Improving Dead by Daylight (for both sides)
Hi everyone,
I’m writing this as someone who’s played since 2018 and has roughly 5k hours in DBD. I play both sides fairly evenly (Killer and Survivor), which is why I’m trying to keep this feedback practical and balanced. The goal isn’t to “buff my side”… it’s to reduce the biggest friction points that make matches feel worse for everyone, and to make the game more consistent, fair, and fun.
Below are the changes I believe would have the highest impact:
1) Match integrity: meaningful anti-cheat steps (starting with the basics)
Cheating… especially subtle cheating… currently feels too low-risk and too hard to address. When cheating slips through, balance discussions become pointless because the match outcome wasn’t “real” in the first place.
What I’d like to see:
- Server-side sanity checks for impossible states as a first step (teleports, extreme speed/action values, impossible generator progress spikes, etc.). This alone would reduce a lot of blatant cases.
- A stronger path for subtle cheats (short speed bursts, quick wallhack toggles, etc.) that don’t require players to provide perfect video evidence every time.
- A lightweight replay / match review system (even if limited) would help with reporting, verification, and trust.
This should be the top priority because it improves every single other system by making matches reliable again.
2) Solo Queue vs SWF: close the information gap without forcing voice chat
The gap between SoloQ and coordinated SWF is still huge, mostly because SWF gets constant information “for free” via comms. If SoloQ had better baseline info tools, BHVR could balance around a more consistent survivor experience.
Proposal A: Basekit “Kindred-like” team awareness
Not necessarily full detailed auras, but some reliable way for survivors to understand team positioning and intent:
- A rough aura / glow / outline of teammates (or a simplified indicator) to show approximate location.
- It doesn’t need to be perfect… it just needs to reduce the “nobody knows what anyone is doing” problem.
Proposal B: A small communication wheel (ping system)
A limited set of clear, non-toxic, non-spammy messages that cover the most important coordination points, for example:
- “I’m going for the unhook”
- “Killer near me / I’m in chase (stealth killer)”
- “Going for a gen”
- “Hex/Totem here”
- “Reset/heal”
Keep it simple, with a cooldown and a small, clean HUD indicator.
Why not voice chat?
Voice chat with randoms creates language barriers, conflict, and pressure. Many players want to play Solo while still having basic information. A wheel/ping system solves that without the downsides.
Important follow-up: balance should move with the new baseline
If SoloQ gets brought closer to SWF in terms of information, BHVR should also be willing to re-balance around that new baseline. That includes revisiting perks/add-ons whose main value comes from “SoloQ blindness” (for example, info-denial effects like Hex: The Third Seal, which applies Blindness and suppresses aura reading). Otherwise, we risk “fixing” SoloQ on paper, only to reintroduce the same gap through mechanics that SWF can often compensate for via comms. Once the information baseline is healthier, killer tuning and perk balance can be adjusted more fairly and more consistently.
3) Matchmaking/MMR: reduce extreme mismatches and reward actual contribution
MMR currently feels inconsistent in practice: you still see wildly mixed experience levels in the same match. Newer killers(<200h) getting highly coordinated teams(3k hours each), or experienced killers getting brand-new survivors, creates matches that teach nothing and feel awful.
Also, an “escape = good / die = bad” model (if that’s still the primary driver) doesn’t reflect reality:
- A survivor who holds a strong chase for minutes and dies can be the reason the team wins.
- A survivor who hides all match and escapes can gain rating despite contributing little.
Suggestion: add a contribution component (Activity/Impact score)
Outcome should still matter, but MMR should also reflect meaningful actions, like:
- Chase impact (time in chase, how efficiently the killer is occupied)
- Generator progress and teamwork contributions
- Unhooks, heals, protection plays, clutch saves
- Objective plays (clearing key totems, creating pressure at the right time)
The goal is not to “gamify” everything… it’s to prevent the system from rewarding passive play while punishing the players who actually did the heavy lifting.
4) Game pacing: generator speed stacking needs a hard look
Generator repair speed stacking can create matches that end absurdly fast when multiple bonuses line up. In an asymmetrical game where the first chase already heavily influences tempo, extreme gen speed can leave killers with no realistic counterplay.
