Dead by Daylight News

[h2]Important[/h2]

• Progress & save data information has been copied from the Live game to our PTB servers on December 19th, 2022. 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]Release Schedule[/h2]

• PTB goes live: 11AM ET
  

[h2]Quality Of Life [/h2]
[h3]Survivor Activity HUD[/h3]

• The Survivor HUD now features an indicator that appears whenever they or their teammates engage in an activity. Activities include Repairing a Generator, being chased by the Killer, Healing, recovering from the Dying State, Cleansing or Blessing a Totem, opening an Exit Gate, or interacting with a Killer’s Power.
  

[h3]Merciless Killer[/h3]

• Moving forward, getting 4 Kills will earn the Killer a Merciless Killer rating, rather than the previous requirement of a double pip.
  

[h3]The Queuing Experience[/h3]  

• Players are now able to browse the Store, The Archives and Daily Rituals, while queueing for a match. If they are mid-purchase when the lobby is ready, the game will wait for the conclusion of the transaction – though it will kick the player if the delay is too long.
  
• While queued, Killers can browse their other Killers and change their loadouts and customizations. This will not affect their currently queued character, who remains shown beside the "Looking for Match" message.
  

Dev Note: Due to a potential disconnection during cinematics, we had to disable the viewing of cinematics when in a party or queueing for a match

[h3]Wiggling[/h3] 
Following a period in BETA, the updated Wiggle system is now standard for all players. Rather than mashing the left and right inputs to Wiggle, it now follows a ping-pong Skill Check system.

Based on the feedback we’ve received from players – thank you very much – we have made a few adjustments to the system.

• Controller input handling has been improved, which should allow Killers to respond to Wiggling more efficiently while carrying Survivors.
  
• Survivors no longer shorten carry time by hitting Great Skill Checks. Instead, Great Skill Checks will increase resistance for the Killer.
  
• The size of the Great Skill Check zone has been slightly increased. We’ve also updated the Wiggling sound effects for improved feedback.
  

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2]
[h3]The Knight[/h3]

• Now that the Forged In Fog Chapter has been released for several weeks, we have updated several aspects of The Knight’s Base Kit: 
  
• While using his Power, The Knight is now forced out of Guard Summon Mode after 10 seconds.
  
• While tracing a Patrol Path, The Knight’s Orb shrinks with distance travelled and disappears completely after 10m.
  
• When The Knight creates a Patrol Path longer than 10m, he will gain the Haste Status Effect. The Effect’s duration depends on the length of the Path, beginning at 2 seconds and increasing to 6 seconds at the maximum distance of 32m.
  
• When a Guard detects a Survivor: If your Patrol Path is over 10m, the time it takes that Guard to reach the Survivor has been decreased. This reduction depends on the length of your Path, ranging from the default 10% to a maximum of 25% if your Path reaches 32m. Basically, the longer your Patrol Path, the faster your Guard will move once he detects a Survivor.
  
• Using a guard to damage a Generator now grants an instant 5% loss of progress (previously 2.5%).
  

Add-On Updates:

• Healing Poultice: When Survivors are within 24m of The Assassin when he spawns, their locations will be revealed for 5 seconds (up from 3).
  

[h3]The Nurse[/h3]

The Nurse holds an interesting place in the Killer Roster. Though her Power can be challenging to master, she can be extremely deadly in practiced hands, especially with certain Perks that accentuate her mobility. While we don’t want to completely overhaul her, we have made some updates to The Nurse, including a pass on her Add-Ons.
Base Kit:

• Any Attack made after Blinking is now a Blink Attack, not a Basic Attack. This will impact how The Nurse synergizes with certain Perks, including those that trigger the Exposed Status Effect.
  

Add-On Updates:

• Catatonic Boy’s Treasure: Reduces extra fatigue from Chain Blinks by 65% (was 100).
  
• Dark Cincture: Increases movement speed after a Blink but before the following fatigue by 30%.
  
• Heavy Panting: Extends the duration of a Lunge by 30% after more than one Blink.
  
