Dead by Daylight News

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

8.6.2 | Bugfix Patch

[h3]Content[/h3]

THE GHOUL

Reduced Tentacle range from 16 meters to 14 meters.
Reduced Enraged mode time from 45 seconds to 40 seconds.
Reduced Enraged bonus time when performing a perfectly timed grab-attack from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.
Reduced Reticle Stickiness Time effect on targeted Survivor from 0.3 seconds to 0.18 seconds.
Reduced Reticle aiming on Survivor detection for grab-attack by 94%.
Reduced Grab-attacks Damage minimum distance requirement to activate over obstacles by -30%.
After breaking a pallet, if the Killer Power is not in cooldown, power goes into a forced cooldown equal to a single Leap usage.
Addon Fresh Coffee: Changed rarity from Common to Very Rare.
Addon Hinami's Umbrella: Reworked Effect - Performing a perfectly timed grab-attack award an extra +10.0 seconds of Enraged bonus time and changed rarity from Very Rare to Uncommon.
Addon Blood stained Handkerchief: Reduced Kagune's reach from 2 meters to 1 meter.
Addon Taiyaki: Reduced the Enraged Mode countdown from 15 seconds to 5 seconds and changed rarity from Uncommon to Common.
Addon Yamori's Mask: Added the activation requirement of "all Survivors further than 40m".

NEW KILLER PERKS CHANGES

None are Free:

When you hook a Survivor for the first time, gain 1 token, up to 4.
When all generators are completed, for each token, all windows and upright pallets are blocked for 12/14/16 seconds.
Removed the blocked "for everyone" clause.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

Archives

Fixed an issue where the "Grenade Launcher" Killer master challenge could not be completed.
Fixed an issue where the text reward appeared in Rift 1 instead of Tome 22 preview's page

Blood Moon

The Blood Can no longer clips into the ground when crouching.
Bloodpoints given when filling a Jerry Can no longer exceed the cap.
The SFX of Filling a Blood Can interaction no longer lingers when grabbed by the Killer.
Fixed an issue where players were not receiving objective points when only interacting with Fuel Generators.
Fixed multiple map issues related to the fuel pump.

Characters

The animation of Victor now plays correctly when opening a Locker with a Survivor in it.
The QTE prompt no longer stays indefinitely while spectating the Killer in Custom Games.
Spectators can now see the Fail or Success state of The Ghoul’s Grab attack.
The camera and Killer movement are no longer restricted after dropping a pallet on the Killer when they attempt to perform a grab-attack.
The Kagune Mark Reticle now appears consistently in the Survivor perspective when aiming across a Pallet or Window.
The Ghoul's tentacle leap animation now plays correctly after doing the second leap on a Survivor behind an obstacle.
The Ghoul can no longer basic attack a Survivor in quick succession during the third Kagune Leap cooldown.

Environment/Maps

Fixed an issue in Forgotten Ruins where hooks were spawning close to each other in the Dungeons
Fixed an issue in Lery's Memorial Institute where the Punishment Of The Damned could not travel through walls

Perks

Fixed an issue where Balanced Landing's reduced stagger and grunt effects were still being applied after becoming Exhausted.

Fixed a crash in the Tally Scoreboard when docking or undocking the Switch.
Fixed an issue where shows wrong killer name when switching character during queuing in a killer's lobby.
Fixed an issue where empty offering slots were shown as an hidden offering.
Fixed an issue where the wrong icon was displayed for Zarina's Murder Mill torso cosmetic.

Misc

Fixed an issue where Killer could load into a match with unowned cosmetics when viewing the mori preview with the selected cosmetic.
Fixed an issue where retired Offerings were not showing in player's inventory.

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

Survivors will still make a grunt when using Balanced Landing and performing a fast falling vault.

New Dead by Daylight survivor is the perfect support, and you can try her now

Dead by Daylight thrives on its variety. From classic horror icons to internal, homebrewed heroes, every nightmare becomes a reality in Behaviour's asymmetric multiplayer game. But we're often too focused on the big names: Five Nights at Freddy's, Saw, Alien. Now, as part of the Steady Pulse update, developer Behaviour Interactive is announcing a much more low-key character, but they could end up being one of the best, and there's a huge update to The Archives, too.

Read the rest of the story...

8.7.0 | PTB

[h2]Important[/h2]

Progress and save data information has been copied from the Live game to our PTB servers on April 7th, 2025. Please note that players will be able to progress for the duration of the PTB, but none of that progress will make it back to the Live version of the game.

[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 16/16/16 meters gain 25/25/25% Haste for 4/5/6 seconds.

Rapid Response:
When you do a Fast Locker Exit, you suffer from the Exhausted status effect for 30/30/30 seconds.
When you gain Exhausted, you see the Killer's aura for 1/1.5/2 seconds.
Exhausted prevents one from using perks that cause Exhausted.

[h3]KILLERS[/h3]

The Doctor

Added a cooldown to interrupting Unhooks with Shock Therapy repeatedly

The Houndmaster

Decreased 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

[h3]PERKS[/h3]
Survivor Perks

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%).

