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Big Dead By Daylight update brings new survivor who transforms the healing meta

When a game has been around for as long as Dead by Daylight has, new changes that serve to freshen up its play are always welcome. The multiplayer horror game, which stands out in a genre that includes The Outlast Trials, GTFO, and R.E.P.O, has just introduced its latest shake-up in the form of today's Steady Pulse update, which looks to transform the healing meta with a new support-focused survivor called Orela Rose.


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RELATED LINKS:

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The Steady Pulse Chapter is now available on Steam!

Dead by Daylight: Steady Pulse includes a new Survivor, Orela Rose. Purchasing this add-on unlocks an exclusive Cosmetic: Black and White Blazer.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]The new Survivor is Orela Rose[/h3]
When Orela Rose’s best friend Emily died in a tragic accident, she dropped out of college to become an EMT. One day, she saved the life of a billionaire, who gratefully funded her dream project – a thematic dining experience called Screams in the Dark, inspired by the work of horror scribe Cliff Barra. Some believed his stories to be cursed, whisking readers into a strange black fog. Orela laughed off such superstitions – that is, until the Fog came creeping through her door.

[h3]The Steady Pulse Chapter includes:[/h3]
  • New Survivor: Orela Rose
  • An exclusive Cosmetic: Black and White Blazer


https://store.steampowered.com/app/3698790/Dead_by_Daylight__Steady_Pulse/

If there are people in need, Orela Rose will save them – or die trying.
See you in the Fog,
The Dead by Daylight team.

8.7.0 | Steady Pulse


[h2]Content[/h2]
[h3]New Survivor: Orela Rose[/h3]

New Perks
  • Do no Harm:
    When you heal another Survivor, for each hook state they have, heal 30/40/50% faster and gain +3/3/3% progress for succeeding great skill checks.
  • Duty of Care:
    When you take a protection hit while healthy, all other Survivors within 12/12/12 meters gain 25/25/25% Haste for 4/5/6 seconds.
  • Rapid Response:
    When you Fast Exit a locker, you suffer from the Exhausted status effect for 30/25/20 seconds.
    When you gain Exhausted, you see the Killer's aura for 2/2/2 seconds.
    Exhausted prevents one from using perks that cause Exhausted.

[h3]KILLERS[/h3]

The Ghoul
  • Breaking a pallet puts the Power on a cooldown Timer based on 2 Leap Tokens. (was 1 Token)
  • Hindering time applied to Survivors when activating a vault using the Kagune Leap while targeting them prior to that instant has been reduced to 0.5 second. (was 1.0 second)
  • ADDON: Yamori's mask no longer reveal Survivors hiding in lockers.
  • ''Become Enraged'' scoring event received when performing a Grab-attacks now properly activates when the killer is already in Enraged Mode and has been increased to 600 Deviousness BP. (was 250 BP)
The Doctor
  • Added a cooldown to interrupting Unhooks with Shock Therapy repeatedly
The Houndmaster
  • Reduced the Dog's vault speed during Chase Command to 0.65 seconds (was 0.45 seconds)
  • Doubled the Bloodpoint rewards of all her Deviousness Scoring Events
The Oni:
  • Removed the turn rate limit during the open phase of Demon Strike
The Singularity:
  • Overclock Mode now provides a 3% base speed increased instead of Haste

[h3]PERKS[/h3]

