Dead by Daylight (DBD) Update 5.3.0 Patch Notes

Dead by Daylight update 5.3.0 is now rolling out on PS4, PS5, PC, and Xbox One. According to the official DBD update 5.3.0 patch notes, the upcoming update will add various balancing, changes, and quality of life improvements.

Previously, a big update was released with various tweaks and fixes. Read full details here.

DBD 5.3.0 patch Notes – October 19, 2021

Features

System to support event content within The Archives

Content

Added a new Survivor: Mikaela Reid

Updated the Character Select portraits for several Survivors. (David, Jake, Nea, Kate, Quentin, and Feng)

General

Item and Add-on descriptions have been rewritten
“Considerably” and other vague terms have been replaced with number values
Added in reminder text for Status Effects: Any Add-ons that trigger status effect also include a brief description on the status effect
The hatch will now only appear when one survivor is left alive
Survivors can open the hatch after it has been kicked shut by using a key
Key interaction takes 2.5 seconds, and does not lose progress when interrupted
The achievement “Where Did They Go!?” has been changed to “The Key to Escaping”

Balance

Item and Add-on descriptions have been rewritten
“Considerably” and other vague terms have been replaced with number values
Added in reminder text for Status Effects: Any Add-ons that trigger status effect also include a brief description on the status effect
The hatch will now only appear when one survivor is left alive
Survivors can open the hatch after it has been kicked shut by using a key
Key interaction takes 2.5 seconds, and does not lose progress when interrupted
The achievement “Where Did They Go!?” has been changed to “The Key to Escaping”

Developer notes: The hatch change is effectively the much asked for Key nerf in disguise, preventing survivors from escaping a trial prematurely. It is also intended to reduce situations where survivors would camp the hatch, waiting for their teammates to die so they could escape.

The Trapper

Base trap carrying capacity and starting traps increased to 2 (was 1)
Trap aura color changed from red to white to be consistent with other killer object auras
The number of traps spawned on a given map is now always 6 (was random 4-6)
Add-on – Trapper Gloves: Setting speed bonus increased to 30% (was 20%)
Add-on – Wax Brick: Trap escape modifier removed. Added effect: 33% increase to rescue and escape time. Rarity decreased to Uncommon (was Rare).
Add-on – Trapper Bag. Reduced number of additional traps to 1 (was 2). Rarity increased to Rare (was Uncommon).
Add-on – Secondary Coil: Increased trap disarm time to 50% (was 43%)
Add-on – Fastening Tools: Trap escape modifier removed. Added effect: 25% increase to rescue and escape time. Rarity decreased to Rare (was Very Rare).
Reworked Add-on – Oily Coil: When resetting a Bear Trap, reveal the aura of the most recent Survivor to disarm it for 5 seconds
Reworked Add-on – Trapper Sack: Bear Traps are carried at the beginning of the trial instead of spawning on the map. Bear Traps cannot be picked up.
New Add-on – Bear Oil: Setting a Bear Trap is silent
New Add-on – Makeshift Wrap: The Trapper cannot be caught by his Bear Traps. The Bear Trap will be disarmed if The Trapper steps on it.
New Add-on – Coffee Grinds: Gain a 5% Haste status effect for 5 seconds after setting a Bear Trap
New Add-on – Lengthened Jaws: Bear Traps inflict Deep Wound on Survivors
New Add-on – Tension Spring: The Bear Trap resets 2 seconds after a Survivor escapes from it
The following add-ons have been removed: Strong Coil Spring, Trap Setters, Logwood Dye, Setting Tools, Stitched Bag
New Bear Trap SFX when using Padded Jaws add-on

Developer notes: The Trapper is DbD’s oldest killer, and he needed some love to bring him up to our modern standard of play. Many of these changes are focused around bringing him into line with how the rest of our Killers behave. Traps have been balanced to provide more consistent game experiences, and his add-ons have been overhauled to give a greater variety of options.

