Yesterday saw a dev update from BHVR that revealed a ton of exciting new changes for Dead by Daylight. Today, those changes hit the Public Test Beta in the form of Patch 6.5.0. We already talked a ton about the changes in our article on the January DBD Developer Update, so we’re just gonna give you the TL;DR version here:
- Solo Survivor buffs in the form of HUD icons that indicates what your teammates are doing
- Nurse’s attacks post-blink now don’t count as basic attacks (and therefore don’t activate a wide variety of perks)
- The Knight got various changes and buffs (and a nerf to his camping strategy)
- Eyrie of Crows has been rebalanced to favor Survivors less
- It should be easier to get Merciless Killer (and therefore the Adept achievements)
- Wiggle Mechanic beta is now live, and is changed slightly
- In-game challenge tracker added
- You can now browse the Store and the Archive while in queue
- Killers can customize Killers they didn’t choose while in the pre-game lobby (though they can’t pick a different Killer to actually play)
- More characters outfits will become available for purchase with Iridescent Shard
- BHVR banned over 60,000 cheaters in 2022
Note that the above-listed changes are currently present in the PTB, but will not go live in the retail version of the game for at least a few weeks — generally, there is a three-week gap between the release of a patch on the PTB and when it goes live for everyone. Read on to see the full patch notes!
Dead by Daylight 6.5.0 PTB Patch Notes
Important
- Progress & save data information has been copied from the Live game to our PTB servers on December 19th, 2022. Please note that players will be able to progress for the duration of the PTB, but none of that progress will make it back to the Live version of the game.
Release Schedule
Quality Of Life
Survivor Activity HUD
- The Survivor HUD now features an indicator that appears whenever they or their teammates engage in an activity. Activities include Repairing a Generator, being chased by the Killer, Healing, recovering from the Dying State, Cleansing or Blessing a Totem, opening an Exit Gate, or interacting with a Killer’s Power.
Merciless Killer
- Moving forward, getting 4 Kills will earn the Killer a Merciless Killer rating, rather than the previous requirement of a double pip.
The Queuing Experience
- Players are now able to browse the Store, The Archives and Daily Rituals, while queueing for a match. If they are mid-purchase when the lobby is ready, the game will wait for the conclusion of the transaction – though it will kick the player if the delay is too long.
- While queued, Killers can browse their other Killers and change their loadouts and customizations. This will not affect their currently queued character, who remains shown beside the “Looking for Match” message.
Dev Note: Due to a potential disconnection during cinematics, we had to disable the viewing of cinematics when in a party or queueing for a match
Wiggling
Following a period in BETA, the updated Wiggle system is now standard for all players. Rather than mashing the left and right inputs to Wiggle, it now follows a ping-pong Skill Check system.
Based on the feedback we’ve received from players – thank you very much – we have made a few adjustments to the system.
- Controller input handling has been improved, which should allow Killers to respond to Wiggling more efficiently while carrying Survivors.
- Survivors no longer shorten carry time by hitting Great Skill Checks. Instead, Great Skill Checks will increase resistance for the Killer.
- The size of the Great Skill Check zone has been slightly increased. We’ve also updated the Wiggling sound effects for improved feedback.
Balance Changes
The Knight
- Now that the Forged In Fog Chapter has been released for several weeks, we have updated several aspects of The Knight’s Base Kit:
- While using his Power, The Knight is now forced out of Guard Summon Mode after 10 seconds.
- While tracing a Patrol Path, The Knight’s Orb shrinks with distance travelled and disappears completely after 10m.
- When The Knight creates a Patrol Path longer than 10m, he will gain the Haste Status Effect. The Effect’s duration depends on the length of the Path, beginning at 2 seconds and increasing to 6 seconds at the maximum distance of 32m.
- When a Guard detects a Survivor: If your Patrol Path is over 10m, the time it takes that Guard to reach the Survivor has been decreased. This reduction depends on the length of your Path, ranging from the default 10% to a maximum of 25% if your Path reaches 32m. Basically, the longer your Patrol Path, the faster your Guard will move once he detects a Survivor.
