Deadlock Minor Update: Rat King Ultimate Reworked, Sinclair Adjustments, and Trooper Fixes

What changed#

The latest Deadlock minor update addresses several gameplay issues and adjusts hero balance. A bug causing troopers to move too slowly while in lane has been resolved. Additionally, targeting logic for Rat King’s Scrap Grenade bouncing behavior was corrected.

Rat King receives significant adjustments to his kit. The Scrap Grenade damage is increased from 65 to 70 at both base and T2 levels. Rat Swarm’s base cooldown is reduced from 28 seconds to 24 seconds. However, his ultimate, Rule, Ratannia!, faces heavy changes. The cooldown increases from 130 seconds to 160 seconds. Specific talent interactions are altered: T1 no longer reduces the cooldown by 20 seconds, keeping the total at 160 seconds. T2 no longer adds 8 seconds to charge duration, bringing the total charge duration down from 20 seconds to 10 seconds. Other changes to Rule, Ratannia! include reducing the radius from 24 meters to 20 meters, shortening the base charge duration from 12 seconds to 10 seconds, lowering damage reduction from 20% to 15%, removing bonus move speed scaling with Spirit, increasing fall speed during the charge, changing T1 move speed bonus from +1 m/s to +2 m/s, reducing T2 flag duration from +8 seconds to +5 seconds, and decreasing T3 damage reduction from 15% to 10%, resulting in a total damage reduction drop from 35% to 25%.

Sinclair undergoes multiple reductions. Base HP regeneration drops from 2 to 1. His Gun’s falloff range shifts from 25-61 to 20-60, and bullet base damage decreases from 17.76 to 16.5. Vexing Bolt now deals half damage to objectives. Spectral Assistant shares the same Gun falloff adjustment (25-61 to 20-60). Rabbit Hex radius shrinks from 6.5 meters to 6 meters, and T3 radius bonus reduces from +3 meters to +2 meters. Audience Participation copy duration falls from 12 seconds to 9 seconds, and the copied cooldown increases from 40% to 60%.

Why it matters#

Rat King’s ultimate becomes substantially harder to use frequently due to the raw cooldown increase and the removal of cooldown-reducing talents. The stat cuts to damage reduction, radius, and charge duration limit the window and impact of his ultimate engagement. Conversely, the Scrap Grenade buff and Rat Swarm cooldown reduction provide modest improvements to his early-game pressure.

Sinclair’s effectiveness is dampened across several vectors. Lower HP regen and reduced gun damage/falloff weaken his sustained fights and pick potential. The objective damage penalty on Vexing Bolt limits his utility against structures or neutral objects. Ability range reductions on Rabbit Hex and Audience Participation make spacing more critical and reduce control area.

The trooper movement fix ensures lane pacing aligns with expectations, preventing frustration from slow AI units blocking sightlines or engagements.

What to do next#

Players should test the updated cooldown values and damage numbers on Rat King’s Rule, Ratannia! to adapt timing for engagements, especially noting the lack of cooldown reduction from T1 and charge duration extension from T2. Sinclair players need to adjust positioning to compensate for shorter falloff ranges and reduced radii on Rabbit Hex. Verify that trooper movement feels responsive in lanes after this patch.