Deadlock Massive Update: Balance and Matchmaking Changes

A major update for Deadlock was released today, impacting various aspects of the game, including game balance, interface, matchmaking, and more. This article will provide a detailed explanation of the changes brought about by this patch. You can join the discussion about the changes in this patch on Reddit.

General Changes

• Time limits for all regions have been removed. Matchmaking is now open 24/7 for all regions
• Added a 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)​

Deadlock: Old and New Minimap

• Added a new behavior system. Players can temporarily lose access to specific capabilities in the game. The controls include Matchmaking, Voice Chat, Text Chat, Pausing, and Reporting. The tracking system 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 by abandoning games, which can include other behavior. You must complete the required amount of games (escalates based on low priority frequency) to return to using matchmaking normally.
• Regularly misreporting players will result in you losing the reporting function and, in some cases, may cause you to go into low priority.

Behavior System

• New players that are queued solo will only match with other new players until they get 4wins
• 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.
• AFK players will be automatically kicked out after a few minutes
• Abandon Match dialog is now more explicit about the 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 is now green
• Space Bar no longer cancels abilities. Abilities can be pressed again to cancel those with a canceled 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
• Changes to Scoreboard (TAB) and Extra Info (ALT)

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 serve their different functions better. The keys used for each mode can be swapped within Keybinds Settings.​

Scoreboard (TAB):​

• Enables cursor mode​
• Displays Scoreboard​
• Displays Damage Summary​
• Allows minimap ping and draw​

Extra Info (ALT):​

• No longer enables cursor mode​
• Quick-upgrade Abilities (i.e., ALT+1), each of these can be individually remapped​
• Can now more easily map ALT as an Alternate Cast button​
• Displays extra information on HUD (i.e., Zipline Speed Boost Cooldown) – we plan to expand upon this in future updates​

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• 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 an actual UI toit and 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 the friends menu scrolling up automatically when it shouldn’t
• Fixed being unable to invite offline users to a party
• Fixed invite tooltips on the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 are 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

Misc Gameplay

• 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 Items

• 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 the innate section
• Melee Charge: Passive now has a 8s cooldown
• Melee Charge: When passive triggers, you deal a 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 Items

• 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 Items

• 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

Heroes

Abrams

Deadlock hero: Abrams

• Abrams: Fixed Seismic Impact getting stuck on ceilings like in the mid-boss room
• Abrams: Shoulder Charge turn rate reduced a bit
• Abrams: Infernal Resilience reduced from 17% to 16%
• Abrams: Shoulder Charge stun time reduced from 1s to 0.85s

Bebop

Deadlock hero: Bebop

• Bebop: Uppercut no longer roots your hero during cast time
• Bebop: Can now keep firing if he jumps, and his laser is already warmed up
• Bebop: Reverted recent change to make hook have an alternate cast mode to pierce through allies/enemies
• Bebop: Hook range reduced from 35m to 30m
• Bebop: 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

Deadlock hero: Dynamo

• Dynamo: Rejuvenating Aurora no longer gets canceled when stamina is used
• Dynamo: Rejuvenating Aurora T3 reduced from 4% to 3.8%
• Dynamo: Kinetic Pulse T1 reduced from 40% slow to 35%
• Dynamo: Quantum Entanglement cooldown increased from 11s to 12s

Grey Talon

Deadlock hero: Grey Talon

• Grey Talon: Fixed issues with Charged Shot hitting targets behind walls
• Grey Talon: Fixed Guided Owl doing damage through buildings
• Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows Weapon Damage reduced from +7 to +4
• Grey Talon: Rain of Arrows T2 Weapon Damage reduced from +7 to +5
• Grey Talon: Bullet damage growth per boon increased from +1.46 to +1.8
• Grey Talon: Guided Owl cooldown increased from 110s to 120s

Haze

Deadlock hero: Haze

– Haze: Fixed issues with Sleep Dagger hitting targets behind walls

Infernus

Deadlock hero: Infernus

– Infernus: Base health reduced from 625 to 600

– Infernus: Flame Dash slow resistance increased from 30% to 50%

Ivy

Deadlock hero: Ivy

– Ivy: Fixed some control issues when flying near a wall

– Ivy: Air Drop silence and slow debuff duration reduced from 4.5s to 4s

Kelvin

Deadlock hero: Kelvin

– Kelvin: Arctic Beam fire rate slow reduced from 80% to 40%

– Kelvin: Arctic Beam movement slow reduced from 80% to 70%

– Kelvin: Objectives and Rejuvenator are now frozen and invulnerable when under frozen shelter

– Kelvin: Ice Path and Arctic Beam can now also be cancelled by hitting the ability key again

Lady Geist

Deadlock hero: Lady Geist

– Lady Geist: Essence Bomb T3 damage increased from 22% to 26%

– Lady Geist: Essence Bomb spirit scaling increased from 1.05 to 1.15

– Lady Geist: 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)

– Lady Geist: Self Damage no longer consumes shields (general change)

Lash

Deadlock hero: Lash

– Lash: Ground Slam now allows you to turn during the descent

– Lash: Bullet growth from 1.15 to 0.9

– Lash: Ground Strike Damage spirit scaling increased from 0.78 to 0.85

– Lash: Ground Strike Damage Per Meter Spirit scaling increased from 0.045 to 0.05

