The start in Dead by Daylight is pretty tough. To ensure that you don’t die immediately as a survivor, we’ve compiled some beginner tips for you on MeinMMO that will make the start easier.

Dead by Daylight has evolved from a hidden gem to a popular game in recent years. After all, Dead by Daylight is now available on consoles such as PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the Switch.

This is hardly surprising, after all, the asymmetrical 4vs1 killer game is a lot of fun and offers thrilling action for many hundreds of hours.

But like hardly any other game, Dead by Daylight has an extremely steep learning curve. For newcomers, it often feels like “running against a wall”. Mechanics seem unfair, overpowering, or frustrating when you are not yet accustomed to them.

Therefore, we want to help with some tips and tricks for survivors to tackle the first challenges in Dead by Daylight.

Update 06/15/2021: This article originally appeared in May 2019. We updated it on 06/14/2021. It is current as of Patch 5.0.0 of Dead by Daylight – the “Resident Evil” chapter.

Guide for Beginners: How to Survive in Dead by Daylight

We have a total of 10 useful tips and hints for beginners who dare to step into the brutal games of the Entity as survivors.

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1. Don’t try to free yourself from the hook

It’s tempting to press the button that the game suggests. However, if you’re hanging on the hook, you shouldn’t try to free yourself. This attempt has only a 4% chance of success – so it succeeds, on average, once in 25 tries. Each attempt also consumes about 17% of your life bar and quickly pushes you into phase 2 of the sacrifice.

You can hang on the hook for nearly a minute if you don’t try to free yourself. That’s more than enough time for other survivors to come to your rescue.

Attempting to free yourself from the hook should only be done when there’s no other chance left. For example, if all other survivors are on the ground or have also been hooked.

2. Run when the killer is not nearby

With every second that passes in the game, the killer has more time to kill you and your teammates. After all, you need to repair your generators as quickly as possible. Time is the crucial resource in Dead by Daylight, and how you use your time largely determines whether parts of your team survive or die.

You already know who the killer is and thus know if they have a terror radius? Then don’t hesitate to run across the map to get from one objective to the next. Of course, running leaves scratch marks that the killer might see for a few seconds – but the risk is worth it in most cases because the time saved is too great.

3. Don’t be afraid of the terror radius

When you hear the terror radius (the music and heartbeat), don’t panic. Just because the killer is close to you doesn’t mean they have spotted you. If you’re clever, you can hide from them without there even having to be a chase.

The killer’s vision, unlike that of a survivor, is severely limited. Just because you think the killer must have seen you, that’s not necessarily the case. Stay calm and sneak when the situation allows.

4. Never flee in a straight line

To escape the killer in Dead by Daylight or to stretch the chase as much as possible, “smart” running is essential. On straight paths (like along a simple road), the killer will quickly catch up to you. Run around objects, jump through windows, and use pallets to widen your distance from the killer.

Warning: This does NOT mean you should run in a “zig-zag” pattern across an open area. This will only make the killer catch you faster.

Especially repeatedly circling buildings or objects, known as “looping,” can buy you a lot of time. Most killers move faster than survivors, but they also have a larger hitbox and thus must draw larger circles than the survivor. This way, you can lead a killer around an object several times before you knock over the pallet or look for another location.

5. Use pallets wisely

Pallets are only available in limited numbers on each map. Once used, they can be destroyed by the killer, rendering them useless. Use pallets wisely and don’t waste them. If you simply run from one pallet to another and wait there to slam it in the killer’s face, you will quickly use up all the survivors’ defensive measures.

Instead, weigh your options. Can you still lure the killer around an object one or two more times? Is he really so close that the pallet has to be thrown now? If the answer is “No,” then don’t use it. Buy yourself and your team more time by using pallets sparingly!

Additionally: Don’t throw a pallet down when the killer just hit you! This will only waste the “speed bonus” you receive after a hit and waste a valuable pallet without benefit.

6. Play as a team, but split up

Especially for newcomers, it may feel comfortable to wander the map together with other players. However, this is to be avoided as it significantly paralyzes you as a team. There are several reasons for this:

If the killer finds multiple survivors at the same time, he can hold multiple survivors at once. This slows your progress down and lowers your chances of escaping alive.

Although a generator is repaired faster when multiple survivors are working on it, there is also a drawback. Two survivors do not repair the generator “twice as fast” as one alone.

Later on, this can make sense if you only need to repair one or two generators. But at the start of a match, it’s wise to split up and work on different generators. Ideally, the killer can only chase one survivor while 3 out of 5 needed generators are already repaired.

7. If the killer camps, don’t reward them

From time to time, it will happen that a killer camps. Once they catch a survivor and hook them, they stay nearby, making a rescue nearly impossible. Without suitable perks (like “Borrowed Time”), a rescue is not feasible and will only result in more survivors being sacrificed.

The answer is simple: Just let the killer do their thing.

The “dumbest” thing you can do is wait with three people nearby while your teammate is slowly sacrificed. Then, the killer gets exactly what they wanted and is rewarded for their camping.

Instead, use the time to work on generators. If all teammates consistently do this, you can finish three generators in the time it takes for the killer to camp a single survivor. This is unfortunate, as your teammate will die – but when facing a camper, it’s difficult to prevent this as a newcomer. Rather punish the killer by finishing off the match and escaping with the rest of your team.

