Dead By Daylight and I had a bit of a difficult relationship. Originally, I played a lot of it on release but I eventually quit the game as Killer queue times were relatively long and Survivor games just weren’t all that fun due to the number of campers in the game. Recently, however, I got back into the game and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it!
The game is an asymmetrical PvP game where four “Survivors” try to repair five generators to then power the exit gates. Meanwhile, a “Killer” tries to hunt them down so that they don’t do that. Survivors and Killers have different abilities that they can unlock in the “Bloodweb” through “Bloodpoints” (currency earned at the end of the game). These allow Survivors to dash forward, get different bonuses or even heal themselves. Killers also have abilities in their kit on top of perks that allow them to be more effective in their killing or to find Survivors easier. When a Killer strikes a Survivor twice, they can hook them in different places where allied Survivors need to help rescue them. That’s sadly where a lot of Killers end up giving up and camp the hook until the hooked Survivor ragequits or dies before then looking for new Survivors.
But after a few years of a break, I got back into DBD in 2019, quit again, and started playing again recently. The game has been quite a lot of fun, especially due to the help of Vicksy, FederalGhosts and JChops_ – three lovely streamers that I’ve been watching a lot as of late. Vicksy is also a “Fog Whisperer” which makes her quite the big deal in the community and her advice is incredibly welcome because the game can be really overwhelming at first. Even my explanation up there may sound super difficult but in the end, it’s one of those games that are better when played.
Now, since I last played, there have been a lot of new additions. Apart from adjustments to the balance of the game as well as new survivors, survivor perks, and new killers, there also have been new maps, events, and generally, it’s a great time to pick up the game! I’m currently looking forward to playing more Killer as I’ve been having quite a lot of fun with “The Doctor”. The Doctor is this sort of mad scientist that “cures” patients by shocking them. He seems to be based on Yang Yongxin, a controversial Chinese doctor who used electroconvulsive therapy on internet addicts to “cure” them of their addiction… which seems a bit macabre BUT… He’s fun! I really like playing him even if he’s not the strongest killer in the game. His abilities are based on electricity and he essentially induces “madness” onto the Survivors hit by his electric shocks. When Survivors turn mad, they see projections of the Doctor and scream randomly which makes it easier for you to find them. I love the late game with the Doctor! It’s not as stressful as with other characters as you can take it easy early on and lay the groundwork for the late game where you essentially get notified of Survivors whenever they see hallucinations. There are also some perks that work really well with him.
For instance, I use “Monitor and Abuse” as well as “Overcharge” on him, two of his personal perks. “Monitor and Abuse” essentially reduces the range of your “Terror Radius”, a mechanic that notifies nearby Survivors of your presence, while you’re not in a chase. You also have a bigger field of view, which can come in quite handy. Once you’re in a chase, you lose that reduction and that bonus but generally, you’ve got your eyes on your prey at that point. “Overcharge” lets me damage generators and electrifies them. When Survivors then try to repair these generators, they have to deal with a really difficult skill check which also sets back the progress by quite a bit. On top of that, I run “Bitter Murmur” which helps me see where Survivors are at when they complete generators as well as “Sloppy Butcher” which causes Survivors to be harder to heal when I strike them.
Obviously, there may be better perks out there but personally, I like this loadout a lot and enjoy playing the game quite a bit with these. And as a killer, I tend to try and not camp hooks. “Be the killer that you’d like to face” is my motto and I tend to chase down different targets once I find them, although it’s hard to do that when they immediately unhook people right as I hook them. Some people say that I’m “tunnelling” but in the end, I cannot just let people go when they cross my paths, right? Strike when the opportunity arises! Still, I’ve been having a lot more great games lately and when I see that some people played incredibly well, I also end up letting them go by opening the exit gates for them and carrying them outside. It’s about sportsmanship and I don’t mind letting one or two Survivors go.
And as Survivor, I enjoy playing Claudette a lot but I haven’t played too much. Claudette is a botanist, I think, and she can heal herself without a medkit and she can heal people faster which is pretty neat. I enjoy her quite a bit, although I’m really bad at Survivor. When I play Killer, however, I see how skilful some of the people are with their coordination and strategies. Some people try to distract me while others work on gens. Some people take hits for each other and they juke you and do that sorta stuff. It’s super cool, to be fair, but I doubt I’ll ever get to that level. As a Killer, though, you can kill people and I really like that.
Dead By Daylight and I had a rocky relationship at first but eventually, it grew to me. I’m enjoying it a lot lately and you rarely encounter campers, as of late. The queue times for Killers are actually relatively quick when I play, so that’s not an issue anymore either, and while there isn’t much counterplay to campers, you can certainly still enjoy the game. Have you played it yet? If so, wanna play some together? :3
Cheers!
This post was first published on Indiecator by Dan Indiecator aka MagiWasTaken. If you like what you see here and want to see more, you can check me out on Twitch and YouTube as well. If you find this post on a website other than Indiecator.org, please write an e-mail to me. Thank you!
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