On the surface, Dead by Daylight looks like little more than a glorified game of cat and mouse, but those that spend significant time playing as any character from its expansive roster of Killers understand how much depth the game has to offer. Strategically and mechanically, there's always something new to learn.
In Dead by Daylight, mastering a Killer means learning new mechanics, testing new strategies, and, yes, making mistakes. Whether it's learning how to land a hatchet throw at the edge of a Survivor's hitbox with the Huntress or how to time a perfect chain Blink with the Nurse, there's always a new skill to hone. Here are some of the most common mistakes that players make when learning the darkness-wielding boogieman known as the Dredge.
10 Discounting Nightfall Teleportation
Whenever the Dredge injures a healthy Survivor, hooks a Survivor, or teleports to a locker, the Nightfall meter builds. When the meter is full, Nightfall occurs, plunging the map into darkness and rendering the Dredge Undetectable. During Nightfall the Dredge has a teleport cooldown of 4 seconds and travel speed of 38 m/s, compared to the Daytime when he has a 12-second cooldown and travel speed of only 12 m/s.
The Dredge's map mobility during Nightfall is almost unrivaled, but too many players neglect to take full advantage of the Killer's ability to pressure multiple parts of the map during this brief window of power.
9 Discounting Stealth
The Dredge isn't a stealth Killer in the way that the Shape or the Ghost Face is, stalking Survivors from the shadows in order to build up its power. However, stealth is nonetheless an integral part of its power.
During Nightfall, the Dredge gains the Undetectable Status Effect, removing its terror radius and red stain, allowing it to catch Survivors by surprise. This stealth, combined with the Dredge's ability to teleport to a nearby locker and spring upon an unsuspecting Survivor, can be a powerful tool. Though not as reliable as using the Remnant for getting hits, the stealth of Nightfall can be powerful and is too often forgotten.
8 Leaving Locks Alone
The Dredge can teleport between the map's lockers with almost no restrictions, letting it cut Survivors off, interrupt their progress on generators and totems, and otherwise harass and attack them. Survivors can counter this power by sealing lockers with a lock, slowing the Dredge down when it exits and giving Survivors time to escape.
The Dredge, in turn, can break these locks by striking them. While the Killer doesn't need to break every lock it sees, particularly if doing so would be leaving a chase, leaving locks alone when they are on lockers in important positions is a mistake. If the locker is near the Killer's three-gen, a valuable Hex totem, or an exit gate when preparing for Endgame Collapse, its lock should be broken.
7 Not Cutting Survivors Off
Looping is one of the most basic elements of Dead by Daylight, letting Survivors waste the Killer's time and potentially escape by vaulting throw windows, throwing pallets, and running around structures. Looping is a huge feature of the game and demands tactical mindgaming as much as mechanical skill.
The Dredge can use its Reign of Darkness power to teleport to lockers in areas towards which Survivors are running, gaining distance and surprising the Survivor by coming at them from an unexpected angle. Though this is most effective with the faster teleportation of Nightfall, it should never be discounted in a chase.
6 Overestimating Daytime Teleportation
The rapid teleportation during Nightfall can be exceptional for cutting Survivors off in chase, mindgaming them, disrupting generator progress, and other crucial tasks. This is in large part thanks to its tremendous speed.
During Daytime, the Dredge teleports at less than a third of its Nightfall speed, and while it doesn't render the Killer's power useless, it's easy to overestimate the effectiveness of this power. During the Daytime, the Dredge should primarily use its teleport for map mobility and to build the Nightfall meter, not to cut Survivors off, as the likelihood of them escaping is much higher.
5 Not Using The Remnant For Anti-Loop
The effectiveness of most "M1" / