Deadlock Times research · Visual cheat sheet
Deadlock comeback & catch-up
Hero kills, jungle and objective rewards, the Unstable Rift, and the Urn do not share one multiplier. Follow each source from its normal reward through its own comeback calculation and into the shared catch-up payout.
How the rewards connect
There is no universal comeback multiplier, but rewards that use the same math are bundled below. Lane, jungle, boss, and objective rewards share one bonus; hero kills, the Rift, and the Urn each use a different calculation.
- 1A reward happensKill, Rift, Trooper, jungle, objective, or Urn
- 2Pay normal SoulsThe ordinary reward is calculated first
- 3Calculate extra SoulsUse the rule for that reward group
- 4Divide the extraWork out each teammate's share
- 5Check net worthHigh-net-worth recipients redirect 70%
- 6Fill the catch-up pool62.5% for poorest; 37.5% for second-poorest
- 7Pay three installmentsOne pulse is one installment, about a second apart
Hero kills
Build the normal bounty first. Then calculate extra team Souls and decide whether each player's share stays direct or enters catch-up.
September 16 changeWhen the killer's team was not ahead and qualified for comeback Souls, removed the old flat bonus—a raw +162 before 8:00 / +270 from 8:00 onward—then reduced the uncapped bump from +0.216 to +0.15.
Time base
The listed kill reward climbs evenly from 200 Souls at match start to 2,200 at 40:00, then stops.
b(t) = trunc(200 + 2000 × clamp(t / 2400, 0, 1))t = elapsed game seconds
Credit scaling
More credited players reduce the total bounty. Count the killer plus anyone who damaged the victim during the last 10 seconds.
B = ceil(b(t) × fₙ)fₙ = 1.250, 1.150, 0.849, 0.700, 0.550, 0.498fₙ corresponds to 1 through 6 credited players
Killer / assist split
The killer has weight 2.2; each assister has weight 1. The killer's first hero kill adds 125 before this normal-reward split.
T = B + 125IA_pool = trunc(T × a / (a + 2.2))killer = T − A_poola = assister count · I = 1 on the killer's first hero kill
Team deficit
The team-gap multiplier begins only when the killer's team trails by more than 1,500 total Souls. It measures the proportional gap, not just the raw gap.
C = 1 + 2.268(V / K − 1)Use when K > 0 and V − K > 1,500; otherwise C = 1.
K = killer-team Souls · V = victim-team Souls
Rich victim
Compare the defeated hero with the average Souls per player on the killer's team. This can activate even when the killer's team is ahead.
A = floor(K / max(p, 1))D = 1 + 2.484(v / A − 1)Use D when A > 1,250 and v > A; otherwise D = 1.
p = killer-team players · v = victim Souls
Turn the boosts into Souls
C and D are temporary boost factors, not a Soul payout. Multiply them, limit that product to 5× before 8:00 or 7× afterward, then add +0.15 only when the killer's team is not ahead, qualifies for comeback Souls, and does not hit the cap. Scale B by that result, subtract the original B, and keep 40% of only the uplift.
M₀ = C × DM = min(M₀, 5 before 8:00; otherwise 7)M ← M + 0.15 only when the killer's team is not ahead and M₀ was not cappedraw uplift = trunc(B × M) − BE = trunc(raw uplift × 0.40)The 5× / 7× cap limits C × D, not the final Soul payout. B is the participant-scaled bounty and excludes the +125 first-kill bonus. The +0.15 comes after the cap check, with no second clamp.
September 16 changeWhen the killer's team was not ahead and qualified for comeback Souls, the old flat bonus was a raw +162 before 8:00 or +270 afterward, added before the ×0.40 conversion. It is now gone, and the old +0.216 bump is +0.15. In this worked example the complete old formula paid 969 instead of 834.
Whole-team split
The killer takes 30% of the comeback extra. The rest uses weight 1.5 for each assister and weight 1 for every other teammate.
killer = trunc(0.30E)R = E − killer; W = 1.5a + uassister = trunc(1.5R / W)other teammate = trunc(R / W)a = assisters · u = other teammates
Unstable Rift
Reward calculations remember the Soul gap at spawn. Bullet, Spirit, and Debuff Resist instead follow the live gap around the Rift.
September 16 changeRemoved the flat +170 Souls per eligible teammate and replaced the fixed 35% Resist maximum with 10% + 1 point/minute, capped at 40%.
Base Rift reward
At spawn, the Rift stores a team-wide reward that grows in 222-Soul time steps. Its winner shares that integer total across the team.
m = max(1, floor((tₛ − 720) / 60))G = 1,260 + 222mtₛ = Rift spawn time in seconds · G = team reward
Trailing-team reward
The poorer team at spawn is marked. If it claims the Rift, snapshot deficit intensity determines the same extra amount for every teammate.
r = min(1, 1.5(O / P − 1))e = ceil((10 / 7) × r × G / N)P/O = marked/enemy snapshot Souls · N = current recipients
September 16 changeThe previous flat +170 Souls per eligible teammate is gone. This example was 303 each in the previous build and is 133 each now.
