Dead by Daylight killers and survivors are sharing conflicting views over the DBD Reddit, as horror game developer BHVR opts to remove the disconnection penalty for multiplayer matches, potentially owing to issues around the Halloween update.
In the past, if DBD players prematurely left a competitive game, either through an inadvertent disconnect or because they opted to quit out, they would be banned from joining matchmaking for five minutes, with the length of the ban increasing with each subsequent transgression. Theoretically, this ensured that players would remain honest to one another, and not just leave matches because they were losing.
However, it also created the possibility that honest players would be punished because they had abandoned games where their opponents were using cheats. This arguably created a situation where cheaters benefitted from the disconnection penalties, as players would feel compelled to remain in matches against cheaters in order to avoid a sanction.
Currently, Dead by Daylight players report that the disconnection penalties have been removed from the multiplayer horror game, and speculate that this may be connected to performance and crashing issues following the launch of the Halloween update on October 13 – since crashes force players to disconnect, BHVR has, potentially, removed the penalties until DBD’s performance issues are resolved, so that killers and survivors won’t be penalised. Dead by Daylight players subsequently report a variety of experiences in competitive matches, with some arguing that DC penalties should be removed permanently, while others believe they are necessary to the game’s integrity.
“Usually when I see people DC in DBD,” writes Redditor DBPeanut, “it’s actually on a killer that massively slows down the game with their power like Legion, Artist, Pinhead, or Doctor. On the killer end, people tend to DC because it’s a bully squad…or because the game has genuinely gone by too fast to apply pressure. When players have these absolutely demotivating games and then you punish them for not wanting to play in those games, what happens is they usually go to another game or stop playing altogether for the day. When people DC they’re already having a bad time, the penalty will just add to it.”
Other DBD players suggest that the disconnection penalty should remain, as it is not a valid or justifiable reason to quit a match because you are not enjoying yourself. “Most of the time,” says one Redditor, “I see people DC out of anger. Sometimes due to bad luck, other times because they wanted to play ‘bully the killer’ and lost. When you disconnect on the first hook, you punish everyone else in the game.”
“The DC penalty is essential,” writes another. “If you only want to conditionally play the game, then you should just not play at all. Every time [BHVR] turn the DC penalty off, you get people who will DC on their first down, people who DC when generators pop in rapid succession, or those who see a killer or map they don’t like and just DC. If players have the option to just nope out whenever they have to deal with something they don’t like, the game becomes unplayable.”
BHVR is yet to confirm why the Dead by Daylight disconnection penalty has been removed or when it may be reinstated.
If you’re thinking of getting into Dead by Daylight, however, make sure you pick the right murderer from our tier list of the best Dead by Daylight killers. You may also want to try out some of the other best multiplayer games or, given the time of year, the best Halloween games on PC.