8. Use the advantage of the camera

Survivors have a clear advantage over the killer, which is their perception of the game world. While the killer perceives the game world from a first-person perspective, survivors can experience the game in third-person.

Not only that – they can even freely rotate the camera. This allows survivors to look around corners or run in one direction while looking in another.

This advantage is game-changing. Get used to quickly switching your camera perspective during chases. Take a look ahead to plan your next few meters of escape, then turn the camera around to see where the killer is.

Often, killers want to cut you off and, therefore, take a small detour – but you won’t see this if you don’t look. If you notice that the killer is taking a detour, you can react immediately and take another route.

Those who don’t use their camera give away their greatest advantage against the killer.

9. Accept the killer’s power

An important point that makes a difference in Dead by Daylight is the mindset you bring to the game. Those who become easily frustrated and annoyed make mistakes faster or become inattentive.

Learn to accept that the killer has the stronger role in this game. He is (as a rule) faster by nature, and the entire game is based on the premise that he eventually catches you once he finds you.

Don’t let this discourage you; reflect on why the chase ended so quickly this time:

• Was your escape route poorly chosen?
• Did you lose sight of the killer?
• Did you lose a “mind game”?

Only those who are willing to acknowledge their mistakes as such and want to learn from them will improve.

10. Be nice in the chat

Dead by Daylight can be deadly, and some actions can make you really angry with the killer (or other survivors). Maybe they caught you at the last second, camped you for a long time (in your view), or used a perk that you consider a “noob perk”. Perhaps a survivor seemingly intentionally lured the killer to you, resulting in your death. This is where some quickly write a flame or insult in the chat at the end of the match.

But the simple truth is: Those who insult killers at the end of a match or mock them repeatedly during the round (like through teabagging at the exit gate), shouldn’t be surprised if they breed “toxic” killers who will then act even more unsportingly in future matches.

The same goes for other survivors. Don’t insult them just because they made a mistake (from your perspective). It’s a hectic game with many panic moments, especially for newcomers. Mistakes happen and are simply part of this game.

As often in life, you should heed the rule: If you don’t have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all.

Especially Helpful Perks for Beginner Survivors in Dead by Daylight

In conclusion, we have a number of perks for you that are particularly suited for beginners. Keep in mind that these perks may not be optimal for advanced players.

For the first few dozen hours in which you learn the basics of the game, they can be extremely helpful.

The selected perks are “neutral” – meaning they can be found directly with any character in the blood web and are easy to obtain.

Déjà-Vu Experience (Deja Vu)

With this perk, the survivor can see the aura of 3 generators for 60 seconds. It activates at the start of a match and each time a generator is fully repaired. The 3 revealed generators are the ones that are particularly close to each other.

What is the benefit of the perk? Especially in the first matches, it happens that survivors have difficulty finding generators or “repairing the wrong ones”. If the last 3 generators on the map are too close together, it makes it very easy for the killer to protect them.

Déjà-Vu Experience shows the three generators that are closest together and thus gives the player a clear indication of which generators should be repaired next.

Kindred

This perk is mainly for informing your team members when you are on the hook. As long as you are hanging on the hook, all other survivors can see each other’s auras. Additionally, the aura of the killer is displayed for everyone when they are within a radius of 16 meters around the hook.

In addition, you can see the aura of all allies when another survivor is on the hook – as well as the killer’s aura if he is nearby.

What is the benefit of the perk? For beginners, it often happens that team members either “forget” about the hook or all three other survivors want to rescue at the same time. With “Kindred,” all survivors know what the others are doing in this emergency situation, and it is more likely that the rescue will succeed as a “camping” killer is displayed.

Cold Shiver (Spine Chill)

With this perk, you will be alerted early on about the killer’s proximity. If the killer is looking directly at you and is within 36 meters, the perk symbol lights up and warns you.

If the perk only flickers briefly, the killer just looked your way for a moment (perhaps because they turned around) and you don’t need to worry. However, if the symbol lights up continuously, it is a clear indication that the killer is on the way towards you or your generator.

What is the benefit of the perk? Cold Shiver is an effective early warning system that can warn against many killers before entering their terror radius. This gives you a few extra seconds to hide.

The perk makes skill checks slightly more frequent and harder while active – but this is a very small price to pay for the additional information about the killer.

Small Game

With Small Game, the survivor receives an audible cue every few seconds when looking in a direction where there is a totem or a trap (Hag or Trapper) of the killer in a conical area in front of them.

Note that the perk does not consider the character’s line of sight, but rather the direction of your camera. If the perk is triggered and playing against Trapper or Hag, then be especially careful.

What is the benefit of the perk? Small Game effectively warns against traps from the Trapper and Hag. Additionally, it makes it easy to locate totems that provide the killer with strong perks if they are not cleansed. The perk also helps to learn and memorize the various “totem spawn points” on a map. This not only rewards you with many blood points but also shows how many totems are still active. If you have 5 counters from “Small Game,” it means all totems are removed.

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These perks are suitable for beginners and are easily available to all survivors. Once you are a bit more advanced, take a look at our top 10 perks for survivors. These are more suitable for experienced players.

Do you have any helpful tips and advice for new survivors? What would you advise beginners in Dead by Daylight to help them survive against the killer?