A concept artist from Riot Games revealed how drastically different Deadlock appeared before her introduction to Valorant, complete with spider webs and a fish hook ultimate.
Deadlock came to Valorant as the 23rd Agent alongside the release of Episode 7. Now, one year later, players are getting the chance to see what she looked like before her official release.
As a sentinel, Deadlock’s job is to lock down sites for her team. This inspiration can be seen in the artwork. Her “Q” ability has the same icon as Killjoy’s alarm bot, showing the inspiration for her Sound Sensor, which has a similar function.
Where the concept art begins to deviate from her official release is with her appearance and other abilities.
For starters, the headshot shown in some of the concept art has brown hair that appears to be in a braid. However, her official release design has light blonde hair that falls at her shoulders, a style that can be seen in later versions.
Gary TanakaEarly concept art of Deadlock and her abilities.
Her “C” ability, or Gravnet, featured a spider icon in all the early designs, suggesting that Riot initially considered web-themed abilities for her. This was later transformed into what we now know as her Nano Wires.
The final deviation between what Deadlock initially looked like and what she looks like today is her ultimate.
The concept art depicts her ultimate ability, Annihilation, as a giant fish hook, resembling the style used by Pyke in Riot’s other title, League of Legends.
Although Deadlock’s ultimate pulls people in like a hook, the final design is quite different from what that icon would lead you to expect.
Artist Gary Tanaka drew her ultimate ability in several different ways to narrow down to the final version that’s playable in-game.
Gary TanakaThe result is a cross between a net and a spider web, like what the early icons showed. They kept a lot of those spider-like motifs in the final version of her design.
Riot is constantly developing new concepts for Agents in an attempt to keep Valorant interesting, something that isn’t set to change any time soon. The Episode 9 Act 1 Battle Pass hints at the next Agent being tied to roses.