The Deadlock Mid Boss is undoubtedly the most difficult neutral Denizens you can face, but also the most rewarding one to defeat. Beating the Mid Boss spawns the Rejuvenator Buff, which provides a team with significant momentum.
Deadlock Mid Boss strategy
The Mid Boss spawns in the Museum at the center of the map after 10 minutes of in-game time have elapsed, and only becomes a viable objective for either team in the mid to late game. The Mid Boss possesses a massive health pool, a regenerating shield, and dishes out a lot of damage. The only way to damage the boss is from inside the pit in which it resides. All damage dealt from outside this area is nullified. Worse, when the Mid Boss reaches 60% health, it lets out a scream that alerts the other team to the situation.
As a result, the best time to tackle Mid Boss is when some or all of the following conditions are met:
- A team has collectively agreed to take on Mid Boss – attempting to solo or fight Mid Boss with only half the team will almost certainly result in failure.
- Two or three lanes have been fully pushed – an enemy team on the defensive isn’t going to worried about Mid Boss if their next Guardian is about to die to Troopers.
- One or more heroes on the opposing team are awaiting respawn – if your team is up and running but your opponent only has three heroes roaming, you can push them away from Mid Boss if needs be.
Ultimately, the Mid Boss can be whittled down with good management and teamwork. Players with high health pools like Warden should tank damage while high DPS characters like Wraith deal out the pain. If health gets too low, swap characters out, and always keep an eye out for possible ganks from the enemy team.
Defeating Mid Boss takes time, and the scream at 60% health alerts the other team to your activity, leaving you open to a possible steal. As a result, you need to keep a careful eye on the Mid Boss and the numerous hatches and passageways that lead to the Mid Boss. Heroes like Lash are well-known Rejuvenator Buff thieves because of their high mobility, so ensuring you take down the Mid Boss when these heroes are down, or confirmed to be away from the Mid Boss arena will improve your chances of claiming the buff.
Mid Boss Rejuvenator Buff effects
The Rejuvenator Buff gives one team:
-
40% faster respawn rate, but only once
-
50% more Trooper health
-
20% fire rate increase
Once the Mid Boss has been beaten once, subsequent Mid Boss defeats will increase the benefits of the buff. Respawn rate improves by 10% per Mid Boss kill up to a maximum of 60%. Trooper health increases by 20% extra per Mid Boss kill up to a maximum of 90%.
The Rejuvenator Buff spawns as a breakable crystal above the Mid Boss arena, and slowly lowers to the ground once spawned. Performing a heavy melee attack on the crystal and break it, conferring the buff to the team who breaks the crystal.
What this means is that it is entirely possible for one team to kill the Mid Boss, but have the buff stolen by the enemy team. Always keep a close eye out for enemy heroes in proximity to the Mid Boss arena when trying to take Mid Boss.