Survivor Perks
  • Babysitter:
    Increased Haste effect granted to the unhooked Survivor to 15% (was 10%).
  • Boon: Dark Theory:
    Increased the Haste effect to 3% (was 2%).
  • Breakout:
    Increased the Haste effect while near a carried Survivor to 6/8/10% (was 5/6/7%).
  • No One Left Behind:
    Now increases the Haste effect for unhooked Survivors by 10% instead of applying a separate Haste effect.
Killer Perks
  • Batteries Included:
    Increased Haste effect when near a powered generator to 7% (was 5%).
  • Furtive Chase:
    Increased Haste effect after hooking the Obsession to 10% (was 5%).
  • Game Afoot:
    Increased Haste effect when breaking an object while chasing the Obsession to 7% (was 5%).
  • Hex: Pentimento (Rework):
    You see the aura of cleansed Totems and can Rekindle each Totem once.
    While a Totem is Rekindled, Survivors Heal and Repair 20% slower +1/2/3% for each additional Rekindled Totem.
    If all five totems are Rekindled simultaneously, all Totems are permanently blocked by The Entity.
    Survivors cursed by this perk see Rekindled Totems' auras within 16m.
  • Unbound:
    Increased the Haste effect after vaulting a window to 10% (was 5%)


[h2]Features[/h2]

[h3]Quest System[/h3]
Introducing a unified place for all Quests, which will include daily, event, rift quests and much more.

[h3]Base Game Adjustments[/h3]
  • Added a protection to Survivors when their teammates spam the Unhook interaction without ever Unhooking.
  • Added a protection for failing Skill Checks that trigger right when the interaction is stopped.

[h3]Haste & Hindered[/h3]
  • The speed bonus/penalty of Haste and Hindered are now shown on their respective status effect icons.
  • Perks which affect movement speed now mention Haste or Hindered in their descriptions.

[h3]Abandon Option[/h3]
  • Added a new Killer scenario: 10 minutes after the last generator is completed, the Killer has the option to Abandon.

[h3]Rarity Rework[/h3]
  • Rarity levels have been revised to better surface different tier value

[h3]Pre-equipped Loadouts[/h3]
  • Characters now have a pre equipped perk when first unlocked
  • Characters now have a set of pre equipped items and add-ons to ease learning about their gameplay.

[h3]Perk Previewer[/h3]
  • Added a widget highlighting a player’s own Perks in the pre-game Lobby.

[h3]Character Visual Fidelity[/h3]
As part of our ongoing effort to boost character visual fidelity in DBD, we’ve updated our character materials to match the same physically accurate shading models (yes, fancy math!) used everywhere else in the project.

What does this mean?

True‑to‑life skin reflections
- Skin will now reflect light just as it does in the real world yielding sharper and more accurate highlights.

Broader range of looks
- Artists can dial in everything from oily youth to weathered veterans, with precise control over pores, scars, and surface oils.

Consistent across all lighting
- Whether you’re in the swamp, the carnival, or the asylum, characters will look and behave exactly the same under any lighting.

The result? More believable, responsive characters that feel grounded in the world of DBD.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

