The brutal online landscape of horror-inspired survival game Dead by Daylight challenges players to master the art of killing and surviving. The more enticing of the two, the killing aspect of the game, is a skill which new players may find to be more difficult than expected. Having to take down a group of competent survivors will prove a more difficult task than horror films make it out to be.
To truly master the art of being a successful killer in Dead by Daylight players will need some guidance. The game is both complex and skill-based so to truly thrive, a killer must master some of the game's mechanics first. This guide will offer some help in developing a new player's killing skills with some general tips and suggestions.
Learning the Basics in Dead by Daylight
To run, a person needs to learn how to walk, the same philosophy is applicable in the Dead by Daylight online community. The first step in achieving killer mastery a new player should complete the tutorial of the game.
The tutorial provides players with the essential groundwork of what it means to be a killer. By providing the essential gameplay mechanics, the tutorial will set new players in the right direction to killer mastery. There is more incentive to completing the tutorial other than learning the game though.
Players who complete the tutorial will receive a hefty 25,000 blood points for doing so. These blood points are the materials used to upgrade killers and their perks. So to gain 25,000 of these blood points is more than enough encouragement to finish the tutorial. Alongside providing the basics to killer gameplay, it also provides an in-game currency reward for doing so.
Picking a Killer in Dead by Daylight
As is common in most character-driven games, learning a "main" killer will help a player refine their strengths and correct their weaknesses with that killer. To become a master killer, players must decide which avenue they enjoy killing in. Without an understanding of which killer fits their niche, player improvement will be almost impossible.
The best way to decide on a favorite killer is to try out each member of the cast without any additional add-ons. Simply experimenting with each killer and their perks will illuminate a particular person's favorite or least favorite play style. This experimentation will show a player which killers are most effective, which ones they enjoy playing as or even which general play styles to avoid. This discovery of killer preference will lead a new player on the road to improvement and expertise in the world of killing.
Making use of the Best Teachable Perks in Dead by Daylight
This tip is a little bit more complex than the others mentioned. This revolves around the concept of "teachable perks" inside of Dead by Daylight. These teachable perks are perks that are learned through leveling up a killer but can be applied to different members of the cast. These abilities are essential for the mix and matching required for success in taking out survivors. However, making use of the strongest of these teachable quirks will certainly improve a killer's success in taking out enemy survivors.
There are four incredibly powerful teachable perks that are extremely useful for new players adapting to the pace of a Dead by Daylight online match. These perks are the barbecue and chili perk, the nurses calling perk, the enduring perk, and the bloodhound perk. Upon expanding the utility of these perks and demonstrating how to unlock them for use, newer players will continue their path to successful serial killing.
The barbecue and chili perk is learned through the DLC character, Cannibal. Even though it requires the purchase of Cannibal, the perk is so powerful that the investment is certainly worth the access to such a strong ability. Barbecue and chili is an ability which allows a killer the power to see survivors after hooking a survivor. This ability extremely versatile and encourages the use of the powerful hook trap in an environment. The ability to essentially "wall-hack" a game of Dead by Daylight is powerful in its own right, but the perk provides a useful upgrade in leveling up other killers. Every time a killer hooks a survivor they gain an additional 25% blood points than they normally do. This will speed up your ability to upgrade the rest of your cast and improve your success during matches.
the nurses calling perk is another powerful ability that can be unlocked through using The Nurse killer. This ability is one of the best and most useful perks in the game. It allows killers to see survivors when they are healing. This not only provides a similar ability to barbecue and chili it also allows a killer to increase their capability to pressure weakened survivors. Offensive pressure is crucial to separating novice to expert killers in Dead by Daylight and nurses calling is a perk that any aspiring master should strive to add to their pool of weapons.
The enduring perk is one which is connected to The Hillbilly killer. This perk allows the killer to recover faster after being stunned by survivor pallet attacks. Although it sounds like a minor improvement, the perk opens a whole new avenue to improve a killer's offensive capabilities. The quicker recovery allows killers to approach pallets that they may have avoided prior to equipping the perk. This can catch an unsuspecting survivor by surprise and can allow for an even more oppressive offensive presence by an aspiring master killer.
The final perk which should be used is the bloodhound ability associated with The Wraith. This ability makes blood stains more explicit in a killer's line of sight. Although minor at first, this ability can continue a killer's offensive abilities allowing him to track already weakened survivors and maintain pressure. As mentioned before pressure is the most essential skill for a successful killer. And the bloodhound perk has maintaining pressure as its primary focus. This is a perk that any killer should strive to have if they wish to have a successful killing spree.
Any of the mentioned perks will improve a killer's success in Dead by Daylight and should be the primary focus of a new player looking to unlock powerful abilities. Implementing these tips into a killer's tool kit will surely send them down the right path to murdering mastery.
Dead by Daylight is available on PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4, & Nintendo Switch.