Khizar Mundia 
Valve’s shooter-MOBA hybrid, Deadlock, has a new punishment system that includes a low-priority queue; but for players that aren’t toxic in Dota 2, it might be unclear what that means.
Deadlock is still going strong for an early-access game but players have been facing some issues that have made the game less fun. Hackers have started to show up in lieu of an anti-cheat system. Another issue is that some players abandon matches or are generally toxic, making the game experience bad for their teammates.
In an attempt to fix this, Valve has introduced punishments including a low-priority queue for the offenders so other players aren’t affected. This went into effect with the September 12, 2024 update to Deadlock. But how does this work, and how do you get out of it if you fall in that hole?
How the low-priority queue works in Deadlock
Deadlock’s low-priority queue system temporarily groups together players who have a recent streak of disruptive in-game behavior.
Players who have played Dota 2 will be familiar with how Valve’s low-priority queue works. In Dota 2, players who regularly abandon matches, decline games they’ve queued for, or have received a large volume of reports over a stretch of time are matched together. To get out of low-priority queue, players need to have better behavior across a certain number of games. Repeated trips to low-priority will result in longer stays.
Furthermore, searching in a priority queue typically takes longer to find a match.
This system did not help clean up behavior in Dota 2 and, arguably, made it worse. Negative reinforcement in grouping poorly behaved players normalized this behavior. Extending queue times while also increasing the likelihood of bad game experiences often added to the frustration.
Dota 2 has implemented a number of other community features. That makes it odd that Valve opted to roll out low-priority queue in Deadlock rather than other punishments that have arguably been more successful.
Deadlock has comm bans, and can stop players from issuing reports
Alongside low-priority queue, Deadlock has the ability to restrict all forms of community interaction including comm bans and pausing bans.
This new behavior system will ideally make the game experience better for fans. Players will now face punishments for actions as Valve strives to make the game fun for everyone.
Offenders can temporarily lose access to certain capabilities in Deadlock if they go against the rules. The actions that can be affected include matchmaking, voice and text chats, pausing, and reporting.
Restrictions to matchmaking will be imposed on players who abandon matches and ruin the experience for other fans. The other restrictions will be imposed on players abusing the capabilities in question. For instance, players misusing the reporting feature can be limited from using it. The same can be done for players taking advantage of pausing or abusing voice and text chats.
The exact model for the requirements and duration of these punishments is unclear, but will likely be similar to low-priority queue. More information can be found in the official Deadlock developer forum.
