Valve’s invite-only Deadlock adds six new heroes — community votes start Jan. 26

Valve’s invite-only MOBA hero shooter Deadlock received a big update that added six new heroes and multiple visual and gameplay tweaks, and the studio is letting players vote to unlock them two per week starting on January 26. The update has coincided with a surge of fan art and renewed community momentum despite the game remaining invite-only.

The new characters are Apollo (a sword-wielding demon), Celeste (a unicorn-horned performer), Venator (an arms-expert priest), Rem (a sleepy small creature), Silver (a werewolf bounty hunter), and Graves (a Wednesday-coded necromancer). The report notes Graves uses her mentor’s dismembered hand as a weapon, can summon flying skulls and create a gravestone that spawns ghouls, while Rem tosses a pillow, commands minions that collect loot and can put foes to sleep with his ultimate.

Deadlock’s core still reads like a MOBA — farming souls to buy items and build power matters — but the game blends hero-shooter DNA through distinctive mobility: dodge, mid-air dodge, wallrun, slide, mantle and double jump, with melee and parry playing notable roles. The latest update also added vents and crawlspaces to maps, and lanes feature ziplines and vertical design that encourage exploration and rooftop fights.

To help new and returning players, Valve introduced Street Brawl, a mode akin to ARAM: two 4v4 teams fight on a single line in best-of-five rounds with no farming or shopping.

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