High Alert Update
The High Alert Update is an update for Deceive Inc introduced during its first season. It introduces a revised Heat system, new Elite Guards, the Dossier, and a number of other changes.
Heat 2.0
With Heat 2.0, a number of changes were introduced to the existing Heat system to give more consequences to reckless playstyles.
Damage Based Heat
Heat is no longer tied to downing an NPC, but directly tied to damage dealt. Agents now gain Heat relative to the amount of damage dealt to an NPC versus their max health. This means that attacking an NPC without downing them will now yield heat while downing them will still offer the full penalty for doing so.
Tweaked Heat Values
More Heat is now gained for downing NPCs. Two NPCs will grant a full Heat level. The VIP will grant significantly more heat if attacked.
Heat from Scolding
Agents scolded by non-Guard NPCs while out of cover in a restricted room will now slowly build up Heat over time.
Penalty Level Changes
Heat penalties will now stay for as long as an Agent remains within a Heat level bracket, meaning that it is now important to vent Heat to avoid these penalties. To compensate for this, Heat now vents faster while in cover. The three levels now have clearer status effects as well, with 
Heat Level 1, 
Heat Level 2, and 
Heat Level 3 having a different visual look.
Guards and Heat
Guards will now grant Heat like any other NPC. Guards grant half a Heat level when downed.
Spy Hit Buffer
A buffer has been added after recently hitting an enemy Agent to prevent situation where an Agent accidentally gains Heat by hitting an NPC during a firefight. This buffer is short and only intended to prevent random Heat gains during firefights.
Elite Guards
After repeated catastrophic failures of their security, the VIPs are putting together a new training program to deploy Elite Guards to the field. These new guards have heightened access, capable of entering technician rooms, higher caliber weapons that deal more damage and improved endurance making them capable of taking more damage before going down.
Elite Guards are very few in number outside the Vault. This change is intended to make it harder to identify enemy Agents entering Vault Terminals, as before only enemy Agents and the VIP itself was allowed to enter them.
Spy Cache Cover Restore
To help Agents with the new changes to Heat and Elite Guards, Spy Caches will now instantly restore an Agent's cover when looted.
The Dossier
The Dossier is an all-new menu that contains information on the various NPCs, including their often-requested names to facilitate team communications and callouts. This menu also features a full list of Status Effects with their effects.
Other Gameplay Changes
XP Booster Change
XP Boosters will now only deplete during matches, not in the main menu and while players are offline. In addition, an XP Booster will now apply for the entire match, even if the amount of time remaining on it does not cover the full duration of the match.
Cover Change Interact Time Tweak
Interacting with an NPC to change cover is now faster than before, not requiring Agents to hold for as long to take their appearance. This limits situations where Agents would try to take cover from a walking NPC and have them leave the range before completing.
Crouch Fatigue
An equivalent to jump fatigue has been introduced which will progressively slow players who repeatedly crouch very fast more than three times within a short period of time. This penalty will go away as they stop crouching. This is intended to reduce the advantage of repeatedly crouching in combat to make Agents harder to hit.
New Animated Inks
10 all-new animated Inks can now be earned through Loot Briefcases or in-game Credits.
Better Support for Different Aspect Ratios
A change has been made to the way the the camera's field of view is handled to better support a wide range of aspect ratio on a variety of monitors. This should make the game much more playable on ultra-wide monitors.
Agent Changes
Global Agent Changes
We are slightly reducing the time headshot negation lasts after blowing someone’s cover. The current duration was a disadvantage for a few different weapons that would lose more shots than intended before landing a headshot.
