Developer Update | August 2025

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The 9.2.0 Update arrives next week, so let’s check out the notable gameplay changes you can expect from this Public Test Build. Plus, stay tuned for next week's 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

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  • If a Survivor is left in the Dying State for a total of 90 seconds during a match, they gain the ability to pick themselves up after fully recovering.
    • Added the option to enable or disable this mechanic in Custom Games.
    • Note: Perks that enable you to recover from the Dying State - like Boon: Exponential - will continue to function as before, without needing to meet this requirement.
  • Gradually increases crawling speed for Survivors who are left in the Dying State.
  • Added the ability for Survivors to recover while crawling. Recovery now occurs passively with no need to hold a button.
  • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.
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Passive recovery while crawling

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Pick yourself up if you’ve been in the Dying State for 90 seconds

DEV NOTE: When it comes to slugging, we know it can be frustrating if you're on the receiving end of it too often or for too long, but we also know that sometimes it's the smart move. This updated system acknowledges this, allowing the Killer to slug occasionally when they feel like it's the right call, but will eventually kick in and swing in the Survivor's favour if slugging is used excessively.

A big part of this is also about making the experience of being slugged more pleasant (as much as being slugged can be, at least). The recovery changes and crawling speed will give you a bit more agency when downed so you aren't just holding a button and waiting for someone to come save you.

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  • When a Survivor is hooked, their hook status is hidden from the Killer. When they’re unhooked, there is no notification and their hook status isn’t revealed immediately.
    • This is disabled once all generators are completed.
  • Unhooked Survivors gain the following effects for a limited time:
    • Haste, Endurance, and Elusive (see below) status effects.
    • No collision with other players (both Killer and Survivor).
    • Immunity to Killer Instinct and sees the Killer’s aura nearby.
    • These effects are lost when the affected Survivor perform a Conspicuous Action.
    • All these effects (except Haste and Endurance) are disabled once all generators are completed.
  • Added a unique effect to the Killer hook state UI that indicates the last Survivor they hooked.
  • After completing a “unique hook” (the same Survivor is not hooked consecutively), Killers get the following benefits:
    • Bonus damage for the next generator kick.
    • Temporary Haste status effect.
    • Temporarily reveals Survivors (think basekit BBQ & Chili) that have less or equal hook states to the hooked Survivor.
    • These effects are slightly lessened for The Blight, The Dark Lord, The Ghoul, The Hillbilly, and The Nurse.
    • These effects are disabled once all generators are completed.
  • Added new effects that disincentivize tunneling:
    • If a Survivor dies before 6 total hook states, all remaining Survivors gain a repair speed bonus for the rest of the Trial.
    • If the Survivor that was last hooked is Sacrificed or Killed, generators cannot be regressed or blocked.
  • Added the option to enable or disable these new mechanics in Custom Games.
  • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that tunneling can be seen as an efficient way to play for Killers. While this can be true, it’s also true that the results of this can be frustrating for Survivors, leading to Trials ending too quickly for some, while leaving others to fend for themselves in a match that is now much more difficult.

The intention here is for both roles to feel the benefits and incentives that come from spreading hook states. On the one end, Survivors have better opportunities to evade and reset after unhooks, while also limiting those tough situations where losing a Survivor too quickly causes things to go south quickly and snowball. On the other end, Killers are able to apply more map pressure to push back against efficient teams, covering ground post-hook and strengthening gen regression.

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  • Added a new status effect that silences grunts of pain and suppresses Survivor aura, pools of blood, and scratch marks.

DEV NOTE: To start, we’ll be using this new status effect as part of the tunnelling reduction update, but plan to integrate this into relevant existing perks down the road to make their descriptions more streamlined. Arguably the easiest way to look at this is a Survivor version of Undetectable, in that when it’s active, you know you’re in stealth mode.

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  • Updated “The Tomes” menu to feature new Tomes and accompanying lore alongside each Chapter release.
  • New lore is unlocked each week within the active Tome.

DEV NOTE: Ever since we reworked the Tome, we’ve seen how much you’ve yearned for more lore. We’re happy to share that beginning with 9.2.0, lore is back! While previously, lore was tied to challenges, we want all players to have a chance to immerse themselves in these stories, so we’ve shifted to a weekly unlock, not linked to any quest completion.

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KILLER UPDATES

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  • Replaced “Evil Within” with two modes that can be toggled with a button press:
    • Stalker Mode: 4.2m/s movement speed, Undetectable, and can stalk Survivors.
    • Pursuer Mode: 4.6m/s movement speed, 24m Terror Radius, increased vault speed, bonuses to lunge range, break speed, and stun recovery, and cannot stalk Survivors.
  • Once the stalk meter is full, Evil Incarnate mode can be triggered at will, granting the following effects for a limited time (note: Survivors no longer become Exposed):
    • 4.6m/s movement speed, 40m Terror Radius and an increased vault speed.
    • Unlocks Slaughtering Strike ability:
      • Hold the power button to charge this ability, reducing movement speed.
      • Press the attack button while charging to quickly lunge forward, adjusting your angle as you move. The length of the lunge depends on charge time.
      • If a Survivor enters the Killer’s attack range while lunging, they are knocked into the Dying State.
      • This ability can also be used to destroy pallets.
    • Unlocks the ability to grab and kill or perform a regular Mori on Survivors who would die the next time they are hooked.
  • Adjusted some of the mechanics of stalking:
    • Removed the limited pool of stalk points per Survivor.
    • Reduced stalk range to 32m and removed distance modifier.
    • Moving while stalking has increased movement speed but incurs a reduced stalk rate.
  • Reworked his add-ons.
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Slaughtering Strike in action

DEV NOTE: By moving away from linear “Evil Within” tiers, we wanted to give players more tools they can use to adapt to each Trial’s unique situations, while keeping the core of what makes him “The Shape”.

Slaughtering Strike makes for a high-threat offensive attack, offering up an insta-down opportunity with an extended lunge that's particularly effective in loops and for ripping through pallets quickly.

Understanding his kit has changed quite a lot, we’ve done a pass on nearly all his add-ons, reworking many of them to offer more unique effects. In particular for those who prefer his old playstyle, Fragrant Tuft of Hair will change Evil Incarnate to function like old Myers, offering an Exposed effect and no Slaughtering Strike. Stay tuned for patch notes for the full details on these changes!

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  • Increased activation time of the Afterpiece Antidote.
  • Increased how long the Afterpiece Tonic’s Hindered effect lingers after leaving smoke.

DEV NOTE: We’ve heard your feedback that The Clown’s easier-to-activate Haste can make instigating and maintaining chases less interactive for Survivors. That, coupled with nerfs to his purple bottles has pushed players towards this frustrating tactic. To make both bottles feel like viable options without being too oppressive, we’ve adjusted the values of their most impactful qualities to strike a balance between pre-9.1.0 values and Live values.

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  • Increased the additional time added to Weakened when injured by a UVX projectile.
  • Increased movement speed recovery after teleporting.
  • Increased camera vertical range.
  • Adjusted several add-ons.
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Increased vertical camera range in action

DEV NOTE: The Unknown is largely considered to be fun to play as and against, and we want to preserve that while adapting to the current state of gameplay. We’ve buffed the UVX slightly, while also taking what we learned from The Animatronic to allow for orbitals, improving UVX aiming and making for even more fun gameplay.

It’s also likely no surprise that Blurry Photo is the most used add-on for the Unknown, given the importance of speed recovery. To help create an opportunity for more add-on experimentation, we’ve converted a portion of this add-on into a basekit buff, while also doing a pass on other add-ons that are due for some adjustments.

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  • Vampire Form:
    • Slightly reduced Hellfire cooldown.
    • Increased total Hellfire pillars by 1.
    • Reduced Hellfire charge movement speed.
    • Slightly increased slowdown time after casting Hellfire.
  • Wolf Form:
    • Increased Pounce Attack charge time.
    • Increased Scent Orb spawn time.
  • Bat Form:
    • Increased movement friction to make flying easier to control.
  • Adjusted his add-ons.

DEV NOTE: Vampire Form is slightly less oppressive in short loops where movement slowdown had less of an impact, and toning down Wolf Form’s mobility, which has been outclassing some dash Killers. On the flip side, you’ll find Bat Form easier to control in tighter spaces and can use Hellfire slightly more frequently and reach further with it.

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  • When grabbing a Survivor on the other side of a vault with Kagune Leap, the Survivor is released at the start of The Ghoul’s vault instead of at the end.

DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that it’s been a common pain point for Survivors to be locked in place when hit with a Kagune Leap Grab-Attack across a vault. Survivors shouldn’t have to wait for The Ghoul to finish their vault before being able to move again, so we’ve removed this tech.

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  • Hooking a Survivor now spawns more blood orbs.

DEV NOTE: We understand that with the changes we’re making to address slugging, this will impact The Oni slightly, so we want to mitigate this. By turning hooked Survivors into a greater source of power gauge build-up, The Oni is rewarded with more quickly snowballing power by hooking.

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  • Updated various perks.

DEV NOTE: In addition to the general perk balance updates you can expect each release, we've also made a number of adjustments to account for the new systems coming to DbD this update, specifically relating to slugging and tunneling.

Stay tuned on Wednesday, September 3 for the PTB Live Balance preview on Discord, where we'll dig into the details of these perk changes, and then follow that up with patch notes, where you can find the nitty-gritty numbers.

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Until next time...

The Dead by Daylight Team

Comments

  • @Batusalen said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990518#Comment_3990518

    […] I don't personally feel it overcomes the fact that the killer basically just got to chase two survivors for free without giving up much in return.

    Well, it certainly is your opinion. In reality, every second counts, as you are literally in a time limit (kill them before they finish the gens), and even hitting a survivor is time spent.

    If someone just unhooked bodyblocks you and makes your current chase longer without the possibility of being able to hook him, all this while gens are still rolling, you are not chasing two survivors for free, they are wasting your time for free by making your chase longer and not even having the chance of hooking the blocking survivor. If that downed survivor gets up and interrupts you again, it's more wasted time for free. And even if you decide to not let him waste your time and hook him, he literally took away all your new basekit buffs for unique hooking.

