Valve are reversing a handful of buffs given to pesky Deadlock hero Viscous today after last week’s mega patch saw him climb a little too high in power level. Most of today’s nerfs undo buffs given to his Puddle Punch, leaving many Viscous mains to focus on a Splatter build instead.
The monster Aug. 29 patch saw sweeping changes to much of Deadlock, but it was expected that Valve would take another look at which adjustments stuck and which were a little too strong. We wouldn’t even need to wait until Monday, with Valve hitting the update button thanks mainly to Viscous’ Puddle Punch reigning supreme in The Cursed Apple.
Puddle Punch’s cast range has been reduced by a third, its tier two damage nearly halved. It’s cooldown also increased by a whole four seconds. It’s effectiveness as a knock-up has taken a hit too; enemies targeted won’t be as airborne now. Even worse for Viscous mains is a reduction in his main weapon’s clip size, with the base clip now 20 bullets instead of 24.
Viscous’ alt fire now requires five bullets, too, so you won’t be able to spam it out as frequently before reloading. The hero’s win rate had begun to climb after last week’s patch, according to stats provided by Deadlock Tracker, so Valve have very quickly stuck a pin in him before he gets any more out of control on the ladder.
Other changes include a buff to Infernus’ Flame Dash, granting him slow resistance while casting, a slight Storm Cloud debuff for Seven, and a little more mobility when using ropes. Deadlock players will also be able to start queuing much earlier, with matchmaking times expanded across the major playing regions.
Overall, it’s not a massive patch, but Viscous mains will have to live with the new Puddle Punch adjustments and a reduced clip. While both can be offset a touch with the right items, don’t expect to dominate the map with your Goo-like abilities like before.
You can read up on the full patch notes in Valve’s Deadlock forum post here.
