http://dbd.game/killswitch
This Event Is Driving Survivors Away – Is That Really What We Want for DBD?
Comments
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But the killers do have it easy nearly every match. This false narrative that every game is against sweats is built on lies and barely happens. Majority of killer games are against solo queue players. Killer mains just think they are deserving of winning every single game no matter what they do. Its being entitled, exactly what killer mains have been saying about survivors wanting literally anything that makes the game more enjoyable. But instead we get whatever the hell this event is, forcing survivors to stay in games (that they on average are forced to lose anyway), and half baked afk crows that needed over a week to fix because they didn't take any feedback from the PTB.
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Wow, thanks for the attitude. You asked a genuine question and then got condescending when I gave a thoughtful answer. King or Queen? I clearly don’t work for BHVR, and I even gave them credit where it was due in some previous responses, but your response just proves you’re not actually open to hearing a different perspective.
And just so we’re clear, it’s completely okay for someone to have opinions or ask for fixes in a game they spend time and money on. Players like me literally help keep the game alive. Acting like having feedback is some kind of crime? That’s not maturity, that’s just insecurity dressed up as a pick me. If you actually want to hear my response, you could apologize first, then ask me sincerely and drop the attitude or don’t respond.
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I get where you’re coming from. Survivors constantly get nerfed and told they're entitled just for wanting fair matches, while killers tunnel and slug solos at 5 gens and still act like the victims. That narrative gets used to ignore legit survivor feedback, and yeah, it’s exhausting.
But not every killer is sweaty, just like not every survivor is a cracked SWF. A lot of people on both sides are casual and just want to have fun. The game leans killer-sided, especially against solos, but that doesn’t mean every killer is some high-skill monster.
The real issue is the game itself. Events like this one feel punishing, feedback from us gets ignored, and survivors are left dealing with burnout. But pointing fingers at each other won’t fix it. Survivors and killers should both be calling out the systems and use their voice so that the devs do listen. Yes, there are toxic killers and survivors though.
If BHVR wants this game to survive, they need to start listening to both sides and stop treating survivor feedback like background noise.
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I don’t have an attitude, I was asking a probing question and assuring you it’s out of curiosity and not a set up. I never implied you work for BHVR, just asking what you would find satisfactory. Like how would you do it? I agree it’s okay to have opinions. It’s why I’m asking probing questions to get a deeper understanding of yours. I’m not going to apologize because you’re assuming, when I expressed it was curiosity and not a set up. So do or don’t give the feedback, it makes no difference to me, I’m just asking because they(the devs) lurk on the forums and might find whatever you have to say insightful. That’s all.
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I am very aware its the game itself, and I don't disagree in the slightest, but unless they come out with anti-tunnel and anti-slugging measures next month with the release of the next 2v8 iteration, I genuinely don't see the game lasting to 2026. The last time survivors on their own was strong was 3 years ago. The last time survivors got real content, not a new skin for the same exact thing, was what, when hatch was changed to spawn when there was only one survivor left? Yet there have been 2 killers released just this YEAR. Entire new playstyles and things that are done differently, killer "mains" get new ways to play the game all the time, survivors get new skins. There is a severe issue with the game when everyone I have personally asked say 2v8 feels like a better DBD and that they just don't play survivor when its not around.
And while in a perfect world that would work, you can look for yourself on the killer mains subreddit, they want nothing to do with survivor enjoyment, a post that was made since the anniversary is saying they will hard tunnel everyone who doesn't bring a cake, sitting at over 300 upvotes on a subreddit that only has . When they are well aware cake drop rates for survivors is abysmal. Or just looking at any post about tunneling having a multitude of comments saying "It's a legit strat, git gud", or even the plethora of killer players complaining that survivors are "gen-rushing". Whenever survivor enjoyment is brought up every single time they go "Oh but you're allowed to bring 3 friends and bully" exactly what I said before, and knowing BHVR and their constant catering to killer players to keep them happen (when they are the minority) we will probably see nerfs to survivor soon too.-1 -
I’ll give you a pass but just know I’m not dumb and it was very condescending especially your comment about if I was “king/queen or whatever”. Fixing Dead by Daylight really isn’t that hard. Survivors just need a fair chance to actually play the game.
