Dominik Bošnjak is a freelance writer from Croatia. He has been writing about games for as long as he can remember and began doing so professionally circa 2010. If he was forced to pick a favorite genre, he'd go with RPGs, but he wasn't, so he didn't.
A new Deadlock update rolled out in mid-September 2024.
The latest version of the game introduces 24/7 matchmaking and intricate behavior tracking, in addition to a new minimap and dozens of balancing changes, among other novelties.
Expanded hotkey customization is also part of the package, as are many bug fixes and performance improvements.
A new Deadlock update rolled out on Thursday, September 12. This release introduces some pretty substantial changes to Deadlock, including always-on matchmaking.
Valve's third-person MOBA entered invite-only testing in spring 2024. Deadlock's matchmaking has so far been region-dependent, with the game only offering it during predetermined intervals. These windows of opportunity were 13 hours long between Monday to Thursday, while extending to 17 hours from Friday to Sunday.
Valve has now done away with this restriction as part of the latest Deadlock update, which became available for download on September 12. Among many other things, this release debuts 24/7 matchmaking across all servers. The way the system itself works has also been changed, as Valve opted to expand it with a low-priority queue. According to the changelog attached to the patch, the main way to enter this disreputable queue is to engage in undesirable behaviors, most notably abandoning matches. Filing false reports against players is another confirmed way to temporarily end up in the low-priority queue, which will result in longer matchmaking times. Players will need to complete a set number of matches, which varies on a case-by-case basis, until they can return to the standard queue.
This particular novelty had already been teased in early September 2024, when one of Valve's developers said the company was planning to completely rewrite the Deadlock matchmaking system. And while that process appears to still be ongoing, the new update also introduced some other changes to the game's matchmaking logic, like ensuring that new players who queue solo will only match with other newcomers until they get four wins. The patch also prevents parties of six from matching against solo players.
Many of these features appear to be inspired by the way matchmaking works in Dota 2, another one of Valve's titles whose development is helmed by the mysterious game designer IceFrog. A new minimap is also part of the recently released update, featuring many updated icons and changing the orange lane to green. Ditto for an elaborate system that allows Deadlock to track and temporarily prevent certain player behaviors, including voice and chat text, pausing, reporting, and matchmaking.
Another notable change concerns ability cancelation, which can no longer be done with the space bar. Cancelable abilities can instead now only be deactivated by pressing their hotkey again. Performance improvements and bug fixes are also incorporated in the update, together with a variety of UI tweaks. Based on Valve's track record with Deadlock patches, another major update for the game could arrive by October 2024.
Deadlock September 12 Update Patch Notes
General Changes
Matchmaking is now open 24/7 for all regions
Added new minimap Updated base asset and added new unique Hero Icons Neutral Camps are now represented by a highlight glow on the buildings they are located within The Orange Lane (Orchard) is now the Green Lane (Greenwich)
Added a new behavior system. Players can temporarily lose access to certain capabilities in the game. The controls include Matchmaking, Voice Chat, Text Chat, Pausing, and Reporting. The system for tracking is active now, however we will wait on most penalties for a few days as we review the results.
There is now a low priority queue. The primary way to enter this is through abandoning games, but it can include other behavior. You must complete the required amount of games (escalates based on low priority frequency) to be able to return to using matchmaking normally.
Regularly misreporting players will result in you losing the reporting function and may in some cases cause you to go into low priority as well.
New players that are queued solo will only match with other new players until they get 4 wins
The lane allocation of 1-1-2-2- and 2-2-1-1 will no longer be a possible setup
A 6 player party will no longer match against solo players. This may result in longer queue times for 6 stacks.
5 player party size is no longer allowed
AFK players will be automatically kicked out after a few minutes
Abandon Match dialog is now more clear about consequences of leaving
Abandon Match now has a time delay before you can click it to help protect against some accidental cases
Added custom hotkeys per hero
Bounce Pad visuals have been replaced with a wind fan (no mechanic changes). The effects also indicate the travel path.
Added little spirit frog legs to the Soul Urn
Orange zipline now is now green
Space Bar no longer cancels abilities. Abilities can be pressed again to cancel the ones that have a cancel state.
