For the New killer players out there: the only rules you need to follow

Ha Ha Ha, jokes on you! This is actually an unbiased list of rules for BOTH sides! That being said though...

Due to the new Resident Evil PW Chapter release, we have received an influx of new players, and so I must start this post by saying:

Welcome to Dead by Daylight, and I hope you're all having fun so far (despite how buggy some of this chapters release has been)!

That being said, you're likely to see a whole lot of forum posts, and/or chat messages citing "Made up Rules" Killers and Survivors should follow. Most, if not all of these are based on individual experiences, and are heavily biased for whatever side (Killer or Survivor) the posting member primarily plays, so before you comment or "side" with anyone, here is a list of unbiased "rules" that I believe everyone can get behind as a foundation to enjoying your experience in DbD:

1 - Play how you want to play and enjoy the game, but understand that you're not the only one playing.

2 - If you show no respect... don't expect any.

3 - The Killers role is to kill, the Survivors is to survive... Both by any means necessary! There's no point in whining about it.

This is the Hearts-blood/Core Reality of how this game is played! No matter how a killer or survivor(s) win the match, it's all part of the games design, and no one should waste any time or energy complaining about it as long as they've gained their victory using the legal mechanics, or tactics the game provides/allows them to achieve it!

In other words ALL IS FAIR when it comes to playing the role you've chosen (unless cheating/hacking, but we'll get into that further down the list in rule 7). If there's anything you feel is unfair about either side:

1. Reflect upon your own side and what tactics and builds you/your team are using to achieve your goal.
2. Compare it to what your opponent(s) used to achieve theirs.
3. If possible, strive to experience your oppositions side FIRST before you post any complaints on the forums about your experience against them.
4. Ask yourself if there is something inherently broken in the games mechanics that needs to be addressed before you resort to posting your complaint. e.g. Encountering perks, items, add-ons, mechanics, or abilities that absolutely provide too much of an advantage to your opposition, or are un-counterable by anything you do. If there is a counter to these things, either discovered by yourself or researched, save your complaint and learn/employ said counter the next time you face it, if not... then by all means let the devs know by posting your complaint.

Always remember: If your opponent won a match/trial while using the legal mechanics the game provides, it's not really their fault for taking advantage of it, is it? In other words, if you have a complaint you're just itching to express on the forums, you should first ensure that you're Legitimately Hating the game, not the player. As anything else will be seen as nothing more than a post filled with "banal whining" by the majority of the community.

4 - When the gates are powered... Anything goes!

Don't kid yourself by thinking otherwise! Neither side is just gonna roll over and "let you win" when this happens, and not only do both sides know this... Realistically at that point the only job the killer role has is to secure kills since there aren't any gens left for them to protect, and the only job the survivors have is to escape with as many alive as possible.

So, No matter what tactics or skills you employ at this period in the match/trial... The gloves are off! Recall rule 3, and feel free to do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. No one can blame you for whatever you do in the endgame, and if they do, for the most part they're just being sore sports.

Enjoy your victory, or embrace your defeat. Either way, "When the gates are powered" is, more often than not, the most intense part of the trial, and you should take whatever advantages you can against your opposition as they (mostly) won't show any mercy towards you.

5 - You paid money for a multiplayer experience, and thus aren't entitled to win every match.

Anyone who takes umbrage to this should stick to single-player games wherein you're entitled to eventually win for the money you paid. Being salty because of a lost match is unbecoming, embarrassingly juvenile, and toxic to the communities reputation. We're all people pitting our skills, strategies, builds and knowledge against each-other. If you lose and have nothing good to say in the post game chat or over the console chat system: Either Leave a "gg," or no message at all, and then calm down/lick your wounds, and move onto the next match. This is just a game after all.

6 - Chat grievances/abuse:

For PC players: 

Post game chat can be closed using the ">>" in the lower right of the chat box, and will remain closed until you open it again. No one deserves abuse for playing the role they picked or the tactics they use, so if you find yourself frustrated over excessive endgame chat toxicity: Feel Free to Report the most egregious offenders, or otherwise Just close it, and continue enjoying the game in peace.

For Console Players: 

I understand that many other players can/will attempt to contact you via the consoles messaging service, and that this can't always be ignored or shut off. None the less, you do not deserve abuse, and if anyone is violating that via text or voice messages, then they are violating the policies the consoles communication service stands for! Feel free to let your consoles administrators know that your rights to enjoy this game are being infringed upon by other players, or otherwise, if possible, try to simply ignore the messages they send you, and continue playing at your leisure.

7 - This is a 4v1 Lobby and Match style, or Asymmetrical Multiplayer game.

When you queue up to play a match you are committing to seeing it through so that everyone can enjoy the game, and everyone else who queued up is depending on your commitment to the match in order to experience said enjoyment. The acceptable reasons for Intentionally Disconnecting from a match are as follows:

A Game breaking bug rendering you incapable of playing a normal match.

A Player(s) taking the game hostage/hacking/exploiting bugs or unintentional game mechanics, or bullying/griefing you. Record if possible, and Report them after leaving the match.

Influences and situations outside of the game that make your disconnection unavoidable in order to deal with said circumstance(s).

