Developer Update | July 2025
The 9.1.0 Update is approaching, so let’s dive into the notable gameplay changes you can expect from the upcoming Public Test Build. Plus, stay tuned for the PTB Patch Notes where we’ll share the precise values that are changing for each of the topics below!
Read on for all the details:
NEW FEATURES
- Added a new equippable item for Survivors: the Fog Vial. Its effects include:
- Using a Fog Vial causes a fog cloud to expand outward from the point where it was used, dissipating after a set time
- Scratch marks do not spawn within a fog cloud
- Audio is muffled for anyone within a fog cloud
- The auras of players within a fog cloud cannot be read by other players
- The Fog Vial has a cooldown which recharges over time once used
- Added item rarities and add-ons.
DEV NOTE: The Fog Vial specializes in creating confusion and breaking line of sight. When it’s activated, this fog obscures your surroundings while still allowing for limited visibility within your immediate vicinity. By moving to a single, recharging use, Survivors can use the Fog Vial multiple times per Trial and don’t have to be quite so precious about saving charges, letting them be more in the moment with their vial uses.
Stay tuned for patch notes for more information about Fog Vial rarities and add-ons.
- Changed item “charges” to refer to individual uses of item, rather than the overall time it can be used for
- Adjusted the uses for this item to cover the following:
- Channel the Key to consume 1 charge and reveal Survivor auras for a limited time
- When near a closed hatch, consume 1 charge to unlock it
- Consume 1 charge to quickly unlock a chest and gain an item of Rare rarity or higher. Once a chest has been unlocked with a Key it:
- Is revealed to nearby Survivors
- Can be rummaged in by 1 other Survivor to gain an additional item of Rare rarity or higher
- Adjusted the effects of individual item rarities and several add-ons.
DEV NOTE: Keys stood out as the least-used Survivor items and were typically outclassed by other options. We’ve reworked them to offer a wider range of utility and tap into players’ yearning for higher-rarity items.
Now, the “charge” system is easier to track (think of it as “uses” rather than “use time”) and the aura-reading capabilities of Keys are improved, while also adding some team-wide utility. In addition to making it easier for the equipped player to get quality items from chests, Keys also extend that opportunity to a single teammate.
Stay tuned for the patch notes for details on Key and Map item rarities and add-ons.
- Changed item “charges” to refer to individual uses of item, rather than the overall time it can be used for
- Adjusted the uses for this item to cover the following:
- Channel the Map to consume 1 charge and reveal nearby pallet and vault auras to yourself for a limited time
- While auras are revealed, press the Use Item button again to create a beam of light (only visible to Survivors), revealing the auras of generators within the beam’s range to all Survivors
- Adjusted the effects of individual item rarities and several add-ons.
DEV NOTE: Similar to Keys, Maps stood out as an underutilized item which didn’t fit into beginner or experienced player kits. With this change, Maps retain the spirit of giving players an awareness of their surroundings, making their effects more consistent, and extending some value to teammates. Now, there’s no need to “track” objects before they show up.
- Increased total number of Character Customization presets to 7
- Increased total number of Loadout presets to 7
- Added the ability to change preset names
DEV NOTE: Whether it’s the pursuit of fashion or prepping perks for every situation, we wanted to make it easier to save your faves. Don’t worry, your existing presets will be ported into this updated system.
- Added mouse and keyboard support on the following console platforms:
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X|S
Please note: This feature is not available on the PTB, as it is only playable on Steam.
DEV NOTE: Quite self-explanatory, we’ve extended full mouse and keyboard support to a number of console platforms so that players have more choice in how they approach gameplay.
- Added hotkey inputs to Custom Game spectating to switch to the Killer’s perspective.
- Added spectators hotkeys representation next to players portraits, to improve usability
- Added the option to toggle spectator hotkeys visibility and adjust them in the Input Binding menu.
- Added a visual indicator to show spectators who they are viewing.
- Shows dead Survivor icons if joining as a spectator after getting sacrificed.
DEV NOTE: Following up on last update’s changes to Custom Games, we’ve introduced more improvements to make view-switching and tournament casting even easier. This also ensures viewers have more information about what they’re seeing.
KILLER UPDATES
- Increased Punishment of the Damned's range
- Increased the duration of Rites of Judgment’s trail drawing and trail lifetime
- Decreased Rites of Judgement's movement speed
- Added Haste and Endurance effects to Survivors saved from a cage
- Added input buffering to:
- Transition from Punishment of the Damned to Rites of Judgment
- Begin caging or killing a Survivor when the prompt is available
- Reworked his add-ons.
DEV NOTE: We’ve heard your feedback that The Executioner’s add-ons could use more variety – range shouldn’t feel like the only viable option. In addition to making range increases basekit, we’ve reworked his add-ons to introduce more interesting options, like adjusting the spread of Punishment of the Damned, or triggering effects on misses.