McGinnis

Deadlock hero: McGinnis

– McGinnis: Medicinal Spectre radius reduced from 6m to 5m

– McGinnis: Medicinal Spectre radius now grows with Spirit Power (0.07)

– McGinnis: Can no longer wall jump from Spectral Wall

– McGinnis: Spectral Wall min range reduced from 7m to 6m

– McGinnis: Spectral Wall duration reduced from 6s to 5s

– McGinnis: Heavy Barrage spirit scaling increased from 0.3 to 0.35

– McGinnis: Heavy Barrage min range reduced from 7m to 6m

– McGinnis: Mini Turrets bullet travel speed increased

Mo & Krill

Deadlock hero: Mo & Krill

– Mo & Krill: Camera zooms out a little bit more when un-burrowing

– Mo & Krill: Can cast Scorn while using Combo

– Mo & Krill: Combo T2 reduced from +1s to +0.75s

Paradox

Deadlock hero: Paradox

– Paradox: Fixed issues with Paradoxical Swap hitting targets behind walls

Pocket

Deadlock hero: Pocket

– Pocket: Barrage amp per stack reduced from 7% to 6%

– Pocket: Bararge slow reduced from 40% to 30%

– Pocket: Added a brief lockout period on Flying Cloak to prevent accidental double clicks

Seven

Deadlock hero: Seven

– Seven: Base bullet resist reduced from 8% to 0%

– Seven: Bullet resist no longer scales with Boons

– Seven: Headshot reduction increased from 25% to 35%

– Seven: Storm Cloud damage reduced from 124 to 110

– Seven: Storm Cloud max radius reduced from 30m to 25m

– Seven: Storm Cloud cooldown reduced from 180s to 140s

– Seven: Storm Cloud audio is now a little clearer when it’s cast

Shiv

Deadlock hero: Shiv

– Shiv: Fixed issues with Serrated Knives hitting targets behind walls

– Shiv: Slice and Dice damage reduced from 125 to 105

– Shiv: Bloodletting Deferred Damage Cleared reduced from 50% to 40%

– Shiv: Killing Blow Bonus Damage from Full Rage reduced from +25% to +20%

– Shiv: Killing Blow T2 now also increases Rage Amp by +5%

Vindicta

Deadlock hero: Vindicta

– Vindicta: Base bullet damage reduced from 14 to 13

– Vindicta: Stake T1 duration reduced from +0.75s to +0.5s

– Vindicta: Assassinate bonus gold is now shared with assisters

– Vindicta: Crow Familiar now reduces bullet armor by 6%

– Vindicta: Crow Familiar impact damage reduced from 50 to 40

– Vindicta: Crow Familiar impact damage spirit scaling reduced from 1 to 0.8

– Vindicta: Crow Familiar spirit power duration scaling reduced from 0.04 to 0.03

– Vindicta: You can now use stamina while flying to get an impulse in the facing direction

– Vindicta: Space bar no longer exists the ability, you have to press the key again

– Vindicta: Assassinate now does 20% more damage when getting a headshot

– Vindicta: Assassinate scope ends when you are stunned

Viscous

Deadlock hero: Viscous

– Viscous: Puddle Punch now correctly knocks people in The Cube up in the air

– Viscous: Improved various issues with the camera

– Viscous: Puddle punch now telegraphs an effect before it forms

– Viscous: Base bullet damage reduced from 14 to 13

– Viscous: Splatter damage reduced from 110 to 100

– Viscous: Goo Ball turn rate improved a bit

– Viscous: Goo Ball stun frequency cooldown improved from 1.5s to 1.25s

– Viscous: Fixed Puddle Punch piercing Unstoppable

Warden

Deadlock hero: Warden

– Warden: Bullet growth reduced from 1.31 to 1.2

– Warden: Alchemical Flask debuff duration reduced from 7s to 6s

– Warden: Alchemical Flask radius reduced from 7m to 6.5m

– Warden: You gain 50% bullet resistance during the 2s ult channel

Wraith

Deadlock hero: Wraith

– Wraith: Card Trick damage reduced from 100 to 80

– Wraith: Card Trick spirit scaling increased from 1.2 to 1.5

– Wraith: Card Trick card projectiles spawn above the reticle rather than on the left side

Yamato

Deadlock hero: Yamato

– Yamato: Ammo now scales with Spirit Power (0.15)

– Yamato: Power Slash damage reduced from 170 to 160

– Yamato: Grapple post cast duration reduced from 0.5 to 0.2

– Yamato: Alt fire now fixed to work with conditional damage sources (point blank, pristine emblem, etc)

– Yamato: Shadow Transformation bullet and spirit resistance reduced from 55% to 40%

– Yamato: 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

Deadlock: New Map Connections

Deadlock: New Map Connection

Deadlock: New Map Connections

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

Deadlock: Base Update

Rope Changes

– Removed the exterior ropes from the Garage and Nightclub

Deadlock: Rope Changes

– Replaced interior stairwells with ropes inside the Garage and the Nightclub that give access to the 2nd floor and roof

Deadlock: Rope Changes

Rooftop Changes

– Raised Apothecary and Imports rooftops to match the 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 the 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

Conclusion

This update includes numerous changes to the game that have affected gameplay and the balance of heroes and items. It has also made slight interface changes and enabled round-the-clock access to the game. Additionally, the game now has a new player decency system, which is expected to positively impact the community.