    However you look at it, it's an exploitable mechanic that allows them to put you in a lose / lose situation.

    In most cases, the protection-hit level of distance survivors can get from someone bodyblocking isn't a huge chase extension. It certainly can be […]

    You said it yourself: It can result in a huge chase extension, especially for non-high mobility killers. It is an effective strategy now, even more so when they are able to put you in a position where wasting your time is not even the biggest benefit of doing it.

    […] but it has a higher-than-equal chance of backfiring too

    That was before they were able to…

    • Negate your new and shining basekit buffs that are super useful and totally balanced with the changes implemented to the other side.
    • Give all their friends a match-long repair buff.
    • Prevent you from regressing or blocking any gens for the rest of the match.
    • All of the above.

    If you hooked the blocking survivor. Now? It is pure benefit, starting with the waste of time.

    […] I'm perfectly okay with that risk existing in the game

    I'm not. I don't want exploitable basekit mechanics in the game for any side.

    I don't even know where to start with the notion of two bodyblockers, though. That's just the survivors throwing to try and bully the killer, no two ways around it.

    Except even now they can win doing this with the use of perks. Just imagine what a well-organized SWF will do with all the free stuff. As a side note, I miss the times when bully squads needed to throw a match if they wanted to bully.

    For the other effects you mention… I don't really see how any of them are going to help with bodyblocking. After an unhook you literally can't bodyblock […]

    Get through the killer, use a medkit / botany for one second, and voila! Bodyblocking with free Endurance as conspicuous actions doesn't remove it. Add an anti-hemorrhagic syringe for funsies.

    Losing a bunch of tracking options on a survivor is irrelevant when they're hovering right in front of you trying to stop you from chasing their teammate, y'know?

    But it is super good for chasing the killer unnoticed while reading his aura and reporting that information to your mates in Discord and finding him to chase him to bodyblock, you know? That's what I meant. I never said they were useful for the bodyblocking itself.

    It's only the threat of the anti-tunnel penalty that they'd have to sway your actions, and at that point we return to Slug 'Em All 1989 I Am Machete Man.

    Except it is easier than ever to get up from the dying state, whether alone or with help. And if you don't, after 90 seconds you get Unbreakable for free, which will make it even easier to get up and keep trying to force a hook while wasting your time.

    I think it is not hard to understand.

    Bodyblocking is obviously a non-issue now after an unhook, and survivors trying to throw themselves at you still leaves you with options to handle them.

    No, you don't have any options to handle them, as all the options you have are against you. That's the problem.

    And if you think bodyblocking is such a non-issue, you haven't played against enough bully squads and / or good SWF. That, or you only use high-mobility killers. Good bodyblocking and protection hits can make you lose a match.

    And even if it wasn't, again, this is only one example of the multiple ways survivors can (and will) exploit this new basekit mechanics on paper. We will have to see how things go on the PTB.

    So, a clarifying point.

    We cannot in good faith talk about bodyblocking from aggressive just-unhooked survivors without acknowledging it isn't instant and they don't get to teleport. When I talk about getting to chase two survivors without giving much in return, I'm talking about the process of attempting to bodyblock.
    Sure, a survivor that swoops in at the right moment to bodyblock and then vanishes back into the mist to go do generators is definitely harming your chase, no two ways about it. That's just not the scenario we're talking about- we're talking about someone following you around after they're unhooked and trying to get into a position where you have to hit them in order to keep moving.

    Even when they are capable of doing that, which frankly is only even realistically doable on every map because Shack entrance can be blocked this way, it still takes time following you around to set it up. That's time off gens, and I don't think the average attempt pays off in the least.

    For an example of what I'm talking about here, think about flashlight saves. For every one smart and successful flashlight save that provides big value… there's nine flubbed saves from someone that was following the killer around for the whole chase losing time and value for their team. It's the same with this kind of bodyblocking.

    Even assuming someone wants to bodyblock after an unhook and is willing to forfeit all the anti-tunnel protections to do it, they still have to try and get in position and that isn't guaranteed to happen soon enough for them not to be losing time overall.

    (Though, as an aside, using a medkit absolutely turns off Endurance, healing is a Conspicuous Action. They'd NEED to use the Endurance syringe for this to work.)

    This all ties in to the slugging point. Yes, they can get up from the dying state (though the new proposed way of doing that is really slow, it must be said), but that time is on top of the time they spent getting themselves into this position to begin with.

    It's not something that'll never work, but realistically, it isn't nearly as "free value" as some make it out to be. Survivors swarming you is broadly a good thing, even if it's annoying to face and can easily fluster you into making mistakes.

    Raising the barrier for entry for bodyblocking by making it impossible with the basekit features and requiring the use of a specific item with a specific addon is also weakening this strategy, not improving it. Nothing in this new proposal is going to make it worse.

  • @jesterkind said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990724#Comment_3990724

    So, a clarifying point.

    We cannot in good faith talk about bodyblocking from aggressive just-unhooked survivors without acknowledging it isn't instant and they don't get to teleport. When I talk about getting to chase two survivors without giving much in return, I'm talking about the process of attempting to bodyblock.
    Sure, a survivor that swoops in at the right moment to bodyblock and then vanishes back into the mist to go do generators is definitely harming your chase, no two ways about it. That's just not the scenario we're talking about- we're talking about someone following you around after they're unhooked and trying to get into a position where you have to hit them in order to keep moving.

    Even when they are capable of doing that, which frankly is only even realistically doable on every map because Shack entrance can be blocked this way, it still takes time following you around to set it up. That's time off gens, and I don't think the average attempt pays off in the least.

    For an example of what I'm talking about here, think about flashlight saves. For every one smart and successful flashlight save that provides big value… there's nine flubbed saves from someone that was following the killer around for the whole chase losing time and value for their team. It's the same with this kind of bodyblocking.

    Even assuming someone wants to bodyblock after an unhook and is willing to forfeit all the anti-tunnel protections to do it, they still have to try and get in position and that isn't guaranteed to happen soon enough for them not to be losing time overall.

    (Though, as an aside, using a medkit absolutely turns off Endurance, healing is a Conspicuous Action. They'd NEED to use the Endurance syringe for this to work.)

    This all ties in to the slugging point. Yes, they can get up from the dying state (though the new proposed way of doing that is really slow, it must be said), but that time is on top of the time they spent getting themselves into this position to begin with.

    It's not something that'll never work, but realistically, it isn't nearly as "free value" as some make it out to be. Survivors swarming you is broadly a good thing, even if it's annoying to face and can easily fluster you into making mistakes.

    Raising the barrier for entry for bodyblocking by making it impossible with the basekit features and requiring the use of a specific item with a specific addon is also weakening this strategy, not improving it. Nothing in this new proposal is going to make it worse.

    Raising the barrier for entry for bodyblocking by making it impossible with the basekit features and requiring the use of a specific item with a specific addon is also weakening this strategy, not improving it. Nothing in this new proposal is going to make it worse.

    This part alone makes clear that you didn't understand the problem, or my point, at all.

    For the bodyblocking, the only thing they need is to know that after getting hooked once, they can't be hooked again unless the killer wants to deal with a series of punishments, each worse than the last. That's it. Just knowing that, they can now do whatever is in their hands to waste the killer's time and try to force him to hook them again.

    The other things, like the flashbang exploit with no collision and such, only make that problem bigger or are other ways survivors can exploit these mechanics. The only thing also relevant to the bodyblocking is that the slugging changes make the obvious counter to it not an option anymore, as after being slugged for 90 seconds total, they won't even need another survivor to get up themselves.

    But the funny thing is, even if survivors don't abuse these mechanics, they will put a lot of killers in disadvantageous situations by themselves: You are playing Trapper, and the Dwight you hooked for the second time has fallen into yet another trap, meters away from you? Well, you can't hook him again, or you will lose your ability to regress gens. Sorry! Just go to the other side of the map to catch another survivor first without being able to slug him for pressure.

    In conclusion, these mechanics are completely overtuned and exploitable on paper, and I hope BHVR really thought them through and there is more to them than what they have explained until now, or it will be a disaster.

    And with this, I don't have anything more to say on the matter.

  • @lettuchia said:

    Stop disabling anti tunnel/anti camp features in endgame, jesus christ

    Plenty of downvotes but hardly any counterargument because I'm right :)

    If you even make it that far into a match, you don't need anti camp or anti tunnel.

  • BBQ n chili base but distortion was nerfed to the ground. How else are we suppose to counter that a survivor beside running away from the gen you were working on lol

  • @RepossessedTV said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989517#Comment_3989517

    its called END GAME for a reason, the game is over and everyone has to put their cards to either win or lose, u ain't right in any shape way or form, just want things easier even at the end of a trial

    Standard TTV response

  • If tombstone Myers still works the same, they are nerfing that addon to the ground with this, along with you getting punished for killing if you get a perfect 5 stack on devour. Also, this feels like it insentivizes camping so you get the 6 hook states and aren't punished for killing a single person

  • @shadowdrives said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990701#Comment_3990701

    That's sounds so dumb. They always make the worst changes for solving a problem. Survivors don't need infinite unbreakables

    Then what would be your solution?

  • @Batusalen said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990518#Comment_3990518

    […] I don't personally feel it overcomes the fact that the killer basically just got to chase two survivors for free without giving up much in return.

    Well, it certainly is your opinion. In reality, every second counts, as you are literally in a time limit (kill them before they finish the gens), and even hitting a survivor is time spent.

    If someone just unhooked bodyblocks you and makes your current chase longer without the possibility of being able to hook him, all this while gens are still rolling, you are not chasing two survivors for free, they are wasting your time for free by making your chase longer and not even having the chance of hooking the blocking survivor. If that downed survivor gets up and interrupts you again, it's more wasted time for free. And even if you decide to not let him waste your time and hook him, he literally took away all your new basekit buffs for unique hooking.

    However you look at it, it's an exploitable mechanic that allows them to put you in a lose / lose situation.