Disconnecting from a match intentionally for any other reason is a practice in bad sportsmanship that Ruins the experience for all other players. Disconnecting over petty reasons doesn't do anything other than piss off everyone else, and makes you a worse player for it since you don't learn how to play any better by quitting. 

Disconnecting is currently being punished for a good reason: Too many DC's from too many players results in leaving the community as a whole with a sour experience, and could eventually kill the game we love. If you are frustrated with how a match is going; Take it in stride as a learning experience, see it through to the end, take a break if you need to, and decide if you want to queue up for another match. We all bought this game in order to play it with others despite how each match goes, and the majority of the fun this game offers is in the variation of each individual match.

Don't be a petty DC'er.

8 - For survivors Suiciding on the hook: 

Suicide on the hook is a unique option available to the survivor side of this game and is your choice, but If your suicide on the hook isn't advantageous to your team, as with rule 7, all it does is ruin the experience for the rest of your team, and piss everyone off. While it's not likely to ever be punished as it's a mechanic in the game, it's still regarded by the community as a show of bad sportsmanship. If you don't at least try to play through until the end, regardless of the results, you're only hurting the experience for all other players both new and old, but it's with the new players where this hurts their game experience the most.

Bad matches happen, we understand, but that's no reason "throw a game", especially over petty reasoning. Matches can turn around at the drop of a hat as long as everyone's still playing, and often do, but you won't experience that if you RQ on the hook, and by doing so you drastically affect the teams ability to pull off said "turn around". On top of this, it does nothing for your personal skill growth as a player, or your Blood Point/Experience gains, so there aren't really any reasons to do this other than petty/selfish ones.

Be mindful of when you choose whether to do this or not, and if there is no doubt that the match is lost, then no one can blame you, but if you do it for petty reasons like being hooked by the killer first, you don't like the map, you don't like the killer, you don't like your teammates playstyle etc... then you're the one who's ruining everyone's chances for success, and wrecking their experience. What's the point of playing the game if you don't actually intend to play it? Think about your teams experience before your own, and do what you can to help.

9 - Regarding "Toxic" behavior: 

Killers have a limited but impactful set of behaviors that are, by and large, considered "Toxic" by the community, but survivors actually have more of these "Toxic" behaviors available to them. The reason for this is because... while killers can only be "Toxic" towards survivors, Survivors can be "Toxic" to either the killers or their fellow survivors.

I'm certain many of you have either experienced these behaviors, or have seen them reported/complained about on the forums, and While a decent amount of them don't fit the "spirit" of the game... a surprising amount of them do!

Please refer to this article:

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/kb/articles/139-game-rules

This outlines the basics of what is considered Reportable amounts of player Toxicity, but also defines what many consider to be "Toxic" behavior, as simply part of the game.

That being said, there's still a lot of behaviors that, while not ban-able offenses, are ultimately considered "Toxic" by the community: Leaving a survivor to die on their first hook even though the killer isn't "Face-camping" them, Purposely "Sandbagging" another survivor so that they'll get hit or downed by the killer, Face-camping in general, Slugging the Entire Survivor team until they bleed out, etc... While none of these behaviors are considered ban-able offenses, they also aren't any fun for the victims, and they will let Behavior/the Devs know about it!

I Urge all players to Recall Rule 2 when making these choices, and Have some common decency when you play! We're all players, and we all want to enjoy the game together, but when any Player(s) repetitively engage in these kinds of "Toxic Behavior" to the point that the community picks up on it, the community has been known to outright Mercilessly attack/target these players while bringing it to the attention of the Devs, and with enough community pressure/collected evidence, some "toxic" players have been banned for life by the Devs due to enough backlash over their antics (look up a player named "Ochido" on these forums or youtube if you aren't convinced).

There's only so much "Toxicity" this Community and the Devs CAN or WILL tolerate (and believe me, its a decent amount), but, as should be expected of any gaming community; while it's "Okay" to have a little "Toxic" fun at others expenses from time to time, PLEASE, for your own sake... DON'T MAKE A HABIT OF IT!

Consider yourselves Fairly Warned.

10 - If it's a legal mechanic in the game, don't be afraid to use it...No matter what side you play.

Half the fun is discovering new strategies, counters, and synergies using the tools the game provides, so no matter how effective or overpowered you feel they are, there's nothing wrong with using them to your advantage, and there's very likely some good counters for them.

11 - Take the good with the bad in stride, rise to meet the challenge every new match presents, but overall... 

Have Fun!

Honestly, this is just a list of Common Sense spelled out for everyone to see. The inherent problem of "unwritten" or "Made up rules" is that they're more of guidelines that nobody is obligated to follow. I know that this list won't change everyone's minds, much less their playstyles, but I felt that if I expressed the rules I follow when playing this game for all to see, maybe others might have them in mind when playing, whether they choose to use them or not.

To all you new players, again Welcome to DbD, I hope this was helpful for you, and if you are going to follow any "Made up Rules", I believe this is a good set to start off with.

Any Praise, condemnation, Creative Criticisms or suggested additions to this list of rules are welcome! Please comment if you have anything to add or say.