Suggestion: introduce diminishing returns / a hard cap on repair speed stacking
- Perks and other bonuses shouldn’t multiply into “gens fly instantly” territory.
- A cap (or diminishing returns after a threshold) keeps pacing stable without deleting repair perks from the game.
This is about match health: longer doesn’t always mean better, but too fast makes matches feel meaningless.
5) Pre-lobby & endgame visibility: stop lobby shopping, keep accountability
Right now, killers can often “shop” lobbies based on visible profiles/hours, which leads to:
- Dodging anything that looks difficult
- Targeting the obvious weak link from the start (“this player has 50 hours… my tunnel out”)
Proposal: hide identifying profile info in the pre-lobby
- Keep visible: survivor portraits, items, platform icon (basic transparency)
- Hide: player names, profile links/hours/obvious “experience” signals until the match ends
After the match: show names normally Endgame should show full names so players can report properly and matches aren’t effectively anonymous. Players can still use platform privacy settings if they want their profile hidden… but the in-game identity should be clear at endscreen.
This reduces unfair pre-game advantages and lowers the incentive to lobby dodge or pre-select targets.
6) Consistency: anti-tunnel tools should function against top chase killers
Example: Decisive Strike is meant to be an anti-tunnel tool. But against certain S-tier chase powers (e.g., very high mobility/instant gap-closing), DS often doesn’t buy enough distance to matter.
Suggestion: short power lockout after DS (and potentially similar stuns), palett breaks
If DS triggers, consider briefly disabling the killer’s chase power activation for a short moment so the survivor actually gains a chance to reset position. Some killer powers already interact with short lockouts in other contexts; applying a consistent logic here would help DS do its job across the roster.
If certain temporary modes should be exceptions, that can be tuned… but the core idea is: DS shouldn’t become “basically useless” depending on the killer.
7) Anti-tunnel incentives: reward hook spreading instead of hard tunneling
Tunneling is still one of the most effective low-risk, high-reward strategies: turn a 4v1 into a 3v1 as early as possible. Even if anti-tunnel perks exist, the meta pressure pushes survivors into running them constantly, reducing build variety.
Instead of only adding more punishment systems, I’d love to see killers incentivized to play in a healthier way.
Idea: reward hook spread (with strong anti-abuse rules)
Examples of reward directions:
- A small, controlled regression/slowdown reward for hooking different survivors before re-hooking the same person
- A short, time-limited pressure bonus for “fair rotation” (designed so it can’t be exploited via intentional slugging cycles)
- Anything that makes “playing for 12 hooks / good pressure” feel like a competitive option rather than self-handicapping
The exact implementation needs careful anti-abuse measures, but the goal is clear: make healthier killer playstyles more rewarding, and reduce how often matches revolve around “tunnel one person out ASAP.”
Closing
These are the main areas I’d love to see addressed:
- Anti-cheat & integrity
- Solo Queue info parity
- MMR/match quality
- Pre-lobby fairness + endgame accountability
- Generator speed stacking / pacing
- Consistency for anti-tunnel tools vs top-tier chase powers
- Incentivizing hook spread to reduce tunneling
I’d genuinely like to hear other perspectives (especially from people who play both sides). If you disagree with any point, I’m open to alternatives… but I’d love to keep the discussion focused on what makes matches healthier and more fun for everyone.
Thanks for reading.
Comments
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Long read, but the ideas proposed were pretty good, and healthy in their approach
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Appreciate that… and yeah, I know it’s a long one. If you had to pick just one point to prioritize (anti-cheat, SoloQ tools, MMR, etc.), which would it be?
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First of all, great post! Long, yes, but well thought-out and lots of good ideas.
Matchmaking/MMR needs to be BHVR’s top priority, hands downs. I was just thinking this last night as I was playing with a couple of friends who have less experience than me and aren’t as good at chases. We were in a losing match but I was having some really good, fun chases with the killer. I kept thinking about how my reward for all of this will be a drop in my MMR score so I will just get paired with worse teammates in the next match. Like, after all this time, do the devs still not get this?? There would be so much less throwing matches and giving up, less frustration with the game overall (at least on the survivor side) if skilled gameplay was actually rewarded at the individual level. Apparently this concept is still impossible to understand.
