There’s also a low priority queue for players who don’t know how to behave.
While many Valve fans were aware of the studio’s upcoming title in some capacity, Deadlock remained an open secret until it was officially announced in August. Currently in closed beta, the game just received a large update that vastly improves the hero shooter/MOBA’s minimap and adds a low-priority queue for players who don’t know how to behave.
Additionally, matchmaking is now open 24/7 for all regions, something which will likely delight those taking part in the game’s current testing phase. Reviews are already positive, and while there are likely plenty of tweaks yet to come, many are eager to see the title officially launched.
Check out the general notes for the new Deadlock update below, with full details available here:
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[General Changes]
– Matchmaking is now open 24/7 for all regions
– Added new minimap
Updated base asset and added new unique Hero Icons
Neutral Camps are now represented by a highlight glow on the buildings they are located within
The Orange Lane (Orchard) is now the Green Lane (Greenwich)
– Added a new behavior system. Players can temporarily lose access to certain capabilities in the game. The controls include Matchmaking, Voice Chat, Text Chat, Pausing, and Reporting. The system for tracking is active now, however we will wait on most penalties for a few days as we review the results.
– There is now a low priority queue. The primary way to enter this is through abandoning games, but it can include other behavior. You must complete the required amount of games (escalates based on low priority frequency) to be able to return to using matchmaking normally.
– Regularly misreporting players will result in you losing the reporting function and may in some cases cause you to go into low priority as well.
– New players that are queued solo will only match with other new players until they get 4 wins
– The lane allocation of 1-1-2-2- and 2-2-1-1 will no longer be a possible setup
– A 6 player party will no longer match against solo players. This may result in longer queue times for 6 stacks.
– AFK players will be automatically kicked out after a few minutes
– Abandon Match dialog is now more clear about consequences of leaving
– Abandon Match now has a time delay before you can click it to help protect against some accidental cases
– Added custom hotkeys per hero
– Bounce Pad visuals have been replaced with a wind fan (no mechanic changes). The effects also indicate the travel path.
– Added little spirit frog legs to the Soul Urn
– Orange zipline is now green
– Space Bar no longer cancels abilities. Abilities can be pressed again to cancel the ones that have a cancel state.
– The Alternate Cast modes “Modifier Button” and “Alternate Cast Button” have had their behaviors merged
– Added UI button hints when using “Alternate Cast Button” in some extra cases
– Added a slider for Double Tap Alternate Cast timing
– Added a slider for Press and Hold Alternate Cast required time
-Changes to Scoreboard (TAB) and Extra Info (ALT)
Previously there was a lot of crossover between the TAB and ALT modes during gameplay. In this update we have separated the behavior of these two modes to better serve different functions. The keys used for each of these modes can be swapped within Keybinds Settings.
Scoreboard (TAB):
– Enables cursor mode
– Displays Scoreboard
– Displays Damage Summary
– Allows minimap ping and draw
Extra Info (ALT):
– No longer enables cursor mode
– Quick-upgrade Abilities (ie. ALT+1) each of these can be individually remapped
– Can now more easily map ALT as an Alternate Cast button
– Displays extra information on HUD (ie. Zipline Speed Boost Cooldown) – we plan to expand upon this in future updates
– Client performance improvements
– Game now automatically starts preloading the map once the client is launched, to help reduce load time for most users
– Sand Box orb practice area now displays the time in milliseconds that you hit the orb after spawning
– Added a console command (private_lobby_create) to allow players to create custom lobbies using our servers. This has very temp UI. Once we add a real UI to it along with some misc features, we’ll add a non-console way to host custom lobbies.
– Upgrade ability keys are now customizable (Current defaults are ALT+1, ALT+2, etc)
– Adjusted Midboss low health roar sound to be more distinct from spawn sound
– Added Maximum FPS Sliders for Dashboard and In-Game
– Removed Pause limit for hero testing, coop bot matches, and the tutorial
– Added support for launching the game in a secondary monitor properly
– Fixed friends menu scrolling up automatically when it shouldn’t
– Fixed being unable to invite offline users to a party
– Fixed invite tooltips on friends menu not being positioned correctly
– Metal Skin effects revisions
– Seven’s Static Charge effects improvement to make the boundary more clear
– Updated medic healing beam colors to be consistent with other heals
– Melee troopers no longer play swipe effect (to reduce some unnecessary noise)
– Added better indication when all four active slots are full
– Updated Ice Dome to fix some performance related issues
– Updated Torment visual effects to reduce some noise
– Added sound for Tesla Bullets proc
– Added sound for Toxic Bullets proc
– Divine Barrier wings no longer fully opaque
– Reduced intensity of last hit status effect
– Updated Echo Shard sound effects
– Added low ammo indication sound
– Improved clarity for Seven casting and channeling sounds
– Updated Refresher effects colors from green to purple
– Minor updates to Abram’s Seismic Impact to resolve some states faster to reduce visual noise
– Updated Lady Geist Blood Bomb, Life Drain, Malice, and Soul Exchange sounds
– Added Shoulder Charge wall impact effects
– Changed open mic audio settings to allow open mic to opt in to team chat or party chat
– Updated effects for the Warp Stone bullet resist buff
– Added Lucky Shot proc sound effect
– Updated Berserker buff effects
– Adjusted Shiv’s running reload animation
– Added wall impact animation for Abram’s Shoulder Charge
– Lowered gun arm during Abram’s jump animation to not obscure reticle
– Soul Jar return location effects will change color based on the captured state of the Soul Jar
– Lady Geist Blood bomb revisions to improve visibility in team fights
– Improved visibility of heroes caught in the Singularity
– Distance field shadows and AO no longer visible behind cosmic veils
– Added sliders for FSR and FSR2 sharpness
– Updated Wraith, Grey Talon, and Infernus VO
– Walker AoE Stomp has new effects
– Viscous Splatter effects have been adjusted
– Revised Silencer cast and duration sounds
– Added Rebirth channel and revive sounds
– Added Infuser cast sound
– Audio bug fixes related to switching spectating targets
In 2021, Valve co-founder and CEO Gabe Newell said that the company had a number of games in active development, with a focus on more single-player experiences.
A full release date for Deadlock has not yet been announced. The closed beta is currently in progress on PC.