The Wraith

Uncloaking speed boost duration reduced to 1 seconds (was 1.25 seconds)
Add-on – All Seeing: Blood: Aura reveal range decreased to 8 meters (was 12 meters)

Developer notes: Recent buffs to The Wraith have made him a wee bit over powered, so these changes are intended to adjust two of the most obviously overpowered elements. We’ll continue monitoring how he performs, and potentially have more changes for him in the future.

The Hillbilly

Add-on – Death Engravings: Added effect: Decreases heat generated while charging by 14%
Add-on – Doom Engravings: Added effect: Decreases heat generated while charging by 14%
Add-on – Mother’s Helpers: Charge speed bonus after being stunned increased to 18% (was 12%)
Add-on – Tuned Carburetor: Charge speed bonus increased to 25% (was 20%)
Reworked Add-on – Black Grease: Increases Chainsaw charge speed by 18% for 30 seconds after being blinded
Reworked Add-on – Pighouse Gloves: Increases action speed by 20% when breaking pallets or walls, or damaging generators. Decreases duration of pallet stuns by 50%.

Developer notes: The engraving add-ons are very popular with players, but the increased charge time means he generates significantly more heat for a full charge with these add-ons than without. A heat reduction modifier has been added to keep the amount of heat produced for one full charge constant, and we’ve also improved some underperforming add-ons to make them more enticing.

The Nurse

Add-on – Torn Bookmark: Removed line of sight restriction. Added effect: Increases Blink recharge time by 50%.

Developer notes: The line of sight restriction on Torn Book wasn’t terribly fun to play with, so we’ve replaced that a new downside which we feel is more in line with what players would expect.

The Shape

Add-on – Memorial Flower: Rarity decreased to Common (was Uncommon)
Add-on – Vanity Mirror: Removed speed penalty
Add-on – Judith’s Tombstone: Speed penalty now only applies to Evil Within III

Developer notes: The rarity change to Memorial Flower brings The Shape in line with all our other killers in terms of add-on rarity distribution. Additionally, we have removed the movement speed penalties that prevented two add-ons from realistically enabling their intended play styles. Our condolences to players who used these add-ons for comedic purposes.

The Hag

Add-on – Waterlogged Shoe: Increased speed bonus to 4.5% (was 2%)

Developer notes: Waterlogged Show was The Hag’s worst performing add-on, so we’ve given it a buff to help make it more viable. It will now make The Hag move at regular killer speed, 4.6m/s.

The Pig

Add-on – Bag of Gears: Increased Reverse Bear Trap setting speed bonus to 50% (was 20%)
Add-on – Crate of Gears: Decreased Jigsaw Box search penalty to 33% (was 43%)
Add-on – Tampered Timer: Decreased Reverse Bear Trap death timer modification to 20 seconds (was 30 seconds)
Add-on – Rule Set N.2: Decreased rarity to Rare (was Ultra Rare)
Add-on – Amanda’s Letter: Jigsaw Box reduction removed. Aura reveal range increased to 16 meters (was 12 meters).
Reworked Add-on – John’s Medical File: Increases crouched move speed by 6%
Reworked Add-on – Razor Wires: Failing a Jigsaw Box skill check while uninjured will injure the survivor
Reworked Add-on – Workshop Grease: Increases Ambush attack charge speed by 50%. Decreases Ambush attack miss cooldown by 25%. Increased rarity to Uncommon (was Common).
Reworked Add-on – Last Will: Increases Ambush attack movement speed by 6%. Increases time to charge Ambush attack by 66%.
Reworked Add-on – Interlocking Razor: Failing a Jigsaw Box skill check while injured will inflict Deep Wound on the Survivor
Reworked Add-on – Jigsaw’s Annotated Plan: Increases available Reverse Bear Traps by 1. Increases Reverse Bear Trap death timer by 10 seconds. Whenever a generator is completed, 10 seconds is removed from the death timer of all active Reverse Bear Traps.
Reworked Add-on – Jigsaw’s Sketch: Increases available Reverse Bear Traps by 1. When a Survivor with a Reverse Bear Trap is working on a generator, that generator’s aura is revealed to you.
Reworked Add-on – Video Tape: Survivors begin the trial with Reverse Bear Traps installed. Rarity increased to Ultra Rare (was Uncommon).

