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For a useful reload result, turn No Reload off, keep the same hero and weapon, begin each attempt with the same ammunition state, and separate uninterrupted reloads from tests involving melee attacks or dashes. Record several attempts rather than treating one visible animation as a universal number: Deadlock is still changing, and hero-specific timings can differ by weapon and game build.
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Choose the right practice space
Atrium and Sandbox are both practice areas, but they solve different problems. Starting in the smaller, faster Atrium keeps an ability lesson focused. Sandbox is the better choice once you need a controlled test with configurable settings and repeatable ammunition states.
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| Practice space | How to enter | Best use | Important features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atrium | From the Hideout’s main hall | Learning what an ability does and rehearsing movement | Static bots, a practice machine for fast cooldowns and infinite stamina |
| Sandbox | Play menu, or the teleporter inside the Atrium | Controlled comparisons of abilities, weapons and reload behavior | Settings panel, including No Reload |
The names and locations above reflect the Sandbox guide checked against the October 6, 2026 patch and updated October 8, 2026. Menus can move as Valve develops the game, so if a label differs in your build, look for the practice or Sandbox entry in the Play menu rather than assuming the mode was removed.
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Enter the Atrium and prepare an ability lesson
1. Start in the Hideout
- Load into your Hideout.
- Walk through the main hall and select the entrance for the Atrium.
- Let the area finish loading before beginning a comparison; changing rooms in the middle of a test makes it harder to keep conditions consistent.
The Atrium is intended for rapid, low-friction practice. Static bots give you a repeatable target, while the practice machine’s fast cooldowns and infinite stamina remove two common delays between attempts.
2. Learn one ability before combining abilities
- Choose the hero you want to study and stand at a fixed distance from a bot.
- Cast one ability without moving. Watch its targeting shape, cast animation, travel path, impact effect and the way the bot reacts.
- Use the practice machine to restore the ability quickly, then repeat the same cast from the same position.
- Move to a second distance or angle only after you can identify the first cast’s range and target requirement.
This first pass is about recognition, not speed. Note whether the ability needs a visible target, a valid surface, a minimum range or a specific facing direction. If an apparent failure is actually a targeting requirement, changing the aim point is more useful than changing the timing.
3. Add movement to the cast
- Repeat the cast while walking in a straight line.
- Repeat it while strafing in the opposite direction.
- Try the same input immediately after a dash or other movement action.
- Observe whether the ability fires, queues, changes direction or is prevented by an animation.
Infinite stamina lets you repeat movement without waiting for recovery. Keep the bot and starting location unchanged so that a different result is attributable to your movement, not to a new target position.
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Once each ability is familiar, pair them deliberately. Cast the first ability, wait for its visible hit or state change, and then use the second. Repeat the sequence in the opposite order. This reveals whether the first animation locks your movement, whether the second ability requires a new target, and whether the pair creates a reliable opening against a static bot.
Do not treat a fast-cooldown practice result as a live-match cooldown. The Atrium’s machine is designed to let you repeat actions; it changes the waiting time between drills, not necessarily the ability’s in-match behavior.
Move from Atrium to Sandbox for controlled testing
Option A: use the Atrium teleporter
- From the Atrium, locate the teleporter marked for Sandbox.
- Activate it and wait for the Sandbox area to load.
- Open the Sandbox settings panel before firing or casting so you know which modifiers are active.
Option B: use the Play menu
- Open the Play menu from the game’s main interface.
- Select Sandbox from the available practice options.
- After loading, inspect the settings panel and configure the session before starting a timed trial.
The two routes lead to the same type of configurable practice session. Use the Play-menu route when you are starting fresh; use the teleporter when you are already checking an ability in the Atrium and want to preserve your focus.
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Configure Sandbox before measuring a reload
Disable No Reload for a normal reload
Sandbox includes a No Reload setting that provides infinite ammunition. It is useful for uninterrupted firing drills, but it prevents a normal reload from occurring. Open the settings panel and switch No Reload off before timing a reload. Confirm the change by firing enough rounds to reduce the magazine and checking that the reload action actually begins.
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Write down the hero, weapon, magazine state and test condition before each series. A reload started with one missing round is not the same event as a reload started with an empty magazine. Keep the character in the same position and use the same input method for every attempt.
- Hero: record the exact hero selected.
- Weapon: record the weapon name and whether it refills an entire magazine or loads units individually.
- Starting ammunition: note the rounds remaining when the reload input begins.
- Completion rule: decide whether you are timing until the magazine is usable or until the final round is visibly inserted.
- Interruptions: label the trial uninterrupted, melee-interrupted or dash-interrupted.
These labels keep partial reloads from being mistaken for full reloads and make two clips comparable even when their animations look similar.
A repeatable method for timing reloads
Use a clear start and stop event
Pick an observable start point, such as the instant the reload input is accepted or the first frame of the reload animation. Pick one stop point and use it every time: either the moment the weapon can fire again or the moment the magazine displays its final loaded round. Mixing those definitions produces two different numbers for the same animation.
- Fire to the chosen starting ammunition state.
- Stop moving and avoid other inputs.
- Start a recording or stopwatch before pressing reload.
- Press reload once and allow the animation to finish.
- Record the elapsed time and the ending ammunition count.
- Repeat at least five times under the same condition.
A phone recording, screen capture or frame-by-frame video is usually more reliable than trying to read a stopwatch while controlling the hero. The goal is consistency, not a claim of laboratory precision. If your results differ by a frame or two, report the range and the setup rather than a falsely exact single value.
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Separate full-magazine and single-unit behavior
Reload behavior is not identical across weapons. A full-reload weapon refills its magazine in one completed action. A single-reload weapon inserts ammunition one unit at a time, so its useful timings include both the first loaded round and the time required to reach a full magazine.