Outside of these changes (keep an eye out for the patch notes for add-on details!), we’ve made some quality-of-life adjustments and slightly reduced his zoning potential.
- Increased movement speed while reloading bottle
- Decreased bottle reload time
- Adjusted the effects of yellow bottles:
- Increased Haste effect
- Increased the distance and speed that smoke spreads to
- Increased activation speed
- Adjusted the effects of purple bottles:
- Decreased the Hindered effect
- Decreased how long the Hindered effect lingers after leaving smoke
- Added input buffering to:
- Charging a bottle throw
- Reloading bottles
- Adjusted several add-ons.
DEV NOTE: When it comes to The Clown’s power, his purple bottles see much more use than his yellow ones across skill levels. To better incentivize their use, we’ve given the yellow bottles a quicker activation, greater speed boost and wider effective range, coupled with some base speed increases. To compensate, purple bottles have received a slight nerf, requiring a little more throw control to get their full value.
- Increased maximum patrol path length
- Increased path drawing speed, acceleration, and strafe speed
- The Carnifex’s Standard spawns slower
- The Assassin and Jailor’s Standards spawn quicker
- Added input buffering to:
- Drawing a patrol path
- Adjusted Call to Arms add-on.
DEV NOTE: Drawing patrol paths is an important part of The Knight’s gameplay, so we’ve made it feel snappier and extended its range slightly, making Call to Arms partially basekit. We’ve also adjusted Standard spawn times for each Guard. In particular, the Standards for the two chase-focused Guards will spawn quicker to help give Survivors a little more counterplay during double team scenarios where they tend to be at their strongest.
- Increased crouched movement speed
- Increased speed of crouching and un-crouching
- Increased the speed at which the Terror Radius fades when crouching
- Increased Ambush movement speed
- Added input buffering to:
- Crouching
- Charging an Ambush attack
- Adjusted several add-ons.
DEV NOTE: Yes, we know. We buffed Pig. Outside of her traps, her ability to surprise Survivors is an important part of her appeal. By increasing her speed and making her Terror Radius fade quicker while sneaking, she’ll have more chances to act on unprepared Survivors.
PERK UPDATES
- Updated Any Means Necessary
- Updated Appraisal
- Updated Better Together
- Updated Built to Last
- Updated Déjà Vu
- Updated Detective’s Hunch
- Updated Potential Energy
- Updated Still Sight
- Reworked Streetwise
DEV NOTE: We’ve adjusted values on a few perks that had low pick rates to help buff them up. In addition, we’ve adjusted perks that affect items to make sure they’re compatible with this update’s Survivor item changes.
Stay tuned for the patch notes for specific details on these value changes.
- Updated Dragon’s Grip
- Updated Franklin’s Demise
- Updated Hubris
- Updated Insidious
- Reworked Overwhelming Presence
- Updated Scourge Hook: Hangman’s Trick
DEV NOTE: Similar to the above, we’ve buffed some perks which boasted lower pick rates and adjusted certain perks that affect items so they’re compatible with the recent changes.
Until next time...
The Dead by Daylight Team
Comments
Any Means NecessaryThis perk was perfect, please don't nerf it. And it doesn't need a buff too
AppraisalJust remove the tokens, let it work once in every chest
Better TogetherJust give "kindred" without killer's aura when you are repairing a gen, and make a teammate also see the aura if they are doing it with you
Built to LastIt's already perfect, I can't see a buff to this. Probably a nerf, please no.
Déjà VuAnother nerf because of killer mains complain. Oh well, survivors can't have good perks
Detective’s HunchMaybe make the aura last longer, maybe affect teammates in range as well?
Potential EnergyIt just need not to lose all tokens when losing a health state
Still SightI would buff to reveal the aura for teammates in rage as well, as long as they are not in chase. And decrease the timer to activate too.
StreetwisePlease don't kill Streetwise
The clowns purple bottles were obnoxious to play against and had no real counterplay. He just throws them at you and you are basically dead. I‘m glad they get nerfed.
Yeah Pyramidhead is dead
For those asking in this thread, yes, the adjustment coming to Deja Vu is related to its (often lesser-known) Map effect. This is because the effects op Map items are being adjusted with this update.
Then tell me what's so problematic about her gameplay that she needs a rework
She's been in the game for 8 years, regarded as a really weak killer who has been nerfed
Maybe wait until the PTB so you can test it out before getting upset over scenarios that may not even happen?
maybe a legion buff next :(
Not really.
Both bottles were helping the same way, so with that line of thinking both bottles are unfair.
Plus, predropping is always ideal against him, so the counterplay is still the same.
