Deadlock’s Sept. 26 patch introduces new hero Mirage, turns cheaters into frogs

We're about to see a whole lot of frogs.

A man wearing a trench coat wielding a gun next to a wooden curiosities vendor in Deadlock
Images via Valve. Remixed by Dot Esports

Today’s Deadlock patch brings a whole slew of changes, but the most impressive and amusing one is that you can either ban a cheater or turn them into a frog. And there’s even a new hero—the dashing Mirage.

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Mirage, who is now playable in Deadlock, is a versatile and dapper hero with everything from a heavy rifle to health-stealing scarabs, and he can even turn himself into a tornado. So, if you’re looking for a new damage hero who can get himself in and out of scrapes quite easily, then Mirage might be your new main. And besides, who doesn’t enjoy playing suave-looking characters?

An image of Mirage alongside his abilities and backstory overview
His kit looks fire. Screenshot by Dot Esports.

Although Mirage is one of the best additions to Deadlock, at least in today’s update, the anti-cheat system will surely become everyone’s favorite when it’s turned on in a few days. Valve didn’t reveal the exact launch date in the update notes. In this initial detection system, if a user is detected to be cheating, their opponents are given two choices:

  1. Immediately ban the cheating champion and end the match.
  2. Turn the cheater into a frog for the rest of the game, and then have them banned once the match ends.

Both options are entirely valid, but turning someone into a frog will honestly be a highlight for many players due to the sheer number of cheaters in Deadlock. The developers have set this detection system to “conservative levels” as the team continues developing and expanding it, so there’ll likely be fewer false bans. Hopefully, the fear of being a frog and banned will lessen the number of cheaters. But only time will tell.

Frogs and striking heroes aside, this Sept. 26 update is quite extensive. It introduced several performance improvements, gameplay updates, custom match modes, map changes, and item adjustments, which you can read in detail via the official Deadlock Sept. 26 patch notes. But the Mirage reveal and the establishment of the anti-cheat system take the cake.

Author
Image of Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews is a staff writer for Dot Esports with a dual degree in business and human resource management. After discovering her passion for creative writing and gaming, she now writes about MOBAs, MMOs, and cozy games.