Developer notes: We are happy to announce The Pig is getting an add-on balance pass! We have replaced a number of underperforming or unpopular add-ons with new effects and increased the values on others to make them more effective. On the other end, Tampered Timer and Crate of Gears could sometimes be too strong (especially when combined) so their values have been reduced. The end result should be an add-on set that is overall stronger, more diverse, and more fun to play.

The Spirit

While phase walking Survivors within 24 meters of The Spirit (not the husk) hear a directional audio cue that gains volume with proximity
Add-on – Juniper Bonsai: Added effect: Increases Passive Phasing duration by 50%
Reworked Add-on – Dried Cherry Blossom: Survivors trigger Killer Instinct when they come within 4 meters of The Spirit while she is phasing. Scratch marks are no longer visible while using Yamaoka’s Haunting.
Reworked Add-on – Wakizashi Saya: During Yamaoka’s Haunting, use the Active Ability button to return to the husk and end the haunting
New Add-on – Mother’s Glasses: Survivors trigger Killer Instinct when they come within 2 meters of the husk. Scratch marks are no longer visible while using Yamaoka’s Haunting.
New Add-on – Uchiwa: Instantly recharges Yamoka’s Haunting when stunned by a pallet
New Add-on – Senko Hanabi: When Yamaoka’s Haunting ends, The Spirit’s husk explodes and any vaults within 4 meters are blocked for 5 seconds
New Add-on – Furin: The phasing sound is heard by all Survivors
New Add-on – Kintsugi Teacup: Instantly recharges Yamaoka’s Haunting after breaking a pallet or wall
The following add-ons have been removed: Bloody Hair Brooch, Dirty Uwabaki, Katsumori Talisman, Prayer Beads Bracelet, Father’s Glasses
New Terror Radius music

Developer notes: The Spirit’s phase walking mind-games have evolved into something of a Kobayashi Maru. By adding some audio cues, it should give sharp survivors a chance to figure out what she’s doing and react accordingly. Along with this, we’ve replaced some of her more problematic / boring add-ons with new ones that should provide more varied options for potential playstyles.

The Plague

If the power button is released early, Vile Purge will continue charging to the minimum threshold instead of cancelling and entering cooldown
Vile Purge cooldown move speed increased from 2.3m/s to 3.6m/s
Base object infection time increased to 40 seconds (was 35 seconds)
Interacting with infected objects generates 2x more sickness over time than interacting with non-infected objects
Time to cleanse at a fountain increased to 8 seconds (was 6 seconds)
Add-on – Limestone Seal: Object infection bonus increased to 20 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Add-on – Emetic Potion: Increased Vile Purge effectiveness bonus to 30% (was 25%)
Add-on – Hematite Seal: Object infection bonus increased to 30 seconds (was 10 seconds)
Add-on – Infected Emetic: Decreased Vile Purge effectiveness bonus to 40% (was 50%)
Add-on – Ashen Apple: Removed object infection duration modifier. Added effect: Increases the number of Pools of Devotion in the trial by 1.
Add-on – Rubbing Oil: Reduced Vile Purge charge speed bonus to 50% (was 100%)
Add-on – Exorcism Amulet: Increased Corrupt Purge duration bonus to 10 seconds (was 6 seconds)
Add-on – Devotees Amulet: Increased Corrupt Purge duration bonus to 20 seconds (was 8 seconds)
Add-on – Black Incense: Decreased survivor aura reveal duration to 3 seconds (was 5 seconds)
Add-on – Iridescent Seal: Removed speed penalty while holding Corrupt Purge
Reworked Add-on – Prayer Tablet Fragment: Vile Purge no longer affects Survivors. Increases object infection duration by 40 seconds. Increases infection from infected objects by 100%. Increases Devious Bloodpoints by 100%.
Reworked Add-on – Olibanum Incense: Survivors who cleanse at fountains have their auras revealed for 4 seconds
Reworked Add-on – Prophylactic Amulet: Decreases the number of Pools of Devotion in the trial by 2
Reworked Add-on – Incensed Ointment: Ingesting the corruption at a Pool of Devotion causes all Survivors within The Plague’s Terror Radius to scream and reveal their locations
Reworked Add-on – Vile Emetic: Increases velocity of vomit projectiles by 10%

