Everything We Know About Deadlock Lore

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Gaming expert Jose Rivera shares the deeper story behind Deadlock’s world, characters, and gameplay

Co-authored by Jose Rivera and Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: June 6, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Storyline
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• Summoning Ritual
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• Character Lore
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• Organizations
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• Locations
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• How Lore Ties to Gameplay
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• Where the Story is Headed
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• Video
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• Tips

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Deadlock is a fun MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game from Valve. It has a surprisingly rich backstory and unique characters. But it can be a little hard to puzzle out the story, since the lore is mainly hidden in character tabs, item descriptions, and voiceover lines. In this article, we partnered with a gaming expert to put it all together for you, including the storyline, characters, and locations of Deadlock!

What is the lore of Deadlock?

Gaming expert Jose Rivera says Deadlock’s lore begins with a cosmic storm, called a Maelstrom, that brought supernatural activity to Earth in the late 1800s. The game takes place during the second Maelstrom 50 years later. Teams battle to summon one of two deities known as Patrons in the hopes of having a wish granted.

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Section 1 of 7:

Storyline of Deadlock

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   Supernatural beings entered the world during a Maelstrom in late 1800. According to Rivera, a Maelstrom, which is a cosmic storm that tears open reality and allows magic, creatures, and dimensional energy to spill into the world, occurred over New York City in the late 1800s. The Maelstrom introduced the supernatural to the public at large and permanently restructured society from the ground up. Here’s what else Rivera has to say about the first Maelstrom:

   • The first Maelstrom created 7 Astral Gates. These are towering energy rifts connecting the physical world to other planes, explains Rivera. The gate in Central Park is considered the strongest link to the Patrons' dimension.
     • Rivera notes that there’s a rumored eighth gate that exists somewhere in the Arctic.
   • The Astral Gates brought supernatural creatures to Earth. For example, Rivera says the Astral Gate in the Bermuda Triangle, called The Deep, is linked to the emergence of entities, including the Loch Ness monster, as well as something far worse, which Viscous now guards against.
   • The Astral Gates altered some people. Proximity to the gates can fundamentally change a person, says Rivera. For example, Dynamo was atomized and reconstituted as a tiny living star after an accident at the Central Park Gate. Kelvin returned from the rumored eighth gate frozen and partially undead, notes Rivera.
   • The world changed after the First Maelstrom. “Every character origin, every faction, every law and political structure in this world exists because of what that event unleashed,” explains Rivera. “The decades between the two Maelstroms were spent normalizing a world that had been permanently broken open.”
   • According to Deadlock, the supernatural has always existed in the world—the Maelstrom just caused people to be aware of them.
   • Rivera notes that “the supernatural in Deadlock is not frightening because it is unknown. It is frightening because it has been thoroughly absorbed into ordinary life and then promptly made worse by the people running things.”

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Jose Rivera, also known as Ricky Flicks online, is a gaming expert and content creator. His content covers topics across gaming, anime, movies, and TV.
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   The game occurs during the Second Maelstrom, introducing the Patrons. “Deadlock's main story takes place during the Second Maelstrom, set in the early 1900s of this alternate timeline,” says Rivera. During this Second Maelstrom, two powerful beings called Patrons—Hidden King and Archmother—are trying to come to Earth via the Astral Gate in Central Park in New York City. “The Patrons are godlike entities that exist between dimensions, connected to the Astral Gates and capable of granting wishes,” explains Rivera.

   • Why New York City? Rivera explains that it sits on top of the Central Park gate, making it the natural focal point for the ritual involving the Patrons. “The city is not a neutral staging ground. It is an active supernatural site,” he adds.
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   The Patrons are fighting to complete a ritual to get summoned. “Unlike the First Maelstrom, which created the gates and released creatures, the Second Maelstrom brings a clearer manifestation of the Patrons themselves,” Rivera says. “The conditions are right, for the first time in recorded history, for a Patron to be physically summoned into the world.”