Three Resists
Normalize the marked team's live deficit from 0 to 15%, then multiply it by a maximum that rises one point per game minute from 10% to 40%.
d = 1 − max(L, 1) / max(Oₗ, 1)q = clamp(d / 0.15, 0, 1)R_max(t) = min(10 + t_minutes, 40)%R_effective = q × R_max(t)Same value: Bullet Resist · Spirit Resist · Debuff Resist · roughly 35m area
September 16 changeThe fixed 35% maximum became a time ramp: 10% + 1 percentage point per minute, capped at 40%.
Rift Troopers
The same normalized deficit scales special Rift Troopers from 5 to 14. They are larger, black, and drop no Souls when killed.
T_Rift Troopers = floor(5 + 9q)Normal capture: 12s · full-strength endpoints: 6s trailing / 18s leading
Catch-up payouts
Catch-up moves Souls toward the lowest-net-worth teammates. Starting at 8:00, the game sets a budget every three seconds and pays it in three smaller installments about one second apart. The game calls each installment a pulse.
September 16 changeAdded the 70% high-net-worth redirect and its team-local pending pool.
Who keeps the extra?
When a player is due extra comeback Souls, compare their total Souls with the average enemy player. If they are above that average, they receive 30% now and nearest-rounded 70% goes into their team's catch-up pool. At or below the average, they keep the whole amount.
A_enemy = floor(O / n)redirect = round_nearest(0.70x)direct = x − redirectRedirect only when recipient Souls wᵢ > A_enemy. Equality stays direct.
O = enemy-team Souls · n = enemy players · x = this player's extra comeback Souls
September 16 changeA high-net-worth player now sends 70% of each comeback share into the team catch-up pool.
Passive catch-up
After 8:00, the game looks back over ten 3-second slices of team income. That recent average creates small, new Soul budgets for the poorest and second-poorest teammates. These budgets use the same three-installment schedule described below.
H = (Σ gⱼ for j = 1..10) / 10L_regular = floor(0.025H)S_regular = floor(0.015H)H = average team income in one recent 3-second slice. This creates new Souls; it does not spend the redirected reward pool.
Split the redirected pool
Once payouts begin at 8:00, the next 3-second boundary empties the pending pool into two fixed budgets: 62.5% for the poorest teammate and the remainder for the second-poorest.
L = floor(0.625R)S = R − LWith two active players, both redirect shares merge onto the poorest. With one, both go to that player. With none, the current installment returns to pending.
Three one-second installments
A pulse is one scheduled installment. Each 3-second budget is divided into three integer payments made about one second apart. Before every payment, the game checks the Soul totals again, so a later installment can go to a different teammate.
pulse_k(X) = ceil(X(k + 1) / 3) − ceil(Xk / 3)k = 0, 1, 2The three installments always add back to the fixed budget X; only their recipients can change.
The split does not lose Souls
Once a player's comeback share is divided, the direct payment plus the pooled payment still equals that share. Splitting the pool and paying its three installments also preserve their integer totals.
direct + redirect = xL + S = RΣ pulse_k(X), k = 0..2, equals XThis applies only after a comeback share reaches catch-up. Passive catch-up creates Souls; the hero team split can lose a rounding remainder; Rift rounding can add a few Souls.
Troopers, jungle & objectives
These rewards look different in a match, but they all use the same team-gap bonus. You only need one formula for the whole group.
One bonus for the whole group
This one calculation covers Lane Troopers; jungle Neutrals and Neutral Bosses; Sinner's Sacrifices; Mid Boss; Tier-1 and Tier-2 Trooper Bosses; Base Guardians; and Shrines. The normal reward is paid first. If the enemy leads by more than 3,000 team Souls, the game adds up to 26% extra, and only that extra can be redirected.
z = V / (K + 3,000)m = 1 + 0.26 × clamp((z − 1) / 0.20, 0, 1)bonus = trunc(B × m) − BActive only when V > K + 3,000. The normal reward B always stays direct.
K = your team's total Souls · V = enemy-team total Souls · B = normal reward. This formula does not apply to hero kills, the Unstable Rift, or the Urn.
September 16 changes
Immediately previous build 25260093 compared with current build 25354466.
Notation
floor rounds down · ceil rounds up · trunc rounds toward zero · roundnearest uses nearest integer, nominal ties-to-even · clamp(x, 0, 1) keeps x between 0 and 1.
Scope and method
Mechanics and values come from a static comparison of installed build 25354466 with manifest-verified build 25260093: binaries, VData, registered defaults, callers, and control flow. This covers documented ordinary-match paths; several special-mode branches remain unresolved. Runtime testing confirmed Rift defaults but did not complete a live player event.
Player terminology
Names follow the community-maintained Deadlock Wiki.
06 · Interactive calculator
Try the payout calculator
Change any input to see where the Souls go. Everything runs in your browser—no account, match, or player data is sent anywhere.
Time base → credited-player scale. Normal total is 1,019.
Team-gap boost × rich-victim boost = 2.8979. The 7× cap is not reached, so +0.15 is added; 40% of the resulting increase creates 834 extra Souls.
Killer / each assister / each other teammate. 1 lost to rounding.
The calculator now checks whether this player's share stays direct or enters the catch-up pool.
The part they receive immediately.
Nearest-rounded 70% when this player is above the enemy-player average.
What this can test: the documented ordinary-match calculations shown above. It has not yet been checked against a complete live match. For the Urn, you can test where a known amount goes, but the calculator cannot yet work out that starting amount from the match state.