Valve has released one of the biggest patches in Deadlock history. It includes a new item, a complete overhaul of the Soul Urn, nerfs to the top meta picks, and system-wide changes that affect every hero in the game. We won’t be rewriting the changelog - that’s what the Valve forum is for - a link to the changes can be found in our tier list. We’re focusing on what these changes mean for your gameplay and how to adapt to them.
Table of Contents
- Biggest Systemic Changes - What Affects EVERY Game
- Patch Winners – Who Gained
- Patch losers – who lost
- New items and item changes – what to build differently
- Soul Urn on MID – a completely new system
- How to play now – practical conclusions
- FAQ
1. The Biggest systemic changes
This patch changes the fundamentals of the game. Before we get to heroes, you need to understand three things:
Everything is more fragile. Each hero's base HP has dropped by 10, HP per boon by 3. It sounds like nothing. But in a 6v6 game, where fights last 10-15 seconds, those few dozen fewer HP on each hero means faster kills, faster teamfights, and less margin for error. Positioning and timing when entering combat are now EVEN more important.
Guardians die faster. Guardian resistance in early game dropped from +75% to +50%. This is a massive change. Aggressive lanes that push early (Infernus, Abrams, Billy) can now take down a Guardian faster, giving earlier access to jungle camps and rotations. If you play passively on lane and let the enemy push, you will lose your Guardian before minute 6.
Medium campy pojawiają się minutę wcześniej (5 min zamiast 6). Zmiana, którą łatwo przeoczyć, ale ma ogromny wpływ na farm priority. Carry (Pos 1) powinny teraz planować rotację na medium campy o 5:00, nie 6:00. Minuta przewagi w farm to setki souls.
Midboss is on the map from the start of the game. Another change that pushes the game toward early aggression and objective contesting. Teams with strong early game can attempt Midboss much earlier.
Sliding no longer resets sprint speed. A QOL-type change but it affects movement. Slide-spamming on lane (a popular tech) is now less effective for maintaining speed. Movement requires more conscious decisions.
Stamina regeneration cut by 25% after wall jump (while taking damage). A direct nerf to high-mobility heroes (Lash, Silver, Calico). Wall jumping is now more expensive on stamina - think twice before you jump into anything.
2. Patch Winners - Who Got Stronger
Yamato - the biggest winner. Power Slash post-cast time cut from 0.4s to 0.2s (HUGE - twice as fast return animation). Spirit scaling increased from 1.86 to 2.1. Flying Slash range increased from 25m to 30m, T3 now gives +2 charges instead of +1. Yamato was solid before the patch. Now she is a beast. Power Slash with faster post-cast means you can shoot again almost instantly after using it. Flying Slash with +2 charges gives absurd mobility. I expect Yamato to jump into S-tier.
Grey Talon - complete Rain of Arrows rework. Cooldown dropped from 30s to 22s. Cast delay shortened from 0.5s to 0.2s. But duration shortened from 7s to 4s - this changes strategies around how you use your time in the air.
Paradox - big buffs. Time Wall T1 duration +3.5s (from +2.5s). T3 now gives +2 charges with 2s delay (instead of +1 with 4s delay). Kinetic Carbine T3 scaling increased. Paradoxical Swap damage from 125 to 150. Paradox with two Time Walls every 2 seconds is zone control on a new level. Paradox support/flex build gains massively.
Abrams - Infernal Resilience restructured. T1 changed from "+1.5 Regen" to "+200 Max HP". T2 changed from "+200 Max HP" to "+18% Melee Lifesteal." This shifts Abrams from "farm regen early" to "I have a massive HP pool immediately and lifesteal through everything in mid-game." Seismic Impact T2 stun duration +0.8s (from +0.7s), T3 unstoppable 6s (from 5s). Abrams as a frontliner gains significantly.
Rem - massive Tag Along buffs. Burst heal on allies, 50% faster flight to ally, Tag Along through veils, +30% damage reduction in base Naptime. Rem as Pos 6 hard support is now much stronger. If you play premade and are looking for a support, Rem gains a lot - but picking this hero is still not a guaranteed win. A rat is a rat, squishy and without carry potential, unless you are supporting some god of the game.
Venator - silent buff. HP increased from 790+43/boon to 830+48/boon. Snap Trap T3 now gives +30% damage on revealed targets and +1 charge. Venator is now tankier with more trap control. A solid buff to his offlaner/roamer role.
Holliday - small but meaningful. Base bullet damage +0.9, health regen from 1 to 2. Holliday has incredible lane presence when played well, and now she will be even stronger. Doubled regen and additional damage help her laning phase.
