Valve has followed Deadlock's City Never Sleeps launch with a focused interface and control update. Players can hide account names above health bars or replace them with hero names, enemy damage and zipline colors can be customized, Down Dash can be rebound, and objective information is easier to notice. These changes do not add another hero or item. They make the large visual overhaul easier to read during an actual fight.

Hero names can replace information that is not useful in combat

The new option separates the person from the role on screen. An account name may be memorable in the lobby, but the hero name tells a player which abilities can arrive next. Choosing hero names above health bars reduces the mental step between seeing a target and recalling its threat. Players who already identify every silhouette can hide the labels entirely and recover some space around crowded team fights.

Names now begin to fade at 25 metres and disappear at 35 metres. That distance rule keeps nearby identification available without placing a bright word over every distant model. It also means the label cannot replace vision or map awareness. A player still has to confirm whether a figure beyond that range is an enemy, a teammate or a visual effect before committing a long cooldown.

Health bars are steadier and carry better color options

Valve reduced the brightness of player names, made the Ultimate indicator smaller and improved the stability of health-bar positions. These are modest changes individually, but they address a common problem after a major visual update: the city looks richer while the combat layer becomes harder to separate from it. A stable bar helps the eye follow the same target through movement and overlapping effects.

Enemy Trooper health bars now follow the selected enemy color, and a separate Enemy Damaged Color can be chosen in the accessibility menu. The default damaged color is yellow. Players with limited color distinction should test this setting in Sandbox against both heroes and Troopers, then choose a pair that remains clear against the map's bright central district and darker side areas.

Follow-up change: Name labels; Practical effect: Hide player names or show hero names instead

Follow-up change: Distance fade; Practical effect: Labels fade from 25 m and disappear at 35 m

Follow-up change: Accessibility; Practical effect: Custom damaged-enemy and enemy-zipline colors

Follow-up change: Movement; Practical effect: Down Dash has a separate rebind

Follow-up change: Attention; Practical effect: Bell minimap ping and quieter death-related audio

Custom zipline color makes rotations easier to parse

Enemy ziplines can receive their own color in the Custom UI Colors menu. A zipline is both a route and an early warning: its direction can show where pressure may arrive before the enemy is visible on the street. Giving it a distinct color reduces the chance that the line blends into the new lighting or is confused with friendly movement during a fast camera turn.

The best selection is not automatically the brightest possible color. It should remain visible without resembling an urgent damage warning, a friendly marker or an objective state. Testing the full palette in a live-looking Sandbox scene is more useful than choosing it on a neutral menu background. A color that works in one district may lose contrast in another.

Down Dash can finally be moved to a comfortable input

The follow-up adds a direct rebind for Down Dash. Players who use unusual keyboard layouts, mouse buttons or accessibility devices no longer have to preserve an awkward default combination. The new binding should be placed where it can be pressed during a fall without forcing the hand away from normal movement, aiming or an ability that may be needed immediately after landing.

A comfortable key is only the first step. Down Dash timing should be rehearsed from several heights because the visual redesign can change how distance feels even when the underlying movement remains familiar. Sandbox provides a safer place to repeat the input, check accidental activations and decide whether the same finger is already overloaded by crouch or another movement command.

A bell ping and quieter death audio improve attention

The minimap now receives a ping when the bell sounds, giving an important audio event a visual companion. This is useful for players who miss the sound inside combat and for anyone using reduced game volume. It also helps a team connect the cue to a location instead of hearing a general alert and searching the whole interface for the cause.

Valve also lowered the volume of UI death notifications and respawn music. Quieter feedback does not make a death less important; it leaves room for teammate calls and nearby game audio after the player has already understood what happened. Together, the changes show the purpose of a good launch follow-up: not another layer of spectacle, but clearer priorities inside the spectacle that already arrived.