Dead by Daylight glossary

107 game terms, from player slang (gen, tunnel, loop, slug) to status effects and totems. Definitions are short and descriptive.

Jump to

Slang and progression
Status effects
Totems

Slang and progression

3-gen: The killer defends three generators close together late in the match. Counter: spread the gens early.
360: The Killer spins the camera so the Survivor cannot read where they are heading.
Add-on: A modifier for a power (killer) or an item (survivor). The killer brings two per match.
Anti-loop Killer: A power or perk designed to counter looping around tiles.
Aura: Bright colour-coded highlight showing a player or object through walls and cover, often at long range. Reading an Aura means seeing it; duration ranges from a few seconds to indefinite depending on the source.
Basement: Underground room on every map, with four indestructible hooks around a central post.
Blink Killer: The Nurse’s power: a short teleport through obstacles and walls. “To blink” = to use it.
Bloodpoints (BP): The progression currency, earned in a match across four score categories.
Bloodweb: Each character’s unlock tree: you spend BP there to get perks, add-ons, items and offerings.
Bodyblock: Standing in the way of a hook or escape route to block it (Survivors against the Killer, or the Killer against an escape or rescue).
Breaking a pallet: A Killer's standard break action takes 2.34 seconds; the Hillbilly's and Cannibal's chainsaws destroy a Pallet in 1 second.
Bully squad: A SWF mostly trying to humiliate the killer rather than escape.
Camp: The Killer stays near a hooked Survivor to secure the sacrifice.
Chase: Starts when a running Survivor enters the Killer's field of view within 12 metres while the Killer walks; ends beyond 18 metres, after 5 seconds in a Locker, or over 8 seconds out of sight.
Chest: Object Survivors search to obtain an Item; 8 seconds at default speed.
Conspicuous Actions: Actions that improve survival chances (healing, repairing a Generator, unhooking, opening an Exit Gate) and cancel Endurance and similar shields early.
Dead Hard (DH) Survivor: Survivor perk: a short dash that can dodge a hit. It causes Exhausted.
Dead zone: An area of the map with no pallet or window, where a chase is hard to extend.
Decisive Strike (DS) Survivor: Survivor perk: lets you break free after being unhooked, under conditions.
Effect timers: Timers of the same effect do not stack: the longest applies, and a higher new timer resets the icon to 100%.
Endgame Collapse (EGC): An Entity countdown that starts when the gates open or the hatch closes.
Exhaustion Perks: Group of Survivor perks that cannot be used while Exhausted, which acts as a shared cooldown; many apply Exhausted when used.
Exit Gates: Two gates in the border wall (three in 2v8). Once the Generators are done, opening a gate takes 20 seconds; three lights light up at 25, 50 and 75%.
Face camp Killer: Staying right next to the hook where a survivor hangs, without leaving.
Flashlight save Survivor: Blinding the killer with a flashlight so they drop the survivor they are carrying.
Gate camping Killer: The killer stays near an exit gate to stop survivors from leaving.
Gen (generator): Short for generator: Survivors must repair a certain number of them to power the Exit Gates.
Gen rush: Survivors who are very efficient on generators and chain them quickly.
Glyph: Killer debuff tied to interacting with a Glyph.
God pallet / God window: A pallet or window that is very hard for the killer to counter, often because of the tile layout.
Grade and pips: The visible rank, from Ash to Iridescent. Pips depend on emblems. It does not affect matchmaking.
Great Skill Check: Hit in the white part of the Success Zone: 300 Bloodpoints and a +1% Progression bonus when repairing, 150 Bloodpoints and +3% when healing.
Hatch: Last-resort escape spawned at a random location; it only becomes visible and opens when a single Survivor is left alive.
Hatch standoff: The final stand-off between the killer and the last survivor around the hatch.
Heartbeat: Sound of the Survivor's own heart, growing louder and faster as the Killer draws closer inside the Terror Radius.
Hold W Survivor: Running straight away instead of looping a tile, for example against a killer who is weak in straight lines.
Hook: Hook on which the Killer hangs a downed Survivor they carry. The Survivor goes through stages: first hook, second hook (Struggle Phase), then a third hook, or the timer running out, sacrifices them to the Entity.
Hook spread Killer: Hooking each survivor in turn instead of always the same one.
