Deadlock’s Sept. 12 patch is now live, removing the matchmaking’s daily time limit and introducing a new behavior system to considerably lower the in-game toxicity and tweaks to almost every hero’s kit.
Valve is hard at work rolling out massive patches every few weeks for Deadlock. The Sept. 12 patch changes key aspects of the game, from player experience to maps, items, and hero kits.
Here are all the most significant changes in Deadlock’s Sept. 12 update.
Deadlock Sept. 12 patch notes
Around-the-clock matchmaking
Deadlock’s Sept. 12 update removed time constraints for matchmaking, letting you queue for a match at any time, in any region. Previously, matchmaking was open from 3pm CT to 5am CT on weekdays, with five more hours available on weekends. This, of course, removes the matchmaking status window previously visible on the bottom left of your home screen.
New behavior system and low-priority queue
The behavior system is straight out of Valve’s Dota 2 playbook. Deadlock players who accumulate several reports may now lose access to voice and text chats, pausing, reporting, and even matchmaking. While the system has been tracking since the update dropped, the devs will review the reports for a few days before administering penalties to offenders.
Additionally, Deadlock now features a low-priority queue, which is once again similar to the one in Dota 2. The concept is simple: If you abandon several matches, you get thrown into the low-priority queue. You must complete the games in that queue required to return to regular matchmaking. If you leave your games frequently, you better be careful; the more matches you abandon, the higher the number of games required to escape the lousy matchmaking.
I can’t stress this enough: You don’t want to lower your behavior score or end up in low priority consistently. If the system is anything like the one in Dota 2 (highly likely), it will create a lobby with players in the same boat as you. You will then have the perfect opportunity to experience how other players felt when you were misbehaving. As someone who once reached 6,000, it took me two months to get back to the ideal 10,000 behavior score in Dota 2.
You now will also lose the ability to report if you’re found guilty of misreporting players and may also be limited to low priority on rare occasions.
Bebop heads pile of hero changes
The game’s in the early developmental phase, so it’s no surprise that every other update changes almost every hero’s kit. Deadlock’s Sept. 12 patch brought tweaks for 19 (out of the 21 total) characters. Bebop got a decent buff, as his Uppercut no longer roots you while casting the ability, he can keep firing while jumping, and his ultimate Hyper Beam does splash damage.
On the other hand, several heroes like Seven and Vindicta received nerfs; they now offer lower bullet resistance, base weapon damage, and abilities’ area of effect.
New lane, item changes, custom matches, and bug fixes
The new green lane (Greenwich) replaced the orange lane (Orchard) on a new minimap. The Cursed Apple got many layout changes as well:
- Connected existing areas with new paths.
- Moved existing locations slightly.
- Removed ropes from the Garage and Nightclub.
Tens of Weapon, Spirit, and Vitality items also received balance changes. For example, Health Nova now requires the Healing Rite and grants four Spirit Power. Additionally, all ability and item cooldowns have been increased by six percent.
A console command “private_lobby_create” now allows you to hop into a custom match with your friends. You can challenge any of your friends to a one-on-one with this feature to earn bragging rights. Two players can also spectate a custom match. However, the private lobby’s interface is still being developed, and is currently limited to just a few essentials to kick off your match.
Many gameplay and quality-of-life changes, as well as bug fixes, were also introduced by the developer in Deadlock’s Sept. 12 update. These include customizable keys to upgrade your abilities, improved visibility during team fights while using some hero abilities that previously hindered vision, and tens of user interface fixes.
As always, there are no official notes, but you can read all the Deadlock changes here.
