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{{HeroTabs}}
{{Infobox hero
| key = hero_priest
| codenames = Priest; Rourke; Cain
|release_date = February 5, 2026
}}{{Quotation
| 2 = I'll drive a stake through their heart!
}}
'''Venator''' is a [[Hero]] in ''[[Deadlock]]''. He doesn't walk the righteous path, he blazes the trail so that others may do so safely. His biggest challenge is knowing which weapon to use first. Firing a Consecrating Grenade into the fray softens up his enemies and keeps them from restoring health, and his Hex-Lined Snap Trap scatters across the ground to lock them in place. A Gutshot from his shotgun will knock back enemies who get too close, and when the time is right, Ira Domini will rid the world of evil once and for all.

A relentless monster hunter, Father Quinn Rourke represents the righteous wrath and fury of the Venators of Saint Benedict. Sent by his superiors at the Vatican, the Venator has been designated a mission: to annihilate the evil stirring in New York.

Venator was released on [[Update:February 5, 2026|February 5, 2026]] as the fourth winner of the [[Old Gods, New Blood]] update contest.

== Weapon ==
{{WeaponCard|key=hero_priest|weapon_name=51:20}}

== Abilities ==

{{AbilitySection
| hero_name   = Venator
| ability_num = 1
}}

{{AbilitySection
| hero_name   = Venator
| ability_num = 2
| notes =
* T3 [[Melee Attack|heavy melee]] deals +{{#invoke:Abilities|get_ability_prop|Ira Domini|BonusAmpToVampire}} bonus damage to vampires ({{HeroIcon|Drifter}}, {{HeroIcon|Mina}}, and enemies with {{ItemIcon|Vampiric Burst}} active).

* If airborne while casting, Gutshot will push Venator away from the direction the player is facing, both horizontally and vertically.
}}

{{AbilitySection
| hero_name   = Venator
| ability_num = 3
| notes       =
* Enemies can disarm the trap by shooting at it. It is not affected by abilities, items or [[melee attack]]s.
* When looking directly upwards, the trap will be thrown very far behind the player.
}}

{{AbilitySection
| hero_name   = Venator
| ability_num = 4
| notes       =
* Ira Domini is affected by [[Status Effects#Disarm|disarm]].
* The bolts are hitscan and can pierce through enemies.
* It deals 30% [[Headshot|critical headshot damage]].
* It deals +{{#invoke:Abilities|get_ability_prop|Ira Domini|BonusAmpToVampire}} bonus damage to vampires ({{HeroIcon|Drifter}}, {{HeroIcon|Mina}}, and enemies with {{ItemIcon|Vampiric Burst}} active).
}}

