Corrupted items were the weirdest thing Valve added to Deadlock in the City Never Sleeps update. You traded a strong late-game item for a stronger version of itself, and the game then handed you a random penalty.
Most players only touched them for a few days. That short window is why so many people still search for Corrupted Items Deadlock details and wonder if they missed their chance.
Here's the short answer. Corrupted items are upgraded versions of tier 3 and tier 4 shop items, sold by a limited-time merchant called the Broker, and each one carries one random drawback. The Broker left on October 2, so right now the only route is Street Brawl, and even that has been changing.
Below you'll find how the system worked, a Deadlock All Corrupted Items list, the drawback ranges, and what to do about it today.
Stamina, Stamina Recovery, Ability Duration, Bullet Resist and Spirit Resist can roll too. There are 11 to 12 penalties in total depending on the source.
What Are Corrupted Items Deadlock Players Could Buy?
The system is simple on paper. You owned a high-tier item, you visited the Broker, and you swapped it for a Corrupted copy. The catch is the word "random". You never knew which stat would get hit until the item was in your inventory.How Did the Broker Work?
The Broker was a temporary merchant with no fixed home. According to the community wiki, he stood at a corner on the right side of the Blue lane Walker for each team, at two mirrored spots. His first shop opened around the 30-minute mark. After that it reopened roughly every 15 minutes while stock lasted.- Available in Standard and Ranked from September 29 to October 2
- No souls needed, you only had to own the item
- Removed in the October 2 update, the same day the Rat King arrived
- Valve hasn't said when, or if, he returns
Why Does Everyone in the Match Share the Same Roll?
Each match picks its drawbacks from a preset pool. The strength of the bonus and the penalty varies a little from match to match, but every player in that match sees the same numbers. That has a real in-game use. If your Corrupted Rapid Recharge drops your stamina by 1, you know the enemy Corrupted Rapid Recharge has the same flaw.Deadlock All Corrupted Items: The Full List
Valve never published a master list. The names below come from community databases, which don't fully agree on the exact count, so treat them as a very good guide and not as gospel. Every corruptible item is tier 3 or tier 4. Community trackers put the total at around 90.Which Items Can Be Corrupted?
Here's a sample from each shop category, taken from the Deadlock Labs database.- Weapon: Alchemical Fire, Berserker, Burst Fire, Glass Cannon, Headhunter, Ricochet, Silencer, Tesla Bullets, Toxic Bullets
- Vitality: Colossus, Divine Barrier, Healing Nova, Infuser, Juggernaut, Leech, Phantom Strike, Unstoppable, Witchmail
- Spirit: Arctic Blast, Cursed Relic, Echo Shard, Mystic Reverb, Rapid Recharge, Refresher, Scourge, Superior Cooldown, Transcendent Cooldown
How Do You Check an Item's Real Numbers?
The Sandbox is the safest place to read stats. These steps worked in the community guides.- Open the Sandbox from the Play menu or the Hideout practice range.
- Pin the testing tools on screen.
- Turn on Free Shopping Mode so you don't farm souls.
- Enable Shop Modifiers to see item type details, including Corrupted.
- Use the DPS Meter and Combat Log against a bot to compare.
Every Corrupted Items Deadlock Drawback and Its Range
Each Corrupted item gets exactly one downside. Its size scales with the item tier, so a tier 4 item hurts more than a tier 3. Two safety rules apply. An item can't roll a penalty if it already gives a flat buff of the same kind, and some items are locked out of certain rolls (Refresher and Cursed Relic can't roll negative Ability Cooldown).What Are the Drawback Ranges?
These ranges come from the community wiki, not from Valve.| Drawback | Tier 3 | Tier 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Ability Cooldown | -12% to -15% | -15% to -20% |
| Ability Range | -17% to -23% | -22% to -29% |
| Spirit Power | -26 to -35 | -39 to -52 |
| Move Speed | -1.70 to -2.30 m/s | -2.34 to -3.16 m/s |
| Maximum Health | -298 to -403 | -468 to -633 |
| Weapon Damage | -34% to -46% | -47% to -64% |
| Fire Rate | -22% to -29% | -26% to -35% |
Which Drawbacks Hurt the Most?
Weapon Damage at the tier 4 end (up to -64%) is brutal on a gun build. Maximum Health around -600 is nearly as bad on a frontline hero. Stamina -1 sounds tiny. On Rapid Recharge, which Valve and the community both used as the clearest trade-off example, it's still annoying if your hero relies on dashes. Our take: a damage penalty on a carry is usually a bad swap, and the same penalty on a support who barely shoots is close to free.
Can You Still Get Corrupted Items in Deadlock Today?
Short version: not from the Broker. His shop is gone from Standard and Ranked, and the wiki says he "may return months later in a different location". The Street Brawl route is murkier. Valve's page said every player gets one Corrupted item after the Round 5 item draft, but the community wiki lists an October 4 change reading "Removed corrupted items from Street Brawl".Is the Street Brawl Route Still Open?
We couldn't confirm it either way. The sources disagree, and the October 4 entry is marked undocumented. Check the latest patch notes on the official Deadlock page on Steam before you queue Street Brawl hoping for one.Will the Broker Come Back?
Nobody outside Valve knows. Plan for the shop being gone and treat any return as a bonus. If it does return, the shared-roll rule should still help. Look at your drawback first, then think about what the enemy team's copy is missing.Pro Tips: Corrupted Items
- Pick the penalty you can live with: Swap a support item that needs no damage if you rolled a damage penalty, since the downside lands on a stat you rarely use.
- Read the roll before committing: Everyone in the match shares the same values, so one look at your item tells you what the enemy copy is missing.
- Skip stamina-heavy heroes for stamina penalties: If you rely on dashes and jumps, a stamina roll costs more than the raw number suggests.
- Test in the Sandbox first: Use Shop Modifiers and the DPS Meter to compare an item before you rely on it in a real match.
Common Mistakes Corrupted Items Players Make
- Corrupting a build-defining item: Players swap the item their whole build depends on and then lose the stat it needed. Fix: corrupt a secondary item and keep your core item clean.
- Ignoring the tier: Tier 4 penalties are much larger than tier 3. Fix: check the range before you swap a tier 4 item.
- Trusting random item lists online: Several fan sites contradict each other on item counts and numbers. Fix: confirm anything important in the Sandbox.
