Over the last few years, Dead by Daylight has grown into a titan of the asymmetrical multiplayer scene. The game has managed to make a major push and capture the attention of millions of gamers and content creators. A lot of this has to do with the compelling gameplay loop, and tons of new content always being added.
The core gameplay is simple, you’re either a killer or survivor. The survivor team is trying to escape the map alive before being killed. Players have a ton of perks and items to choose from to alter their skills and effects during play, and that’s true for both teams. One of the more useful mechanics is the ability to stun the killer. There are a few ways of accomplishing this, so let’s talk about those. Here’s how to stun the killer in Dead by Daylight.
Flashlight
The most basic and easy way to stun the killer is through shining the flashlight into their eyes. It’s not always easy to do, especially on smaller or larger killers that have different vision cones. You need to get the beam of light into their eyes as a survivor for the effect to trigger. When you do, they will be blinded for a few seconds. This effect is only really useful on some killers though, like the Nurse and Wraith. These are the spirit-based killers right now, and they are most affected by it. If facing a physical killer that doesn’t have spirit world mechanics, go for a different type of stun.
Pallets
Pallets are the best way to pin down a killer when you’re a survivor. Survivors are often much more mobile than killers, and plenty of maps have hiding spots, twisting paths and more to make use of this. Working as a team is also a good option here. Players on the survivor side can easily dodge a killer attack then double back, dropping a pallet behind them. A killer cannot traverse a pallet without first destroying it, slowing them down. The useful stun technique here is to drop the pallet onto the killer.
You have to get the timing pretty precise, making this very dangerous for the survivor. If you can drop the pallet as the killer is crossing into the space where it would drop, the killer will be pinned underneath it. You can also drop pallets on killers carrying other players, and this will free the captured survivor.
What Perks can stun the killer?
There are a handful of perks that can be used to stun the killer in Dead by Daylight, here’s what we know so far.
Decisive Strike
The Decisive Strike perk is a perk that’s used a lot by tons of players. The perk activates when a player gets hooked on unhooked, or if they get grabbed in the 60 or so seconds after the perk activates. The effect causes the player to be able to perform a basic skill check. A successful check will allow the player to elude the killer’s grasp and get away. The effect also applies a 5-second stun to the killer. Keep in mind though that there are a few things that happen after the skill check. One, you will be marked with the Obsession mechanic. The Obsession has different effects, depending on the perks used by both teams.
For example, Object of Obsession will cause the player with the Obsession applied and the killer will reveal their Auras to each other if they happen to look at each other. Sole Survivor can allow you to hide your Auras from an Obsessed killer.
Head On
Head On activates when you stand in a locker for 3 seconds as a survivor. A survivor with this perk can stun a killer for 3 seconds. All they have to do is exit the locker with the killer within a certain range. The downside is the Exhaustion that triggers afterward if you do stun the killer. This means you don’t recover and can’t use the perk again within a certain time frame. You will have to wait at least 40 seconds to trigger another Exhaustion perk during this time with the highest tier version.
Power Struggle
Power Struggle is another perk you may encounter on some survivor builds. Power Struggle allows a trapped survivor to trigger the pallet stun while being carried. It’s not used too much over less situational perks, as not all maps have good opportunities to use it. Power Struggle is a teachable Unique Élodie Rakoto Perk, so you need to play in a game with that survivor unlock it for purchase via the Blood Web.
You can trigger the perk based on a chance roll while being carried, which ranges between 35-25% depending on the tier of the perk. This will cause you to trigger the pallet, stun the killer, and be Injured. If there’s another survivor nearby, they can heal you.
