The killing in Dead by Daylight will soon work very differently. The famous “Mori” killings are going to be completely changed.
Killing survivors is the core task of the killers in Dead by Daylight and a fundamental game principle. One would think that such a fundamental task wouldn’t change – but nothing could be further from the truth.
The developers are now starting an experiment and want to drastically revise the “Mori” killings of the killers. They are intended to always become the finale of a match, and for that, large adjustments are necessary.
What are “Moris”? In Dead by Daylight, the killer has several ways to kill survivors. The most common variant is hanging on hooks and sacrificing to the Entity. Alternatively, there is the option to use the “Mori” animation. This is a personal kill animation that each killer possesses and is tailored specifically to the killer. Michael Myers stabs his victim with his knife at a gruesome and intimate distance, while the Witch eats her victim’s intestines.
These “Mori” killings originally came from the offering “Memento Mori,” which allowed this animation under certain conditions. However, they could also be earned through perks like “Hex: Devour Hope” or “Rancor.”
The Mori animations are often the macabre (and fittingly cool for a horror game) ending for a survivor, as these examples show:
- The nasty Mori animation of the Deathslinger
- How Wesker from Resident Evil kills you – with gross tentacles
- When Pinhead kills you, he simply removes you from the match
What do the developers want to change about the Mori? In short: pretty much everything about how they currently work. When all but one survivor in the match is dead, dying (i.e., on the ground), on the hook, or escaped, the last survivor becomes the “Last Standing.” Both the killer and the survivor then receive a larger field of view to see more of the match.
As soon as another survivor stands up again, this phase ends. However, if the killer downs the last survivor, it triggers the “Finishing Mori”:
The killer and the survivor will be teleported to a fixed position on the map where the Mori animation can be viewed well. This survivor is then dramatically killed with the Mori animation. All other survivors still in the match (on the hook or dying on the ground) are instantly killed and count as a successful sacrifice.
If anyone thinks that killers would then start “slugging” all survivors, meaning downing them and then leaving them on the ground, they are mistaken. This will no longer be possible in the future because: All survivors will gain the ability to fully pick themselves up after 45 seconds on the ground, without the help of another survivor.
So if the killer does not pick the survivor up or end the match within the 45 seconds, the survivor can get back on their feet.
However, keep in mind that this is currently just a plan from the developers that is to be tested on the PTB.
What changes will occur to the perks? Since the Mori animation will become part of the normal gameplay, it will disappear from offerings and perks. At the same time, survivors can pick themselves up, so some perks will be revised as well.
The planned changes to survivor perks are:
- The ability to self-pick has been removed from Unbreakable, Soul Guard, No Mither, and Boon: Exponential.
- Unbreakable increases self-healing speed on the ground by 80% / 90% / 100%.
The planned changes to killer perks are:
- The ability to kill survivors with a Mori has been removed from Rancor and Hex: Devour Hope.
- Rancor shows the aura of the obsession for 5 seconds after the last generator is repaired. The target then has the “Exposed” status permanently.
- If Hex: Devour Hope has collected a total of 5 tokens, survivors will be instantly fully sacrificed when hung.
The changes to the Mori offerings are:
- Cypress Memento Mori: Gain 8,000 blood points as a bonus if at least 2 survivors are killed and the match ends in a Finishing Mori.
- Ivory Memento Mori: Gain 12,000 blood points as a bonus if at least 2 survivors are killed and the match ends in a Finishing Mori.
- Ebony Memento Mori: Gain 20,000 blood points as a bonus if at least 2 survivors are killed and the match ends in a Finishing Mori.
Community reacts with incomprehension: Although the community is generally satisfied that the Mori killings are finally being revised, there is much skepticism about the planned approach in the Subreddit of Dead by Daylight.
On the other hand, survivors will have the permanent ability to pick themselves up from the ground infinitely, which is an extremely powerful buff in terms of survivor abilities. For killers, it virtually eliminates the option to leave a survivor on the ground for a short time to chase and displace another nearby survivor.
At the same time, there is concern that flashlights will gain more importance. Since the killer is practically forced to pick the downed survivor up very quickly, many survivors will see their chance to blind the killer with the flashlight while being picked up.
The final criticism is the concern that Dead by Daylight is paving the way to offer various Mori animations in the shop, practically as an additional customization option. That the Mori animation will be stylishly staged beforehand seems in the eyes of many to be a logical step to monetize even more from Dead by Daylight. However, the developers have not made any statements regarding this so far.
Whether the revision of the Mori animations will actually go live remains to be seen. So far, it is only a test from the developers who want to see a new finale for the match. Whether this will be well received is yet to be seen.
What do you think of these plans? Cool innovations or completely absurd changes?
