Deadlock Patch Analysis - 2026-03-06

This is the largest Deadlock patch in recent memory — a sweeping ability rework touching 32 released heroes and 25+ items, alongside significant objective and economy changes. The design philosophy is clear: Valve is systematically removing spirit scaling from ranges, durations, and secondary effects while pushing scaling onto damage values, creating a cleaner power curve where spirit investment amplifies burst/DPS rather than creating degenerate infinite-range or infinite-duration scenarios. Stamina mechanics are being heavily reworked across the board, with many stamina-drain effects removed from abilities and consolidated into items.

Table of Contents

• Systemic Changes
• Objective and Economy Changes
• Item Changes
• Hero Changes — Major Reworks
• Hero Changes — Significant Adjustments
• Hero Changes — Minor Tweaks
• Meta Predictions

Systemic Changes

Stamina Economy Overhaul

This patch systematically removes stamina manipulation from hero abilities and consolidates it into items. The following stamina-related effects were removed from hero kits:

Meanwhile, stamina effects were added or adjusted:

Direct stamina nerfs to specific heroes:

• Shiv: 3 → 2 stamina, dash speed 6.7 → 6.5 m/s
• Mina: Stamina cooldown 3.9s → 4.2s
• McGinnis: Stamina speed bucket 3 → 2

Implication: Stamina drain was an inconsistently distributed mechanic that some heroes had and others didn’t, making it hard to balance. By removing most ability-based stamina drains, Valve is making mobility more consistent and predictable. Shiv and Mina eat direct stamina nerfs to compensate for their aggressive dive patterns — Shiv losing a full stamina point is enormous for his escape-after-dive pattern.

Spirit Scaling Cleanup: Ranges and Durations

A consistent pattern emerges: spirit scaling is being removed from ranges, durations, and secondary stat scaling, then redistributed to damage values. Examples:

What this means: Spirit stacking can no longer create absurd edge cases (infinite-range Kinetic Pulse, 40-second Smoke Bombs, etc.). Instead, spirit investment cleanly translates to “more damage” or “more healing.” This makes spirit builds more predictable to play against and easier to balance.

Melee System Expansion

Several changes expand melee’s role in the game:

• Melee Charge and Crushing Fists: Heavy melee bonus damage now works with heavy melee abilities
• Infernus: Melee now builds Afterburn (20% for light, 35% for heavy)
• Yamato Flying Slash: Changed from spirit damage to light melee damage
• Vindicta: Can now melee and parry during Flight
• McGinnis Spectral Wall: Segments destroyable with 2 heavy melee hits
• Colossus: Active now grants +30% Melee Damage
• Lifestrike: Rebalanced to scale with boons (100 + 1.5/boon heal, 30% + 0.5%/boon)

Objective and Economy Changes

Shrine Rework

This is a significant strategic shift. The first shrine is now much easier to take (5,000 vs 8,100 HP) and rewards 2,000 souls. However, taking it immediately powers up mid-lane troopers for the enemy team’s opposition and makes the second shrine nearly twice as hard (10,000 HP). The 2,000 soul bounty for shrines makes shrine pushes a real economic objective rather than just a structural checkpoint.

Mid Boss Changes

Mid Boss is now tankier, more rewarding, and harder to cheese with debuff-heavy comps. The global announcement at 50% instead of 70% gives teams more time to sneak it before the enemy is alerted — but the 13,000 HP means it takes longer to burn down, creating a natural tension.

Walker Changes

First walkers are slightly easier (6,000 vs 6,800), last walkers slightly harder (12,000 vs 11,900). Armor decays faster and to a lower floor, making late-game pushes more viable. The bounty increase to 4,000 makes walker takes more impactful economically.

Other Objective/Economy Changes

• New neutral camps added at Hidden King Park Walker and Archmother York Walker (2 Normal, 3 Weak each)
• Base guardian kills now spawn zipline-boosted trooper waves
• Trooper waves spawn every 20s (down from 25s) starting at 35 minutes
• Medic Troopers DPS grows +3%/min
• Troopers gain 7 HP regen out of combat
• Trophy Collector: Souls per minute 22 → 25
• Urn minimap now shows favored/neutral/unfavored status
• Viscous Goo Ball can no longer carry Urn

Item Changes

Major Item Reworks

Siphon Bullets — Complete Mechanic Change

Now steals 2.5% of enemy max HP per bullet instead of a fixed amount. This is a fundamental shift from a flat-value proc to percentage-based theft, making Siphon Bullets dramatically better against tanky targets and on high-fire-rate heroes. A hero like Haze or Wraith firing rapidly will shred tanks, while slow-firing heroes like Mirage get less value.

Spiritual Overflow — Duration over CDR

This reframes Spiritual Overflow from a CDR item to a duration extender. +20% Duration is massive for heroes with channeled or timed abilities — Seven’s Storm Cloud, Haze’s Bullet Dance, Infernus’s Afterburn. The spirit power increase from 30 to 40 is also significant.

Frenzy — Flattened Power Curve

More baseline stats, less conditional stats. This makes Frenzy more reliable but less explosive when the condition is met. The spirit resist going from 10/30% to 15/20% means less of a gap between full-health and low-health states.

Slowing Hex — Anti-Air Tool

Now sets enemy gravity to a fixed +20% (heavier) regardless of their base values. Projectile speed increased from 53 to 80 m/s. Cooldown reduced from 30s to 27s. This directly counters heroes with reduced gravity (Celeste at -28%, Ivy at -10%) by forcing them to the ground. The massive projectile speed increase (51% faster) makes it much harder to dodge.

Defensive Item Changes

The Resilience items are now “early warning” rather than “last stand” — they kick in at half health instead of 40%, but the protection is reduced. Ethereal Shift getting a 10s cooldown reduction is arguably the biggest defensive item change, making it available more often against burst combos.

Offensive Item Changes

Sustain Changes

Hero Changes — Major Reworks

Wraith — Card Trick Suite System + Telekinesis Rework

Wraith receives a comprehensive rework to two abilities:

Card Trick now features card suites with unique bonuses. Base charges increased from 1 to 2, but damage dropped 60 → 45 and spirit scaling halved (1.0 → 0.55). The ability fires faster (0.5s CD, down from 0.75s) with less post-cast delay. T3 introduces an entirely new mechanic: improved card suites and joker chances (Spades: 2.5x damage, Diamond: -13% resist, Heal: 150 + 2.0 scaling, Clubs: 50% slow, Joker: 1/5th chance).

Telekinesis is completely reworked. No longer a projectile — it instantly lifts the target for 0.75s, then throws them to a ground location up to 15m away. Deals 100 damage, 40% move slow, and prevents stamina/movement-item/ability usage for 3s. Cooldown increased significantly (110s → 120s), cast range reduced (20m → 14m), cast time increased (0.1s → 0.3s). The T3 upgrade grants +1.5s debuff duration and +6m throw/cast range.

Full Auto no longer affects allies. Now deals +2 spirit damage per bullet at base. T2 gives +10% Fire Rate and +3s duration instead of spirit damage per bullet. T3 grants Unlimited Ammo instead of lifesteal.

Assessment: Wraith becomes more of a solo carry. Card Trick’s suite system adds skill expression and variance, while Telekinesis shifts from a displacement projectile to a guaranteed (but shorter-range) targeted control ability. Full Auto losing ally fire rate removes her team support element. The 3s movement lockout on Telekinesis is brutal — no stamina, no dashes, no movement abilities for 3 seconds.

Ivy — Complete Ability Rename + Air Drop Overhaul

Ivy gets two ability renames and major reworks:

Kudzu Bomb → Entangling Thorns: Spirit scaling reduced (0.65 → 0.55). T2 now adds +2m radius and +0.5 spirit scaling instead of +2s duration. T3 completely changed from “+36 DPS and +2m radius” to “Entangles enemies that remain in it for 2s. Lasts 1.6s.” This transforms the ability from pure damage to area denial with hard CC.

Watcher’s Covenant → Kudzu Connection: Fire rate and lifesteal spirit scaling both reduced. T1/T2 swapped (move speed is now T1, fire rate is T2). T3 completely changed from “+1 Tether Count” to “Ability is now always active” — a passive tether that doesn’t require activation.

Air Drop — Massive rework. Cast time removed entirely; instead, taking damage prevents casting for 3.5s. Cooldown slashed from 100s to 65s. Duration increased 16s → 21s. Speed adjusted (base lower, max higher: 10/22m vs 11/18m). Bomb radius massively increased 14m → 20m.

However, the bomb loses knockup, slow, and barrier. These are now gated behind upgrades:

• T1: Grants 300 barrier (+1.0 spirit scaling) for 12s
• T2: Explode applies 50% slow for 3s
• T3: +1.5 damage scaling, +1.0 barrier scaling

Air Drop now grants +20% Outgoing Damage after dropping for 8s (down from 12s buff duration). Ivy also gains -10% gravity as a base stat.

Assessment: Ivy’s identity shifts from “tether support with bombing runs” to “persistent connection support with frequent, tactical air drops.” Kudzu Connection T3 being always-active is huge for sustained duo play. Air Drop at 65s cooldown (vs 100s) with 21s duration becomes a core rotation ability rather than an ultimate-tier cooldown.

Mirage — Dust Devil + Traveler Rework

Fire Scarabs: Charges reduced 4 → 2, now functions as a charged ability without time pressure. Health steal increased 45 → 70. Changed from -8% Bullet Resist to +10% Damage Amp. Spirit scaling reduced 1.0 → 0.8. Scarabs now immediately steal health. T2 gives +2 charges (restoring the original 4), T3 gives +10% damage amp and +1.2 spirit scaling.

Tornado → Dust Devil: Lift duration massively reduced 1.0s → 0.4s. Now slows 30% for 3s instead. Evasion buffed 25% → 30% for 4s (up from 3.5s). T3 allows recast within 5s and adds +1.0 spirit scaling.

Traveler: No longer channels — has a 3s delay before teleporting. Taking damage interrupts and puts on 6s cooldown. Now targets a map location rather than units. No longer grants move speed or fire rate. T3 changed from Unstoppable to -80s cooldown.

Assessment: Mirage becomes more of a hit-and-run skirmisher. Fire Scarabs with +10% damage amp (stackable with T3 for +20%) turns Mirage into a damage amplification machine. Dust Devil’s shorter lift prevents the old “lift into full combo” pattern but adds persistent slow. Traveler losing Unstoppable makes it interruptible — the 3s delay window is a massive vulnerability.

Drifter — Eternal Night Isolation Synergy

Eternal Night now makes targets considered as isolated. This is a massive change — it means Drifter’s ult directly enables Bloodscent’s isolation bonuses on all affected targets regardless of whether other heroes are nearby.

Rend reworked: Damage range reduced 18m → 16m, cooldown increased 13s → 16s, but spirit scaling increased 1.4 → 1.8. The “bonus” damage is now specifically the melee-range close attack. T3 changed from 45% Bullet Lifesteal to 2.3s silence at close range.

Stalker’s Mark reworked: Duration 6s → 5s. T1 now gives -8% Bullet Resist instead of +1% Bleed. T2 gives +3s duration and -8s cooldown instead of fire rate. T3 gives +2% bleed and -40% healing instead of 2 charges.

Bloodscent: Now grants same permanent weapon damage bonus whether Drifter gets the kill or assist on an isolated hero death. Per-death bonus reduced 4% → 3%.

Assessment: Drifter becomes a more cohesive isolation assassin. Eternal Night forcing isolation means the ult guarantees Bloodscent value on every target. Rend T3 silence at close range gives Drifter the ability to shut down abilities during his engagement window. The trade-off is less raw sustain (losing bullet lifesteal on Rend T3) for more control.

Haze — Bullet Dance Evasion Baked In

Bullet Dance now has 60% Evasion in the base ability (previously T3). T3 instead now fires at an additional target. Fire rate bonus reduced 30% → 20%, bonus bullet damage reduced 10 → 7. T2 now adds +10% fire rate.

Sleep Dagger: Cooldown 26s → 30s, sleep duration 3s → 2.75s, wake delay no longer scales with spirit. Stamina effects completely removed. T1 now gives -8% Bullet Resist for 6s. T3 gives +0.75s sleep and -50% move/dash slow on wakeup.

Smoke Bomb: Cooldown 30s → 33s, duration scaling gutted (0.18 → 0.08). Lost base +2m invis sprint speed. T2 changed to 2 charges. T3 now dispels non-ult debuffs and grants 30% lifesteal for 5s (plus +1 charge for 3 total).

Fixation: Per-stack damage 0.2 → 0.18. T1 spirit scaling massively buffed 0.37 → 0.8 (but base spirit damage 50 → 40). T3 increased 0.12 → 0.14.

Spirit per boon reduced from 1.1 to 0.5 — Haze’s spirit scaling per boon is cut by more than half.

Assessment: The evasion baked into Bullet Dance base means Haze is immediately tanky during ult without needing T3. This frees T3 for the multi-target upgrade, which is a massive DPS increase in teamfights. However, the fire rate nerf (30% → 20%) and bonus damage nerf (10 → 7) reduce single-target ult DPS. Smoke Bomb with T3 (3 charges + debuff cleanse + 30% lifesteal) becomes a powerful survivability tool. Haze’s spirit per boon nerf means she scales worse with spirit items overall.

Abrams — Shoulder Charge Rework + Seismic Impact Modernization

Shoulder Charge: Damage 37 → 30, wall stun 0.6s → 0.3s, spirit scaling 1.9 → 1.4. But T1 now grants +40% slow for 3s (instead of weapon damage), T2 wall stun increased to 0.8s, T3 cooldown increased from -18s to -20s and grants +1.5 weapon damage for 6s.

Siphon Life: DPS 29 → 22, range 10m → 7.5m, now circular instead of frontal cone. Range no longer scales with spirit. Lifesteal increased (hero: 66% → 80%, non-hero: 33% → 40%). Spirit scaling increased 0.5 → 0.6. T3 now adds +3.5m radius (in addition to +18 DPS).

Seismic Impact: Damage 75 → 100, faster targeting. Now allows item usage during the ability. Radius reduced 10.5m → 9m. T2 completely changed from “+100 HP and +14% Fire Rate per hero hit” to “+0.6s Stun Duration.” T3 now adds +6m radius.

Bullet damage: 3.86 + 0.13/boon → 3.6 + 0.1/boon (significant late-game nerf)

Assessment: Abrams’s weapon damage scaling takes a meaningful hit. Siphon Life being circular (instead of frontal) is actually a buff for close-range fights — it heals from all directions. The reduced range (7.5m) with higher lifesteal (80%) rewards getting right on top of enemies. Seismic Impact allowing item usage is huge — imagine popping Ethereal Shift or Metal Skin mid-ult. The T2 stun extension (+0.6s) replaces the old per-hero HP/fire rate buff, shifting Seismic from a sustain ult to a hard CC ult.

Kelvin — Arctic Beam Combo + Frozen Shelter Targeting

Frost Grenade: Cooldown 20s → 30s but now has 2 charges. Heals in base ability (60 + 0.9 spirit scaling). No longer reduces stamina regen. T1 adds +30 damage and heal. T2 now freezes stamina regen and -10s cooldown. T3 adds +1.0 spirit scaling and +2m radius.

Arctic Beam: Now lets you cast Frost Grenade and items while using it. Fire rate reduction 35% → 20%, slow 40% → 20%, spirit scaling 0.8 → 0.5. T1 now increases slow and fire rate reduction by -25% (to match old values). T2 adds +20 DPS and +0.6 spirit scaling.

Frozen Shelter: Now targets a hero within 8m, creating the dome around the center of both heroes. Can self-cast. Duration 5.25s → 5s. T1 changed from fire rate reduction to -25s cooldown. T3 now also dispels non-ult debuffs on cast.

Ice Path: Cancelled by ability button instead of space. Cooldown 46s → 50s. T1 now grants +2 move speed and +35% bullet resist on Ice Path. T3 grants +35% Spirit Power while on Ice Path.

Assessment: Kelvin’s rework centers on Arctic Beam becoming a combo tool — casting grenades and items during beam creates a much more active playstyle. Frozen Shelter targeting an ally hero at 8m range is a completely new paradigm: Kelvin can now dome an overextended teammate from a distance, or self-cast for the traditional usage. The T3 debuff dispel makes Frozen Shelter a team cleanse tool. Ice Path T3 granting +35% Spirit Power while on it turns Ice Path into a damage steroid for Kelvin.

Hero Changes — Significant Adjustments

Calico — Ava Rework + Quality of Life

Calico’s bullets no longer have gravity, and she fires an additional center pellet (DPS unchanged) that serves as the primary headshot pellet. This is a massive accuracy buff.

Ava (ult): Cooldown 45s → 30s, duration 16s → 15s. Melee attack delay removed (0.4s → 0.0s) but cooldown increased (0.75 → 0.85). Now starts at minimum speed and increases over time, resetting on damage (previously slowed for entire duration after taking damage). T2 adds +15 Health Regen. T3 changed to a growing damage amp up to 20% for 6s (instead of flat CDR and regen).

Leaping Slash: Improved targeting, can now dash vertically. T2 gives +300 souls on hero kill. T3 gives -50% CDR and +60 damage.

Gloom Bombs: First grenade always lands in the middle, sticky radius increased. T2 changed to +75 bonus damage vs barriers.

Dynamo — Kinetic Pulse Multi-Cast + Singularity Damage

Kinetic Pulse: Cooldown 22s → 26s, damage 90 → 115, range 20m → 16m. Range no longer scales with spirit, scaling 1.7 → 2.1. T1 gives +1 Charge (multi-cast Kinetic Pulse). T2 now reduces bullet resist by -18% and slows -30% for 4s. T3 gives +135 damage and +16m cast range.

Quantum Entanglement: No longer grants fire rate or reloads ammo. Now restores 1 stamina base. T2 is -6s cooldown. T3 dispels non-ult debuffs for you and allies.

Rejuvenating Aurora: Cooldown 45s → 48s, now has 1s linger and lets you jump while using it. T1 gives move speed during channel (not after). T2 cooldown -14s → -20s and +1s duration.

Singularity: No longer does 1.5% Max Health DPS base. DPS 40 → 75, scaling 0.19 → 0.28. T3 Max Health DPS 4% → 5.5%.

Assessment: Kinetic Pulse with T1 multi-charge becomes a spammable poke tool. The loss of range scaling is significant — Dynamo needs to be closer to fights. Singularity losing base % HP damage but gaining flat DPS makes it less threatening to tanks early but scaling better with spirit investment. Quantum Entanglement T3 dispel is a powerful team utility upgrade.

Paradox — Time Wall Weapon Amp + Swap Rework

Time Wall: No longer damages enemies. Now increases allied bullet speeds by 100% and adds +30% Weapon Damage to allied bullets. T2 gives +2.5s duration and +30% more weapon damage. T3 allows charges (+1 charge, 4s charge time).

Kinetic Carbine: Base damage scale 100% → 125%, speed scaling increased. Cooldown 27s → 30s.

Paradoxical Swap: No longer has 80% Spirit Lifesteal. Damage changed from 115 (0.6 scaling) to 10% Current Health. Cooldown 75s → 95s. T1 gives 200 barrier (+1.5 spirit scaling). T2 gives +13m range and -35s cooldown. T3 swaps additional enemies in 7m radius and +10% current health damage.

Pulse Grenade: Amp per stack 6% → 4%, scaling 0.6 → 0.4, now applies -20% time slow for 0.2s instead of -30% move speed. T3 gives +4% amp per stack and +1.6s duration.

