Valve released City Never Sleeps on September 29 at 1:25pm Pacific. Valve calls it a massive visual update to the map and neutrals, bundled with six new heroes, HUD updates, quality-of-life additions and accessibility options.
Map and neutrals
- The Cursed Apple map has been redrawn. According to the Deadlock Wiki it now has four districts: Theater, Chinatown, Haunted Lot and Plaza.
- Neutral camps are now Haunts, with many new Haunt types.
- Steam Vents: patches of steam that make you invisible and regenerate you while you stand on them.
- Two new breakables: Tough Crates only open to a heavy melee, and Healing Snacks are hidden around the map and heal you.
- Golden Statues are now Buff Containers. They and Sinner's Sacrifice can now grant spirit resist, bullet resist, ability range and move speed.
The Broker and Corrupted items
The update added the Broker, a shopkeeper who turns items into Corrupted versions: stronger in some stats, with a random downside in another. Per the Deadlock Wiki, the Broker was in standard and ranked games from September 29 to October 2 and has stayed in Street Brawl since. Valve's notes describe him as moving around the city and never staying long, so he may return somewhere else.
Six heroes, released by vote
The new heroes did not arrive all at once. Players voted on the order in the new pregame lobby, where the winning team's votes counted double and so did your first win of the day. Heroes went live on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2pm Pacific:
| Date | Hero |
|---|---|
| October 2 | Rat King |
| October 6 | Baba |
| October 9 | Solomon |
| October 13 | Deadman Danny |
| October 16 | Violet |
| October 20 | Nurse Harrow |
Valve counted more than 110 million votes in total. The last release is covered in Nurse Harrow is out in Deadlock, and all six are on our Deadlock characters page.
Everything else in the update
The engine moved to the latest version of Source 2, with anti-cheat, network prediction and performance improvements. Abilities and items now fire the moment you press the button instead of waiting for the next window. There are new melee sounds, new death, respawn and killstreak music, and a refreshed event feed and shop.
What Valve said about its plans
The announcement also laid out what the team is working on:
- progression and hero and hideout customization are in development, and Valve wants feedback on them before full release;
- large item redesigns and additions, plus alternate game modes, are still speculative and depend on playtests;
- the Midboss, Guardians and Walkers are next in line for upcoming updates;
- remodels of older heroes were planned for late in development, but some may start arriving in upcoming updates.
What came next
Balance caught up with the new heroes quickly, starting with the Rat King nerf on October 5. The fifth release came with a player record, covered in Violet arrives in Deadlock. New heroes went straight into pro drafts too, while in North America Melee Creeps won five tournaments in a row. The biggest changes landed in the Deadlock patch October 14. For where each hero stands now, see our Deadlock tier list. Valve also extended the first ranked season to November 5; our Deadlock ranks page explains how ranked works.