The laning phase in Deadlock just became significantly more aggressive. Valve's November 21, 2025 update introduces a fundamental rework to how Trooper bounties function, alongside a complete overhaul of the Medic mechanic that removes passive healing entirely.
Trooper Economy Changes
The most impactful change in this patch is the shift in how players secure resources. Trooper bounties have been reworked to spawn ground-based soul orbs rather than instantly crediting the player in all scenarios. These orbs feature an 18-meter pickup radius and come with an 18-second decay timer.
This adjustment forces players to be more active in the lane. You can no longer safely secure every soul from maximum range without considering positioning; you now have to account for the physical location of the orb and the timing of its decay. It adds a layer of risk-reward to farming that punishes overly passive playstyles.
Medic Troopers Are Now Loot Drops
Sustain in lane has also received a major shake-up. Previously, Medic troopers provided a passive healing aura, allowing players to hug their wave for health regeneration. That mechanic is gone.
Instead, Medic troopers now drop a medic pack upon death. This pack affects a 30-meter radius, effectively turning the Medic into a contestable objective within the minion wave itself. If you want the heal, you have to kill the trooper and likely position yourself to secure the drop, rather than just standing near it. This creates new windows for harassment while enemies try to grab the health pack.
How does this affect tower diving?
While the laning changes encourage aggression, diving structures has become much riskier. The update significantly buffed Walkers, reducing their stomp cooldown from 10 seconds down to 6 seconds. Additionally, the stomp damage has been increased, and the resistance decay timeline has been adjusted. If you plan to dive a Walker to secure a kill, you now have a much tighter window before taking massive area-of-effect damage.
Hero and Item Balance
Beyond the systemic changes, the patch includes a laundry list of adjustments to specific Heroes and Items. Notable characters seeing tweaks include:
- Abrams & Bebop: Received adjustments to cooldowns and damage values.
- Calico & Holliday: Saw tuning to their resistance stats and health pools.
- Paradox: continued balance passes to align with the new meta.
Neutral camps were not spared either, with changes to HP, damage, and respawn times across the board. These changes, combined with the new economy mechanics, suggest that the optimal jungle pathing and farming rotations will look very different in the coming weeks.