Folks fromBehavior Interactivecontinuously provide scares to player teams thanks toDead By Daylight, their acclaimed asymmetrical survival horror title. Unlike other survival games, teams of players cooperate inDead By Daylightto escape their levels. Moreover, each player has to use their wits, their environment, and their character’s special abilities to outlast the Killer, assigned to a fifth player, and win the level.
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This central 1-versus-4 mechanic makesDead By Daylightquite an exciting multiplayer experience. Additionally, the central villain has special abilities themselves that can be used to track players. As such, all players have to make use of their resources as best they can. For new players, how exactly can they outlast their villains?
Updated June 27, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:Due to the increasing popularity of the horror co-op game, perhaps both newcomers and experienced Survivors might be interested in learning more practical tips on how to outlast their Killers. Interestingly, a lot of useful strategies include knowing the back of the enemy’s head, which usually means thinking “like them” and taking advantage of things players would do if they were in their place.
15Know Thy Enemy
Survivors need to adjust their playstyle depending on the Killer’s arsenal to ensure their survival in the long term. Thankfully, just knowing a Killer’s Perks can give a ton of hints for Survivors to defeat the Killer in their own game.
For instance, the Nurse has “A Nurse’s Calling” that reveals a Survivor’s aura within 20 to 28 meters whenever they receive any form of healing. In turn, players facing the Nurse could use this knowledge to heal undetected by healing from afar. Likewise, more skilled players might even use this Perk to bait the Nurse by intentionally healing within their proximity.
14Test The Timing
Players have a better chance of outwitting their Killer if they think of their match as a fighting game instead of an exploration game. Remember, the Killer is a player too, which means players can more or less predict their “approach” whenever they also play as the Killer they’ve chosen. In turn, Survivors who try predicting their Killer’s movements have a better chance of avoiding them and even fulfilling their objectives.
For instance, Survivors can mess with a Killer by switching directions or even slowing to a crawl moments before they get caught by an attack or a grab. With the right timing, players can avoid such a harsh attack and even make way for an escape. Likewise, this may taunt the Killer into focusing on a single Survivor - making this “last-minute escape” perfect for bait-based strategies.
13Know When To Stay Put
Unlike Survivors, Killers have a multitude of ways of tracking their prey. As such, some players could say that the game favors Killers heavily, but such is the point of a game based on horror flicks. However, despite all these advantages, players can use their knowledge of these “advanced tracking” mechanics to know exactly when to stay put or when to move.
For instance, Killers can track players whenever they make any kind of noise, be it footsteps, Healing, or even searching Chests. Moreover, Killers receive notifications for the tiniest things such as Generator repairs, Hook sabotage, or even Hex Totem cleansing. Additionally, visual cues such as Scratch Marks, Bloodstains, and Crows can give Killers hints as to where players are. Skilled Survivors can use these cues to bait or even distract Killers.
12Use Allies As Distractions
Granted, it’s recommended that all Survivors make it out alive in a single match. However, Survivors should use any opportunity to their advantage, even when one of them is caught. Remember, Killers maximize the points they earn whenever they wound and hook a Survivor they catch. Thankfully, the time it takes to drag a Survivor to a Hook can be enough time for the rest to start repairing Generators and accomplishing their objectives.
In that regard, players should take note of the status of their fellow Survivors to determine if the Killer has their attention occupied by other Survivors. Moreover, Survivors will see if a teammate is currently being dragged away or hooked, which usually indicates the Killer being nearby.
11Confuse All At Once
Remember, a Killer is just a single player, meaning they can’t catch all Survivors at once. In that regard, Survivors who plan their approach carefully can actually bait the Killer into chasing them. In fact, multiple Survivors can bait the Killer into chasing them in multiple directions. Theoretically, this should give the others enough time to start completing their repairs while the others serve as bait.
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Moreover, well-coordinated parties can actually “switch” roles every now and then. Once the Killer realizes the other Survivors are acting as bait, the other group of Survivors can begin their wild goose chase. That way, the “original baits” could start pursuing their objective. This “switcheroo” can take time, but it may all be worth the victory at the end.
10Prioritize The Generators
Despite the temptation of toying with the Killers, teams should focus on the Generators first and foremost. Remember, as much as this seems “lame,” focusing on Generators can easily shift the tide to the Survivors' favor. As such, strategies should revolve not just using theSurvivors' respective perks, but also plan around getting the Generators to work as fast as possible.
Ideally, other players that notice the Killer being distracted by other players should immediately try to activate the Generators (Gen Rushing). The sooner they trigger the Generators, the more the Killer will panic and likely mess up.
9Spam Repairs, Not Skill Checks
Survivors trigger more Skill Checks the longer they stick with repairing the Generator in one go. Unfortunately, Hex: Ruin totems lingering in Generators can greatly hinder their progress. Instead of triggering a Skill Check (and therefore activate Hex: Ruin), players should spam repairs instead.
Survivors should hold repair for a second or two before letting go and repeating the process. While this procedure makes repairing Generators very tedious, it does reduce Skill Checks and therefore the hassle of triggering Hex: Ruin.
8Use Scratch Marks Against Killers
Players who have been Killers know that aside fromtheir special Perks, Scratch Marks easily leads to panicking Survivors. Thankfully, Survivors can use this “revealing” trick to their advantage.
Instead of outright panicking, players should strategically run in potentially confusing places. For instance, they can run up half a flight of stairs and then stop to walk back down. Alternatively, they can run up a window and then switch walking speeds.
These tricks generate Scratch Marks but Killers might think Survivors either climbed stairs or jumped the window, respectively.
7Avoid Making Scratch Marks If Possible
Remember, characters generate Scratch Marks by running around, especially since this reflects the state of “panic” in horror movies. Despite a Survivor’s “slow” walking speed, they’re still a bit faster than most Killers. As such, they should try adjusting between running, brisk walking, and crouching. Doing these strategies will lessen the amount of Scratch Marks made.
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Moreover, players should focus onstudying mapsto identify all sorts of intersections, be it huge forks or small dirt roads. As such, Survivors should start running when they see these roads but switch movement speed by the time they reach these intersections. These can hopefully throw Killers off the Survivors' tracks and shut down their chase boost.
6Always Try To Break Line Of Sight
Killers on a chaseget Bloodlust, a buff that increases their walking when chasing Survivors. This perk combines with the Stain to make Killers very deadly. However, it’s possible to stop Bloodlust by losing the Killer’s attention.
In order to do this, players should try to throw off the Killer’s attention as fast as possible. For instance, players can start crouching in places with many objects or head to places with relative darkness. Doing these can help players blend in and confuse the Killer.