Developer notes: These changes are intended to be a general buff and to enhance quality-of-life for The Plague. It was far too common for players to attempt a quick purge only to accidentally release the charge a fraction of a second too early and unintentionally end up in cooldown, so we’ve changed the behaviour of early releases to charge to a minimum threshold instead of going on cooldown. We have also buffed the options for focusing on infecting objects during the trial, with infected objects now increasing infection faster than non-infected ones.

The Deathslinger

The Deathslinger must now wait for the Enter Aim animation to complete before being able to fire (0.4 seconds)
The Deathslinger must now wait for the Exit Aim animation to complete before being able to attack (0.6 seconds)
The cooldown when a survivor breaks free is now the same duration as a successful hit cooldown
Increased terror radius to 32 meters (was 24 meters)
Add-on – Gold Creek Whiskey: Removed movement speed penalty
Add-on – Marshal’s Badge: Removed movement speed penalty
Add-on – Iridescent Coin: Decreased range requirement to 12 meters (was 15 meters)
Reworked Add-on – Hellshire Iron: When a Survivor is speared, gain Undetectable. The effect persists for 10 seconds after the Survivor is no longer speared.

Developer notes: We were unhappy with how easy it was for players to “insta-scope” survivors, especially given how little counterplay this had for survivor players. To combat this, The Deathslinger now has minimum enter / exit times when aiming down sights before being able to shoot / attack normally. We have also adjusted the stun when survivors break free to be the same as a successful hit, giving players a choice to break the reel early in exchange for losing out on the damage / deep wound.

The Ghost Face

Night Shroud recovery time decreased to 24 seconds (was 30 seconds)
Add-on – Walleye’s Matchbook: Decreased Night Shroud recovery modifier to 2 seconds (was 4 seconds)
Add-on – Olson’s Address Book: Decreased Night Shroud recovery modifier to 3 seconds (was 6 seconds)
Add-on – Chewed Pen: Decreased Night Shroud recovery modifier to 4 seconds (was 8 seconds)

Developer notes: Player feedback about Ghost Face’s add-ons was very clear: decreased recovery time was more appealing than any other option. In light of this, we have ‘baked in’ roughly half the effect of these add-ons to encourage a wider variety of selection.

The Blight

Add-on – Adrenaline Vial: Increased rush token recharge bonus to 1 second (was 0.75 seconds). Added effect: Increases Rushing speed by 10%.
Add-on – Summoning Stone. Increased pallet blocking range to 16 meters (was 12 meters). Increased pallet blocking duration to 15 seconds (was 6 seconds).

Developer notes: The add-on Adrenaline Vial is supposed to enable an alternate “straight line dash” playstyle for players interested in novelty. While it’s still unlikely to be stronger than baseline Blight play, increased movement speed and token recharge should make the alternate playstyle a bit more viable. Additionally, the values on Summoning Stone have been increased to better reflect the perk it is referencing (Hex: Blood Favor).

Survivor Perks

The following perks have become General Perks, and their names have changed:

Babysitter is now Guardian
Camaraderie is now Kinship
Second Wind is now Renewal
Better Together is now Situational Awareness
Fixated is now Self-Aware
Inner Strength is now Inner Healing