• Ataxic Respiration: Reduces base Blink fatigue duration by 7% (was 12%).
  
• Fragile Wheeze: Blink Attacks inflict the Mangled status effect.
  
• Campbell's Last Breath: After reappearing from a fully charged Blink, The Nurse immediately Blinks again at full charge in the direction she is currently facing. This only works if The Nurse has a remaining Blink charge (was originally a half-charged Blink).
  
• "Bad Man's" Last Breath: Hitting a Survivor with a successful Blink Attack grants the Undetectable status effect for 25 seconds (up from 16). This effect may be only triggered once every 45 seconds (down from 60).
  
• Kavanaugh's Last Breath: When succumbing to fatigue, any Survivors within 8 meters of The Nurse are afflicted with the Blindness status effect for 60 seconds.
  
• Jenner's Last Breath: Once The Nurse has exhausted all her Blinks, The Nurse can immediately Blink back to her original position by pressing the Active Ability Button. Must be triggered before The Nurse succumbs to fatigue. After returning to her original position, all Blink charges are restored (added restoration of Blink charges).
  
• Torn Bookmark: Adds 1 Blink charge. Increases Blink recharge time by 30% (was 50%).
  
• Matchbox: Sets maximum number of Blink charges to 1. Increases The Nurse's base movement speed to 4.4 m/s (was 4.2 m/s, no longer allows other addons to restore Blink charges).
  

General Updates:

The Nurse is officially the latest Killer to receive her own theme in the menu, as well as a new Terror Radius and Chase Music.  

We’ve also adjusted the following:

• Improved feedback for the Spasmodic Breath Add-On.
  
• Updated Blink recharge audio to give a better indication of when Blink charges are full.
  

[h3]Map Updates[/h3]

Eyrie of Crows has received a balance pass to make the Map more fun to play for both Survivor and Killer.

• The Map's length has been shortened.
  
• Generators are more evenly distributed.
  
• The main building has been moved toward the Map's edge.
  
• The strength of certain main building loops has been decreased.
  
• New tiles have been added.
  

[h2]Optimizations[/h2]

We have improved overall stability and performance of the Main Menu, the Character Info panel, and The Archives Rift. We’ve also improved performance when loading into a match on Nintendo Switch.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]
[h3]PlayStation[/h3]

• The PlayStation Store banner no longer remains visible outside of the store.
  
• PlayStation players should no longer have trouble inviting or joining their friends in a match.
  

[h3]Windows Store[/h3]

• Players should no longer be unable to successfully purchase Auric Cells on the Windows Store.
  

[h3]Audio[/h3]

• The proper SFX will now play when a match is found.
  
• The blood SFX will no longer play when a Hooked Survivor enters the Struggle Phase.
  
• The Locker exit SFX is no longer unaffected by the Quick & Quiet Perk.
  
• The Music no longer continues playing while a Survivor is being Sacrificed.
  
• Raised the volume of the Legion’s blood wiping SFX.
  

[h3]The Knight[/h3]

• The Knight’s Guards no longer get stuck in various places on the Mount Ormond Map.
  
• The Knight’s guards are no longer incapable of traversing certain passages on the Mount Ormond Map.
  
• The Knight’s feet are officially animated in the first-person perspective when attacking or looking down.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the Knight and The Spirit to see the Potential Energy VFX and Refined Serum VFX while in Path creation mode and Phase Walking respectively.
  
• The Knight's Power no longer becomes unusable when using the order system immediately after entering Patrol mode.
  
• The Knight will no longer be able to perform actions from unintended distances immediately after using Guardia Compagnia.
  
• The Knight will no longer receive a permanent 5% Haste Status Effect upon creating a Guard Path under than 10m.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused The Knight entering Path Creation Mode to trigger Make Your Choice while standing beside a Hook.
  

[h3]The Spirit[/h3]

• The Spirit’s weapon retracting animation no longer speeds up.
  
• The Spirit’s hair is no longer missing from a Spectator’s point of view during a Custom Match.
  

