For a game that’s not technically out yet, Deadlock feels pretty well accomplished. Valve’s dynamic MOBA attracts tens of thousands of players each day, is regularly being served with updates, and already has a roster of 22 heroes to master. Speaking of heroes, Deadlock already has several waiting in the wings, and now another newcomer is heading into Valve’s test realm to be put through their paces. The next new Deadlock hero to be revealed is Raven, and he’s dressed to impress.
Despite there being no official Deadlock release date in sight, the lineup of Deadlock characters is very impressive and adds so much depth to its gameplay. Mirage was the most recent addition to the official roster, but as mentioned, new heroes are queuing up to join the party – well, once they’ve been put through a gruelling testing regime over in Deadlock’s Hero Labs, that is. Hero Labs is only open for a short window each day (unless Valve treats you to a rare, all-access period) and you can only get in if you’ve played 50 matches or more.
In Hero Labs, you can access upcoming characters like Viper, Magician, and Wrecker, and now Raven is joining the party. A soviet spy dressed in a slick white suit, donning an eyepatch, and wielding an umbrella that doubles up as a concealed firearm, Raven (like pretty much every Deadlock character, in fairness) looks excellent. His kit, though, sounds very strong indeed.
While every Labs character is subject to many, many changes, here’s how things look right now. His first ability is a concussion grenade that not only slows enemies’ turn rate but gives increased weapon and melee damage if you’re inflicting that damage in their back. He also has an ability that utilizes his umbrella to catch gusts of wind to dash backwards and at the same time fire off an explosive round from its tip. His passive gives him an increased rate of fire.
His ultimate, though, is where things get very interesting. With this ability, any enemy looking directly at Raven will begin to slow and take damage over time, and if they stare too long, they’ll become cursed. Yep, just for being in an enemy’s line of sight you could change the tide of a skirmish. Raven is now in Deadlock’s Hero Lab for you to try for yourself, if you have access.
As well as adding Raven to the game, Valve has also made several balance changes and improvements. The majority of the game’s roster has been tweaked one way or another, including top picks like Haze and Bebop. All heroes have also been given a small +0.5 boost to their Sprint, however Sprint Boots and Enduring Speed have been given nerfs to prevent things from getting too rapid.
There’s also a brand new setting that will help you match with more competitive, communicative players the next time you queue up. The new Extra Competitive option allows players “to control what type of players are placed on their team. If you prefer to play with higher levels of coordination, communication, and competitiveness, then you can use this option to tell the matchmaker to build your team with like-minded allies. This option will sometimes be inactive in scenarios where the pool is very shallow.”
You can read the very long list of changes in the official patch notes here.
If after trying out the new patch and the brand new hero Raven you fancy a bit of a change, here are some other brilliant multiplayer games and free PC games to try.
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