   • During the ritual, two teams (one for each Patron) battle to kill the opposing Patron. The team that wins summons their Patron, and their Patron will grant them a wish.
   • We’ll explain more about the summoning ritual (including what it involves and why the Patrons want to be summoned) in the next section!
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   The main heroes in the game travel to NYC to participate in the ritual. There are 38 playable characters (called heroes) in Deadlock, and each has their own reason for participating in the ritual—and a unique wish they’ll request from their Patron. They’ve all converged on the streets of the Cursed Apple (the game’s name for New York City) to battle each other in teams and summon their Patron through Central Park’s Astral Gate. The Hidden King’s team fights Downtown, and the Archmother’s team fights Uptown.

   • The characters’ motivations are revealed through their Background tab (found on the Character Selection screen), voice lines, and other in-game details. (We’ll dig into that more in the next section on each character’s lore.)
   • “Every character on the Deadlock roster is in the Cursed Apple for a reason,” says Rivera. “The Patrons and the ritual are not backdrops. They are the specific reason each character made the choice to be in this city during the Second Maelstrom.”
   • Rivera notes that some characters want a wish granted, while others want to prevent a wish from being granted at all. Some motivations include recovering lost loved ones, achieving immortality, pursuing revenge, completing scientific breakthroughs, and protecting specific locations, such as The Deep.
   • “The Second Maelstrom is not a background event,” Rivera adds. “It is the reason every character on the roster is in the same city at the same time. Without it, there is no ritual, no factions, no proxy war, and no reason for any of this to be happening.”
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Section 2 of 7:

About the Patrons’ Summoning Ritual

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   The summoning ritual involves teams fighting to defeat the other Patron. There are two teams or “Patron cults” in Deadlock, Rivera explains: the Amber Hand and the Sapphire Hand. “To complete the summoning, one cult's agents must destroy the other Patron's presence in the Cursed Apple.” They do this by pushing through the four streets, destroying defensive shrines, and ultimately killing the enemy Patron's avatar in their base.

   • “Each cult believes its Patron's summoning would be beneficial, or at a minimum, preferable to the alternative,” Rivera says. However, neither is “good” or “evil.” He explains that the cults “are competing ideological bets on which god is worth bringing into the world.”
   • Deadlock’s gameplay is directly tied to the lore. “Every match in Deadlock is a single attempt to tilt this ritual in one Patron's favor,” Rivera says. “The gameplay loop is not abstracted from the story. Pushing lanes, destroying shrines, and killing the enemy Patron boss are exactly what the lore says the ritual requires. The game and the narrative are describing the same event.”
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   The winning team gets a wish, but there may be consequences. When one of the cults successfully defeats the other and their Patron, the winning cult's Patron is summoned, Rivera says. And, in return, they receive a wish from the Patron. “Patron wishes are described as reliable and free of the traditional ‘monkey's paw’ twist, provided their followers complete the required tribute and summoning correctly,” Rivera notes. However, participating in the ritual may be detrimental…

   • As Rivera explains, “Lore strongly implies that a successful summoning could be catastrophic. Warden has been raised from birth specifically to prevent any Patron from entering the world.”
   • Additionally, Rivera notes that several of the characters’ wishes could cause large-scale damage. So, “the ritual is framed less as a prize and more as an escalating gamble.”
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   It’s unclear why the Patrons want to be summoned in the first place. The Patrons’ exact nature is ambiguous in the current lore, Rivera notes. “What they want beyond being summoned, and what the long-term consequences of a successful summoning would be, is one of the story's central open questions,” he adds.

   • The lore implies that the Patrons have been waiting for decades for the chance to be summoned, and it’s believed that summoning one will usher in a new era of paranormal supremacy.
   • Why does the summoning ritual take place during the Second Maelstrom? “The ritual must take place during the Maelstrom, since that’s when paranormal energy will be the strongest,” explains Rivera. “The next Maelstrom won’t happen for another 50 years.”
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Section 3 of 7:

Deadlock Characters’ Lore

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   Abrams Abrams is a blue gargoyle detective who comes from Ixia, says Rivera. He specializes in art theft, ritual killings, and high-profile paranormal investigations. But currently, he’s trying to find out why someone left him a book with a note in Onyx blood that says “Don’t let them have it”—and why his home and office were broken into and his car bombed after he found it.