Archives
  • Fixed an issue where some users were getting an error message when selecting "The Tomes" in the main menu.
Audio
  • Fixed an issue where the wrong audio SFX would play when walking in the Grim Pantry's big Cabin.
  • Fixed an issue where the wrong audio SFX would play when walking on the balcony of the mine tower in the Ormond Lake Mine map.
  • Fixed an issue where the wrong audio SFX would play when walking on parts of the ramp inside the mine building in the Ormond Lake Mine map.
  • Fixed an issue where unwanted SFX would persist in-game with certain Tome 23 survivor outfits equipped.
Bots
  • Fixed an issue where Survivor bots could reveal The Ghost Face and were able to clear their Weakened status against The Unknown from normally impossible locations.
Character
  • Fixed an issue where The Knight would be stunned at the Guard's spawn location.
  • Fixed an issue where The Knight's power could break when being stunned at the start of a summon.
  • Fixed an issue where The Knight could stay in the Patrol Path creation speed due to latency.
  • Fixed an issue where Deep Wound would not stop depleting when a Survivor is grabbed by the Houndmaster's Dog.
  • Fixed an issue where The Houndmaster's head customization, 'Festering Scar,' was missing her grin animation during the Mori
  • Fixed an issue where The Houndmaster's dog end up standing in unnatural angles and partially clip into the ground.
  • Fixed an issue where there was no cancel interaction prompt when The Trickster was in Main Event.
  • Fixed an issue where The Nurse could briefly see Survivors in a locker when blinking through a nearby wall.
  • Fixed an issue where The Ghoul's hair and mask would briefly appear off his head when reaching the tally screen.
  • Fixed an issue where The Ghoul's Kagune mark reticle clipped into male Survivors head when aiming at them.
  • Fixed an issue where The Ghoul's Kagune Leap could activate without playing the animation when canceling the power.
  • Fixed an issue where The Nemesis stopped playing his menu interrupt animations.
  • Fixed an issue where The Nemesis' Zombies would be invisible when using the Tyrant Gore and Depleted Ink Ribbon add-ons.
  • Fixed an issue where The Nemesis could vault at nearly twice the normal speed.
  • Fixed an issue where Survivors could become stuck inside a dropped pallet after vaulting towards the Hag's Phantasm trap with the Scarred Hand add-on.
  • Fixed an issue where The Twin's camera could get stuck on the Survivor after Victor pounced on them with some network lag.
  • Fixed an issue where The Lich's Vorpal Sword add-on did not increase the pallet break time to 4 seconds.
  • Fixed an issue where Survivors became infected quicker when the Plague aimed Vile Purge at the Survivors held item.
  • Fixed an issue where Survivors could bleed out during a Mori.
Environment/Maps
  • Fixed an issue which caused slowdowns on Midwich Elementary School
  • Fixed an issue on Temple of Purgation that did not allow zombies to reach the arch base
  • Fixed an issue with collisions on Lerys Memorial Institute
  • Fixed an issue with collisions on Father Campbell's Chapel
  • Fixed an issue on Disturbed Ward where zombies that could get stuck on a ramp
  • Fixed an issue in Dead Dawg Saloon where a character could land on top of Saloon decorations
  • Fixed multiple issues in Autohaven Wreckers Realm where the characters clipped through the lockers when exiting them
  • Fixed an issue in Lery's Memorial Institute where the red stain of the killer would appear through a wall
  • Fixed an issue in Raccoon City Police Department where the characters could get stuck on top of the hooks
  • Fixed an issue with lighting in Nostromo Wreckage
  • Fixed an issue where The Mastermind was unable to vault a specific window using Virulent Bound on Mothers Dwelling.
  • Fixed an issue where The Knights Guards could get stuck after vaulting on Raccoon City Police Department
Perks
  • Fixed an issue where Teamwork: Collective Stealth would show a second cooldown after exiting the perk's range.
  • Fixed an issue where the reduced action speed color and icon were missing on the progress bar when co-oping Invocation: Treacherous Crows.
  • Fixed an issue where The Wraith remained Cloaked after being stunned by a pallet mid uncloak with Enduring.
  • Fixed an issue where Killers with Stridor equipped could not hear grunts of pain from recently unhooked Survivors equipped with Off The Record.
  • Fixed an issue where The Ghouls aura would not be shown to the Survivor that had Hardened equipped, if The Ghoul had the Yamori's Mask add-on.
UI
  • Fixed an issue where the Tally Screen would leave the Bloodpoints earned page before displaying all bonuses.
  • Fixed an issue where notifications would disappear when transitioning to the main menu.
  • Fixed a visual glitch with equipped add-ons in the loadout menu.
  • Added audio feedback when hovering collected nodes in the Bloodweb.
  • Added audio feedback when hovering items in the offering sequence.
  • Added audio feedback when hovering items in the Tally Screen Match Consequences page.
  • Added plus/minus audio feedback on Rift Tier update button.
  • Fixed an issue where the external skills icon of any team skills would only appear in a brown color.
  • Fixed a potential crash issue when selecting a player card in the player profile.
  • Fixed a crash issue when cancelling an infinite tier purchase.
Misc
  • Fixed an issue where the What Lurks Beneath Achievement/Trophy would gain progress when the damage source was caused by a Survivor perk.
  • Fixed an issue where items retrieved during the match are listed as gained when reaching the Tally Screen when the Abandon Feature is used