[h3]The Twins[/h3]

• Switching between Charlotte and Victor will no longer lead to an unexpected black screen.
  
• Fixed an issue where Charlotte would be unable to move after switching control from Victor.
  
• The Undetectable Visual Effect is no longer missing while using the Silencing Cloth Add-On.
  

[h3]The Plague[/h3]

• Unstable Rifts can no longer become infected by a Survivor infected by The Plague’s Power.
  

[h3]Survivor Perks & Gameplay[/h3]

• Flashbangs no longer spin while in a Survivor’s hand.
  
• When the Circle of Healing Boon is snuffed, Survivors in its radius no longer fail their ongoing Skill Checks.
  
• Survivors can no longer drop a Flashbang Grenade while getting Healed.
  
• Firecrackers and Flashbangs now trigger as intended when thrown against a wall.
  
• Object of Obsession now properly increases the chances of players becoming the Obsession at the start of a match.
  
• Potential Energy should no longer remain on the Survivor after certain Killers use their Power.
  

[h3]Killer Perks[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where Hex: No One Escapes Death’s Aura remains active if first blessed by a Survivor, then snuffed by a Killer.
  
• Resolved Hex: Huntress Lullaby inconsistencies between SFX and UI.
  

[h3]Maps[/h3]

• Fixed an impassable passage between cedar walls on the Badham Preschool IV Map.
  
• Survivors can no longer use momentum to vault onto a ledge of the Pale Rose’s Ferry.
  
• A specific Generator on the Garden of Joy Map is no longer inaccessible from one side.
  
• Placeholder textures have been removed from the Disturbed Ward Map.
  

[h3]Misc:[/h3]

• Special Cosmetics such as the Vial Charms will now appear in-game consistently.
  
• The Killer player can no longer join a lobby with an unintended character.
  
• Players can no longer use an exploit to play with more than 4 Perks.
  
• Bots no longer get stuck on thin air.
  
• Force-quitting the game no longer causes a crash.
  
• The splash screen no longer causes a crash.
  
• Customizations equipped in the store are now immediately visible to all party members.
  
• Survivor Bots no longer attempt to blind The Knight’s guards.
  
• Applied a tentative fix to an issue causing lag spikes for players with both a mouse and controller connected.
  
• Resolved an issue in the Shrine of Secrets where a Perk would display as “available” even after purchasing it.
  
• The menu is no longer accessible while interacting with the EULA or Privacy Policy popup.
  
• The Alert Reward popup no longer blocks inputs on the Menu.
  
• Players should now gain proper progress on the achievement “Milk ‘n’ Cookies.”
  
• Wiggle Skill Check responsiveness has been improved.
  
• Survivor hair is no longer wonky during the Hook death animation.
  
• The Entity Spikes at the Exit Gates should now appear as intended.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the Dissolve SFX to not play when Breakable Wall pieces disappear.
  

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• When the Nurse use the Spasmodic Breath Add-On, hits a Survivor and then leaves the game, the vignette will continue to show in the Tally Screen.
  
• Some language localisation issues remain, particularly in relation to the Merciless Killer rating.
  

Happy New Year! The team is back from holidays, and we’ve brought a new Developer Update with us. In this series of posts, we cover all the biggest upcoming changes coming to Dead by Daylight. We have many quality of life improvements up our sleeves, so without further ado, let’s kick 2023 off with a bang.



[h2]Survivor Activity HUD[/h2]

It’s no secret that playing with friends may improve your odds of survival. Communication can at times make the difference between life and death. Solo Survivors need to work extra hard to keep up, often sacrificing perk slots for crucial information that could be easily shared between players in a call.

Last year, we shared an early design for a system that would help bridge the gap between solo Survivors and premade groups. The response to this idea was positive, so we’ve been ironing out the details and working on it behind the scenes since. We’re happy to say that this system will be debuting in the 6.5.0 update.

