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Dead by Daylight Guide: Survivor Tips To Help You Outsmart The Killer

Have you ever struggled to survive against a bloodthirsty killer? Have no fear! Here are five categories of useful tips you can use to survive.

5. A Little Extra Help (Things you can add)

Items: Items are used to improve your chances of survival. The items will disappear if you use them up or if you die with the items unless you burned an offering that allows you to keep them. There are six possible items.

​Firecrackers: These items were added on during an event and only available for a certain amount of time. They are useful in distracting or blinding the Killer.

David King celebrates the festive times with loud and bright firecrackers.

Flashlights: These items can be used to blind the Killer. They are especially effective against the Hag, the Wraith, and the Nurse. Shining the light on the Wraith and the Nurse during their actions will stun them. You can disable the Hag’s traps by shining the flashlight on the traps.

Dwight attempts to blind the Doctor with his flashlight and perfect pearly whites.

Keys: Keys can open the Hatch to escape before the Hatch opens on its own. The Dull Key and Skeleton Key are more useful than the Broken Key. Add-ons can help the Survivor see different auras. 

The player contemplates if using their super rare, spooky skeleton key is worth it.

Maps: Maps can be used to track and mark props. A standard map can only track generators. You will need add-ons to see anything else. Use the map to keep track of the props so you can find them quicker and with ease.

Jake Park uses the map to scout for nearby objects.

Toolboxes: Toolboxes are primarily used to fix generators, but they can also sabotage Hooks with the proper add-ons.

Dwight needs a bit of help fixing up the generator, so he uses his trusty toolbox.

Med-kits: Med-kits can heal others faster and give you the ability to heal yourself without the Self-Care perk.

Claudette sports a cool yet impractical, glowing, Halloween med-kit.

Add-ons: Add-ons are extras that you can put on your equipped item. You can only equip two add-ons at one time. Read each add-on carefully because they could negatively affect your skills while boosting others. For instance, the toolbox’s add-on “Brand New Part” will complete 15% of a generator over 5 seconds but you will be faced with two difficult skill checks. So, make sure you are thinking through what your goal is for that game and choose accordingly.

Offerings: Offerings are tokens you can use once that you “burn” before the match starts to gain some kind of advantage. The most common offerings are those that affect Bloodpoints. You can also make an offering to increase your chances of going to a specific area. There are three categories of offerings that modify the map: Dark Mist, Moonlight, and props modifications. Thicker mist and darker moonlight help Survivors’ stealth, while props help them objectively. Beware of offerings that are not shown to Survivors. They might be a secret Killer offering, like a Mori, that will allow them to kill a Survivor with their own hands.

There are many add-ons and offerings to choose from.

Chests: Chests can spawn throughout a map. These chests contain useful items that Survivors can use like med-kits, toolboxes, and flashlights. Searching for a chest is a bit noisy. It is easy to search but the noise can give away your position.

Nea tries to unlock the chest hoping there is something more helpful than the med-kit she has. 

Perks: Perks help enhance the Survivor’s skills. Certain perks are unique to a Survivor. However, at a certain level, they can become a teachable perk, which gives other Survivors a chance to learn them. The following are the top teachable perks that will help you survive.

• Claudette’s Self-Care: Self-Care unlocks the ability to heal yourself without a med-kit at 50% the normal healing speed. It also increases the med-kits efficiency. It becomes teachable when Claudette reaches level 40.
• Nea’s Urban Evasion: Your movement speed while crouching is increased. This perk is unique to Nea until she reaches level 35.
• Bill’s Borrowed Time: For 15 seconds after unhooking a Survivor within the Killer’s Terror Radius, the damage taken that would down the Survivor, will instead trigger a bleed-out timer. If they take any damage during that time, they are put into a dying state. It becomes teachable when Bill reaches level 35.

Claudette’s self-heal is a game changer.

