Drifter

Stalker

Bloodthirsty

Cruel

Weapon Stats
Damage Per Second:	44.2
Bullet Damage:	19.5+0.616
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.

x1.8

40

Bonus Damage

On Close Range

x1.2

61.8

Damage

8m Close Range

1

40 Bonus Damage

2

-7s Cooldown

5

Deals Heavy Melee Damage
Silences enemies for 2.3s if close range

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

-8s Cooldown and +3s Duration

5

+2% Bleed and -40% Healing Reduction

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

+2m/s Move Speed when around an isolated enemy hero

2

On isolated hero death: Heal 18% of your missing health and restores 2 Stamina

5

12% Amplified Damage

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

-45s 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. Eternal Night's base duration being increased by the Tier 3 Ability Point unlock 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
May 22, 2026	Rend T3 no longer increases scaling by 0.4. Rend T3 now also deals Heavy Melee Damage (0.55 scale).
April 30, 2026	Rend T3 now also increases melee scaling (1.2 to 1.6). Bloodscent T3 increased from +10% Amplified Damage to +12%.
March 6, 2026	Rend damage range reduced from 18m to 16m. Rend cooldown increased from 13s to 16s. Rend damage spirit scaling increased from 1.4 to 1.8. Rend "bonus" damage is now the melee range at close range (so you only do melee damage at close range and spirit is the default). Rend T1 bonus damage increased from +32 to +40. Rend T3 changed from "Gain 45% Bullet Lifesteal against affected enemies for 4s" to "Close range attack now silences enemies for 2.3s". Stalker's Mark duration reduced from 6s to 5s. Stalker's Mark T1 changed from "+1% Bleed" to "-8% Bullet Resist". Stalker's Mark T2 changed from "+22% Fire Rate for 6s after ambush" to "+3s Duration and -8s Cooldown". Stalker's Mark T3 changed from "Enables 2 Charges and +2s Duration" to "+2% Bleed and -40% Healing". Bloodscent now grants Drifter the same amount of permanent bonus weapon damage when an isolated hero dies nearby, whether Drifter gets the assist or the kill. Bloodscent permanent bonus weapon damage gained per isolated hero death reduced from 4% to 3%. Bloodscent T2 changed from "Isolated kill reduces cooldowns by 15s and restores 3 stamina" to "Isolated death restores 18% Missing Health and restores 2 stamina". Eternal Night now makes the targets be considered as isolated. Eternal Night Sprint reduced from +3m to +2m. Eternal Night no longer has 7 spirit damage proc. Eternal Night cooldown increased from 120s to 125s. Eternal Night duration reduced from 7s to 6.5s. Eternal Night T1 changed from "+6.3 Spirit Damage Proc" to "+10m Sprint" (kicks in immediately). Eternal Night T2 changed from "-30s Cooldown and +3m/s Sprint" to "-45s Cooldown". Eternal Night T3 increased from "+2s Duration and +1 Max Target" to "+2.5s Duration and +1 Max Target".

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 a variety of Alchemy Symbols on his right hand.
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 - "[Drifter whistles] 'hush little baby'"'
↑ Lash And Drifter Conversation 1 - "So, what are you supposed to be, some kind of murder hobo?"