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The reload reference revised August 26, 2025 identifies Abrams and Fathom as examples of heroes with single-reload weapons and describes most heroes as using full-reload weapons. Those examples are useful for understanding the distinction, but hero rosters and weapon behavior can change; verify the weapon in your installed build before publishing or relying on a hero-specific number.
Measure an interruption as its own condition
Melee attacks and dashes interrupt a reload until their animations finish. Do not mix an interrupted attempt into an ordinary average.
- Complete the uninterrupted series first.
- Start a new series from the same ammunition state.
- Begin reloading, then perform the chosen melee attack or dash at a recorded point in the animation.
- Measure when the weapon becomes usable again and note whether the reload resumes, restarts or ends with a different ammunition count.
Run melee and dash interruptions separately. They are different animations and should not be grouped under a single “cancelled” result.
Build a comparison sheet instead of one isolated number
A small table makes the conditions visible and prevents accidental comparisons between unlike trials.
| Variable | Condition 1 | Condition 2 | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reload type | Full-magazine refill | Single-unit loading | The animation and completion point are different. |
| Starting ammunition | One or a few rounds missing | Empty magazine | A partial reload may finish before a full reload. |
| Sandbox setting | No Reload off | No Reload on | Only the first condition produces a normal reload. |
| Action during reload | No interruption | Melee or dash | Interruptions extend or alter the sequence. |
| Build | Your installed live build | An older recorded test | Updates can change hero and weapon behavior. |
When you share a result, include every applicable column. “This weapon reloads in two seconds” is incomplete without the hero, starting ammunition, stop event and build.
Use the same discipline for ability timings
Ability practice is not limited to memorizing descriptions. You can test the moments that decide whether a combo works.
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Range and target validation
- Place a bot at a known distance.
- Cast from outside the apparent range, then move closer in small increments.
- Record the first distance at which the cast becomes valid.
- Repeat from a different angle to identify line-of-sight or facing requirements.
Animation and recovery
- Cast while standing still and watch the complete animation.
- Repeat immediately after movement.
- Try to fire, dash or cast the next ability at different points in the animation.
- Mark the earliest point at which the next action is accepted.
This produces a practical “can I act again?” measure without pretending that a visual animation length is the same as a server-side cooldown.
Cooldown and repeatability
Use the Atrium’s fast-cooldown machine to repeat casts, but record the normal ability cooldown separately if Sandbox exposes the ordinary setting in your build. A fast reset is a practice convenience; it should not be reported as the hero’s combat cooldown.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common mistakes and fixes
Nothing reloads
Check Sandbox’s No Reload setting first. If it is enabled, infinite ammunition is working as designed. Disable it, fire until ammunition is reduced, and try again.
The measured time changes every attempt
- Check that each trial starts with the same ammunition count.
- Use one stop definition for every clip.
- Keep movement, firing and melee inputs out of the uninterrupted series.
- Measure several attempts and report a range when the animation is difficult to read.
The reload stops before the magazine is full
Look for an accidental melee attack or dash. Both can interrupt a reload until their animations finish. Repeat the test with those inputs physically separated from the reload input, then create a separate interruption series if that behavior is what you want to study.
An ability appears inconsistent
Return to a fixed bot, distance and facing direction. Check whether the cast has a target or surface requirement, and test one ability at a time before judging a two-ability sequence.
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Compare the dates and builds. The reload mechanics reference was last modified August 26, 2025, while the current Sandbox guide was checked against the October 6, 2026 patch. A result from the older reference can explain a mechanic, but it is not proof of the value in your current installation.
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A practical 20-minute practice routine
Minutes 0–5: orientation in Atrium
Enter from the Hideout, select the hero and identify each ability’s target, range and visible animation. Use fast cooldowns and infinite stamina to repeat a basic cast until the input feels predictable.
Minutes 5–10: movement combinations
Test each ability while walking, strafing and following a dash. Then rehearse two-ability orders against the same static bot. Note which order lets you act again sooner and which order loses the target.
Minutes 10–15: Sandbox setup
Use the teleporter or Play menu, open the settings panel, turn No Reload off, choose a weapon and establish a starting ammunition state. Make a short recording before taking measurements.
Minutes 15–20: reload series
Run uninterrupted trials first, then repeat from an empty magazine if the weapon supports that comparison. Finish with separate melee and dash interruption tests. Save the hero, weapon, conditions and build date with the clips.
How to keep results current
Deadlock remains under active development. Development coverage on September 30, 2026 reported ongoing changes, and the practice guide’s October 6, 2026 patch check is a useful timestamp for the menu behavior described here. Re-test any hero-specific reload value after a patch that changes weapons, animations, heroes or Sandbox settings.
When maintaining your own notes, put the patch date in the filename or first line, for example “Hero—weapon—reload—October 6 2026 build.” If a later update changes the magazine, animation or interruption behavior, archive the old result instead of silently replacing it. This preserves a useful history while keeping the active value tied to the build that produced it.
What a trustworthy practice note should contain
- Hero and weapon names.
- Practice space: Atrium or Sandbox.
- Sandbox settings, especially whether No Reload was off.
- Starting ammunition and whether the magazine was empty.
- Uninterrupted, melee-interrupted or dash-interrupted condition.
- The chosen timing start and stop events.
- Number of attempts and observed range.
- Game build or patch date.
With those details, another player can reproduce the test instead of taking an unexplained number on faith. The Atrium teaches the ability’s behavior quickly; Sandbox supplies the controlled conditions needed to make reload and animation observations meaningful.
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