Tunneling and slugging at 5 gens shouldn’t be normal. Survivors are getting taken out in the first two minutes with no real counterplay. There needs to be stronger anti-tunnel systems that kick in early, and slugging should come with real consequences. If a killer leaves someone on the ground, they should recover faster or get basekit Unbreakable sooner. No one should be forced to bleed out on the floor while the killer patrols for easy 4Ks.
Solo queue is still brutal. No voice chat, no pings, no real info. Meanwhile, killers have full control and survivors are punished just for playing alone. Even a simple ping system or better aura-sharing would make a huge difference. Survivors shouldn’t feel like they’re playing a totally different game just because they’re solo.
Events are supposed to be fun, but they’re just more of the same grind. Killers play like it’s a tournament, and survivors are stuck trying to survive long enough to maybe get hatch. Why not reward players for using off-meta builds, trying new perks, or just finishing a match without tunneling or slugging? Give people a reason to play for fun again.
Balance is still off. Survivors get constant nerfs, while killer perks stay strong or barely change. Survivors rely on second-chance perks because they have no room for mistakes. Killers complain about gen rushing, but when every match starts with tunneling or slugging, rushing gens becomes the only option left.
There are still major bugs, broken hit validation, and cheaters running around unchecked. After nine years, basic match stability should be the standard, not a bonus.
None of this is about making the game easier. It’s about making it fair and actually fun to play. People are leaving. Survivors are burned out.
If BHVR wants this game to last, they need to start treating both sides like they matter. Survivors aren’t just filler content for killers to farm. Give everyone the tools to have fun and some incentive, win or lose, and people will actually stick around.
This new event is burning items and offerings. Even the new bloodweb mechanic. They finally added it in-game, yet make it so if we use 2mil BPs to level up, it clearly chooses the stuff you don’t want. How about make it so you can pick 1-3 items that would be first picks on the web? Who knows. I can only give feedback, I can’t give them all the solutions—unless I’m on the payroll 😂
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I didn't say don't play the game. I said don't play the event. Two completely different things. I didn't say people can't have a different opinion either. In fact you're the one acting like I'm some villian for enjoying the event and quite literally telling me not to comment. You should really check your passive agressive, sarcastic attitude at the door.
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That's the problem. The game is awful in its current state. Absolutely miserable. There are no survivor players enjoying the game. Which is blatantly obvious when you look at player dropoff and queue times for killers.
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Well, that's where you're wrong. As I said in this thread I am enjoying it. I don't expect to win every game, and I understand that when I get camped or slugged my team will just have to escape without me. Queue up again for the next match. The difficulty of survivor is where the fun is. Trying to outplay a killer who is tunneling or slugging is very difficult, but man, nothing in this game beats the feeling where you are able to make a killer regret tunneling/camping.
Where are you getting these numbers from? You keep referencing "the numbers" in this thread claiming BHVR lost 30%of it's player base. Based on previous posts you've made, I'm inclined to believe that you are just making these numbers up in an attempt to make a point.
Simply the queue times? That happens every killer release because people want to try the new killer.
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Steam player numbers, Thursday had 115k, last night at the same exact time I checked of 7PM EST, there was only 70k on, that is a 30% loss. Which is peak time for central and eastern NA.
And that's where you're wrong, because the majority does not want to try their ass off to just play the game. They want to have fun and not act like their literal life is on the line sweating every single match. DBD is not a competitive game, there is no place for people trying that hard in publics. Actively making the game unenjoyable for 4 people; which is exactly what survivor players deal with every single time they load into a game, is what killers have been doing with their "legit" tactics. If BHVR took even a second to realize the majority of the community is not the top 1% sweatlords, and just want to have fun, then we wouldn't even be having this conversion to begin with.-2 -
DBD is a PVP game. PVP games are inherently competitive. Everyone is playing to have fun, you're right. Winning is fun. People play to win to have fun. See how that works? Just because YOU don't want it to be a competitive game does not mean that it is not.
It's funny how this graph tells a different story than what you're saying.
And if you look at this one, you can see the spike in players when FNAF released, and….. would you look at that, there is more players in the low than in the highs before FNAF came out . They've literally GAINED players and you're trying to say they lost 30%.
