Deadlock Patch Notes: Ranked & Updates (11/10/2024)

Intro

Deadlock's latest patch has brought some significant changes, including a new ranked mode and numerous tweaks to gameplay, heroes, and items. In this article, we will break down everything you need to know to stay competitive and have fun in the updated Deadlock universe.

New Ranked Mode

Overview

Deadlock has officially launched a brand-new Ranked Mode, giving players the opportunity to show off their skills and climb the ranks. This new mode has a point-based system, where every win adds to your ranking, and losses will take away points. The higher you climb, the tougher the competition gets, and only the best of the best can reach the top tiers.

This Ranked Mode includes both solo and duo queue options, allowing players to take on the challenge either alone or with a trusted partner. There's also a new matchmaking algorithm in place to create more balanced matches, ensuring a fair fight even as you work your way up the ranks. If you thought the regular Deadlock matches were intense, Ranked Mode will keep you on the edge of your seat as every decision and every play can make or break your climb to glory.

Experimental Approach

We are experimenting with a different approach to Ranked during early development, and we expect to iterate on it in the future. The focus of this mode is on concentrating players into specific time windows where they can opt into games with an emphasis on game quality.

Entry Requirements

You must have 50 games played in order to enter this mode. Players with behaviour-related restrictions (such as voice or text bans, or report misuse) will be unable to queue into this mode.

The queue will be solo-only for now and will be open from 1pm-4pm and 7pm-10pm in the respective time zones every day. Each region will have multiple time zones to choose from, and players can only change their selection once per week. Players will be automatically assigned the server in that region with the best ping for the players in the match.

Medal System

In this mode, you will only be matched with players of the same medal level as you. There are 11 medals in total, each with 6 levels. Everyone's medal and levels will be displayed in these ranked games.

Every Tuesday at 8PM GMT, an algorithm will calculate everyone's performance together based on the games played, and how opponents performed in subsequent games. Medals will only be updated once per week, to allow for a comprehensive analysis of match data and a more accurate review of skill.

Rank Eligibility

In order to ensure sufficient data for cross-referencing, players must play at least 7 games in a week to be eligible for a rank. If fewer than 7 games are played, the player's medal will be marked as undefined until they meet the requirements. The ranked queue will first open on Tuesday, October 15th at 8PM GMT, and the first medals will be awarded globally the following Tuesday, October 22nd at 8PM GMT.

Seasons and Rewards

To make the experience more competitive, players are automatically sorted into different regions, and medals are reset at the beginning of each season. With each season lasting three months, players will need to maintain their performance to remain at the top. Additionally, there are exclusive rewards for players who reach high ranks at the end of the season, such as unique skins, badges, and in-game currency.

Ranking System

Ranked Mode features multiple stages, from Bronze to Legendary, with each stage split into 6 divisions. To progress, players need to accumulate ranking points by winning matches. Each week, a detailed performance review is conducted using advanced matchmaking analytics. This is designed to evaluate how well players performed not only on wins but also on individual skill contribution, ensuring fair rankings across the board.

Behaviour and Penalties

To further emphasise quality gameplay, players who abandon matches will face escalating time penalties and deductions in ranking points. Toxic behaviour will result in bans that prevent entry into Ranked Mode, meaning players will need to maintain good standing to continue competing.

Limited Queue Times

Ranked Mode also aims to create high-quality matches by limiting the available queue times. Players will only be able to participate during specific time windows, which concentrates the player base and ensures more balanced matches. The queue will initially be available in solo mode only to prevent potential exploits involving pre-made teams.

Leaderboards and Weekly Recaps

A leaderboard is displayed both in-game and on the official website, allowing players to track their progress compared to others within their region. Each week, a recap shows how each player performed, how many ranking points were earned, and where they stand compared to previous weeks. If you're aiming for the top, staying consistent will be key.