    In most cases, the protection-hit level of distance survivors can get from someone bodyblocking isn't a huge chase extension. It certainly can be […]

    You said it yourself: It can result in a huge chase extension, especially for non-high mobility killers. It is an effective strategy now, even more so when they are able to put you in a position where wasting your time is not even the biggest benefit of doing it.

    […] but it has a higher-than-equal chance of backfiring too

    That was before they were able to…

    • Negate your new and shining basekit buffs that are super useful and totally balanced with the changes implemented to the other side.
    • Give all their friends a match-long repair buff.
    • Prevent you from regressing or blocking any gens for the rest of the match.
    • All of the above.

    If you hooked the blocking survivor. Now? It is pure benefit, starting with the waste of time.

    […] I'm perfectly okay with that risk existing in the game

    I'm not. I don't want exploitable basekit mechanics in the game for any side.

    I don't even know where to start with the notion of two bodyblockers, though. That's just the survivors throwing to try and bully the killer, no two ways around it.

    Except even now they can win doing this with the use of perks. Just imagine what a well-organized SWF will do with all the free stuff. As a side note, I miss the times when bully squads needed to throw a match if they wanted to bully.

    For the other effects you mention… I don't really see how any of them are going to help with bodyblocking. After an unhook you literally can't bodyblock […]

    Get through the killer, use a medkit / botany for one second, and voila! Bodyblocking with free Endurance as conspicuous actions doesn't remove it. Add an anti-hemorrhagic syringe for funsies.

    Losing a bunch of tracking options on a survivor is irrelevant when they're hovering right in front of you trying to stop you from chasing their teammate, y'know?

    But it is super good for chasing the killer unnoticed while reading his aura and reporting that information to your mates in Discord and finding him to chase him to bodyblock, you know? That's what I meant. I never said they were useful for the bodyblocking itself.

    It's only the threat of the anti-tunnel penalty that they'd have to sway your actions, and at that point we return to Slug 'Em All 1989 I Am Machete Man.

    Except it is easier than ever to get up from the dying state, whether alone or with help. And if you don't, after 90 seconds you get Unbreakable for free, which will make it even easier to get up and keep trying to force a hook while wasting your time.

    I think it is not hard to understand.

    Bodyblocking is obviously a non-issue now after an unhook, and survivors trying to throw themselves at you still leaves you with options to handle them.

    No, you don't have any options to handle them, as all the options you have are against you. That's the problem.

    And if you think bodyblocking is such a non-issue, you haven't played against enough bully squads and / or good SWF. That, or you only use high-mobility killers. Good bodyblocking and protection hits can make you lose a match.

    And even if it wasn't, again, this is only one example of the multiple ways survivors can (and will) exploit this new basekit mechanics on paper. We will have to see how things go on the PTB.

    I generally am of the opinion that this update will probably be good / okay with a few tweaks.
    Let me try my own reasoning:


    >Well, it certainly is your opinion. In reality, every second counts, as you are literally in a time limit (kill them before they finish the gens), and even hitting a survivor is time spent. <

    Okay so lets assume the person dead on hook is trying to get in your face to trigger the early death effect on purpose. Lets say you're chasing another player while they try to do that.
    hitting a survivor with a basic attack pre buff was 3 seconds of cooldown. twice to down the player is 6 seconds.
    times two for two survivors sitting on gens is 12 seconds of gen progress + unknown time of the chase being extended.

    The survivor staying slugged would waste 90 seconds of their time on the ground for the free pickup. that's 9 times amount of time equivalent wasted.
    To break even on time efficiency, they would need to extend the chase by at least 40 seconds (*2) for the initial chased survivor
    which im pretty sure is tier 3 bloodlust territory.

    Now, on the second go, they would only need to be slugged for 30~ ish seconds to get pick themselves up. that breaks even easily, but also doesnt count whatever time they commit finding a way to heal to throw 2 health states at you again.

    Idk im just not at all intimidated by any of this.

    Like i've spent most of the past few years listening to content creators say "making the game an early 1v3 is the easiest way to secure a win" and listening to everyone go "now survivors will make every game into an early 1v3 because they were promised some non specific buffs to gen speed and disabled regression" really sounds like crazy land to me.

  • @YamamuraVideoRentals said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989514#Comment_3989514

    I think at this point the devs also need to take a close look at the end game. It's been turned into something where literally anything can happen to flip the game heavily into the killer's favor, and so it incentivizes the least interaction and gameplay so survivors will just leave. No I'm not talking about tbagging at exit gates, but rather when someone is inevitably left hanging on hook and then people have to make the tough choice of even attempting a save or leaving them to die.

    Perks like noed and no way out flip the game around into what was once a decisive victory and back into terrible danger. Or what was just barely a passing win into a crushing defeat. Blood warden still keeps survivors afraid of opening exit gates, or panic leaving before one of their team gets hooked.

    Everyone is always saying "What else is the killer supposed to do!" but camping the last survivor on the hook is by far one of the most boring parts of the game, and arguably still frustrating if you happen to be a killer without any instadown or multi-hit capabilities.

    Something really needs to change about the endgame.

    I don't know what it needs but I agree—the end game needs to change.

    As a survivor, getting hook-camped on my first hooking and being helpless is miserable. It's amazing when a group of randos rescue me, but it's infuriating when they abandon me, especially when I was the highest perormer in the match. I hate that I can't make any choices.

    As a killer, I usually don't camp but that tends to costs me, but camping is so lame and boring. I don't really know what to do as killer in endgame.

  • If the first person to be hooked is left to die, then there was no "Previous" hook, which means it doesn't proc the anti-regression stuff. As killer, you only get punished like this if you hook the same person TWICE in a row.

    Sure, as survivor, you could sacrifice a teammate early to get some repair speed. Please do that. It's a good strategy (but only when I'm the killer)

  • @Zeidoktor said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989968#Comment_3989968

    One of the features being added is an indicator of who was hooked last.

    That's fair. I actually read that later in the day but forgot I made this comment. Thanks for clarity. I'm still not a huge fan of micrmanaging playstyles though. There are too many edge cases where this bites people. There has to be a better way.

  • @ThatRyanB said:

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/V0XPFJHE7F30/ptb-developerupdate-august2025.png

    The 9.2.0 Update arrives next week, so let’s check out the notable gameplay changes you can expect from this Public Test Build. Plus, stay tuned for next week's 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

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ELZVJGD36DMM/devupdate-sluggingreductionupdate.png

    • If a Survivor is left in the Dying State for a total of 90 seconds during a match, they gain the ability to pick themselves up after fully recovering.
      • Added the option to enable or disable this mechanic in Custom Games.
      • Note: Perks that enable you to recover from the Dying State - like Boon: Exponential - will continue to function as before, without needing to meet this requirement.
    • Gradually increases crawling speed for Survivors who are left in the Dying State.
    • Added the ability for Survivors to recover while crawling. Recovery now occurs passively with no need to hold a button.
    • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/RRP2OJO8RCYG/sluggingreductionupdate-1.gif

    Passive recovery while crawling

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/MB9O4NLKEIUS/sluggingreductionupdate-2.gif

    Pick yourself up if you’ve been in the Dying State for 90 seconds

    DEV NOTE: When it comes to slugging, we know it can be frustrating if you're on the receiving end of it too often or for too long, but we also know that sometimes it's the smart move. This updated system acknowledges this, allowing the Killer to slug occasionally when they feel like it's the right call, but will eventually kick in and swing in the Survivor's favour if slugging is used excessively.

    A big part of this is also about making the experience of being slugged more pleasant (as much as being slugged can be, at least). The recovery changes and crawling speed will give you a bit more agency when downed so you aren't just holding a button and waiting for someone to come save you.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/OKVTXX7D56DO/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/6F3UA65MOB0J/devupdate-tunnelingreductionupdate.png

    • When a Survivor is hooked, their hook status is hidden from the Killer. When they’re unhooked, there is no notification and their hook status isn’t revealed immediately.
      • This is disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Unhooked Survivors gain the following effects for a limited time:
      • Haste, Endurance, and Elusive (see below) status effects.
      • No collision with other players (both Killer and Survivor).
      • Immunity to Killer Instinct and sees the Killer’s aura nearby.
      • These effects are lost when the affected Survivor perform a Conspicuous Action.
      • All these effects (except Haste and Endurance) are disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Added a unique effect to the Killer hook state UI that indicates the last Survivor they hooked.
    • After completing a “unique hook” (the same Survivor is not hooked consecutively), Killers get the following benefits:
      • Bonus damage for the next generator kick.
      • Temporary Haste status effect.
      • Temporarily reveals Survivors (think basekit BBQ & Chili) that have less or equal hook states to the hooked Survivor.
      • These effects are slightly lessened for The Blight, The Dark Lord, The Ghoul, The Hillbilly, and The Nurse.
      • These effects are disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Added new effects that disincentivize tunneling:
      • If a Survivor dies before 6 total hook states, all remaining Survivors gain a repair speed bonus for the rest of the Trial.
      • If the Survivor that was last hooked is Sacrificed or Killed, generators cannot be regressed or blocked.
    • Added the option to enable or disable these new mechanics in Custom Games.
    • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

    DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that tunneling can be seen as an efficient way to play for Killers. While this can be true, it’s also true that the results of this can be frustrating for Survivors, leading to Trials ending too quickly for some, while leaving others to fend for themselves in a match that is now much more difficult.

    The intention here is for both roles to feel the benefits and incentives that come from spreading hook states. On the one end, Survivors have better opportunities to evade and reset after unhooks, while also limiting those tough situations where losing a Survivor too quickly causes things to go south quickly and snowball. On the other end, Killers are able to apply more map pressure to push back against efficient teams, covering ground post-hook and strengthening gen regression.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/2IOB3V56TMEZ/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/AFXVD5SDE8KN/devupdate-elusivestatuseffect.png

    • Added a new status effect that silences grunts of pain and suppresses Survivor aura, pools of blood, and scratch marks.

