"Rest now, the dawn is here.” - Arkangelos
[Hero Concept] Arkangelos, the Weary Angel of Mercy
By Rockar
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// Hello readers, I’m Rockar. This is my hero concept for a gun-toting, weary celestial named Arkangelos. He is a m1/basic attack centric, yet hybrid leaning carry hero who specializes in hunting down targets, weaving abilities to unleash bursts of damage on those who try to escape his watch.
I’ve always been enamored with Archangels in pop culture, and after seeing the grim, faith-driven design of a character like Venator, I thought, “How do you think he’d respond to a literal archangel fighting against/alongside him?” There’s just something undeniably cool about heavenly beings wielding modern weaponry (e.g. Sankta from Arknights) and I wanted to bring that clash of ideas into Deadlock’s setting.
Visually speaking, I imagine Ark to be a subversion of a stereotypical angel. He has a halo and wears flowing off-white robes and a cape of feathers (maybe like a ghillie cape?), but with a militaristic twist. He is equipped with a plate carrier with magazine pouches, heavy combat boots, tactical gloves, and his face is obscured by a soldier’s helmet and gas mask."
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// Requiem’s Call functions somewhat similarly to Warden’s weapon, featuring a relatively low magazine size with moderate damage per bullet. Because Arkangelos is a character who focuses on lethal accuracy over a volume of fire, I gave him a semi-unique alt-fire: a "focus mode" that forces you to place your shots carefully. I opted for a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) to fit the period accuracy of Deadlock, and thematically being a heavy, assault-rifle, though I also considered a M4-styled rifle due to being both cool and iconic, despite not being period accurate. The FN FAL was also a choice due to being called the "Right Arm of the Free World.”
Stamina-wise, Arkangelos sits at the average 3 bars. He has no built-in dash or movement abilities outside of his Ultimate (which grants conditional movement speed). He is actually quite slow and methodical, unless there are low-HP targets on the map, at which point the Angel of Death quickly closes the distance.
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1st Ability - Blade of Mercy (15 second cooldown)
“Be still, it is your time.”
// I’m going to be real, this is mostly my excuse to put Bandit’s "Desperado" ability from Risk of Rain 2 into Deadlock. Plus, infinite scaling characters are just fun, right? This ability is meant to be Ark’s main harassment tool in the laning phase. It's a fast projectile that deals solid damage and rewards good aim with strong disruption.
I've kept the debuff durations brief to stay in line with other heroes, and kept the scaling at a respectable 1% (similar to Bebop’s bomb when it doesn't kill an enemy). For the Tier 1 upgrade, I want it to chunk tankier heroes to help push them into that Tier 2 execute threshold, but I don’t have the specific percentages to make it balanced (especially since it's a singular hit, rather than DoT like Toxic Bullets, Decay, etc.).
Visually, the gun is a Colt M1911 derivative, the US’s service pistol during the time, but larger to fit Ark’s celestial stature and heavily worn from active duty. I chose the M1911 because it's iconic, period-accurate to the setting, and because of the classic saying: "9mm kills the body, but .45 ACP kills the soul." It's quite fitting for Arkangelos, a character whose literal job is releasing people's souls from their mortal burdens.
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2nd Ability - Whirling Flame (25 second cooldown)
“Look towards the light.”
// For a shooter game, I’m surprised there isn't a true “flashbang” ability yet in Deadlock, with the closest thing being Drifter’s ultimate (which is less of a hard flash and more of a nearsightedness debuff). I know that being flashed sucks in most shooters, so I kept the baseline duration relatively short. There's also clear built-in counterplay: enemies can quickly look away to avoid the blind, or they can invest in items like Counterspell or Dispel Magic to negate it completely.
Since Arkangelos really only has two active abilities (his 1 and 2) that proc his 3rd ability's passive, getting that extra charge at Tier 2 makes Whirling Flame the perfect tool to weave in between gunshots during a duel.
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3rd Ability - Varied Approach [Passive]
“Three for the Trinity.”
// This is the crux of Ark’s kit. It’s the passive that enables his "ability weaving" playstyle and prevents him from just being another weapon-damage carry. While other characters can usually combo abilities between gunshots, Arkangelos is explicitly designed to be much stronger when you cycle his abilities in an efficient order. The Tier 3 could be toned down so that it only pierces 50% or 25% of their resistances if it's too strong.
Theoretically, players could build a Spirit-focused Arkangelos centered around this ability. By doing so, players can unleash massive burst damage with his primary weapon, turning him into a true hybrid carry, similar to how characters like Seven or Mina can scale their gunplay heavily through Spirit items.
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Ultimate/4th Ability - Judgement (70 second cooldown)
“Make your peace. Oblivion hath arrived.”
// Mechanically, this is inspired by Bloodseeker’s passive from Dota 2, but I chose it because it fits the theme of Arkangelos. It allows him to act as the ultimate "Avenger," tracking down wounded enemies (most likely after they've just barely survived a fight with his allies) to finish the job. Once he chases them down, the active part of the ultimate makes sure they can’t escape, locking them down with crippling, heavy-hitting bullets.
