Deadlock Gameplay Update Patch Notes (28th May 2026)

The Urn has been one of Deadlock's more divisive mechanics since launch, and Valve has clearly been listening. This gameplay update reworks almost every aspect of it, from the physical drop-off location to how fast the runner can move.

The biggest shift is positional: the Urn drop-off point has moved from above the bridge in mid lane to under the bridge in the side lane. That alone changes routing and contest windows significantly. On top of that, the timer extension when the Urn is contested has jumped from 1.25 seconds to 3 seconds, and deposit timers across all game states have been extended, giving teams more room to fight over it rather than just race. The comeback aura has also been trimmed from 50% to 35% bullet and spirit resist, which feels right to me, that number was doing a lot of heavy lifting for losing teams.

The Urn runner changes are interesting too. Sprint is no longer disabled, max sprint acceleration is now active, and runners behind on score get an extra +4m Sprint on top of the standard movement buffs. Valve has explicitly asked for continued feedback on the Urn as they iterate, so expect this to keep evolving.

Here's everything that changed.