I was two minutes from a lost shrine when the update hit my client and my plan evaporated. You can feel a patch the way you feel a sudden breeze—everything moves, and not always where you expect. I kept playing while thinking, You will have to relearn the map and your timing.
I’m Valve’s kind of obsessive with patch notes and I read them so you don’t have to scroll through a thousand lines. Below I break the March 6 Deadlock patch into what changes the game feel, what you should test first, and which heroes you need to stop auto-picking until you’ve tried a few matches.
You can see traffic slow when stoplights flip. Deadlock Patch Notes for March 6 — General Changes
Movement, objectives, and spawn pacing were the levers Valve adjusted to steer late-game tempo. This patch is a tectonic shift under the game’s meta.
- Movement: You can now jump during slide; dash jump gives +30% air control for 0.25s. Small mechanical freedoms that change outplay windows.
- Shrines: The first shrine is easier to kill, the second harder. HP changed from 8100 → 5000 / 10000 with dynamic HP updates after the first falls. Shrine attacks no longer hit heroes sheltered under them.
- Shrine extras: Super trooper DPS bonus up +40% → +60%. Middle lane troopers upgrade when either shrine dies. Killing base guardians spawns a zipline-boosted trooper wave.
- Troopers: Medic trooper DPS now grows 3% per minute. Troopers gain +7 HP regen out of combat. Wave interval shifts from 25s to 20s starting at 35 minutes—faster pushes late.
- Objectives & Economy: Bounties increased across the board — Guardians 1000 → 1500, Walkers 3500 → 4000, Base Guardians 750 → 1000, Shrines 0 → 2000, Mid Boss 2000 → 3000. Expect stronger comeback swings when objectives fall.
- Walker & Mid Boss: Walkers had HP and armor decay rescaled; the mid boss received HP and now has 35% debuff resistance with a global announcement threshold lowered to 50% (from 70%).
- Systems: Subsequent CC reduction raised (8/24% → 10/30%) and the reduction window lengthened to 8s. Move speed diminishing ramp hits around 11m instead of 10m.
What are the biggest hero changes in the March 6 Deadlock patch?
Nearly every hero received tuning. Expect wide-reaching buffs and nerfs: damage scalings, cooldowns, and ability interactions were touched. The patch buffs some high-skill tools while taking the edge off others—your job is to test which builds survive the new pacing.
You notice a playground gets a new slide and kids find new routes. Deadlock Patch Notes for March 6 — Map Changes
Added neutral camps and subtle layout shifts encourage fights in different spots and make ganking more rewarding.
- New neutral camp spawns at Hidden King Park Walker and Archmother York Walker (both: 2 Normal, 3 Weak).
- Added “0 Way” veils under shrine platforms in each base to offer new escape/ambush angles.
- Mid-lane bridge moved slightly toward the center between two edges to change approach vectors into the Hidden King Base entrance.
You open a toolbox and the sockets have changed places. Deadlock Patch Notes for March 6 — Item Changes
Tooling matters now: a handful of weapon and spirit items got new numbers or new mechanics, and a T1 Spirit item arrived to shake early builds.
- New: T1 Spirit Item — Golden Goose Egg.
- Weapons: Extended Magazine +6% → +8% weapon damage; High-Velocity Rounds swapped fire rate for +8% weapon damage and higher bullet velocity; many other items had damage or scaling tweaks (Split Shot cooldown down to 24s and now hero-customized).
- Vitality: Extra Health raised 185 → 210; Restorative Locket range up 30m → 35m and always restores at least 1 stamina; several defensive items had cooldown reductions or reworks (Weapon Shielding threshold +150 → +250).
- Spirit: Mystic Regeneration health bonus 40 → 50, duration 5s → 6s; Slowing Hex projectile speed and mechanics changed; Spirit Sap cooldown cut from 32s → 18s while increasing power.
Small changes—ammo, lifesteal, cooldowns—compound fast. If you play on Steam, link your patch notes reading to a few practice games in custom lobbies to see how these item swaps feel in live fights.
How will shrine and objective reworks affect late-game pacing?
Making the first shrine easier and the second harder creates a two-act flow: early shrine trades become more decisive, but teams that stall into the second shrine face higher resistance. The increased bounties and reduced wave intervals after 35 minutes reward objective plays and punish passive gold denial. If you’re on a team that prefers low-risk play, expect to be forced into confrontations sooner.
The coach redraws the lineup and every player shifts positions. Deadlock Patch Notes for March 6 — All Hero Changes
Every hero touched. Valve trimmed the meta and the roster left the update looking more bonsai than banyan.
