Deadlock Halloween Update Overhauls Midboss and Rebalances Nearly Every Hero

Deadlock’s Halloween patch reaches far beyond seasonal decorations: it reshapes the Midboss fight, adjusts the comeback economy and revisits almost the entire roster. Valve released the update on October 31, a month after City Never Sleeps added six heroes. The scale of the changes suggests a broad effort to settle the new characters into the game and give teams more ways to contest major fights.

A new plan for Midboss fights

The Midboss arena is larger and has more intricate terrain, giving players additional cover during teamfights. That change arrives alongside hero adjustments and reduced healing, a combination intended to make the pit less dominated by the powerful ultimates brought by five of the six City Never Sleeps newcomers. Midboss itself has more health, awards half its previous bounty and waits until it reaches 25% health before roaring.

Its Rejuvenator rewards have also changed. Instead of one crystal, the defeated Midboss now drops three. Each crystal gives a bounty and a full heal to the player who breaks it, while granting one Rejuvenator buff to that player’s team. Teams still have three buffs to claim, and collecting every crystal offers a soul payout similar to the old arrangement. The split creates a brief tactical decision over who secures each reward. Baba’s heavy melee stomp can break only the nearest crystal in range, preventing her from collecting all three at once.

Map changes, movement and a seasonal pickup

Elsewhere, breakable objects are worth less, while Haunts have more strength. Haunted Souls take 25% longer to secure by default, but the delay shrinks as a team falls behind the opposing side’s average Net Worth. The speed bonus can reach 50% when a team is 20% behind. Non-hero comeback gold has increased, Healing Snacks restore more health, tunnel movement speed is lower, and Steam Vents now grant 150% stamina regeneration.

Movement abilities face a sharper check from slows: their effect on air drag rises from 0.35 to 0.5. That makes slowing effects more punishing for mobile heroes such as Celeste and Lash, and can pull a jetpacking Deadman Danny out of the air more reliably. The patch also fixes Walker stomps. Past Dues Haunts gain a special ground aura that builds sleep on players standing in it.

Halloween decorations now fill the Cursed Apple and the hideout. Cauldrons scattered around the map can be smashed with a heavy melee to drop Candy. Eating it restores stamina and health, then grants an eight-second Sugar Rush that increases movement speed, fire rate and spirit power. The event is scheduled to end Monday, November 2, so the buff is a short-lived addition to matches.

Items and roster rules shift

The six City Never Sleeps heroes no longer count as new additions. They now require 15 wins before players can use them in ranked matches, and they can be selected for bans. Item changes are extensive, though many adjust values toward rounder figures. Golden Goose Egg’s damage penalty is smaller. Radiant Regeneration is weaker and now activates only during combat. Healbane can stack across multiple sources, with diminishing returns.

Hero changes touch nearly the full roster. Abrams gains gun damage, and his hold no longer lasts longer when an enemy fails to hit a wall. Apollo’s Riposte Pommel Hit now immobilizes and disables parrying instead of stunning, but lasts longer. Itani Lo Sahn can’t be interrupted by sleep, and a stun or sleep during Flawless Advance no longer removes his remaining recasts.

Baba takes some of the largest cuts: cleansing Threadsap now also removes the spirit power she stole from that target, and Threadsap and Granny Long Legs are both weakened. Baba’s Brew is ready immediately, but cycles more slowly and selects its three effects in a random order on each use. Billy and Calico get modest boosts. Celeste gets a small reduction, with the movement and healing changes likely to matter more for her in practice.

Deadman Danny’s abilities should behave more consistently, while opponents have an easier time grounding him. Doorman and Drifter receive small boosts. Graves’ Grasping Hands are easier to jump over, while Grey Talon can steer Guided Owl more precisely. Charged Shot’s top upgrade now lets its arrow bounce off one wall, though it can’t hit the same target twice.

Infernus gains Napalm lifesteal and spirit scaling on Concussive Combustion. Haze’s Smoke Bomb no longer clears buffs it shouldn’t. Kelvin’s Frozen Shelter gets several improvements, Lady Geist’s Essence Bomb hits harder, and Lash’s top Grapple upgrade increases jump velocity. McGinnis’s Mini Turrets deal more damage to troopers and gain slightly more health per boon.

Notable ability adjustments

Mirage’s Traveler has a longer channel and can be interrupted by stuns, immobilizes, sleep or Slowing Hex. At its highest upgrade, though, damage no longer interrupts it. Allies can see Mirage’s targeting reticle on their minimap, and the destination remains marked briefly after he arrives. That added information gives teammates a clearer read on his intended play.

Mo and Krill lose some spirit strength but gain 4% bullet damage per boon. Nurse Harrow loses gun damage and Healing Needles, and her Leeches are easier to see and won’t attach during pauses. Her ultimate takes longer to build fear, won’t affect players more than 50 degrees above or below her view, and at its top rank reduces incoming damage by 50% instead of granting full immunity.

Paige trades a little base bullet damage for stronger growth per boon, while Paradox gets a shorter Swap cooldown. Rat King loses base bullet damage and scaling, and Scrap Grenade is weaker. His ultimate has a shorter knockup and a longer cooldown. If he’s stunned or put to sleep while carrying the flag, it drops without the slam effect and the ability goes on cooldown.

Seven’s Static Charge stuns for longer at maximum rank. Shiv’s alternate fire deals slightly less damage, with small boosts elsewhere. Silver gets more base health regeneration and bug fixes. Solomon’s gun damage and headshot bonus fall, while moving pieces behave more consistently: Rooks are weaker, Bishops and the Queen are stronger. Bishop squares are easier to jump over, and the Queen’s cooldown is longer, with clearer indicators for tiles that can stun.

Venator’s final Ira Domini stake has lower base damage but better boon scaling. Victor’s Aura of Suffering improves slightly at rank three. Violet’s Still Life demands steadier line of sight, changes which heroes provide its buffs and has a longer ultimate cooldown with less spirit scaling for its duration. Her ultimate ends if she dies, and its highest rank no longer prevents ink walls from being destroyed when crossed.

Viscous gets small boosts, as does Warden, whose Alchemical Flask travels faster. Wraith’s Card Trick heals less, and Project Mind takes longer to cast and has a longer cooldown. Yamato gains spirit scaling on Power Slash, while Flying Slash has less range and marks its target as soon as it’s cast rather than when the hook connects.

The patch is live on Steam, where Deadlock remains free to play for players with access. The Candy event ends November 2; the Midboss redesign and roster changes will have a longer impact as teams adapt their fight plans and ranked lineups. The full notes are available here, and players can find more information about Deadlock and the MOBA genre.