Deadlock New Characters: All Six City Never Sleeps Heroes, Release Order and Voting
City Never Sleeps added six new characters to Deadlock, and players decide the order they arrive in. Four are out and two are left. Here is the roster, the schedule, how the vote works and when each hero becomes usable in Ranked.
Written byMax CalderDeadlock journalist
Updated3 min read
The six new heroes
The six new heroes
Rat KingReleased Oct 2Spreadshot gun, tunnels through vents, a rat swarm and a team banner.
Nurse HarrowComing soonA nurse who wields a giant needle like a gun.
SolomonReleased Oct 9New York's chess master. Bishops that slow, knights that carry allies out, rooks that immobilize and a queen that checkmates.
Deadman DannyReleased Oct 13Fairfax Industries' salesman. Flies on the Chimera Mk1 jetpack, marks enemies with Strix Salvo missiles, burns them with Jettison Fuel and finishes with Close the Deal.
BabaReleased Oct 6Central Park's pigeon lady. Rides a walking bench, steals spirit with Threadsap and turns enemies into pigeons.
VioletComing soonA young artist armed with a paintbrush.
Rat King
Nurse Harrow
Solomon
Deadman Danny
Baba
Violet
The six City Never Sleeps hero cards.
Rat King, Baba, Solomon and Deadman Danny are out, and each has a guide: Rat King, Baba, Solomon and Deadman Danny. The other two are described from their official artwork, and their abilities will only be confirmed when each one releases. Treat any "leaked kit" you see before then with suspicion.
Release schedule
Two heroes release each week, on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 pm Pacific. Rat King opened the run on Friday, October 2, Baba followed on Tuesday, October 6, Solomon on Friday, October 9, which Valve called the halfway point, and Deadman Danny on Tuesday, October 13. Nurse Harrow and Violet remain, and the next of them arrives on Friday, October 16. If the twice-a-week rhythm holds, the last slot looks like this.
Release schedule if it holds
Oct 2Rat KingFirst vote winner, FridayDone
Oct 6BabaSecond vote winner, TuesdayDone
Oct 9SolomonThird vote winner, FridayDone
Oct 13Deadman DannyFourth vote winner, TuesdayDone
Oct 16Fifth vote winnerFriday, 2 pm PacificNext
Oct 20Last heroTuesdayPlanned
How the hero vote works
Votes are cast in the new pregame lobby, so you vote simply by playing.
Votes from the winning team count double.
Your first win of the day doubles your votes as well.
Valve does not publish vote counts, so any "current leader" you see comes from community polls, not the game.
Hero Priority Tokens
From the first release onward, matches also earn you Hero Priority Tokens. Drag one onto a new hero's card to get the best chance of playing that hero. The token is only spent when it works.
When can you play them in Ranked?
Ranked normally only lets you pick heroes with at least 15 Standard wins on your account, a rule from the July 30 matchmaking update. New heroes get a break: for a limited time after release, they can be picked in Ranked without those wins. That is why Rat King and Baba showed up in most ranked games within hours of their launch. There are two catches. During that window a new hero does not count toward the three ranked heroes you need to queue, and Valve has not said how long the window lasts. Once it closes, the hero needs 15 Standard wins like any other.
Standard is still the cheaper place to learn a new kit, because every loss in Ranked costs rank points. Our guide to Deadlock ranks lists every other requirement that decides who can queue.
FAQ
FILE No. 01
Six: Rat King, Nurse Harrow, Solomon, Deadman Danny, Baba and Violet. They release two per week in the order players vote for.
FILE No. 02
Releases happen on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 pm Pacific. Rat King came out on October 2, Baba on October 6, Solomon on October 9 and Deadman Danny on October 13. The next hero is due on Friday, October 16.
FILE No. 03
Yes, for a limited time after release. New heroes can be picked in Ranked without 15 Standard wins at first, but they do not count toward your three ranked heroes, and once the window ends they need 15 Standard wins like any other hero.
Rat King guide for Deadlock: weapon stats, every ability and upgrade, how vent tunnels work, why his barrier blocks pure damage, counters and first-game tips.
Everything in Deadlock's City Never Sleeps update: the reworked map, Haunts, Bell Tower, Sunken Plaza, The Broker, six new heroes and what it means for ranked.
All 42 Deadlock heroes in one guide: every character rated from very easy to very hard, the best picks for beginners, and the tanks, supports and carries.
Rat KingReleased Oct 2Spreadshot gun, tunnels through vents, a rat swarm and a team banner.
Nurse HarrowComing soonA nurse who wields a giant needle like a gun.
SolomonReleased Oct 9New York's chess master. Bishops that slow, knights that carry allies out, rooks that immobilize and a queen that checkmates.
Deadman DannyReleased Oct 13Fairfax Industries' salesman. Flies on the Chimera Mk1 jetpack, marks enemies with Strix Salvo missiles, burns them with Jettison Fuel and finishes with Close the Deal.
BabaReleased Oct 6Central Park's pigeon lady. Rides a walking bench, steals spirit with Threadsap and turns enemies into pigeons.
VioletComing soonA young artist armed with a paintbrush.