Assessment: Time Wall becomes a team-wide weapon damage amplifier. A team shooting through Time Wall with T2 gets +60% weapon damage on their bullets — this is enormous for grouped pushes. Swap losing spirit lifesteal and gaining % current health damage repositions it as an anti-tank tool rather than a sustain ability. The T3 AoE swap (7m radius additional targets) could be game-changing in tight teamfights.

Shiv — Spirit Shredder + Killing Blow Direction Change

Serrated Knives: Impact damage removed entirely. Bleed DPS per knife 4 → 10, scaling 0.13 → 0.15. T1 gives +2s duration (instead of +1 charge). T2 gives +2 charges. T3 DPS 5.5 → 12, +0.10 spirit scaling. Knives become pure DoT tools.

Slice and Dice: Now reduces Spirit Resistance by 6% for 16s, stacking with multiple hits. Impact damage 75 → 60. T1 CDR -3s → -6s. T2 gives -8% Spirit Resist and +2m dash range.

Killing Blow: No longer unit-targeted — now jumps forward directionally. Damage amp 15% → 14%. T2 gives +8% damage amp (instead of +5% threshold and +6% amp). T3 grants 20s recast window instead of removing cooldown, and adds +5% health threshold.

Assessment: Shiv becomes a spirit shred machine. Slice and Dice stacking -6% spirit resist (with T2: -14% total per hit) means Shiv systematically strips spirit resistance from targets. Combined with losing a stamina point and dash speed, Shiv trades mobility for anti-mage capability. Killing Blow being directional instead of targeted adds skill expression but removes the point-and-click reliability.

McGinnis — Turret Duration + Spectral Wall Turrets

Mini Turrets: Duration 24s → 35s (massive increase), but health reduced 40%. Initial fading resist 60% → 80%, now have 35% melee resist. Tracking and projectile speeds significantly improved. T1 gives +10m range and +10 DPS. T2 gives +2 charges. T3 gives +30% fire rate and +12s lifetime.

Spectral Wall: Segments destroyable with 2 heavy melee hits. T1 damage amp 15% → 20%, no longer drains stamina. T3 changed from stun to “Creates 2 turrets for 8s and increases slow by 30%.”

Heavy Barrage: Duration 13s → 8s. T2 now also increases duration by 6s (net +1s with upgrade). T3 adds +2m explosion radius.

Bullet damage significantly nerfed: 6.72 + 0.2/boon → 6.0 + 0.16/boon.

Assessment: McGinnis shifts further toward turret-centric play. Turrets lasting 35s (up from 24s) with improved tracking means persistent zone control. Spectral Wall T3 spawning turrets is thematic and powerful — a wall that also shoots at you. The bullet damage nerf is substantial, reducing McGinnis’s direct weapon contribution.

Billy — Reworked Upgrade Paths

Rising Ram: Damage 55 → 40, scaling 1.7 → 1.9. Charge duration 0.51s → 0.3s (much faster). Cooldown reduced by 50% on impact (baked into base). T1 gives +25% weapon damage for 5s. T2 gives +0.3s charge duration. T3 max health damage 6.5% → 8%.

Blasted: Spirit scaling 0.8 → 0.6. Active duration no longer slows decay on bullet damage (only melee). Passive no longer reduces enemy fire rate by -14%. T3 now increases spirit scaling by +0.6 (restoring the original value).

Chain Gang: Radius 13m → 12m, no longer grants +15% bullet/spirit resist base. Cooldown 125s → 150s. T1 now gives +40% resist (moved from base). T2 gives -50s cooldown. T3 changed from flat 2s Unstoppable to +1.3s Unstoppable per hero pulled, loses +90 damage, gains +5m radius.

Assessment: Billy’s Chain Gang rework is the headline. The ult no longer has baseline resists — you need T1 to get them (and at +40%, they’re better than the old +15%). T3 scaling Unstoppable per hero pulled means pulling 3 heroes gives 3.9s Unstoppable, which is huge in teamfights.

Mo & Krill — Combo Rework

Combo: Cooldown massively increased 90s → 150s, but DPS increased 35 → 60. T1 gives +100% lifesteal (replacing bullet resist). T2 gives +60 DPS and +50% bullet resist (120 DPS total at T2). T3 gives +0.7s duration and -60s cooldown.

Burrow: Cooldown 37s → 40s. Can now enter tunnels. T1 gives +50 spin DPS. T2 gives +2 spin radius and +4s burrow time. T3 move speed +2 → +4 m/s, cooldown -19s → -20s.

Sand Blast: Duration 3s → 2.5s, range 35m → 25m. T1 gives +50 damage and +5m range. T2 slows -25% move and dash. T3 gives +1s duration and -20s cooldown.

Scorn: Damage 56 → 50, radius 10m → 9m, scaling 0.42 → 0.75. T1 gives +35 damage. T2 gives -5s cooldown and +1m radius.

Assessment: Combo becoming a 150s cooldown ability is a massive shift — it’s now a true ultimate-tier commitment. But at 60 DPS base (120 with T2), with T1 100% lifesteal, a successful Combo channels are incredibly powerful. Mo & Krill entering tunnels during Burrow opens up new map navigation.