3. Patch Losers - Who Got Weaker
Seven - double nerf. Bullet damage growth cut from 0.374 to 0.337 (-10%). Crit reduction increased from 35% to 55% - which sounds like a buff but actually means Seven deals less damage from crits (his own crits are less valuable). This is a targeted nerf on Seven as the #1 win rate hero. He will still be strong, but his late-game damage is noticeably lower. If you play Seven, you now need to rely more on spirit build (Power Surge, Storm Cloud) than bullet damage.
Dynamo - significant nerfs. Kinetic Pulse T2 bullet resist shred cut from -18% to -15%. Spirit scaling cut again - this time from 1.65 to 1.55. Quantum Entanglement T3 no longer cleanses debuffs - now it only reduces their duration by 50%. This is a massive change. Dynamo as a "get out of jail free card" with full cleanse is done. Now debuffs still sit on you, just for less time. Dynamo drops from must-pick to solid-pick - which he will always be because of his ult.
Victor - heavy bullet damage nerf. Bullet damage cut from 13+0.3135 to 12+0.26. That is -18% bullet damage growth. Victor was too strong after the Vitality buffs from the previous patch. Valve is correcting this. Aura of Suffering now does only 50% damage to objectives - no more Victor soloing Walkers and Shrines, "wallbreaker Victor" is dead. Victor drops tier, probably from S+ to A+.
Lash - bullet + grapple nerf. Bullet damage per boon cut from 0.341 to 0.31. Grapple T2 bonus damage no longer stacks with itself. Grapple T3 gives +1 charge which partially compensates, but overall Lash is slightly weaker. The stamina regen nerf after wall jump hits him particularly hard.
Shiv - nerfs on multiple fronts. Slice and Dice T2 spirit resist shred from -8% to -6%. Bloodletting damage cleared from 40% to 35%. Killing Blow cooldown from 105s to 125s (+20s!), full rage damage from 14% to 12%. Shiv is still playable but his kill pressure is noticeably lower. Killing Blow every 125s is a huge loss for players who relied on a regular finisher. The most nerfed hero in the game - will the nerfs ever stop?
Bebop - bullet growth nerf. Bullet damage per boon from 0.139 to 0.115. Exploding Uppercut T2 weapon damage from +40% to +30%. Sticky Bomb T2 compensates slightly (+85 damage from +75) but overall Bebop is weaker in weapon builds.
Kelvin - spirit scaling gutted. Frost Grenade scaling from 0.7 to 0.6. Arctic Beam DPS scaling from 0.5 to 0.38 (-24%!). Kelvin spirit build is significantly weaker. Ice Path when interrupted no longer creates a path below him. Kelvin drops as a spirit carry but remains OK as utility support.
Pocket - Affliction nerf. Affliction cooldown increased from 140s to 150s. Flying Cloak T2 weapon damage duration from 8s to 6s. Small but noticeable nerfs. Pocket is still strong but 10s more on ult is 10s more without your main tool.
Doorman - heavy nerfs. Call Bell radius smaller, explosion damage scaling lower, inaccuracy debuff from -100% to -40% (massive). Doorway is no longer "unsilenceable" and close starts with an 8s cooldown. Doorman was probably too strong. These nerfs are significant. But... we now have Midboss from the start of the game, and Doorman thrives there - so expect to be teleported to it.
Silver - Lycan Curse fire rate cut. From 80% to 65%. Spirit scaling partially compensates but overall Silver's power budget in transform is lower.
4. New Items and Item Changes - What to Build Differently
NEW ITEM: Grit (T1 Vitality, 800 souls) Active: 200 Barrier for 4s. Passive: +1 Out of Combat Regen. Cooldown 60s. Upgrades to: Weapon Shielding, Spirit Shielding, Reactive Barrier, Guardian Ward.
Why this matters: Grit gives every hero an early barrier active for just 800 souls. This is a survival tool for laning phase. Buy this as your first defense on lane if the matchup is tough. 200 barrier is an extra 200 HP every 60 seconds. Extremely cost-efficient.
Other important item changes:
Shadow Weave - buffed aggressively. Duration from 10s to 13s. Ambush bonuses: Fire Rate 25% (from 20%), Spirit Power 25 (from 20), Melee Damage 25% (from 20%). Shadow Weave was niche. Now it is a real item on assassin builds (Haze, Wraith).
Fury Trance - buffed. Duration +0.5s, Fire Rate 32% (from 30%), inherits +6% Weapon Damage from component. Fury Trance on gun carries (Wraith, Haze, Infernus) is now stronger.