Cover Headshot Negation Time
- Duration: 1s => 0.7s
Ace
Weapons
Base: Queen of Diamond
- Reload Time: 2.3 => 2.75s
Mod 1: Jack of Diamond
- Reload Time: 1.75 => 2
- Damage: 22 => 20
- Crit Multiplier: 2 => 1.75
Mod 2: King of Diamond
- Reload Time: 1.7s => 2.1
- Damage: 45 => 46
- Crit Multiplier: 1.8 => 1.75
Passives
Base: Diamond's Bet
- Charge Duration: 1.3s => 1.15s
Mod 1: Crippling Shot
- Charge Duration: 1.3s => 1.15s
Cavalière
Weapons
Base: Dragoons
- Reload Time: 2 => 1.7
- Damage: 11 => 12
Mod 1: Hydras
- Reload Time: 2 => 2.3
- Fire Rate: 2.5 => 2.2
- Damage: 20 => 18
Mod 2: Wyverns
- Reload Time: 2 => 1.8
- Crit Multiplier: 1.5 => 1.3
Chavez
Weapons
Base: Sentinel
- Fire Rate: 1.25 => 1.3
Mod 1: Vigilante
- Damage: 22 => 20
- Crit Multiplier: 2 => 1.75
- Limb Multiplier: 0.9 => 0.75
Mod 2: Duke
- Reload Time: 2.8 => 3
Hans
Weapons
Base: Hook
- Reload Time: 1.9 => 2.2
Mod 1: Jab
- Reload Time: 1.75 => 1.85
Mod 2: Uppercut
- Reload Time: 1.35 => 1.6
Larcin
Passive
Mod 2: Pickpocket
- Heat values from hitting a NPC have been tweaked to be in-line with the new value from shooting down NPCs.
Madame Xiu
Weapons
Base: Zhulong
- Reload Time: 1.75 => 1.7
Mod 1: Longshen
- Reload Time: 1.5 => 1.9
Red
Weapons
Base: Heartbreaker
- Reload Time: 1.55 => 1.7
Mod 1: Jack of Heart
- Reload Time: 1.55 => 2
- Damage: 20 => 18
- Limb Multiplier: 0.9 => 0.75
Expertise
Mod 1: Sweet Embrace
- Sweet Embrace no longer cleanses negative Status Effects.
Mod 2: Lovebomb
- Lovebomb's radius is no longer visible to rival Agents. The bomb itself is still visible.
Squire
Weapons
Base: Lance
- Mag Size: 10 => 11
- Reload Time: 1.3s => 1.75s
- Fire Rate: 3.1 => 3
- Damage: 17 => 15
Mod 1: Trident
- Reload Time: 1.45s => 2s
Mod 2: Javelin
- Mag Size: 8 => 7
- Reload Time: 1.7 => 2.2
- Fire Rate: 2.4 => 2
- Crit Multiplier: 2 => 1.75
Passives
Mod 2: Aegis Cover
- Duration: 1.7s => 1.4s
- Damage Blocked: 50% => 25%
Yu-Mi
Passive
Base: Quick Fix
- Cooldown Reduction: 50% => 65%
Mod 1: Booby Trap
- Expanded size and duration for bubbles created from booby traps. (This change was listed in the May hotfix but was not part of the update.)
Mod 2: Energy Catalyst
- Expertise Cooldown Returned: 33% => 50%
Bug Fixes
General
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to bunny hop in online matches.
- Fixed an issue that caused agent select preview videos to still play during gameplay, negatively impacting performance.
- Fixed issue that caused players to be unable to recover under specific circumstances.
- Rival spies' bodies no longer disappear when they disconnect.
- Fixed an issue where the amped up status effect would stay stuck after the pre-game lobby.
- Fixed a crash caused by dying while the drone is active.
- Fixed charm overlay staying stuck if player disconnected before the effect ends.
- Fixed an issue where spies would be missing in the endscreen if in drone on game end.
- Fixed revive UI not appearing if revive started before spectator mode started.
- Fixed issue leading to invisible weapons in player hand, mostly with Cavalière.
- Changed interact prompt location on Briefcase and Spy cache to prevent instances of them being non-lootable.
- Fixed issue leading to charm effect following characters even when immaterial.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to extract at an extraction that was previously called if the briefcase changed hands.
- Removed Killcam option from the menu until it’s actually ready!
Level
- Fixed areas where players could clip into environments in Operation Fragrant Shore.
Agents
- Fixed Cavalière's "It’s a Setup" zone overlapping with floors underneath it.
- Fixed Cavalière base passive melee stopping her run.
- Fixed an issue where Larcin would have his weapon disappear when using ADS in mid-air out of cover.
- Fixed Larcin being able to hack a vault terminal while invisible.
- Hans' Incapacitator Orb visual now fits with the actual collision size.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to heal faster in Yu-Mi's bubble by leaving and entering repeatedly.