Perk Balancing

Vigil: Recovery bonus increased to 20/25/30% (was 10/15/20%). Added Broken, Exposed, and Oblivious to the status effects modified by the perk.
Guardian (formerly Babysitter): Added a 7% Haste status effect for the rescued survivor. Removed the Killer seeing your aura. Killer aura visibility for you increased to 8 seconds (was 4 seconds).
For the People: Reduced the duration of the Broken status effect to 80/70/60 seconds (was 110/100/90 seconds)
Windows of Opportunity: Increased effective range to 24/28/32 meters (was 20 meters). Removed cooldown after vaulting / dropping a Pallet.
Repressed Alliance: Generator repair requirement reduced to 55/50/45 seconds (was 80/70/60 seconds)
Built to Last – Reworked: After hiding inside a Locker for 14/13/12 seconds with a depleted item in hand, 99% of its charges are refilled. Each use of Built to Last reduces the amount of charges refilled by 33%. Added stinger audio when item charges are refilled
Any Means Necessary: Added effect: You can see the auras of dropped pallets
No Mither: Grunts of pain reduction increased to 25/50/75% (was 0/25/50%). Added effect: Your recovery speed is increased by 15/20/25%

Developer notes: All of these perks have a low usage rate, low success rate, or both. They have all seen buffs to make them more appealing and more effective.

Killer Perks

The following perks have become General Perks, and their names have changed:

Surge is now Jolt
Mindbreaker is now Fearmonger
Cruel Limits is now Claustrophobia

Perk Balancing

Hex: Retribution: Oblivious condition changed to trigger from interacting with any type of totem (was just cleansing hex totems). Increased aura reveal time to 15 seconds (was 10 seconds).
Hex: Blood Favor: Pallet blocking effect now triggers off basic attacks and special attacks (was just basic attacks). Pallet blocking radius increased to 32 meters (was 16 meters). Cooldown has been removed.
Hex: The Third Seal: Blindness effect now triggers off basic attacks and special attacks (was just basic attacks)
Hex: Thrill of the Hunt: Survivor penalty now applies to both Cleansing and Blessing actions (was just Cleansing). Penalty stacks increased to 8/9/10% per stack (was 4/5/6%). Maximum penalty increased to 40/45/50% (was 30%). Loud noise notification has been removed.
Fearmonger (formerly Mindbreaker): Now applies Exhausted and Blindness to survivors (was just Exhausted)

Optimization

Implemented a status effect pre-loading system to fix issues of hitches when a status effect is first applied during a match. Currently implemented for Adrenaline, Balanced Landing, No One Escapes Death, Sloppy Butcher, and The Shape’s Evil Within.
Fixed an issue that could cause hitches when a survivor is unhooked.
Performance optimizations on all survivors’ items.
Performance optimizations on all hex perks.

Map Status

The Dead Dawg Saloon map has been re-enabled.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that caused survivors to be able to vault over traps placed too close to vault points.
Fixed an issue that made it impossible to cleanse a totem next to a cabinet in the Treatment Theatre map.
Fixed an issue that made it impossible to cleanse a totem between a barrel and a box of crates in The Underground Complex map.
Fixed an issue that made it impossible to cleanse a totem behind a staircase and log pile in the Dead Dawg Saloon map.
Fixed an issue that caused the Clown’s gas to dissipate quickly in any house basement.
Fixed an issue that may cause a status effect’s icon to remain indefinitely on screen.
Fixed an issue that caused stalking progress to jump upon ending the stalk when the distance to the stalked survivor changes.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors’ faces to distort when being unhooked by a survivor of the opposite gender.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors to recoil back when failing the second skill check while using the Brand New Part add-on.
Fixed an issue that caused the carrying music to continue playing when a survivor disconnects while being picked up.
Fixed an issue that caused killers to clip through the ground when walking in the Tally screen.
Fixed an issue that caused the auras of carried survivors to be revealed when using the Aftercare, Situational Awareness (formerly Better Together) and No One Left Behind perks.
Fixed an issue that caused the aura of the survivor sent to a Cage of Atonement to be revealed when using the Iridescent Seal of Metatron Pyramid Head add-on.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors Laceration meter to continue to decrease for other survivors after they escape the challenge.
Fixed an issue that caused the Alert perk not to reveal the Nemesis Tentacle Strike pallet action.
Fixed an issue that caused the interaction prompt button icons on the HUD to not be affected by the Large Text Setting.
Fixed an issue with the Buff Icon missing from the HUD whenever the Clown steps into a Antidote Gas Cloud and gains Haste.
Fixed a Back button disappearance in the Search for Friends screen in 4k resolution.
Fixed an issue where holding the backspace key to clear the chat didn’t work anymore.
Fixed an issue that caused some of Claudette’s head icons to appear darker.
Fixed an issue that caused bots to sometimes enter lockers while in the killer’s view.
Fixed an issue that caused an error to sometimes occur while linking accounts.
Fixed an issue that caused an error to sometimes occur while unlinking an unified account.
Fixed an issue that caused “” to be displayed in the public match and tally chats instead when entering blank text.
Fixed an issue that caused a pallet that can’t be vaulted near the main building in Wretched Shop.
Fixed an issue that caused the Executioner’s SFX to be delayed when he plants his blade into the ground.
Fixed an issue that caused a missing SFX during the chains animation when wearing the Chatterer outfit.
Fixed an issue that caused the splash SFX to be muffled when a survivor is hooked at certain locations in the Springwood map.

