It’s about that time for another Developer Update, the series of posts where we discuss upcoming changes making their way to Dead by Daylight. This time, we’ll go through some notable changes happening in the next update alongside a brand-new Chapter and beyond!


Over the past few years, various realms have gradually received facelifts. This process- which we named The Realm Beyond- has us revisit older maps and bring their visuals up to modern standards. We’ve already updated the majority of maps, and today, we turn our focus to the classic Red Forest.

Home to both The Huntress and The Plague, the Red Forest debuted nearly six years ago. This visual update maintains the iconic rainy climate of the original maps as well as the small details and nods to their respective Killers’ lore.

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so rather than having you read a few thousand words, take a look at these previews!








Speaking of maps, many of you can probably single out a favourite; a map that you’re always excited to see. But with so many maps to choose from, you probably don’t want to play the same map several times in a row even if it happens to be your favourite. Variety is the spice of life, and variety in Dead by Daylight is no exception.

No longer will you need to resort to map Offerings in a plea to The Entity to stop sending you to Fractured Cowshed: Map Repeat Prevention is here!

This new feature eliminates the possibility of playing the same map twice so long as a map Offering is not used. The same goes for any other players in your trial: If each person played a different map in their last match, none of those maps will be chosen. Furthermore, the chance for these maps to be chosen will also be reduced for the next few matches, steadily returning to their usual odds.

We hope you enjoy seeing a wider variety of maps as you play!



We recently introduced Survivor bots to custom matches, allowing you and your friends to fill the remaining spots with robot allies, or just practice a new Killer against an entire lobby of bots. We were thrilled to see such an enthusiastic response to this feature from the community. Since then, we’ve been working hard on improvements to the Survivor bots and their AI, and as such, you’ll notice a few changes in the next update.

First, we’ve added the ability to customize a Survivor bot’s loadout. Once you’ve added a bot to the lobby, simply click their name and you’ll find a new edit button. Here, you can customize the bot’s Perks, Item, Offering, and even which Survivor you’d like them to be. We’ve also taught the bots to use most –but not all– of the perks, so go wild and test out various combinations!

Second, we’ve made a large number of improvements to the Survivor AI. Some of these improvements are smaller than others, but here are just some of the more noteworthy tweaks:

• Improved navigation in some areas, preventing bots from getting stuck in some places or attempting to loop something that they shouldn’t.
  
• Bots are now more bold when it comes to unhooking their fellow Survivors. Though they prefer to go for the save when it’s safe, they will now attempt an unsafe rescue as a last resort.
  
• Bots will now actively attempt to seek out Totems when using Totem hunting perks such as Small Game or Counterforce.
  
• Bots will now react to some audio queues (e.g. The Wraith’s bell). Previously, they would only respond to the Terror Radius.
  
• Bots have learned to better respond to certain Killer powers. For example, they will now crouch near The Hag’s Traps and disarm Bear Traps.
  
• Bots will now attempt to break line of sights in a loop while a ranged Killer is aiming at them.
  
• And many, many more!

Bots are by no means meant to replace a real person, but we hope these improvements will make them a slightly more realistic practice buddy.



Although we typically save perk changes for our Mid-Chapter Updates, we had a little room in this Chapter to squeeze in a few perk changes. We are in the midst of planning another package of perk changes for the next major update.


Eruption has been a hot topic as of late, and for good reason. This perk was updated in our meta shake up last year and has steadily grown in usage ever since. These days, it has solidified its spot in the new meta.

Many of you have raised concerns surrounding how the perk disproportionally affects solo players. Since solo players cannot warn their teammates when they are about to go down, their teammates cannot stop working on the generator to avoid the Incapacitated effect. This made Eruption very powerful: Not only would it immediately lose 10% of its progress, but it would continue to regress until the Incapacitated effect wore off.

This made Eruption a very clear choice for any loadout, not only regressing generators, but also preventing further repairs from being done. To bring Eruption more in line with other generator perks, we have made a few changes.

First, Eruption will now cause the generator to lose 10% of its current progress, not total. This means the effect will be less severe on generators with less progress, but more impactful on generators that are nearly completed.

Second, Eruption will no longer apply the Incapacitated effect to Survivors who were repairing the generator when it exploded. Instead, Survivors who are actively working on the generator will scream and reveal their aura to the Killer for 10 seconds. Not only will this make the perk less frustrating for solo players, but it will also give the Killer crucial information on the other Survivors’ whereabouts so they can attempt to interrupt them.

We hope you’ll find this new version of Eruption to be much more comparable to other generator related perks!


This perk makes it possible for a Survivor to pick up a dropped pallet, allowing it to be used again later in the match. Back when this perk launched, many people (us included!) were worried that it may be too powerful, so it had a fairly long cooldown. Over time, it became clear that the biggest obstacle to using this perk was not in the fact the cooldown, but rather finding a pallet that had not yet been destroyed. Since the perk requires a fairly lengthy interaction and can be interrupted by the Killer, Any Means Necessary cannot be used aggressively.

To give this perk a slight boost, we have removed its cooldown entirely. Survivors running this perk can now reset a dropped –yet unbroken– pallet whenever they have the chance! Killers will want to keep an eye out for pallets mysteriously resetting and be extra vigilant when it comes to breaking them.


While Chapter releases like this one tend not to come with many balance changes, you can expect a larger package of perk changes in the following Mid-Chapter.



In recent weeks we have noted a passionate conversation amongst the community in regard to who in the game is, and is not, getting cosmetics.

Over the years, the roster has grown to an astonishing count of 64. With such a wide variety, producing new Outfits for each of them has become a tall task. Each new cosmetic takes a good amount of time and careful planning to bring to life, and there’s only so much time in between updates. We have to be very conscious about the Outfits we release, balancing both character and style variety, but also content which we know players will love.

This can result in some characters receiving a new Outfit less frequently that we, or you, would like. We try our best to include a vast array of Survivors and Killers so everyone can find one that resonates with them, and it can be upsetting when it feels like that character was forgotten. That feeling is mutual; we love everyone who has been brought into the Fog and want the best for each of them.

But there’s good news on this front which we wanted to share today! We have recently expanded our production capacity to increase the number of cosmetics we can produce for each update, and you should start seeing the results over the coming months. With this, we hope to increase both the quantity and variety of Outfits we release without sacrificing quality.

To illustrate with an example, here’s a look at how we’re planning content around one beloved Survivor, Haddie Kaur, in the upcoming releases:



While the example above will not always be possible across all Killers and Survivors, it’s the type of release scope we’d like to see for the whole cast, especially newer ones who have joined The Fog.

We are all looking forward to this increased output capacity in our Outfits, and will be happy to share more as we progress.



Wrapping things up, we have a quick update to our ongoing plan to combat cheating. Not only have we continued to detect and patch out various cheats since our last update, but we’ve also expanded our team! We’ve recently welcomed a new Team Lead to our growing security team who will help coordinate our efforts moving forward.

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And with that, we’ve once again reached the end of the Developer Update. Most of the changes we’ve talked about today will be available to try during the Public Test Build starting (later this week / next week). As always, we’ll be keeping a watchful eye out for your feedback once you’ve had a chance to try them out!

Until next time…

The Dead by Daylight team

• Update Releases: 11AM EDT

We've applied a tentative fix that should resolve an issue surrounding Merciless Killer, wherein Killing 4 Survivors would not trigger it as intended. Your Tally Screen Results should now be displayed accurately.

However, we are still working on a consistent fix to an issue surrounding the Adept Achievements for Killer and Survivor, which are still not unlocking correctly in select situations.

• There is no longer a missing prompt while purchasing Outfits.

• Killer players in a lobby will no longer see character swap arrows after opening the Bloodweb.
  
• Using the Furin Add-On as The Spirit no longer impacts her audio while Phasing.
  
• The Huntress's menu music now loops correctly.
  
• The camera no longer risks getting stuck when returning to Charlotte after Victor gets crushed.
  
• Victor will no longer become unreachable after pouncing on a Vaulting Survivor.
  
• The Hex: Huntress Lullaby no longer remains active after the Totem is cleansed.
  
• The Hex: Huntress Lullaby Perk no longer gains two tokens each time a Survivor is Hooked after it has been re-activated by Hex: Undying.
  
• The Knight can no longer grab Survivors at the end of the Patrol Path after Summoning a Guard.

• Cages of Atonement no longer distort female Survivor faces.
  
• Female Survivor faces are no longer distorted when another Survivor finds them in a Locker.
  
• The Killer is no longer locked looking into the same direction during the Survivor tutorial.
  
• Wiggle skill checks now correctly grant Bloodpoints.
  
• The Mangled effect no longer applies to the Mend, Snap Out of It, and Recover interactions.
  
• The Aura reading ability of Maps may no longer remain active indefinitely.

• Generators will no longer spawn too close together in the Racoon City Police Station Main Hall.
  
• Players can no longer climb on a rock in the Eyrie of Crows.
  
• Repairing the Generator in Racoon City Police Station West Wing awards the Raccoon City Recruit achievement.

• Update Releases: 11AM EDT

• Survivor activity HUD now shows Generator progress.

• The game should no longer crash on exit.
  
• Switching to a loadout with the same Add-On in a different position will no longer cause disconnection from a lobby.
  
• Items on sale in the Store display the correct discounted Iridescent Shard price.
  
• Customization Reward notifications will now correctly appear.
  
• The copyright year has been updated in the intro trailer.
  
• Simultaneously levelling up and swapping character should no longer trigger a soft lock.

• In a Custom Game, changing to Survivor after having multiple players in the Killer role now displays the correct role to all party members.
  
• Bots will now hit regular Skill Checks correctly.

• The Knight can no longer break an un-dropped Pallet that was reset by the Perk Any Means Necessary.
  
• Survivors will no longer remain stuck in the the Remove Chain action when chained by The Cenobite's Summons of Pain or Chain Hunt.
  
• Lethal Pursuer will no longer inadvertently reveal Auras while Blinded.
  
• The Hillbilly’s Chainsaw no longer risks going silent when using the Apex Muffler or Off-Brand Motor Oil Add-Ons.
  
• The Whispers icon no longer appears lit before its first activation.
  
• The frame rate has been stabilized during Killer Moris.
  
• The Nurse will now gain Blink Charge correctly while using Jenner’s Last Breath.
  
• Status Effects from The Pig’s Add-Ons will no longer remain after a Reverse Bear Trap has been removed.
  
• Killers will no longer receive Merciless Killer after Killing fewer than 4 Survivors.
  
• Killers will no longer get stuck in the Shattered Square Map.
  
• Fixed an unreachable Bear Trap placement in the Gas Haven Map.
  
• Killers can no longer climb on the Vat Room rails in The Game Map.
  
• Killers can no longer completely body block access to basements in the Autohaven Wreckers Realm.
  
• Exiting a locker as The Dredge while a Survivor is moving away no longer causes a sound cut.
  
• The Blight will no longer keep William Birkin’s voice in the menu while changing to another Outfit.
  
• The Knight's Enchanted Plates and Frosty Eyes outfits no longer disappear while he is using his Power.

• Female Survivor legs will no longer clip through the ground during The Nurse’s Mori.
  
• The Red Envelope of a dead or disconnected Survivor will no longer remain visible.
  
• The Breakout Perk icon is now correctly visible to Survivors being affected by it
  
• Carried Survivors are now able to see if they are affected by Iron Grasp.
  
• Missing a Skill Check when letting go of a Generator will now lead to a loss of Potential Energy Tokens.
  
• The Map Item no longer allows for indefinite Aura reading.
  
• Survivors using the Glass Bead Add-On can now make Markers as intended.
  
• The Healing Hud icon will not activate when a Survivor is in a Cage of Atonement.
  
• The HUD Indicator should now reveal accurate Generator progress information.
  
• Fixed an issue that may cause Reverse Bear Traps to remain floating in front of the Jigsaw Box after being removed.
  
• Reverse Bear Traps will now disappear correctly upon being removed.
  
• Survivors who bleed out or die to a Killer’s Special Power (The Onryo’s Condemned, etc) will no longer see the Escaped Result on the End Game screen.
  
• The Item of Obsession Achievement can now be unlocked as intended.
  
• Survivors can no longer trap The Knight’s Guards inside lockers with a rushed exit.

• The Mastermind can't go up the stairs and vault smoothly when using the Virulent Bound ability in Dead Dawg Saloon.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 8 months since our last Anniversary Broadcast, yet January somehow managed to sneak up on us. During that broadcast, we shared a roadmap detailing some of the features we would introduce over the following year, many of which have already become a reality. Our next anniversary is still several months away, so today, we’re happy to announce even more exciting additions to our Year 7 Roadmap!

But first, a look back at the roadmap itself.



Kicking things off in July, we released one of the largest updates to date. This update rebalanced around 40 perks and completely overhauled the game’s progression system. Further progression and balance changes would be made throughout the year. Matchmaking Incentives were also introduced to help alleviate long queue times and provide a new avenue to earn Bloodpoints.

In September, an early preview of the Finishing Mori system was tested on the Public Test Build (PTB). This new mechanic brought trials to a gruesome end, allowing Killers to finish off the final Survivor with style. We collected plenty of feedback throughout this test, and the team is hard at work implementing it.

December, meanwhile, brought Bots in Custom Matches, letting you practice in a no-stakes setting to your heart’s content. Not to be forgotten, we also introduced the much-requested Team Based Ratings to the matchmaking system thanks to your feedback.

Before we knew it, January was upon us. The wiggle system was officially taken out of beta and fully implemented with some tweaks. We also improved the queuing experience, allowing you to browse various menus while waiting for a match. Archive challenges could now be tracked during a match, letting you know when you’ve completed your selected challenge(s). And with that… we’d reached the end of the roadmap, leaving us free to work on exciting new things. The January update also featured the much-anticipated Survivor Activity HUD, something that was not originally on the roadmap.

But the question is, what’s next? As always, we’ll share our plans for the next year during our anniversary, but there’s still a few months before then, so let’s dig into a few more exciting features you can expect in the coming months.




If you went back in time one year and told people that “too many Bloodpoints” would be an issue, nobody would have believed you. Yet here we are. With the various improvements made to progression over the past year, many of you have found yourself with a surplus of Bloodpoints and not enough time to spend them, making the spending process a bit of an inconvenience.

Within the next few months, we’ll be making improvements to the Bloodweb to make it easier and faster to spend your Bloodpoints than ever before.




Survivor bots received a very warm welcome when they debuted late last year. Though the Survivor Bots are robots, we’re sure their cold mechanical hearts were touched. Since then, an average of 70,000 bot matches have been played each day. This feature made it easy to jump in and try out the new content in the Forged in Fog Chapter when it released, a time where Killer queue times tend to be longer as everyone flocks to try out the newest addition to the roster.

The first version of Bots in Custom Matches was fairly simple, but we’ll be expanding on the feature shortly with loadouts, allowing you to introduce more variety in the Survivor bots you face. Please note that not all perks will be available to bots: Some perks will ultimately be too complicated for them to use effectively, and we’d hate to make them too smart and be the cause of the robot uprising.




Variety is the spice of life and Dead by Daylight is no exception. With so many maps in the game, it can feel a little underwhelming when The Entity decides to send you to the Groaning Storehouse for the sixth time today. Even if it’s your favourite map, eventually you’ll want a breath of fresh air.

Soon, we’ll introduce a new mechanic which guarantees that you won’t be sent to the same map twice in a row. The odds of being sent to the same map will also be decreased (yet still possible) for the next few matches.




This past year, we’ve been working hard to make Dead by Daylight more accessible to a wider audience. For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, the terror radius can be difficult or even impossible to keep track of despite being a crucial part of the game.

To remedy this, we’ll be introducing new accessibility options which, when enabled, will provide a visual representation of terror radius.




The Realm Beyond continues! We’re in the process of visually updating one of our older realms. By now, you probably know what to expect, so we’ll save the teasers for when this update is a little closer. That said, there aren’t many realms left to update, so you’ve got a pretty good chance of guessing which one it is.




We’ve put a lot of focus on general improvements and quality of life features as of late, but we’re pleased to say that perk balancing is going to pick back up shortly. Like before, we’re hoping to include a small package of perk changes with each Mid-Chapter Update going forward. We’ll share more details as these perk changes are closer to release, but since we know what you’re about to ask, yes, one of the perks we’re looking into do rhyme with Shmeruption.




For recent events, some of the more festive and spooky outfits we’ve debuted have only appeared for a limited time before returning to the vault, taking some holiday themed cosmetics from past years with them. We never had an opportunity to announce these cosmetics, so we’d like to take a moment to discuss how they will work moving forward.

As the game has grown, hundreds of outfits have been added to the store. Where one outfit used to be a major addition, these days it is just one of many to choose from. By vaulting these holiday themed cosmetics, we hope to simplify the store and make these seasonal offerings more meaningful when they return each year. (Do not fear: We guarantee they will return!)

We know many of you don’t want to miss your opportunity to get these outfits, so we want to clarify how these limited time cosmetics will work. New limited time cosmetics will be available for purchase with Auric Cells. When the event period ends, these outfits will be vaulted (removed from the store) until they return the following year. The next time they return, they will be available with both Auric Cells and Iridescent Shards (excluding licensed characters).

For the sake of transparency, here is a complete list of all the seasonal collections to date which will be available for a limited time. We hope this list gives you a better idea of what to expect and allows you to plan around it.

Halloween:

• Tricks and Treats
  
• Midnight Grove
  
• Halloween 2021
  
• Future Halloween Collections

Winter:

• Ugly Sweater Collection
  
• Deck the Trials
  
• Bone Chill
  
• Holiday Horror
  
• Winter Tales
  
• Cozy Break
  
• Future holiday collections

Lunar New Year:

• Lurking Stripes
  
• Gilded Stampede
  
• Scarlet Swarm
  
• Moonrise
  
• Moonlight Burrow
  
• Future LNY collections

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These new additions to the roadmap will be releasing as part of multiple updates over the next few months. As is tradition, we’ll go into more details regarding each one when they’re closer to release. Before we sign off, we want to take a moment to thank you for diligently providing feedback over this past year. You have helped shape these additions to our Year 7 Roadmap, and will no doubt impact the plans for years to come.

Until next time…

The Dead by Daylight team

Explore a forgotten age in Dead by Daylight’s Tome 14: BETRAYAL.

Uncover lost memories for The Knight, Vittorio Toscano, and the House of Arkham. Progress through the Rift to unlock medieval-inspired Cosmetics and Charms. Test your abilities by completing brand new gameplay Challenges. It’s all waiting in The Archives.




The Knight – Nothing But Darkness

While so-called knights prattled on about chivalric values, Tarhos knew the truth. Those armoured hypocrites wield their code the same way he wields his blade – to enact power over the weak. They would soon learn the uncompromising nature of true strength.

Vittorio Toscano – Journey Of The Lost

His perception of time has long faded. He’s not entirely sure his rational mind hasn’t followed suit. Yet still the journey persists, from swamp to farm to forest. An endless cycle of Realms, each more mysterious than the last. Only by seeking knowledge can he ever escape...if he even wishes to.

The House of Arkham

Through lost realms she pursues her quarry with blade in hand. The Black Serpent disciples have proven elusive, but she will not waver – no matter how far she must go.


Tome 13: BETRAYAL offers insight into the lives of The Knight and Vittorio Toscano, whose interconnected journey led them deep into the heart of darkness.

Progress through the Free Track and Premium Track of The Rift to unlock Outfits for The Knight, Vittorio Toscano, Claudette Morel, Feng Min, and The Huntress – all of which harken back to a medieval age of warriors, healers, and wanderers. We’re also welcoming the return of the Deep Rift Outfits, Rift-exclusive rewards for all who progress beyond Tier 70.

Those who traverse the Free Track will be rewarded with a total of 500K BloodPoints, which ensures that every tier will earn players a new reward. In addition, the Free Track also yields unlockable Cosmetics for Kate Denson, The Nurse, and more.