Vindicta — Weapon Spirit Scaling + Crow Familiar Cone

Vindicta’s weapon fire rate no longer scales with spirit, but bullet damage now scales (0.022). Bullet velocity 557 → 660 (18.5% faster). This fundamentally changes Vindicta’s weapon from a spirit-fire-rate gun to a spirit-damage gun.

Flight: Now allows melee, parry, and grants +50% Item Cast Range. Duration 13s (down from 15s), spirit damage scaling 0.22 → 0.18. T3 adds +0.1 spirit scaling and refreshes duration on hero kill.

Crow Familiar: Now fires a cone of crows forward instead of single target. Bleed 2.7% → 2.2%, damage 37 → 40, debuff duration 4s → 5s. T1 changed from ricochet to -35% healing reduction.

Stake: Damage 55 → 40 but spirit scaling 0.37 → 0.5. Projectile speed 20 → 25 m/s.

Assessment: Vindicta becomes more of a spirit sniper. Melee and parry during Flight is a massive QoL improvement for close-range engagements while airborne. +50% Item Cast Range during Flight means items like Ethereal Shift, Slowing Hex, and Capacitor have enormous reach. Crow Familiar being AoE (cone) changes it from single-target debuff to teamfight tool.

Seven — Storm Cloud Movement + Power Surge Rework

Storm Cloud: Now allows 1.5m movement in base ability (was stationary). Bullet resist removed (20% → 0%). T1 bullet resist 35% → 55%. T3 move speed +3.8m → +3m.

Power Surge: Max jumps 3 → 4. Duration no longer scales with spirit. T2 now gives +3m move speed, +8 damage, and +0.23 scaling (instead of -10% spirit resist). T3 gives -15% spirit resist for 8s and +12s duration.

Move speed no longer scales with spirit. Sprint speed 0.6m → 1.8m.

Assessment: Storm Cloud having base movement (even just 1.5m) removes the old “sitting duck” problem. Losing bullet resist without T1 is a real cost though — Seven is vulnerable to guns during ult until T1. Power Surge getting 4 max jumps and T2 move speed makes it a more mobile ability.

Lady Geist — Soul Exchange Speed + Life Drain Charges

Soul Exchange: Cast time 0.2s → 0.1s, post-cast hold 0.7s → 0.2s (dramatically faster). T1 CDR -35s → -60s. T2 now silences enemies within 25m for 3s (moved from T3). T3 gives +60 Spirit Power, +40% Fire Rate, and +50% Spirit Resistance for 8s.

Life Drain: Cooldown 30s → 34s, break range 30m → 28m. T1 DPS +16.2 → +18. T2 duration +2s → +2.5s. T3 gives +2 charges (up from +1) and +0.3 spirit scaling.

Essence Bomb: Self damage changed from flat (30 + 1.8 scaling) to 30% of damage dealt. Radius 9m → 7m. T1 CDR -4s → -5s. T2 now also adds +2m radius.

Assessment: Soul Exchange becoming nearly instant (0.1s cast + 0.2s hold = 0.3s total, down from 0.9s) makes it dramatically harder to react to. T3 granting a massive stat boost (+60 Spirit, +40% Fire Rate, +50% Spirit Resist) for 8s turns Soul Exchange into a “win the fight” button. Life Drain T3 with 3 total charges is powerful sustained healing.

Silver — Lycan Curse Stripped

Lycan Curse: Cooldown 35s → 50s. Base health 100 → 75. No longer grants +14% bullet/spirit resist or +2m move speed at base. T1 gives +15% resist (gated behind upgrade). T2 health 125 → 150.

Tail Whack: Disarm duration 2.5s → 2s, slow duration 1.5s → 2s. T3 changed from “+1s disarm” to “+1.5s debuff duration.”

Mauling Leap: Damage scaling 1.9 → 1.5.

Assessment: Silver takes a significant hit. Lycan Curse losing baseline resists and move speed makes the transformation much less impactful without upgrades. The 50s cooldown (up from 35s) means Silver can’t rely on it as frequently. These are substantial nerfs to Silver’s sustained fighting capability.

Pocket — Barrage Mobility + Affliction Rework

Barrage: 15% faster projectiles, can now use stamina and Flying Cloak during it. T1 damage +12.6 → +16. T2 CDR -14s → -16s. T3 radius +2m → +3m.

Flying Cloak: Cooldown 32s → 26s, damage 70 → 60, duration 3.4s → 3.8s (slower travel). T1 gives +70 damage. T2 gives +5 weapon damage for 8s. T3 gives +1.6s travel time and -14s cooldown.

Affliction: No longer applies 12% current health damage. DPS 28 → 32, scaling 0.17 → 0.2. Cooldown 140s → 150s. T2 no longer reduces healing by 40%, now adds +4m radius. T3 now prevents all healing and adds +0.1 scaling.