Hook stages: A hooked Survivor goes through the Summoning Phase, then the Struggle Phase (Struggle Skill Checks); at zero they are sacrificed to the Entity.
Hook trade: The rescuer takes the hit instead of the survivor they just unhooked, so that survivor is not downed again.
Iridescent (iri): The top rarity, for add-ons and grades. Iri add-ons are often the strongest.
Iridescent Shards: A currency earned by playing, used to unlock characters.
Jungle Gym: A set of L or T-shaped walls with a window and a pallet.
Kick (a gen) Killer: Hitting a generator to damage it and start its regression.
Killer Instinct: Reveals Survivors' positions with a pulsing orange overlay and outline. Unlike Aura-reading, Lockers and Perks do not block it.
Locker: Cabinet where one Survivor can hide. The Killer needs 2.333 seconds to search an empty Locker and 5 seconds to drag out a hiding Survivor.
Loop: Running around parts of the map (tiles, pillars, pallets) to avoid being hit and waste the Killer's time.
Main building: The main building of a map, specific to each map.
Map pressure Killer: A killer’s ability to threaten several generators or areas of the map at once.
Mindgame: A feint during a chase to make the opponent guess a direction or action (fake vault, double-back…).
Missed Skill Check: Failing pauses the interaction for 3 seconds and applies a -10% Progression penalty.
Mori: Animated execution of a survivor by the killer, with a Memento Mori offering or on the last survivor.
NOED Killer: Short for the Hex perk No One Escapes Death, tied to a totem.
Offering: A consumable burned before the match at the campfire: map, rarity, bloodpoints, mori…
One-shot Killer: A power or effect that downs a survivor in a single hit.
Pallet: Obstacle either upright or dropped: Survivors drop it to block the Killer, who can only destroy it.
Pallet save Survivor: Stunning the killer with a pallet to free a survivor being carried.
Pallet stun: A dropped Pallet stuns the Killer for 2 seconds and obstructs their vision; a carried Survivor is dropped Injured.
Pre-drop Survivor: Dropping the pallet before the killer arrives, to be safe, at the cost of not stunning them.
Proxy camp Killer: Staying at medium range of a hook: close enough to come back, far enough not to hug it.
Red Stain: Red glow from the Killer's head lighting the ground in front of them; it reveals nearby position and direction before the Killer is seen.
Regression: A generator losing its progress, for example when nobody repairs it or after a regression perk.
Sabotage: Breaking a Hook with a Toolbox or the Saboteur Perk: 3 seconds, 6 charges, and the Entity repairs it after 30 seconds.
Scratch Marks: Trails left by a running Survivor, always visible to the Killer. By default they last 10 seconds: full brightness after 1 second, held for 8 seconds, then 1 second to fade.
Self-Unhook: Attempt to free oneself during stage 1; default 4% success chance.
Shack: The Killer Shack: a tile with a window and a pallet, valued by survivors.
Skill Check: Quick-time event during repairing, healing or unhooking: press the Secondary Action while the pointer is inside the Success Zone.
Slam Killer: For the Blight: a rush that hits an obstacle. After a slam he can chain a Lethal Rush; with no slam he suffers fatigue.
Slug: Intentionally downing a Survivor without hooking them, for example to chase the others.
Solo queue Survivor: Playing survivor alone, without voice, with unknown teammates.
Struggle Phase: Second hook stage, after a failed rescue in stage 1 or on a second hook: the Survivor must pass Struggle Skill Checks.
Swarmed Killer: The Artist’s status (Birds of Torment): a Swarm collided with the survivor. A second Swarm damages them; the Repel interaction or entering a locker removes the crows.
SWF (Survive With Friends): A group of 2 to 4 survivors talking over voice.
Teabag / clicky-clicky: Crouching repeatedly or clicking a flashlight to taunt the opponent.
Terror Radius: Area around the Killer in which Survivors hear their heartbeat. About 32 metres for a standard 4.6 m/s Killer (24 metres at 4.4 m/s).
The Entity: Non-playable cosmic being that traps Survivors and Killers in endless Trials.
Tunnel: The Killer keeps targeting the same Survivor whenever spotted, even with others nearby.
Unhook Protections: For 10 seconds after an unhook, the Survivor gets 10% Haste, Endurance and Elusive (not once Exit Gates are powered); any Conspicuous Action cancels them.
Vault: Climbing over a window. Survivors: Fast 0.5 s, Medium 0.9 s, Slow 1.5 s; Killers: 1.7 s by default.
Wiggle Survivor: Struggling on the killer’s shoulder to try to get away.