Champion of Light:
Increased the Haste effect while using a Flashlight to 70% (was 50%).

No One Left Behind:
Now increases the Haste effect for unhooked Survivors by 10% instead of applying a separate Haste effect.

Killer Perks

Furtive Chase:
Increased Haste effect after hooking the Obsession to 10% (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 15% slower +3/4/5% 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 Quest, 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 Stacking[/h3]

The effects of Haste and Hindered no longer stack with themselves.
While multiple Haste or Hindered effects are active, the largest percentage for each is used.
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]Surrender Option[/h3]

Added a new Killer scenario: 10 minutes after the last generator is completed, the Killer has the option to Surrender.

[h3]Rarity Rework[/h3]
Rarity levels have been revised to better surface different tier value and adding a new tag-based system that allows to surface extra information to players.

[h3]Bot Improvements[/h3]

Smoothened the camera direction of Bots while they are turning corners.
Survivor Bots are no longer trigger-happy with their Flashlights.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

Audio

Fixed an issue where the wrong terrain type SFX would play when walking in the Grim Pantry's big Cabin.
Fixed an issue where the wrong terrain type SFX would play when walking on the balcony of the mine tower in the Ormond Lake Mine map.
Fixed an issue where the wrong terrain type SFX would plat when walking on parts of the ramp inside the mine building in the Ormond Lake Mine map

Bots

Fixed an issue where survivor bots revealing The Ghost Face and clearing 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 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 Survivors could bleed out during a Mori.

Environment/Maps

Fixed an issue Midwich Elementary School error in the script created slowdowns
Fixed an issue on Temple of Purgation adding new collision to let zombies reach the arch base
Fixed an issue on Treatment Theatre by hiding a yellow collision box visible on a chair
Fixed an issue on Father Campbell's Chapel by removing an Invisible Collision present between 2 assets on Carnival section
Fixed an issue on Disturbed Ward by reworking collision to avoid zombies that can get stuck on the ramp leading inside the Asylum

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 Tally Screen would leave the Bloodpoints Earned page before displaying all bonuses.
Fixed an issue where toast 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.

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 the Demogorgon could perform actions while inside portals after pressing F11 throughout the Traverse charge.

Developer Update | April 2025

The 8.7.0 Update will be here before you know it, so let’s take a look at the notable gameplay changes you can expect from next week’s Public Test Build, including improvements we recently shared as part of our Quality-of-Life initiative.

You may notice that in this Developer Update, we haven’t included the crunchy numbers associated with certain changes. Without the context of a PTB to dive right into, specific value changes can be difficult to contextualize in the form of a blog. Stay tuned for the PTB Patch Notes, where we’ll share the precise values that are changing!

Read on for all the details:

[h2]NEW FEATURES [/h2]

[NEW] Added a Quests menu to centralize all quest-related content in one place.
This replaces the Daily Ritual, Tome Challenge, and Event Tome systems.

[NEW] Quests are organized into distinct groups, including Daily Quests, Rift Pass Quests, and Event Quests.
[NEW] Quests do not need to be selected to be considered active. All available quests are eligible for completion at all times.
[NEW] Upon completion, players receive quest rewards automatically without needing to return to the Quests menu.
[NEW] Added Milestone Quests, which reward players for completing progressively higher amounts of common in-game actions (i.e. hooking Survivors).
[NEW] Added the ability to pin multiple quests for easy reference in the Lobby and Match Details screen in-game.
[NEW] Quest notifications can be toggled on or off via the Graphics options menu.
[CHANGE] Updated verbiage to use the term “Quest” instead of “Ritual” or “Challenge”.

DEV NOTE: If you caught our latest livestream, you know what’s up – if not, check out the recording here for all the details on the new Quests system!

Our intention behind this system is that – win or lose – we want Trials to feel even more rewarding for players, making in-game tasks and rewards easier to engage with. What this means for you is that you can complete multiple quests per Trial, you can pin quests to easily reference them in-game, and rewards are unlocked automatically to minimizing the amount of time you spend in menus, among other things. Checking things off your to-do list should feel snappy and rewarding, and that’s the feeling we’re aiming for here!

[NEW] Extended the number of levels in the Deep Rift and increased the number of available outfit variants within it.
[NEW] Updated the final Rift tier – following the Deep Rift – to act as a repeatable source of Bloodpoints.
[CHANGE] Moved access to the Archives from the Lobby main menu to the bottom-screen menu.
[CHANGE] All Tome lore in the Compendium is now unlocked for all players.
[UNCHANGED] All existing Tome Challenges can still be completed for Bloodpoints and their page completion rewards. Note: They will not use the new Quests system, meaning they must be activated – one at a time – and redeemed once completed.

DEV NOTE: Alongside the new Quests system, we’ve also adjusted some of the game’s other menus and features. With the Rift, we’re really excited about how quests will make progression more streamlined and are happy to share that we’re adding even more content into the Deep Rift to spice up those level-ups.

