How to Play Frontline and Create Space in Deadlock

A frontliner holds a useful position under pressure so teammates can move, deal damage, protect an objective, or retreat. Your job is not to collect the largest damage-taken number: it is to make an area difficult for enemies to use while staying close enough to help your team.

Frontline is a responsibility, not a permanent hero class. A durable player may start a fight, protect an ally, or step back to recover depending on the build and the situation. See the roles overview.

What does creating space actually mean?

Space is useful when it gives an ally a specific action. You might hold an entrance while a teammate attacks an objective, threaten an opponent who wants to reach your damage dealer, or slow an enemy push long enough for allies to regroup. Your presence, damage and control can make an approach costly.

Before taking a position, identify the route, the ally, and the action. Which enemy approach are you contesting? Who can use the room behind you? Are they attacking, escaping, or preparing to fight? If nobody can use that position, taking damage there may accomplish little.

The BoostRoom roles overview also describes frontlining in terms of holding angles and protecting allies. Its team-composition suggestions are editorial examples, not a mandatory checklist.

Hold, cover, and return

A frontline position is a cycle rather than a promise to stand still. Start near cover with an exit toward teammates. Apply enough pressure that opponents must respect the route, then step back when focus or health makes the position unsafe. Return when you have recovered enough to contest again and allies can still use the space.

Situation	Frontline decision	What it gives the team
Allies can attack from behind your position	Threaten the approach and use cover between exchanges.	Time and room to deal damage.
Several enemies focus you while allies are active	Stay only while you can survive and allies can use the attention.	A chance for allies to act against distracted enemies.
Your health is low or a defensive tool is unavailable	Break sight, retreat toward help, and reassess.	A chance to return instead of leaving allies alone after a death.
Enemies bypass you to reach an ally	Turn back and disrupt the attacker if you can reach them.	Protection for the teammate who is now threatened.

Can your team hold the route while you recover?

Before stepping back, check who can contest the route, where your allies will go, and whether you can return safely. Tell them if the route is no longer held.

If nobody can safely hold the entrance, do not promise to hold it alone at critical health. Signal the loss of space and regroup around the next defensible position.

Cover is not a replacement for protecting the approach. If you retreat so far that enemies freely pass you, the position has changed hands. Tell allies you are backing up when possible, then decide whether to return, protect a closer route, or give ground together. Do not return just because health recovered if the team has already moved away.

When taking focus helps—and when it does not

Being attacked can help if your teammates are nearby and able to use the time. Imagine holding an entrance while an ally pressures a structure: an opponent turns to stop you, giving that ally room to work. If you can reach cover before your health runs out, you may be able to contest the entrance again.

Now imagine you are chasing behind the enemy team while your allies are retreating. Several opponents focus you, but nobody can use the attention and your exit is blocked. That is not valuable space merely because damage was absorbed. Stop the pursuit earlier or move toward your allies before the route closes.

When focus shifts

If opponents stop shooting you and move toward an ally, the value of your current position has changed. Turn toward the threat if you can help; otherwise warn the ally and move with them.

Choose between forward pressure and protecting an ally

Peeling means using your position, damage or control to make an attacker stop threatening a teammate. It can be the right job even when you began the fight by moving forward. Watch whether an opponent is approaching the people behind you and whether they have room to escape.

If an enemy diver reaches your damage dealer, turn back when you can interrupt or pressure the attacker without abandoning the rest of your team to a worse threat. If the diver retreats, avoid following them far away from the objective. Resume holding the relevant route or move with your teammate to safer ground.

Return after peeling

Once the attacker backs away, check whether your team still needs the original route. Return only if you can reach it safely; otherwise hold a closer angle with your allies.

Forward pressure remains useful when your allies are ready to advance and the opposing team is giving ground. Take the next piece of cover rather than chasing the deepest target. If allies are not moving with you, hold a closer angle or help them reset. For the separate decision of starting contact, see how to initiate fights.

Manage the resources that let you stay

Health, available movement, defensive abilities and ally assistance all affect how long you can hold a position. Spend them for a reason: to protect a teammate, deny a route or buy time for an objective. If your escape or defensive tool is unavailable, take a more conservative position until you have an answer to the next threat.

Abrams: recovery still needs time and safety

Abrams’ Siphon Life damages nearby enemies and heals him for a portion of the damage dealt. Infernal Resilience grants temporary regeneration after taking damage, according to the community hero data and ability data snapshots captured October 28, 2026. These community data are not official Valve documentation.

For example, Abrams is holding an approach near allies and his health is falling. Healing can help him continue an exchange, but it does not make him invulnerable or guarantee that recovery will outpace incoming damage. If enemies focus him or reduce his healing, move toward cover and allies before committing to another close exchange. The Abrams guide covers the rest of his kit.

Buy defenses for the threat you face

Do not buy durability as a fixed shopping list. Identify what repeatedly prevents you from holding space: weapon damage, ability damage, control, lack of mobility, or insufficient recovery. A defensive purchase may let you occupy a route longer, while a utility or movement choice may be better if it lets you reach an ally or escape a bad position.

There is a tradeoff. Spending on defense can delay damage or utility, so ask whether the purchase changes the next fight you expect to take. If enemies ignore you and go around, extra durability alone may not give them a reason to stop. You may need a different position or a tool that threatens their approach.

If your plan relies on healing, notice whether opponents are reducing it and avoid assuming the same recovery every exchange. The vitality guide, defense and control guide, and anti-heal guide explain the choices without requiring a particular build here.

Measure the space your team actually used

After an exchange, ask what the position allowed. Did an ally attack the objective, escape a diver, or reach a safer angle? Did your retreat leave a gap, or did it keep you alive to contest again? If you absorbed a lot of damage but allies could not act, change the route or stay closer to them next time.

Two difficult frontline decisions

Am I failing if I retreat? No. A timely retreat can preserve your next contest. Signal it, and move with allies if nobody can hold the route.

Should I keep tanking after a fight is won? Only while it helps a safe follow-up. If resources are low or enemies are returning, reset with your team; use the objective conversion guide to choose what is achievable.