Stop me here if you've heard it before: About 40 minutes into a ranked match of Dota 2, the opposing Techies were scheming to buy as much time as possible, and some comedic genius decided to pause the match to drag it out a bit. a bit A bit more. Bad manners? Maybe, but they'll be laughing all the way to low priority matchmaking, I bet!
The feature probably won't seem novel to anyone who's poured thousands of hours into Valve's previous MOBAs, but its reappearance in Deadlock encourages players to engage in some heinous acts of mind-warping for fun. Just ask this streamer, who took a breather mid-match to gamble recreationally:
Use the pause feature on your PSP to play IRL slots in the middle of a game. Just like Valve made it. pic.twitter.com/pHUyJ7fxFOAugust 26, 2024
In fairness, limited pause is healthy for honest gaming. It allows players to stop time if a party member's internet goes out for a second, or gives everyone time to grab a drink and take a breather if a match drags on. It's a necessary contingency in competitive MOBAs, because if teams are unbalanced in level, a match can get out of control really quickly. I remember my longest game in Dota 2 was over an hour and a half (I was a Techies player then, sorry). The pause feature didn't make the match go any faster, but it meant that everyone wasn't tied to their keyboard until the end.
While Deadlock isn't a traditional MOBA, it does share that team-based competitive ethos, so it's no surprise to see Suspense return here, but for those new to Valve's competitive suite of features, this is effectively a new toy.
What we've learned from various streams is that people who get excited when they hear about the pause mechanic don't have anything in mind other than shenanigans. Deadlock players are eager to explore the limits of pauses to see how inconvenient they can be. Currently, the meta is to do consecutive pauses right at the start of a match (or just before it ends) for maximum annoying effect.
Whose idea was it to add a pause feature to Deadlock? LOL pic.twitter.com/RTiP32PmbyAugust 26, 2024
Here, Twitch streamer ohnePixel can be seen laughing immediately upon learning this feature's application, before declaring “mind games” to the opposing team.
If all this sounds harsh, don't worry. Abuse of this feature can be reported in-game after a match; I don't recall Dota ever having this option (aside from the option to broadly report intentional ability abuse). Players on Reddit pointed out that sneaky use of the feature is predictably common, and that it could also lead to legitimate suspensions being taken less seriously. Users continue to debate the merits of this mechanic and whether the current implementation is overall positive.
Never mind, the deadlock is actually the peak pic.twitter.com/494p9gTsWwAugust 25, 2024
“Since anyone can unpause, I think pauses should be chained together several times so if someone crashes the other team will try to unpause,” Reddit user psyfi66 wrote, “But I think pausing should only be allowed once per player per game. Since the game is somewhat unstable (to be expected in Early Access), I think the pause feature is important.”
Still, for those not coming from Dota 2, this may be hard to stomach, and there's an argument to be made that harmful pauses are more impactful in a fast-paced shooter.
“Five seconds is not enough time to get back in if your friend disconnects or crashes. If it was longer people would abuse it even more and get even more annoyed, so it doesn't make sense as it stands,” said Reddit user marniconuke. “If you could do this in games like CS:GO or Valorant, you could totally confuse your opponent when your team is attacking their base. It was explained to me that Dota players follow a certain etiquette regarding it, but the game is new so there's no respect.”
It remains to be seen whether Valve will make tweaks to make it less toxic, or wait and see if Deadlock players will use the feature more conscientiously once the novelty wears off, but as Dota's long history has shown, the suspension is likely here to stay. At the very least, you'll get a good laugh (and not be annoyed at all; I'm not annoyed at this at all, so don't ask).
Deadlock is literally what would happen if Valve merged Overwatch and Dota. How can anyone in a lobby be able to pause mid-match? pic.twitter.com/6Q1anYslifAugust 26, 2024