Dead by Daylight’s Biggest Problem: The Killer Is Random
I was originally going to tack this onto my "Identity Crisis" post, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this is such a fundamental flaw in DbD that it deserves its own discussion.
The biggest reason DbD feels unfair, inconsistent, and thematically messy is this: the killer is always random.
Think about it:
- One match you load in against Pig and it’s a tense, cinematic horror vibe.
- The next, it’s Legion frenzying every 12 seconds.
- Or you get a P100 Nurse, and suddenly it’s not a horror game, it’s a competitive esport sweat-fest.
- Meanwhile, new survivors get clunky Deathslinger matches and think “wow this killer is garbage,” when really it’s just a mismatch.
This randomness fuels so many downstream problems:
- Survivors complain endlessly about facing the same killers (Legion, Huntress, Blight, Nurse) while underplayed killers barely exist in matchmaking.
- Matches feel like coin flips. Sometimes you get an iconic horror vibe, sometimes you get “Larry the Halo robot” or “idol cosplay with knives.”
- Balance feels impossible because BHVR is trying to make one-size-fits-all adjustments for a system that isn’t one-size-fits-all.
The fix isn’t some massive perk rework or power overhaul. It’s giving players control over the kinds of killers they face.
Imagine if DbD had:
- Category Queues: “Classic Horror” (Myers, Pig, Ghostface), “Supernatural” (Spirit, Artist, Dredge), “Gimmick Killers” (Knight, Skull Merchant, Legion). You pick the vibe you want.
- Filters / Bans: Don’t want to face Legion? Toggle it off, accept slightly longer queue times. Same for Huntress, Trickster, etc.
- Weighted Queues: If everyone wants to play as Huntress, her queue time gets longer. Meanwhile underplayed killers like Clown or Pig get faster matchmaking through market forces, naturally increasing variety.
- Lobby Information: Survivors knowing what category of killer they’re going into would let them mentally prep instead of feeling blindsided. Not the exact killer — just whether it’s stealth horror, chase-based, or supernatural.
The queue time incentive system would solve the diversity problem organically. Right now, BHVR tries to make Clown viable through buffs, but the real issue is people don’t want to risk getting him randomly when they’re in the mood for something else (this applies to all killers by the way). If players could actively choose “underplayed killers” for faster queues, suddenly Clown matches happen because people opted into that experience. This could even allow more experimental killers (like what Ghoul was) to be added more frequently, since players who don’t want them wouldn’t be forced into those matches.
Other games have figured this out:
- Overwatch lets players filter their lobbies.
- Outlast Trials leans into co-op thematics.
- MOBAs have bans/picks to prevent “samey” metas.
DbD is still pretending all killers belong in the same random pool, when the truth is this game is an anthology of horror subgenres.
If DbD treated itself that way, you’d fix:
- The endless “Legion AGAIN” complaints.
- Survivors burning out on repeat matchups.
- Killer diversity being nonexistent (despite the large roster).
- Balance constantly feeling like it swings too far in one direction.
This one change could do more for DbD’s long-term health than any perk rework or map tweak. It’s about giving players agency and leaning into the fact that horror is broad. Not every killer scratches the same itch, and pretending they do is why so many people are frustrated.
DbD could finally stop feeling like a slot machine and start feeling like the true horror anthology it’s supposed to be.
So I’ll put the question to you: if we had killer filters, categories, or bans, would DbD finally feel fairer — or do you genuinely believe randomness is better than player choice?
Comments
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The killer being random is hardly the problem with DBD. And even then it's not really random as much as which killers people are queueing up as since you are facing another player.
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Hey, you're technically right—killers aren't random since players pick their killer and build. But that misses the point for survivors, especially in solo queue. From our perspective, it's a roulette wheel. We have zero control over what killer or build we face, and that unpredictability can make matches feel like a coin flip, not a horror experience. The lack of survivor agency is the real issue here, not whether killers choose their loadout. Any thoughts on how BHVR could balance that without breaking the game?
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In what horror movie do the victims pick the person hunting them and killing their friends? You're asking for something that quite literally goes against a horror experience.
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Horror movies also don’t have bloodpoint grinds, perk loadouts, or Halloween cosmetics, but DbD makes those compromises because it’s a game. Nobody’s asking to pick specific killers — the point is giving players some agency so it feels less like a slot machine. Anthologies curate their stories for tone, DbD doesn’t. Right now you can go from Freddy to Trickster to Legion in back-to-back matches, which kills immersion. Filters or categories wouldn’t remove the horror element, they’d strengthen it by letting players lean into the kind of horror vibe they actually want instead of getting Fortnite-with-gens whiplash every other round.
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I don't know if it's the problem plaguing the game, but it is a large barrier of entry for new players. Powers and perks are way too difficult to catch up on. It's like playing an MMO at times. Your solution would be a cool game mode idea, but I'm not sure how I feel about it in the main game.
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if we had killer filters, categories, or bans, would DbD finally feel fairer — or do you genuinely believe randomness is better than player choice?For us we believe this randomness is better as its also player choice, just the opponent's.
While we kinda like the idea of weighted ques, all of them (with the exception of lobby information which has a different issue to us) have the same problem of effectively punishing who people want to play as with longer wait times. People keep seeing the same old killers because people want to play as them (reasons vary). Its a coin flip because of how people play. The "iconic horror vibe" wont show itself even if its a Meyers if said player plays like a **** and bleeds out everyone on the dirt. Some people wanna win at all costs and will go turbo nurse levels. Others want to recreate that horror vibe and will actively do so. You get the point. With lobby info, the survivors will stack all their metaphorical eggs in that basket to give themselves the best chance they can. in a "chase" lobby expect things like exhaustion perks, windows, and anti tunnel, while people will figure out what counts as "supernatural" and plan for that.
You also cant really compare DBD to those other games as its an asymmetrical game. Overwatch and mobas like league and heroes of the storm are symmetrical and balanced accordingly. Never played outlast trials but isnt it 4 people vs a bot? Not a 5th human? Balancing this mess is much different than any of those.
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