   • What is Abrams’ wish? “To expose and punish powerful wrongdoers documented in a mysterious Onyx-blood book given to him under unclear circumstances,” Rivera says.
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   Apollo Apollo is the Prince of North Ixia, a planet that became connected to Earth after the Maelstrom. He was sent to Blackmore Academy for protection. While he’s had some trouble settling in, he now spends most of his time training as the captain of his school’s fencing team. He ultimately hopes to represent North Ixia in the Olympics.

   • What is Apollo’s wish? To bring glory to North Ixia.
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   Bebop Bebop is a robot (or golem) created by Ms. Shelly, a junkyard attendant, but he’s more like a son to her. He helps her in the junkyard during the day and they listen to jazz together at night. When Ms. Shelly gets sick, Bebop joins an underground fighting ring to make money.

   • What is Bebop’s wish? To find a cure for Ms. Shelly.
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   Billy Billy has a human body and a goat head. He’s known for his white-hot temper—although exactly what he’s so mad about is a mystery. It’s rumored that his goat head is the result of his Eldritch powers.

   • What is Billy’s wish? To end corruption in the world.
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   Calico Calico is a former member of the Baxter Society. But she got tired of killing for free, so she decided to leave the Order to become a mercenary-for-hire to make more money. She’s calculating and shrewd, but she does have her own moral code.

   • What is Calico’s wish? To re-do her only botched assassination attempt—the failed attack on Pocket.
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   Celeste Celeste is a unicorn who’s hiding in a circus sideshow to keep poachers from stealing her horn. She’s one of the most popular attractions on Coney Island, and she’s created a close family among the performers there—Karuba the Mermaid, Blockhead Lenny, Chicken Wing, and Ted.

   • What is Celeste’s wish? To get back the soul of one of her friends who sold their soul to cover a gambling debt.
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   The Doorman The Doorman might look like a regular doorman, but he’s actually a powerful, reality-shifting deity from another plane. He took a job at the Baroness Hotel to give him a chance to learn more about (and maybe play tricks on) humans.

   • What is The Doorman’s wish? To reunite with the Patrons and make the Baroness Hotel the most haunted location in the Tri-State area.
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   Drifter The Drifter is an ancient vampire who refuses to bow to vampiric tradition. Despite calls for his execution from the vampire elite, he continues to roam America, preying on humans.

   • What is Drifter’s wish? Nothing; he’s just in the ritual for the fun of it.
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   Dynamo Professor Dynamo was a scientist whose body was turned into a dying star while he was studying the Astral Gate in Central Park. His spirit still lives on (now held in a robot body), and he’s spending his days as a professor at Columbia College so he can continue his quest for knowledge.

   • What is Dynamo’s wish? To get his human body back.
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    Graves Darcy Graves is the daughter of two powerful defense attorneys. Because her parents were always busy, Graves spent a lot of time in the cemetery talking to the dead. Eventually, they started talking back. Now, she’s a budding necromancer and a student at Blackmore Academy.

    • What is Graves’ wish? She’s working on behalf of her mentor, the lich that first spoke to her in the graveyard.
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    Grey Talon Grey Talon was one of the founding members of the Baxter Society, where he fought monsters for nearly 40 years, then retired to spend time with his family. But after his son’s family mysteriously died in a fire—despite his daughter-in-law being an Ixian who could have easily extinguished the flames—he’s devoted himself to finding whoever did it.

    • What is Grey Talon’s wish? To get revenge against the person who killed his family.
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    Haze Haze works for the Occult Security and Investigation Commission (OSIC), an organization that protects the country from supernatural threats. As a member of the elite Sandman division, she enters the dreams of her targets—and prevents them from ever waking up if she deems them a threat.