    DEV NOTE: To start, we’ll be using this new status effect as part of the tunnelling reduction update, but plan to integrate this into relevant existing perks down the road to make their descriptions more streamlined. Arguably the easiest way to look at this is a Survivor version of Undetectable, in that when it’s active, you know you’re in stealth mode.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/FR61CMRVPLNT/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/5FYHIP30TAHZ/devupdate-thetomesloreupdate.png

    • Updated “The Tomes” menu to feature new Tomes and accompanying lore alongside each Chapter release.
    • New lore is unlocked each week within the active Tome.

    DEV NOTE: Ever since we reworked the Tome, we’ve seen how much you’ve yearned for more lore. We’re happy to share that beginning with 9.2.0, lore is back! While previously, lore was tied to challenges, we want all players to have a chance to immerse themselves in these stories, so we’ve shifted to a weekly unlock, not linked to any quest completion.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/N2STWWLLAG7F/devupdate-frame.png

    KILLER UPDATES

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/S41GGXGEAAOB/devupdate-theshape.png

    • Replaced “Evil Within” with two modes that can be toggled with a button press:
      • Stalker Mode: 4.2m/s movement speed, Undetectable, and can stalk Survivors.
      • Pursuer Mode: 4.6m/s movement speed, 24m Terror Radius, increased vault speed, bonuses to lunge range, break speed, and stun recovery, and cannot stalk Survivors.
    • Once the stalk meter is full, Evil Incarnate mode can be triggered at will, granting the following effects for a limited time (note: Survivors no longer become Exposed):
      • 4.6m/s movement speed, 40m Terror Radius and an increased vault speed.
      • Unlocks Slaughtering Strike ability:
        • Hold the power button to charge this ability, reducing movement speed.
        • Press the attack button while charging to quickly lunge forward, adjusting your angle as you move. The length of the lunge depends on charge time.
        • If a Survivor enters the Killer’s attack range while lunging, they are knocked into the Dying State.
        • This ability can also be used to destroy pallets.
      • Unlocks the ability to grab and kill or perform a regular Mori on Survivors who would die the next time they are hooked.
    • Adjusted some of the mechanics of stalking:
      • Removed the limited pool of stalk points per Survivor.
      • Reduced stalk range to 32m and removed distance modifier.
      • Moving while stalking has increased movement speed but incurs a reduced stalk rate.
    • Reworked his add-ons.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/KYEB6NKI2G7O/theshape-slaughteringstrike.gif

    Slaughtering Strike in action

    DEV NOTE: By moving away from linear “Evil Within” tiers, we wanted to give players more tools they can use to adapt to each Trial’s unique situations, while keeping the core of what makes him “The Shape”.

    Slaughtering Strike makes for a high-threat offensive attack, offering up an insta-down opportunity with an extended lunge that's particularly effective in loops and for ripping through pallets quickly.

    Understanding his kit has changed quite a lot, we’ve done a pass on nearly all his add-ons, reworking many of them to offer more unique effects. In particular for those who prefer his old playstyle, Fragrant Tuft of Hair will change Evil Incarnate to function like old Myers, offering an Exposed effect and no Slaughtering Strike. Stay tuned for patch notes for the full details on these changes!

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/13DLVM9GJD8R/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/DJ7BRR08E58E/devupdate-theclown.png

    • Increased activation time of the Afterpiece Antidote.
    • Increased how long the Afterpiece Tonic’s Hindered effect lingers after leaving smoke.

    DEV NOTE: We’ve heard your feedback that The Clown’s easier-to-activate Haste can make instigating and maintaining chases less interactive for Survivors. That, coupled with nerfs to his purple bottles has pushed players towards this frustrating tactic. To make both bottles feel like viable options without being too oppressive, we’ve adjusted the values of their most impactful qualities to strike a balance between pre-9.1.0 values and Live values.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/08BAR9PMARLT/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/BJJBQ7PGA3IM/devupdate-theunknown.png

    • Increased the additional time added to Weakened when injured by a UVX projectile.
    • Increased movement speed recovery after teleporting.
    • Increased camera vertical range.
    • Adjusted several add-ons.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/WZNAYQQGPMJH/theunknown-uvx-verticalshot.gif

    Increased vertical camera range in action

    DEV NOTE: The Unknown is largely considered to be fun to play as and against, and we want to preserve that while adapting to the current state of gameplay. We’ve buffed the UVX slightly, while also taking what we learned from The Animatronic to allow for orbitals, improving UVX aiming and making for even more fun gameplay.

    It’s also likely no surprise that Blurry Photo is the most used add-on for the Unknown, given the importance of speed recovery. To help create an opportunity for more add-on experimentation, we’ve converted a portion of this add-on into a basekit buff, while also doing a pass on other add-ons that are due for some adjustments.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ELLG8CQEDJFB/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/64DWI89LSQRF/devupdate-thedarklord.png

    • Vampire Form:
      • Slightly reduced Hellfire cooldown.
      • Increased total Hellfire pillars by 1.
      • Reduced Hellfire charge movement speed.
      • Slightly increased slowdown time after casting Hellfire.
    • Wolf Form:
      • Increased Pounce Attack charge time.
      • Increased Scent Orb spawn time.
    • Bat Form:
      • Increased movement friction to make flying easier to control.
    • Adjusted his add-ons.

    DEV NOTE: Vampire Form is slightly less oppressive in short loops where movement slowdown had less of an impact, and toning down Wolf Form’s mobility, which has been outclassing some dash Killers. On the flip side, you’ll find Bat Form easier to control in tighter spaces and can use Hellfire slightly more frequently and reach further with it.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ROR59NWGSYC1/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/V4USCCTSEWGC/devupdate-theghoul.png

    • When grabbing a Survivor on the other side of a vault with Kagune Leap, the Survivor is released at the start of The Ghoul’s vault instead of at the end.

    DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that it’s been a common pain point for Survivors to be locked in place when hit with a Kagune Leap Grab-Attack across a vault. Survivors shouldn’t have to wait for The Ghoul to finish their vault before being able to move again, so we’ve removed this tech.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/BSXKYDTEWZ2H/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/J8NJLH9UUUG9/devupdate-theoni.png

    • Hooking a Survivor now spawns more blood orbs.

    DEV NOTE: We understand that with the changes we’re making to address slugging, this will impact The Oni slightly, so we want to mitigate this. By turning hooked Survivors into a greater source of power gauge build-up, The Oni is rewarded with more quickly snowballing power by hooking.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/O6C117J2G4OD/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/S0UA6IHVKJRL/devupdate-perkupdates.png

    • Updated various perks.

    DEV NOTE: In addition to the general perk balance updates you can expect each release, we've also made a number of adjustments to account for the new systems coming to DbD this update, specifically relating to slugging and tunneling.

    Stay tuned next Tuesday for the PTB Live Balance preview on Discord, where we'll dig into the details of these perk changes, and then follow that up with patch notes, where you can find the nitty-gritty numbers.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/AQV7FZEJFLGD/devupdate-frame.png

    Until next time...

    The Dead by Daylight Team

    The solo players' situation is getting worse. I got betrayed by the premade party plays from time to time (like unhook right in front of the killer; obstruct the way so I can get killed faster, thus they can use flash lights etc.) so that they can get more blood points. Now they can even get a bonus by accelerating solo-players' death.

    Lets be honest, solo-players cares nothing about tunneling and slugging, looping the killer is the best part of this game and get tunneled means you get to experience that more efficiently. When I get killed, I go to the next game. And no killers will intensively slug the surviver for no reason, most of time they just can't find where the survivor is. I can just leave the game and find my next game. You know who is angry about tunnelling and slugging?The team players who radically want to get an edge through team communicaiton, but ending up with the same game experience as the solo-players. They get ashamed into anger, and crying as babies for special treatment.

    I'm a survivor main and I am really furious about these changes which further increase the gap between solo-players and premade party players. Your flase step that punishing killers for killing and awarding the survivor for loosing teammate will end up into completely new form of toxic behavior from premade party players . And you know their previledge is generated because of the solo-players in this game.

    PS: I think a significant proportion of team players is toxic enough, its the game mechanics that prevent them from hunt me down directly. Your "promotion" is forcing the solo-players facing 4 killers in the game. Nice try DBD.

  • Isn't obscuring the survivor's hook status and not showing when they get unhooked just gonna make healing under the hook completely free? on top of making it way easier to get deliverance up.

    If you want unhooking to be 100% safe for the hooked survivor, then why not just rework it into a different mechanic entirely? and if you don't want unhooking to be 100% safe, then how badly does a survivor have to ######### up to get punished?

  • @Jarky said:

    I know a lot of killer mains are gonna hate this because it's been how the gameplay has been for 9 years now, but this is a healthy direction for the game.

    Removing unenjoyable uninteractive and frustrating gameplay and encouraging healthier playstyles for both sides is ABSOLUTELY the direction they should be taking DBD. If this results in killers needing basekit buffs to their kits, or more buffs to encourage the anti-tunnel/anti-slug playstyles then so be it, do it. The game shouldn't remain with frustrating elements just because they've always existed.

    And no, just use (x) perk is not the answer. Fixing gameplay issues with perk design has always been a negative of DBD imo (and yes, I also have that opinion for the killer side).

    Problem is, they are throwing this out as a blanket solution when there are lots of nuances that they aren't considering. Getting punished for a kill in under 6 hooks sounds like a good idea, but if you hook surv a, then surv b, surv a, surv c, and then surv a, you are getting punished as the killer for playing the game completely normally. They should make it so you can't 3 hook the same person in a direct row since that is what tunneling is.

    These changes punish killers for wanting to win the game. The slugging mechanic introduced actually does sound like a good idea, but unlimited unbreakable with tenacity will be frustrating when you have to leave someone slugged cause 2 other survivors are crowding you for a save. These changes are literally punishing killers for taking advantage of survivor mistakes. Most of the time, survivors say they are getting tunneled when they are actually being ultra altruistic and making mistakes right in the killers face. These changes quite literally force the killer into ignoring their mistakes. What PVP game rewards the players making mistakes? It's not done smart in the slightest and the PTB is gonna show exactly how awful these changes will be in practice. This entire update shows the devs don't actually play their own game cause the 7 perks they are giving survivors with all the base kit is ridiculous. The hand holding genuinely makes this game so awful to play as both killer and survivor. IDK about you, but I'd actually like to get good at the game and have a challenge when I play, rather than getting 5 second chances, punishing the killer for outplaying me, punishing the killer when i'm making obvious mistakes, and basically handing me the win without much effort.