Status effects

Blessed: Grants the effects of nearby Boon Totems while the Survivor stays within their 24-metre area.
Blindness: Prevents the player from reading Auras, including role Auras and Perk Auras, with some Killer Power Object Auras exempt.
Bloodlust: Increases the Killer's movement speed the longer a Chase lasts.
Broken: Prevents healing or self-healing beyond the Injured State.
Cursed: Applies the effects of an active Hex Totem to the Survivor.
Deafened: Muffles audio with a tinnitus-like whistle; not shown on the HUD.
Deep Wound: Drains a special health bar unless the Survivor is running or being healed, sending them to the Dying State when it empties.
Dying State: Movement is limited to a slow crawl and Items cannot be used; a cumulative maximum of 240 seconds before dying.
Elusive: Stops Scratch Marks, Pools of Blood, and Grunts of Pain, and hides the Survivor's Aura from the Killer.
Endurance: Lets Survivors resist Killer damage until they perform a Conspicuous Action, and lets Killers shorten Survivor Stuns.
Exhausted: Prevents use of Exhaustion Perks, recovering slowly while not running and instantly after being unhooked.
Exposed: Doubles damage from Basic Attacks, causing an immediate Dying State. It does not reveal Auras.
Haemorrhage: Produces more Pools of Blood and causes partial healing progress to drain at 7% per second.
Haste: Increases movement speed, with strength depending on the Unlockable that applies it.
Hindered: Decreases movement speed, with strength depending on the Unlockable that applies it.
Incapacitated: Prevents interaction with certain Props and other Survivors.
Injured: After weapon damage: the Survivor bleeds and grunts, making them easier to track. Movement speed is unchanged.
Madness: Causes hallucinations and impairments in Trials against The Doctor, worsening with tiers.
Mangled: Slows healing from the Injured State back to full health by 20%, making it take 25% longer.
Oblivious: Hides the Killer's Terror Radius and Heartbeat, though Chase Music can still be heard.
Revealed: Reveals the Survivor's Aura to both Killers in 2v8 mode.
Undetectable: Suppresses the Killer's Terror Radius, Red Stain, and Aura, and blocks the Killer's Aura from being revealed to Survivors.

Totems

Blessing a totem: Blessing takes 14 seconds on a Dull Totem or 28 on a Hex Totem, where the Hex causes a -50% Action Speed penalty.
Boon Totem: A Totem blessed by a Survivor with a Boon Perk, with a bluish shimmer and a drone heard within 24 metres.
Cleansing a totem: Cleansing takes 14 seconds by default.
Dull Totem: An unlit Totem with no Hex or Boon effect until a Killer Hex or Survivor Boon changes it.
Hex Totem: A Totem with lit candles tied to a Killer Hex Perk; destroying it makes a map-wide thunderclap sound.