Last updated: 3 July 2026

Dead by Daylight Beginner's Guide How to Play

Dead by Daylight is a 4 vs 1 asymmetric survival horror game developed and published by Behaviour Interactive, first released on 14 June 2016. Each match is a trial: four Survivors must repair five generators and escape through powered exit gates, while one Killer hunts them down, hooking and sacrificing them to a supernatural force called The Entity. This guide covers every fundamental a new player needs — trial flow, roles, key mechanics, and tips that hold up regardless of which character you run.

01What Is Dead by Daylight?

Dead by Daylight (DbD) is a multiplayer survival horror game in which every match pairs five real players: four play as Survivors and one plays as the Killer. There is no AI opponent and no single-player campaign — every trial is player versus player.

The game has been running since 2016 and is updated regularly by Behaviour Interactive with new licensed and original characters, maps, and balance patches. As of Patch 10.0.1 (June 2026), the roster includes dozens of original killers alongside licensed characters from franchises including Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Stranger Things, and Resident Evil, among others.

Dead by Daylight is a paid title on PC and all consoles. Additional characters are available as paid DLC or purchasable with Auric Cells (premium currency) and Iridescent Shards (earnable through gameplay). The game periodically runs limited-time free-to-play events on Steam tied to major updates, but returns to a paid price once each event ends. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play without a separate purchase.

02The Trial: What Every Match Looks Like

A match in Dead by Daylight is called a Trial. Trials take place on one of many maps set across different realms. Each map has a randomized layout within a fixed template, so the placement of generators, pallets, and loops changes each game.

A standard trial ends when either all surviving Survivors escape through the exit gates or the Killer sacrifices enough Survivors that nobody remains. The core objective structure is simple:

• Survivors must repair 5 generators to power the 2 exit gates, then open at least one gate and escape through it. A single generator takes 90 seconds to repair solo.
• The Killer must find, damage, and down Survivors, then carry them to a sacrificial hook. A Survivor who is hooked three times across the trial is eliminated.
• The hatch — a special escape point — appears when only one Survivor remains alive, giving the last player a chance to escape without needing the exit gates.

Trials typically last between 8 and 20 minutes depending on how quickly generators are completed and how efficiently the Killer applies pressure.

03Playing as a Survivor

As a Survivor, your job is to complete generators while avoiding the Killer. Survivors have no weapons and cannot fight back — your tools are speed, stealth, and the terrain.

• Health states: Survivors have two health states — Healthy and Injured. A Killer hit while Healthy puts you in Injured state (you leave blood trails and make noise). A second hit in Injured state puts you in a Dying state on the ground, where you crawl and bleed out unless rescued.
• Generators: Hold the action button near a generator to repair it. Generators make noise when repaired and produce a burst of sparks and sound when completed — the Killer can hear both. You can be interrupted mid-repair at no cost; the generator holds its progress.
• Hooks: When the Killer catches a Survivor in Dying state, they can pick them up and carry them to a sacrificial hook. Once hooked, another Survivor can rescue you before the timer expires. Each Survivor has three hook stages. On the first hook (Summoning Phase) the Survivor can attempt a low-chance self-escape by struggling free. On the second hook (Struggle Phase) the Survivor performs skill checks to resist the Entity — they cannot escape without a teammate's rescue. A third hook eliminates the Survivor from the match.
• Totems: Dull Totems and Hex Totems appear on the map. Killers can have perks that activate Hex Totems with powerful effects. Cleansing a Dull Totem earns Boldness points; cleansing a Hex Totem disables the Killer's perk linked to it.
• Chests: Scattered chests contain Items — medkits, flashlights, toolboxes, keys, and maps — that give Survivors extra capabilities during a trial.

As a new Survivor, prioritize finding a generator and repairing it efficiently, avoid the Killer when possible, and save dramatic rescues for when you can confirm the Killer is not nearby.

04Playing as the Killer

The Killer's goal is to hook enough Survivors to prevent them from escaping. You are stronger and faster than any individual Survivor, but outnumbered 4 to 1, which means time management is your most critical resource.

