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Stalker

Bloodthirsty

Cruel

Weapon Stats
Damage Per Second:	44.2
Bullet Damage:	19.5+0.49
Pellets per shot:	3
Ammo:	12
Bullets per sec:	2.27
Reload Time:	2.44s
Bullet Velocity:	508m/s
Light Melee:	51.5+1.58
Heavy Melee:	120+3.68
Crit Bonus Scale:	-45%

Information

Voice Actor:	Matt Mercer^[1]
Release Date:	August 27, 2025

“

If I find someone on their own, God himself couldn't save 'em.

Drifter is a Hero in Deadlock. Something ancient has arrived in New York... a nameless horror known only as the Drifter. Relentless as time, as certain as death, once Drifter sets his eyes on a victim there's nothing they can do to stop him. They can try to run, but his Bloodscent drives him forward, leading him to isolated prey. Even if they manage to escape it doesn't matter, as Stalker's Mark allows Drifter to appear right behind his enemies before lunging in for the kill with a vicious Rend. Soon Eternal Night comes, and a faint whistling in the breeze will be joined by a chorus of screams.

A feral vampire with ties to Louisiana, Drifter has open contempt for the rules of vampire society, leaving a trail of carnage wherever he goes.

Drifter was released on August 27, 2025 as the fifth hero of the Six New Heroes update (fourth winner of hero vote).

Weapon

Crimson Grasp

Spreadshot

Close Range

44 Damage Per Second

Falloff Range

22m ➞ 27m

Crimson Grasp deals the same amount of bullet damage to a target regardless of how many pellets hit per shot. It deals no damage beyond its max range.

Abilities

Rend

Swipe at enemies in a cone ahead of you, dealing

spirit damage. If the enemy is in close range, deal bonus

melee damage.

x1.4

40

Bonus Damage

On Close Range

x1.2

61.8

Damage

8m Close Range

1

40 Bonus Damage

2

-8s Cooldown

5

Deals 55% Heavy Melee Damage
Silences enemies for 2s if close range

Benefits from melee items (e.g. Melee Lifesteal)

Debuff duration reduced by Debuff Resist

Triggers Reactive Barrier

Effect can be dispelled

Disable prevented by Indomitable

CC effect suppressed by Unstoppable

Stalker's Mark

Send out a mark that bleeds the first target it hits, dealing

spirit damage over time.

While the enemy is bleeding you can re-activate Stalker's Mark to instantly appear behind their back.

x0.015

2%/sec

Bleed Damage

5s

Duration

-1s Charge Delay

1

-8% Bullet Resist

2

-10s Cooldown and +3s Duration

5

+1.5% Bleed and -40% Healing Reduction

Debuff duration reduced by Debuff Resist

Effect can be dispelled

Disabled by Slowing Hex

Stalker's Mark has no range limit, allowing Drifter to hit enemies across the entire map.
Damage is based on target's current health, not their max health.
Damage is divided up into 0.5s intervals, starting immediately as the projectile connects. (This works out to approximately the same overall damage per second stated in the tooltip, just dealt smoother.)
The projectile can hit Denizens (if they are not dormant), Troopers, and player-created Units.
It can hit Structures if they are not dormant, but will deal no damage to them.
Stalker's Mark damage over time and teleport components are separate; activating the teleport does not end the bleed effect prematurely. The bleed will last the full duration either way.
Stalker's Mark can be applied to the Rejuvenator, allowing Drifter to teleport to it.
Reactivating Stalker's Mark has a short cast time before teleporting.
- If the duration expires during the cast time, Drifter will not teleport to the target.

Bloodscent

Isolated heroes leave a trail as they move, and emit their heartbeat from afar.

You deal amplified damage against isolated heroes, and when isolated heroes die nearby you gain permanent

weapon damage.

15%

Amplified Damage

20m

Isolation Range

On Isolated Hero Death:

3%

Permanent Weapon Damage

1

+3m/s Move Speed when around an isolated enemy hero

2

On isolated hero death: Heal 24% of your missing health and restores 2 Stamina

5

11% Amplified Damage

Healing amplified by Healing Booster and affected by healing reduction

Healing triggers Healing Tempo's unique effect

Getting an assist on an isolated enemy hero grants the same bonuses as a kill.
All "On Kill" bonuses, including those from assists, only trigger if the target is considered Isolated at the moment of death.
The range for the movement speed near isolated heroes is 80 meters and lingers for about 7 seconds if there is no isolated target in range. 80 meters is roughly the distance between the two opposing blue guardians.

Eternal Night

Surround nearby enemy heroes in darkness, severely limiting their vision of other units. Affected enemies are briefly revealed to you and are considered isolated for the duration.

You gain

bonus sprint speed.

15m

Reduced Vision

2m

Sprint Speed

2 Max Targets

1

+10m Sprint Speed

2

-40s Cooldown

5

+2.5s Duration and +1 Max Targets.

The brief reveal of affected enemies lasts 3 seconds and can be increased by ability duration. Base duration being increased by Ability Point unlocks does not increase the reveal duration.

Backstory

See Drifter/Lore for more story content.

“

An ancient vampire roaming across America, the nameless monstrosity known as The Drifter has been preying on the living for generations.

Unlike most vampires, Drifter doesn’t value finery or titles and has naked contempt for vampiric laws and tradition. This refusal to toe the line has made him a marked man all over the North American Baronies; but while Viscounts and Elders cry for his execution, Drifter continues to do what he pleases...

Update history

View the full update history: Drifter/Update history

Update	Changes
August 12, 2026	Rend Spirit scaling reduced from 1.7 to 1.4. Stalker's Mark Cooldown increased from 24s to 26s. Stalker's Mark T2 reduced from -12s Cooldown to -10s.
July 28, 2026	Rend spirit scaling reduced from 1.8 to 1.7. Rend T3 silence duration reduced from 2.3s to 2s.
July 13, 2026	(Undocumented) New SFX for Eternal Night.

Gallery

Drifter portrait
Drifter icon
Drifter in-game render
Drifter select background
Drifter poster
Drifter reference sheet
Drifter name typography
Drifter weapon - Crimson Grasp
Previous Drifter portrait
Unfinished Drifter model art
Gloat icon for the Drifter.
Critical health icon for the Drifter.

Trivia

Drifter was one of the heroes in a private build who was accidentally leaked on stream in May 2025.^[2]
Drifter leaves claw marks when sliding on a wall.
Drifter's forward air dash and wall jump animation resembles the pounce animation of the Hunter, a recurring enemy in Valve's Left 4 Dead series. He also previously had other animations similar to the Hunter's attack and run.
"Prowling in the Hideout" is displayed as one's status in the in-game Friends List when playing as Drifter in the Hideout.
Players under the effect of Drifter's "Eternal Night" ability are able to hear an eerily whistled rendition of Hush, Little Baby, a lullaby typically sung by mothers to their children.^[3]
- During the 2025 winter event, one of three Christmas songs would be whistled instead; Joy to the World, Twelve Days of Christmas, and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.
Drifter has marks on his arms and hands that seem to be based on the Hobo Code.
Lash calls Drifter a "murder hobo",^[4] a term commonly used to describe RPG players who kill NPCs indiscriminately. Drifter's voice actor Mat thew Mercer is well-known as the Dungeon Master of the Dungeons & Dragons webseries Critical Role.

References

↑ 2026-01-28 - Kaori; Deadlock Discord - Link to Drifter's voice line "I’m exactly who you think I am" in response to speculation about Matt Mercer
↑ 2025-05-01 - atahutahatena on Reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumors - Streamer accidentally leaks hero roster of a more "secret" private Deadlock pre-alpha playtest build
↑ 2025-08-18 - Kaori; Deadlock Discord - "its "hush little baby"
↑ Lash And Drifter Conversation 1 - "So, what are you supposed to be, some kind of murder hobo?"