Assessment: Barrage being usable with stamina and Flying Cloak is a massive mobility buff — Pocket can dash and cloak mid-Barrage. Affliction losing % current health damage in exchange for higher flat DPS simplifies the ability. T3 preventing all healing (not just reducing) is extremely powerful in sustain-heavy metas.

Infernus — Afterburn Melee Buildup + Concussive Combustion Rework

Afterburn: Melee now builds it (20% light, 35% heavy). T1 changed from -20% spirit damage to +14 DPS. T2 changed from +1s burn duration to -35% spirit damage. T3 changed from +23 DPS to +3s max burn duration (can grow past base duration through buildup).

Flame Dash: T1 gives -12s cooldown (instead of fire rate slow). T3 gives +1 charge with 14s between charges (instead of -15s cooldown).

Concussive Combustion: Cooldown 140s → 165s, damage 150 → 125, radius 13m → 12m, delay 3s → 3.25s. T1 gives +100 damage (instead of -35s CDR). T2 gives -65s cooldown and +65% explosion heal. T3 gives +0.75s stun and +10m radius.

Assessment: Infernus now has a melee component to his Afterburn gameplay — weaving melee attacks during close-range fights extends burns. Concussive Combustion’s upgrade path is restructured: the cooldown reduction is now on T2 (with heal), while the stun extension and huge radius increase are on T3. At T3, Concussive Combustion has a 22m radius (12 + 10) — massive area denial.

Graves — Grasping Hands Rework

Grasping Hands: Immobilize 1.5s → 1.25s. Cooldown 38s → 34s. T2 changed from +0.75s immobilize to +90 damage and +10m wall length. T3 changed from +15m wall length and -10s cooldown to +1s immobilize duration and -12s cooldown.

Assessment: The immobilize duration is shorter at base but restorable through T3. The T2 damage addition (+90) and wall length (+10m) makes Grasping Hands more impactful for zone control. Overall cooldown is lower at all upgrade stages.

Hero Changes — Minor Tweaks

Apollo

• Riposte fixed for ground use, no longer triggers from trooper/neutral damage
• Flawless Advance T2 no longer increases lunge speed, now interrupted by stun and sleep
• Itani Lo Sahn base damage 225 → 190, spirit scaling 1.6 → 2.3 (more spirit-dependent)

Bebop

• Hook can now be cancelled — important QoL for avoiding bad hooks

Celeste

• Split Shot enabled (3 shots at 70 degrees)
• Gravity -20% → -28% (floatier) but air control/acceleration reduced (+50/18% → +38/12%)
• Shining Wonder bounce range 17m → 15m, linger 4.5s → 3.25s

Lash

• Ground Strike bug fix for mid-air targets
• Grapple T2 weapon damage +6 → +7, T3 changed to +60% air control and +1 stamina
• Flog cooldown 24s → 26s, heal vs heroes 60% → 50%, angle no longer scales with spirit. T2 CDR -12s → -16s and adds -30% fire rate. T3 loses fire rate reduction, gains +40 angle and +20% heal
• Death Slam cooldown 145s → 150s, throw distance no longer scales with spirit. T1 throw +8m → +12m, T2 CDR -25s → -40s, T3 adds +10m cast range

Paige

• Conjure Dragon → Bookwyrm. Cooldown 30s → 33s. T1 gives trail duration and width. T2 gives CDR and range. T3 gives +1 charge
• Defend and Fight! → Plot Armor. Barrier scaling 1.6 → 1.3, T3 adds +0.3 scaling
• Captivating Read cooldown 25s → 30s, immobilize 1.25s → 1s. T1 CDR -6s → -11s, T2 immobilize +0.75s → +1s
• Rallying Charge T2 adds -30s cooldown, T3 max amp 100% → 150%

Rem

• Lil Helpers trooper healing 10/s → 8/s (overall reduction, but more constant frequency)
• Naptime sleep speed 2m/s → 1.5m/s, duration 4.25s → 4s, radius 20m → 17m
• Naptime T2 changed from unstoppable to +0.5s sleep and +3m radius
• Naptime T3 now also grants +50% damage resist while channeling

Victor

• Bullet damage 12.3 → 12.5
• Pain Battery starts charged, range 20m → 28m, bolt count 5 → 7, reduced random paths
• Jumpstart cooldown 23s → 30s, move speed 4m → 3m, scaling 1.8 → 1.2. But T1 move speed +1.5 → +3, T2 adds -8s CDR, T3 adds +1 charge and +0.8 scaling
• Aura of Suffering ramps faster (10s → 6s to max), radius 7.7m → 10m. DPS values reduced across the board but applied over larger area
• Shocking Reanimation T1 now gives passive bonuses while on cooldown (+15% fire rate, +6 spirit damage per bullet). T3 gives +6m radius, +1s stun, -50s cooldown (moved from old T1/T3)