The Alternate Cast modes "Modifier Button" and "Alternate Cast Button" have had their behaviors merged
Added UI button hints when using "Alternate Cast Button" in some extra cases
Added a slider for Double Tap Alternate Cast timing
Added a slider for Press and Hold Alternate Cast required time
Client performance improvements
Game now automatically starts preloading the map once the client is launched, to help reduce load time for most users
Sand Box orb practice area now displays the time in milliseconds that you hit the orb after spawning
Added a console command (private_lobby_create) to allow players to create custom lobbies using our servers. This has very temp UI. Once we add a real UI to it along with some misc features, we'll add a non-console way to host custom lobbies.
Upgrade ability keys are now customizable (Current defaults are ALT+1, ALT+2, etc)
Adjusted Midboss low health roar sound to be more distinct from spawn sound
Added Maximum FPS Sliders for Dashboard and In-Game
Removed Pause limit for hero testing, coop bot matches, and the tutorial
Added support for launching the game in a secondary monitor properly
Fixed friends menu scrolling up automatically when it shouldn't
Fixed being unable to invite offline users to a party
Fixed invite tooltips on friends menu not being positioned correctly
Metal Skin effects revisions
Seven's Static Charge effects improvement to make the boundary more clear
Updated medic healing beam colors to be consistent with other heals
Melee troopers no longer play swipe effect (to reduce some unnecessary noise)
Added better indication when all four active slots are full
Updated Ice Dome to fix some performance related issues
Updated Torment visual effects to reduce some noise
Added sound for Tesla Bullets proc
Added sound for Toxic Bullets proc
Divine Barrier wings no longer fully opaque
Reduced intensity of last hit status effect
Updated Echo Shard sound effects
Added low ammo indication sound
Improved clarity for Seven casting and channeling sounds
Updated Refresher effects colors from green to purple
Minor updates to Abram's Seismic Impact to resolve some states faster to reduce visual noise
Updated Lady Geist Blood Bomb, Life Drain, Malice, and Soul Exchange sounds
Added Shoulder Charge wall impact effects
Changed open mic audio settings to allow open mic to opt in to team chat or party chat
Updated effects for the Warp Stone bullet resist buff
Added Lucky Shot proc sound effect
Updated Berserker buff effects
Adjusted Shiv's running reload animation
Added wall impact animation for Abram's Shoulder Charge
Lowered gun arm during Abram's jump animation to not obscure reticle
Soul Jar return location effects will change color based on the captured state of the Soul Jar
Lady Geist Blood bomb revisions to improve visibility in team fights
Improved visibility of heroes caught in the Singularity
Distance field shadows and AO no longer visible behind cosmic veils
Added sliders for FSR and FSR2 sharpness
Updated Wraith, Grey Talon, and Infernus VO
Walker AoE Stomp has new effects
Viscous Splatter effects have been adjusted
Revised Silencer cast and duration sounds
Added Rebirth channel and revive sounds
Added Infuser cast sound
Audio bug fixes related to switching spectating targets
Scoreboard (TAB) and Extra Info (ALT) Changes
Previously there was a lot of crossover between the TAB and ALT modes during gameplay. In this update we have separated the behavior of these two modes to better serve different functions. The keys used for each of these modes can be swapped within Keybinds Settings.