Each Survivor will now display their current action next to their portrait. These actions include:

• Repairing a Generator
  
• Opening an Exit Gate
  
• Healing, Mending & Recovering
  
• Cleansing & Blessing a Totem
  
• Searching a Chest
  
• Killer specific actions (e.g. Snapping out of it, waking up a Survivor, etc.)
  

This not only gives you vital information to plan your next move, but also gives you some visibility on what your teammates are doing to build camaraderie between you and your fellow Survivors. These actions are only visible among Survivors: Killers won’t be told what you’re doing at all times.



Beyond actions, we have added a new indicator to signify that a Survivor is in a chase. Previously it was only possible to tell when the Obsession was being chased due to the twitching icon. Going forward, any Survivor that is being chased will have a small set of Entity claws surrounding their portrait. Meanwhile the Obsession will always have a larger set of Entity claws around their portrait, keeping the effect visually similar. Unlike your current activity, the Killer also sees who they are chasing, making it possible to distinguish two similarly dressed Survivors.

Finally, we’ve added a new health state to show when a Survivor is being carried by the Killer. Previously the carried Survivor would be shown in the dying state, but this could be confusing for newer players who were looking for the aura of a dying teammate.

Why these actions?

The goal with this feature is solely to bridge the gap between solo Survivors and premade groups. All this information can be easily conveyed between friends in a call, but not between solo Survivors (without the use of perks). Therefore, this information will not make a coordinated group any stronger than before.

We specifically want to avoid anything that could give already coordinated groups an advantage, such as showing a Survivor’s exact location. Due to the procedural nature of Dead by Daylight maps, callouts like these can be hazy at times, so pinpointing an exact location could give even premade groups an advantage.

We hope you’ll find this decision to be the fairest option for bridging the gap, and we will be closely monitoring the impact this change has on solo Survivors, premade groups, and overall gameplay. We look forward to hearing from you all once you’ve had a chance to try it out!



[h2]Updated Wiggle Mechanics[/h2]

The updated wiggle system was the first feature to appear in the beta tab last year. Since its introduction, we’ve collected feedback from countless games and around the internet. Roughly 83% of players are currently opted into the wiggle beta.

The time has come for this system to be officially integrated into the game, and as a result, the wiggle beta will disappear from the betas tab in the 6.5.0 update. There’s a couple changes that will be made before this goes live.

First: We are removing faster wiggle progression from great skill checks. Hitting all great skill checks could shave off a whole second. While this sounds small, it can be the difference between wiggling free and getting hooked. Rather than increasing wiggle speed, great skill checks will instead increase the amount the Killer sways while carrying you by 20%. Great skill check success zones have also been increased in size since they are now less impactful. Good skill checks, on the other hand, still bump the Killer, but 50% less than was previously normal.

Second: We have added a new sound for non-attempts (i.e. not attempting to hit a skill check at all). Previously, this would play the missed skill check sound, which can be a little intense when played over and over if you’ve decided not to wiggle. This new sound will be much more subtle.

Third: We have cleaned up the new system’s interaction with Decisive Strike. Previously, wiggle skill checks would start immediately after the Decisive Strike skill check. This caught a lot of people off guard and caused some confusion. There is now a short (0.5 second) delay after the Decisive Strike skill check before wiggle skill checks appear. You’ll be credited a small amount of wiggle progress to make up for the added delay before these skill checks appear.



[h2]The Nurse[/h2]

In the right hands, The Nurse can no doubt be the strongest Killer in the game. Though she has a steep learning curve, not much can stand between a good Nurse and the Survivor she’s trying to kill (not even walls). Although it’s been a while since we’ve made any major changes to her, The Nurse has steadily grown in power thanks to the introduction of new perks, making already strong playstyles even stronger. This in large part comes down to the fact that her attacks are considered basic attacks, meaning they can benefit from a wide variety of perks.

Since The Nurse can be threatening enough on her own, we’ve decided that it’s time to make her blink attacks special attacks. This means they will no longer activate basic attack perks such as Starstruck, Hex: No One Escapes Death, and so on.

