Dead by Daylight strengthens flashlights so that noobs can hit them too

Flashlights in Dead by Daylight are getting stronger because new players almost never hit them. But there are other adjustments as well.

True killers in Dead by Daylight fear only one thing: flashlights. Because really good survivors have timed the use of the flashlight in such a way that there is almost no escape from it. When newbies try to be just as heroic with a flashlight, it usually ends in failure.

The developers now want to encourage new and inexperienced players to reach for the flashlight more often – and strengthen them in the upcoming patch 6.4.0.

What’s up with the flashlight? The flashlight is a way to temporarily blind and disorient the killer in Dead by Daylight. However, if the Killer is Blinded while carrying a Survivor, they will drop that Survivor, allowing them to flee.

It takes a lot of practice to do that during the killer’s “pick up” animation. Because if you dazzle even a fraction of a second too early, that doesn’t count. However, if you are too late, the killer can simply turn around and avoid being blinded.

The perfect timing is therefore essential to carry out impressive rescues with the flashlight.

What will be changed? With the next major patch, there will be a small 0.25 second “buffer” at the end of the pickup animation. If the killer is already blinded during this buffer time, then he drops the survivor after the end of the animation. The time window to perform the fading correctly is therefore significantly larger. The developers say:

A flashlight rescue can be a real game changer, but it’s quite difficult to pull off. Not only do you have to be in the right position, but the timing has to be incredibly precise. You have to blind the killer right at the end of the pick up animation before he can turn away. Experienced players have already mastered this, but such a rescue can feel nearly impossible for newer players.

To balance that out a bit, there’s also an upgrade for killers. When Killers pull a Survivor out of the Closet, they can no longer be blinded while doing so. A common strategy among the pros was simply to flee into a closet, since that way the killer has no chance of dodging the flashlight. You were almost completely safe when you had a teammate.

Bots and bigger penalties against nasty players

Otherwise, the patch will contain a number of improvements that cover all areas of Dead by Daylight. Some of the highlights are:

Bots in games: In private games there will be bot survivors in the future. As a killer, you can try out a new character before pouncing on “real” survivors. If you are missing a few players for private rounds, you can simply fill them up with bots, so that you always have the usual 4vs1 game, even if only 3 friends have time.

Killer bots are said to come in a later update. But that takes more time, because the AI ​​first has to learn to use all the skills of all killers.

Tougher penalties for toxic players: The tone of conversation in Dead by Daylight can be quite harsh, especially in endgame chat. This frightens many players – especially after a strenuous round in which you were defeated, insults are often particularly unpleasant. Dead by Daylight is therefore increasing the penalties against anyone who breaks the rules and is toxic. The penalties increase as follows:

• 1st offense: 48-hour suspension (previously 24 hours)
• 2nd offense: 1 week suspension (previously 48 hours)
• 3rd offence: 1 month suspension (previously 1 week)
• 4. Offense: Permanent (same as before)

So if access to Dead by Daylight is dear to you, you should think twice about whether you really need to throw out another insult.

What do you think of the upcoming changes to flashlights, bots, and penalties? All good steps? Or is there something you don’t like about it?