General Changes

Several general adjustments have been made to the game to improve balance and enhance gameplay flow. One key change is an overall reduction in cooldown times for all abilities, making for a more action-packed experience. The developers have also tweaked the soul gain from various sources, making it easier to secure key objectives early on.

Trooper soul drops have been slightly adjusted as well. Troopers now drop a full 100% of their souls as an orb rather than splitting the reward. This makes last-hitting troopers and securing their soul orbs more important than ever, adding a new level of intensity to lane skirmishes.

Map objectives such as the Urn and Mid Boss have also been adjusted to provide more meaningful rewards, giving players a stronger incentive to contest them throughout the game. Securing these objectives will now grant extra ability points, making them a core aspect of gaining an edge over your opponents.

• Added Quick Cast: A third casting mode, Quick Cast, has been introduced. Players can now choose between Instant Cast, Quick Cast, and Confirm Cast for more flexible gameplay options. Quick Cast allows players to hold down a key to see range indicators, releasing it to activate the ability instantly.
• Input Buffering: Added input buffering for ability usage, which allows abilities to queue if cast during another ability's animation. This ensures that players won't lose valuable time due to dropped inputs and can chain abilities more smoothly.
• Build Browser Update: Builds now have a unique ID that can be copied and shared, making it easier for players to collaborate and optimise their loadouts. Entering a Build ID in the search box of the build browser will show all the builds for the current hero by the author of that build.
• Private Lobbies: Added options for swapping players between teams, shuffling players randomly, and enabling duplicate heroes, giving players more control over custom game experiences.
• Localization and Audio Updates: Thai and Indonesian languages have been added, new voice-over translations for Yamato have been included, and additional sound effects have been introduced to increase immersion.
• Status Effects UI: Updated the way status effects are shown above the health bar to provide a clearer overview, making it easier for players to track active debuffs and buffs.

Miscellaneous Gameplay Updates

• Mid Boss Changes: The Mid Boss now spawns with an increased shield capacity, requiring teams to coordinate more efficiently to bring it down. It also has a new scaling mechanic—after the second spawn, its shield regenerates 20% faster.
• Trooper Soul Collection: Melee attacks on troopers will now instantly grant the full amount of souls without releasing a soul orb. This makes melee-focused heroes more impactful during the early game and adds a layer of strategy to laning, as melee heroes can now effectively deny soul collection from enemy heroes.
• Urn Changes: The Urn will now spawn every five minutes, starting at the 10-minute mark, and offers a 25% bonus in souls to the delivering player. Urn runners are revealed on the minimap, and melee attacks will now cause the runner to drop the Urn. This encourages strategic cross-map plays and makes the Urn a must-contest objective.
• Objective Adjustments: Guardians now take 70% less damage from troopers during the early stages of the game, with this resistance gradually decreasing over time. Mid Boss and Hard Camp spawn times have also been tweaked to align better with game flow, making objectives more predictable and strategic.
• Guardian Aggro Changes: Guardians now require players to be closer before initiating attacks, and damage dealt by Guardians to heroes has been increased by 20%. This makes early game pushes riskier and requires better coordination.
• Teleporters and Movement: Teleporters are now accessible at earlier times, allowing for faster map rotation. The stairs and access points in various parts of the map have also been widened to improve mobility, especially during large team fights.

Hero Changes

Abrams

Buffs:

• Health per Boon increased from 32 to 34 (1048 vs 1046 total).
• Seismic Impact now allows for minor movement to nudge around small objects.

Nerfs:

• Base Health reduced from 600 to 570.
• Fixed Shoulder Charge sensitivity bugs that allowed unintended movement.

Bebop

Buffs:

• Sticky Bomb growth increased from 2.5% to 4% per stack.
• Sticky Bomb now has 15 max stacks.
• Hook range increased from 25m to 30m.
• Hook now also hits enemy troopers, killing them instantly.
• Hyper Beam duration increased from 8s to 10s.
• Uppercut now applies a 15% Fire Rate slow in the landing radius for 5s. Scales with Spirit Power (0.2).

