The Most Broken Esports Strategy I've Ever Witnessed.

Storyline / Context

• Deadlock (Valve) is a 3D MOBA where teams earn money/“souls” to buy items, strengthen over time, and ultimately aim to destroy the enemy base.
• The match’s “story” here is competitive: a dominant North American team called the Melee Creeps is pressured by an offshoot rival team, the Floormen, leading to an experimental, highly counterintuitive esports strategy.

Key map objectives referenced

• Mid boss: a large team objective that grants major buffs (described as three extra lives and additional stats/souls).
• Spirit Urn: a secondary objective that effectively creates a Capture-the-Flag-like win condition—carrying the Urn to deposit it for souls/money, which snowballs item power.

Gameplay Highlights (What Made the Strategy “Broken”)

Deadlock contains comeback mechanics that can make losing teams regain footing:

• Losing teams can receive soul bonuses from farm, helping equalize deficits if both sides idle.
• Certain Spirit Urn states can spawn in ways that are more favorable for comebacks.
• The video claims that at the time of the match, Urn mechanics could be manipulated so the losing team could become effectively unkillable while still controlling major objectives.

The core idea

• The “broken strategy” is built around a deliberate early game feeding plan designed to force the second Spirit Urn into a state the team wants.

Strategy / Key Tips (Step-by-Step Logic)

1) Early game (0–15 minutes): “Feed so the comeback mechanics trigger”

• The Melee Creeps purchase an item called Golden Goose Egg on everyone (the video emphasizes “six players”), even though it’s intended mostly for late-game carry usage.
• The item is described as:
  • 10% damage reduction while held
  • a ticking investment that gains souls over time
  • buffs (“golden idol” stat boosts) granted as souls accumulate (not adding to total souls, but still increasing power)

What this causes

• Because holding this item reduces damage, the laning phase collapses for the Melee Creeps.
• They lose early Tier 1 towers (“the guardians”), giving the Floormen a lead.

The coordinated “feed” plan

• The Melee Creeps then execute a series of extreme, coordinated plays:
  • a questionably timed/overextended jungle invade that goes badly
  • repeated instances where players die on purpose / intentionally donate kills back to the Floormen, so souls flow back to the side the Melee Creeps wants to “farm the comeback” from

Explicit goal

• Feed hard until ~15 minutes so the second Spirit Urn spawns as favored for the Melee Creeps.

2) Mid game (around second Urn spawn): “Do not cash out—weaponize the Urn”

After the second comeback Urn spawns, the Melee Creeps:

• pick up the Urn
• do not turn it in

Instead, they exploit the (at the time) comeback Urn’s massive aura:

• described as 35% damage resistance within a large radius (cited as ~60 meters / “war banner” control)

How they use it

• They “carry it like a war banner” and become effectively unkillable while teammates stand within the aura.

3) Late continuation: “Reset Urn damage pressure by juggling it”

• Normally, the Urn would eventually deal damage to the holder if held too long.
• Their workaround:
  • juggle the Urn (drop/re-pick) to reset the timer, maintaining the aura long enough to take objectives.
• Additional note:
  • if the Urn is being held at the 5-minute reset interval, it can remain in play in the state the team is holding.

Result / Outcome

• At roughly 18 minutes, the Melee Creeps walk into the mid boss pit with the Urn.
• The Floormen reportedly do not contest, expecting they will lose due to the defensive aura and stat advantages.
• The Floormen later:
  • call a pause
  • internally discuss the strategy (including claiming they thought of it too)
  • forfeit by disconnecting (no surrender button)

How the video frames it

• Losing early is better than trying to win normally for much of the match.
• The strategy had an official-match viability window lasting less than a day.

Patch / Aftermath Mentioned

• Within 24 hours, Yoshi released a hotfix that removes the “dumb urn mechanics”:
  • the invincibility/aura effect for the urn holder is removed
  • the “war banner” strategy ends quickly
• The video frames Deadlock as closed beta, implying ongoing balance changes.

Featured Gamers or Sources (As Named in Subtitles)

• Valve Corporation (developer of Deadlock)
• Yoshi (named as the developer)
• Teams:
  • Melee Creeps
  • Floormen
• Player names mentioned:
  • Xeno
  • Doorman
  • Iadorian
  • Fishcake
  • Rocker
  • Saya
  • DMB
  • Ranger
  • John John
  • Dew
  • Uber (referred to as a main carry / conceptually)
  • Average (described as former leader of the Melee Creeps and now of the Floormen)
• Twitter (platform source of the described drama)