Then there is the issue of matchmaking. Even if what I mention above is resolved, it doesn’t matter if super high MMRs are still being matched with super low MMR scores, which I can confidently say with experience happens all the time. Something is fundamentally broken with the system when it allows people with thousands of hours to be paired with literal brand new players on a consistent basis. I counted at least 10 times yesterday when I was thrown into a lobby with teammates who had less than 30 hours in the game. There is your problem, staring you right in the face BHVR.Post edited by Classic_Rando on2 -
Matchmaking definitely needs to be a priority, especially when you consider how lopsided things tend to be.
I have 2000 hours in the game, been playing on and off since late 2018, and at times I get matched against brand new players when I play killer. This should ideally NEVER happen, and in those matches, I often feel so bad that I let the survivors go.
In all honesty, I miss the days when the game had ranks, before BHVR started experimenting with MMR. Those days had the best matchmaking experience in my humble opinion.
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i wonder, what if DS's stun was 3s again but with your suggestion, the power lockout for however many seconds. in this case, maybe 2 so it technically adds back up to 5? (overall tho really good post, i will say that the comm wheel doesnt need a 'im in a chase' action bc thats already the case on the HUD)
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Appreciate it. And yeah, you basically described the core flaw: if the system mostly rewards outcome, you can play well in a loss (solid chases, smart decisions) and still get “punished” into worse lobbies next match. That’s exactly why I’d love a contribution component alongside the result.
Also agreed on the extreme mismatches. Thousands of hours getting paired with <30h teammates (outside of someone intentionally queueing with a new friend) shouldn’t be happening consistently. Even if it means slightly longer queues, I’d rather have fewer matches that are decided before they even start.
100% agree. As killer, getting brand-new players in your lobby feels bad for everyone. New players get stomped, and experienced killers feel like they’re accidentally smurfing.
I also get what you mean about the old rank era. It wasn’t perfect, but the matches often felt closer. Ideally we end up with a system that’s actually skill-based and stops feeding beginners into high-skill lobbies.
Good point on DS. I don’t think the solution has to be “make the stun huge” again. The goal is simply that DS reliably buys a fair reposition window even versus top mobility killers.
If there’s a short power lockout after DS, I’d be totally open to lowering the stun duration… as long as the actual survivor control window becomes consistent. Right now part of the “stun time” gets eaten by the drop/landing animation, so it doesn’t always translate into usable distance. In my head, the clean tuning lever is the power-lockout duration, because it targets the killers who erase DS instantly without overly punishing slower killers.
On the comm wheel: I agree we don’t need a generic “I’m in chase” call if the HUD already covers it… but it doesn’t always:
Against stealth / Undetectable scenarios (Wraith cloaked, Myers with no TR, etc.), the chase indicator can be unreliable or effectively absent while you’re still being pressured. That’s why I’d keep a “Killer on me / stealth near me” style ping (cooldown-limited), and then use the remaining slots for actionable stuff like “going for unhook”, “killer staying near hook”, or “hex/totem here”.Thanks, I appreciate that. I tried hard to avoid the usual “side wars” and keep it focused on match health. If nothing else, it’s nice to see people agreeing on priorities when it’s framed around making the game better for both sides.
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Regarding your point about DS: I think a smoother solution is to have stuns deplete power tokens/put powers on cooldown where appropriate, rather than making it an effect from the perk Decisive Strike in particular.
For example, if Nurse and Blight in particular had their powers lose tokens and go back on cooldown after a stun, DS would be more effective against them and they'd have more reason to be concerned about pallets, which largely don't actually matter against them in the least.
It gets a little more case-by-case after those two, but it's surely something that can be considered for other killers in similar positions to them- the only real outliers then are range killers, but that's where anti-tunnel needs to be based on more than perk choices or effects like Endurance or stuns.3 -
2) I just have a question about this. Is there really a difference between solo and swf? I have never played this game with anyone since I started. I think this suggestion is made by people who have played this game with someone. This is a huge buff to survivors. And it could be a reason to quit the game. Four years have passed since the MMR system was introduced. It may be too late, but why not start by separating the MMRs for solo and swf and making them two types? It may take four years to see results, though.
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Now this is a good post
This is a step in the right direction, I really like how you emphasized how killers should be balanced around survivors capabilities iv been preaching this forever and I'm glad when I see people who feel the same way.