• Meg’s Adrenaline: You instantly heal one health state and sprint at 150% of your normal running speed for 5 seconds when the Exit Gates are open. Adrenaline is on hold if you are disabled and will activate when you are freed. It will wake you up if you are asleep and ignores Exhaustion. After the 5 seconds, Adrenaline will cause Exhaustion. This perk is Meg’s unique perk until she reaches level 40.
• Laurie’s Decisive Strike: Once a game, if you are the obsession of a Killer and they grab you, you can succeed in a skill check to escape the Killer’s grasp and stun them automatically. If you are not the obsession, it will only affect your wiggle meter. Once it has reached a certain percentage of wiggling, you can complete a skill check to fill the rest of the meter and escape. This perk is unique to Laurie until she reaches level 40.
• Deliverance is a good perk but is relatively new to the game so it is not in the top 5.

This Meg is preparing to make a quick escape.

4. Tiptoe, past the Window (Movement):

• Stealth: There are a few things you can do to remain undetected in a game. Do not run if you do not need to. Do not sprint while vaulting or hiding. Running, vaulting and hiding quickly, and, of course, failing skill checks all alert the Killer. Running causes scratch marks that the Killer can see and track for a time. Failing skill checks, and vaulting and hiding quickly create loud noise notifications that Killers can see.
• Another way the Killer can use to track you is following the blood stains injured Survivors leave behind so try to heal as soon as possible. Be careful when hiding because there is a chance the Killer will check where you are.
• Crows prevent Survivors from camping too long. They are servants of the Entity who give away a Survivor’s location if they stand still for too long. Other crows will caw and fly away if they are startled by the Survivors. Perks can help mitigate the crows.

Claudette’s heart sinks as Dwight fails a skill check on the same generator she is working on.

The Killer lights his path to the nearest hook with an eerie red stain.

• Detecting the Killer: There are various ways of detecting a Killer. It is good to keep track of the Killer, so you can avoid them detecting you. It is also important to find out which Killer you are facing as soon as possible so you can figure out a playstyle.
• Survivors have the advantage of a versatile third person view. It gives you 360˚ situational awareness, as well as the ability to look around corners.
• Also, the Killer has a Terror Radius and the Stain. The Terror Radius alerts a Survivor to the Killer’s approach by a Heartbeat. The closer the Killer is, the faster and louder your Heartbeat is. You can use this indicator to determine where the Killer is and where you need to go to avoid them.
• The Stain also gives away the Killer’s position. The Stain is an eerie red light that shines in front of the Killer. You can use it to determine where the Killer is looking and how close they are when they are chasing you.

Meg stuns the Trapper as she drops the pallet in his way, buying her a bit more time to survive.

Being chased: If you are discovered by the Killer, you should run. However, most Killers are faster than Survivors, and the longer the chase is, the quicker the Killers get. Therefore, it is essential that you try to end the chase as quickly as possible. There are three ways to slow down or trick the Killer: vaulting, dropping pallets, and breaking the line of sight.

• Vaulting: Survivors can vault over windows and pallets quickly. However, if the Killer is close enough, they can take advantage of the Survivor mid-vault. Gauge how close a Killer is before vaulting.
• Pallets: Dropping pallets is an excellent way to slow down the Killer or stun them. Timing is everything, much like when you vault. However, if you drop the pallet while you are still on the side with the Killer, you could potentially get yourself caught.
• Breaking the line of sight: Get creative! Try to trick the Killer by going in unexpected directions or through areas that break the line of sight (grass, winding corridors, etc.) Do not hide in nearby closets because the Killer might look in them which will get you downed instantly. The Killer is always in first-person, which limits their view. Take advantage of that.

Hipster Dwight struggles against the Killer’s firm grip.

• Wiggling: Wiggling is a last-minute effort to escape a Killer’s grasp before they put you on the Hook. If you succeed in escaping their grasp, you are set back on your feet, and the Killer will be stunned. Do not give up if you are captured. Keep wiggling just in case!

3. You have a job to do (Objectives):

• Skill checks: You can’t just play this game idly. Skill checks will periodically be triggered during actions like repairing, healing or sabotaging. Perks, items, and add-ons can help make skill checks easier or less frequent.

A difficult skill check spawns while Jake fixes the generator.

