Pocket Affliction In Deadlock: Current DPS, Healing Denial, And The June 11 Objective Nerf
Pocket Affliction is the non-lethal teamfight debuff that got a major March rebuild and a June 11 objective-damage nerf.
Affliction is Pocket making the whole room technically alive and deeply unhappy.
Short answer: Affliction is Pocket’s ultimate: a nearby damage-over-time debuff that is non-lethal, does not apply item procs, and becomes a healing-denial teamfight threat at max upgrade.
| Image | Ability |
|---|---|
 |
Affliction Pocket applies nearby damage over time that cannot kill on its own and does not trigger item procs. |
Current Mechanics
Deadlock.one’s current Affliction modal lists a 0.6s cast delay, 150s cooldown, 9m radius, 34 damage per second with 0.2 spirit scaling, and an 11s debuff duration. The core rule is simple and easy to misplay around: Affliction can push enemies down to the edge, but it will not kill them by itself.
That makes Affliction a fight-winning debuff, not a solo execution button. You still need gun damage, Barrage amp, ally follow-up, Cold Front-style pressure, or another damage source to actually finish the target.
Upgrade Path
- 1 AP: -40s cooldown.
- 2 AP: +3s duration and +4m radius.
- 5 AP: prevents all healing and adds +14 DPS with increased spirit scaling.
T1 makes Affliction less precious. T2 makes it a real teamfight blanket. T3 is the reason heal-heavy teams hate seeing Pocket arrive from the ceiling: healing denial turns low-health saves into decorative optimism.
Key Patch Changes
Valve’s Gameplay Update – 03-06-2026 rebuilt Affliction: it no longer applies 12 percent current-health damage, DPS increased from 28 to 32, spirit scaling increased from 0.17 to 0.2, cooldown increased from 140s to 150s, T1 increased to -40s cooldown, T2 stopped reducing healing and gained +4m radius, and T3 changed to prevent all healing while increasing scaling. Later in the same update, duration dropped from 12s to 11s, DPS rose to 34+0.22, T2 duration dropped from +4s to +3s, and T3 DPS rose to 18+0.11.
Valve’s Gameplay Update – 04-30-2026 reduced Affliction cooldown from 150s to 140s, but the Gameplay Update – 05-22-2026 raised it back to 150s. Valve’s Minor Update – 05-31-2026 reduced Affliction T3 from +18 DPS to +14, and the Minor Update – 06-11-2026 made Affliction deal half damage to objectives.
How To Use It
Affliction wants bodies in range and follow-up damage ready. Barrage first if you can safely stack amp. If the fight starts suddenly, cast Affliction first, then use Barrage and your movement tools during the mess. The worst Affliction is the heroic one-person ult that leaves everyone at 1 HP while Pocket dies for the highlight reel nobody clipped.
feltcrowd0955’s March 16 guide correctly calls out the non-lethal, no-item-proc rule as the key thing new Pocket players miss. VPESPORTS’ April 20 full guide emphasizes using Affliction into heal-heavy fights and stacking Barrage around the ultimate. Deathy’s June 12 patch breakdown and DuckFilms’ June 12 patch reaction both frame the June 11 objective-damage change as a current Pocket nerf.
Counterplay
Spread before Pocket enters, save control for the entry, and do not count on late healing if Pocket has T3. Curse, silence, Slowing Hex, and hard stuns are especially punishing because they stop Pocket from choosing the angle, pressing Satchel, or leaving after the ult lands. If Affliction is already on you, remember that the damage itself is non-lethal, but any follow-up will happily finish the job.
Lore And Context
Pocket is the hidden Fairfax heir trying to survive a family empire that wants them erased. Affliction feels like the bitter half of that story: not a clean kill, but a curse that makes everyone nearby weaker, slower to recover, and easier to expose.
For more evergreen Deadlock guides, see DramaLock’s best heroes tracker, matchups guide, synergies guide, and Street Brawl tier list.
Sources
Current mechanics and icon context: Deadlock.one’s Pocket page, the Affliction modal, and Mobalytics’ Pocket guide. Patch history: Valve’s March 6, 2026 gameplay update, April 30, 2026 gameplay update, May 22, 2026 gameplay update, May 31, 2026 minor update, and June 11, 2026 minor update. Video context: feltcrowd0955, VPESPORTS, Deathy, and DuckFilms.