Scoreboard (TAB)
Extra Info (ALT)
Enables cursor mode
No longer enables cursor mode
Displays Scoreboard
Quick-upgrade Abilities (ie. ALT+1) each of these can be individually remapped
Displays Damage Summary
Can now more easily map ALT as an Alternate Cast button
Allows minimap ping and draw
Displays extra information on HUD (ie. Zipline Speed Boost Cooldown) - we plan to expand upon this in future updates
Miscellaneous Gameplay Changes
Orbs now favor the claimer rather than the denier when both impact within a very narrow window of each other
Flex Slot moved from "First Walker" to "Two Walkers"
All ability and item cooldowns increased by 6% globally
Max respawn time now happens at 35 minutes rather than 40 minutes
T4 Items Cost reduced from 6300 to 6200
Shield regeneration time reduced from 60s to 50s
Wall Jump activation has been made more lenient
Wall Jump launch angle can now be steered a bit more
Jump shooting lockout period reduced from 0.25s to 0.15s
Souls from bosses now appear much more spread out
Rope climbing speed increased from 13 to 14
Taking non-dot damage while on a rope slows you by 30%
Improved Heavy melee hit registration
Mid Boss warning now happens at 60% instead of 50%
Walker beam max range (the sticky portion after being acquired) reduced by 20% (50m to 40m)
Successful Parry CD reduced from 0.5s to 0.25s
Fixed Alt Fires not working with conditional bonuses (like Close Range)
Melee trooper hitbox improved
Fixed Medic Troopers sometimes using their heal on Guardian boss
Fixed multiple heroes getting the power-up bonus by standing on top of it before spawns
Fixed your gun reloading down to a smaller magazine when reloading with higher ammo than your max
Weapon Item Changes
Headshot Booster: Bonus damage reduced from 45 to 40
High-Velocity Mag: Weapon Damage reduced from 14% to 12%
Restorative Shot: Healing from heroes increased from 35 to 40
Restorative Shot: Healing from troopers increased from 10 to 15
Hollow Point Round: Conditional Weapon Damage increased from 20% to 22%
Rapid Rounds: Fire Rate reduced from 12% to 9%
Rapid Rounds: No longer provides -50 Max Health
Active Reload: Lifesteal reduced from 22% to 20%
Mystic Shot: Spirit damage now considers bullet falloff
Mystic Shot: Cooldown reduced from 6s to 5s
Berserker: Bullet Resist reduced from 8% to 7%
Long Range: Bullet Shield increased from +90 to +140
Melee Charge: Charge distance bonus is moved to innate section
Melee Charge: Passive now has a 8s cooldown
Melee Charge: When passive triggers, you deal bonus +20% Melee Damage
Melee Charge: Now gives a UI indication when reload procs
Soul Shredder Bullets: Weapon Damage increased from 6% to 7%
Fleetfoot: Active move speed reduced from 4 to 3
Fleetfoot: Cooldown reduced from 22s to 18s
Fleetfoot: Health increased from +75 to +90
Warpstone: Range reduced from 13m to 11m
Heroic Aura: Active movement speed bonus reduced from 3 to 2
Burst Fire: Now provides +70 Health
Sharpshooter: Bullet Health increased from +175 to +200
Hunter's Aura: Bullet Resist reduction reduced from -10% to -9%
Titanic Magazine: Bullet Resist increased from 15% to 18%
Alchemical Fire: Spirit Power increased from +7 to +11
Crippling Headshot: Debuff duration reduced from 5s to 4s
Lucky Shot: Bonus Damage increased from 80% to 90%
Glass Cannon: Max stacks increased from 5 to 7
Silencer: Damage increased from 15% to 20%
Frenzy: Linger duration increased from 4s to 6s
Vitality Item Changes
Healing Rite: Now grants +3 Spirit Power
Enduring Spirit: Spirit Lifesteal increased from 8% to 10%
Melee Lifesteal: Melee damage reduced from 15% to 13%
Health Nova: Now requires Healing Rite
Health Nova: Now grants +4 Spirit Power
Health Nova: Range reduced from 18m to 15m
Divine Barrier: Bullet Shield shield reduced from 300 to 260
Divine Barrier: Spirit Shield shield reduced from 300 to 260
Rescue Beam: Heal reduced from 30% to 26%
Rescue Beam: Cast range reduced from 45m to 36m
Rescue Beam: No longer requires Healing Rite
Fortitude: Lane troopers do not reset the passive regen timer
Lifestrike: Melee damage reduced from 40% to 35%
Majestic Leap: Cooldown reduced from 24s to 22s
Metal Skin: Cooldown reduced from 22s to 20s
Inhibitor: Fixed damage reduction on bullets not being reduced by a percentage properly
Colossus: Radius increased from 10m to 12m
