Dead by Daylight is an online asymmetric multiplayer survival horror video game
The Entity, an eldritch horror that exists between dimensions, is attracted to actions of great violence and malice. The majority of Killers, most of whom are serial murderers or victims of terrible tragedy, are pulled out of reality by the Entity and convinced or forced to do its bidding. In order to maintain its existence, the Entity requires sacrifices and demands that they hunt and kill the Survivors so it can feed off their emotions and steal a piece of their souls upon death. In order to continue this hunt, the Entity blocks off the gateways of death and puts the Survivors into a dreamlike state that leads them back to the Entity's purgatory-esque world to get hunted again. The Survivors are pulled into the Entity's constructed world when they wander into the woods or explore abandoned buildings, disappearing from the real world without a trace. More recent Survivors have entered through other methods such as being taken right before they die or sending themselves there using witchcraft. They end up at a campfire in the woods, where they rest between trials until a Killer pursues them again. Each trial takes place in a series of realms constructed by the Entity of areas related to each Killer's history. Escaping from the grounds always takes the Survivors back to the campfire, and offerings can be created to be burnt at it and appeal to the Entity. Since the Entity feeds off of Survivors' hopes of escaping, it helps them just as much as it helps Killers, acting as an impartial observer of the hunt and stepping in only to claim those successfully sacrificed to it.
One player is the Killer and the other four are Survivors. Matches are referred to as trials. The Survivor's objective is to escape the trial by repairing five of seven generators scattered throughout it to power the two exit gates. The Killer must hunt down and impale all Survivors on hooks before they escape, which will cause them to be sacrificed to a malevolent force known as the Entity.
There are over 75 playable characters. Every killer has strengths, weaknesses, and a unique power. Survivors vary only in appearance.
The loadout is where you equip your character for the trials. Survivors can equip 1 item, 2 add-ons for that item, 4 perks, and 1 offering. Killers can equip 2 power add-ons, 4 perks, and 1 offering. Survivor items include medkits to heal themselves or their teammates, toolboxes to accelerate generator repairs or sabotage hooks, flashlights and firecrackers to blind the killer and save teammates from their grasp, maps to highlight objectives and resources, and keys to escape through the hatch. Every killer has a power that makes them unique. There are add-ons which can be used to customize the power to your liking. Offerings can be burnt at the beginning of the trial to influence the entity and alter how the game will be played. Offerings have special effects on the trial, such as increasing bloodpoint rewards, changing the amount of chests in the trial, being sent to a specific map, or being able to kill survivors by your hand. Every character has 3 unique perks that grant new abilities to help accomplish your goal. Perks can be unlocked in their bloodweb and eventually given to other characters.
Bloodpoints are earned in trials and used to progress through the bloodweb. The amount of bloodpoints you earn will depend on your performance. For survivor, you earn points by staying alive, completing objectives, helping other survivors, and interacting with the killer. For killer, you earn points by finding, chasing, and catching survivors, hurting survivors and destroying objects, effectively using your power, and hooking survivors for The Entity.
The bloodweb is a generated skill tree. It consists of interconnected nodes which can be unlocked to get perks, items, add-ons, and offerings. You can progress through the bloodweb with bloodpoints.
After completing a level 50 bloodweb, a character is eligible to prestige. Upon earning prestige 1 with a character, the tier 1 version of that character's perks will be given to all other characters. After prestiging a character, the bloodweb goes back to level 1 and the cycle continues. Prestige 2 and 3 will grant all other characters the tier 2 and 3 versions of that character's perks. Prestige 4, 5, and 6 will unlock parts to a bloody cosmetic. Prestige 7, 8, and 9 grant charms of the character's perks. Prestige 10 to 100 is solely for the purpose of grinding.
There are over 45 maps in the game. The location of the trial is chosen at random. Players can burn offerings to go to specific maps. Every location has fixed landmarks, but certain elements like player spawns, generators, chests, totems, and exits are random. The terrain can also shift from trial to trial.
The endgame collapse is the final phase of the trial. It will activate once an exit gate is opened or if the hatch is closed. A 3 minute countdown will start. Survivors must leave the trial before the timer expires. If they don't, they will be immediately sacrificed by the Entity.
Status effects are positive and negative effects applied to both roles. Bloodlust increases killer movement speed when in long chases. Undetectable suppresses a killer's red stain and terror radius. Oblivious makes survivors unable to hear a killer's terror radius. Cursed makes survivors suffer from a penalty due to a hex totem. Endurance allows survivors to take a hit instead of going down when injured. Exhausted makes survivors unable to use movement speed abilities. Hemorrhage makes healing progress regress when not healing. Blindness impairs aura detection. Madness makes survivors suffer from hallucinations. Mangled makes survivor's healing take longer. Haste increases base movement speed. Hindered decreases base movement speed. Exposed makes survivors susceptible to being put into the dying state in one hit, even if they are healthy. Broken removes the ability to heal past the injured state. Deep Wound causes survivors to mend to their wounds before they succumb to them. Incapacitated disables survivors ability to complete basic actions.
Some effects can reveal the auras of allies, enemies, and resources. They can be seen through obstacles and at long distances.
There are 5 dull totems around the map. Survivors can cleanse them for more points. Killer perks called Hex perks will transform a dull totem to a Hex totem, which can be identified by orange flames. Survivors can cleanse this totem to disable the killer's perks. Survivor perks called Boon perks will transform a dull totem to a Boon totem, which can be identified by blue flames. Killers can stomp out this totem to disable the survivor's perks.
Daily rituals are optional tasks that can be completed to earn more bloodpoints.
Players are graded based on their performance. Killer and survivor grades are seperate. The grading system features 5 grades with 4 classes: Ash 4-1, Bronze 4-1, Silver 4-1, Gold 4-1, and Iridescent 4-1. You will recieve pips depending on your performance in the trial. The more pips you earn, your grade will increase. Grades are reset on the 13th of every month. Bloodpoints are rewarded based on your highest grade you have recieved for both roles.
Killer perks called Scourge Hooks transforms hooks into scourge hooks, which can be identified by white auras. Survivors hooked and unhooked from these hooks suffer from negative effects.
Some perks and add-ons trigger an obsession during gameplay. If this happens, 1 survivor is selected to be the killer's obsession that trial. The effects of the obsession depend on perks and add-ons.
How To Play Killer The Killers