The time has come. Dead by Daylight has released the Mid-Chapter update, which introduces many of the major updates we revealed during our 6th Anniversary Broadcast – including the Progression System Update and the Perk Overhaul.
Now that the Mid-Chapter update has officially been released, we’ve got you covered with a summary of all the major changes. Suffice it to say, this one is a real game-changer.
Progression & Prestige
The first three Prestige levels will earn the corresponding tier of that chosen character’s Perks across every other Killer or Survivor. You will no longer lose any Perks, Items, Offerings, and Add-Ons when raising your Prestige level, making it easier than ever to experiment with different loadouts.
Levelling The Trapper to Prestige level 1 will unlock Tier 1 of Agitation, Unnerving Presence, and Brutal Strength on every other Killer – including any new Killer released in the future. Tiers 2 and 3 of those Perks can then be unlocked by raising The Trapper to Prestige level 2 and 3, respectively. Should you decide to keep a The Trapper at Prestige level 1, Tier 2 of his Perks will then become available to unlock in every Killer’s Bloodweb.
Essentially, if you raise every Killer to Prestige level 3, you will have every single character-specific perk available on every Killer.
You can then continue to reach Prestige Levels 4, 5, and 6, with each Level unlocking a new section of that character’s bloody Cosmetic. Beyond that, Prestige Levels 7, 8, and 9 will net unique Charms corresponding to each of that character’s unique Perks.
As Prestige Level is now capped at 100, you will no longer lose any Perks, Items, Offerings, and Add-Ons when raising your Prestige Level.
For players who have already invested time and Bloodpoints into unlocking Perks on various characters, rest assured that you will receive an appropriate number of Prestige levels based on the amount of Perks unlocked. If you’ve already reached Prestige Level 3 prior to this update, your accomplishment will be commemorated with a special Prestige icon on the character select screen.
More specific details be found in our Dev Update, available right here.
Matchmaking Incentives
Sometimes, Killer queues take a little longer than ideal – other times, its Survivor players who are left waiting. Moving forward, a new system is being implemented to ameliorate queue times: Matchmaking Incentives. A Bloodpoint bonus ranging from +25% to +100% will be rewarded for playing whichever role is more in need, depending on time of day and region.
Base Game Changes
In addition to a substantial perk overhaul, we’re also implementing several baseline changes addressing multiple core gameplay issues that drove the meta in the first place. We hope that these changes mark a positive step in ensuring a more varied and exciting experience during the average trial.
Generators
With Pop Goes the Weasel, Hex: Ruin, and new favorite Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance firmly entrenched within the meta, it’s evident that many Killer players have come to value a reliable Generator regression Perk. And while the strength of several meta regression perks will be scaled down, Generator speed concerns have been noted.
Moving forward, Generators will receive two base game changes:
- Powering a Generator now takes 90 seconds, up from 80.
- Kicking a Generator now causes an instant 2.5% loss of maximum progress before regressing normally.
We hope these changes bring increased viability to several Perks, act as a viable counter to “Gen-tapping,” and reward those that actively damage Generators. We will also be closely monitoring how these changes work in tandem with the new anti-tunnelling measures. Speaking of which...
Tunnelling
While the Killer meta centres around slowing down Generator repair progress, the Survivor meta favors perks that grant them a “second chance” at eluding certain death – perks like Dead Hard, Decisive Strike, and Borrowed Time.
Many of these meta Perks provide measures against a tactic known as tunnelling (repeatedly being targeted after being unhooked). Some deem it to be the antithesis of fun, while others frame it as a viable strategy. No matter where you stand, it’s a complex topic that has elicited a passionate response from the community. Be that as it may, the fact remains that no meaningful meta shift can be made without making a few baseline changes.
Moving forward, Survivors will receive a 5 second Endurance status effect upon being unhooked, as well as a brief 7% haste effect. This will hopefully incentivise Killers to diversify their targets while ensuring that loading into a trial without Borrowed Time no longer feels like a death sentence.
As with the Generators update, we will be closely monitoring these changes to ensure fair and balanced gameplay.
Killer Balance
Put simply, the average kill rates are lower than we’d like. As we see it, the Killer should feel like an unstoppable force, and we intend on taking measures to achieve that. Along with the base game changes, we will also be implementing several slight balance tweaks to the Killer role.
Killers will now be able to destroy Breakable Walls, Pallets, and damage Generators 10% faster. The cooldown for successful Basic Attacks has also been lowered by 10%, as has the duration of the speed boost Survivors receive after being hit. We’ve also implemented a small change to Bloodlust, wherein tiers 2 and 3 will activate faster.
For a more specific breakdown on all base game changes, please refer to our latest dev update right here.
Perk Update
We have officially updated a total of 40 Perks – including all the most-used meta Perks for both Killer and Survivor. Rather than detailing them all here, we encourage you to check out our latest dev update for a comprehensive list of every single perk update.
Below are a but a few of the notable changes to the meta perks of each role, as briefly summarized in list form.
Survivor
- Dead Hard can no longer be used to gain distance.
- Decisive Strike now deactivates during the Endgame Collapse
- Iron Will no longer activates while Exhausted, and its volume reduction was lowered.
- Self-Care's healing speed has been reduced, and no longer grants med-kit efficiency.
- Spine Chill requires a clear line of sight to the Killer
- Borrowed Time increases the Endurance and movement speed duration following an unhook.
Killer
- Corrupt Intervention deactivates when a Survivor enters the Dying State.
- BBQ & Chili no longer provides a Bloodpoint bonus.
- Hex: Ruin deactivates when a Survivor is killed.
- Pop Goes the Weasel’s regression numbers have been reduced to 20% of current (not total) progress.
- Tinkerer now activates once per Generator.
- No One Escapes Death’s Hex Totem will have its Aura revealed to nearby Survivors.
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance no longer gives a loud noise notification.
We’ve also made several changes to several non-meta Perks for both sides. If we listed everything, you’d be here for some time – obligatory reminder about the Dev Update – but we’ve got you covered with a few examples:
Survivor
- Distortion can now recharge tokens by spending time in the Terror Radius.
- Off The Record grants the Endurance Status Effect for a considerable duration after being unhooked – though this deactivates upon performing a Conspicuous Action and when the Exit Gates are powered.
- Lucky Break can be recharged by healing another Survivor.
- Saboteur now identifies Scourge Hooks.
- Lightweight makes Scratch Marks appear more sporadically and disappear even faster.
Killer
- Overcharge’s Generator regression speed gradually increases from 75% to 200% over 30 seconds.
- Jolt no longer has a cooldown.
- Lethal Pursuer now extends all Aura reading durations by 2 seconds.
- Monstrous Shrine converts basement Hooks to Scourge Hooks and increases Entity progression speed when the Killer is at a distance.
- Dark Devotion now activates whenever the Obsession loses a Health State.
- Coulrophobia increases Skill Check speed when Survivors heal in your Terror Radius.
There’s plenty more where that came from, and we’re hopeful that this combination of base game changes, changes to both meta and non-meta Perks, and Killer improvements will lay the foundation for an exciting new era of Dead by Daylight. To learn more about these new changes, we invite you to read the detailed Patch Notes on our Forum. We can’t wait for everyone to experience this update!
As always, See you in The Fog. The Dead by Daylight Team
