In arecent interview by Game Rant,Dead By Daylightcreative director Dave Richard and killer designer Nicolas Barrière-Kucharski offered their insight to share more about the asymmetrical horror game’s thirty-first chapter.Chapter 31: All Things Wicked, which was released on March 12th, features both a new killer, The Unknown, and a new survivor, Sable Ward.
Bringing Risk and Reward to Survivor Gameplay
Sable, similar to her fellow survivor (and best friend) Mikaela Reid, brings a supernaturally-tinged trio of perks to the game. Sable’s perks are Invocation: Weaving Spiders, Strength in Shadows, and Wicked, all of which are centered around the use of the basement in each match. Strength in Shadows allows the survivor to self-heal at 70% normal healing speed without a med-kit while in the basement, Wicked grants the survivor the ability to unhook themselves successfully while in the basement, and Invocation: Weaving Spiders brings a double-edged approach to gameplay. Barrière-Kucharski expanded on Invocation: Weaving Spiders, saying,
“Invocation: Weaving Spiders reduces the total amount of charges you need to bring to a generator to repair it. So that’s like progress, it’s something that the Killer cannot take away. The downside is, you are making a dark deal with something that is pretty somber and deadly, so the person who initiates the Invocation will become permanently injured.”
Invocation: Weaving Spiders has many layers compared to Sable’s other two perks. The survivor(s) must be close to the circle in the basement to begin the Invocation—a process which takes two minutes to complete. Beginning the Invocation allows other survivors to see your aura, encouraging teamwork with acceleration bonuses. If they have an Invocation perk equipped, the process will speed up by 100%; if not, it will go 50% faster. While Invocation: Weaving Spiders reduces the amount of repair charges necessary to complete a generator, it also inflicts the broken status effect for the remainder of the match. With the introduction of this perk, survivors will have to decide if they are willing to risk themselves to accelerate everyone’s escape.
Dead by Daylight Update: Onryo, The Blight, Hillbilly Get Major Changes in Latest Patch
These changes focus on enhancing gameplay dynamics and addressing concerns raised during the recent Public Test Build (PTB).
Amping Up Unpredictability and Paranoia with The Unknown
The new killer, a horrifying monster with distended body parts and an elongated neck and head, is already more intimidating in appearance than other killers in the game. The Unknown’s appearance isn’t all that shakes things up, however. Barrière-Kucharski highlighted the way that The Unknown’s abilities are able to shape the survivors’ interaction with the map, explaining,
“I think one of the cool things about The Unknown is—because of its power either through placing the hallucinations around the map and trying to hide them or the fact that its unique projectile bounces—it redefines players’ relationship to the map in a really great way.”
The Unknown has two special abilities mentioned by Barrière-Kucharski in the quote above: UVX Projectile and Hallucinations. UVX Projectile launches a bouncing projectile which creates a Blast Area upon impact. Hallucinations, which are periodically created by The Unknown, appear around the map as identical husks. The Unknown can teleport to any of these husks, meaning that survivors could suddenly find themselves face-to-face with a killer that was previously across the map.
New Ranged Attacks and Curved Shots Prove Deadly on New Map
The new map, Greenville Square, is designed to amplify The Unknown’s gameplay. Its UVX Projectile requires skill to master, but offers boundless opportunity for curved shots when used right. Barrière-Kucharski highlighted this in his discussion of the map, sharing,
“There are a few holes that you can curve a shot into, and I’ve seen a few people manage it on PTB. I teared up, it was beautiful. The one-in-a-million “Kobe!” shots that people have been doing are beyond my wildest expectations.”
The range and curve offered by The Unknown’s UVX ability are lethal, but The Unknown’s mobility is in the top tier of killer movement speed. This means that it is able to outrun other killers and attack from much farther away than survivors may be used to.
With all of Sable and The Unknown’s content being introduced to the game, players are going to be faced with new gameplay challenges and must come up with strategies regardless of role. Barrière-Kucharski encourages players to experiment with their own builds and create their own combos, something that makesDead By Daylightso enticing to killers and survivors alike.