• Basic attack: Each Killer has at least one basic attack that inflicts one health state of damage. Hitting a Healthy Survivor puts them in Injured; hitting an Injured Survivor puts them in Dying state.
• Downing and hooking: Once a Survivor is in Dying state, walk up to them and press the pick-up button to carry them to a hook. While carrying a Survivor you move slower and cannot use most powers.
• Special powers: Every Killer has a unique power that defines their playstyle — for example, the Nurse can teleport through walls, the Huntress throws hatchets from range, and Blight dashes rapidly across terrain.
• Generator pressure: While you're chasing one Survivor, the other three are repairing generators. Long chases are expensive. Learn to break off a chase when a generator is close to completing, and kick generators to cause regression.
• Kicking generators: Pressing the action button near a generator kicks it — it loses 5% progress instantly and begins slowly regressing. Survivors must repair a regressing generator by at least 5% to stop the regression.

New Killers should start with someone forgiving to learn with. The Trapper (basic power with bear traps) and the Hillbilly (chainsaw for fast downs) are common recommendations, though any Killer with a straightforward power works.

05Key Mechanics Every Player Must Know

Whether you're playing Survivor or Killer, these mechanics appear in every trial:

• Perks: Each character (Survivor or Killer) comes with three unique perks that can be unlocked and equipped. You can run four perks per match. Perks are the primary way to customize your playstyle and gain advantages beyond your character's base kit.
• Bloodweb: XP earned in matches fills your Bloodweb — a node tree where you spend Bloodpoints (the in-game currency earned per match) to unlock perks, add-ons, and offerings. New perks from other characters unlock over time in your Bloodweb once you reach a high enough Prestige level.
• Prestige: When you Prestige a character, they reset to level 1 but unlock their unique perks in every other Survivor's or Killer's Bloodweb at higher Prestige tiers, making it easier to build cross-character perk loadouts.
• Skill checks: While repairing, healing, or sabotaging, a circular skill check can appear. Press the action button when the moving needle lands in the highlighted zone. A Great skill check (hitting the smaller inner zone) gives a +1% bonus to progress. A failed skill check removes 10% progress and sends an alert to the Killer.
• Offerings: You can equip one Offering per match before loading in. Offerings affect the trial — common ones include Fog Offerings (reduce the Killer's vision range), Map Offerings (force a specific map or realm), and Bloodpoint Offerings (multiply your post-match earnings).
• Add-ons: Items and Killer powers have add-on slots that modify their behaviour. Toolboxes with Repair-speed add-ons make generators faster; Killer add-ons can buff their power or change how it functions.

06Beginner Tips for New Survivors

• Find a generator immediately at the start. Don't wander the map. Generators appear on the mini-map as icons (though the mini-map doesn't show their exact location until you're near them). The trial starts with all five generators needing repair.
• Listen for the Killer's heartbeat (Terror Radius). Most Killers emit a heartbeat sound effect that gets louder the closer they are. If you hear it, consider hiding or preparing to run. Some Killers have reduced or no Terror Radius, so don't rely on it alone.
• Don't rush to unhook teammates. A safe unhook happens when the Killer is busy or far away. Rescuing into the Killer's face results in both of you being downed. Watch the map and listen before running to a hook.
• Crouch near generators when injured. If you're injured and the Killer is nearby, crouching reduces your grunting sounds and footstep noise significantly. It's slower than walking, but less noticeable.
• Learn one map at a time. Each map has recurring strong structures (the Killer Shack is the most important). Knowing one map's layout well is more valuable than vague knowledge of all of them.
• Save pallets — don't drop them immediately. Pallets are one-use environmental obstacles you can drop to stun or block the Killer. Dropping a pallet too early wastes it. Learn to lead the Killer around pallet loops before committing to the drop.

07Beginner Tips for New Killers

• Prioritize hooking over chasing the same Survivor forever. A chase that lasts more than 60 seconds gives Survivors enough time to complete one or two generators. Down them, hook them, and move on to apply pressure elsewhere.
• Kick generators you find between chases. Every kicked generator starts regressing. If you kick several generators in quick succession, Survivors must divert time to stop the regression — time away from completing them.
• Learn the maps' generator clusters. Generators on the same map often spawn in clusters of three. Defending two generators from a 3-gen cluster in the late game puts Survivors in a situation where every generator they repair is visible to you.
• Don't face-camp hooks. Standing next to a hooked Survivor wastes your time — the other three are on generators. Apply hook pressure then patrol the map. Return to the hook when you hear someone rescuing.
• Use your Killer power in every chase. New players sometimes forget their power and try to win with basic attacks alone. Even a simple power usage forces Survivors to react differently.