I just feel like before they do that, anti tunnel/second chance perks shouldn't be touched for real, because if they manage to cap gen speed appropriately the killer nerfs that could come from that change may make current DS fine universally.
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Please accept these proposals, BHVR. The game will move in a better direction.
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Appreciate the detailed, point-by-point response → that’s exactly the kind of discussion I hoped for.
I’m with you on the “integrity first” framing (server-side checks + even a lightweight replay), and also on the follow-up: if SoloQ gets better baseline info, perks that mainly punish lack of comms should be reevaluated so we don’t recreate the same gap in a different form.
Thanks again for taking the time to write this up.
That’s basically the intent, just phrased better: make it a system rule, not a DS-only exception. If stuns while carrying (or certain stuns) cause a short power lockout / token drain, you mainly hit the outliers (Nurse/Blight-style gap closers) without turning DS into a guaranteed escape.
The tricky part is edge cases like temporary/limited windows (e.g., Plague’s Corrupt Purge). Losing that state instantly to a single stun/DS could be disproportionately punishing compared to killers whose power is always available. So I’m in favor of consistency, but also of tailoring the rule so it stays fair across different power types… especially limited-duration powers.
If BHVR ever revisits this, I’d rather see a clean, consistent “stun interaction” framework than a bunch of perk-by-perk hacks.
Fair question… and yes, the SoloQ vs SWF difference is real even if you’ve only played SoloQ.
The biggest SWF advantage usually isn’t raw mechanics, it’s constant information: where the killer is, who’s being chased, who’s going for the save, whether something is a Hex that needs priority, whether to reset/heal, whether to commit gens, etc. SoloQ has to guess (or as for now spend perk slots replacing basic callouts).
BHVR has actually acknowledged this directly… that comms can “make the difference between life and death,” and Solo players often sacrifice perk slots for info. That’s why they introduced the Survivor Activity HUD / chase indicator as a step toward bridging the gap.
Also: I’m not asking for “buff survivors forever.” The whole point is: if SoloQ baseline becomes more consistent, then BHVR can balance around that healthier baseline (including adjusting killers and certain info-denial perks accordingly, so it doesn’t become power creep).
On separate MMR buckets for SoloQ vs SWF: not against it in principle, but it can also blow up queue times and still doesn’t solve the “escape = success” bluntness. I’d rather fix integrity + improve the quality of matchmaking inputs first, then see if separate buckets are still needed.
Appreciate that, and I agree with the sequencing point.
If gen-speed stacking/pacing and matchmaking are healthier, a lot of the “I have to tunnel or I lose” pressure drops naturally. Anti-tunnel tools shouldn’t be gutted in isolation, because they’re compensating for wider pacing/match quality issues.
My main ask on DS is less “buff it” and more “make it consistent vs top chase killers,” so it’s not wildly different value depending on who you’re facing.
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Thank you for your reply. I am using a translator. I apologize if we do not understand each other's intentions.
I think the current HUD provides all the information you need. The MMR to be separated is the MMR used when playing solo. The MMR when playing SWF. By having these two types and increasing or decreasing the MMR separately for solo and SWF, I think it would be good to eliminate the difference when playing solo with an MMR that is higher than necessary. It is difficult to have four survivors in this game. Unfortunately, at that point the killer has the advantage.
We are opposed to adding more game modes to the current events and modifiers as this would increase match search times.
Post edited by ONSAN on-2 -
Thanks for clarifying… I think I understand your point.
I’m not against separate Solo vs SWF MMR buckets in principle, but it can significantly increase queue times and still doesn’t fully solve the underlying issue. My preference would be: reduce the SoloQ vs SWF information gap first (so matchmaking is working with a healthier baseline), then adjust balance accordingly… and only then consider separate buckets if they’re still needed.