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While Survivor consistently gets the short end of the stick the last few years, I've never really gotten the sense that BHVR favors Killer per se.
Pretty much everything boils down to their fixation on matchmaking and their desire to make the game more competitive than it has any business being. The only issues are that more people are interested in Killer than Survivor now (rightfully so) and their latest comp initiative was a disaster, both of which greatly affect matchmaking. It seems like the pendulum is gonna swing soon.
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Miserable… for you, maybe, don't bring anyone else into your own opinions you don't speak for them. Survivor, especially Solo Q has been so much better (coming from a killer main whos mostly played survivor in the event so far), quitters are basically gone, games are reaching endgame most of the time, my personal escape rate is hovering around 45-50% in the last 30 days (mostly solo q) now. You having problems is a you problem. I got some friends into the game with the latest patch and they are enjoying it and escaping regularly as well even with limited access to perks and little experience (i am helping them though, but their new player experience has been good.)
Player drop off always happens within a a few days to a week or so, thats nothing new, its normal A new popular killer just released so again no surprise there but im seeing less springtraps now. My killer queues have only been like 2-3mins since the event started (EU).
You were moaning about survivor bloodpoints in another comment, but 200k is the minimum im getting atm after a really bad game, and im getting anywhere between 250-350k per match, averaging around 275k, so if you're only getting "150k" then thats down to how you play and you're not doing enough. I got hard tunnelled out protecting my friend in one game and still got 200k for doing basically nothing but get chased and hooked.
You're basing this off the all time peak, which it will never stay at and all games suffer a quick drop off. Loads of people follow hype and then jump ship when they actually try stuff and realise it's not for them. The 24hr peak has consistently been 100-105k.
It's a PvP game, you clearly have the wrong expectations. The vast majority of people are simply playing the game and that's it. This is simply about you personally not having fun at the end of the day. Don't try and make it everyone elses problem too.
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As much as i agree with your statement i also disagree about the whole fun/winning part.
Listen i lost a lot of friends (irl ones) who got sick of me saying i play games for fun after i come home from work and i cant really grind games like they do since they are students and do online classes and spend most of their time playing video games at home.
I myself have a full time job and i cant afford practicing same move over and over and knowing every map and call out etc.
Same goes for dbd, why should this game be unwelcoming towards adults that have jobs and other tasks irl that prevent them to ever being sharp players.
I made a post about this and i think its best for devs to add AI in pre-lobby that works by checking real time stats of all players, my original post was about preventing SWFs from stacking perks but it would also be good at preventing miss match between matchmaking MMR, aka when que times are slow the match puts you in with higher tier players, so in those times thats when the AI shines and decreases the values of certain perks that players might use to have a 100% winrate againts lower end MMR players.
Because i honestly think the issue why people are not having "fun" is because on other hand you have killers that run certain builds that stack haste and ability and then you have survivors that do the same preventing other side of coins to have "fun".
So as much as PVP stands for what you say, as long as there is no ranked mode in the game official ranked mode, there is a singular mode and i know why devs went with it instead splitting modes, they are not crazy they keep their players in one singular mode to not lose players, if ranked is added it would split the playerbase in half and so cause the game to die out because people like rewards, progression, tiers, ranks, emblems.
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I understand what you're saying. I'm a variety gamer, and I'm not great at DBD either. But I don't boot up Call of Duty and expect to do as well as the people that strictly play Call of Duty. Devs can't balance a game around some people being able to play 8 hours a day and having incredible game sense in comparison to the average Joe that gets 2 hrs to play on a good day. That's not feasible. I just accept the fact that I'll never be at the skill ceiling and sometimes I'm going to get rolled. But that goes both ways. Even with my mid at best skill I still go against some killers and loop them like I'm JRM. It's not other people's responsibility to make sure I have fun every game. Nor is it mine to make sure someone else is having fun. There are alot of matches that end in my team getting 4kd that I still had alot of fun.
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this is what happens when you force killer to be casual and punish them for being competitive and force survivor to be competitive and punish them for being casual instead of letting both kinds of players play with each other rather than forcing them to coexist.
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I think the mistake devs are doing is try to go in favor on both sides on top tier players and then to avg tier players by balancing around perks and causing chaos.
