Valve just shipped a minor update for Deadlock on August 12, 2026, bringing a series of balance adjustments across the hero roster. Apollo sees significant buffs to his Riposte ability, while Billy and McGinnis receive notable nerfs.
Hero Balance Changes
Apollo
- Riposte melee resist reduction increased from -22% to -25%.
- Riposte T2 changed from "-30% Melee Resist" to "-25% Melee Resist and +0.4s Stun Duration." This provides more utility beyond just damage reduction.
- Riposte T3 increased from 60% Lifesteal for 7s to 75% Lifesteal for 13s, greatly enhancing his survivability in extended fights.
- Fixed Itani Lo Sahn being canceled with movement abilities, improving consistency.
Billy
- Base health regen reduced from 2.5 to 2.0, impacting his sustain.
- Rising Ram T3 changed from "On Impact: Deal 7% max health as spirit damage" to "On hero hit: +10% Max HP for 16s." This shifts his T3 from burst damage to a more defensive, tank-oriented bonus.
- Chain Gang spirit scaling reduced from 1 to 0.7, lowering its damage output.
Doorman
- Doorway range reduced from 70m to 65m, slightly limiting his global presence.
- Walker will no longer consider Luggage Cart dragged enemies as valid targets to trigger the stomp on until soon after they are dropped off, preventing unintended early stomps.
- Similar to the Walker change above, the turrets in the healing area in base now also wait on considering valid targets, improving base defense logic.
Drifter
- Rend spirit scaling reduced from 1.7 to 1.4, decreasing his damage potential.
- Stalker's Mark cooldown increased from 24s to 26s.
- Stalker's Mark T2 reduced from -12s Cooldown to -10s, further impacting his ability uptime.
Holliday
- Powder Keg now does half its damage immediately and half over 3s as a damage over time burn (same overall damage, multiple instances stack). This changes its burst profile to sustained damage.
Ivy
- Stone Form T3 stun duration reduced from +1s to +0.75s, a slight nerf to her crowd control.
Lash
- Falloff range reduced from 20m->58m to 18m->54m, making her less effective at extreme ranges.
McGinnis
- Bullet damage base and growth values reduced by 5%, a direct damage nerf.
- Spirit Resist per boon reduced from +0.625% to +0.35%, significantly lowering his defensive scaling.
- Mini Turrets no longer shoot heroes on ziplines, preventing niche interactions.
- Mini Turrets no longer have 80% decaying resist for the first 6s, making them more vulnerable.
- Mini Turrets health increased from 90 + 7.8/boon to 100 + 9/boon, compensating for the resist removal.
- Medicinal Specter T1 changed from "Provides +40% Spirit Resist" to "+1.5s Duration." This shifts the early power budget.
- Medicinal Specter T3 no longer increases duration by +1.5s.
- Medicinal Specter T3 now also increases spirit resistance by +40%, moving the spirit resist bonus to a later tier.
Paige
- Plot Armor weapon damage scaling increased from 0.2 to 0.3, a buff to her damage output.
Seven
- Lightning Ball T3 radius increased from +1.5m to +1.75m, enhancing its area of effect.
Vindicta
- Stake T1 reduced from +65 Damage to +45, a notable early game damage nerf.
Vyper
- Petrifying Bola radius increased from 8m to 12m, making it easier to land.
- Petrifying Bola petrify duration increased from 2s to 2.2s, a slight buff to her crowd control.
Wraith
- Card Trick Heart heal spirit scaling reduced from 1 to 0.75, lowering his healing potential.
- Full Auto T3 spirit scaling reduced from +0.06 to +0.045, impacting his late-game damage.