（翻訳が大変だと思うので日本語でも短く書きます）
ご意見ありがとうございます。ソロとSWFでMMRを分ける案は理解できますが、待ち時間が大きく悪化する可能性もあるため、まずはソロQの情報不足（HUD/ピンなど）を改善して差を縮め、その上で全体バランスを調整するのが良いと思います。なお、現在のHUDは以前より改善されていると思いますが、SWFの通話ほどの情報量にはなりにくいかもしれません。例えば「誰が救助に向かっているか」「どのトーテム（Hex）が優先か」「キラーがフック付近にいる（キャンプ気味）か」といった情報は、ソロQでは共有が難しい場面があり、SWFでは会話で素早く共有できてしまいます。0 -
If everyone playing the game is aiming to compete in tournaments, I think it would be a good idea to raise the standard.
Making it easier for survivors will cause more people to quit the game. People get bored if they have too many successful experiences.
The only people who will remain will be those who truly enjoy competing. It will be an old-fashioned fighting game.
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I think there’s a misunderstanding here: the goal isn’t to make Survivor “easier” overall or turn every match into a free escape.
The point is to close the SoloQ vs SWF information gap (basic coordination like who’s going for the save / urgent Hex / killer camping). Once SoloQ is closer to that baseline, BHVR can rebalance around it… including adjusting killers and certain perks/add-ons so it stays fair and doesn’t become survivor-favored. In other words: info parity first, then balance, step by step.
And “healthier” doesn’t mean “easier”… it means fewer matches decided by missing info or extreme snowballing, and more decided by actual gameplay.0 -
It's a difference in thinking.
It's often said that solo and swf should be brought closer together, but should they really be brought closer together?
I think there should be an information gap between solo and swf. If there is no difference, there will be no value.
Different ways of enjoying
Can you share your imagination?
I think that's the fun of solo.
Post edited by ONSAN on-1 -
1: Anti-cheat
I don't think anyone disagrees.
2: Soloq vs SWF
I'm in favor of a com wheel, but I think people overestimate the communication part of SWF in comparison to playing with the same people all the time (learning each others strategies), being able to exclude a clearly weak player if you're an upper level SWF, and being able to call out unique elements that a com wheel would have difficulty doing (example: saying it looks like a killer has a devour build and the totem needs to be found).
3: MMR
I am so incredibly down on BHVR that I hate to defend them, but here goes. I think BHVR is correct on their argument (with a few exceptions) and any other system would be overly complex and open to 'gamifying' to use your word on what you want to avoid.
The situation that you (and others) lay out is statistically insignificant. MMR systems only work with a large data base, that there is the occasional game here or there that are outliers doesn't impact the overall numbers. Especially on the weak player side: a survivor who is not contributing is not going to have a good escape out the door rate in comparison to a very good looper over a large sample size.
The two exceptions to this, both minor:
A person who takes the role of being chased will probably underperform someone who focuses on gens, though both are contributing.
A person who is willing to rat the moment things start to look like the survivor can't win will do a little better.
Both of the above, and the entire issue, though could be solved far more easily than what you lay out - base the MMR gain and loss on the overall survivor result.
4: Gen pacing
This is two issues
1: How fast is a good game? I prefer DbD where matches are generally more of a sprint than a marathon, I think it lends itself more to the tension of the genre, but have no guess on overall community feelings.
2: Balance. If the gen rush builds are unbalanced, then nerf them. I suspect the extremes are, though BHVR would know for certain.
5: Pre-lobby
I've never looked at a person's profile, but sure.
6: DS disable
I think the community broadly supports this idea, but BHVR is against it unfortunately.
7: Incentives
I'm all for incentives, but they have to come with 'punishments' (or more accurately, nerfs). It can't be 'now killers have two basekit broken strategies'.
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The problem with tunneling as a strategy that it is applicable for both sides, I mean your goal to tunnel survivors and survivors need to counter killer's tunnel to live as much as possible. So there can be "toxic" killer or survivor, it is much about personality aligning with game's system which even encourages to play so. Older versions were more asymmetric than nowadays.
Older versions seem like much more fun even if you die. Those survivors who wanted to have the same kind of ability to tunnel should've played killer. Nowadays you can achieve the same level and counter many random killers. So I think new DbD is more close to pay-to-win shooter games in their nature than to asymmetric games. The main reason why it is a trash game. We don't need balance with killer because it means that we want to be as killer, it means we become absolute opposite of killer, not just the survivors as it meant to be.
There was some DbD like shooter game from BHVR. Should they cancel shooter-like system in their own first of all game without competition, huh?
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