Don't let Deadlock's MOBA tag scare you off—there's a quick play mode for dummies which is the perfect entry point

I have a very short history with MOBAs—apart from being dragged into one too many League of Legends games, I’ve tried to keep my exposure to a minimum. But that all changed when Valve semi-released Deadlock into alpha.

It’s been almost two years since I started playing, and almost 100 hours later, and despite being one of my favourite games, I still haven’t managed to figure out its MOBA intricacies—although I hear that’s pretty normal for a MOBA. It’s complex moving parts, at times suffocating team fights, and extensive list of items can be a lot to take in, especially for a new player who isn’t familiar with MOBAs. But I’m here to tell you that it shouldn’t scare you off, not when you can play Street Brawl.

I actually turned my nose up at this casual 4v4 mode at first, seeing it as a cop out or a lesser version of Deadlock’s main mode, and I’ve had to live with that mistake ever since. Street Brawl is perfect for new players or those who are still trying to get their heads around Deadlock’s features and mechanics. While it doesn’t include everything that the main mode has, like farming, it’s a great place to start.

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First off it massively reduces the match length—instead of playing a 40-minute match where you’re losing most of the time, Street Brawl games last for 15 minutes at most, even less if you’re drastically out-matched. It also introduces you to items in drips. While community pre-builds are certainly a huge help in Deadlock, all the items can still be a lot to get your head around, especially when you don’t have enough time in a match to read up on all of them.

However, in Street Brawl it’s condensed down, as you pick three items out of nine before each round begins and cannot buy anymore while that round is ongoing. This gives you plenty of time to read up on the few items that are set before you and decide what works for you. It’s a brilliant and easy way to try out new items and get to know old ones, and everything I’ve learnt in Street Brawl has massively helped me out in Deadlock’s main mode as I’ve figured out which items work best for certain heroes and counters.