Two squads, one loadout, no respawns. Settle it.
CODE: ZUAZS
Deadlock is a fast close-quarters duel mode built in the spirit of classic Gunfight, rebuilt from scratch for BF6 Portal with its own AI, its own UI, and a loadout system that keeps every round feeling fresh. The idea is simple. Strip the game down to the one thing that actually decides fights, then make you prove it over and over.
Every round, both teams get the exact same randomized loadout. Same primary, same sidearm, same gadget, same throwable, right down to the attachments. Nothing to buy, nothing to unlock mid-match. When the round starts the only variable left on the field is you. One round you're both trading a suppressed sniper across a rooftop. The next you're both stuck with a shotgun and a throwing knife in a hallway. Adapt or get dropped.
You get one life. Wipe the enemy team and the round is yours. Get wiped and you're spectating until the reset. There are no respawns inside a round, so every peek, every reload, and every push is a real decision.
The clock works against you too. Rounds last 40 seconds. If both teams still have players standing when time runs out, Deadlock doesn't just call it even. A flag rises in the center of the map and a 10-second overtime timer starts ticking in red. Now you have to move. Capture the flag and the round is yours. If overtime runs out with the flag still neutral, the team with more total health left takes the round. Only dead-even health ends in a draw, so stalemates almost never survive.
Match play is a race to 6 round wins. Sides swap every round so nobody rides a spawn advantage, and the loadout rerolls every two rounds to keep the rhythm moving. Hit 5 wins and the match-point call goes out. One round from the win, or one round from watching it slip.
You can play it however you want, from a one-on-one duel up to a full 4v4. Team size flexes to however many humans are in the lobby, and custom backfill bots fill the empty seats so the match is always full and always even. The mode makes sure there's a real player on each side and keeps parties together on the same team.
The bots are worth calling out. They aren't wallhack aimbots. Deadlock runs a custom bot brain with real line of sight, so a bot can only react to an enemy it can actually see. Break their line, flank them, and outplay them the way you would a person. They remember where they last saw you, they patrol and search when they lose you, and they read the overtime flag and push it harder as the clock winds down. Each bot keeps its own name and its own kills, deaths, damage, and captures across the whole match.
The arsenal keeps you guessing. The pool covers 40-plus primaries across Assault Rifles, Carbines, SMGs, Shotguns, Snipers, DMRs, and LMGs, plus a full set of sidearms. Some rounds hand you a stock weapon, others pull a hand-tuned build with curated attachments. Gadgets range from an Adrenaline Pen, C4, AP Mines, an EOD Bot, a Recon Drone and Tracer Dart, out to launchers like the RPG-7, guided missiles, breaching rounds, incendiary airburst, and Dragon's Breath. Throwables cover frag, mini frag, smoke, flash, stun, incendiary, anti-vehicle, and the throwing knife. A shuffle system keeps the same gear from showing up back to back.
The presentation is fully custom. There's a loadout card before every round, a live team-health bar that tells you whether you're winning, losing, or tied, and a clean countdown that flips red and starts ticking in overtime. On top of that you get real-time elimination counters, flag capturing and contested prompts, and round-result screens with crowns for the winners. The scoreboard tracks Damage, Kills, Deaths, Assists, and Captures, and a voice-over layer calls out round starts, side swaps, match point, and objective contests.
The five maps
Deadlock plays across five tight arenas, each with its own flavor of close-quarters fighting:
- Oxide
- Airport
- Rooftop Construction
- Shoot House
- Crater
Drop in solo or bring your squad. Same guns, one life, no excuses.