Spiritual Overflow - structural change. Spirit Lifesteal moved from Active to Innate (but cut from 16% to 13%). Now builds from Spirit Lifesteal. This means constant spirit lifesteal instead of burst. Better on Infernus and Seven (continuous damage), worse on burst carries.
Unstoppable - cooldown cut from 65s to 60s. Small but important. More uptime on CC immunity.
Glass Cannon - less penalty. Max HP reduction from -15% to -13%. Glass Cannon is now less risky. Probably adjusted for the global HP reduction.
Escalating Resilience - buffed. Max Ammo 35% (from 30%), Weapon Damage 18% (from 15%). A good item on gun carries gets better.
5. Soul Urn - A Completely New System
This is the biggest change in the patch and needs its own section.
Old rules: You picked up the urn by channeling, ran to the enemy base, the urn silenced you.
New rules:
Pickup: Melee (light or heavy) instead of channeling. Faster, less risky.
Delivery location: (um... Valve has been adding a patch every day lately regarding the urn, so I apologize if the article doesn't keep up XD but CURRENTLY AS OF 29-05-2026) Always in the middle of the side lanes. Not to the enemy base. A relatively okay change, after the scandal in Night Shift where Melee Creeps specifically fed to force the urn to be favored and gain the 35% resists it gave to the entire team at the time.
Depositing: After the urn is delivered, it enters the "Depositing" phase, which means you have a few seconds to take it over to your website or finalize it.
Contesting: The enemy team can heavy melee the urn during depositing to claim it. This adds +1.25s to their timer.
Resist bonus: Only the Urn Bearer gets 35% resists for Bullet and Spirit – Previously it was for the entire team.
No silence: Urn no longer silences you. You are still disarmed and movement silenced.
What does this change in practice: The urn always being on the sides of the map means it's preferable to force control of those lanes. Depositing takes 3-10 seconds, and enemies can take it away from you with heavy melee. This means that the urn fight is now a full teamfight under the bridge, or a chase scene if you manage to catch someone on the way to the depository. Champions with CC and zone control (Paradox, Seven, Dynamo) are now even more important at the urn. It's a tough topic overall; currently, if you don't win early, you're in deep trouble, to be honest, because comebacks for weaker teams are incredibly difficult... I can't imagine it staying that way; they'll probably change it 67 more times. In my opinion, the game is terrible, and people can't keep up with the changes.
6. How to Play Now - Practical Takeaways
Laning phase is faster and more aggressive. Guardians die earlier, medium camps spawn earlier, HP is lower. Do not sit on lane until minute 10 doing nothing. Push, farm, rotate.
New item Grit is a must-buy in tough matchups. 800 souls for a 200 barrier active. Do not skip this.
Seven and Victor are still playable but no longer dominant. Both received targeted and justified nerfs. If you mained them, expect slightly lower damage output. Adjust your builds - Seven more spirit, Victor more Vitality.
Yamato and Grey Talon are the new S-tier candidates. Both received massive buffs. If you are looking for a new main - now is the time to learn.
Paradox as flex/support is extremely strong. Two Time Walls every 2 seconds is absurd zone control. Perfect for urn fights.
Rem is now a viable hard support. Massive Tag Along buffs make him a top pick for Pos 6.
Urn fights require coordination. Do not run solo with the urn. It is a teamfight on the bridge. Communicate with your team.
Vitality builds gain value thanks to the global HP reduction and the new item Grit as an entry point into the Vitality tree.
7. FAQ
What is the most important change in this patch? The Soul Urn rework and global HP reduction. Urn changes the macro game completely, and lower HP makes every fight faster and more decisive.
Who is strongest now? Too early for definitive answers (the patch dropped today), but Yamato, Grey Talon and Paradox look like the biggest winners. Watch our daily tier list over the next few days - the data will show the truth.
Is Seven dead? No. Seven got a targeted nerf to bullet growth and crits, but his spirit kit (Power Surge, Storm Cloud) is untouched. Spirit build Seven is still strong. Only bullet/hybrid build lost.
What to do with Grit? Buy it on lane as your first defensive item if the matchup is tough. 800 souls, 200 barrier, 60s cooldown. Upgrade to Weapon Shielding, Spirit Shielding or Guardian Ward depending on what you need.
Is Soul Urn better or worse now? I don't know, there are too many changes at the moment to judge - nothing permanent in Deadlock exists at the moment, and Valve is very eager to test it with its huge free team of beta testers 🙂
Follow our daily tier list in the coming days – ranked data will show how the patch actually changes the meta. Want to analyze how to play on the new patch? Schedule coaching. Want to talk about the changes? Come on Discord or stream.
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