All 6 New Deadlock Heroes: City Never Sleeps Release Dates, Roles and Who to Play

City Never Sleeps added six new heroes to Deadlock between October 2 and October 20, 2026: Rat King, Baba, Solomon, Deadman Danny, Violet and Nurse Harrow, bringing the roster to 44. All six are out now. Rat King launched as the strongest hero in the game, Baba and Nurse Harrow settled into solid picks, and Solomon and Deadman Danny are still below a 50% win rate as players learn them.

How the Release Worked

City Never Sleeps went live on September 29 with a rebuilt New York map and six heroes revealed at once. Instead of dropping them together, Valve released two a week, Tuesdays and Fridays at 2pm PT, in the order players voted for. Valve used the same rolling format in January for Old Gods, New Blood, which added Rem, Graves, Silver, Venator, Celeste and Apollo. Each release produced a visible player spike, which is a big part of why Deadlock set its all-time Steam record of 303,347 players on October 16, the day Violet arrived. Our Deadlock 2026 overview covers the record.

Nurse Harrow on October 20 was the final release. Valve has not announced the next hero.

The Six Heroes in One Line Each

Rat King is a tanky gun bruiser whose Rat Swarm shreds bullet resist for the whole team and whose Royal Pestments turns enemy bullets back on them. He is the most dominant new hero by a distance and among the most picked heroes in the game.

Baba is a spirit support who saps enemy power with Threadsap, shields allies with Baba's Brew and turns enemies into pigeons with her ultimate, Feed The Birds. She launched at a 42.7% win rate and climbed past 53% once players figured her out.

Solomon plays chess: Setup Bishop, Kingside Knight, Rook Battery and the Develop Queen ultimate are pieces you place and move to control space. The highest skill ceiling of the six and currently the weakest on paper.

Deadman Danny dives from the air, marking targets with Strix Salvo and cashing the marks in with charged rocket shots, then finishing low-health enemies with Close the Deal.

Violet is an artist whose Living Ink empowers her next three bullets and whose hits shorten her cooldowns, so she plays as nonstop ability pressure.

Nurse Harrow is Deadlock's first left-click healer: she heals allies by shooting them, builds strength from leeches she collects, and locks down enemies who look at her during Lurking Terrors.

Which New Hero Should You Play?

• Want to win now: Rat King. Simple to pilot, brutally strong, forgiving at low ranks.

• Want to support: Nurse Harrow for pure healing, Baba for disruption.

• Want to carry with abilities: Violet.

• Want a project: Solomon or Deadman Danny. Both reward practice, and both are weaker than average while the community learns them.

If you are brand new to Deadlock rather than just new to these heroes, start with our best heroes for beginners, and see where all six land among the full roster in our late October tier list.

Taking the new heroes Into Ranked

Ranked is where a hero this new pays off, because most of the lobby still does not know the matchup. If the 60-win gate is between you and the ladder, Deadlock ranked unlock clears it, and placement matches get your calibration played at a high standard. Already ranked? Rank boosting takes you to a target rank, win boosting adds wins when you are a few games short of a boundary, and Deadlock Fast Games put a verified strong player in your duo slot while you learn the new heroes yourself. Our ranks guide and climbing math explain what each step is worth.

FAQ

Who are the new Deadlock heroes? Rat King, Baba, Solomon, Deadman Danny, Violet and Nurse Harrow, all added with City Never Sleeps.

When did the new Deadlock heroes release? Rat King October 2, Baba October 6, Solomon October 9, Deadman Danny October 13, Violet October 16 and Nurse Harrow October 20, 2026.

How many heroes does Deadlock have now? 44 with all six City Never Sleeps heroes.

Which new Deadlock hero is the strongest? Rat King, with a win rate around 55 to 57% in late October trackers.

Is another new hero coming? Valve has not announced one. Nurse Harrow was the final City Never Sleeps release.