I would like them to try out a system that runs purely off of machine learning AI driven system and dynamically lower perk effectivness againts certain players in that elo that sadly get put in the match with a killer or a survivor squad that naturally have more time to be skilled and skillfully use the certain perks that can stack, and same goes you get your friends to play 4 stack, you guys go on winning streak and end up being matched with a brutal killer that is actually winning matches by stacking and playtime and knowledge.
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Exactly!
The game will never have peace and the players never satisfied with this approach of balancing.
We need something artificial monitoring players in real time applying nerfs but not the typical nerfs that would be noticable, it would be more in harmony.
I will try to give my best example how i visualize it would go if the top end killer ends up with casual pre made lobby of 4 stack.
Pre-lobby the ai will check for real time stats and match history and see that they reason why matched is because slower que times or region missmatch or simply that the friend squad stack is winning because of comms and actual skill and some perk stacking while the killer is top end player that mains certain killers that have both momentum and ability to cause havoc on those squads with certain perks in pair.
The killer will see eventually that his/her's perks are not working as intended or not as fast as they used to before but thats why soft tuning of ai exists to not be so aggressive its machine learning after all.
The survivor squad will also get a tiny debuff to their stacked perks but mostly neligible they would rather see that they cant just let 1 skilled player go juke the killer to do the gen rush like they used to in prior matches
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or just make the game have a better wincon than escapes-kills and make more functional matchmaking based on that.
another issue is that this game keeps being built and balanced around teamwork too much. teamwork is too good and it's the only option survivors really have because the game is revolving too much around optimizing the time sink objectives and managing resources.
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If i recall is it not the goal for survivors to do gen and escape, but also their emblem and grades rely on also healing and unhooking and playing around that too.
Them to just focus on balancing game around wincon would just eventually lead to rebellion on forums again eventually once they figure out whats the next "meta", it would remove a lot of chaos sure but not the entire root of the problem.
With the ai in play the ai can nerf the meta builds as it pleases if it sees that players are gettings wins by not their actual skill rather by stacking perks that allow them to actually force the killers that are not top end tier players in chases that end up with gens rush.
Same goes for top end killers that win by running certain killers and perks that fit them to win by that and not actual skills that you learn by playing the game for some time.
Ai would simply put an end to the whole meta builds if it sees that these players been getting higher MMR by playing with that and winning with that instead of actually playing the game as intended.
The devs have confirmed they have access to more in depth information about stats and perk info and match history, they can feed it into the ai.
The AI would not be so aggressive to starting players unless they also start winning by running meta perk builds and certain killers and if it sees your friend group has been using it, it will obviously get a bit sus and nerf the starting players but only if they actually rely on their perks alone
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I dont think using "ai for dynamic balancing" or whatever you are suggesting is a good idea.
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I would like to know why you think so?
Like lets be realistic here? It would allow real time nerfs and buffs if needed without devs to do any major changes and balancing out certain perks constantly, and if needed they can always change base value or the perks they want and then send the updated changes to the AI so it will never overshoot or undershoot with balancing the game in favor of whats fair and not for what is fair for what people think is fair, some people here simply like to bully starting killers or non meta killers and thats how the meta killers are born, same goes for why people simply dont want to play solo and play with friends and run said perks.
Generally speaking it would bring way more balance and fairness to the game than what devs can accomplish in short time and actually the ai would prevent meta builds from ruining the match for either killer or survivors before the match even starts, fully eliminating players uninstalling game because they end up getting only blight or nurse with meta builds, it would kinda make players feel more free when they choose killers that are M1 and not meta, same with survivors they will finally be able to be like oh finally we dont need to do gen rush and always bait with one of our friends thats good at hugging the wall etc
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For me its the opposite, could also be due to my killer getting hard-countered by survivors ability (quiet mode). Survivor on the opposite is going quite nice. I had a few solo escapes this morning. Personally it seems like the game is shifting towards survivor again, with many recent buffs (especially barely any DCs now) making games harder for killers.
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While Survivor consistently gets the short end of the stick the last few years, I've never really gotten the sense that BHVR favors Killer per se.
I have.