Most heroes received a mix of buffs, nerfs, and quality-of-life fixes: targeting changes, spirit scaling adjustments, cooldown tuning, and new utility on several kits. I’d prioritize retesting heroes with major mechanic changes (Abrams, Dynamo, Celeste, McGinnis, Mirage) in a few quick matches before committing them in ranked play.
| Hero | Buffs | Nerfs |
| Abrams | Siphon Life is now circular; Lifesteal against heroes/non-heroes increased; DPS spirit scaling increased; T1 duration increased; T3 adds radius; Shoulder Charge T1 adds slow; T2 stun duration increased; T3 grants weapon damage; Infernal Resilience T2 HP and T3 Debuff Resist increased; Seismic Impact faster targeting, damage increased, and allows item use; T2 adds stun; T3 adds radius. | Bullet damage and scaling reduced; Siphon Life base DPS and range reduced; Siphon Life range no longer scales with Spirit; T3 DPS reduced; Shoulder Charge damage, wall stun, and spirit scaling reduced; Shoulder Charge T3 cooldown increased; Seismic Impact base radius reduced. |
| Apollo | Itani Lo Sahn spirit scaling increased from 1.6 to 2.3. | Riposte no longer triggers from troopers/neutrals; Flawless Advance T2 lunge speed removed; Flawless Advance now interruptible; Itani Lo Sahn base damage reduced; Hit width no longer scales with radius. |
| Bebop | Hook can now be canceled. | N/A |
| Billy | Bashdown T2 adds a charge; T3 reduces charge time; Rising Ram spirit scaling and max health % increased; Rising Ram cooldown reduced 50% on impact and charge duration reduced (faster); T3 radius increased. | Bashdown base radius reduced; Rising Ram base damage reduced; Rising Ram T1/T2 changed from cooldown/weapon damage to duration; Blasted spirit scaling reduced and passive fire rate reduction removed; Chain Gang radius reduced, resist removed, and cooldown increased. |
| Calico | New center pellet for headshots; Gloom Bombs first grenade center-aligned, sticky radius increased, and cast delay reduced; Leaping Slash improved targeting and vertical dash; T2 adds souls; T3 adds damage; Ava melee delay reduced, recovery speed improved, and cooldown reduced; Ava T2/T3 add regen and damage amp; Return To Shadows vertical flight added. | Leaping Slash radius reduced; Ava duration slightly reduced; Ava melee cooldown increased; Ava speed now resets on damage; Return to Shadows T2 damage reduced; T3 damage amp replaced with healing. |
| Celeste | Gravity reduced (Less gravity = floatier movement). | Air Control and Acceleration reduced; Shining Wonder bounce range and linger duration reduced. |
| Doorman | Gun pierces targets; Call Bell explosion damage increased; T1 radius and T2 damage/scaling increased; Doorway T1/T2/T3 durations and scaling increased; Luggage Cart 20% larger; T1 damage, T2 range, and T3 stun increased; Hotel Guest range increased, no CD on target death, and adds 1s slow; T1/T2/T3 cooldowns and stun improved. | Call Bell charge time increased; Impact damage removed; Call Bell explosion spirit scaling reduced; Hotel Guest “Cost of Stay” and “Failure to Check-out” damage reduced. |
| Drifter | Rend spirit scaling and T1 damage increased; T3 adds silence; Bloodscent grants weapon damage for nearby deaths (assists or kills); T2 adds health/stamina restore; Eternal Night T1 adds sprint; T3 duration/targets increased. | Rend range reduced and cooldown increased; Stalker’s Mark duration reduced; Bloodscent bonus damage per death reduced; Eternal Night sprint reduced, damage proc removed, cooldown increased, and duration reduced. |
| Dynamo | Bullet damage increased; Kinetic Pulse damage, spirit scaling, and T3 damage/range increased; T1 adds a charge; Quantum Entanglement base ability restores stamina, ally distance and range increased; T1 range increased; T3 adds dispel; Rejuvenating Aurora linger added, allows jumping, and T2 cooldown/duration increased; Singularity DPS and scaling increased. | Kinetic Pulse cooldown increased and range reduced; Kinetic Pulse range no longer scales with Spirit; Quantum Entanglement fire rate and reload removed; Rejuvenating Aurora cooldown increased; Singularity max health % DPS removed. |
| Graves | Grasping Hands cooldown reduced; T2 adds damage and wall length; T3 adds immobilize duration and cooldown reduction. | Grasping Hands immobilize duration reduced. |
| Haze | Bullet Dance now has 60% Evasion; T2 fire rate increased; T3 fires at an additional target; Smoke Bomb T1 sprint increased; T2 adds 2 charges; T3 adds dispel and lifesteal; Fixation T1 scaling and T3 damage increased. | Spirit per boon reduced; Sleep Dagger speed, duration, and cooldown worsened; Wake up scaling removed; Smoke Bomb cooldown increased and scaling reduced; Fixation base damage and T1 spirit damage reduced; Bullet Dance fire rate and bonus damage reduced. |