Nerfs:

• Sticky Bomb now loses 2 stacks on death.
• Hyper Beam movement slow reduced from 30% to 25%.
• Hyper Beam duration no longer scales with Spirit Power.
• Fixed some cases where Hook would grab players from around corners.

Dynamo

Buffs:

• Quantum Entanglement T3 now also reduces cooldown by 4s.
• Fixed Kinetic Pulse T2 tooltip to clarify its effect.

Nerfs:

• Quantum Entanglement cooldown increased from 12.5s to 15s.

Grey Talon

Buffs:

• Base bullet damage now scales with Spirit Power (0.1).
• Guided Owl grace period increased from 3s to 4s.
• Base stamina increased from 3 to 4.
• Fixed issues with Rain of Arrows and Guided Owl abilities.

Nerfs:

• Arrow cycle time increased from 0.45s to 0.55s (overall DPS unchanged).
• Fire rate no longer scales with Spirit Power.
• Movespeed no longer scales with Spirit Power.
• Fixed Guided Owl requiring Grey Talon to get the kill.

Haze

Buffs:

• Fixation max stacks increased from 30 to 40.
• Bullet Dance base ability now grants 2 targets hit per shot.
• Bullet Dance T3 upgrade now grants +40% evasion and +2 Bullet Dance Speed.

Nerfs:

• Fixation T3 reduced from +0.2 to +0.15.
• Bullet Dance no longer grants +15% Fire Rate.
• Bullet Dance base ability no longer grants +25% evasion.

Infernus

Buffs:

• Catalyst T3 damage amp increased from 15% to 20%.

Nerfs:

• Catalyst damage amp reduced from 25% to 20%.

Ivy

Buffs:

• Improved default camera position.
• Take Flight control keys are now similar to Vindicta's.
• Fixed issues with Take Flight control when near a wall.

Nerfs:

• None.

Lady Geist

Buffs:

• Life Drain can now be alternate-casted on allied heroes.
• Added double tap accidental protection for Life Drain.
• Added Malice stack indicator for opponents.

Nerfs:

• Fixed a bug that could cause units to take extra damage with Essence Bomb.
• Malice slow duration reduced from 6s to 4s.
• Malice amp duration reduced from 16s to 13s.

Lash

Buffs:

• None.

Nerfs:

• Base bullet damage reduced from 10 to 9.
• Flog Heal vs heroes reduced from 80% to 70%.
• Flog Heal vs creeps reduced from 30% to 25%.

McGinnis

Buffs:

• Bullet Resist added: Now has +15% Bullet Resist.
• Mini Turrets cooldown reduced from 30s to 24s.
• Mini Turrets duration reduced from 30s to 24s.
• Mini Turrets cast range increased from 15m to 20m.
• Mini Turrets recharge time reduced from 5s to 3s.
• Mini Turret spawn time reduced from 1s to 0.25s.
• Mini Turret attack delay reduced from 0.35s to 0.2s.
• Heavy Barrage radius increased from 4.5m to 5m.

Nerfs:

• Removed Spirit Resist: No longer has +25% Spirit Resist.
• Mini Turrets T1 no longer grants +1 charge.
• Mini Turrets health scaling reduced from 30% to 20%.
• Mini Turret damage reduction against troopers/neutrals increased from -40% to -50%.
• Mini Turret damage reduction against objectives increased from -60% to -70%.
• Fixed Ricochet not bouncing off Mini Turrets.

Mirage

Buffs:

• Djinn's Mark reveal duration increased from 2s to 3s.
• Djinn's Mark spirit scaling increased from 0.4 to 0.55.
• Traveler now causes camera movement to the destination.
• Traveler T1 now "+2 m/s" instead of -20s cooldown.
• Traveler T3 fire rate increased from 20% to 30%.

