Dead by Daylight – Terminology and Etiquette Guide

A simple guide to help you learn the commonly used terminology found in Dead By Daylight. This covers terminology that is useful for both Survivors and Killers alike to know. Additionally, I will also give you some basic etiquette to follow in each match to ensure that every player in the game is having fun and to reduce any possibility of toxicity.

Other Dead by Daylight Guides:

Killer – Terms and Etiquette

Please note: all credit goes to peppermint hollows!

Terminology

Let’s dive right in and talk about terminology that applies to you as the Killer! You will likely often hear these terms in postgame chat from the Survivors you just played with. I will explain each term as in-depth as possible, and they may show up again later in the etiquette section.

Tunnel [also, tunneler, tunneling]

You’ll often come across this term when playing Killer. It is among the more common terms, and simply refers to the act of hitting a survivor. In the Etiquette section, I will explain why this is toxic and you should not do it! For now, though, just remember the definition of this term.

Camp [also, camper, camping]

Another common term, camping is when the Killer still exists on the map after hooking a survivor. Once again, this is extremely toxic behaviour. Please refrain from camping, for the sake of everyone in the match!

Baby killer

Baby killer is a common insult from Survivors. The origin of it is unknown, but some speculate this refers to an old derogatory term from the Vietnam war, which was highly criticised by the American public. When Vietnam troops returned to American soil, they were often called “baby killers,” referring to the unfortunate My Lai Massacre, a mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by US troops during the war. Among the victims were infants. It is unknown why the Survivors reference the Vietnam War. It is possible that the Survivors may be referring to themselves as child victims, thus making you an almost literal baby killer.

NOED

NOED refers to a Killer perk, Hex: No One Escapes Death. This is a Hex perk that works in a manner somewhat different to most other Hex perks. Unlike other Hex perks, No One Escapes Death will only active once all generators are powered or the hatch has been closed, and requires at least one dull totem remaining on the map in order to take effect. This perk is highly toxic, which I will explain later in the Etiquette section.

Etiquette

Now that we’ve covered all the terminology, let’s start talking about some general rules on etiquette! As I mentioned earlier, we want the game to be as enjoyable as possible for everyone.

Section 1- Behaviour

First thing’s first, let’s cover your behaviour as a Killer and how you can avoid being toxic to survivors.

Camping and Tunneling

As I mentioned earlier, camping is when the Killer still exists on the map after a survivor has been hooked. You should avoid this at all costs. The safest thing to do in this situation is to immediately disconnect after hooking a Survivor, just to ensure that nobody feels like they are being camped. After all, being camped is not very fun.

Tunneling is when you hit a Survivor. The best way to avoid tunneling is to always let the Survivor escape after chasing them for a while. You still get points for finding and chasing them, so not to worry! Now that you know not to hit them, you can avoid upsetting them and being toxic.

Chase Etiquette

If possible, always avoid using your power during a chase. This is especially true if you are using the Killers Billy or Nurse. The reason you want to avoid using your power during a chase is because it may give you an unfair advantage over the Survivors. This, of course, is incredibly toxic! You want the game to be as fair as possible.

Section 2 – Loadouts

Perk Etiquette

As I mentioned earlier, No One Escapes Death is an extremely toxic perk. At all costs, avoid equipping it on your Killer! Hell, avoid unlocking it in your bloodweb if possible. The reason this perk is toxic is because it requires Survivors to cleanse totems, an action that they should not feel obligated to do. Other toxic perks include: Hex: Haunted Ground, Hex: Ruin, and Hex: Devour Hope.

Killer Etiquette

Your Killer choice is important! There are certain Killers that you should never select. These specific Killers are highly toxic and promote toxic play. Additionally, they are also extremely overpowered. These Killers include Nurse, Hillbilly, and Leatherface. Whenever you can, avoid selecting them! You may also want to avoid The Spirit while using her Prayer Beads add-on.

