How to have fun playing Killer (It's Possible!)

Ok, I'm coming at you with some hard love.

If you're struggling with Killer and finding yourself leaning towards the road of becoming a Survivor-main or perhaps you've thrown in the towel and given up altogether, this is for YOU!

First, let's start off with one major important and observable fact: playing Survivor is easier than playing Killer from a purely gameplay standpoint.

Why is this significant?

If we're honest, I think most people would agree that we want to 'win' every game, but more importantly, we want the opportunity to win every game. In DbD, there are no official win conditions. Instead, we have to base our performance off of the ranking system if we want some way to measure our performance. We could get into endless debates about ranking. Let's avoid that for the sake of discussion, but let me just say, I do believe the ranking system needs work.

To my point, most people play Survivor because they are experiencing favorable outcomes more often than when they play killer, because playing Killer is way more difficult than playing Survivor, because they want to play with friends, but ultimately because it's just more fun to play. There's more reward with way less work. There's greater potential for favorable outcomes with less pressure. By nature, we want easy, we want victory, we don't like losing (who does?), and we certainly don't like to be made fun of when we have a bad result.

Ok, so here's what I believe separates Survivor-mains from Killer-mains: Mindset.

I'm just going to say it: if you've given up on Killer, you're probably weak-minded. Chances are you're dwelling on all of the negative aspects of playing Killer. You're most likely setting unrealistic expectations for yourself. You're definitely letting the toxic teabagging get to you. As a customer, you're upset about the perceived unbalances of the game. Just negativity all in your head.

Sure, I think a lot of the complaints are valid. I mean personally, I think the game should live up to its namesake. I personally believe escaping a match should be rare; after all, is called DEAD by Daylight.

I also believe that we can all complain until the cows come home, but the reality is as long we continue to play the game and buy the DLC, the devs will see no real justifications for changing the game. You have to complain with your time and money.

If you want to play killer and have fun, here are a few tips to help strengthen your competitive mindset.

1) Pat yourself on the back for wanting to play the hardest aspect of this game. It takes guts to play killer.

2) Stop being unrealistic. Don't insist on getting a 4k every match.

3) Stop dwelling on all of the disadvantages that you have, whatever you perceive them to be. If you get a giant map, just do your best and know that even at your best, some maps are just ridiculous.

4) Accept that maybe you just suck or got out played. Try to pinpoint failures and ways to avoid them. Get better at the game.

5) Practice. See point #4.

6) Don't play by made-up Survivor rules. The survivors that made up those rules are all carrying D-Strike and any other perk that helps them survive. They will body-block, flashlight, borrowed all day without a shred of pity. Show mercy on YOUR terms.

7) Foster the ability to maintain a positive mental attitude during and after the game regardless of the outcome. This is key. You have to strengthen your mental attitude or else you're going to end up a sore loser who always caves under pressure and quits when things get tough. In other words, you'll be a Survivor-main.

8) Ignore Toxic Behavior even when you see it. Toxic people are weak-minded. Imagine the evil of enjoying someone else's misfortune. Don't reciprocate evil for evil.

9) Don't shy a way from a challenge. In fact, embrace difficulty and develop pleasure in the hardship. Say to yourself: "this is going to be ridiculously hard, but that's how I roll".

10) It's just a video game. You know you love it even with all it's bugs and endless controversies.

11) Bonus: create mini victories for yourself in-game. Like little silly goals while you're playing. For example, see how many Survivors you can injure in the first 60 seconds or try to slug one while another is on hook. Just little achievable victories to boost your confidence and help you find the positives. Avoid running Hex perks; there's just something about hearing that explosion and seeing your perk destroyed (except Haunted) that will crush your spirits.

12) Play a variety of Killers. Don't listen to the noise of who's viable. It's better to have experience with multiple kinds of Killers and rotate between them to avoid various map disadvantages. Plus, it definitely makes it interesting and less boring overtime.

Go play killer. It's probably why you bought the game in the first place.

~ Sincerely

A former Survivor-main