Deadlock Ranked CFG - a config built for the ranked queue in 2026

Short answer: A Deadlock ranked CFG is a config tuned for the ranked queue rather than for the highest FPS counter in the menu. It replaces the gameinfo.gifile, which decides how the engine loads settings and builds the render pipeline. Our config, UltimateMove CFG, is maintained after every patch and comes with two profiles: an esports one, built around clarity and steady frametimes in ranked, and Ultra Performance for weaker machines.

There are also several community projects around, OptimizationLock being the best known. They are not ours, but we are not going to pretend they do not exist. Below you will find both, along with an honest comparison of which one makes sense in your case.

Deadlock Ranked CFG - what the ranked queue changes

Since 30 July 2026 Deadlock has had a separate ranked queue, and that changes what your configuration is worth. In Standard, a frame drop in a team fight costs you a match and nothing else. In ranked it costs rank points, and those take several wins to rebuild.

That is why a ranked config is set up differently from a casual one. It is not about the highest average FPS, it is about keeping the frametime graph free of spikes at the moment when the most is happening on screen. Matches are lost in the one second where the image stops keeping up, not in the menu where the counter shows a three digit number.

The second difference is readability. In ranked you face opponents at a similar level, so the edge goes to whoever spots a silhouette first in the noise of effects. A config that strips everything indiscriminately can also hide the elements that carry information: ability indicators, ultimate areas of effect, off-screen damage markers. Our esports profile keeps those on purpose.

The third thing is staying power. Beta Season 1 runs until 7 October 2026, and several game updates will land in that time. Any of them can overwrite your config file and drop you back to default settings in the middle of the season.

What a config actually does in Deadlock

Deadlock runs on Source 2, the same engine as CS2, and ships with settings that prioritise stability on average hardware. On a tuned PC some of those defaults actively hurt frametime consistency. A config changes that layer - not the graphics settings you have sliders for in game, but the way the game talks to your system.

The effect that matters is 1% and 0.1% lows, the worst frames in a teamfight. Average FPS in the main menu can look identical before and after - which is exactly why most people "see no difference": they measure in the wrong place.

UltimateMove CFG - what our config contains

We build our own because the problem in this category is not a shortage of files, it is maintenance. Community configs usually get made once, get some attention, and then freeze - while Valve keeps changing things under the hood with every major patch. Six months later you are running a file that only partly matches an engine that no longer exists.

• Updated after patches - just like our tier list, which refreshes daily from match data. This page is somewhere you come back to, not a post from March.
• Documented convars only - zero commands nobody can explain. If a setting has no documented behaviour, it does not go in the file.
• Two profiles - esports, where enemy visibility and even frametimes matter more than a maximum frame count, and Ultra Performance for weaker hardware, where frames beat looks.
• Source 2 compatible convars - only settings the engine actually supports. No commands copied over from other games, and none that nobody can explain.
• Tied to the system layer - a config only works when Windows is not working against it. We cover that in the full guide.

Which profile to choose

Straight answer: if you already run OptimizationLock and everything works, you have no reason to change anything. A config is a file, not a subscription.

Ours makes sense if you want someone to keep maintaining it after the next patch, if you want to know what each setting does, or if you are looking for a profile aimed at genuinely weak hardware. If on the other hand your PC stutters in every game and not just Deadlock, no config will fix that and it is not worth your time. In that case the problem is your system or your hardware, and that is what we handle in PC optimization, where we measure input lag and frametimes before and after.

OptimizationLock and other configs - how they differ from ours

Until recently the answer to weak frames was buying more RAM or swapping your GPU. That route just became several times more expensive. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron shifted production capacity to HBM chips for AI data centres, and the supply of ordinary DDR5 for gamers collapsed.

The scale on the Polish market between November 2025 and March 2026: Kingston Fury Beast 16 GB DDR5 went from 310 to 940 PLN. Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB from 449 to 1500 PLN. GOODRAM IRDM 32 GB from 511 to 1429 PLN. 2x16 GB DDR5-6000 kits that cost around 400 PLN in 2024 reached 1400-1500 PLN. TrendForce forecasts the price peak in Q2 2026, with real drops no earlier than 2027-2028.

The conclusion is unusually clear right now: part of the performance you would go to a shop for is sitting unclaimed inside your PC - in a memory profile that was never enabled, in a BIOS left on factory settings, in a Windows install working against your game. A Deadlock config moves one layer of that stack. The rest is handled by PC optimization, where we measure 1% lows and input lag before and after, on your own games.

Our own build is the example: a Radeon RX 6800 XT, fully tuned, beats CS2 setups running graphics cards several times more expensive. Not because the card is better - because those run on defaults.

Installing a Deadlock config in two minutes

Below is the short version. We covered the full guide separately, including Windows settings, launch options and how to verify the result: installing a Deadlock config step by step.

1. Back up the original. Copy your gameinfo.gi somewhere safe. This is the one step you must not skip.
2. Replace the file with the config of your choice.
3. Add the launch options. In Steam: right-click Deadlock, Properties, General, Launch Options field.
4. Test it in a teamfight, not the main menu. Every config looks great in a menu - the difference sits in 1% lows during a six-on-six fight.

Is a Deadlock config safe to use

Swapping config files is not a game modification and not process-memory tampering - you are changing settings the engine reads anyway. But there is one risk most guides stay quiet about, and we think you should know it before downloading anything.

Valve has started restricting convars. One patch added this string to the game files: "Unable to enter matchmaking while any party member has changes to ConVars in Gameinfo.gi or is running Tools-Mode". In practice the mechanism does not work properly yet and players with a swapped file still get into matches - the config authors confirm this themselves. But Valve has clearly signalled intent and could implement it with any update.

What that means for you: if one day you cannot get into a queue, this file is the first thing to check. That is why backing up the original is not a formality - it is your way out. Anyone promising you a guarantee that this will not change does not have one.

So, three rules: keep a backup of the original, check this page after every major patch, and never paste in files with commands nobody can explain.

Frequently asked questions

How much FPS will I gain?

It depends on what limits you today. On CPU-bound hardware the difference in 1% lows can be clear; on a GPU already hitting a wall, small. Anyone quoting one number for everyone is guessing.

Does a config replace in-game settings?

No, it works one layer below. You still set the graphics options yourself - in the full guide we list which ones are worth cutting and which do nothing.

I installed it and I see no difference.

Check where you are measuring. Average FPS in a menu is often identical, while the improvement sits in the worst frames during a fight. If a proper test still shows nothing, something outside the config is your limit - usually Windows, drivers or temperatures.

Do I have to redo this after every patch?

Game updates can overwrite the file. So check back here after major patches - if the config needs a correction, we update it in the same place.

Does this work in CS2 too?

Some of the mechanics are shared because it is the same engine, but files do not carry over between games one to one. For CS2 we have separate material - start with the best CS2 settings.