Why do Iso and Deadlock have low pick rates in VALORANT?

Since the game’s launch, VALORANT has been quite a spectacle for the gaming ecosystem, one of the reasons for which is the varying agents in the game. Last year, three new agents were released in the game: Gekko, Deadlock, and Iso. Deadlock and Iso, however, have the lowest pick rate in both ranked and competitive tournaments in VALORANT. In this article, let’s take a deep dive into why VALORANT fans have neglected these two agents.

Have Iso and Deadlock become irrelevant in the VALORANT meta?

Image Credits: Riot Games

Deadlock and Iso currently have the lowest pick rate in the competitive circuit of VALORANT, according to vstats.gg, in ranked lobbies from Gold up to Radiant.

Firstly, Iso has a pick rate of only 3.79 percent. Deadlock, on the other hand, has a pick rate of 5.34 percent. One must note that for their respective agent classes, they are the lowest-picked agents in ranked lobbies.

Deadlock was released in VALORANT back on June 28, 2023. It was the latest Sentinel to be launched in the game. Alongside Sage, it was the only agent to have a wall to block the path of opponents in the game. Since the agent’s launch, there has been a lack of usage during professional tournaments.

If we take a look at all the recent VCT Kickoff tournaments, there was only one league that saw Deadlock being used. It was in the VCT Americas Kickoff, where Evil Geniuses used Deadlock on Icebox. This was the only case where fans saw Deadlock being used in the first four months of competitive VALORANT in 2024.

Since its launch in VALORANT Patch 7.0, the agent has received two significant buffs to its ability pool. Even these haven’t had an effect on the agent.

Image Credit: Riot Games

If one believed Deadlock was on the wrong side of the coin in the current VALORANT meta, Iso is in quite an awful situation as well. No team has used Iso in any VCT Kickoff tournaments or the VCT Masters Madrid.

What are the Issues in both Deadlock and Iso that make them neglectable?

Deadlock has the second lowest average pick, win, and KDA rating (Image Credits: vstats.gg)

If we look at Iso’s ability kit in VALORANT, we might see some of the answers. The first reason is that his kit doesn’t have the ability to stun or flash opponents. Due to this, Iso cannot help his team as a form of support. His ability to undercut makes the opponent vulnerable for 4 seconds, which isn’t a lot of time.

Iso’s ability Double Tap will only provide shields to Iso and no other teammate after a kill. Many players will compare Iso to Reyna due to the required playing style for each agent, but because Reyna can blind opponents, she can support the team. Due to all these factors, unlike other duelists, there is no unique factor about Iso that would make him a must-pick agent.

When we look at Deadlock, it’s similar to Iso in that she doesn’t have a unique ability that will provide a distinct nature to her kit. Her Sonic Sensors are similar to the Trap Wires by Cypher. Her ability, the Barrier Mess, is quite the ability to deal with, but Sage has a similar ability as well. It is only her Gravnet and her ultimate Annihilation that are unique about her kit, but they are still not useful enough.

If Deadlock cannot catch hold of the opponent in her ultimate, then the ability is wasted. On the other hand, the Gravenet slows down the movement speed and force-crawls the opponent. Due to this, the opponent’s aim is not affected as well.

With that being said, it’s up to Riot Games now on what the future of these two agents will be. If they retain these low pick rates, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a buff coming to them in future patches.