    And for context before anyone spouts off that I'm a killer main, I play survivor 80-85% of the time and rarely play killer simply because of cue times. I get tunneled out of the game often since I play Orela and I really dislike it. I'm also not foolish enough to believe that changes like these make the game fair in any capacity and can recognize that these will make this game incredibly survivor sided.

    I recommend the devs rethink these changes and I hope the communities and content creators response to this update will show the devs exactly how awful these changes will be. I am also gonna make some recommendations but I doubt the devs will read this.

    Instead of making the anti-slug mechanic unlimited unbreakable with tenacity, it should be conditional in some way. I think if other survivors are near the downed person then the bar should stop and no progress can be made. This means the other survivors can't threaten pallet or flashlight saves and waste time until the downed survivor gets unbreakable and can run away. I also don't think tenacity should even be involved or added. I also don't think it should kick in until the survivor has been downed for a certain amount of time, other survivors are downed in which maybe the timer goes faster for all survivors and gets quicker for each one that is slugged at the same time, or the person is on their second hook state.

    For the anti-tunneling mechanic, I don't think it should be a kill in under 6 hooks. Instead a kill in under 3-4 hooks since that would mean heavy tunneling which is what the actual problem is. This way, survivors mistakes actually matter and the killer isn't punished for taking advantage of those mistakes. I also think that they should implement a mechanic where if the survivor who has just been unhooked enters chase with the killer inside those 10 seconds of endurance, they get a longer amount of endurance. And if that survivor is hit inside that timeframe then the survivor gains 2-3% haste for a couple seconds and the killer is briefly stunned. This eliminates the killer immediately going after the unhook and tunneling out a kill whilst also making chasing that survivor and waiting out the endurance much riskier since too much time will have past and gens are likely to pop due to a poorly chosen chase.

  • @Zeidoktor said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989673#Comment_3989673

    The first thing that came to my mind was a 3-stack deliberately leaning their rando to die on hook to trigger this affect separate from anything the Killer does.

    Having it as a permanent effect is too much for sure. A temporary one may be better, short if removing it entirely.

    I think if someone is left on hook then it shouldn't count granted the killer is actively away from the hook and chasing other survivors and not camping. Genuinely, 3 man SWFs are already tough to go against, now we gotta get an insta loss just cause they wanna abuse mechanics.

  • @Coffeecrashing said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989992#Comment_3989992

    If a survivor has 1 hook state, and aggressively bodyblocks the killer, they instantly die if they get hooked again? Really?

    Are you seriously going to complain that it's unfair to the killer when a survivor gives him a free down and hook?

  • Some of these changes seem really unhealthy for the game in my opinion. I agree that anti-tunneling and anti-slugging mechanisms should be implemented as it is no fun for either side, but some of these changes look really bad

    For the anti-slugging, I'm skeptic about the proposed solution. 90s may seem too much but it's not, specially with the movement buff. Let's talk about some scenarios: Killer downs someone and it's going for a hook when another survivor sabotages. Only viable option for killer is dropping the survivor and start chasing the sabotager. While the killer is chasing the other two survivors can complete two gens easily and don't even need to go for the rescue, in the meanwhile the downed survivor can crawl to a corner and just recover by themself. At that point if the killer succeeds at downing the sabotager it's just one hook after winning two chases (Not event counting two health states for each downed survivor…) and two gens done. Bad result for an actual good call.

    Another issue, endgame situations. Let's say you find the last two survivors trying to open a door, you manage to down one and start chasing for the other. By the time you catch the second, the first survivor already crawled into a corner and waited for recover. While I don't like cheesing the 4k there are ton of scenarios in which not looking for the 4k implies just 2 kills (i.e. flashlights)

    Don't get me wrong, I don't think being able to recover in 90s is bad. Problem is when it's also possible to crawl at the same time as it makes it much harder for the killer to find and is a really boring part of the game to just look for a dude that is crawling around the map for no reason

    Moving to the antitunneling, it seems to be easily abusable not only by coordinated comps but by solo players too, and the worst is that some of these scenarios are not even under killer's control. The 6 hook states is just too much, a single player that just hides during the entire game or that only plays around super strong structures can delay their hooks to a point the game is already lost just by trying to go catch them, 6 hook states requires at least 2 survivors dead on hook and the other hooked at least once. Worst than that, it'd be super easy to abuse by just letting one survivor die on first hook. Not even considering the stupid scenarios where teams pick 4 Claudettes that are indistinguishable, specially if killers are not going to have any information about hook states in exchange. Also denying gen regression is just too much when survivors get a buff to gen progression, and even more considering that the killer meta perks have always been gen regression since it became a thing cause it's necessary for killers

    Also, it seems to easy for the first downed survivor to just annoy the killer and playing super aggressive for pallet saves and flashlight saves knowing that if they get tunneled and killed the killer will be in an even greater disadvantage

    Now, there are things that I think are in the right direction, like the mini pop goes the weasel when hooking fresh survivors, haste, etc. While I think this is in the right direction I'm presuming it's not enough compensation. I really think that killers should be incentivized to hook different survivors. Notice that a killer in order to hook someone not only needs to win the chase but also carry the downed survivor to the hook. THIS is what needs to be encouraged to reduce both slugging and tunneling. I think something like "Hooking any survivor regresses ALL gens by 2% for each survivor still alive in the match" is a better overall approach, it encourages hooking and encourages not tunneling a survivor.

    With the proposed changes killer is not encouraged to hook fresh survivors or avoiding slugging them, but it's denied from that option even on scenarios where it is ok to do so.

  • Complete and utter horsesh*t of a patch. What an absolute disaster. Whoever came up with this crap, you should fire them.

  • @cogsturning said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990300#Comment_3990300

    I don't know what it needs but I agree—the end game needs to change.

    As a survivor, getting hook-camped on my first hooking and being helpless is miserable. It's amazing when a group of randos rescue me, but it's infuriating when they abandon me, especially when I was the highest perormer in the match. I hate that I can't make any choices.

    As a killer, I usually don't camp but that tends to costs me, but camping is so lame and boring. I don't really know what to do as killer in endgame.

    Miserable? It lasts a couple of minutes and if you're that upset about it, you're free to DC.

    I don't see anything here addressing SWFs doing gens too quickly and making the game a miserable waste of time for killers, why is that? Why do survs need their hands held even more than it is already?

  • @lettuchia said:

    Stop disabling anti tunnel/anti camp features in endgame, jesus christ

    Plenty of downvotes but hardly any counterargument because I'm right :)

    Lmao this change is Already broken enough, if you didn't disable it in endgame it would literally just be a guaranteed escape for survivors.

    Its already hard enough to secure a kill in endgame, this would actually make it impossible

  • Yeah the concept of nerfing slugging is really great, they just completely overshot it.

    Giving survivors: base kit unbreakable after a while, a speedboost while crawling, Gen repair speed if you dare too hook everyone once and decide to kill one/the team just letting them die on hook, killer aura+no scratch marks+no blood+no grunts+a speed boost is a freaking HUGE overshot.

    Pretty sure they added so much at once because they knew killer mains were going to complain, but they can't complain about everything so some changes no matter how good or bad they are will stay in the game

  • @Birdy335577 said:

    Yeah the concept of nerfing slugging is really great, they just completely overshot it.

    Giving survivors: base kit unbreakable after a while, a speedboost while crawling, Gen repair speed if you dare too hook everyone once and decide to kill one/the team just letting them die on hook, killer aura+no scratch marks+no blood+no grunts+a speed boost is a freaking HUGE overshot.

    Pretty sure they added so much at once because they knew killer mains were going to complain, but they can't complain about everything so some changes no matter how good or bad they are will stay in the game

    Me too. I think they threw a whole slew of nerfs onto the pile so they could "listen to feedback" and take some away.

  • lol this person may have the worst takes on here and thst really says something

  • Yeah this will be so awesome to play against, especially paired with unbreakable and all the other "anti slug perks" especially the nrw one where you can pick yourself up after only a few seconds.

    This is basically just a fifth perk, now you can have 5 perks so ocu yourself up so fast/can crawl to a pallet so fast It should be illegal

  • personally this is the worst update in all dbd history

  • @Firejocuri12 said:

    personally this is the worst update in all dbd history

    Which is saying something.

  • Let me just start with saying wow this game has become so killer biased it's unreal coming from a survivor main I understand the way in which the developers are pushing the direction of their game, however it will only hinder new players. Furthermore, by having said players rely more on base kit perks and not strategy they will never learn the mechanics of looping. Anyway just wanted to give my take on this what do you guys think?

  • @JackIsHot said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/454770/developer-update-august-2025

    The solo players' situation is getting worse. I got betrayed by the premade party plays from time to time (like unhook right in front of the killer; obstruct the way so I can get killed faster, thus they can use flash lights etc.) so that they can get more blood points. Now they can even get a bonus by accelerating solo-players' death.

    Lets be honest, solo-players cares nothing about tunneling and slugging, looping the killer is the best part of this game and get tunneled means you get to experience that more efficiently. When I get killed, I go to the next game. And no killers will intensively slug the surviver for no reason, most of time they just can't find where the survivor is. I can just leave the game and find my next game. You know who is angry about tunnelling and slugging?The team players who radically want to get an edge through team communicaiton, but ending up with the same game experience as the solo-players. They get ashamed into anger, and crying as babies for special treatment.

    I'm a survivor main and I am really furious about these changes which further increase the gap between solo-players and premade party players. Your flase step that punishing killers for killing and awarding the survivor for loosing teammate will end up into completely new form of toxic behavior from premade party players . And you know their previledge is generated because of the solo-players in this game.

