In the latest Developer's Update, Behaviour Interactive detailed Dead by Daylight in the 5.2.0 update coming later this month, including changes to the new, to-be-released killer, the Cenobite, based on the Hellraiser movie franchise, and skill-based matchmaking. Players were able to see the new killer in action during the Player Test Build (PTB) last month, as well as see the new grade system coming to the game as well.
The PTB is an opportunity for Dead by Daylight PC players to try out new content coming to the game before it is released for all consoles. This also allows the developers at Behaviour Interactive to see how the content works, if there are bugs with general play and if the killer or their perks need to be adjusted for balance reasons. There have been game-wide, not PC only, skill-based matchmaking trials multiple times to determine the best way for this to be implemented. The new Hellraiser content comes just before the Stranger Things content is set to be removed.
As a result of the feedback the Dead by Daylight developers have read and seen from the PTB, they are making a number of differences to the Cenobite before the official release. First, the Cenobite's chains will spawn more consistently, meaning chains will stop spawning in corners and behind obstacles so they will not break instantaneously. While they didn't stop chains from breaking as a result of the environment or Cenobite, chains will respawn faster if they are broken this way. Next, they changed the frequency and number of chains that spawn while the chain hunt is active based on the number of remaining survivors. However, it will always start with three chains spawning three seconds apart for each survivor. The last big change they included is how the Lament Configuration (box) interacts with the survivor who's holding it.
There are other changes they are adding as well for interactions with this killer, such as a cooldown for solving the box, a brief immunity period to chains after being unhooked and added a maximum control time for the Cenobite's gateway power. It's hard to determine if these changes will be good or bad, for players on both sides, but it'll be even more interesting to see how a skill-based matchmaking system and a new grade instead of rank system line up with this.
Behaviour Interactive works hard to ensure the game is as balanced as possible and fun for all, even if there are bugs still to be addressed. It's hard to tell if changes that they are giving the Cenobite now will make the killer stronger or if survivors will have more of a challenge, but players seemed eager for the new killer and excited to play against them or as them. As far as the new matchmaking system in Dead by Daylight, players are either cautiously optimistic or dreading the esports environment that may come as a result. Only time will tell if more tweaks need to be made across the board.
Dead by Daylight is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, Switch, and Stadia.
Source: Dead by Daylight