Objectives

1:37 A Deadlock match is won by destroying the enemy team's Patron at the heart of its base, and every other objective is a step toward it: in each lane a team must break the enemy Guardian, then the Walker, then the pair of Base Guardians, after which the base's two Shrines can be damaged, with the Patron behind them as the last objective. Valve's May 22, 2026 update made the Shrines invulnerable until one pair of Base Guardians falls. The Patron fights in two phases; the second, the Weakened Patron, sinks into a pit in the base, and killing it ends the match. The numbers below are Valve's latest as of Oct 26, 2026; Deadlock is an invite-only playtest, and Valve retunes objectives often.

Quick facts

Sources: Valve's Nov 21, 2025, Mar 6, 2026, Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026 updates; deadlock-api game files and measured game stats, read Oct 26, 2026.

Order and win condition

Each of the three lanes on the map is defended by three structures in a row. A team pushing a lane meets the Guardian first, then the Walker, then a pair of Base Guardians at the entrance to the base. Breaking one lane is enough to enter the base: once one pair of Base Guardians is down, both Shrines can be attacked, and the Patron behind them is the final objective.

Objectives pay the whole team. Since Valve's Sep 16, 2026 update, 25% of an objective's bounty goes to the heroes nearby and the rest is split among all six players. deadlock-api measured the first objective falling at 7 minutes 43 seconds on average in matches from Oct 12 to Oct 26, 2026, and bosses and objectives brought each player 3,253 souls a match (Souls and Economy).

Objectives also have backdoor protection. Its linger was cut from 20 to 14 seconds on May 22, 2026, and the Shop Rework of May 8, 2025 widened its range by 5 m for Walkers and 10 m for base objectives.

Guardians

16:07 The Guardian is the first defense in each lane and attacks enemy heroes who come near. Valve's Nov 21, 2025 update raised its health from 3,500 to 4,250, the last figure in Valve's notes; in the game files as of Oct 26, 2026, deadlock-api's copy now lists 5,500. The same files give it 116 damage per second against players, 25% more damage taken from players and 42.5% less from troopers.

Guardians start hard to kill and soften with time. Since May 22, 2026 they start with +50% damage resistance that decays to -50% over the first 12 minutes, and since Apr 30, 2026 they have 10% Bullet Resist. A Guardian is worth 1,375 souls in the game files: Valve set 1,250 on Jun 30, 2026 and added 10% on Sep 16, 2026.

Guardians protect their own heroes. Since Valve's Nov 7, 2024 update, a Guardian focuses an enemy player who shoots a hero within 15 m of it, which is why guides warn against trading under the enemy Guardian (Laning Guide).

Walkers

30:00 Walkers are the second line, much tougher than Guardians, with stomps, fireballs, rockets and a laser. Since Mar 6, 2026 a team's first Walker to die has 6,000 health, the second 9,000 and the third 12,000, so each one left grows after another falls. Walkers have 25% Bullet Resist since Apr 30, 2026, and their damage resistance decays from +65% to -65% over the first 18 minutes (Mar 6, 2026). A Walker is worth 3,675 souls in the game files: Valve set 3,500 on Jun 30, 2026 and added 5% on Sep 16, 2026.

A Walker hits hard. Its stomp deals 350 damage plus 15% of max health with a 2-second stun on a 6-second cooldown, and its fireballs land in a 6 m radius, linger 4 seconds and cut Bullet and Spirit Resist by 10% (Valve, Nov 21, 2025; game files); it also has a rocket barrage and a laser beam. Since City Never Sleeps, its attack and stomp range indicators appear as you get close, and a dead Walker no longer fires fireballs, per Valve.

Defending near your Walker is safer. Heroes within 32 m of their own Walker get 15% Bullet and Spirit Resist, a Shop Rework change.

Flex Slots

37:03 Killing Walkers grows every player's inventory. Since Valve's Nov 21, 2025 update, each hero has 9 base item slots plus 3 Flex Slots, and a team unlocks one Flex Slot for each enemy Walker it kills. Before that there were 8 base slots and 4 Flex Slots, unlocked for 3 Guardians, 1 Walker, 3 Walkers and a set of Base Guardians. The Items and Shop page covers what goes in them.

Base Guardians and Shrines

Base Guardians stand in pairs at each lane's entrance to the base. Each has 4,000 health and 1,000 souls of bounty since the Mar 6, 2026 update, and 20% Bullet Resist since May 22, 2026; a pair shares one icon and health pool on the minimap. Killing a pair sends a zipline-boosted trooper wave down your lane to reinforce the push (Mar 6, 2026).

20:48 Shrines guard the Patron, and they cannot be hurt until a pair of Base Guardians is gone. Since Mar 6, 2026 the first Shrine to fall has 5,000 health and the second 10,000 (both had 8,100 before), each worth 2,000 souls, and since May 22, 2026 they have 20% Bullet Resist. Their attacks no longer hit heroes standing under them.

30:42 A dead Shrine makes your troopers stronger. Killing one upgrades that lane's troopers to Super Troopers with 60% more damage and 15% less bounty, and the middle lane's troopers upgrade when either Shrine dies (Valve, Mar 6, 2026).