    PS: I think a significant proportion of team players is toxic enough, its the game mechanics that prevent them from hunt me down directly. Your "promotion" is forcing the solo-players facing 4 killers in the game. Nice try DBD.

    "I love being tunneled."

    "Killers never slug for no good reason "

    Yeah I totally believe you're a survivor main with this one random response in this one post.

  • @Arkren said:

    to the killer mains here, dont worry, after the ptb, as always, half the things you see as scary will get a nerf or be removed, but you will maintain all the buff you are getting.

    having to wait 5+ minutes for a trial is not going to be solved on the other hand, because people dont want to play survivor as the game is now, and the game is not going to change much from now to after the ptb. i can already see the hens video saying that this update is going to be disastrous for example, and be sure that bhvr will hear and listen to his feedback

    I could write a paragraph to why this doesn't make sense but I'll keep it short.

    1 they only change it BECAUSE people complain, if you think they change thinks because influencers say so you are straight up wrong, otzdarva made multiple videos in things he think are broken/bugged and nothing has changed

    2 zero clue why you would think no killer buffs would get nerfed, ig thats the Defiant survivor way of thinking lol, survivor gets hella buffs and the first thought you have is that they will nerf it to the ground while keeping the killer buffs the same. You can not make some people happy ig

    3 I mean I hope it doesn't change too much, this is waay too much change at once, this is going to be a nightmare to balance I don't get why they didn't change much for a long time and now try to change give survivor and killer multiple basekit perks

  • @CompetitifDBD said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989514#Comment_3989514

    If you even make it that far into a match, you don't need anti camp or anti tunnel.

    Why don't you?

  • "brooo just drop the guy that you chased for 90 seconds and chase the healthy guy it's that easy man duhh. Totally not a huge waste of time and will pretty likely loose you the game"

    You do realize that the killer just waisted his time for litteraly no gain whatsoever?

  • @Birdy335577 said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989514#Comment_3989514

    Lmao this change is Already broken enough, if you didn't disable it in endgame it would literally just be a guaranteed escape for survivors.

    Its already hard enough to secure a kill in endgame, this would actually make it impossible

    A guaranteed escape for the survivors...after they've completed all 5 gens, which in itself is not guaranteed

    Also it should be impossible to secure a kill in endgame, you don't deserve a kill just for hooking and camping one person

  • If someone ubhooks in your face the survivor can basically walk through you with the new speedbuff and just take a hit they normally never could have taken.

    Like being faster than the killer and having no collision definitely gives you waaay more options to take hits for teammates

  • What survivors need to do to win the game is not to play the game and improve their skills, but to make nerf calls on Twitter.

    WRAITH scattering injuries is annoying!!Please make SelfCare and Botany available by default soon lol

  • @RepossessedTV said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989517#Comment_3989517

    its called END GAME for a reason, the game is over and everyone has to put their cards to either win or lose, u ain't right in any shape way or form, just want things easier even at the end of a trial

    And it's called ENDGAME and not survivors instantly escapegame, I don't get why people think once they completed all gens they instantly serve the win, dies survivor AND kill not both have multiple perks to change the outcome of the endgame. What is hope for? Or bloodwarden?

    Like the gate dosent instantly open for a reason

  • You can, just make a play in less than 90 seconds, if you cant do that then you are at a higher mmr than you should be in.

  • @Birdy335577 said:

    If someone ubhooks in your face the survivor can basically walk through you with the new speedbuff and just take a hit they normally never could have taken.

    Like being faster than the killer and having no collision definitely gives you waaay more options to take hits for teammates

    It's no collision with the killer too. So they cant take a hit after unhook.

  • My biggest concern is that the game will become too repetitive. It's true that it's boring for survivors to tunnel, but they can counter it with OTR and DS, and even then, a killer targeting a tunnel is taking a big gamble. Try to reduce the number of survivors in a chase even when you're at a disadvantage, or try to target survivors who don't bring counter perks...
    This update will take that away, and the game's story will become extremely monotonous, repeating the same pattern: "First, find a survivor! Once you hook a survivor, you'll see the aura of another survivor, so target them!" If that's okay with you, well, good luck.

  • @ThatRyanB said:

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/V0XPFJHE7F30/ptb-developerupdate-august2025.png

    The 9.2.0 Update arrives next week, so let’s check out the notable gameplay changes you can expect from this Public Test Build. Plus, stay tuned for next week's 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

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ELZVJGD36DMM/devupdate-sluggingreductionupdate.png

    • If a Survivor is left in the Dying State for a total of 90 seconds during a match, they gain the ability to pick themselves up after fully recovering.
      • Added the option to enable or disable this mechanic in Custom Games.
      • Note: Perks that enable you to recover from the Dying State - like Boon: Exponential - will continue to function as before, without needing to meet this requirement.
    • Gradually increases crawling speed for Survivors who are left in the Dying State.
    • Added the ability for Survivors to recover while crawling. Recovery now occurs passively with no need to hold a button.
    • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/RRP2OJO8RCYG/sluggingreductionupdate-1.gif

    Passive recovery while crawling

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/MB9O4NLKEIUS/sluggingreductionupdate-2.gif

    Pick yourself up if you’ve been in the Dying State for 90 seconds

    DEV NOTE: When it comes to slugging, we know it can be frustrating if you're on the receiving end of it too often or for too long, but we also know that sometimes it's the smart move. This updated system acknowledges this, allowing the Killer to slug occasionally when they feel like it's the right call, but will eventually kick in and swing in the Survivor's favour if slugging is used excessively.

    A big part of this is also about making the experience of being slugged more pleasant (as much as being slugged can be, at least). The recovery changes and crawling speed will give you a bit more agency when downed so you aren't just holding a button and waiting for someone to come save you.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/OKVTXX7D56DO/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/6F3UA65MOB0J/devupdate-tunnelingreductionupdate.png

    • When a Survivor is hooked, their hook status is hidden from the Killer. When they’re unhooked, there is no notification and their hook status isn’t revealed immediately.
      • This is disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Unhooked Survivors gain the following effects for a limited time:
      • Haste, Endurance, and Elusive (see below) status effects.
      • No collision with other players (both Killer and Survivor).
      • Immunity to Killer Instinct and sees the Killer’s aura nearby.
      • These effects are lost when the affected Survivor perform a Conspicuous Action.
      • All these effects (except Haste and Endurance) are disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Added a unique effect to the Killer hook state UI that indicates the last Survivor they hooked.
    • After completing a “unique hook” (the same Survivor is not hooked consecutively), Killers get the following benefits:
      • Bonus damage for the next generator kick.
      • Temporary Haste status effect.
      • Temporarily reveals Survivors (think basekit BBQ & Chili) that have less or equal hook states to the hooked Survivor.
      • These effects are slightly lessened for The Blight, The Dark Lord, The Ghoul, The Hillbilly, and The Nurse.
      • These effects are disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Added new effects that disincentivize tunneling:
      • If a Survivor dies before 6 total hook states, all remaining Survivors gain a repair speed bonus for the rest of the Trial.
      • If the Survivor that was last hooked is Sacrificed or Killed, generators cannot be regressed or blocked.
    • Added the option to enable or disable these new mechanics in Custom Games.
    • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

    DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that tunneling can be seen as an efficient way to play for Killers. While this can be true, it’s also true that the results of this can be frustrating for Survivors, leading to Trials ending too quickly for some, while leaving others to fend for themselves in a match that is now much more difficult.

    The intention here is for both roles to feel the benefits and incentives that come from spreading hook states. On the one end, Survivors have better opportunities to evade and reset after unhooks, while also limiting those tough situations where losing a Survivor too quickly causes things to go south quickly and snowball. On the other end, Killers are able to apply more map pressure to push back against efficient teams, covering ground post-hook and strengthening gen regression.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/2IOB3V56TMEZ/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/AFXVD5SDE8KN/devupdate-elusivestatuseffect.png

    • Added a new status effect that silences grunts of pain and suppresses Survivor aura, pools of blood, and scratch marks.

    DEV NOTE: To start, we’ll be using this new status effect as part of the tunnelling reduction update, but plan to integrate this into relevant existing perks down the road to make their descriptions more streamlined. Arguably the easiest way to look at this is a Survivor version of Undetectable, in that when it’s active, you know you’re in stealth mode.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/FR61CMRVPLNT/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/5FYHIP30TAHZ/devupdate-thetomesloreupdate.png

    • Updated “The Tomes” menu to feature new Tomes and accompanying lore alongside each Chapter release.
    • New lore is unlocked each week within the active Tome.

    DEV NOTE: Ever since we reworked the Tome, we’ve seen how much you’ve yearned for more lore. We’re happy to share that beginning with 9.2.0, lore is back! While previously, lore was tied to challenges, we want all players to have a chance to immerse themselves in these stories, so we’ve shifted to a weekly unlock, not linked to any quest completion.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/N2STWWLLAG7F/devupdate-frame.png

    KILLER UPDATES

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/S41GGXGEAAOB/devupdate-theshape.png

    • Replaced “Evil Within” with two modes that can be toggled with a button press:
      • Stalker Mode: 4.2m/s movement speed, Undetectable, and can stalk Survivors.
      • Pursuer Mode: 4.6m/s movement speed, 24m Terror Radius, increased vault speed, bonuses to lunge range, break speed, and stun recovery, and cannot stalk Survivors.
    • Once the stalk meter is full, Evil Incarnate mode can be triggered at will, granting the following effects for a limited time (note: Survivors no longer become Exposed):
      • 4.6m/s movement speed, 40m Terror Radius and an increased vault speed.
      • Unlocks Slaughtering Strike ability:
        • Hold the power button to charge this ability, reducing movement speed.
        • Press the attack button while charging to quickly lunge forward, adjusting your angle as you move. The length of the lunge depends on charge time.
        • If a Survivor enters the Killer’s attack range while lunging, they are knocked into the Dying State.
        • This ability can also be used to destroy pallets.
      • Unlocks the ability to grab and kill or perform a regular Mori on Survivors who would die the next time they are hooked.
    • Adjusted some of the mechanics of stalking:
      • Removed the limited pool of stalk points per Survivor.
      • Reduced stalk range to 32m and removed distance modifier.
      • Moving while stalking has increased movement speed but incurs a reduced stalk rate.
    • Reworked his add-ons.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/KYEB6NKI2G7O/theshape-slaughteringstrike.gif

    Slaughtering Strike in action

    DEV NOTE: By moving away from linear “Evil Within” tiers, we wanted to give players more tools they can use to adapt to each Trial’s unique situations, while keeping the core of what makes him “The Shape”.