The Tier 3 upgrade is where the late-game fantasy kicks in. In chaotic team fights where enemy health bars are dropping, Arkangelos stops being a sluggish, immobile shooter and starts zooming around the battlefield to clean house. It wouldn't quite reach the sheer sprint speed of something like Drifter’s ultimate, but makes it so Arkangelos is nimble and nigh inescapable during the climax of a match.
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// And that’s all I have for now, thanks for reading my hero concept!
[Hero Concept] Arkangelos, the Weary Angel of Mercy
By Rockar
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Most soldiers fight for a cause, a country, or a crown, Arkangelos fights for the peace that follows. A celestial veteran of wars fought before humanity’s existence, he traded his golden armor and flaming sword for a plate carrier and the mechanical click of a service pistol. Arkangelos is a bringer of finality. In the chaotic battles of the Cursed Apple, where souls are trapped in a war for power and anomalies tear at the fabric of reality, Arkangelos acts as peacekeeper. For him, every kill is a release from duty, and every bullet is a prayer for a long overdue rest. He carries the Ledger of Mercy, an ethereal scroll containing the names of those who have fallen by his hand. He doesn’t seek victory, instead, he yearns for the moment when all is silent and he can finally, for the first time in eons, fold his wings and sleep. |
// Hello readers, I’m Rockar. This is my hero concept for a gun-toting, weary celestial named Arkangelos. He is a m1/basic attack centric, yet hybrid leaning carry hero who specializes in hunting down targets, weaving abilities to unleash bursts of damage on those who try to escape his watch.
I’ve always been enamored with Archangels in pop culture, and after seeing the grim, faith-driven design of a character like Venator, I thought, “How do you think he’d respond to a literal archangel fighting against/alongside him?” There’s just something undeniably cool about heavenly beings wielding modern weaponry (e.g. Sankta from Arknights) and I wanted to bring that clash of ideas into Deadlock’s setting.
Visually speaking, I imagine Ark to be a subversion of a stereotypical angel. He has a halo and wears flowing off-white robes and a cape of feathers (maybe like a ghillie cape?), but with a militaristic twist. He is equipped with a plate carrier with magazine pouches, heavy combat boots, tactical gloves, and his face is obscured by a soldier’s helmet and gas mask."
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Vitality Stats --- Health: 800 Health Regen: 3 Move Speed: 6.5 m/s Sprint Speed: 1.6 m/s Dash Speed: 14.7s Stamina: 3 Stamina Cooldown: 4.5s | Weapon Stats --- Primary Weapon - "Requiem’s Call" Medium Range, Projectile based. Weapon Type: Automatic Rifle (Modeled after a M1918 BAR) Alt-Fire (Focus Mode): Aiming in significantly reduces the rate of fire (3.5 > 1.5), but increases bullet velocity (300 m/s > 600 m/s) and damage (possibly around +50% weapon damage?). | Weapon Stats (Cont.) --- Ammo: 15 rounds Bullet Damage: 17 Bullets per sec: 3.5 Reload Time: 2.75s Bullet Velocity: 300 m/s Falloff Range: 20m > 60m Light Melee: 50 Heavy Melee: 116 |
// Requiem’s Call functions somewhat similarly to Warden’s weapon, featuring a relatively low magazine size with moderate damage per bullet. Because Arkangelos is a character who focuses on lethal accuracy over a volume of fire, I gave him a semi-unique alt-fire: a "focus mode" that forces you to place your shots carefully. I opted for a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) to fit the period accuracy of Deadlock, and thematically being a heavy, assault-rifle, though I also considered a M4-styled rifle due to being both cool and iconic, despite not being period accurate. The FN FAL was also a choice due to being called the "Right Arm of the Free World.”
Stamina-wise, Arkangelos sits at the average 3 bars. He has no built-in dash or movement abilities outside of his Ultimate (which grants conditional movement speed). He is actually quite slow and methodical, unless there are low-HP targets on the map, at which point the Angel of Death quickly closes the distance.
---
1st Ability - Blade of Mercy (15 second cooldown)
“Be still, it is your time.”
Take out your service pistol and fire a precise shot, dealing damage and slowing the target for 2 seconds. If you hit a headshot, the target is stunned for 0.5 seconds instead of slowed. If a target dies from this shot, gain permanent stacking damage on the ability (+1% damage, scaling off weapon damage). |
+40 bonus spirit damage from headshot (Scales off spirit power) | 60 weapon damage (Scales off weapon damage) |
Tier 1: Deals bonus damage based on the target's max health. | Tier 2: Executes enemies who fall under 10% HP. | Tier 3: Finishing an enemy with Blade of Mercy resets its cooldown. |
// I’m going to be real, this is mostly my excuse to put Bandit’s "Desperado" ability from Risk of Rain 2 into Deadlock. Plus, infinite scaling characters are just fun, right? This ability is meant to be Ark’s main harassment tool in the laning phase. It's a fast projectile that deals solid damage and rewards good aim with strong disruption.