Known Issues

Add-on text in non-English languages is not completely updated / translated.
Several totems on various maps cannot be snuffed by the Killer.
A totem next to a window in the Mine building in the Suffocation Pit map cannot be cleansed.
When a Survivor cleanses a totem the pieces appear to explode.
The camera becomes stuck partway through the Plague’s mori for Yun-Jin.
While inside the boon totem radius, Survivors screen briefly becomes fully covered by the boon totem vignette when the Killer switches between Charlotte and Victor.
The Trapper can place a bear trap at the beginning of the Tutorial.
The Executioner’s hand does not rotate properly when picking up a Survivor.
Female Survivors faces are distorted when chained by Chain Hunt.
Female Survivors become stuck in the Lament Configuration solving animation if the Cenobite has previously teleported near them solving it.
The Cenobite’s chains are momentarily stretched and flicker at the start of his mori.
Survivors organs appear black during the Hag’s mori.
Blood does not pour out of Mikaela’s mouth during the Ghost Face mori.
The perk Guardian (formerly Babysitter) external buff icon displays the icon for Babysitter.
The Repressed Alliance perk description has the wrong value at tier 1.
The Hex: Retribution perk description is not properly updated.
Pig’s add-on “Video Tape” is disabled during the PTB
Survivors run in place when opening the hatch.

KILLER UPDATES

THE TRAPPER

Made a series of small changes to The Trapper. Now, 6 traps will always spawn (not including the traps you load in carrying). This takes away some of the random element in playing The Trapper and makes each match feel more consistent.

The Trapper will now be able to carry—and start with—two bear traps by default. This will help you get up and running quicker without relying on add-ons. The Trapper’s bag add-ons have been adjusted or repurposed accordingly.

Finally, on the subject of add-ons, we’ve done a pass on some of his least used add-ons and either increased their effects, removed their downsides, or gave them new effects entirely.

Tension Spring (Very Rare Bear Trap Add-On)

A high tension spring that snaps back into place after being stretched.

A bear Trap resets 2 seconds after a Survivor escapes from it.

Trapper Sack (Very Rare Bear trap Add-On)

A crude leather sack suitable for foraging.

All Bear Traps are carried at the beginning of the Trail instead of spawning on the map.
Bear Traps cannot be picked up.

THE SPIRIT

Made some changes that aim to increase The Spirit skill ceiling whilst also giving Survivors some counterplay.

When close to The Spirit’s husk, Survivors will not receive any indication that The Spirit is phase walking. Originally this was intended to be a fun mind game (“Is she using her power, or is she faking it?”), though in practice, it often doesn’t feel that way. This lack of feedback forces you to make a guess and hope it pays off, which can be great when it works out in your favour, but can also feel awful when it doesn’t.