- Using a guard to damage a Generator now grants an instant 5% loss of progress (previously 2.5%).
Add-On Updates:
- Healing Poultice: When Survivors are within 24m of The Assassin when he spawns, their locations will be revealed for 5 seconds (up from 3).
The Nurse
The Nurse holds an interesting place in the Killer Roster. Though her Power can be challenging to master, she can be extremely deadly in practiced hands, especially with certain Perks that accentuate her mobility. While we don’t want to completely overhaul her, we have made some updates to The Nurse, including a pass on her Add-Ons.
Base Kit:
- Any Attack made after Blinking is now a Blink Attack, not a Basic Attack. This will impact how The Nurse synergizes with certain Perks, including those that trigger the Exposed Status Effect.
Add-On Updates:
- Catatonic Boy’s Treasure: Reduces extra fatigue from Chain Blinks by 65% (was 100).
- Dark Cincture: Increases movement speed after a Blink but before the following fatigue by 30%.
- Heavy Panting: Extends the duration of a Lunge by 30% after more than one Blink.
- Ataxic Respiration: Reduces base Blink fatigue duration by 7% (was 12%).
- Fragile Wheeze: Blink Attacks inflict the Mangled status effect.
- Campbell’s Last Breath: After reappearing from a fully charged Blink, The Nurse immediately Blinks again at full charge in the direction she is currently facing. This only works if The Nurse has a remaining Blink charge (was originally a half-charged Blink).
- “Bad Man’s” Last Breath: Hitting a Survivor with a successful Blink Attack grants the Undetectable status effect for 25 seconds (up from 16). This effect may be only triggered once every 45 seconds (down from 60).
- Kavanaugh’s Last Breath: When succumbing to fatigue, any Survivors within 8 meters of The Nurse are afflicted with the Blindness status effect for 60 seconds.
- Jenner’s Last Breath: Once The Nurse has exhausted all her Blinks, The Nurse can immediately Blink back to her original position by pressing the Active Ability Button. Must be triggered before The Nurse succumbs to fatigue. After returning to her original position, all Blink charges are restored (added restoration of Blink charges).
- Torn Bookmark: Adds 1 Blink charge. Increases Blink recharge time by 30% (was 50%).
- Matchbox: Sets maximum number of Blink charges to 1. Increases The Nurse’s base movement speed to 4.4 m/s (was 4.2 m/s, no longer allows other addons to restore Blink charges).
General Updates:
The Nurse is officially the latest Killer to receive her own theme in the menu, as well as a new Terror Radius and Chase Music.
We’ve also adjusted the following:
- Improved feedback for the Spasmodic Breath Add-On.
- Updated Blink recharge audio to give a better indication of when Blink charges are full.
Map Updates
Eyrie of Crows has received a balance pass to make the Map more fun to play for both Survivor and Killer.
- The Map’s length has been shortened.
- Generators are more evenly distributed.
- The main building has been moved toward the Map’s edge.
- The strength of certain main building loops has been decreased.
- New tiles have been added.
Optimizations
We have improved overall stability and performance of the Main Menu, the Character Info panel, and The Archives Rift. We’ve also improved performance when loading into a match on Nintendo Switch.
Bug Fixes
PlayStation
- The PlayStation Store banner no longer remains visible outside of the store.
- PlayStation players should no longer have trouble inviting or joining their friends in a match.
Windows Store
- Players should no longer be unable to successfully purchase Auric Cells on the Windows Store.
Audio
- The proper SFX will now play when a match is found.
- The blood SFX will no longer play when a Hooked Survivor enters the Struggle Phase.
- The Locker exit SFX is no longer unaffected by the Quick & Quiet Perk.
- The Music no longer continues playing while a Survivor is being Sacrificed.