    • What is Haze’s wish? To quit her job and live a quiet, ordinary life.
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    Holliday Holliday was content as a small-town sheriff in Illinois until a folk musician named The Troubadour started killing people in her town. When Holliday saw The Troubadour disappear into a murder of crows, she followed him to New York so she could stop him from killing.

    • What is Holliday’s wish? To take down The Troubadour.
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    Infernus As a teen, Infernus was reckless and rebellious—and combined with his ability to control fire, that led to a lot of problems. Now he works at his friend Hank’s bar, Jezebel’s. But he hasn’t forgotten the skills he learned in the past, and he’s not above using them to protect the bar.

    • What is Infernus’ wish? To escape his past and protect Jezebel’s.
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    Ivy Ivy was a gargoyle who unexpectedly came to life one day. The first thing she saw was two people in danger, so she rescued them. The little one, Sophia, named the gargoyle Ivy after the vines she saw growing nearby. Ivy learned that the attackers were part of a group known as the Mendoza Syndicate, and she made it her mission to stop them.

    • What is Ivy’s wish? To free Spanish Harlem from the Mendoza Syndicate.
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    Kelvin Kelvin was an adventurer who loved exploring the unknown. He traveled to the Arctic to research a rumored eighth Astral Gate, but his expedition disappeared. He was later found trapped in a block of ice holding a rune—mysteriously still alive, but with no pulse or blood.

    • What is Kelvin’s wish? To find out the truth about what happened to his team.
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    Lady Geist A former socialite, Lady Geist’s social status dropped as she got older and her looks faded. She spent her days alone in a nursing home when a Spirit, Oathkeeper, offered to restore her youth. Oathkeeper required her to drain the essence of the living to stay young. Geist bound Oathkeeper so she could live on her own terms, but the binding ward is weakening and Oathkeeper is getting stronger.

    • What is Lady Geist’s wish? To be released from Oathkeeper’s control without dying.
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    Lash Jacob Lash is a champion gladiator who fights in the Bear Pit, an Arena where Spectators bet on the fights. Lash is a rival of Bebop, and he’s a fierce fighter with an abrasive personality. Not much is known about him, but his tattoos hint at time spent as an aerial sailor—or maybe a smuggler.

    • What is Lash’s wish? Lash’s wish isn’t clear, but it’s likely fame and glory.
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    McGinnis Maggie McGinnis has been a skilled builder since she was a child. At the age of 15, she built a machine that could refine the Souls of the Dead, which eventually landed her a job as the head of Military R&D at Fairfax Industries.

    • What is McGinnis’s wish? McGinnis’ participation in the ritual is part of her job at Fairfax Industries; her true wish is unknown.
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    Mina Mina Ha had a privileged start to life, with wealthy parents, the best education, and a suitable arranged marriage waiting for her. When her fiance was assassinated, she agreed to become a vampire to secure eternal youth and wealth—and although she hasn’t exactly risen to the top of the vampire ranks yet, she’s determined to do so eventually.

    • What is Mina’s wish? To become the next Viscount of the vampires.
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    Mirage Mirage is the bodyguard of the Djinn ambassador Nashala Dion. He’s responsible for protecting Nashala’s vessel, as the Djinn can not remain in corporeal form for more than 48 minutes.

    • What is Mirage’s wish? To help Nashala and the Djinn negotiate with the US for a portion of Wyoming.
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    Mo & Krill Mo and Krill are members of the Tunnel Rats, a group that handles illegal trading via a series of tunnels underneath New York City. They’re enforcers who protect the group against anyone who tries to enter their territory.

    • What is Mo & Krill’s wish? To escape the Tunnel Rats and be accepted into normal society.
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    Paige Paige is the daughter of a rare book dealer, and her childhood was full of wonder and fairytales. But her little brother Bryce was rebellious, and one day he disappeared. Now, she’s a talented bibliomancer who’s devoted herself to finding out what happened to her brother.