• Repairing generators: A key part of the game is completing five generators to power the Exit Gates. The generators spawn randomly so you cannot memorize their location. Partially repaired generators make a bit of noise so that you can locate them that way. There is a sound cue before a skill check that will alert and prepare you for the skill check. Also, you can look around while you repair. Try to find a few escape routes just in case a Killer comes after you.
• If you mess up a skill check, it will set back the repairing progress and alert the Killer. My rule of thumb is if they are distracting keep going unless you mess up again. In the case of messing up multiple times, or not knowing where the killer is, leave the generator for a bit and see if the Killer comes.

The Doctor is too late. Laurie runs from a finished generator; its light shines like a beacon of hope.

• Sabotaging: All hooks (except basement hooks) can be temporarily disabled if they are sabotaged. This action will make it harder for a Killer to get to a hook, giving the Survivor a chance to wiggle free. You can also disable Killer objects, like the Trapper’s Bear Traps.

Jake disarms a trap to keep him and his teammates safe.

• Cleansing Totems: Hexed Totems give the Killer a special perk that can be destroyed if the totem is cleansed. While this shouldn’t be the focus of a game, it should be a priority. Once the Hex Totem is cleansed, the Killer has less of an advantage. Beware of the Hex totem “Thrill of the Hunt.” Though you aren’t even sure what the hex is until it is cleansed, this one might be easier to figure out. The hex notifies a Killer when someone starts working on it. If the Killer keeps finding you by that totem, it might be because of that hex. Therefore, try to avoid it or use it to distract the Killer.

Claudette cleanses a hexed totem.

2. Let's Work together (Teamwork):

• Altruistic actions: What is better than doing a good deed? Doing a good deed and getting Bloodpoints for it! You can help a teammate out by healing them, even without a med-kit. Rescuing Survivors from hooks prevent the sacrifice and give them a chance to work towards escaping. Even if you play the games selfishly, if you have the time and opportunity for either of these actions, take it. More people = less of a chance of being caught, and more work getting done at the same time. Lastly, you can try to blind or stun the Killer to make them drop a Survivor. This tactic is risky and can lead to you getting down so don’t try it if you are unsure you can succeed.

Ace unhooks his fellow Survivor as the Trapper approaches.

• Cooperative Actions: Some actions can be completed faster through cooperation, including healing and repairing. If you see someone healing a teammate, try and help speed up the process. Also, don’t pass up a generator because someone else is on it. Help them out. Keep in mind that a larger group is easier to spot and generate more opportunities for failed skill checks.

Teammates work on finishing another generator before the Killer finds and attacks them.

1. Let's Get Out of Here! (Escaping):

• The Exit Gate: Once the Survivors fix five generators, the Exit Gates power up and you can open them. There are two gates on each map. To open them, you must hold down the switches until the door opens. These moments are crucial because it will be easier for the Killer to find you. Also, some Killers have perks that activate when the gates are powered up or open. Equip perks that will help you during this time.
• Team up with another Survivor. One of you could be the lookout or distraction while the other opens it. Try to find the gate furthest from the Killer but do not forget the other gate will always be an option.

Jake unlocks the gate as Nea watches, unaware of the Nurse approaching them.

• The Hatch: The Hatch is a secret trapdoor Survivors can use to escape. It spawns after four events (finishing generators or Survivors dying). A Survivor can open the hatch with certain keys. Otherwise it will only open if only one Survivor is left and at least two generators are repaired.
• As a Survivor, the Hatch should be a last-ditch effort. If it looks like your team is having trouble getting generators, focus on finishing two so even if everyone else dies, the last Survivor has a better chance. If you are the second-to-last Survivor and your fellow Survivor is hooked, start looking for the Hatch. Keep in mind that the Hatch does not open until the sacrifice animation finishes (and the animation is ridiculously long) so do not expose yourself to the enemy earlier than you should.

Nea jumps into the Hatch alone in a narrow escape. All her friends are dead, and this was her last hope.

Not ready to face the Killers just yet? Check out these awesome articles on survival horror and co-op horror games:

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