- Raised the volume of the Legion’s blood wiping SFX.
The Knight
- The Knight’s Guards no longer get stuck in various places on the Mount Ormond Map.
- The Knight’s guards are no longer incapable of traversing certain passages on the Mount Ormond Map.
- The Knight’s feet are officially animated in the first-person perspective when attacking or looking down.
- Fixed an issue that caused the Knight and The Spirit to see the Potential Energy VFX and Refined Serum VFX while in Path creation mode and Phase Walking respectively.
- The Knight’s Power no longer becomes unusable when using the order system immediately after entering Patrol mode.
- The Knight will no longer be able to perform actions from unintended distances immediately after using Guardia Compagnia.
- The Knight will no longer receive a permanent 5% Haste Status Effect upon creating a Guard Path under than 10m.
- Fixed an issue that caused The Knight entering Path Creation Mode to trigger Make Your Choice while standing beside a Hook.
The Spirit
- The Spirit’s weapon retracting animation no longer speeds up.
- The Spirit’s hair is no longer missing from a Spectator’s point of view during a Custom Match.
The Twins
- Switching between Charlotte and Victor will no longer lead to an unexpected black screen.
- Fixed an issue where Charlotte would be unable to move after switching control from Victor.
- The Undetectable Visual Effect is no longer missing while using the Silencing Cloth Add-On.
The Plague
- Unstable Rifts can no longer become infected by a Survivor infected by The Plague’s Power.
Survivor Perks & Gameplay
- Flashbangs no longer spin while in a Survivor’s hand.
- When the Circle of Healing Boon is snuffed, Survivors in its radius no longer fail their ongoing Skill Checks.
- Survivors can no longer drop a Flashbang Grenade while getting Healed.
- Firecrackers and Flashbangs now trigger as intended when thrown against a wall.
- Object of Obsession now properly increases the chances of players becoming the Obsession at the start of a match.
- Potential Energy should no longer remain on the Survivor after certain Killers use their Power.
Killer Perks
- Fixed an issue where Hex: No One Escapes Death’s Aura remains active if first blessed by a Survivor, then snuffed by a Killer.
- Resolved Hex: Huntress Lullaby inconsistencies between SFX and UI.
Maps
- Fixed an impassable passage between cedar walls on the Badham Preschool IV Map.
- Survivors can no longer use momentum to vault onto a ledge of the Pale Rose’s Ferry.
- A specific Generator on the Garden of Joy Map is no longer inaccessible from one side.
- Placeholder textures have been removed from the Disturbed Ward Map.
Misc:
- Special Cosmetics such as the Vial Charms will now appear in-game consistently.
- The Killer player can no longer join a lobby with an unintended character.
- Players can no longer use an exploit to play with more than 4 Perks.
- Bots no longer get stuck on thin air.
- Force-quitting the game no longer causes a crash.
- The splash screen no longer causes a crash.
- Customizations equipped in the store are now immediately visible to all party members.
- Survivor Bots no longer attempt to blind The Knight’s guards.
- Applied a tentative fix to an issue causing lag spikes for players with both a mouse and controller connected.
- Resolved an issue in the Shrine of Secrets where a Perk would display as “available” even after purchasing it.
- The menu is no longer accessible while interacting with the EULA or Privacy Policy popup.
- The Alert Reward popup no longer blocks inputs on the Menu.
- Players should now gain proper progress on the achievement “Milk ‘n’ Cookies.”
- Wiggle Skill Check responsiveness has been improved.
- Survivor hair is no longer wonky during the Hook death animation.
- The Entity Spikes at the Exit Gates should now appear as intended.
- Fixed an issue causing the Dissolve SFX to not play when Breakable Wall pieces disappear.
Known Issues
- When the Nurse use the Spasmodic Breath Add-On, hits a Survivor and then leaves the game, the vignette will continue to show in the Tally Screen.
- Some language localisation issues remain, particularly in relation to the Merciless Killer rating.