== Backstory ==
{{Fates Tale|priest}}
== Update history ==
{{Update history}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Venator card.png|Venator's portrait.
File:Venator.png|Venator's icon.
File:Venator Render.png|Venator in-game render.
File:Venator select background.png|Venator's select background.
File:Venator Reference Sheet.png|Venator Reference Sheet.
File:Venator Weapon.png|Venator's weapon, 51:20.
File:Venator name.png|Venator's typography.
File:Venator VoterPoster.jpg|"Vote for Venator" poster/spray from the 1/23/26 major update.
File:Vote Venator Damaged.png|Damaged "Vote Venator" poster.
File:Venator Vote Splash.png|Venator splash art from the vote screen.
File:Venator Voter Sticker.png|Venator voter sticker.
File:Venator's Censer.png|Venator's censer hint at the hideout.
File:Venator's shadow at the hideout.png|Venator's shadow in the hideout.
File:Venator card leak.png|Leaked Venator portrait.
File:Venator model.png|Leaked work-in-progress Venator model.
File:Venator Gloat.png|Gloat portrait for Venator.
File:Venator Critical Health.png|Critical health portrait for Venator.
File:Venator Thank You Poster.png|Thanks for voting Venator!
File:Venator Thank You Poster Damaged.png|''For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.''  
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
* "Venator" means "hunter" in Latin.
* Venator's weapon is named after the Bible passage Jeremiah 51:20: "Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms".
* One of Venator's voice lines for upgrading '''Gutshot''', "I long for the day when this will be a plowshare" references the phase "[[wikipedia:Swords into ploughshares|beating swords into plowshares]]" which comes from the Bible passage Isaiah 2:4.
* His ultimate ability, "Ira Domini", translates to "Wrath of the Lord" in Latin.
* Venator was one of the heroes in a private build who was accidently leaked on stream in May 2025.<ref>2025-05-01 - atahutahatena on Reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumors - [https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/1kclj5p/streamer_accidentally_leaks_hero_roster_of_a_more/ Streamer accidentally leaks hero roster of a more "secret" private Deadlock pre-alpha playtest build]</ref> A playable version of Venator was added to the files in the [[Update:May 8, 2025|Shop Rework Update]]. A new Venator portrait was leaked in a work-in-progress hero select screen posted on 4chan in July 2025. On [[Update:January 20, 2026|20th January 2026]], Venator was teased in the [[Hideout]] with a [[wikipedia:Thurible|thurible]] on a bookshelf.
* Before his release, Venator had voice lines calling him by his last name "Rourke", indicating it may have been his hero name at some point in development.<ref>{{PageRef|name=Mina}}'s in-game [[Mina/Quotes#Removed/Unused Voice Lines|voice line]] (Killed Venator): ''"You're just a man, Rourke, and you're gonna die screaming like one."''</ref><ref>{{PageRef|name=Victor}}'s in-game [[Victor/Quotes#Removed/Unused Voice Lines|voice line]] (Killed Venator): ''"Took down Rourke."''</ref>
** {{HeroIcon|The Doorman}} has voice lines calling Venator "Cain", indicating it may have been his first name before "Quinn".<ref>{{VoiceLineCite|name=The Doorman|quotes=Venator/Quotes#Enemy Heroes|transcription=You've never faced someone like me before, Cain.}}</ref><ref>{{PageRef|name=The Doorman}}'s in-game [[The Doorman/Quotes#Removed/Unused Voice Lines|voice line]] (Venator trapped in Baroness): ''"You know, Cain, one day you will actually believe the legend you sell to people, and on that day you will die screaming."''</ref>
* Venator originally had the [[Shopkeeper]] voice actor as a temp VO, who made self-aware jokes about his role. The female temp voice (currently on [[Boho]]) called him "the bodega guy".<ref>{{VoiceLineCite|name=Paige|file=Bookworm select 01.mp3|transcription=If you thought the bodega guy was a good temp voice, wait 'til you hear me.|no_pageref_file=true}}</ref>
* Prior to the [[Update:August 18, 2025|Six New Heroes Update]], Venator had an ability called "Potent Vapors", a channel which would heal Venator and grant him movement slow resist at the cost of him being unable to attack throughout its channel. This ability was replaced with Consecrating Grenade.
** Additionally, prior to the [[Old Gods, New Blood]] update, Venator used to have an ability called "Penace and Retribution", a passive that would grant Venator stacking bullet and spirit resistances as he took sustained damage. This ability was replaced with Hex-Lined Snap Trap.
* "Blessing Ammunition in the Hideout" is displayed as one's status in the in-game Friends List when playing as Venator in the [[Hideout]].
* Venator's selection voice line "Ours is not to question what is necessary. Ours is to have the will to do whatever it takes" is likely a reference to Alfred Tennyson's poem [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45319/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'']:  "Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die".
* Venator had the largest winning margin in the [[Old Gods, New Blood]] hero contest, winning by an 11% difference over {{HeroIcon|Celeste}}.<ref>[[Update:February 12, 2026]]</ref>
* Venator's weapon appears to be loosely based on a Heckler & Koch MP5, which officially entered service in 1966 but was designed as early as 1964.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_MP5</ref> Additionally its under-barrel grenade launcher has been decorated to resemble a typical Ave Maria "Votive candle"<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_candle</ref> commonly found in Catholic home altars. This is also coupled with some Rosary beads<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosary#Rosary_beads</ref> in place of a sling harness.

== References ==
<references />

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