Complete Challenges to progress further in the Tome and its associated Rift. Tomes are separated into several Levels, each containing a new layout for the Auris Web with more challenges, lore entries, Bloodpoints, and Rift Fragments.

Try your hand at mastering The Knight, Vittorio Toscano, and their respective Perks with character-specific gameplay Challenges. This time around, Survivors must also contend with Blue Glyphs, which inflicts them with either Blindness or Oblivious. Commune with them at your own peril, but such is the price of progress.

The memories of The Knight, Vittorio Toscano, and more await in TOME 14: BETRAYAL, now available to unlock.

See you in The Fog,

The Dead by Daylight team.

• Update Releases: 11AM EDT

Note: These times are estimates and may vary slightly.

• The "Moonlight Burrow" Lunar New Year event starts January 24, 1pm ET.

• Tome 14 - BETRAYAL Level 1 opens January 25, 11am ET.

• "Dark Triumph" Killer Challenge: As The Executioner, Survivors who die inside a Cage of Atonement now award progress.
  
• "Terrified" Killer Challenge: As The Trickster, Survivors hit by Showstopper blades no longer award progress.
  
• "Near Miss" Survivor Challenge: Dodging Basic Attacks from The Oni and The Ghost Face (while crouched) now awards progress.
  
• "The Engineer's Guild" Survivor Challenge: Progress is now cumulative and no longer resets when the co-op action is interrupted.

Survivor Activity HUD

• 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.

Merciless Killer

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

The Queuing Experience

• 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.

Wiggling

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.

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 10 seconds at the maximum distance of 32m. The 10-second duration was 6 seconds on the PTB.
  
• 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).

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.

In addition, 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.

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, one Blink charge is restored (added restoration of 1 Blink charge; this is a change from the PTB where all charges were restored).
  
• 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 increase Blink charges).

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.

Eyrie of Crows has received an additional 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.
  
• Dead Zones have been reduced around the border.
  
• The Exit Gate no longer inadvertently spawns behind the main building.
  
• Certain rocks will no longer spawn close to Hooks, causing collision issues.
  
• An alternate Generator has been added to the main building.

• 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.

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

• 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 Sacrified.
  
• Raised the volume of the Legion’s blood wiping SFX.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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 inconsistencies between SFX and UI.

• 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.

• 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 VFX not to not appear when a Breakable Wall is destroyed.

• The Cannibal’s Perk Names have been corrected.
  
• The Artist’s legs now move correctly while rotating in place.
  
• Grabbing a Vaulting female Survivor as The Spirit no longer causes clipping issues.
  
• As The Legion, Julie and Susie’s Tally Screen animation has been corrected.
  
• A visual progression issue affecting select Tomes on Archive Compendium menu has been corrected.
  
• Pop-ups should no longer overlap incorrectly when opened.
  
• Improved accuracy of the Survivor Activity Indicator while in Spectate Mode.
  
• The intensity of the Nurse's Spasmodic Breath vignette has been reduced.
  
• The Knight’s Undetectable vignette will now appear as intended.

• Bots no longer get stuck on a pallet in Wreckers' Yard.
  
• A placeholder Hill tile no longer spawns in the Crotus Prenn Asylum.
  
• The Eyrie of Crows Killer shack Pallet no longer traps Killers or causes unintended interactions.
  
• The Legion no longer vaults incorrectly during Feral Frenzy in the Eyrie Of Crows.
  
• Crawling underneath the Raccoon City Police Station main hall desk no longer prevents Killers from picking you up.
  
• The Raccoon City Police Station basement light no longer clips through the stairs.
  
• Players will no longer land on top of a desk when falling through the hole in the Raccoon City Police Station second floor.
  
• The Knight's guards no longer get stuck in the doorway of the Raccoon City Police Station's main hall.
  
• The Pale Rose no longer has a spot where Survivors can avoid being picked up.
  
• Killers can no longer accidentally land on top of a Pallet in the Midwich Elementary School.

• Survivors can no longer re-interact with the Jigsaw Box after attempting to remove a Reverse Bear Trap.

