BHVR has released the details about Dead by Daylight's Resident Evil DLC, unveiling the identity of Survivors Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine. Accompanying the Survivors will be the Resident Evil 3 monster Nemesis. Each character is bringing three unique perks to Dead by Daylight's current arsenal, and the Resident Evil DLC will also add the Raccoon City Police Station map, which is nearly identical to its counterpart in Resident Evil 2. Dead by Daylight's Resident Evil DLC will release on June 15th.
Jill Valentine is releasing with three perks that will be teachable to fellow Survivors: Counterforce, Resurgence, and Blast Mine. Counterforce enables a permanent buff to a Survivor's totem-cleansing ability. Resurgence allows Survivors to recover up to 50% after being unhooked, decreasing the amount of time it takes to be healed fully. Blast Mine enables Dead by Daylight Survivors to install a trap on generators which activate when the Killers damage generators. Leon Kennedy's three perks are Bite the Bullet, Flashbang, and Rookie Spirit. Bite the Bullet eliminates all sounds made during healing actions. Flashbang allows Survivors to craft a flashbang after working on a generator to 70% completion and hiding in a locker. Rookie Spirit allows Survivors to see generators regressing in progress.
Despite the hype surrounding the new perks available to DBD Survivors, Jill and Leon's newness does not guarantee that they will survive the current meta of the game. Leon's Bite the Bullet is likely the most useless perk in the Dead by Daylight DLC, as a reduction of noise from pain can be achieved through Jake Park's Iron Will both during and outside of healing. Jill Valentine's Counterforce perk will be questionable, as there are a number of perks which can speed up actions if certain conditions are met, however Jill's instills a permanent percentage boost to dismantling totems throughout the match.
Dead By Daylight: Retaliation Is The Key To Survival
Perhaps the most important Survivor perk that Dead by Daylight's Resident Evil DLC brings to the table is Leon's Flashbang. The ability is comparable to Laurie's Decisive Strike in DBD, which has caused Killers headaches since its release and has received several nerfs. Leon sports another ability which promises to play an extremely active role in match awareness: Rookie Spirit. With Rookie Spirit equipped, Survivors can see which generators are regressing in progress, whether from Killers damaging it or through Hex: Ruin.
Jill's Blast Mine fulfills a unique role in defending the progress Survivors have made on generators. Similar to Cheryl Mason's Repressed Alliance perk, Jill is able to utilize what would be considered a defensive strategy in an offensive manner against Killers. Resurgence introduces another level of recovery to Survivor players. Being hooked and damaged is a core part of Dead by Daylight's gameplay, but Jill's Resurgence speeds up the process of returning to an undamaged health state. Similar to Steve Harrington's Second Wind perk, Resurgence decreases the potential time of vulnerability Survivors often suffer in matches.
Overall, each of the new Survivors have skills that will absolutely be of use to players. A few of the skills are interchangeable or inferior to others currently available in Dead by Daylight, but both Leon and Jill offer something new and useful to the game. Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine are currently playable in the Public Test Servers for Dead By Daylight on Steam. While their kits seems to be final, tweaks and patches to balance them are a possibility before the Resident Evil Chapter's release on June 15th. Leon and Jill are accompanied by the new Killer, Nemesis, a monster present throughout Resident Evil 3.