Nerfs:

• Djinn's Mark base damage reduced from 16 to 12.
• Tornado travel now uses fixed range instead of duration.
• Traveler T2 is now "-30s cooldown" instead of "+2 m/s".

Mo & Krill

Buffs:

• Combo T1 now grants +30% Bullet Resist while channeling.
• Combo cooldown reduced from 95s to 75s.

Nerfs:

• Combo T1 no longer grants -28s cooldown.

Paradox

Buffs:

• Bullet growth per boon increased from 0.33 to 0.45.
• Paradoxical Swap T1 now reduces cooldown by 15s.
• Paradoxical Swap T3 now increases range by 20m.
• Pulse Grenade damage amp per stack increased from 5% to 6%.
• Pulse Grenade T3 now also increases radius by 1m per pulse.

Nerfs:

• Time Wall bullet duration reduced from 1s to 0.7s.
• Paradoxical Swap cooldown increased from 48s to 65s.
• Paradoxical Swap range reduced from 30m to 25m.
• Pulse Grenade radius reduced from 7m to 6m.
• Pulse Grenade T3 no longer increases damage amp by 2%.

Pocket

Buffs:

• Enchanter's Satchel now respects line of sight.
• Enchanter's Satchel now shows an AoE indicator while channeling.

Nerfs:

• Shotgun falloff start reduced from 22m to 16m.
• Affliction DPS Spirit Power scaling reduced from 0.4 to 0.34.
• Barrage radius reduced from 6.5m to 4.5m.
• Barrage T3 now also increases radius by 2m.

Seven

Buffs:

• Base regen increased from 1.5 to 3.
• Lightning Ball T3 increased from +1m to +2m.

Nerfs:

• Movespeed scaling with Spirit Power reduced from 0.028 to 0.02.

Shiv

Buffs:

• Slice and Dice Spirit damage scaling increased from 1.2 to 1.3.
• Slice and Dice T1 cooldown reduced from -3.75s to -4s.
• Rage buffer duration increased from 7s to 12s.

Nerfs:

• Rage decay rate reduced from 0.35 to 0.25.

Vindicta

Buffs:

• Fall-off distance increased from 58m to 64m.
• Flight T2 now increases flight duration by 6s.
• Flight bonus move speed now scales at 50% effectiveness.

Nerfs:

• Bullet damage growth per boon reduced from 0.79 to 0.55.
• Flight duration no longer scales with Spirit Power.
• Removed base bullet resist (-10%).
• Health growth per boon reduced from 20 to 15.
• Gun cycle time increased from 0.22 to 0.26.
• Stake duration reduced from 2s to 1.75s.
• Assassinate bonus souls now unsecured.
• Shooting while flying now has similar speed impact as on the ground.
• Flight air acceleration reduced slightly.
• Crow Familiar % damage no longer affects Mid Boss.

Viscous

Buffs:

• Splatter Spirit damage scaling increased from 1.5 to 1.9.
• Fixed issues with Instant Cast not working for Puddle Punch.

Nerfs:

• Goo Ball no longer triggers on-hit effects while in Ethereal Shift.
• Goo Ball stun duration reduced from 1s to 0.7s.
• Splatter base damage reduced from 100 to 90.
• Splatter T2 reduced from +70 to +60.

Warden

Buffs:

• Alchemical Flask cooldown reduced from 14s to 12s.
• Alchemical Flask damage increased from 55 to 65.
• Alchemical Flask T1 now grants +1 Stamina Reduction.
• Alchemical Flask T2 now grants +50 Damage.
• Last Stand range increased from 12m to 13m.

Nerfs:

• Last Stand channel duration reduced from 2.2s to 2s.

Wraith

Nerfs:

• Card Trick spirit scale reduced from 1.2 to 1.1.
• Card Trick generation via melee reduced by 50%.

Buffs:

• None.