Next, we’ve added a new sound cue when The Nurse has fully regenerated all her blink charges. This way, you’ll know when you’re ready to blink again without having to keep an eye on the corner of your screen.

Beyond that, we took some time to revisit The Nurse’s add-ons to add new effects and bring the strongest and weakest of the bunch closer in line with the rest. Notably any add-on that increases The Nurse’s maximum blink range has been replaced with a completely new effect. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s to come:

“Bad Man’s” Last Breath

After hitting a Survivor with a blink attack, The Nurse becomes Undetectable for 25 seconds. This effect can only be triggered once every 45 seconds.

Jenner’s Last Breath

Once all blinks have been exhausted, The Nurse may teleport back to her original position. Once she returns to her original position, all blink charges are restored.

The full details for the changed add-ons can be found in the patch notes once the update goes live, but you can also expect changes for the following:

Catatonic Boy’s Treasure

• Dark Cincture
  
• Heavy Panting
  
• Ataxic Respiration
  
• Fragile Wheeze
  
• Campbell’s Last Breath
  
• Kavanaugh’s Last Breath
  
• Torn Bookmark
  
• Matchbox
  

Spasmodic Breath will also receive new audio and visual feedback to make it clearer when its effects are active.



[h2]The Knight[/h2]

The Knight and his guards have been patrolling the realm for a little over a month now, and we’ve been combing through your feedback all the while. One recurring piece of feedback we’ve received is about how The Knight’s power is best used in loops rather than over longer distances. While this is a totally valid way to use his power, we’d also like to make it more appealing to use your power in different ways. We’ve made a few changes aiming to make longer paths more powerful.

First, the orb Survivors see when the Killer is creating a path will shrink with distance, disappearing completely when the path is longer than 10 meters. This will make it more difficult for Survivors to avoid a guard before they become active, though the Killer will still need to predict where the Survivor will go.

Second, after creating a path longer than 10 meters, The Knight will gain the Haste Status Effect for a few seconds. The longer the path, the longer the movement speed bonus will last. This aims to help the Killer catch up after using his power.

Third, guards will move to the position they spotted a Survivor and begin chasing faster depending on the length of the patrol path. Like the Haste, only paths longer than 10 meters will benefit from this.

Beyond promoting longer paths, we’ve increased the instant generator regression from guards to 5% (compared to the default 2.5%). Guards will not activate generator damaging perks, however, so use them wisely!

Lastly, we have the admire the… creative ways some of you have used The Knight’s power. Rather than locking down an area or aggressively chasing Survivors, some of you have discovered that you can start drawing a path and not move to hide your terror radius- particularly near a hook Survivor. While the efficiency of doing this is debatable, it doesn’t exactly suit his playstyle, so we’ve added a 10 second limit to his patrol path creation. This gives enough time to not affect a typical path, but it will put a hard limit on how long you can stay still and hide your terror radius.



[h2]Eyrie of Crows[/h2]

Last year, the Forsaken Boneyard appeared in The Entity’s Realm alongside the Portrait of a Murder Chapter. You’ve given us a lot of feedback on this surreal landscape, and we’ve prepared some gameplay adjustments for the Eyrie of Crows which will launch in this upcoming patch.

Many players reported that the map felt Survivor-sided, and this is something we can back up looking at our data. To remedy this, the map will be changing shapes: Rather than a long rectangle, the map will be roughly square, allowing Killers to patrol generators more easily. This change in shape also reduces the overall size of the map slightly.

Additionally, maze tiles (stronger tiles made up of tall walls) have been moved away from the main building and shack, making it harder to combine them into stronger loops.

Last but certainly not least, several new tiles have been added to the map. Multiple existing tiles have had new foliage added in strategic places to allow trapping Killers to better hide their traps. Keep an eye out as you explore!

We hope you’ll find the new Eyrie of Crows to be a much more even experience for both sides.