The Patron

The Patron is the last objective, at the center of each base. Old Gods, New Blood (Jan 22, 2026) replaced the old Patrons with the Hidden King and the Archmother, in Valve's words; the Lore and Setting page tells their story.

21:51 The Patron fights in two phases. In the game files as of Oct 26, 2026, deadlock-api's copy gives it 12,000 health in phase 1 and 12,000 in phase 2, growing 250 a minute after 20 minutes in phase 1 and 450 a minute in phase 2, and it regenerates 120 health a second after 20 seconds out of combat. When phase 1 ends, the Patron's throne sinks into the ground and it becomes the Weakened Patron, a change from the Shop Rework of May 8, 2025.

42:27 Defenders can stall the Weakened Patron by standing in its pit. Since Valve's Dec 17, 2025 patch, it takes 50% less damage while one defender has been in the pit for 2 seconds and none at all with two or more. Base turrets shoot the Weakened Patron only when you are in the pit with it (Map Rework, Feb 25, 2025).

The Patron has been rebalanced many times. On Dec 6, 2024 Valve cut it to 7,500 health and the downed Patron to 13,500.

Troopers and waves

Troopers are the soldiers that walk each lane and do much of the damage to objectives. A wave comes every 25 seconds, every 20 seconds from minute 35, and troopers regenerate 7 health a second out of combat (both since Mar 6, 2026). After 35 minutes every trooper has 50% more health (Nov 21, 2025).

There are three kinds. In the game files as of Oct 26, 2026 (deadlock-api), a normal trooper has 300 health, a medic 350 and a melee trooper 400. Medics drop a pack that heals everyone within 30 m for 13% of missing health over 4 seconds (May 22, 2026).

Other objectives

Three more objectives roam the map, and none of them has to be taken to win. The Mid-Boss in the center gives its killers souls, permanent buffs and the Rejuvenator (Mid-Boss and Rejuvenator); the Soul Urn spawns from 10 minutes and pays the hero who delivers it; and the Unstable Rift, a capture zone about every 7 minutes, sends Rift Troopers for the team that holds it (Souls and Economy). The Macro and Rotations page covers which to take when.

Frequently asked questions

How do you win a Deadlock match? You win a Deadlock match by destroying the enemy Patron, in both its phases; to reach it you must break a lane's Guardian, Walker and pair of Base Guardians, then the Shrines.

How much health do Guardians have in Deadlock? Valve's Nov 21, 2025 update set Deadlock's Guardians at 4,250 health, the latest figure in Valve's notes, while the game files read on Oct 26, 2026 list 5,500.

How much health do Walkers have in Deadlock? In Deadlock, a team's first Walker to die has 6,000 health, the second 9,000 and the third 12,000, a rule from Valve's Mar 6, 2026 update.

What do Walkers unlock in Deadlock? Each enemy Walker your team kills in Deadlock unlocks one Flex Slot, an extra item slot, for every player, up to three, since Valve's Nov 21, 2025 update.

When can you attack Shrines in Deadlock? Deadlock's Shrines are invulnerable until one pair of enemy Base Guardians is destroyed, a rule since Valve's May 22, 2026 update; the first has 5,000 health and the second 10,000.

What is the Patron in Deadlock? The Patron is the final objective in each Deadlock base, the Hidden King or the Archmother since Jan 22, 2026; it has two phases of 12,000 health each in the game files, and destroying the second wins the match.

Sources

• 11-21-2025 Update, Valve, Nov 21, 2025
• Gameplay Update - 03-06-2026, Valve, Mar 6, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 04-30-2026, Valve, Apr 30, 2026
• Gameplay Update - 05-22-2026, Valve, May 22, 2026
• Minor Update - 06-30-2026, Valve, Jun 30, 2026
• Minor Update - 09-16-2026, Valve, Sep 16, 2026
• Shop Rework Update, Valve, May 8, 2025
• Map Rework Update, Valve, Feb 25, 2025
• 12-06-2024 Update, Valve, Dec 6, 2024
• 11-07-2024 Update, Valve, Nov 8, 2024
• 12-16-2025 Update, Valve (Yoshi) on the Deadlock forums, Dec 16 and Dec 17, 2025
• Deadlock - Old Gods, New Blood, Valve, Jan 22, 2026
• Deadlock - City Never Sleeps, Valve, Sep 29, 2026
• NPC units and generic data, deadlock-api (game files), read Oct 26, 2026
• Game stats, matches since Oct 12, 2026, deadlock-api (measured), read Oct 26, 2026
• DEADLOCK ... For Noobs (2 Years Later), Macro, Oct 19, 2026 (video)
• The Only Beginner’s Guide You Need for Deadlock (Updated), Metro Deadlock, Oct 1, 2026 (video)
• Deadlock for Beginners in 20 Minutes - Updated Late 2026, Deathy, Oct 8, 2026 (video)
• Just Give Me 33 Minutes, You'll Out Farm Everyone | Deadlock Farming Guide, Shotty, Sep 7, 2026 (video)