Tool Updated 2 days ago

How to mod Deadlock: install mods and keep them working

Deadlock mods are files the game loads from its own folder: skins, sounds, HUDs and menu changes. You can copy them in by hand, but every game update switches them off again. That's why most players use a mod manager. This guide explains how mods work, compares the mod managers, and shows every way to install a mod.

How Deadlock mods work

A mod is a .vpk file, usually in a zip. Installed, it's named pak01_dir.vpk, pak02_dir.vpk and so on, in Deadlock/game/citadel/addons.
The game only loads that folder when its file game/citadel/gameinfo.gi says so. Valve's own copy of that file doesn't, so mods need it changed.
A mod replaces some of the game's own files: a hero's model, a sound, the HUD. When two mods replace the same file, only one of them wins.
Mods only change your game. Other players don't see your skins or your HUD.

Why game updates switch mods off

When Steam updates Deadlock, or checks its files, it puts back Valve's gameinfo.gi. Your mods are still in the addons folder, but the game stops loading them until the file is changed again. If you install mods by hand, you have to edit the file after every update.

Big updates can also change the game files a mod replaces, so HUD and menu mods sometimes need a new version from their maker.

A mod manager does both jobs for you: it changes gameinfo.gi, and it installs, updates and removes mods without you touching the game folder.

The mod managers

Use one mod manager at a time: two of them changing the same files at once get in each other's way.

Frogtech Mod Loader (Windows 10 and 11, open source, ours): installs every mod on this site and GameBanana's mods with one click. It runs in the tray and puts gameinfo.gi back right after an update, updates mods when their makers post new versions, and has a Repair button for when Deadlock won't start.
Deadlock Mod Manager (Windows and Linux, open source): a mod store you can filter by hero, plus crosshairs, an autoexec editor and a vanilla launch option.
Grimoire (Windows and Linux, macOS experimental, open source): searches GameBanana's Deadlock mods inside the app, opens GameBanana's 1-Click Install links, and saves mod setups as profiles you can share as a code.

Frogtech Mod Loader, Browse: mods from this site, installed with one click.

Install a mod with Frogtech Mod Loader

1
Download Frogtech Mod Loader, unzip it and start FrogLoader.exe. It finds your Deadlock folder by itself.
2
On this site, press Get on a mod, then Install with Frogtech Mod Loader. Or find the mod in the loader's Browse tab and press Install.
3
Start Deadlock. If the game is running while you install, the mod goes in when you close it.

Tip: The loader isn't code-signed yet, so Windows may warn about an unknown app the first time: choose More info, then Run anyway.

Install a mod zip in another mod manager

Every mod on this site also has a zip, from the Get button on its page.

Deadlock Mod Manager: choose Add Local Mod and drop the zip in without unzipping it, then turn the mod on.
Grimoire: open Installed, then Import Local Mods, pick the zip and turn the mod on.

To update a mod without Frogtech Mod Loader, remove the old version in your mod manager and add the new zip.

Install a mod by hand

It works, but you'll redo step 4 after every game update.

1
Close Deadlock.
2
Unzip the mod to get its .vpk file.
3
Copy it to Deadlock/game/citadel/addons (in Steam: right-click Deadlock, Manage, Browse local files) and rename it to the next free number: pak01_dir.vpk if the folder is empty, then pak02_dir.vpk and so on. The game stops at the first missing number.
4
Open game/citadel/gameinfo.gi in a text editor and change its SearchPaths block to look like below: Game citadel/addons before Game citadel, and the Mod and Write lines after Game core.
5
Save, then start the game.

gameinfo.gi

SearchPaths
{
    Game_UILanguage   citadel_*LANGUAGE*
    Game_LowViolence  citadel_lv

    Game              citadel/addons
    Game              citadel
    Game              core
    Mod               citadel
    Write             citadel
    Mod               core
    Write             core
}

Tip: Don't skip the Mod and Write lines. With only the addons line, Deadlock stops at start with "Unable to read default keybinding configuration" and Steam reports the game files as corrupt.

Where to find mods

This site: UI Kit (move and theme the HUD), 4:3 Video, Steam Profiles & Hours and Hero Select Plus.
GameBanana: thousands of skins, sounds and HUD mods. Frogtech Mod Loader and Grimoire can browse it inside the app; see installing GameBanana mods.

Removing mods, or when the game won't start

In a mod manager, switch the mod off or remove it. Frogtech Mod Loader also has a switch at the top that turns all mods off at once.
By hand: delete the mod's pakNN_dir.vpk from the addons folder, and rename the ones after it so the numbers have no gap.
Back to a game without mods: delete the .vpk files in the addons folder, then in Steam right-click Deadlock, Properties, Installed Files, Verify integrity of game files. That puts Valve's gameinfo.gi back.
Mods stopped working after an update: see Deadlock mods not working after an update.

Frogtech Mod Loader Deadlock Mod Manager Grimoire GameBanana mods Mods not working after an update