    Slaughtering Strike makes for a high-threat offensive attack, offering up an insta-down opportunity with an extended lunge that's particularly effective in loops and for ripping through pallets quickly.

    Understanding his kit has changed quite a lot, we’ve done a pass on nearly all his add-ons, reworking many of them to offer more unique effects. In particular for those who prefer his old playstyle, Fragrant Tuft of Hair will change Evil Incarnate to function like old Myers, offering an Exposed effect and no Slaughtering Strike. Stay tuned for patch notes for the full details on these changes!

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/13DLVM9GJD8R/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/DJ7BRR08E58E/devupdate-theclown.png

    • Increased activation time of the Afterpiece Antidote.
    • Increased how long the Afterpiece Tonic’s Hindered effect lingers after leaving smoke.

    DEV NOTE: We’ve heard your feedback that The Clown’s easier-to-activate Haste can make instigating and maintaining chases less interactive for Survivors. That, coupled with nerfs to his purple bottles has pushed players towards this frustrating tactic. To make both bottles feel like viable options without being too oppressive, we’ve adjusted the values of their most impactful qualities to strike a balance between pre-9.1.0 values and Live values.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/08BAR9PMARLT/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/BJJBQ7PGA3IM/devupdate-theunknown.png

    • Increased the additional time added to Weakened when injured by a UVX projectile.
    • Increased movement speed recovery after teleporting.
    • Increased camera vertical range.
    • Adjusted several add-ons.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/WZNAYQQGPMJH/theunknown-uvx-verticalshot.gif

    Increased vertical camera range in action

    DEV NOTE: The Unknown is largely considered to be fun to play as and against, and we want to preserve that while adapting to the current state of gameplay. We’ve buffed the UVX slightly, while also taking what we learned from The Animatronic to allow for orbitals, improving UVX aiming and making for even more fun gameplay.

    It’s also likely no surprise that Blurry Photo is the most used add-on for the Unknown, given the importance of speed recovery. To help create an opportunity for more add-on experimentation, we’ve converted a portion of this add-on into a basekit buff, while also doing a pass on other add-ons that are due for some adjustments.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ELLG8CQEDJFB/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/64DWI89LSQRF/devupdate-thedarklord.png

    • Vampire Form:
      • Slightly reduced Hellfire cooldown.
      • Increased total Hellfire pillars by 1.
      • Reduced Hellfire charge movement speed.
      • Slightly increased slowdown time after casting Hellfire.
    • Wolf Form:
      • Increased Pounce Attack charge time.
      • Increased Scent Orb spawn time.
    • Bat Form:
      • Increased movement friction to make flying easier to control.
    • Adjusted his add-ons.

    DEV NOTE: Vampire Form is slightly less oppressive in short loops where movement slowdown had less of an impact, and toning down Wolf Form’s mobility, which has been outclassing some dash Killers. On the flip side, you’ll find Bat Form easier to control in tighter spaces and can use Hellfire slightly more frequently and reach further with it.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ROR59NWGSYC1/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/V4USCCTSEWGC/devupdate-theghoul.png

    • When grabbing a Survivor on the other side of a vault with Kagune Leap, the Survivor is released at the start of The Ghoul’s vault instead of at the end.

    DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that it’s been a common pain point for Survivors to be locked in place when hit with a Kagune Leap Grab-Attack across a vault. Survivors shouldn’t have to wait for The Ghoul to finish their vault before being able to move again, so we’ve removed this tech.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/BSXKYDTEWZ2H/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/J8NJLH9UUUG9/devupdate-theoni.png

    • Hooking a Survivor now spawns more blood orbs.

    DEV NOTE: We understand that with the changes we’re making to address slugging, this will impact The Oni slightly, so we want to mitigate this. By turning hooked Survivors into a greater source of power gauge build-up, The Oni is rewarded with more quickly snowballing power by hooking.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/O6C117J2G4OD/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/S0UA6IHVKJRL/devupdate-perkupdates.png

    • Updated various perks.

    DEV NOTE: In addition to the general perk balance updates you can expect each release, we've also made a number of adjustments to account for the new systems coming to DbD this update, specifically relating to slugging and tunneling.

    Stay tuned next Tuesday for the PTB Live Balance preview on Discord, where we'll dig into the details of these perk changes, and then follow that up with patch notes, where you can find the nitty-gritty numbers.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/AQV7FZEJFLGD/devupdate-frame.png

    Until next time...

    The Dead by Daylight Team

    Don't the devs think that by making perks available to everyone (without the need of adding basekit whatever) would actually balance the game? Oh wait they'll lose their bussin-

  • Also, how will players who don't read the patch notes or new players find out about these changes? Neither the AFC nor the 3gen system are useful if you don't know about them, and there's no explanation of them in-game. The existing system is getting complicated, so it seems a bit ridiculous to introduce an even more complicated system without introducing a tutorial.

    ...Or rather, there are so many killers and tactics that can be dealt with if you know how to counter them, so why don't you try to implement a tutorial?

  • @kjolnir said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990892#Comment_3990892

    Miserable? It lasts a couple of minutes and if you're that upset about it, you're free to DC.

    I don't see anything here addressing SWFs doing gens too quickly and making the game a miserable waste of time for killers, why is that? Why do survs need their hands held even more than it is already?

    You get extra haste, gen regression and intel, for free. Did you read the patch notes?

  • This is such a healthy change for the game. I hope this goes live. I have 4k hours as survivor and I‘m telling you!! Every time I had a killer playing fair without tunneling and slugging, he got at least 3k! Playing fair is nice and this change is absolutely good. Killers that don’t slug or tunnel won’t get affected by that. It’s good that this way you’re motivating killers to actually get good at the game instead of relying on tunneling and slugging. Those who are mad about the changes are those typical killers that tunnel you out and hit you on hook and hump you on the ground.
    Please keep those changes BHVR. This game is getting healthy FINALLY.

  • @SurpriseAL2 said:

    Ah yes. Lets give survivors 5 new basekit perks and even hold information from them about hooks. Killers get uhh…yeah good luck!

    And myers is now for some reason a dash killer. A chucky that can 1 shot at a loop. How to ruin an identity of an iconic killer.

    AWFUL update.

    Did you read everything???? You get a lot of bonuses as killer if you don’t tunnel. Get better at the game and those changes will not affect you.

  • @Kasol313 said:

    Can't wait till you add anti-hit, anti-walk and anti-vision(all of this for killer sure) because I'm think this game still killer side

    Keep crying but thise changes are good and healthy. Idk what you’re on.

  • Me: 6800h Killer Main of Dead by Daylight been playing since 2016 eating these changes while every one else is kicking and screaming. Honestly I think you all stopped playing SoloQueue cause all of this is desperately needed for it.

    image.png

    I know you all have not read every single discussion post about tunneling and slugging to understand how these changes solve the majority of problems that people have been leaving the game over, its like you guys want the game to die. I cant.

  • @TheGoon224 said:

    so what you’re saying is that killer is dead. I mean, if you really want to counter a hard slugging, why not have the feature activate two or more survivors or the dying state? That way, the killer won’t be punished for making sure it’s safe to pick up. I’m very interested about the Myers, but to me that just looks like he turned them into dashslop. And speaking of Myers, please give the guy a model update because I can count the polygons on that man’s sleeves.

    “killer is dead” while all you have to do is not sug or tunnel 😂😂😂

  • @Nazzzak said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3990998#Comment_3990998

    It's no collision with the killer too. So they cant take a hit after unhook.

    signal-2025-08-30-10-41-29-676.jpg
  • IMO this update isn’t good. Sounds like they helping survivors alot. I have run into really bad players and end up in my face again and again, so you telling me because they dont know how to hide or not run into me i get punished for killing him? I literally just played like 30 mins ago, 2v8 and i had someone complain saying im tunneling but he literally ran towards me right after he got unhooked so i see him and im chasing.

  • @ThatRyanB said:

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/V0XPFJHE7F30/ptb-developerupdate-august2025.png

    The 9.2.0 Update arrives next week, so let’s check out the notable gameplay changes you can expect from this Public Test Build. Plus, stay tuned for next week's 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

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ELZVJGD36DMM/devupdate-sluggingreductionupdate.png

    • If a Survivor is left in the Dying State for a total of 90 seconds during a match, they gain the ability to pick themselves up after fully recovering.
      • Added the option to enable or disable this mechanic in Custom Games.
      • Note: Perks that enable you to recover from the Dying State - like Boon: Exponential - will continue to function as before, without needing to meet this requirement.
    • Gradually increases crawling speed for Survivors who are left in the Dying State.
    • Added the ability for Survivors to recover while crawling. Recovery now occurs passively with no need to hold a button.
    • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/RRP2OJO8RCYG/sluggingreductionupdate-1.gif

    Passive recovery while crawling

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/MB9O4NLKEIUS/sluggingreductionupdate-2.gif

    Pick yourself up if you’ve been in the Dying State for 90 seconds

    DEV NOTE: When it comes to slugging, we know it can be frustrating if you're on the receiving end of it too often or for too long, but we also know that sometimes it's the smart move. This updated system acknowledges this, allowing the Killer to slug occasionally when they feel like it's the right call, but will eventually kick in and swing in the Survivor's favour if slugging is used excessively.

