Dead by Daylight Meta Perk Changes Revealed

Players have been wondering about the Dead by Daylight meta perk changes since they were announced during the 6th Anniversary Broadcast. These changes have the potential to shake up large elements of the gameplay.

Below is a list of all the meta perk changes coming to Dead by Daylight as soon as next week on the Public Test Build, as well as the accompanying developer commentary on the changes.

Dead by Daylight Meta Perk Changes Revealed

Killer Meta Perks

Barbecue and Chilli - This perk is incredibly popular not because it’s particularly powerful, but because of the huge amount of Bloodpoints it provides. Choosing to go into a match without it massively slows your progression.  We do not want Bloodpoints to be the driving factor behind perk choices, so we will be removing the Bloodpoint bonus. While we understand this change may seem shocking, please keep in mind that this update reduces the grind by about 75%, with matchmaking incentives providing an additional avenue for Bloodpoints.  We believe this is a necessary step in making other aura reading perks more appealing, as Bloodpoint gain will no longer be the deciding factor. 

Hex: Ruin - A massive part of Hex: Ruin’s appeal is not having to stop and kick generators, as well as the ability to passively regress them from a distance. These aspects make Ruin a unique slowdown perk, so we are not looking to change them. To bring Hex: Ruin in line with other perks, we are reducing the regression speed to 50/75/100% from 100/150/200%. This will reduce its power without destroying its primary appeal. After a Survivor is killed, Hex: Ruin will automatically deactivate.

Pop Goes the Weasel - Pop Goes the Weasel gives Killers a controlled way to remove significant progress from a generator of their choosing. Given that kicking a generator now removes 2.5% of its progress by default, we decided to tone down some numbers to compensate. This perk will now remove 20% of the generator’s current (not total) progress. This change will make Pop Goes the Weasel very effective against generators that are nearly done, but weaker against those with a small amount of progress. 

Corrupt Intervention - This perk makes the beginning of a match more manageable, forcing Survivors to extend deeper into the map before repairing a generator. We aren’t looking to change this aspect. Moving forward, the perk will deactivate once a Survivor enters the dying state. We believe this change will keep Corrupt Intervention effective in helping the Killer build early game pressure, while providing a limit to its power.

Tinkerer - Tinkerer is a popular choice for the information it provides. Being able to prevent a generator from being powered is a game changer, particularly on Killers with high mobility. It can, however, become a little oppressive when paired with certain regression perks. Therefore, Tinkerer can now only activate once per generator – but with the base charges increased to 90, Killers will have extra time to approach. 

Hex: No One Escapes Death (Or NOED, for short) - This perk makes for a very effective comeback tool, though it falls out of favour in high skill games. We like the way NOED encourages Survivors to pre-emptively cleanse Totems, so we are not looking to weaken its direct strength. Instead, Survivors will now see the Hex Totem’s aura within 4 meters upon activation. This range increases to 24m over the course of 30 seconds. We believe this change will keep NOED a strong choice for endgame builds, while encouraging Survivors to find the Totem and attempt that last second save. 

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance - The most recent addition to the meta, Pain Resonance allows the Killer to remove a sizable chunk from the most progressed generator simply by hooking a Survivor. A loud noise notification also allows the Killer to disrupt the Survivors before they can continue repairing. A “jack of all trades” of sorts, granting both a powerful regression effect and crucial information.
With that in mind, we are removing the loud noise notification. Instead of exploding, the affected generator will now spark upon losing progress, and Survivors will no longer scream. We believe this will ensure Pain Resonance remains a strong regression perk while limiting its informational aspect.

Dead by Daylight Meta Perk Changes Revealed

Survivor Meta Perks

Dead Hard - Dead Hard is by far the most used perk by Survivors, and it’s easy to see why. In the right hands, it acts like a third health state, allowing a Survivor to escape a situation where they would otherwise go down. There are two main ways Dead Hard is used: To dodge a hit and for distance (to get to a nearby pallet or window). In the latter case, there’s not much a Killer can do. Therefore, Dead Hard will now provide the Endurance effect for 1 second when activated. If you time it right, you’ll prevent the hit and gain a movement speed boost. This will remove “Dead Harding for distance” and make it solely used to dodge hits, which Killers can anticipate and even bait accordingly.

Decisive Strike - One of Decisive Strike's main appeals is its efficacy at preventing tunneling. In light of the upcoming base game changes, we expect Decisive Strike to drop in usage slightly. For the most part, we find the perk to be healthy for the game, and easily avoidable for Killers who choose not to tunnel an unhooked Survivor. That said, at the end of the match, there’s often nothing the Killer can do to prevent a Survivor with Decisive Strike from escaping. Moving forward, Decisive Strike will now deactivate once the Exit Gates are powered. In addition, the stun duration has been reduced from 5 seconds to 3 seconds. We’ll also be simplifying the description of the perk: Decisive Strike will now be cancelled by Conspicuous Actions. 

Borrowed Time - Much like Decisive Strike, this perk gets much of its popularity by granting counterplay against a camping Killer. Considering a lighter version of Borrowed Time’s effect has been added to the Survivor’s base kit, we need to update the perk accordingly.
Borrowed Time will now extend the duration of the Endurance effect of unhooked Survivors by 6/8/10 seconds and increase the movement speed bonus duration by 10 seconds for any Survivor you unhook. These effects will be cancelled if the unhooked Survivor performs a Conspicuous Action.
While the overall duration with Borrowed Time is longer than before, we expect that having a lighter version in the base kit will cause the usage rates to drop.

Iron Will - This perk allows skilled players to mind-game more effectively in many areas by silencing grunts of pain. To address its high usage rates, we are lowering the grunts of pain reduction to 25/50/75%. Additionally, Iron Will is no longer active when Exhausted – though it will not cause Exhaustion itself. 

Self-Care - Though Self-Care has a divisive reputation among the community, we were surprised to find that its usage peaks in the highest skill matches. Having a consistent and reliable way to heal at will is a powerful tool in the right hands. On top of that, Self-Care increases the efficiency of Med-Kits, allowing Survivors to squeeze additional heals out of them. To reduce its strength, Self-Care's heal speed will be lowered to 25/30/35%, and the item efficiency bonus has been removed entirely. 

Spine Chill - This perk excels at alerting Survivors when a Killer is approaching, and in high skill lobbies, the vault speed increase becomes the primary draw. There are a few aspects of this perk we would like to clean up. Spine Chill will now only activate if the Killer has a clear line of sight to the Survivor. This will remove the awkward counterplay where the Killer must look away to ensure a stealthy approach. Next, we’ll be adding a short (0.5 seconds) lingering effect to Spine Chill. This will prevent the perk icon from flickering when the Killer looks around and make the action speed boosts more consistent. Finally, we’ll be removing the vault speed bonus entirely, as it does not suit the perk’s nature.