Deadlock. I also talked about SGC being similar to DeathSlam for Spellbreak & Community leader things) and he invited me into the event.
The event stuff was an awesome opportunity to improve and learn about the game + it's community. I will admit, I was not really comfortable with being a CC rep for this event given the status of my channel lately (this was happening right as things were hitting rock bottom). The sessions were during the day, with me being a night streamer I already knew it would look bad/awkward to be streaming with these more notable people & have low acitivity going on. I did like one or two streams with them just to test the waters but immediately saw it was going poorly so I decided to record all the sessions instead and focus more on being a player like I originally intended.
I got on a pretty interesting team, one of my favorite streamers/players as the coach - @Eido (He's like top ranked & on one of the best teams in the game) with creators from Deadlock/Destiny as my teammates @AverageJonas @Aztecross @Datto @Endicci @Justine . It was a really fun group, they were very accepting with my RVC Voice/background & full of energy. I was really low-key when with them while still getting some great moments in. CC collabs really are interesting experiences, each of us had our own stories / backgrounds leading into interactions you wouldn't get from within your own space. There's also a lot of relatable discussions of being a CC which is something I don't really get to be part of too often. I really enjoyed meeting these people & hope we all play again someday.
I also had a major issue arise right before our first day of practice, My Razer Tartarus Keypad (a mini keyboard with WASD joystick) broke. I spent hours looking for a replacement in philadelphia and not a single store had one in stock. I thought really hard about solutions and came to the conclusion that I would need to convert to hybrid Half-Controller in order to have any chance of playing. I found a decent one with paddles and a viewer helped donate me some money so I could get the device [I wouldn't of had the money to get it, they were a life saver]. I ended up getting this Gamesir one from Gamestop (it was the cheapest/best one available that had paddles. I like the controller honestly). This was a huge hit, because the first couple days I was basically relearning the game from scratch while playing in high pressure lobbies.
When it comes to practice, it was VERY intense from my POV [being a low elo que'ing into high elo lobbies every match was extremely difficult, often losing, but had some moments where I did do well even with high skill opponents]. We did a lot of matchmaking but we also got to do some scrims. Eido also gave us a few coaching sessions to get us up to speed. We were doing pretty decent in matchmaking and started out decent in scrims. We on a scrim vs the Necros/Bogur Marvel Rivals team which was really exciting.
We also took a game off another really strong team as well. Overall, it was really decent considering the situation, I was one of the lowest elo players in the whole event. They let me go Wraith/Mina for the team since they were the two I had the most comfort on, but I wasn't really doing too great, I think in hindsight, it might of been more optimal for me to learn support or something but that would of been tough as well. I was able to improve a lot with these characters and the role style I was taught, just lacked some combat/teamfight dynamics to really make an impact.
These 2 weeks went by so fast, so many games, so many moments, I only streamed 2 of the practice sessions but recorded the rest [will upload them and edit it here someday, it's a bunch of footage to sort thru & upload]. Here's some more highlights from the training arc.
Fast forward to the event, I learned so much but was still so far from where I needed to be. We didn't really feel fully prepared but we were excited to play regardless of the outcome. Our team name was "Eido is Asleep" as a silly meme because Eido was the busiest person out of all the coaches (between the DNS Tourney, Scrims, Streaming & his IRL, I already saw how much pressure must be so it's completely understandable & I appreciate that he was still able to take time to Coach us when he could) which lead to him oversleeping for a few of our sessions. I do think if we had a bit more time, some custom matches (1v1/2v2 practice to iron out lane, mid-match guidance in matchmaking) & other stuff we could of improved a couple of our issues but we still improved a lot in a short amount of time regardless. Also our higher elo players really did a great job teaching me & the lower end the game. This really felt like a team effort.
Anyways, We lost our first match pretty bad against Deathy's squad then had an unfortunate loss in the losers bracket against another squad.
Both games in our losers bracket set we were winning at some point and just couldn't manage to keep the momentum and overheated a bit. This clip summarizes how this set went.
After the event concluded, we did one final match as a full squad before going separate ways, we lost that match too. At the end of the day, it wasn't about winning but the experience. We had some awesome moments as a team, I learned a lot from this entire thing & it has motivated me to continue to work on getting more involved with Deadlock (I also started leaning more into Celeste because her movement is super fun).
Streaming it after the event went decent, I got a lot of activity and community support at first, but I just didn't feel ready to deliver the content I know I can provide for these types of gamers. I have a niche audience within these spaces, and I can really only capitalize on it if I'm comfortable doing what I'm doing. At this moment in time, we are much closer toward that but still not there.
I still don't have a good enough foundation of the game to make good gameplay decisions and plays while also delivering good commentary & entertainment. I was a going through a lot at this time and talk more in detail about it on a YT post here. Thus, making steaming this game as a primary not optimal just yet. I do think in time I will get to a point where I can do that. We continue to work it into streams & I will just have to get it going in time.
The game still is a closed playtest and will certainly be one of the biggest titles to launch whenever it decides to. It's honestly 65% the way there, I felt it was 30% back in 2024. I expect more changes, QoL, balance and everything else it needs to be in the game when it finally comes but after the experiences I have had with new titles recently. I do think it's best they take as much time as they need as it will matter a lot when the launch comes. This game will succeed, I'm curious by how much but it's a good feeling knowing that this is a game that has a strong community, developer and foundation for success.
I also wanted to mention that I been playing with my old teammate from Spellbreak, NOOBY (from the team that won the SGC Major). Been a blast playing with him, I'm still a bit behind but it's been great. As well as some other old friends from MHUR/MR.
What are my plans for 2026?
Right now, I am unsure how I am moving forward. I want to continue doing what I have been and just make it work. Things have gotten extremely difficult this year with many things just not working out. I still believe in the journey & this has all given me perspective on what I must do in order to succeed.
My VLogs were successful but were extremely difficult to make, I want to try to bring them back or at least finish the series with episode3 (I have all the footage I just haven't been able to put it all together).
I plan to get more into my passions like Deadlock, the new Halo when it comes out, the games that I can return home to visit & whatever else I am interested in.
Lady Nagant in MHUR makes the game always a pleasure to come back to now, which is fantastic, I just wish things were in a better state in that game.
Thank you so much for supporting me on this journey. I still feel like I really don't feel like I belong anywhere IRL, and in a lot of mainstream gaming space, even within the games I belong, I am on a different wavelength then most people. Y'all make me feel like I belong here doing this, so it really means a lot and makes my life feel like it matters. Gaming is one of the most important things to me, so sharing my experience with y'all makes it feel like I am making a difference in this realm I care so much about.
Thank you all so much! We push beyond the stars and going beyond a super hero!!
~ Kairi Caitlyn