[h2]Public Test Build (PTB) Adjustments[/h2]

Haste & Hindered
  • Reverted the changes to Haste and Hindered stacking. Multiple sources of Haste and Hindered can stack once again.
Perks
  • Babysitter:
    Increased Haste effect granted to the unhooked Survivor to 15% (was 10%).
  • Batteries Included:
    Increased Haste effect when near a powered generator to 7% (was 5%).
  • Champion of Light:
    Reverted Haste effect to 50% (was 70%).
  • Game Afoot:
    Increased Haste effect when breaking an object while chasing the Obsession to 7% (was 5%).
  • Hex: Pentimento:
    Increased Repair and Healing speed penalty to 20% (was 15%), +1/2/3% (was 3/4/5%) per additional totem
  • Duty of Care:
    Lowered range of effect from 16/16/16 to 12/12/12 meters
  • Rapid Response
    Exhaustion changes from 30/30/30 to 30/25/20 seconds
    Aura reveal now constant at 2/2/2 seconds
Killers
  • The Singularity:
    Overclock Mode now provides a 3% base speed increased instead of Haste.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue where Orela Rose's idle animation was missing in lobbies.
  • Fixed an issue in Badham Preschool where three generators would spawn in the same house.
  • Fixed an issue where the Spirit's Husk was missing the Terror Radius if a Survivor entered the Terror Radius while the Spirit used her ability.
  • Fixed an issue where Survivors lose the Dredge's Nightfall effect after the Dredge performed a Mori.

Design Preview | The Skull Merchant Part 2



Welcome back to another edition of the Skull Merchant Design Preview! As we mentioned in our recent status update, we received a great deal of valuable feedback from you on our initial rework proposal. Today, we’re excited to share an evolution of this rework!
This places a considerable focus on Skull Merchant’s role as a high-tech hunter – a modern slasher, if you will – who uses the tools at her disposal to generate a network of information as she keeps tabs on her prey, weakens them, and then goes in for the kill when the time is right.
Let’s first dive into the specific changes:

[h2]WHAT’S CHANGED?[/h2]
  • We’ve removed the Killer aura reveal when hacking a Drone.
  • The Global Detection Power detects Survivors who are running or walking , keeping this consistent with how Drones detect players.
  • Stealth Drone scan lines are now visible, but will not extend entirely down to the ground, providing a visual indicator for Survivors to crouch-walk as a counter action.
  • Skull Merchant has two different types of Drones:
    - 5 deployable Stealth Drones, as previously mentioned
    - 1 Drone Buddy (name pending!) that hovers directly over her shoulder. Note: This is not a separate AI-controlled entity.
  • Stealth Drones function as previously stated, but Drone Propulsion only injures – not downs – Survivors.
    - Any Survivor hit by Drone Propulsion is tagged and tracked with a Claw Trap.
    - Claw Traps can be removed by Survivors following a held interaction.
  • Skull Merchant gains an activatable ability that fires an EMP dart from her Drone Buddy.
    - This ranged attack has a small AOE and downs Survivors tracked with a Claw Trap.
    - The EMP dart does not hurt Survivors if they are not tracked with a Claw Trap.

Sound interesting? Let’s break this down by looking at it in the context of an example chase from the perspective of Skull Merchant:

[h3]DEPLOY AND DETECT[/h3]
Your first order of business is to make use of the tools in your arsenal to figure out where Survivors are. You begin by deploying a Stealth Drone and piloting it to a high traffic loop, where you leave it passively scanning. Switching focus back to Skull Merchant, you head towards another loop, activating your Global Detection Power in hopes of catching a Survivor heading to their first gen.


Both the Global Detection Power and your passive Stealth Drone detect separate Survivors, notifying you of their whereabouts on your radar. You’re now perfectly situated for a chase...

