Dead by Daylight is a lethal tug-of-war between Survivors and the Killers that hunt them. Complicating this basic contest is the presence of powers, perks, items, and add-ons that allow each character to explore different strategies to accomplish their objectives. The game has been around since 2016, and only continues to get better.
Three Killer strategies in Dead by Daylight are particularly powerful: tunneling, camping, and slugging. Slugging is the practice of downing a Survivor and leaving them on the ground instead of picking them up right away. It can be extremely effective and efficient for the Killer, but it's not much fun for the Survivor, and it can seriously hurt the team's chances of Surviving. Here are some of the best ways to counter slugging.
How Slugging Affects Survivors
To combat slugging, it's important to understand why Killers slug. Slugging is done for several reasons. It creates pressure on the team by leaving a teammate unable to complete objectives, draws another teammate away from what they are doing to pick up their slugged teammate, and increases Killer efficiency by allowing them to immediately pursue a new chase instead of spending time carrying a Survivor to hook.
While it's nice to think that a teammate will be available to pick the player up when they are slugged, that isn't always the case. Survivors can't typically pick up a teammate if they are being chased, and often won't leave a generator they are working on either, as they fear that its progress may be lost. In solo-queue, this reality is especially painful, as it can leave a slugged Survivor on the ground for the entire match.
Pick Yourself Up
Teammates can't always be relied on to pick the slugged player up. Even when they'd like to, they're sometimes forced away by circumstance. For this reason, perks that allow the player to pick themselves up without the assistance of others are the best, most direct counter to slugging. A few perks that allow players to pick themselves up when slugged.
- Unbreakable (Bill Level 40) is easily the best such perk. It increases recovery speed on the ground by 35% and grants the player the ability to pick themselves up once per Trial. Unbreakable has been in the meta for a long time due to its strength and reliability.
- Soul Guard (Cheryl Level 30) provides several beneficial effects, one of which is the ability to pick oneself up as long as the player is Cursed. Since this relies upon the Killer having an active Hex perk to Curse the Survivor, Soul Guard isn't as dependable as Unbreakable.
- No Mither (David Level 40) allows the player to recover more quickly and pick themselves up an unrestricted number of times. Unfortunately, it also inflicts the Broken Status Effect, leaving the player injured for the entire Trial. This disadvantage is so serious that most players shy away from No Mither.
Pick Up Teammates
It's important to be able to pick up one's teammates in the event that they are slugged, which is a common occurrence if a killer is using this strategy. Technically there are no special requirements for doing so, as any Survivor — even without a med-kit — can pick up a Survivor who is slugged. That said, a good med-kit can make this process considerably faster.
Two perks are also notable for their anti-slugging value:
- We're Gonna Live Forever (David Level 35) grants a 100% speed boost when healing other Survivors from the dying state, making it one of the best anti-slugging perks.
- For the People (Zarina Level 40) is also fantastic, as it allows the player to instantly heal another Survivor by one health state. Unfortunately, this perk comes at a price: it can only be used while healthy, and it inflicts the Survivor who used it with the Broken Status Effect. This essentially means that it transfers the teammate's injury to the player, leaving the player vulnerable if the Killer finds them.
Use An Evasive Build
Sometimes, the counterstrategy to slugging isn't as simple as picking oneself up or getting quickly picked up by a teammate. There are many instances in which a more nuanced approach is better, or is the only answer possible. For this, an evasive anti-slugging build can be the perfect counter.
Power Struggle (Elodie Level 40) allows the Survivor to stun the Killer with a nearby pallet once picked up. This means a Survivor who can crawl their way to a pallet once slugged has a second chance to get away. Survivors crawl slowly, however, which is where Tenacity (Tapp Level 30) comes in. This perk increses the speed at which the Survivor crawls by 50% and allowing the player to recover while they crawl.
Because the Survivor still might not have recovered quite enough by the time the Killer returns, Flip-Flop (Ash Level 30) is used to convert up to 50% of recovery progression into Wiggling progression when the Survivor is picked up. Those three perks combine to dramatically increase the Survivor's chances of reaching an unused pallet and throwing it on the Killer, allowing them to recover from the dying state and escape.
The remaining perk slot can be filled with whatever the player prefers, though there's a strong argument to be made for Decisive Strike (Laurie Level 40). This can grant the Survivor yet another chance to slip away.
Dead By Daylight is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and Stadia.