- Deadlock's new patch adds six new heroes, one new game mode, and two new items.
- The update also completely reworked the home base — changing patrons, shrines, and base guardians.
- The game's effects and UI have also received a major visual overhaul.
Deadlock’s highly anticipated January 2026 update is finally here, and it completely changes many of the game’s core mechanics. From a complete patron and base rework to the addition of new game modes, heroes, and items, this new Deadlock patch is everything we wanted. But the update also adds many hidden changes that are not exclusively mentioned by Valve in their patch notes. So, here is a complete overview of everything new in the Deadlock January 2026 update, ‘Old Gods, New Blood.’
Everything You Need to Know About Deadlock’s New Patch ‘Old Gods, New Blood’
Deadlock’s new patch, ‘Old Gods, New Blood,’ brings a ton of changes to the game, again curing my deep-rooted hatred towards multiplayer shooters. Here is everything that you need to know about the new Deadlock patch.
Six New Heroes
The biggest new addition that comes with the ‘Old Gods, New Blood’ update is six new heroes. Here is a quick list of all the new heroes getting added:
- Silver
- Rem
- Graves
- Apollo
- Celeste
- Venator
Like the last hero update, this time players will again get to decide which heroes release first using votes. You can earn votes by playing games, and the first win of the day gives 4 votes. Players can vote for the hero they want in the main lobby area. But unlike last time, players will be able to promote their hero choices directly in-game using posters.
Now there was heavy criticism about the imbalanced matchmaking during the last hero update, as many players struggled to properly play the new heroes. This time, Valve has added a token system, which will allow players to have a better chance of playing a new hero if they have actually performed better on it before. It’s similar to a hero MMR system, where you are more likely to get the character if you are better at it than others in the lobby.
Visual Patrons, Enemies, and Main Base Rework
Another major change in the new Deadlock update is the major patron and base rework. The patron’s old model has been completely scrapped and replaced by two very polished-looking divine entities — Hidden King and ArchMother.
Hidden King is a looming, dark, shadowy entity that looks very ominous in the base. It has long, spindly-fingered arms and branch-like horns. The actual patron that resides below the shadow looks like a burning tree monument.
The ArchMother, on the other hand, has a divine-looking silhouette with glowing lights. It also towers in the other base, but appears to be drawing powers from two books placed alongside it. The patron itself appears as a stone structure of the same being. The theme is clearly dark vs light with the new patron rework.
Both bases have also been changed visually. The Hidden King’s base appears more like a cultist cave. The Shrine has been modified into an amplifier of sorts, and the base guardians appear as tall wooden statues with a singular eye.
The ArchMother’s base appears to be a library, with the shrines being big books, and the base guardians have been turned into large sentinels that slap players they go near. The troopers have also received a visual overhaul.
Patron, Shrine, and Base Guardian Gameplay Changes
Other than a visual rework, the base mechanics have also dramatically changed. Here is a quick overview of everything new you have to tackle during a base fight in Deadlock:
- Base Guardians: The base guardians cannot be parried like a normal guardian. Whether this is a new mechanic or just a bug after the visual overhaul is not yet known.
- Shrines: Shrines have been put on a pedestal. Players have to get on the pedestal to damage the shrine. The shrine now also deals large burst damage while also applying Curse periodically, making it much more tankier and harder to snowball.
- Patron: The initial phase of the patron no longer moves around, sticking to the center. The second phase of the Patron now also does AoE burst damage alongside applying Curse periodically, like the shrines.
These massive base changes will completely modify the end-game fight in Deadlock. It will significantly decrease the chance of snowballing and will allow teams to fight back during a losing battle. The average match will also likely increase due to these changes.
Street Brawl — A New Game Mode
If you are not a big fan of increased match time, then the new game mode added in the Deadlock patch is perfect for you. This new game mode is called Street Brawl. There are only four players on a team, all fighting in one lane. Each character gets to choose three items at the start of each round out of nine total choices.
There is no farming in this mode, and every character gets a set amount of ability points to invest in their Skills at the start of every round. Defeating the Guardian or Walker is the win condition for the round, and teams must win three rounds in total to win the game.
This mode is perfect for testing out character limits and improving your team fights. It would be the new best mode for new players, as they get to learn the game mechanics and what items are good for their characters without ruining others’ ranked matches.
The Street Brawl mode also introduces new legendary items that have ridiculously strong effects. For example, one item literally gave me infinite ammo. Other than that, certain items can also have enhanced effects, making them do a lot more than they normally do.
Two New Items
Aside from new legendary items in the Street Brawl game mode, two new items have also been added to the base game. Here are the items and their descriptions:
Item Name Cost Description Recharging Rush 1600 +20% Max Ammo
+10% Weapon Damage
Passive: Dealing significant weapon damage replenishes a charge for each of your charged abilities. DMG threshold is 200 within 3.5s time frame.Ballistic Enchantment 3200 Passive: Imbue an ability with increased range. Dealing damage with that ability grants you increased weapon damage per unique hero hit. Has reduced effects on non-heroes.
+18% Weapon Damage per stack
+30% Ability Range
14s Duration, +4% Non-Hero Weapon damage, 8 Non-Hero Stack Limit
Visual Overhaul for Effects, UI, and Postgame Stats
The visual overhaul is not limited to the patron and the base in this update. Many effects, the UI, and the postgame stats have also received a big change. The new effects are my favorite so far. It has added new channeling effects, which include the name of the ability being channeled as the duration timer.
Other than that, the top bar hero UI has also been modified. It now changes based on a hero’s kill streak or health. The post-game stats display has also received a big overhaul. Now it spotlights the MVP of the match for both teams.
A new loading animation has also been added. You get to see the character you have obtained while you are loading into the game. Also, before a match starts, you will see a small cutscene of your patron, which looks pretty cool.
More QoL Updates
The new patch also adds many small quality of life changes. Here is a quick overview of every QoL added during this Deadlock Old Gods New Blood patch:
- Improved readability for players and structures during gameplay
- A new Camera Hole Punch system
- Seethrough neutrals near walls
- Rejuv duration timer
- Timeline improvements for various game events for Steam game recording
- Updated scoreboard
- Advanced reticle customization options
- Ability keybind search
- Camera FOV slider
- Communication Permissions
- Better controller support
- Improved trooper AI
- New music added
- New voices for the patrons
- Build authoring improvements
- Chat settings rework
- Improved anticheat
- Improved replay compatibility across game updates
- Network prediction improvements
- Improved trooper zipline movement code
- New item sounds
- Minor UI updates to ability tooltips
- Rendering performance improvements
- Improved light map compression
- Improved last hit/death feedback for troopers and players
- Improved healing-related sounds
- Improved how heroes attach to ziplines
- Improved reverb for player sounds
- Items now display what abilities they imbue in tooltips
- Ultimate ability VO lines now receive unique processing to distinguish them from other VO lines
- Improved bullet whizby sound detection
- Additional VO for various heroes
- Refinements to announce response rules
- Chat Wheel now supports multiple nested segments and has improved gamefeel
- Improvements to damage flashes
- Added new tunnel routes in the map for Tiny Heroes
So, that’s everything the new Deadlock patch ‘Old Gods, New Blood’ has added to the game. The playercount has already spiked since the update dropped, and I am expecting it to continue increasing once the new heroes are here as well. Do you like the new update? Let us know in the comments below.
