Deadlock's first cheaters have been spotted. The players are having flashbacks of TF2 and CS.

Deadlock was announced only a few short weeks ago, yet we're already noticing cheaters in the lobby. It's painfully evident that the players are using aim bots, but others don't understand why anyone would cheat in an alpha test for invite-only.

Over the past few days, a video was posted showing the first cheaters I and other players have seen. Two cheaters are seen in this video. They may be playing together, as they are on the same lane. It is unlikely that two cheaters would be playing in Deadlock at the same time.

Infernus is one player, Vindicta is the other, and it is clear from the start that they are aim botting. Infernus makes some impressive shots at the candle creeps (creep minions). When they finally fight the rival heroes (specifically Seven), you can see that the crosshair snaps onto both of them. When the camera switches to Vindicta you can see that the player has not only snapped onto the enemy team, but also curved their bullets in order to hit enemies hidden behind walls.

The player who recorded the video tells his friend, "So you were just saying right off the back that [Infernus] was going like all out," "Oh my god! He began shooting through the wall immediately. Oh my god. Deadlock already has cheaters--that's awesome. They were very blatant too, they were very blatant. I don't care at all.

Looking at deadlock cheaters on r/Steam

Deadlock is a FPS, but it's not just about shooting things. Just because you are able to lock-on and kill players easily does not mean that you know how you can level up your abilities or pick the best items. The Vindicta in the video had not upgraded their ultimate as they were clearly preoccupied.

It's not surprising that some players place a great deal of importance on their ranking in Deadlock. Valve is working to improve this system, so there aren't any official ways of calculating your MMR. However, third-party websites have been able to do this for you. Valve has restricted the largest website, so it is not much help at the moment.

Even so, cheating is sad in a game which is still in alpha: "What a sad life must one lead to cheat in an alpha test that is openly conducted?" one player says. "There are no stakes, leaderboards, ranks, etc., right now." Some have stressed the importance of reporting cheaters, as it will hopefully result in them being banned from using hardware. While you can circumvent it, it should act as a deterrent.

Other players who have been a member of the TF2 and CS2 communities for a while have seen these new cheaters and have warned others about the tragedies which befell both groups once cheaters became out of control. "Just like Counter Strike they will plague every match forever, and Valve won't do anything." Calm down Nostradamus.