Warden

• Bullet growth 0.44 → 0.38/boon
• Alchemical Flask weapon damage reduction -30% → -25%. T2 adds -20% weapon damage reduction. T3 CDR -6.5s → -7s and adds +2m radius
• Willpower duration 7s → 5s, cooldown 42s → 40s, now scales with spirit (+0.5). T2 CDR -19s → -22s and adds +2s duration. T3 gives +40% debuff resist and scaling 2.5 (instead of +150 barrier and 3.7 scaling)
• Binding Word range 20m → 15m, cooldown 37s → 34s. T1 gives +20% bullet damage to trapped heroes. T2 gives +0.75s duration and +12m range. T3 gives -18s CDR and silences until escape/trap
• Last Stand channeling resist 30% → 60%. Radius 13m → 12m. T3 loses resist, gains +3s duration and Unstoppable while channeling

Yamato

• Power Slash: Bullet resist baked into base (+60%), held charge no longer auto-fires, can cast Parry while channeling. Cooldown 10.5s → 12s, length 25m → 22m. T1 gives 40% slow. T2 gives -4s CDR. T3 adds +8m range
• Flying Strike → Flying Slash: Now light melee damage. Slow -30% → -50%, cooldown 21s → 36s, range 20m → 25m. T1 gives -18s CDR. T2 adds +40 spirit for 6s. T3 gives ally grapple + 2 charges
• Crimson Slash: Cooldown 15s → 16s, fire rate reduction -18% → -30%. T1 gives +30% melee damage for 4s. T3 adds +0.6 spirit scaling
• Shadow Transformation: Cooldown 110s → 130s, resist 40% → 30%. T1 gives +5 weapon damage. T2 adds -25s CDR. T3 resist +20% → +30%

Meta Predictions

Winners

1. Paradox — Time Wall becoming a team-wide +30% (or +60% with T2) weapon damage amplifier is absurdly strong. Any team with Paradox can group behind a Time Wall for devastating pushes. Kinetic Carbine’s 125% base damage scale also buffs her poke.

2. Lady Geist — Soul Exchange at 0.3s total cast time is nearly unreactable. T3 turning it into a massive stat steroid (+60 Spirit, +40% Fire Rate, +50% Spirit Resist) for 8s makes Geist a teamfight monster.

3. Drifter — Eternal Night forcing isolation on all targets directly enables Bloodscent bonuses. This is a straightforward power increase to his ult’s synergy with his passive.

4. Haze — Bullet Dance with baseline 60% evasion frees T3 for multi-target. Smoke Bomb T3 (3 charges + cleanse + lifesteal) is elite survivability.

5. Pocket — Barrage with stamina + Flying Cloak usage is a massive mobility buff. Affliction T3 preventing all healing is a meta-defining effect against sustain comps.

6. Kelvin — Arctic Beam + item/grenade combo casting creates a much more active and threatening playstyle. Frozen Shelter targeting allies is powerful team protection.

Losers

1. Silver — Lycan Curse losing baseline resists and move speed, plus a 15s cooldown increase, is a severe nerf with no compensating buff.

2. Shiv — Losing a stamina point plus dash speed nerfs his core mobility loop. The spirit shred on Slice and Dice is interesting but doesn’t compensate for reduced survivability.

3. Mirage — Traveler losing Unstoppable and becoming interruptible with a 3s delay is a huge nerf to his global presence. Fire Scarabs losing 2 base charges hurts early game.

4. McGinnis — Bullet damage nerfed significantly, Heavy Barrage duration cut from 13s to 8s base. The turret buffs are good but don’t fully compensate for reduced direct combat power.

5. Rem — Naptime nerfs across the board (radius, duration, sleep speed) plus losing T2 Unstoppable makes the ult much easier to counter.

Systemic Meta Shifts

• Anti-heal becomes premium: Decay at -50% healing, Affliction T3 preventing all healing, and Vindicta Crow T1 at -35% healing reduction make anti-heal more accessible and powerful.
• Defensive itemization buffed: Ethereal Shift at 35s cooldown, Extra Health at 210, and Fortitude with 10s delay all encourage earlier defensive purchases.
• Melee matters more: Colossus +30% melee damage, Lifestrike boon scaling, Crushing Fists working with heavy melee abilities, and Infernus melee afterburn all push melee into more regular use.
• Team shooting through Time Wall: Paradox’s reworked Time Wall could define the teamfight meta. A 6-player team shooting through a +60% weapon damage wall is terrifying.
• Objectives are worth more: Walker bounty +500, Shrine bounty +2,000, Mid Boss bounty +1,000. Teams that prioritize objectives gain significantly more economic advantage.

Developer Direction

This patch signals Valve is:

1. Standardizing scaling: Spirit power should mean “more damage/healing,” not “more range/duration/secondary effects”
2. Encouraging active play: Many abilities now allow casting other abilities/items during them (Arctic Beam, Seismic Impact, Barrage, Flight)
3. Rewarding objectives: Every structure bounty increased, new neutral camps added, trooper waves accelerated late game
4. Reducing passive power: Baseline resists/buffs removed from abilities (Silver, Billy, McGinnis) and gated behind upgrade choices
5. Adding skill expression: Directional Killing Blow, card suites on Card Trick, targeted Frozen Shelter all add decision-making