    A big part of this is also about making the experience of being slugged more pleasant (as much as being slugged can be, at least). The recovery changes and crawling speed will give you a bit more agency when downed so you aren't just holding a button and waiting for someone to come save you.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/OKVTXX7D56DO/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/6F3UA65MOB0J/devupdate-tunnelingreductionupdate.png

    • When a Survivor is hooked, their hook status is hidden from the Killer. When they’re unhooked, there is no notification and their hook status isn’t revealed immediately.
      • This is disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Unhooked Survivors gain the following effects for a limited time:
      • Haste, Endurance, and Elusive (see below) status effects.
      • No collision with other players (both Killer and Survivor).
      • Immunity to Killer Instinct and sees the Killer’s aura nearby.
      • These effects are lost when the affected Survivor perform a Conspicuous Action.
      • All these effects (except Haste and Endurance) are disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Added a unique effect to the Killer hook state UI that indicates the last Survivor they hooked.
    • After completing a “unique hook” (the same Survivor is not hooked consecutively), Killers get the following benefits:
      • Bonus damage for the next generator kick.
      • Temporary Haste status effect.
      • Temporarily reveals Survivors (think basekit BBQ & Chili) that have less or equal hook states to the hooked Survivor.
      • These effects are slightly lessened for The Blight, The Dark Lord, The Ghoul, The Hillbilly, and The Nurse.
      • These effects are disabled once all generators are completed.
    • Added new effects that disincentivize tunneling:
      • If a Survivor dies before 6 total hook states, all remaining Survivors gain a repair speed bonus for the rest of the Trial.
      • If the Survivor that was last hooked is Sacrificed or Killed, generators cannot be regressed or blocked.
    • Added the option to enable or disable these new mechanics in Custom Games.
    • Updated several Survivor and Killer perks to account for these changes.

    DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that tunneling can be seen as an efficient way to play for Killers. While this can be true, it’s also true that the results of this can be frustrating for Survivors, leading to Trials ending too quickly for some, while leaving others to fend for themselves in a match that is now much more difficult.

    The intention here is for both roles to feel the benefits and incentives that come from spreading hook states. On the one end, Survivors have better opportunities to evade and reset after unhooks, while also limiting those tough situations where losing a Survivor too quickly causes things to go south quickly and snowball. On the other end, Killers are able to apply more map pressure to push back against efficient teams, covering ground post-hook and strengthening gen regression.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/2IOB3V56TMEZ/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/AFXVD5SDE8KN/devupdate-elusivestatuseffect.png

    • Added a new status effect that silences grunts of pain and suppresses Survivor aura, pools of blood, and scratch marks.

    DEV NOTE: To start, we’ll be using this new status effect as part of the tunnelling reduction update, but plan to integrate this into relevant existing perks down the road to make their descriptions more streamlined. Arguably the easiest way to look at this is a Survivor version of Undetectable, in that when it’s active, you know you’re in stealth mode.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/FR61CMRVPLNT/devupdate-frame.png

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/5FYHIP30TAHZ/devupdate-thetomesloreupdate.png

    • Updated “The Tomes” menu to feature new Tomes and accompanying lore alongside each Chapter release.
    • New lore is unlocked each week within the active Tome.

    DEV NOTE: Ever since we reworked the Tome, we’ve seen how much you’ve yearned for more lore. We’re happy to share that beginning with 9.2.0, lore is back! While previously, lore was tied to challenges, we want all players to have a chance to immerse themselves in these stories, so we’ve shifted to a weekly unlock, not linked to any quest completion.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/N2STWWLLAG7F/devupdate-frame.png

    KILLER UPDATES

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/S41GGXGEAAOB/devupdate-theshape.png

    • Replaced “Evil Within” with two modes that can be toggled with a button press:
      • Stalker Mode: 4.2m/s movement speed, Undetectable, and can stalk Survivors.
      • Pursuer Mode: 4.6m/s movement speed, 24m Terror Radius, increased vault speed, bonuses to lunge range, break speed, and stun recovery, and cannot stalk Survivors.
    • Once the stalk meter is full, Evil Incarnate mode can be triggered at will, granting the following effects for a limited time (note: Survivors no longer become Exposed):
      • 4.6m/s movement speed, 40m Terror Radius and an increased vault speed.
      • Unlocks Slaughtering Strike ability:
        • Hold the power button to charge this ability, reducing movement speed.
        • Press the attack button while charging to quickly lunge forward, adjusting your angle as you move. The length of the lunge depends on charge time.
        • If a Survivor enters the Killer’s attack range while lunging, they are knocked into the Dying State.
        • This ability can also be used to destroy pallets.
      • Unlocks the ability to grab and kill or perform a regular Mori on Survivors who would die the next time they are hooked.
    • Adjusted some of the mechanics of stalking:
      • Removed the limited pool of stalk points per Survivor.
      • Reduced stalk range to 32m and removed distance modifier.
      • Moving while stalking has increased movement speed but incurs a reduced stalk rate.
    • Reworked his add-ons.

    https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/KYEB6NKI2G7O/theshape-slaughteringstrike.gif

    Slaughtering Strike in action

    DEV NOTE: By moving away from linear “Evil Within” tiers, we wanted to give players more tools they can use to adapt to each Trial’s unique situations, while keeping the core of what makes him “The Shape”.

    Slaughtering Strike makes for a high-threat offensive attack, offering up an insta-down opportunity with an extended lunge that's particularly effective in loops and for ripping through pallets quickly.

    Understanding his kit has changed quite a lot, we’ve done a pass on nearly all his add-ons, reworking many of them to offer more unique effects. In particular for those who prefer his old playstyle, Fragrant Tuft of Hair will change Evil Incarnate to function like old Myers, offering an Exposed effect and no Slaughtering Strike. Stay tuned for patch notes for the full details on these changes!

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    • Increased activation time of the Afterpiece Antidote.
    • Increased how long the Afterpiece Tonic’s Hindered effect lingers after leaving smoke.

    DEV NOTE: We’ve heard your feedback that The Clown’s easier-to-activate Haste can make instigating and maintaining chases less interactive for Survivors. That, coupled with nerfs to his purple bottles has pushed players towards this frustrating tactic. To make both bottles feel like viable options without being too oppressive, we’ve adjusted the values of their most impactful qualities to strike a balance between pre-9.1.0 values and Live values.

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    • Increased the additional time added to Weakened when injured by a UVX projectile.
    • Increased movement speed recovery after teleporting.
    • Increased camera vertical range.
    • Adjusted several add-ons.

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    Increased vertical camera range in action

    DEV NOTE: The Unknown is largely considered to be fun to play as and against, and we want to preserve that while adapting to the current state of gameplay. We’ve buffed the UVX slightly, while also taking what we learned from The Animatronic to allow for orbitals, improving UVX aiming and making for even more fun gameplay.

    It’s also likely no surprise that Blurry Photo is the most used add-on for the Unknown, given the importance of speed recovery. To help create an opportunity for more add-on experimentation, we’ve converted a portion of this add-on into a basekit buff, while also doing a pass on other add-ons that are due for some adjustments.

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    • Vampire Form:
      • Slightly reduced Hellfire cooldown.
      • Increased total Hellfire pillars by 1.
      • Reduced Hellfire charge movement speed.
      • Slightly increased slowdown time after casting Hellfire.
    • Wolf Form:
      • Increased Pounce Attack charge time.
      • Increased Scent Orb spawn time.
    • Bat Form:
      • Increased movement friction to make flying easier to control.
    • Adjusted his add-ons.

    DEV NOTE: Vampire Form is slightly less oppressive in short loops where movement slowdown had less of an impact, and toning down Wolf Form’s mobility, which has been outclassing some dash Killers. On the flip side, you’ll find Bat Form easier to control in tighter spaces and can use Hellfire slightly more frequently and reach further with it.

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    • When grabbing a Survivor on the other side of a vault with Kagune Leap, the Survivor is released at the start of The Ghoul’s vault instead of at the end.

    DEV NOTE: It’s no secret that it’s been a common pain point for Survivors to be locked in place when hit with a Kagune Leap Grab-Attack across a vault. Survivors shouldn’t have to wait for The Ghoul to finish their vault before being able to move again, so we’ve removed this tech.

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    • Hooking a Survivor now spawns more blood orbs.

    DEV NOTE: We understand that with the changes we’re making to address slugging, this will impact The Oni slightly, so we want to mitigate this. By turning hooked Survivors into a greater source of power gauge build-up, The Oni is rewarded with more quickly snowballing power by hooking.

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    • Updated various perks.

    DEV NOTE: In addition to the general perk balance updates you can expect each release, we've also made a number of adjustments to account for the new systems coming to DbD this update, specifically relating to slugging and tunneling.

    Stay tuned next Tuesday for the PTB Live Balance preview on Discord, where we'll dig into the details of these perk changes, and then follow that up with patch notes, where you can find the nitty-gritty numbers.

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    Until next time...

    The Dead by Daylight Team

    Although promising, the current state of the game isn't idyllic for an update like this. An overall killer nerf will only encourage the proliferation of certain killers, while other regarded as weaker will be cast aside without any doubt. I do believe they should first find a way to strengthen the weaker killers that are already struggling such as Sadako, Artist or Dredge.

    Also already beating a dead horse since this will make twins even less playable, and Skull Merchant will completely disappear from the game. I won't lie, these tunnelling and slugging changes should be postponed until all the killer roster is ready for them, because now you will just be encouraging playing nurse, blight and ghoul. And the fact that Myers had to be changed into a dash killer exemplifies how stealth killers for instance no longer can keep up, and only killers who can freely cover mid-large distances in a short space of time are the ones that can be played.

    So please, Behavior, it is not too late to delay it. Because these game changing things cannot and should not be done fast, it requires time. It needs to be slowly implemented to prevent disasters. I would eliminate the slugging changes, that are too radical as of right now, and go only with the tubelling ones, which seem a bit more polished and actually posess some semblance of balance. Because if you take away slugging without compensation, aplying pressure as certain killers will become impossible.

  • @ThatRyanB said:

    https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/comment/3989532#Comment_3989532

    Good question! If you've been left in the Dying State for 90 seconds and self pick-up, the 90 second timer doesn't reset. That means that if you're left in the Dying State again, you'll be able to self pick-up again if you fully recover.

    Basekit unbreakable for the entirety of the match LMAO it doesn’t reset is INSANE

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