• A Knight’s Guard that previously attacked a Survivor will no longer play an Attack animation after breaking a Wall or Pallet.
  
• Improved The Knight's Guard's pathing around select Mount Ormond Resort ski racks.
  
• The Knight's Guards’ feet no longer clip into the floor.

• Charlotte no longer has a higher-than-intended movement speed boost when switching from Victor after having previously woken up as Charlotte.
  
• Charlotte can no longer perform any actions during her wake-up animation.
  
• The Twins may lose all functionality if stunned while unbinding.

• The Heavy Panting Add-On now extends The Nurse's Lunge duration after the second Blink as intended.

• When playing as The Nightmare, red arrows no longer appear above Generators during the intro screen.
  
• The Nightmare is no longer unable to use Dream Snares.

• The Julie’s Mixtape Add-On no longer allows the The Legion to attack twice in quick succession after recovering from a stun.

• The Trapper grabbing Dwight from a Locker no longer triggers a Skill Check.

• Injuring a Survivor from up close using Punishment of the Damned no longer now gives the Punishment score event.

• Terminus now displays a cooldown for Survivors after opening the Exit Gate.
  
• Special Attack Lunges no longer inadvertently trigger Coup De Grace.
  
• Whispers now works as intended.
  
• Killers no longer bypass the Decisive Strike Stun if the Survivor is dropped before the Skill Check.
  
• Nowhere To Hide now reveals the Aura of Survivors that were out of the range upon activation.
  
• Nowhere to Hide’s effect is now properly centered on the Killer instead of the kicked Generator.
  
• The Hag’s Daily Ritual Rite Of Flesh and Mud can now be completed.

• Wiretap now reveals the auras of The Killer while they are blinded by Residual Manifest.
  
• Situational Awareness no longer reveals the player's Aura against Lethal Pursuer.
  
• Adrenaline no longer triggers every time a Survivor is unhooked after all Generators have been repaired.
  
• Renewal no longer keeps charging when Survivors change states.
  
• The Deep Wound vignette no longer remains visible at the Tally Screen when a Survivor escapes while in the Deep Wound state.
  
• Survivors now gain Haste when grabbing The Knight's banner as intended.
  
• Survivors are now longer immune to The Deathslinger's projectile during a fast window Vault.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused The Survivor perk 'Smash Hit' may apply delayed movement speed bonus for the Survivor when The Nurse is stunned while charging its power.
  
• The Item of Obsession Achievement can now be unlocked without issue.
  
• The Agonizing Escape Achievement can now be unlocked without issue.

• Players can no longer use an exploit to play with two copies of the same Add-On.
  
• Entering the Archives during an Event while tracking a previous Event’s Archive Challenge will no longer cause soft locking.
  
• In the "Survive with Bots" Tutorial, the Killer will no longer be unable to pick up a downed Survivor.
  
• The Wiggle UI will no longer appear incorrectly during the Survivor Tutorial.
  
• Added an outline to the Chat text to improve contrast.

• Generator progress is not shown on Survivor HUD activity icons.

• 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.

• PTB goes live: 11AM ET

• 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.

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

  

• 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

 
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.

• 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).

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.




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!




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.




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.




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.




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.





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.






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!






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.




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!).




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!

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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. 

• The Knight no longer encounters issues entering a chase while a Guard is active.

• Killers no longer occasionally turn invisible upon leaving a Snowman.
  
• Killers entering a snowman should no longer get stuck in collision terrain.

• The Killer’s Aura no longer fails to display while using Kindred.
  
• Inner Healing now operates as intended, where cleansing a Totem and entering a Locker for a duration heals 1 Health State.

• The Game is no longer haunted by an invisible collision zone.

• Undetectable Killers no longer experience unintended Aura reveals.

• Nowhere To Hide’s Aura reveal zone currently remains centered on the Generator instead of the Killer.
  
• Nowhere To Hide does not reveal the Aura of Survivors who were out of range when the Perk was triggered, but enter the detection zone while it’s still activated.
  
• The Knight’s feet have no animation when looking down during an Attack.