In a undocumented minor patch (either build 22082045, 22082589 or 22083281, all released within two hours of each other) on the 25th of February 2026, all pre-existing methods of Ag2Dashing got removed; first removing regular method, then slide storage methods, but lead to a new form of grounded Ag2Dash with no timing windows and lenient execution. This new form of Ag2Dashing was then patched in build 22085379 on the same day.
Ag2 Dashing
AnimGraph2 is a new, more optimised animation system implemented in certain Source 2 games. AnimGraph2 is intended to replace the older, less optimised AnimGraph system.
During the switch to AnimGraph2, certain animations have had their properties changed, resulting in strange or unusual interactions compared to the rest of the cast. As of current writing, everyone has transitioned to AnimGraph2.
Ag2Dashing (short for AnimGraph 2 Dashing) was a technique that allowed you to gain large amounts of velocity out of a dash slide through certain pre-requisites, those being match time and dash bucket.
Ag2Dashing could only be done in select timeslots, or windows, for reasons still unknown. These timeslots were the same across characters in the same dash bucket.
When Ag2Dashing, you would dash slide with a large amount of velocity (for dash bucket 1, ~1123±10 u/s; for bucket 2, ~1080±20 u/s; for bucket 3, ~1075±10 u/s), after which, after a short period of time, you would be able to jump out of for greater conservation of speed. If you did not jump, large slide friction would set in at the regular time.
Ag2Dashing, with the right execution and appropriate method, was extremely effective; high speed and low-level pre-requisites (i.e. needing a slope and one stamina) allowed it to become a superb chasing or escape tool during the latter portion of its lifespan.
There were multiple methods to Ag2Dash, which are listed below the timeslots.
Time Windows for Ag2Dashing
Ag2Dashing only worked during set times in the match was dash bucket dependant.
| Bucket | 1st Time Window | 2nd Time Window | 3rd Time Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucket 1 | 0:00–0:15 | 0:30–1:01 | 2:05–34:03 |
| Bucket 2 | 0:00–0:05 | 2:05–17:01 | 34:03 onwards |
| Bucket 3 | 0:00–0:15 | 1:19–4:12 | 17:03–68:16 |
Methods to execute an Ag2Dash
Regular
| Regular Method | |
|---|---|
By dashing and then on the subsequent tick, sliding, you could execute an Ag2Dash. This method had the least obstacles to execution but requires tick perfect inputs.
If you press dash and crouch on the same tick instead of one after the other, you execute a worse variation that does not put you in the slide state colloquially called “g2shitdash”. This variation has no benefits but is still possible in the latest version of the game.
Slide Storage Method
| Slide Storage Method | |
|---|---|
You were able to utilise Slide Storage to execute an Ag2Dash. This method was extremely lenient in its timing window and was extremely consistent compared to the regular method. This method required you to either come to a standstill and use the backwards movement key, which might not be desirable depending on the situation; or to bind dash to scroll wheel or dash tick perfectly to avoid sliding before dashing.
To execute an Ag2Dash using Slide Storage, jump in the air, hold crouch. Upon landing, press any cardinal direction and dash. This method became considerably more consistent if you held the backwards movement key while on the slope to avoid sliding before dashing, by binding dash to the scroll wheel (this would allow you to use slide storage method without pressing the backwards movement key) or by dashing tick perfectly.
Poster Method
| Poster Method | |
|---|---|
You could use the campaign posters from the Old Gods, New Blood update to execute an Ag2Dash. This method was a variation on the slide storage method which uses the posters to stop you from sliding and force you to stand up.
This method could also be done by instead using a light melee (although the light melee method requires slightly more strict timing, since using a poster is instant), or an ability/item.
To execute an Ag2Dash using posters, be on a slope. Jump in the air, look down and place down a poster. Upon landing, press any cardinal direction and dash. If you bound dash to scroll wheel and spun it when you land, you could eliminate the chance that you might instead slide.
Air Dash Method
| Air Dash Method | |
|---|---|
The air dash method was another variation of the Slide Storage method that utilises an air dash in order to prevent dashing early.
To execute an Ag2Dash using an air dash, jump in the air and air dash. Hold crouch and upon landing, press any cardinal direction and dash.
History of Ag2Dashing
On the 23rd of March 2020, Valve released Half Life: Alyx, the third instalment in the Half Life series. Alyx utilised a new data driven skeletal animation system called AnimGraph to realistically control how the non-player-characters moved throughout the world, the specifics of which will not be covered here, but can be read about on Valve's developer portal.
AnimGraph worked well for the singeplayer Half Life: Alyx, but was ill-equipped for multiplayer games due to networking and bandwidth issues. To combat this, Valve worked on a sequel to this system, AnimGraph 2.
AnimGraph 2 would be quietly worked on and implemented into Deadlock from late 2024 into the middle of 2025, culminating in 
Dynamo, 
Kelvin, and 
Ivy quietly being converted to use AnimGraph 2 during the months of June and July.
This push introduced the regular method of Ag2Dashing. Ag2Dashing would go under the radar for a few weeks until a few community clips on the r/DeadlockTheGame subreddit surfaced with Ag2Dashing, which was at that time unnamed.
The first mention of the term “Ag2Dash” would be the Deadlock Movement Wiki page written by compsoter on the 10th of July 2025, initially thought of as an oddity that would be patched out soon4). At this time, only the three characters could Ag2Dash, that being the three with Animgraph 2 enabled. At this point, everyone shared the same timeslot: ~0:00—0:30, ~2:05—8:30 then ~34:05 onwards.
On the 07-29-2025 update, dash speed became character dependant, resulting in the current dash buckets we have now. The timeslots changed, but it is unclear what they were or if they were the same as they are now (at the time, Ag2Dashing was not thought to be related to the dash buckets).
On the Six New Heroes update, Valve converted 
Abrams, 
Bebop, 
Billy, 
Holliday, 
Lady Geist, 
Lash, 
Mirage, 
Mo + Krill, 
Pocket, 
Seven, 
Sinclair, 
Vindicta, 
Vyper and 
Warden to AnimGraph 2. Consequently, these characters gained the ability to Ag2Dash.
On the Old Gods, New Blood update, Valve converted all remaining characters to AnimGraph 2. Consequently, those characters gained the ability to Ag2Dash.
Ag2Dash timeslots became unclear during this time due to a lack of testing, and wouldn't be tested until January 2026, when compsoter tested various characters and concluded that Ag2Dashing was tied to dash buckets, resulting in the current timeslots we have now.
On the 2nd of February, the community member Acurrz noted that you could Ag2Dash by jumping back, holding crouch then dashing when you landed, leading to the discovery of other methods; on the 15th, mikoboy discovered the poster and air dash method, followed by .lithium_ using scrollwheel with the slide storage method.
On the 25th of February 2026 at approximately 7:00 AM AEST (9:00 PM UST or 1:00 PM PT), the regular method of Ag2Dashing got removed in a small undocumented patch, albeit not removing g2shitdashing. This patch resulted in a bug that allowed Ag2Dashing on flat ground from a regular grounded dash with extremely lenient timing (with a timing window larger than a second) and no timing windows using the slide storage method, allowing for extremely fast movement.
7-8 hours later at approximately 3:00 PM AEST (4:00 AM UST or 8:00 PM PT), Valve released a minor undocumented patch that removed this new method of Ag2Dashing, thereby removing all forms of Ag2Dashing from the game.