BHVR there is missing a preset with Random Perks, please the only other way is the last tome quest I have that can allow me this.
If you don't mind me asking, what is it about the Map and Key changes that feels weird to you?
Nothing, just bias, really.
Maybe the way the charges work now felt odd to me, idk.
I totally get that! Bias is a heck of a thing. If you get a chance to test these changes on the PTB, I'd love to know how you feel about them.
Can you not nerf the clown's purple bottles ? we're not using the yellow ones because they buff survivors… why nerf clown at all when ghoul exist
The unhealthy part of her kit is her ability to hard tunnel someone to death once they've been trapped. If she moves faster than survivors when crouched, there's zero chance of the survivor being able to remove the trap. She will just follow them whilst crouch walking, till their head pops.
It's not something that most Pig's do, as it can cause you to throw the match. But it's a pretty easy way to ensure that at least one survivor has a miserable match, with no real counterplay.
new mechanics for survivor, new item for survivors…. killers? they get nerfs, as usual, but lets give some mini reworks and buffs the biggest losers in the killer group, so we can pretend to give then something… yeah behaviour… you could show us that same love, mechanics and interesting thingsm not just some number buffs and perks that i need to sell my mother to be abble to kick a gen with a little more damage
I wonder if Pyramid Head cages will trigger off the hook perks? 🤔🤔🤔
I assume not... but not sure.
If killrates are high something need to be changed
Where do you read something about a buff? It only says "Updated Déjà Vu".
It's long overdue to improve the abilities of the super weak killers, especially The Pig. Buying the Pig DLC is the most pointless thing I have ever done. Every time I play The Pig, it's a pain. Every two minutes, 3 generators are repaired. There are only 3 survivors repairing the generators.
yeah, you need to ballance, i agree, but i wanna have fun too, nerf what is strong, but give some fun stuff to play
Didn't you know that a chasing guard disappears when you start the unhook animation?
Gets a yellow Mori and Shroud basekit along with Map Offerings gutted but I guess that's not good enough
Abusable RBTs, stealth, least skillful dash power in the game. Not sure what her having been in the game for 8 years have to do with anything? She's a weak killer and should stay that way until the devs rework her
oh, a mori on someone i already winned over and a basekit effect of one of the least used offerings of the game? while we get this, survivor get an item that gives the same effect as their most used perk, basekit effects equal to their most used perks… perks that help them on doing something by doing that exactly same thing… and survivors are still crying
It's worded weirdly in the dev notes but I think you're right & I wouldn't mind that as much.
So the hook perks work on cages now too, right?
Smoke bomb indeed turned out to be the new item. Disappointing.
The only weak killer here is Pig.
Here's an idea: seperate Clown's yellow and purple bottle ammo counts. That way using a yellow bottle doesn't feel like you're wasting a purple. This will encourage Clown to use both bottle types instead of forcing him to choose (when the choice will inevitably always be purple).
"QOL changes are those that directly impact the gameplay as a whole such as
Regression Eventsfor generators or theAnti-Camp systemwhich Survivors already benefit from. I hope Killers receive something in compensation too."I think it is quite funny that you talk about compensation for the limit of Regression Events when Killers got a Buff in Regression after kicking a Gen (2,5% —> 5%) and the removal of Gentapping. Both things which are far more impactful in regular gameplay, while the Regression Event-limit almost never comes into play. Killers won on that one.
In general, there have been patches which featured only Killer-Updates in the past. And general QoL-Changes for Killers are hard to do, since they benefit every Killer. It is far better to buff individual Killers than give overall Killer Buffs, since what helps a Trapper in an overall Killer Buff will probably benefit a Blight way more.
As a hard of hearing killer main, these fog vials sound like an accessibility nightmare. I sure hope the accessibility update comes sooner than later.
No offense but that's on you if your yellows regularly buff the survs you chase. I however agree that their justification for nerfing purples is egregious. Yellow and purple bottles are complementary, they don't rival each other. It makes no sense to want Clown players to use both equally. Purples are a more "spammable" ability by nature, it has nothing to do with yellow being too weak or not.
As I understand it, the Déjà Vu nerf will be related to it's aura-reveal of 3-gens and interactions with map (likely making it time-limited or a revert) and...why? It's a good perk to know where gens are (especially good for newcomers/casual players that don't know the spawns) and good for preventing 3-gens before they happen, but it's not a problem...
Nobody knows so far, but I would assume that it mainly implies that it does not add Gens to Maps anymore. And IMO this is the only change which is needed, because the Perk is completely fine as it is.
Will Pig finally get a unique TR as well? Great changes looking forward to it.