    • What is Paige’s wish? To discover the truth about what happened to Bryce.
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    Paradox Paradox is a guild of thieves that steals items and displays them in pop-up museums. Each anonymous member wears a mask and uses the name Paradox, which makes them nearly impossible to catch.

    • What is Paradox’s wish? To steal an artifact from a Patron.
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    Pocket Arin Fairfax is the heir to Fairfax Industries. But for the past 5 years, they’ve been in hiding—ever since they were shot and left for dead on their 18th birthday. Now they go by the name Pocket, and they use their shotgun, a Mystic suitcase, and a flying cloak to protect their identity.

    • What is Pocket’s wish? To take control of Fairfax Industries away from their father, Maximilian Fairfax.
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    Rem Rem is a curious little creature who accidentally joined our world from the land of dreams, and now he’s stranded in New York City. He wanders the five boroughs searching for his way back home.

    • What is Rem’s wish? To get back home.
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    Seven After the first Maelstrom, Seven was held in Lost Whisper, a prison for dangerous occultists. But on the night he was supposed to be executed, Seven manifested powerful Eldritch energy that destroyed his captors.

    • What is Seven’s wish? To become a god and transcend his human form.
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    Shiv Shiv is a loyal member of the Baxter Society, an order of monster hunters. He’s intense and rough, with a criminal past, which means he’s sometimes looked down on by other hunters. But he’s a fierce fighter—and he doesn’t play fair when it comes to taking down monsters.

    • What is Shiv’s wish? To earn the respect of the Baxter Society.
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    Silver Lilah Silver is a werewolf and a successful bounty hunter. But in her personal life, she struggles with drinking and smoking too much, money troubles, and difficult relationships.

    • What is Silver’s wish? To thrive with the help of the Patrons.
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    Sinclair Henry’s parents refused to let him practice magic, so he learned sleight-of-hand, instead. He formed a stage show with his high school sweetheart, Savannah, and the pair even had a Blood Mystic bind their souls together. But they were killed in an on-stage accident, and now they live on as ghosts, bickering and trying to release their souls from the union.

    • What is Sinclair’s wish? To get divorced from Savannah.
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    Venator Father Quinn Rourke is one of the Venators of Saint Benedict, a religious order sent by the Vatican to destroy the evil in New York. Venator is battle-hardened, willing to do whatever it takes to save humanity.

    • What is Venator’s wish? To destroy the evil that threatens mankind.
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    Victor Victor is a mysterious man who woke up on a mortuary table with no memories of how (or why) he was created. He roams the streets of New York City looking for answers about his past.

    • What is Victor’s wish? To find his creator and learn why he was made (and who he was made from).
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    Vindicta Vindicta was killed by John Hawthorne during the Salem Witch Trials, but she was resurrected during the First Maelstrom. Today, she fights to protect supernatural beings from the Friends of Humanity, a modern-day Inquisition group led by Hawthorne’s descendants.

    • What is Vindicta’s wish? To destroy the Friends of Humanity.
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    Viscous Viscous is a psychic sea anemone. It came to the surface world to help protect the Deep Sea from a terrifying creature called the “Adversary” that entered through a portal we know as the Bermuda Triangle.

    • What is Viscous’ wish? To defeat the Adversary and make the Deep Sea safe once more.
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    Vyper Vyper might be an experienced criminal, but she’s not very good at getting away with it. Luckily for her, she’s excellent at escaping from prison. She also has a vast network of contacts across the criminal underground in the Cursed Apple.

    • What is Vyper’s wish? To have a fresh start, free from her past.
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    Warden Warden comes from a family that has devoted itself to protecting the world from the supernatural, even long before the First Maelstrom. He’s been trained since birth to stop the Patrons from entering our world, and is directly working against the premise of the ritual, explains Rivera. Warden also has a tendency to be a little reckless when he fights.

