This month’s DBD developer update is one of the best we’ve seen yet. The improvements to come in patch 6.4.0 all sound excellent, from the addition of bots in custom games, to a new basement, plus changes to how Flashlights work. The updates to the matchmaking system in particular are a needed and very welcome proposition — they really can’t come soon enough. Below, we’ve done our best to briefly summarize all the exciting stuff contained in today’s developer update, both in a TL;DR list and in a longer form.
Here are the highlights from the Dead by Daylight October 2022 Developer Update coming in patch 6.4.0:
Bots in custom matches
Visual improvements (breakable objects and the basement)
Flashlight changes (locker blind immunity and a flashlight save buffer making it easier to do flashlight saves)
Matchmaking improvements (team based ratings and faster adjustments when returning from a break)
Various exploits patched
Temporary Ban punishment increases
Read on to see details!
Bots in Custom Games
Once patch 6.4.0 drops, you’ll be able to click the plus icon in the custom game lobby and add a bot to that slot. You can play games with only bots, or you can fill empty slots with bots while playing with your friends. Currently, there will only be Survivor bots, but Killer bots are planned for the future. Additional options that will appear in later patches include the ability to modify the bots loadouts, and deciding which character they are.
Visual Improvements
Breakable objects (pallets and breakable walls) are getting new looks. The pallets don’t look too different, but the breakable walls certainly do.
The basement seems much improved, with more detail overall — it does seem a bit less dark, however, which is kind of a shame.
Flashlight Changes
There are two changes to flashlights coming in 6.4.0. The big one is the addition of a Flashlight Save Buffer: a .25 second buffer is being added to the end of the Killer’s pickup animation — if you blind the Killer during this window, they’ll drop the Survivor. Previously, you had to blind them during the pickup, which was pretty tricky without hours of practice. This should make flashlight saves much more viable, even for newer players.
The other flashlight change is a nice QoL improvement for Killers: you can no longer be blinded while grabbing a Survivor from a locker. Experienced SWF teams would abuse lockers plus someone with a flashlight to make themselves basically invincible; this change removes that tactic.
Matchmaking Improvements
Again, there are two changes coming in the next patch. The first one is Team Based Ratings. Your hidden matchmaking rating (MMR) will adjust not just based on your performance, but on how your team does — this means sacrificing yourself to let others escape won’t hurt your MMR like it used to. Previously, the system only looked at whether or not you escaped; the updated system is clearly superior.
They are also adding a system for when you return from taking a break from the game: Your matchmaking rating will adjust faster during your first few matches back. This way, if you had high MMR when you stopped playing, you’ll only have to get smashed for a couple of games before the system recognizes your new skill level and puts you in fair(er) matches.
Cheating Update
The team recently shared their renewed focus on dealing with cheaters; in today’s dev update, they list a long series of exploits that have been patched. Anyone who’s been in a game with a cheater knows them: hooking themselves, insta-completing gens, putting two Killers in the game, and so on. Of course, they won’t be able to prevent all cheating, so patch 6.4.0 will also reduce the maximum length of matches to prevent cheaters from holding other players hostage.
They’ve also added some “countermeasures” that should help stop stream sniping. Cheaters love stream sniping, since they really just want attention, and a streamer’s channel is a great way to get it. Additionally, more fixes related to cheating are apparently on their way.
Temporary Ban Punishment Increases
In today’s update, the devs state in no uncertain terms that toxic behavior is not welcome in Dead by Daylight. To help deal with players that harass or grief others, the punishment for temporary bans are being lengthened:
First strike: 48 hours (was 24 hours)
Second strike: 1 week (was 48 hours)
Third strike: 1 month (was 1 week)
Fourth strike: Permanent (unchanged)
We hope this was a helpful summary of today’s dev update! Let us know what you think of the upcoming patch 6.4.0 changes in the comments.
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DanielD
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
