Baba in Deadlock: Abilities, Bench Movement and Current Patch

Baba's Spirit theft, living-bench movement, cycling brews and pigeon ultimate, with the latest official hotfix separated from launch behaviour.

By Game Guide PortSource reviewed:

Applies to: Baba after Valve's October 14, 2026 hotfix, checked October 16, 2026; no build ranking

Quick answer

Baba became playable on October 6, 2026. Threadsap steals Spirit, Granny Long Legs turns her bench into a movement and melee tool, Baba's Brew cycles between barrier, silence and burn effects, and Feed the Birds slows then damages and hexes targets. Valve's October 14 hotfix reduced her resistance, barrier and repeated airborne-melee mobility while increasing key cooldowns.

Valve Baba announcement artwork showing Baba on her bench with tea and pigeons
Official Deadlock artwork · © Valve · Source ↗

Identity and release

Baba became playable on October 6, 2026. Her kit mixes Spirit theft, a living bench used for movement and melee, three rotating brew effects, and a stacking pigeon attack. She can change what a fight is about, but each tool asks for a different position and timing.

Threadsap

Threadsap steals Spirit from a target. That makes it both an offensive debuff and a temporary power swing for Baba. The October 14 follow-up made the effect end when Baba dies, so survival now matters directly to preserving the theft.

Granny Long Legs

Granny Long Legs animates Baba's bench into a movement and melee tool. It can help her enter, reposition or keep pressure on a nearby target. Valve's follow-up reduced repeated airborne-melee mobility, so launch clips should not be treated as a current movement guide.

Baba's Brew

Baba's Brew cycles through three effects. Read the current state before committing; the same button does not always solve the same problem.

The three brew states
StatePrimary effectUse it when…
BarrierCreates protection.You or an ally needs to survive the next damage window.
SilenceRestricts ability use.An enemy's next cast is more dangerous than their gunfire.
BurnDeals damage and reduces Spirit resistance.Your team can follow with Spirit pressure.

Feed the Birds

Feed the Birds sends pigeons whose repeated hits build stronger control: the target is slowed, then damaged and hexed as stacks accumulate. The ability rewards keeping a target exposed long enough for the later effects rather than expecting the first bird to provide the full result.

October 14 changes

Material changes from the official follow-up
AreaChangeWhat it means
Base defensesSpirit-resistance scaling reduced from 0.12 to 0.1; base bullet resistance set to −7%.Baba is less naturally durable than at launch.
ThreadsapCooldown increased from 26 to 28 seconds; the effect ends on Baba's death.Missed casts and unsafe positioning cost more.
Granny Long LegsCooldown increased from 30 to 32 seconds with mobility reductions.Repeated movement and melee loops are less available.
Brew barrierScaling reduced from 1.2 to 0.7, base barrier from 100 to 90, cooldown from 25 to 27 seconds.The defensive brew provides less frequent and lower protection.
Independent analysis of the October 14 Baba nerfs and Deadman Danny buffs · AndrewChicken · October 2026 · The official values are preserved in the table above · Watch on YouTube ↗

Street Brawl difference

Valve separately reduced Threadsap's duration by 35% in Street Brawl. Do not copy that mode-specific duration into Standard or Ranked explanations; the modes can carry different tuning.

Sources and review scope

Checked October 16, 2026. This page separates launch behaviour from the later hotfix and does not rank builds.

How this guide was checked

The source set was checked on October 16, 2026 against Valve's Steam listing, official Deadlock forum, City Never Sleeps page, changelog and Steam announcements; the live roster and news timeline were rechecked on October 17 after Violet became playable. Clearly labelled third-party sources are used only where Valve does not publish a complete beginner rules page or exhaustive interaction reference. Deadlock is still in development, so roster, rules, mechanics and access conditions must be rechecked after major updates.

Not independently play-tested. This is not a claim that every platform or game version was tested. Source review: Oct 16, 2026.