To add more skill into The Spirit’s counterplay, we’re making two changes:

Any Survivor within 24m of The Spirit will now hear a directional phase sound. This lets you know whether or not she is phasing and also gives you a rough idea of which direction she’s coming from.
The Spirit’s footsteps will now kick up dust while she is phasing. Keen Survivors may be able to pinpoint where she is, but tall grass and other obstacles may make it difficult.

Additionally, we’ve done a pass on some of The Spirit’s add-ons to bring them more in line and make the lesser used add-ons more appealing. Like The Trapper, some of these changes are small tweaks while others are completely new effects.

THE DEATHSLINGER

Currently, there is almost no delay between aiming down sights and being able to fire your weapon. Likewise, there is almost no delay between cancelling your shot and going for a basic attack. Additionally, since there’s almost no delay, the Survivor must constantly dodge and run erratically just in case the Killer decides to shoot.

With that in mind, we’ve made the following changes:

You can no longer shoot until you have fully aimed down sights
Increased the delay after cancelling your shot before you can start a Basic Attack
Decreased movement speed penalty while aiming down sights

Increased The Deathslinger’s terror radius to 32m. The Deathslinger is the only ranged Killer that does not have a “lullaby”, which meant terror radius reducing perks like Monitor & Abuse could allow you to get close enough to surprise and hit a Survivor without them getting any warning whatsoever.

THE PLAGUE

First, we looked at infected objects. Previously, interacting with something would cause your infection to increase faster. We’re adding an additional penalty to interacting with something that is currently infected, meaning your infection will increase even faster than before. Additionally, we’ve increased the base infection duration on objects (like generators) from 35 seconds to 40 seconds. These changes will make infecting objects feel much more impactful.

Next, we turned to her Vile Purge. The Plague takes a massive hit to her movement speed whenever she is on cooldown (after purging or cancelling her purge). We’ve increased her movement speed from 2.3m/s while on cooldown to 3.6m/s. This will cause her to lose far less ground when she does so.

One of the things that felt really bad for the Killer was when you let get of your power button a little too soon, causing your power to be cancelled entirely. Now, tapping the button or letting go before the minimum threshold will cause your power to continue charging until the minimum amount has been reached. (Basically, it now works like the Huntress’ hatchet.)

Finally, we’ve increased the time it takes to cleanse at a fountain from 6 seconds to 8 seconds.

Like the other Killers that are changing in this update, we’ve revisited The Plague’s add-ons as well and did a complete pass on some of the less powerful or rarely used ones.

KILLER ADD-ONS UPDATE

We have done a pass on all Killer add-ons to list their exact effects. We plan to extend this to the rest of the game—Items, perks, etc.—in the future.

On top of that, Killer add-ons that apply a status effect will now have a brief description of what that status effect does.

While our designers were going through hundreds of Killer add-ons one by one to update their descriptions, they also noted down a few for changes as well. There’s far too many to list here, but we’ve changed some add-ons for the following Killers:

The Hillbilly
The Nurse
The Shape
The Hag
The Oni
The Blight
The Wraith
The Pig
The Ghost Face

These changes focus mostly on unused add-ons, or add-ons that are too weak/powerful.

PERKS UPDATES

Windows of Opportunity

Much like Zanshin Tactics, we’re removing the cooldown from this perk entirely. We’re also increasing the range to 24/28/32m as well. Go away, cooldown, we don’t want you here!

Repressed Alliance

Repressed Alliance has the potential to save a good chunk of progress when timed well, but due to the high requirements for the perk to activate, it can often not be ready by the time you need it. With that said, we’ve reduced the time required to activate the perk to 55/50/45 seconds.

Built to Last

This perk shipped with fairly safe numbers to make sure it couldn’t get out of hand, but that ended up making it a pretty unpopular choice. We’ve reworked it to be far more effective at what it’s meant to do.

Hiding in a locker for 14/13/12 seconds with a depleted item in your hand will cause it to refill 99% of its charges. Each use of Built to Last reduced the number of charges refilled by 33%.