[h2]In-Game Challenge Tracker
[/h2]
We’ve all been there. You’re not quite sure if you finished your challenge or not. You spend the rest of the match questioning, “Was that 5 Totems, or 4?” Doubt starts to creep in, but you lie to yourself and say, “No. It was 5.” Then the match ends and you find yourself just shy of the goal.

Never again: We are adding a challenge tracker during the match. This widget will appear at set intervals as you make progress on an active challenge. You can choose to toggle between two settings that will indicate progression on a challenge, as well as its completion. No more guessing!

If you’d prefer to keep your screen clear, this widget can be switched off in the Options menu.





[h2]Gameflow Improvements[/h2]

Speaking of challenges, if you’ve ever queued up for a match before realizing that you didn’t have a challenge selected, you’ll know that you’re faced with two choices: Keep queuing and play the next match without a challenge, or back out and select one.

Starting in 6.5.0, this is a thing of the past: You can now browse the Archives and the Store while searching for a match. The “Searching for Match” indicator will stay in the bottom right corner of the screen as you browse. You’ll also be able to spend Bloodpoints in the Bloodweb as you wait!

New for our Killers players, you’ll also be able to customize your non-selected Killers while you wait for a match to start. Note: the Killer you will enter the match with will be the Killer you started your search with. As always, returning to the main menu will automatically cancel your search or exit your group, as it always did.

Whether you forgot something or you just love clicking around while you wait, we hope you’ll enjoy having more freedom while searching!





[h2]Merciless Killer[/h2]

Finally, we have a small update to Merciless Killer ratings. These ratings are currently tied to the grades system, where a double pip earns you a Merciless Killer result and the corresponding adept Killer achievement/trophy. Unfortunately, this means that as your grade increases, it becomes harder to earn these achievements. Since the emblem system has transitioned to a monthly ladder, it no longer makes as much sense for match results to be based on them.

To clean things up, the result you get after a match will now be tied directly to kills.

• 0 Kills: The Entity Hungers…
  
• 1-2 Kills: Brutal Killer
  
• 3 Kills: Ruthless Killer
  
• 4 Kills: Merciless Killer
  

With this change, the requirement for a Merciless Killer rating is much clearer and remains the same regardless of your grade. This will also make Killer adept achievements a similar level of difficulty to their Survivor counterparts.



[h2]Iridescent Shard Prices[/h2]

A few months back, we announced that all non-licensed outfits would receive an option to purchase with Iridescent Shards roughly a month after they first appear in the store.

By extension, existing outfits will also receive Iridescent Shard options, but this is being done in batches of a few characters at a time. So far, we’ve added this option to outfits for The Trapper, The Wraith, The Hillbilly, The Nurse, The Huntress, The Doctor, The Hag, Dwight, Claudette, Meg, Jake, Nea, and David King.

We can reveal that the next characters to get this treatment will be The Clown, The Spirit, Ace Visconti, and Feng Min. You can expect the Iridescent Shard prices to appear around the time the update releases on all platforms (not the PTB!).



[h2]An Update on Cheating[/h2]

Now that 2022 is behind us, we wanted to leave you with a chart showing the number of cheaters banned each year since Dead by Daylight was released.



The team is still hard at work finding and patching new vulnerabilities, and we hope to share more information with you soon!

[hr][/hr]
With that, we’ve reached the end of the first Developer Update of the year. Everything we shared in this post will be available in the Public Test Build starting tomorrow and are planned to be released on all platforms later this month. Be sure to let us know what you think once you’ve had a chance to try them out!

Until next time…

The Dead by Daylight team

Playing Dead by Daylight has just become more rewarding with the Alienware Arena Community event! Prizes are awarded based on community participation – the longer you play, the more prizes you can receive.  

The community has already unlocked a limited-edition DBD Badge and Anna the Huntress Mask, but there are still more rewards to be claimed including: 

• Anna the Huntress Vest 
  
• Anna the Huntress Sarafan 
  
• Anna the Huntress Axes 
  
• DBD Anna the Huntress Border
  

 


Head over to the Alienware Arena Community event to learn more and join in.