update · December 6, 2024
Deadlock Update Reworks Matchmaking, Heroes, and Items
Deadlock introduces Raven to Hero Labs, adds an Extra Competitive matchmaking queue option, and rolls out sweeping adjustments to hero stats, items, and souls mechanics.
Valve deployed a large update for Deadlock, bringing the new hero Raven to Hero Labs alongside structural changes to matchmaking, soul mechanics, and dozens of items and heroes.
Matchmaking and Queue Options
A Queue Options button on the dashboard houses the Extra Competitive setting. This option directs the matchmaker to build teams with allies focused on communication and coordination, though it deactivates if the player pool is shallow. Solo queue restrictions at high MMR revert party size limits to 2 for Eternus and up while maintaining 3 for Ascendant. The matchmaker now prioritizes placing at least two frontliners on each team.
Soul System Adjustments
A tick-based souls system distributes a percentage of souls per second to the bottom two net worth players on a team after the laning phase. To curb soul orb duplication exploits during the laning phase, players are limited to four soul orb share events per trooper wave before becoming low-priority participants who no longer generate double souls.
Hero Balance and Changes
Raven joins Hero Labs. Haze's Sleep Dagger takes effect immediately, and her sleep state allows targets to move slowly at 2 m/s without taking other actions. Grey Talon's Immobilizing Trap is renamed to Spirit Snare and applies a Curse debuff instead of a tether. Dynamo's Singularity cooldown increases to 215 seconds and deals half damage to objectives. Abrams, Bebop, Ivy, Kelvin, Lady Geist, Lash, McGinnis, Mirage, and Pocket also receive individual stat and ability tweaks.
Item Revisions
Weapon damage values for early-game items like Basic Magazine, Close Quarters, High-Velocity Mag, and Hollow Point Ward drop. Berserker now builds into Frenzy, which grants the Berserker passive and increases stat bonuses per stack. Major adjustments alter cooldowns, resistances, and active durations across mid and late-game items.
Map, UI, and Audio Improvements
Purple lane receives park theming and a backdrop. Muting a player now silences map drawings, pings, and chatwheel messages. A Telemetry HUD option monitors frame rate and network conditions under settings. Audio cues, hero voice lines, and visual effects across multiple heroes and map assets receive updates.
Why this patch matters
This update targets game flow, curbing early-game soul exploits while shaking up hero builds and item scaling across all tiers of play.