DEADLOCKDeadlock lore
The match is a bargain. Two rival Patrons each promise a wish to six heroes if that team summons them. You win by destroying the enemy Patron.
I separated in-game text and Valve’s own update pages from datamined visual novels. The novels are unreleased, so their plot is not summarised here. The wiki itself notes that the lore is in flux and sources can contradict each other.
Who are the Patrons in Deadlock?
Valve’s Old Gods, New Blood page says the Hidden King “exists in the cracks of the city, waiting for his followers to usher him into the light.” It says the Archmother “has always guided the founders’ hands, and now it is time for them to welcome her home.”
The wiki describes the Hidden King as a shadowy antlered figure with yellow eyes, bound to a burning wicker effigy. His factory base sits Downtown among red-brick tenements. The Archmother wears a cracked mask that resembles the Statue of Liberty and is bound to a crystal effigy with blue flames. Her museum base sits Uptown among white-brick buildings.
Neither Patron talks to the heroes; a herald speaks for each. Before Old Gods, New Blood the sides were the Amber Hand and the Sapphire Flame, and the game files still use Amber and Sapphire for structures and troopers.
| The Hidden King | The Archmother | |
|---|---|---|
| Followers | The Hidden King’s Court | The Guided Hand |
| Old team name | The Amber Hand | The Sapphire Flame |
| Base | Factory, Downtown | Museum, Uptown |
| Effigy | Burning wicker figure | Crystal figure with blue flames |
The story in one paragraph
About 50 years after an eclipse set off the Maelstrom and opened Astral Gates near the end of the 19th century, two Patrons try to enter this plane. Each promises a wish to whoever completes its ritual. Two teams fight through the Cursed Apple, an alternate New York, to stop the other side from summoning its Patron.
The Patron as the final objective
Each base houses a Patron. The wiki says it cannot be damaged until both Shrines are destroyed. After losing half its health it collapses and re-forms as a Weakened Patron, an orb in the pit that can only be hit from inside the pit. Destroying it completes the ritual and wins the match.
What Old Gods, New Blood changed
Valve’s 22 January 2026 update notes open with “Overhauled Patrons and bases.” The Patrons were renamed and redesigned, bases, Shrines and Base Guardians were rebuilt, troopers were redesigned, and both Patrons got new voices.
City Never Sleeps added districts you can actually walk: Theater, Chinatown, the Haunted Lot and the Plaza. The Broker is a merchant of banned goods in that update, which is a lore hook and a shop hook at the same time.
| Layer | Use it as |
|---|---|
| In-game book text | Canon for this guide |
| Spoken voice lines | Canon, sometimes contradictory |
| Valve update pages | Canon |
| Environment and item names | Supporting |
| Unreleased visual novels | Rumour until they ship |
Questions
Who are the Patrons in Deadlock?
The Hidden King, whose followers are the Hidden King’s Court, and the Archmother, whose followers are the Guided Hand. Each one backs a team of six. Before 22 January 2026 the two sides were called the Amber Hand and the Sapphire Flame.
What is the Patron in a match?
The final objective in each base. It cannot be damaged until both Shrines fall, and destroying it wins the match.
When is Deadlock set?
About 50 years after the Maelstrom of the late 19th century, in an alternate New York called the Cursed Apple.
Who voices the Patrons?
Neither Patron speaks to heroes directly; each has a herald. The wiki credits Debra Wilson as the Archmother’s herald. Old Gods, New Blood gave both Patrons new voices.
Where does the lore come from?
Hero-select text, voice lines, the environment, Valve’s update pages and the wiki’s compilation. Unreleased visual novels are not treated as canon here.
Sources
- Wiki, Lore
- Wiki, Patron
- Wiki, Hidden King
- Wiki, Archmother
- playdeadlock.com, Old Gods, New Blood
- playdeadlock.com, City Never Sleeps
- Wikipedia
Checked 2026-10-29. Volatile numbers are labelled as estimates when they come from a tracker rather than Valve.