Final Notes

I would like to close off with a few final notes that I was unable to fit into the previous sections due uncertainty on where they best belong. These are subject to change, as I may reorganise them to better fit into a different section!

Map Pressure

Map Pressure is an interesting term that you may hear from your fellow Killers. As I don’t think it’s something you will hear Survivors say to you, I feel it was best to place it here. Map Pressure refers to an exclusive perk some Killers have. Namely, the Nurse and Hillbilly. Map Pressure allows these Killers to do well even at the highest ranks, against even the most coordinated Survive With Friends teams. However, as mentioned earlier, Nurse and Hillbilly are both incredibly toxic, so you should not use them even if they have exclusive perks.

Survivor – Terms and Etiquette

Terminology

As we did before, let’s first get an overview of all the terminology you may run across as a Survivor. This specifically refer to terminology you will hear from Killers in reference to the way you play as a Survivor.

Immersion [also sometimes called Stealth]

Immersion simply refers to when you are out of the Killer’s sight. This is very toxic, and as always I will discuss why it is toxic later in the Etiquette section. Just as before, simply do your best to remember the definition of the term for now.

Genrushing

Genrushing refers to when Survivors repair the generators. Once again, this is toxic behaviour, and I highly advise against doing so. I will give you advice on how to avoid genrushing later on in the Etiquette section.

SWF

Short for Survive With Friends, this refers to when more than one survivor loads into the match. Once more, I must stress to avoid doing this. As not only is it toxic, it is also an exploit! By loading into the match with other survivors, you are cheating and could potentially end up banned. Again, do NOT do this.

gg

Short for “good grief,” this is an acronym used by Killers to express frustration with the match. You will rarely see this after all four survivors have escaped, likely because the Killer was so frustrated they didn’t even want to bother typing it out. If you see this, you probably should re-evaluate the way you play Survivor.

Etiquette

Just as before, now that we’ve covered some commonly used terminology, let’s go ahead and cover some basic etiquette you can follow in each match to ensure that you are not being toxic to the Killer.

Section 1- Behaviour

Once again, let’s first talk about how to behave when you are playing Survivor in order to avoid being toxic to the Killer.

Chase Etiquette

When you are being chased by the Killer, avoid throwing down pallets. Being slowed down by a pallet throw is frustrating for the Killer, and doubly so if they are hit by the pallet and stunned! Also, you want chases to happen to begin with, so avoid immersion/stealthing as we discussed earlier. Avoiding chases entirely is very toxic behaviour, as it does not give the Killer a chance to earn some bloodpoints and makes them feel lonely. It can be easy to forget there are even survivors on the map sometimes!

Generator Etiquette

As I briefly mentioned earlier, genrushing refers to when survivors repair the generators. You should avoid repairing the generators at all costs, because this increases the chances of everyone escaping, and thus, the game ending. This is not very fun for the Killer, which makes it arguably quite toxic.

Section 2 – Loadouts

Just like Killers, your Survivor loadouts can be toxic too. Fortunately, this guide is here to help you know which items to avoid bringing!

Toolboxes

Toolboxes allow you to repair generators faster. As we now know, because repairing generators is rude behaviour, it is best to avoid it. If you do happen to bring a toolbox, consider dropping it as an offering to the Killer.

Flashlights

Flashlights allow you to blind the Killer, which will also cause them to drop a Survivor if they happen to be carrying one. As this denies the Killer the hook, it is extremely frustrating for the Killer and therefore very toxic. Please, never bring a flashlight!

Volodymyr Azimoff
About Volodymyr Azimoff 15025 Articles
I love games and I live games. Video games are my passion, my hobby and my job. My experience with games started back in 1994 with the Metal Mutant game on ZX Spectrum computer. And since then, I’ve been playing on anything from consoles, to mobile devices.

2 Comments

  1. I mean, this does seem to be the basic mindset BHVR has when ‘balancing’ things. 2 kills, 2 escapes, preferably one through the hatch

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*