A string of game-altering quality of life changes have been announced in the Dead by Daylight anniversary livestream, with long sought after DBD survivor disconnect bots and more anti-camping measures leading the way. These changes to the horror game are just a few of those announced to try and recover some excitement in an uncertain playerbase.
Survivors disconnecting from games – be it due to connectivity problems or the classic rage quit – has been a problem in DBD for some time. The way the asymmetrical game is balanced hinges on its 4v1 matchmaking, and a game won’t start without all five players present. However, if things start to go wrong for one survivor, it’s fairly common for them to disconnect, leaving the rest of you in a more unbalanced fight. Finally, Behaviour is implementing a bot replacement system for disconnected players, meaning your team of four will stay that way – even if one of the original members is particularly salty.
How this will work exactly hasn’t been announced yet, but fairness to the killer player has to be taken into consideration. As such, we can assume that hook stages will be carried over to the bot, as well as their health state, items, and perks. If the disconnected survivor is on the hook when they disconnect, logically the bot will take their place. Anyone who has played a custom game with bots before will know that they can be a little janky, but anything is better than nothing, so it should be the perfect filler to keep balance intact for both sides.
While survivor bots was undoubtedly the biggest and most well-received quality of life change announced, it was by no means alone, with new methods to curb face-camping also in the works. Nothing has been said as to what these plans entail, but previous efforts have gone to changing or adding perks which reward the killer for putting distance between themselves and hooked survivors. Generally speaking, only killers in a really tough spot or those new to the solo side of the game will resort to this BM tactic, so giving them more reason to avoid doing so will again be helpful to both sides.
A recent spate of DDoS attacks was the trigger for another change, with a “trust and security” pillar revealed as part of future changes. Again, not many specifics have been announced, but anyone on the receiving end of the DDoS attacks will be glad to hear that new “hacking and vulnerability” software is being implemented. This pillar of trust is also being backed up with a promise to deliver more dev streams. Again, fans of the game will no doubt know that a part of the community criticizes Behaviour for their lack of communication, so this will surely come as a pleasant surprise for those players – provided it’s backed up with action.
Finally, a small but significant UI change is being added before you even enter a game – a loadout search bar. If you’ve got a survivor or killer will every perk unlocked, you know that scrolling through them all to find what you’re looking for can sometimes be a chore, especially if you’re already loading into a lobby and are working against the clock. This search bar will make swapping out your perks, items and add-ons much quicker, and will hopefully speed up the matchmaking process for everyone.
Another meta perk rework and more map balancing are also on the cards for the year ahead, as they always are, with devs constantly striving to bring better balance to the game.
With the DBD community seemingly more aggrieved than ever right now, hopefully these changes – alongside fun announcements like the Nicolas Cage collaboration – will appease fans, and bring a wavering player base back to the multiplayer game in time for its anniversary celebrations. If this isn’t enough to get you excited for what’s to come, take a look at the new DBD killer, bringing sci-fi horror to the game for the first time. Oh, and don’t miss our updated list of the new DBD codes.