Dead by Daylight: Survivor Tips & Tricks

Stick to the Outside Edges

Tips & Tricks for Playing a Survivor in Dead by Daylight

Line-of-sight is one of the single most important facets in Dead by Daylight. As a survivor, you have the ability to look in all directions around yourself thanks to the third-person view. However, the killer is limited to a first-person view, which is a huge disadvantage you can exploit. As a survivor you want to keep your back and sides to as many walls as possible so as to limit the killer’s sight and the absolute best way of doing this is to travel along the edges of the map. Because each map is boxed in, there will always be one side of yours that is covered. Keeping track of three sides is certainly easier than four.

An added bonus to tracing the edges of the map is that if the killer does decide to search for you there, it brings them to the furthest point from the opposite side, which means any other survivors working on far away generators will be safe. This is a big reason as to why most killers won’t travel to the border, which generally keeps it a safe area. You’ll still need to be careful though, as killers will still chase after you if they believe it’ll be a sure kill.

Don’t Be Too Quick to Run

Tips & Tricks for Playing a Survivor in Dead by Daylight

Being chased by a psychotic mass murder can be an intense rush of adrenaline, but it’s generally a good way of getting yourself killed in Dead by Daylight. In order to truly escape the killer, you’ll have to outsmart them. If you are unlucky enough to get seen, consider the best possible routes to get him off your tail. In case you don’t know, when a survivor runs they leave a trail on the ground in the form of markings that the killer is able to follow. Instead of mindlessly running full sprint in a random direction, run long enough for the killer to lose line-of-sight and then immediately walk behind a tree, into tall grass, or next to a solid wall. This is a great way to throw the killer off and leave them slightly confused.

If there is extra time, you can also begin to run in a direction and then quickly walk the opposite way. If done correctly, the killer will think you ran one direction when you’re actually behind them, watching the bumbling fool run after nothing. It’s also important to pay attention to the closets stationed around the map. These will allow survivors to pull the old hiding cliche, though they do come with a rather big downside. If the killer sees through your ruse and searches in your closet, they will instantly nab you and lift you on their shoulders. This counts as a full KO and the killer will be able to meat hook you without needing the two standard hits.

Play the Numbers Game

Tips & Tricks for Playing a Survivor in Dead by Daylight

As the old phrase goes: “There’s strength in numbers.” Recognizing that there are four survivors and only one killer is vital when calculating whether your safe or being stalked. On the bottom left of the screen it shows each active survivor and what their status is. Watching that indicator can be very telling as to where the killer may be. If an ally’s status changes from normal to wounded, you know the killer isn’t around you which can mean a great deal while repairing a generator.

Alternatively, if an ally is put on a meat hook and the killer is steadily watching as the weird insect creature attempts to take them to what one can only imagine as the great leaf blade in the sky, then try to get the killer’s attention and pull them away. This can free up another ally to save your hooked brethren which’ll certainly help out tremendously in the long run. Just be sure to have a quick avenue of escape as having the killer chase you can be a very dangerous game.

Don’t Miss Chests

Tips & Tricks for Playing a Survivor in Dead by Daylight

Throughout each map, there are a number of chests hiding special goodies that will aid in your dire circumstances. It’s imperative that these don’t go unnoticed. In Dead by Daylight, items can be incredibly helpful and carry over between games assuming you aren’t caught. The map will indicate where each generator is located, medkits will help in healing teammates and allow one to heal themselves, and the flashlight can be shined in the killer’s face to momentarily stun them.

Like generators, chests require some time to open and rummaging through one is very loud, however the progress bar will remain as full as when you last attempted the search. This means if you want to save a chest till the end, you can throw a bit of progress on it and come back to it later (assuming none of the  other survivors swing in to grab it). If you’re aware of where a chest is, make sure to grab it before escaping. Whatever lies inside may be a necessity for survival in the future.

Bait the Killer

Tips & Tricks for Playing a Survivor in Dead by Daylight

For Dead by Daylight, killers don’t have much indication of where the survivors are hiding unless the perky teens out themselves by loudly searching through chests or failing generator skill checks. Because of this, when a killer gets a whiff of a survivor’s location, they tend to investigate. This is another weakness that can be exploited. “Baiting” is the strategy of subtly manipulating the movements of your opponent and survivors have complete control of this maneuver as the killer’s role is primarily reactive by design.

If you want to lure the killer to a specific location, perhaps away from where two of your teammates are repairing generators, then it’s a good idea to intentionally fail a skill check. This’ll cause a red indicator for the killer which will likely entice them over, providing he isn’t currently chasing someone else. One of the best times to bait a killer is during a period of silence. Killers like silence, they like being able to listen to audio cues and as such keeping them focus on something else will reduce both their listening abilities and the chances they’ll randomly pop up behind you to smack you with a weird skull-club-thing.

Always Be Looking For the Trap Door

Tips & Tricks for Playing a Survivor in Dead by Daylight

Always have an exit strategy. That’s good advice for robbing a bank and for playing Dead by Daylight. When only one survivor remains, the mysterious trap door will open and allow said survivor to escape completely for free. But there is one very, very important element of the trap door that often goes unnoticed. The trap door is visible from the start of the match. This means that even at the beginning of a game in Dead by Daylight, you’ll want to be looking at the ground and searching for the mythical safe haven just in case your team bites it.

Looking for the trap door can be a bit of a pain and dedicating too much time searching for it can be very risky. Don’t forget to work on generators and avoid the killer as some survivors can focus too much on locating the latch and not enough on actual survival. The trap door likes to spawn on the inside and just outside buildings and sometimes toward the outer edges of the map. They also give off a very distinct sound cue when nearby one that sounds like howling wind traveling through metal. Try not to make your discover too obvious though, as the killer is able to see the trap door as well and may decide to set a trap near it when the time is right.

Dead by Daylight can be an immensely technical game with emotionally self-rewarding plays and advanced game-winning tactics. It’s paramount to keep your wits about you and remain calm during the stressful moments or you’ll be hanging from a meat hook before you know it. What other tips do you have to survive in Dead by Daylight? Let us know in the comments below!