| Infernus | Napalm spirit scaling and T2 lifesteal increased; Flame Dash scaling increased; T1 cooldown reduced; T2/T3 add trail duration and charges; Melee now builds Afterburn; Afterburn T1 damage increased; Concussive Combustion T1 damage and T2/T3 radius/stun increased. | Napalm base damage and amp reduced; Flame Dash T2 DPS reduced; Flame Dash T3 cooldown reduction removed; Afterburn T2/T3 resistance and duration scaling adjusted; Concussive Combustion delay, radius, cooldown, and damage worsened. |
| Ivy | Entangling Thorns recharge time reduced; T2 radius increased; T3 adds entangle; Kudzu Connection T3 now always active; Stone Form T1 heal added; T3 scaling/stun increased; Air Drop cooldown reduced, duration increased, and speed/radius/range/scaling improved; Air Drop T1/T2 add barriers and slows. | Gravity and bullet damage reduced; Entangling Thorns/Kudzu Connection spirit scaling reduced; Stone Form cooldown increased; Stone Form base damage scaling reduced; Air Drop buff duration reduced; Bomb no longer knockups, slows, or provides barrier by default. |
| Kelvin | Frost Grenade now has 2 charges and base heal; T1/T3 damage and heal increased; Ice Path incline speed, T1 resistance, and T3 spirit power increased; Arctic Beam allows item/grenade use; T2/T3 damage and cooldown improved; Frozen Shelter can be canceled, is now targetable, and T1/T3 cooldown and dispel improved. | Frost Grenade radius and cooldown worsened; Stamina regen reduction removed; Ice Path cooldown increased; Arctic Beam fire rate/slow reduction reduced; Arctic Beam scaling and cooldown worsened; Frozen Shelter duration reduced. |
| Lady Geist | Essence Bomb cooldown and T1 reduction improved; T2 adds radius; Life Drain T1 damage, T2 duration, and T3 charges/scaling increased; Soul Exchange cast times reduced and T1 cooldown reduction significantly increased; T2 adds silence. | Essence Bomb radius reduced; Life Drain cooldown and break range worsened. |
| Lash | Increased Sparkles; Grapple T2 damage increased; T3 adds air control and stamina; Flog T2 cooldown and fire rate reduction improved; T3 adds angle and heal; Death Slam T1 distance, T2 cooldown, and T3 range increased. | Flog cooldown increased; Attack angle scaling removed; Base heal and T3 damage reduced; Death Slam throw distance scaling removed; Cooldown increased. |
| McGinnis | Mini Turret duration, tracking, and projectile speed improved; T2 adds charges; T3 adds fire rate; Medicinal Specter scaling and T2 stamina recovery increased; T3 radius/duration increased; Spectral Wall segments can be destroyed (tactical change); T1/T2 damage amp and duration increased; T3 adds turrets; Heavy Barrage T2/T3 cooldown and damage improved. | Bullet damage reduced; Mini Turret health and growth reduced; Medicinal Specter duration/radius scaling removed; Medicinal Specter cooldown increased and base stamina recovery removed; Heavy Barrage duration and slow duration reduced. |
| Mina | Rake missing health damage increased; T1 damage, T2 cooldown, and T3 scaling increased; Sanguine Retreat recast window, T1 fire rate, T2 cooldown, and T3 recast count increased; Love Bites scaling and T3 cooldown/fire rate improved; Nox Nostra T1 damage and T2 cooldown improved. | Stamina and Rake cooldowns increased; Rake heal per kill reduced; Sanguine Retreat cast range reduced; Love Bites base damage/bonus and T2 stats reduced; Nox Nostra cooldown and damage reduced. |
| Mirage | Fire Scarabs now instant health steal and damage amp; T1/T2/T3 health steal, charges, and scaling increased; Dust Devil evasion/duration increased; T1 damage, T2 evasion, and T3 recast added; Djinn’s Mark reveal duration and T2 damage increased; T3 cooldown/stun improved; Traveler cooldown and T1/T2 buffs/barriers improved. | Bullet damage and scaling reduced; Fire Scarabs base charges and scaling reduced; Cooldown increased; Dust Devil lift and scaling reduced; Djinn’s Mark cooldown increased; Traveler no longer instant; interrupted by damage; fire rate/speed buffs removed. |
That table is the short form. If you want specifics for a hero not in the snippet above, open the full Valve notes on Steam or check the dev thread on Reddit; pro teams and streamers on Twitch will begin labbing popular picks within hours.
If you only test one thing: play the heroes with movement and utility fixes first—those changes ripple into every fight. Which hero are you rerolling first after this patch?