I've kept the debuff durations brief to stay in line with other heroes, and kept the scaling at a respectable 1% (similar to Bebop’s bomb when it doesn't kill an enemy). For the Tier 1 upgrade, I want it to chunk tankier heroes to help push them into that Tier 2 execute threshold, but I don’t have the specific percentages to make it balanced (especially since it's a singular hit, rather than DoT like Toxic Bullets, Decay, etc.).
Visually, the gun is a Colt M1911 derivative, the US’s service pistol during the time, but larger to fit Ark’s celestial stature and heavily worn from active duty. I chose the M1911 because it's iconic, period-accurate to the setting, and because of the classic saying: "9mm kills the body, but .45 ACP kills the soul." It's quite fitting for Arkangelos, a character whose literal job is releasing people's souls from their mortal burdens.
---
2nd Ability - Whirling Flame (25 second cooldown)
“Look towards the light.”
Throw out a holy explosive that detonates after a 1.5 second fuse. Enemies hit directly or looking at the detonation area are flashed, temporarily losing vision and becoming deafened for 2 seconds. |
| 2s Flash Duration | 4m Direct Hit Radius |
Tier 1: -5 second cooldown. | Tier 2: +1 Charge. | Tier 3: Flash duration increased. (2s > 3s). |
// For a shooter game, I’m surprised there isn't a true “flashbang” ability yet in Deadlock, with the closest thing being Drifter’s ultimate (which is less of a hard flash and more of a nearsightedness debuff). I know that being flashed sucks in most shooters, so I kept the baseline duration relatively short. There's also clear built-in counterplay: enemies can quickly look away to avoid the blind, or they can invest in items like Counterspell or Dispel Magic to negate it completely.
Since Arkangelos really only has two active abilities (his 1 and 2) that proc his 3rd ability's passive, getting that extra charge at Tier 2 makes Whirling Flame the perfect tool to weave in between gunshots during a duel.
---
3rd Ability - Varied Approach [Passive]
“Three for the Trinity.”
[Passive] After using an ability, your weapon becomes empowered. Your next attack fires a rapid 3-round burst that deals additional Spirit Damage. The empowered burst scales off of spirit power. |
+40 spirit damage (Scales off spirit power) |
Tier 1: Restore 1 stamina after casting an ability or firing the empowered burst. | Tier 2: Grants Ammo upon triggering. The granted ammo can overflow your maximum magazine capacity. (+25% Ammo for a 4s Duration) | Tier 3: The empowered burst completely pierces all enemy resistances. |
// This is the crux of Ark’s kit. It’s the passive that enables his "ability weaving" playstyle and prevents him from just being another weapon-damage carry. While other characters can usually combo abilities between gunshots, Arkangelos is explicitly designed to be much stronger when you cycle his abilities in an efficient order. The Tier 3 could be toned down so that it only pierces 50% or 25% of their resistances if it's too strong.
Theoretically, players could build a Spirit-focused Arkangelos centered around this ability. By doing so, players can unleash massive burst damage with his primary weapon, turning him into a true hybrid carry, similar to how characters like Seven or Mina can scale their gunplay heavily through Spirit items.
---
Ultimate/4th Ability - Judgement (70 second cooldown)
“Make your peace. Oblivion hath arrived.”
[Passive] Gain bonus movement speed when an enemy hero’s health falls below a certain threshold. This speed bonus scales up as their health falls further. (+1 move speed up to +5 move speed) If an enemy hero's health falls below 25%, he will additionally reveal the hero’s location on the minimap. [Active] Temporarily disable the passive movement speed bonus to empower your weapon. For the duration, gain a significant Weapon Damage buff, and your bullets apply a movement speed slow to enemies hit. |
[Active Portion] +30% weapon damage for 10 seconds. -15% move speed on enemies hit. |
Tier 1: Deal 20% extra weapon damage to enemies that are slowed. | Tier 2: The passive detection and movement speed radius becomes global. | Tier 3: Activating the ability no longer disables the passive movement speed bonus. |
// Mechanically, this is inspired by Bloodseeker’s passive from Dota 2, but I chose it because it fits the theme of Arkangelos. It allows him to act as the ultimate "Avenger," tracking down wounded enemies (most likely after they've just barely survived a fight with his allies) to finish the job. Once he chases them down, the active part of the ultimate makes sure they can’t escape, locking them down with crippling, heavy-hitting bullets.
The Tier 3 upgrade is where the late-game fantasy kicks in. In chaotic team fights where enemy health bars are dropping, Arkangelos stops being a sluggish, immobile shooter and starts zooming around the battlefield to clean house. It wouldn't quite reach the sheer sprint speed of something like Drifter’s ultimate, but makes it so Arkangelos is nimble and nigh inescapable during the climax of a match.
---
// And that’s all I have for now, thanks for reading my hero concept!
