Hero image: Deadlock. Image: Valve
Valve has decorated Deadlock for Halloween and shipped a long gameplay update alongside it.
The Halloween 2026 + Gameplay Update post went up on Steam at 7:51am AEDT on Saturday 31 October, by our conversion.
The Hideout has a new look, the heroes wear masks, and New York is littered with pumpkins.
The new addition this year is the Halloween Cauldron. Valve’s post describes it in full:
“As you walk down the streets of Manhattan during a match, you’ll come across bubbling cauldrons boasting a tempting display of treats. With a Heavy Melee, break the cauldron to pick up a piece of Candy and stash it in your pocket for later. When you’re feeling a bit snacky, you can consume the candy to grant yourself a boost of energy with the temporary Sugar Rush buff.”
The post says the festivities run in-game until 2 November 2026.
The biggest gameplay change is to the Mid-Boss. Its health and its health gained per minute both rise by 20%, and resistance reductions are now only 50% as effective against it.
Its bounty is halved, from 3000 (+50/min) to 1500 (+25/min). Its roar now comes at 25% HP instead of 50%.
The Rejuvenator no longer drops as one crystal in the centre. It drops as three crystals placed evenly around the Mid-Boss pit, in random positions.
Each crystal breaks with one heavy melee and grants the team one Rejuvenator, so the total per kill is unchanged at three. The full heal now applies to each crystal, and each one gives the player who breaks it a bounty of 500 (+9/min).
Haunted Souls now secure 25% slower, but up to 50% faster than baseline for a team that is behind on Net Worth. Comeback gold from non-hero sources rises from a maximum of 26% to 30%.
The latest six heroes are no longer marked as new. Valve says that means normal unlocking requirements for ranked, and that they can now be banned.
The item list is long. High-Velocity Rounds loses bullet velocity, from 60% to 45%, while Glass Cannon’s weapon damage rises from 80% to 85% and Toxic Bullets’ anti-heal from 35% to 40%.
Deadlock was sixth on Steam’s most-played chart this evening. Its last roster change was Nurse Harrow, who joined on 21 October.