The City Never Sleeps update drops six brand-new heroes into Deadlock: Baba, Deadman Danny, Nurse Harrow, Rat King, Solomon, and Violet. They don't all arrive at once. One releases every Tuesday and Friday at 2:00pm PT, starting October 2, 2026, and players decide the order through an in-game vote.
Rat King already won the first vote and became playable on October 2. The remaining five are still in the running.
Who are the six City Never Sleeps heroes?
Valve revealed all six with portraits and campaign posters but held back ability details until each hero's actual release date. Here's what the community has pieced together from game files and the heroes' own visual design:
All six City Never Sleeps heroes
Ability kits are only visible once a hero releases. Rat King's live kit includes Scrap Grenade, Rat Swarm, Royal Pestments, and Rule, Ratannia!, so builds and ability guides are now based on the released version rather than speculation.
When does each hero release?
The schedule runs two releases per week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2:00pm PT (9:00pm UTC). The first slot was October 2 and the last is October 20.
The dates are fixed. Only the hero attached to each date changes based on voting results.
This isn't the first time Deadlock has done a rolling hero release. The Old Gods, New Blood update in January 2026 used the same format, adding Rem, Graves, Silver, Venator, Celeste, and Apollo across six slots on Mondays and Thursdays. City Never Sleeps shifted to Tuesdays and Fridays.
How does the hero vote work?
All voting happens in the Pregame lobby before each match, not at the old Hideout booth used in earlier voting rounds. You can argue your case with teammates right there before queuing.
The hero with the most accumulated votes wins the next release slot. Once a hero wins, they leave the ballot and the remaining candidates carry on competing for the next slot.
Vote in the Pregame lobby
How do you earn more votes?
Four things affect how much your votes are worth:
- Win the match. The winning team's votes count as double. This is a new rule introduced with City Never Sleeps.
- First win of the day. Your first daily win also doubles your votes, stacking with the team win bonus on a good day.
- Keep playing. Playing matches earns votes. More games means more influence over the outcome.
- Campaign Posters. These let you show support for a specific hero in-game, similar to the sprays used in the Old Gods, New Blood round.
Valve has not published a fixed per-match vote count for this round, so treat the multipliers as the key lever rather than chasing a specific number.
What are Hero Priority Tokens?
Starting with the first release on October 2, playing matches earns Hero Priority Tokens. Assigning one to a newly released hero increases your chance of being assigned that hero during matchmaking. The token doesn't guarantee you'll play them and has no effect on the vote order itself. It's purely a queue-priority tool for getting reps on a hero everyone is trying at once.
Can you play new heroes in Ranked straight away?
No. Under rules Valve published on July 30, 2026, Ranked only allows you to pick a hero you have won at least 15 Standard games with. A freshly released hero has to be learned in Standard first before they're eligible for Ranked. Budget time accordingly if you want to take a City Never Sleeps hero into competitive play.
Does the vote actually change anything?
The order, yes. The roster, no. All six heroes are part of the update regardless of vote results. But order matters more than it sounds. The first hero to release gets the longest head start in Standard before Ranked eligibility unlocks, and early builds and tier assessments shape how the community perceives a hero for weeks.
The Old Gods, New Blood round saw 60,776,963 total votes cast across the entire event, with the largest winning margin between any two heroes sitting at 11 percent. That's close enough that a coordinated push from a team of players hitting their first-win-of-the-day bonus can genuinely shift a round.
If you're new to the game and want to get up to speed before these heroes hit the roster, the Deadlock essential guide for new players covers the fundamentals. For deeper strategic prep, check out Deadlock mid game mastery so you're ready to build around whichever hero lands next.
Rat King's select pose detail
Frequently asked questions
Where do you vote for the new heroes in Deadlock?
In the Pregame lobby before each match. Valve moved voting out of the Hideout booth for City Never Sleeps.
Do winning votes count more?
Yes. The winning team's votes count double, and your first win of the day also doubles your votes.
Will all six heroes be added even if they lose the vote?
Yes. The vote only determines release order. Every hero in the City Never Sleeps update will be added by October 20, 2026.
What are the Rat King's abilities?
His live kit includes Scrap Grenade, Rat Swarm, Royal Pestments, and Rule, Ratannia!. Build guides for him are based on the released version.
Can you play new heroes in Ranked immediately?
No. You need at least 15 Standard wins with a hero before they're eligible for Ranked.
For a full breakdown of every hero currently in the roster, the Deadlock character tier list has detailed breakdowns based on current meta data. Browse the full Deadlock guides collection for laning, map control, and more as the new heroes roll out.