    • What is Warden’s wish? To stop the Patrons.
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    Wraith Wraith is one of the organizers who keeps underground gambling running in New York City. She keeps her physical hands in her pockets at all times, while her two magical arms handle business for her.

    • What is Wraith’s wish? To find her father.
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    Yamato Yamato and his sister Kaori inherited Seven Moon, their father’s crime syndicate. But when a rebellion broke out, Yamato sacrificed himself so Kaori could escape to America. Kaori, now disguised as Yamato, has vowed to fulfill Yamato’s dream of expanding their crime empire.

    • What is Yamato’s wish? To regain control of Seven Moon.
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Section 4 of 7:

Organizations in Deadlock

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   There are several groups with stakes in how the Maelstrom resolves. While the Amber Hand and the Sapphire Flame are the primary factions involved in Deadlock, Rivera notes that the lore establishes other organizations interested in the Patrons’ ritual, which include:

   • The Tunnel Rats: Rivera says these are undercity operatives based in the sewer network beneath the Cursed Apple.
   • OSIC: This is a formal agency that interfaces with occult threats at an institutional level, Rivera explains.
   • The Baxter Society, Paradox, and Fairfax Industries: These are think tanks, corporations, and secret societies that each have financial, ideological, or political investments in the ritual's outcome, Rivera notes.
   • Rivera adds that “many heroes are affiliated with these organizations, which shapes their voice lines, in-match interactions, and backstory rivalries.”
   • However, he notes that the six-player teams in Deadlock are rarely composed of six allies. “It is frequently a coalition of people with overlapping goals who do not fully trust each other, fighting alongside enemies-of-convenience against a shared threat.”

Section 5 of 7:

World and Locations in Deadlock

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   Deadlock mainly takes place in the Cursed Apple, or NYC. “The game's primary setting is a version of New York City called the Cursed Apple, a city divided into four color-coded streets that function both as the game's MOBA lanes and as living neighborhoods saturated with occult activity,” Rivera explains. The streets are York Avenue (yellow lane), Greenwich Street (green lane), Broadway (blue lane), and Park Avenue (purple lane).

   • Key locations include:
     • Central Park, which is home to the strongest confirmed Astral Gate in the city and the most direct link to the Patrons' dimension. He says, “The entire city is effectively organized around this point.”
     • The Baroness, which is a haunted hotel operated by Doorman, explains Rivera. It represents the degree to which the supernatural has become a service industry in this world.
     • Juke rooms, which are dead-end tunnels where players can hide or confront enemies.
     • Shops, which are in-game shops where you can buy items to help you in the ritual.
     • The Jungle, which is the neutral zone between the lanes.
   • The Cursed Apple isn’t a warzone, though, says Rivera; it’s a working, supernatural city. “Ghost coworkers share office space with the living, demons hold citizenship, and schoolchildren accidentally create phylacteries in art class. Haunted hotels operate as legitimate businesses. Occult crime has its own investigators. Paranormal tourism is an industry,” he explains.
   • “Floating above the city is the game's central narrative object: a massive machine tied to godlike entities called Patrons,” Rivera adds. “Everything happening in a match is connected to those beings and the ritual being conducted around them.”
   • Rivera notes that Deadlock’s New York City setting is “load-bearing.” “The Cursed Apple's layout, its history, and its supernatural infrastructure are all direct products of the events that shaped this alternate timeline. The setting is the story.”
   • He concludes that “Occult crime, paranormal tourism, supernatural civic infrastructure, and interdimensional politics coexist with ordinary New York life. The Cursed Apple is what happens when a city spends decades adapting to a world that was changed by the First Maelstrom and never changed back.”
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   Ixia is another important location in Deadlock. Ixia is the supernatural, 52nd state in Deadlock, functioning as the legal and political hub for occult matters in this version of America, Rivera explains. He says it’s “the clearest proof of how thoroughly the supernatural has been absorbed into institutional life. There are laws governing occult conduct, jurisdictions for paranormal crime, and entire professional careers built around entities that most fictional settings treat as uncontrollable.”