But not in the sense that they're overly balancing to the benefit of killers. It's more subtle than that, like the way Invocations are designed to perfectly cater to what killers would want. Or the way that hiding became a hot topic for the design team the moment killers began to complain about it. Or the way anti-AFK/anti-go-next were initially tooled with little concern for false positives.
They seem to be more focused on killer complaints, though that may also be because the major survivor complaints took more time to address. It depends on what the anti-tunnel changes end up being.
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I’ve never heard of someone playing a game they hate so much for so long. Honestly, it’s hard for me to believe that you actually escape as infrequently as you claim. Your MMR would be at literally the lowest level possible and you should only be facing the worst killers. If you’re still struggling this much against the worst killers, and you’ve tried everything you can to improve your gameplay, then maybe this isn’t the game for you.
I’m not saying this to criticize your abilities in this game, but rather I’m trying to get at the real reason why you are constantly complaining about the survivor experience. I see only two likely possibilities: 1) you really aren’t that bad at the game and you’re simply trying to influence the devs to buff survivors and/or nerf killers; or 2) it’s what I said above and if that is true, I really can’t understand why you would still be playing this game and coming here to constantly complain about it.2 -
it's the 3x 4x Deja Vu
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I came to balk and disagree but I have to concede. I don't think this is a bhvr problem though, it's the community. As long as the community's idea of fun is trouncing the opponent without allowing any credible counterplay, the problem will persist. Yes, things can be done to minimize the toys players have to work with and that is being done but I don't see a way to denature the evil ways of the players. Survivors are just as bad with genrush and it's not because they skeered either.
Edit-not gonna lie. This borders on the excruciating to play right now. Not really, I just love to toss a big word or two around. This pain however, is not exclusive to the event. More of the aforementioned demons come out for these though.
Post edited by Garboface on-1 -
No for sure, that's all absolutely true. But what I mean is… deep dive into my conspiracy with me…
6.1.0 was a stress patch. Sure it was a "shake up", blah blah blah, but more than anything it was a test to see how much the player base could handle. Sure enough, when Killers were handed the game on a silver platter, more queued up. And despite going next becoming a trend overnight, Survivors kept queuing up to almost the same degree. Over the years, it became more and more obvious that Survivors would still play the game despite what was nerfed, so it was safer to keep the changes focused in Killer's favor to keep the queue fast.
Notice now, that after years and years of bad decisions, they're only talking about addressing the largest concerns for Survivor now that Killer queues are clogging up. Maybe in some sense, the last patch was the final nail in the coffin for what Survivors were willing to tolerate. Granted, all of that assumes that BHVR does in fact have some sort of plan and that the game isn't a collection of happy accidents, but you never know.
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Killer queue is way too long for event I don't know if it's EU server only or everyone but it's legit 10+ minutes, and i'm not exaggerating i mean literally 10 min, so I think you're right OP dying 8/10 games isn't that fun, getting farmed again and again
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98k mid-Monday…
Are people really queueing up in droves to wait 10 minutes to play killer?
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Yeah you typed that 5 times I can't see connection with original post, game is doing well on steam yes ? That's cool counter strike has 1 million players right now, should we all go play CS ?
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It's also in the top played games on PSN/Xbox.
But yes, you can play CS if you like - I'm not sure what's stopping you.
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I hear you, you're clearly enjoying the event and finding ways to benefit from it, which is great. My post was more about broader balance concerns and how the event might affect player roles and overall game health in the long run. I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic or dismissive, I just see the impact differently. It’s fine if we disagree on that.
That said, being told “just don’t play the event” on a post meant for event feedback feels a bit dismissive, especially when this event is supposed to celebrate the game's longevity and the dedication of its player base. Criticism doesn’t equal negativity.
As for you saying I’m flipping things and making you a villain — that feels like a bit of a stretch… but if the boot fits. Also, it’s kind of ironic that after I’ve already answered several responses, you’re still coming back and commenting on my feedback. You’re telling me I have attitude for sharing my opinion, yet you’re the one who immediately responded with “don’t play the event” just because you like it. That feels like an immature response, and honestly, it doesn’t help move the conversation forward. I’m not gonna keep going back and forth on a video game forum. You act like I’m saying you can’t have an opinion, yet you’re the one who commented first telling me “just don’t play the event”.
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