Why did you have to touch the Executioner and the Clown? The Executioner was at an average level, moderately strong, but long to implement. You take away the speed of the M2 ability and half-kill the meaning of his cage, equating it to a hook... As for the Clown, you weaken the slowing down bottle (which is completely countered by the "Insomnia" perk of the survivors) and strengthen the accelerating bottle, which also affects the survivors... The situation is repeated. Balancers are led by the whining of the surviving mainers, weakening the maniacs who are far from being the strongest.
I do hope it is, because the perk is perfect as it is.
Useful for newcomers and for preventing difficult situations/helping a bit in endgame.
Not powerful enough to be problematic even if in a combo and is still nullified by blindness.
The other killer often touches, but the damned "Kaneki Ken" isn't nerfed again
How long do I have to continue experiencing trash while being a survivor?
You can reduce the travel distance, reduce the number of leaps to "one basic, two reinforced conditions," or increase the delay after using the leaps. If the performance is good, there should be another penalty accordingly, but "Kaneki Ken" does not have any penalty at all.
If a developer had met "Kaneki Ken" even once, he'd know right away how unreasonable this killer is, but from the way he's been left unattended, I doubt he's ever played. Or is a developer who likes Kaneki Ken intentionally letting it go?
If you look at the live broadcast a little bit, you can see what the status is like when "Kaneki Ken" comes out.
Some interesting stuff that I'd be very excited to test on a PTB here. My only real point of concern based on just this post is… do maps still show generators, and can you still make them show totems? Totem-tracking is currently THE niche that maps have, and I don't think it'd be right to take that away. If anything, it should be part of the map's base effects and not an addon, but I could live with it still being an addon as long as it's still there.
If the aura blocking works for everything in the area, then SWFs can use it on hooks, to prevent the killer from seeing the hook when they’ve picked up a survivor.
Generator takes 90s, Deja Vu is 6 % = 3,5s off the gen if repairing full progress solo. Overzelaous is 10 % = 9s. Stop being paranoid. :D
6% of 90 is 5.4, so roughly 5.2 seconds.Which doesnt take into account, the free information. Overzealous requires you to find a totem, spend 14 seconds cleansing it, and then only get that boost for as long as you don't get hit. Deja Vu absolutely is better than Overzealous.
It's PTB. Stop panicking, I'm sure they will make sure to push things as welcomed as possible.
TBH, I need them to nerf the Knight more, add a CD or something because ALL the Knights I face play the same thing: slugging. Playing soloQ against a Knight like that is annoying and a pain, and it's learned over the internet (ty choy 🙄). If they have to nerf it more so they learn to play something other than slugging, then they should.
And to be fair. The rest of the things you talk about in other killers are moved that way because most of those who play those killers abuse the system. It happened with the pig and the cages (when they blocked one), it happened with the clown who practically had no end of bottles with certain addons and perks, it happened with Pyramid who abused the zero immunity of cages to tunnel... etc. It's not about "improving the game," it's about preventing the abuse of certain mechanics that the players themselves have generated. It happens on both sides; in Survivor they did the same thing several times. Basically, those who play well pay because of those who abuse the system.
A little aside the point, I know, but I wouldn't say Deja Vu is necessarily better than Overzealous, just requires a lot less of the player. If you put Overzealous in the right build, I think it does outperform Deja Vu.
Either way I don't think we need to be scared of this change, since it's reportedly just because of the Map interaction.
Yes, the increase in Regression is more impactful than the Regression Event-Limit. It happens every time that Killers kick Gens, but you almost never reach the Limit in regular gameplay. I have not seen my games being impacted on either side by the limit. And the removal of Gentapping was asked for a lot.
But we can also revert the changes - Kicks do 2,5% instead of 5% and Gentapping is possible again, but the Limit is removed. Would you like that? If you think, this would be better, you are so wrong, lol.
And to the last paragraph… Why is it that Killers have such a victim mentality?
Even with that, 5s and preventing gens won't lose you the game. I see Deja Vu as killer multiple times almost every game and I find it absolutely fine. There are defienetly perks that should bother killer way more.
it's really a nerf in disguise.
No, I completely understand what you meant. And you were talking about Compensation and Killers got Compensation in the same Patch.
They removed the ability to kick Gens an unlimited amount of time and as Compensation, Kicks were made stronger and Survivors cannot tap the Gen to stop Regression (something which you ignore btw., it is VERY impactful that Survivors cannot tap the Gen mid-chase anymore to stop the Regression, they have to repair at least 5% to stop the Regression).
So you were asking for Compensation, but you already got it. And the Compensation was better than what Killers actually lost, since the Regression Limit is completely irrelevant most of the time, unless you go for heavy 3-Gens from the start.
If Azarovs Resting Place and Suffication Pit don't exist, yes never happens. I wish they bring back the alternative Suffocation Pit because it was so much more fun that the original.