While the Archives and Compendium will remain accessible in-game, Rift progression moving forward will be handled through the Quests menu, so you’ll likely see less of these legacy spaces. As a fitting way to show our respect for them, previous Tomes and their challenges will remain available for you to work through, and all lore is unlocked to let you walk down memory lane.

[NEW] Added a widget highlighting a player’s own Perks in the pre-game Lobby.
[NEW] Newly unlocked Survivors and Killers come pre-equipped with a Perk in their first slot.

DEV NOTE: There's a lot of info that newer players face when opening the game, so we want to highlight the importance of Perks for them. This widget uses a visual effect to let players know if they have unused Perk slots, making it easy to jump to that menu with a single click.

Pre-equipping a Perk for newly unlocked characters also helps ease players into the game, ensuring they won’t be at a disadvantage in their first Trial if they miss the Perks menu.

[NEW] Newly unlocked Survivors come pre-equipped with a small set of items and add-ons, as well as some extras in their inventory.
[NEW] Newly unlocked Killers come pre-equipped with a small set of add-ons, as well as some extras in their inventory.

DEV NOTE: Similar to the above, as we look to the future of Dead by Daylight, it’s important that we re-evaluate players’ first steps within the game. It’s not always clear that they should check a newly unlocked character’s loadout before entering a Trial.

Giving these items and add-ons to newly unlocked characters allows us to highlight the basics of a character’s kit, giving players something to use in their first few Trials.

[NEW] Each Survivor can attempt to unhook another Survivor 3 times. On the next attempt, they cannot cancel this interaction.
[NEW] Each Survivor's individual unhook attempt count resets when the hooked Survivor exits the hooked state.

DEV NOTE: It's not lost on us that unhooking can be used by Survivors to grief others. While we know there can be strategic reasons to cancel an unhook, this isn’t something that should be occurring over and over.

By setting a limit on this action before it becomes uninterruptable, our goal is to ensure well-meaning players have the flexibility to change their tactics on the fly, while also preventing others from using this action for griefing purposes.

[NEW] Added an additional window of time in which a skill check will be nullified when letting go of an action as the skill check pops up.

DEV NOTE: We’ve all been there. You get off a generator just a fraction too late and BOOM, you trigger a failed skill check. As a result of your feedback, we’ve added a slightly extended grace period for letting go of generators and healing actions. This should help reduce the frustration of a rogue skill check alerting the Killer, without being so generous that you can be careless with your actions.

[h2]KILLER UPDATES [/h2]

[CHANGE] Decreased Dog Chase Command vault speed.
[CHANGE] Increased Bloodpoint rewards for all Deviousness scoring events.

DEV NOTE: When vaulting, Snug feels a little fast given how his animation plays out. This can feel off and leaves Survivors with very little time to react. We’ve decreased Snug’s vault speed slightly to better match his animation, while giving Survivors a little more flexibility while being chased around pallets.

We’ve also seen your feedback that the Houndmaster’s Bloodpoint rewards need a little buff. We’ve doubled the reward values of all her Deviousness scoring events to help bring this in line.

[h2]STATUS EFFECT UPDATES [/h2]

[CHANGE] Haste no longer stacks with other Haste effects.
[CHANGE] Hindered no longer stacks with other Hindered effects.
[CHANGE] Updated status effect widgets to display current Haste and Hindered values (this can be disabled in the game options).
[CHANGE] Updated select Perk descriptions to change base movement speed adjustments to Haste or Hindered effects.
[CHANGE] Introduced small buffs to Perks which previously relied on stacking.

DEV NOTE: Historically, stacking status effects like Haste and Hindered, as well as base movement speed changes, has led to circumstances where certain Perk combos (Made For This + Hope, anyone?) ended up far more powerful than intended.

By streamlining these effects, you’ll only ever move as fast (or as slow) as the highest Haste or Hindered effect currently active (note: the highest value of these two effects will still interact with each other). Our intention is to limit instances of overtuned combos, while making their effects easier to understand, especially as we welcome new players to the Fog.

Stay tuned for the PTB Patch Notes, for an overview of the Perks that will be receiving small buffs to account for the removal of this stacking.

[h2]PERK UPDATES [/h2]

[CHANGE] When a Totem is Rekindled, Survivors’ healing and repair speeds are reduced. This effect is increased for each additional Rekindled Totem. If all five totems are Rekindled simultaneously, all Totems are permanently blocked by The Entity.
[CHANGE] Survivors cursed by this Perk see Rekindled Totems’ auras within a small radius.
[CHANGE] Hex: Pentimento no longer reduces recovery speed from being downed or gate-opening speed.

DEV NOTE: It's no secret that Hex: Pentimento’s repair speed debuff is its strongest effect and main draw. With this change, we’ve moved away from giving the full power of this debuff at 1 Totem. Instead, gradually increasing healing and repair debuffs give this effect a more gradual power curve. This preserves its focus on slowing Survivor progression without being too dominant at 1 Totem.

As for aura reading, our goal is to help support solo players who don’t have the benefit of teammates to help with Totem callouts.

Until next time...

The Dead by Daylight Team