[h3]TAG AND TRACK[/h3]
Switching focus back to the idling Stealth Drone, you see the Survivor who was detected running away. Making use of the Stealth Drone’s increased movement speed, you give chase.
Mid-chase, you see an opportunity to strike, launching your Stealth Drone forward with Drone Propulsion and hitting the Survivor. Not only does this injure them, but it attaches a Claw Trap to them. This inflicts the Broken status effect and tracks the Survivor on your radar.


While Drone Propulsion can’t be used to down a Survivor, this opens them up to her other ability...

[h3]USE EMP DART TO DOWN[/h3]
At this point, Skull Merchant could take matters into her own hands and hunt down the Claw Trapped Survivor by hand with an M1 attack, but where’s the fun in that? Hovering over her shoulder at all times is her prized Buddy Drone, which hides a secret weapon.
By charging up and releasing the activatable ability when in control of Skull Merchant, her Buddy Drone fires a short-to-mid range EMP dart that hits with a small AOE. If a Survivor is being tracked with a Claw Trap, the dart will activate this fearsome contraption, downing them. Good hunting!




[h3]A SURVIVOR PERSPECTIVE [/h3]
All that’s well and good, but if you’re a Survivor, how are you supposed to deal with these high-tech tools?
  • Stealth Drone passively scanning an area? Either crouch-walk to avoid the scan lines or hack it to send this Drone back to Skull Merchant’s personal stores.
  • Hear the Global Detection Power notification? Same as above – begin crouch-walking or stop moving altogether to avoid having your location given away.
  • Notice a Stealth Drone being piloted? Keep to tight loops and be ready to juke to prevent the Stealth Drone from attaching a Claw Trap to you.
  • Afflicted with a Claw Trap and see Skull Merchant approaching? Be ready to juke her EMP dart. It has a short charge time, so use this time to put an obstruction between you both.
  • Afflicted with a Claw Trap and feeling hidden? Hold the interact button to remove it.


With that, we’d love to hear what you think of these changes! We’ll be keeping a close eye on all our community channels and relaying any feedback back to the team, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with us (i.e. in the replies right here)!
While we won’t be running a survey this time, we are taking note of the feedback you shared from the last iteration to inform future surveys.

See you in The Fog!
The Dead by Daylight Team

Stats | January - March 2025



Can you believe how quickly April has been flying by? Not only is the Blood Moon event in full swing, but we also have a new update – Steady Pulse – quickly approaching on the horizon. In the meantime, we wanted to take a look back at the first 3 months of the year and share a look at how things are going for Killers and Survivors.

Kicking things off are Killer pick rates! Looking at both MMR groups, The Mastermind and The Blight were both winners, leveraging their high mobility to land in the top 5. While The Nightmare didn’t quite crack the top 10 for the wider MMR bracket, his recent rework helped drive a higher pick rate among higher MMR players.



Speaking of The Nightmare, fresh off his rework, it sure seems like he was a dream to play, leading kill rates across both MMR brackets, while The Lich continued to leverage his vile darkness across all MMR levels. High MMR mainstays like The Twins, The Blight and The Nurse unsurprisingly made appearances as well.

Looking at the bigger picture, there was an average kill rate of 60% across all MMR, while that average kill rate increased to 63% for high MMR. This largely falls in line with our intended Killer balance.



Of course, there’s more to a Trial than just Killers. Let’s take a look at how Survivors have fared!

Overall escape rates tended to be quite close across MMR brackets, with all MMR seeing a 41% escape rate and high MMR landing at 42%. Digging into specific party sizes is where the results differed.

Unsurprisingly, coordinated groups playing at high MMR performed best, resulting in the highest escape rate. Interestingly, however, solo queue players in the wider MMR bracket proved to be particularly hardy, falling above the overall escape rate.

But with that, we’ll see you again in July to share the next 3 months of Killer and Survivor stats.

Until next time…
The Dead by Daylight Team