Colossus: Cooldown reduced from 45s to 35s
Phantom Strike: Damage reduced from 150 to 75
Phantom Strike: Spirit Power scaling reduced from 2 to 1
Soul Rebirth: No longer grants 20% Weapon Damage
Soul Rebirth: Cooldown Reduction reduced from 18% to 15%
Unstoppable: Fixed not preventing Disarm properly
Spirit Item Changes
Spirit Strike: Melee damage reduced from 15% to 12%
Spirit Strike: Debuff duration reduced from 13s to 11s
Spirit Strike: Spirit Shield reduced from 100 to 80
Spirit Strike: Regen reduced from 1 to 0.8
Mystic Reach: Spirit Resist increased from 5% to 6%
Mystic Reach: Ability Range increased from 15% to 16%
Extra Spirit: Spirit increased from 8 to 9
Ammo Scavenger: Neutral kills now count as a soul capture
Ammo Scavenger: Buff duration increased from 35s to 40s
Withering Whip: Fire Rate slow increased from 30% to 40%
Slowing Hex: Projectile speed increased by 20%
Quicksilver Reload: Damage increased from 50 to 65
Surge of Power: Imbued ability now grants +10% Fire Rate when used (same 6s duration as the movespeed buff)
Rapid Recharge: Now gains +12% Weapon Damage (T1 Extra Charge gives +6%)
Improved Burst: Damage reduced from 10% of Max HP to 9%
Improved Reach: Spirit Power increased from +6 to +8
Torment Pulse: Health increased from +125 to +140
Silence Glyph: Spirit Shield reduced from +200 to +150
Echo Shard: Spirit Power increased from +8 to +12
Hero Changes
Abrams
Fixed Seismic Impact getting stuck on ceilings like in the mid boss room
Shoulder Charge turn rate reduced a bit
Infernal Resilience reduced from 17% to 16%
Shoulder Charge stun time reduced from 1s to 0.85s
Bebop
Uppercut no longer roots your hero during cast time
Can now keep firing if he jumps and his laser is already warmed up
Reverted recent change to make hook have an alternate cast mode to pierce through allies/enemies
Hook range reduced from 35m to 30m
Hyper Beam now does splash damage around a 5m area the beam connects to on the ground (can be used to fish heroes out of cover in some areas)
Dynamo
Rejuvenating Aurora no longer gets canceled when stamina is used
Rejuvenating Aurora T3 reduced from 4% to 3.8%
Kinetic Pulse T1 reduced from 40% slow to 35%
Quantum Entanglement cooldown increased from 11s to 12s
Grey Talon
Fixed issues with Charged Shot hitting targets behind walls
Fixed Guided Owl doing damage through buildings
Rain of Arrows Weapon Damage reduced from +7 to +4
Rain of Arrows T2 Weapon Damage reduced from +7 to +5
Bullet damage growth per boon increased from +1.46 to +1.8
Guided Owl cooldown increased from 110s to 120s
Haze
Fixed issues with Sleep Dagger hitting targets behind walls
Infernus
Base health reduced from 625 to 600
Flame Dash slow resistance increased from 30% to 50%
Ivy
Fixed some control issues when flying near a wall
Air Drop silence and slow debuff duration reduced from 4.5s to 4s
Kelvin
Arctic Beam fire rate slow reduced from 80% to 40%
Arctic Beam movement slow reduced from 80% to 70%
Objectives and Rejuvenator are now frozen and invulnerable when under frozen shelter
Ice Path and Arctic Beam can now also be cancelled by hitting the ability key again
Lady Geist
Essence Bomb T3 damage increased from 22% to 26%
Essence Bomb spirit scaling increased from 1.05 to 1.15
Fixed a recent bug with Malice that caused multiple blood shards to be absorbed by 1 hero rather than pass through and hit others (it didn't stack that way in any case)
Self Damage no longer consumes shields (general change)
Lash
Ground Slam now allows you to turn during the descent
Bullet growth from 1.15 to 0.9
Ground Strike Damage spirit scaling increased from 0.78 to 0.85
Ground Strike Damage Per Meter Spirit scaling increased from 0.045 to 0.05
McGinnis
Medicinal Spectre radius reduced from 6m to 5m
Medicinal Spectre radius now grows with Spirit Power (0.07)
Can no longer wall jump from Spectral Wall
Spectral Wall min range reduced from 7m to 6m
Spectral Wall duration reduced from 6s to 5s
Heavy Barrage spirit scaling increased from 0.3 to 0.35
Heavy Barrage min range reduced from 7m to 6m
Mini Turrets bullet travel speed increased
Mo & Krill
Camera zooms out a little bit more when un-burrowing
Can cast Scorn while using Combo
Combo T2 reduced from +1s to +0.75s
Paradox
Fixed issues with Paradoxical Swap hitting targets behind walls
Pocket
Barrage amp per stack reduced from 7% to 6%