   • Rivera notes that Ixia is referenced in the New York Oracle and various hero backstories.
   • “Ixia and the Cursed Apple together define the tone of Deadlock's world,” Rivera explains. “This is not a setting where magic is dangerous because it is secret. It is a setting where magic has been made official, which made it political, which made it corrupt, which is arguably worse.”
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Section 6 of 7:

How Deadlock’s Lore Ties to Gameplay

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1. 
   Every element of the game corresponds to something the lore describes. “Deadlock's structure as a MOBA is not a genre convention layered over unrelated fiction,” Rivera says. He explains that the game gives the feeling that winning actually means something beyond the scoreboard. For example, framing each match as a ritual attempt “makes every push, every shrine, and every Patron kill feel like it belongs to a larger story that is still being written.” Other gameplay-lore features include:

   • The four lanes of the Cursed Apple: Rivera notes that the teams fight through a real city as they navigate York Avenue, Greenwich Street, Broadway, and Park Avenue.
   • Defensive shrines: These are the protective structures that guard each Patron's presence in the city, Rivera says. “Destroying them is the ritual equivalent of weakening the opposition's grip on their summoning.”
   • The Patron boss: This is the end-objective in the enemy base, explains Rivera. “Killing it is both the gameplay win condition and the narrative sacrifice required to complete the ritual and summon the winning Patron.”
   • Repeated matches: “Each match represents another attempt to tilt the ritual,” notes Rivera. “The lore frames the conflict as ongoing and unresolved, with the implication that future updates, new maps, or community milestones could move the story toward an actual outcome.”

Section 7 of 7:

Where Deadlock’s Story is Headed

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1. 
   Deadlock is still in its lore setup phase. “The Second Maelstrom has arrived, the factions have converged on the Cursed Apple, and the ritual is underway but unresolved,” notes Rivera. While the story has established its pieces, it still hasn’t shown its hand. Here’s what’s still mysterious about Deadlock’s lore, and what might be uncovered later:

   • What the Patrons actually are. Rivera notes that “their true nature, their long-term intentions, and whether granting wishes is a genuine transaction or a manipulation are all unconfirmed.”
   • Whether any wish is safe. “Several heroes' wishes would be catastrophic at scale if granted. The question of whether a Patron summoning can end well for the world is genuinely open,” Rivera says.
   • Warden's order and the possibility of sabotage. “If Warden represents a larger organization, the ritual could be disrupted entirely rather than resolved in either cult's favor,” Rivera explains.
   • The presence of a potential third power. “Lore hints tied to Kelvin, The Deep, and the rumored eighth Arctic gate suggest that a hidden force may be operating outside both cults entirely. What it wants and when it moves is among the most discussed open threads in the community,” Rivera says.
   • Rivera concludes that Deadlock’s lore isn’t finished. “It is being built in public, through hero updates, environmental storytelling, and The Library's short fiction. The current state of the story is deliberately a cold open: enough to understand why everyone is here, not enough to know how it ends.”
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• “Deadlock is a game about what happens when gods become available as a resource and humans start forming corporations around them. The world it builds, from the First Maelstrom reshaping society to the ritual proxy war playing out on four city streets, is one of the most coherent settings in competitive gaming precisely because it treats the supernatural as something that gets misused rather than something that stays mysterious,” says Rivera.
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• Rivera continues, “The Patrons can grant wishes. The cults are willing to do terrible things to be the ones who ask. The heroes caught between them all have their own reasons that may or may not align with either side. And somewhere above the Cursed Apple, a machine waits to find out which version of the future gets summoned first.”
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• There are 38 playable characters in Deadlock. Each character has their own backstory—some of it is revealed in the Backstory menu when you choose them from the Character Select screen. Other tidbits are revealed through in-game details like the characters’ voice lines.
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