Yamato

Nerfs:

• Power Slash cooldown increased from 8.5s to 10.5s.
• Power Slash T2 now also reduces cooldown by 2s.
• Shadow Transformation no longer grants bullet and spirit resist.
• Shadow Transformation duration reduced from 4.5s to 4s.

Item Shop Changes

Weapon Items

• Basic Magazine: Ammo increased from +24% to +28%, making it an even more cost-effective option for early game power.
• Sharpshooter: Weapon fall-off range bonus increased to +20%, providing extra damage at longer distances.
• Vampiric Burst (Active): Lifesteal increased to 120% for 5 seconds, allowing players to regain significant health during fights. Ammo increase on activation increased from +50% to +75%.
• Tesla Bullets: Spirit scaling increased from 0.13 to 0.16, giving players more power against spirit-based defences.
• Alchemical Fire: Now behaves like other grenades and does not bounce off walls; base DPS increased from 45 to 55. This makes Alchemical Fire a more reliable source of damage.
• Toxic Bullets: Buildup is now 15% slower, making it harder to stack the effect quickly. This balances out the power of Toxic Bullets in extended fights.

Vitality Items

• Extra Health: Bonus health increased to +180, giving players more durability in fights, especially during the mid-game.
• Healing Rite (Active): The health regeneration duration has been increased to 20 seconds, providing more sustained healing during extended battles. This allows players to recover more health over a longer period.
• Reactive Barrier: Bullet shield health increased to 350, making it more effective at mitigating burst damage. Players will find Reactive Barrier more useful in team fights where shielding from heavy attacks is crucial.
• Enduring Speed: Movespeed bonus reduced from 1.4 to 1.1 (all heroes movement speed increased by 0.3). Slow resist reduced from 40% to 35%, making it less dominant in mobility builds.
• Fortitude: Health increased from +300 to +325, improving survivability in prolonged engagements.
• Restorative Locket: Spirit Resist increased from 8% to 10%, and it now grants +1 sprint. This gives more movement options, especially for players needing to reposition in battles.

Spirit Items

• Extra Charge: Now provides +15% cooldown reduction for charged abilities, making it a go-to option for heroes reliant on their ultimates. This reduction allows players to use their most powerful abilities more often.
• Withering Whip (Active): Cast range increased to 30 meters, giving players more flexibility in using this ability from a safe distance. The cooldown was also reduced from 26s to 22s, allowing for more frequent use.
• Improved Spirit: Spirit power increased to +28, scaling better into the late game and making it a must-have for magic-focused heroes. Increased scaling provides more damage output for ability-focused heroes.
• Escalating Exposure: Spirit resist on damage reduced from -15% to -12%, amp per stack reduced from 6% to 5%, duration reduced from 15s to 12s. This rebalancing makes Escalating Exposure less overwhelming, particularly when stacking damage amps during fights.
• Superior Cooldown: Now grants +100 Spirit Shield, giving players an extra layer of protection when focusing on reducing cooldowns. This improves survivability for heroes relying on abilities.
• Ethereal Shift Adjustment: Can no longer end early, ensuring players commit fully when using this ability. This makes timing more crucial.

Conclusion

The latest patch for Deadlock has significantly shaken things up, with changes aimed at making gameplay faster, more intense, and better balanced. The addition of a new Ranked Mode adds a thrilling new challenge for players looking to prove themselves, while the buffs, nerfs, and item updates provide fresh dynamics to explore. Whether you prefer playing in the lanes, dominating the jungle, or focusing on objectives, these changes will keep you on your toes.

With major adjustments to heroes, items, and general gameplay mechanics, the meta is bound to shift, requiring new strategies and adaptability. Whether you're playing as Abrams, focusing on early aggression with reduced cooldowns, or experimenting with Ranked Mode to push your limits, this update provides new experiences for everyone.

Get out there, try the new Ranked Mode, and see how these changes can help you climb to the top. As always, keep practising, keep learning, and most importantly, have fun!