Bararge slow reduced from 40% to 30%
Added a brief lockout period on Flying Cloak to prevent accidental double clicks
Seven
Base bullet resist reduced from 8% to 0%
Bullet resist no longer scales with Boons
Headshot reduction increased from 25% to 35%
Storm Cloud damage reduced from 124 to 110
Storm Cloud max radius reduced from 30m to 25m
Storm Cloud cooldown reduced from 180s to 140s
Storm Cloud audio is now a little clearer when it's cast
Shiv
Fixed issues with Serrated Knives hitting targets behind walls
Slice and Dice damage reduced from 125 to 105
Bloodletting Deferred Damage Cleared reduced from 50% to 40%
Killing Blow Bonus Damage from Full Rage reduced from +25% to +20%
Killing Blow T2 now also increases Rage Amp by +5%
Vindicta
Base bullet damage reduced from 14 to 13
Stake T1 duration reduced from +0.75s to +0.5s
Assassinate bonus gold is now shared with assisters
Crow Familiar now reduces bullet armor by 6%
Crow Familiar impact damage reduced from 50 to 40
Crow Familiar impact damage spirit scaling reduced from 1 to 0.8
Crow Familiar spirit power duration scaling reduced from 0.04 to 0.03
You can now use stamina while flying to get an impulse in the facing direction
Space bar no longer exists the ability, you have to press the key again
Assassinate now does 20% more damage when getting a headshot
Assassinate scope ends when you are stunned
Viscous
Puddle Punch now correctly knocks people in The Cube up in the air
Improved various issues with the camera
Puddle punch now telegraphs an effect before it forms
Base bullet damage reduced from 14 to 13
Splatter damage reduced from 110 to 100
Goo Ball turn rate improved a bit
Goo Ball stun frequency cooldown improved from 1.5s to 1.25s
Fixed Puddle Punch piercing Unstoppable
Warden
Bullet growth reduced from 1.31 to 1.2
Alchemical Flask debuff duration reduced from 7s to 6s
Alchemical Flask radius reduced from 7m to 6.5m
You gain 50% bullet resistance during the 2s ult channel
Wraith
Card Trick damage reduced from 100 to 80
Card Trick spirit scaling increased from 1.2 to 1.5
Card Trick card projectiles spawn above the reticle rather than on the left side
Yamato
Ammo now scales with Spirit Power (0.15)
Power Slash damage reduced from 170 to 160
Grapple post cast duration reduced from 0.5 to 0.2
Alt fire now fixed to work with conditional damage sources (point blank, pristine emblem, etc)
Shadow Transformation bullet and spirit resistance reduced from 55% to 40%
Can now interrupt Power Slash with parry
Map Changes
Inner Lane Changes:
Added connections from the Shop to the front of the Department Store and the New York Oracle buildings
Added veil in the opening at the front looking out toward the opposing side
Added a cover barrier in front of the opening with the veil
Moved the catwalk stair in front of the Department Store and New York Oracle closer to the Mid
Base changes:
Angled the walkway connection from the outer lane exits to the inner lane exits
Added an overhang below the Patron position
Added two juke closets facing the Patron
Rope changes:
Removed the exterior ropes from the Garage and Nightclub
Replaced interior stairwells with ropes inside the Garage and the Nightclub that give access to the 2nd floor and roof
Rooftop Changes:
Raised Apothecary and Imports rooftops to match heights of the Record Store and the Comedy Club
Removed rooftop details from roofs that are not safe
Added rooftop details to new valid rooftops
Miscellaneous:
Changed collision on the shelves inside the Armory and Warehouse to improve shooting through them
Replaced wall landing in front of the Nursery and the Market with an electrical box
Bug fixes:
Fixed breakable items outside the underground tunnel
Removed some duplicate models, lights and geometry
Fixed bug where the Hotel sign was replacing billboards on other rooftops
Fixed rooftop details not aligned to the new height of the rooftops
Fixed enemy team from being able to enter the base side passages
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WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info
Deadlock is an upcoming game from Valve which seemingly combines elements of the MOBA and hero shooter genres. As it is still in early development, gameplay and assets may be incomplete. Access is granted via friend invites.