Any Means Necessary

Previously, we reduced the cooldown of Any Means Necessary and saw more people start to use it. It’s still not quite where we’d like it to be, so we’ve added an aura reading effect on all dropped pallets. This way, as soon as it’s ready, you’ll know exactly where you can use it!

No Mither

No Mither allows you to trade a health state for other bonuses, but these bonuses aren’t strong enough to warrant using the perk. We’ve increased the Grunts of Pain reduction to 25/50/75%. Additionally, we added a 15/20/25% increase recovery speed while in the dying state.

Side note: Yes, we know a lot of you use this perk as sort of a “hard mode”. We’re not looking to completely get rid of that, as silly as it may be.

Mindbreaker/Fearmonger

This is a simple one: Survivors who are working on a generator will now suffer from Blindness in addition to Exhaustion. This’ll cause the perk to not only prevent the use of Exhaustion perks, but also any aura reading that the Survivor may have.

Vigil

Nice and simple: We’re increasing the recovery rate from 10/15/20% to 20/25/30%. Additionally, Vigil will now increase the recovery rate of the Broken, Exposed, and Oblivious status effects as well (where applicable). In short, more situations where it’s useful, and even faster recovery too.

Babysitter/Guardian

Another small tweak: The rescued Survivor will now receive a speed boost for 4/6/8 seconds in addition to not leaving Scratch Marks or Pools of Blood. The aura reading duration has also been doubled.

For the People

For the People can create some amazing moments, but the trade-off of being Broken can make it very risky to justify using. We’re decreasing the duration of the Broken status effect from 110/100/90 seconds to 80/70/60 seconds.

Hex: Retribution

Previously, Hex: Retribution would only make a Survivor Oblivious if they cleansed a dull totem. Now, interacting with any kind of totem will make them Oblivious. Additionally, we’ve increased the aura reading duration once a hex totem is cleansed to 15 seconds.

Hex: Blood Favor

This perk shipped with very safe conditions so it didn’t get out of control. Upon reflection, we feel comfortable with removing some of these restrictions. Hex: Blood Favor will no longer have a cooldown, and will also activate upon successful Special Attacks as well.

Hex: The Third Seal

Just like the above, we’ve added Special Attacks to Hex: Third Seal as well. This should make the perk more practical on Killers that focus more on dealing damage with their power.

Hex: Thrill of the Hunt

With Boon perks making their way to the game (more on this soon!), we decided to give Thrill of the Hunt some love by extending the speed penalty from Cleansing to Blessing as well.

ITEM & CHARACTER KILL SWITCH

Last but not least, let’s talk about a game health feature: The Item & Character Kill Switch. With over 50 playable characters and their cosmetics, nearly 200 perks and hundreds more add-ons and offerings in the game, sometimes things do break. Rarely, things will break in a way that makes them exploitable, and that can make the next week or two before a fix really rough.

Enter the Kill Switch. (It’s actually a lot nicer than it sounds!)

The Kill Switch allows us to disable anything that’s causing an issue without needing an update. When something breaks and becomes exploitable, we switch it off until it is fixed. This is something we’ve been able to do with maps for a while now to great effect. Disabled items & characters will be clearly marked and cannot be selected.

BOON TOTEMS

Introducing new gameplay around Totems. These will add an extra objective around the map and much like Killers Hex Totems, are tied to Survivor Perks.

Survivors will be able to bless a totem to change it into a Boon Totem and these blessings are designed to offer comfort to the Survivor Team, a small safe haven. However, unlike a Hex Totem, the Killer can also quickly interact with the created Boon Totem to completely remove the associated blessing, once again turning it into a dull totem, they will also be able to hear the Boon Totem when in its range.

Each Survivor can only have one Boon Totem active at a time. This Boon Totem will combine the effects of all of their equipped Boon perks.

This will add some more strategic decisions for survivors to make when it comes to their interactions with Totems.

Download links for Dead by Daylight update 5.3.0 will be available soon on PS4, PS5, and Xbox One.

Dead by Daylight (DBD) Update 5.3.0 Patch Notes – October 19, 2021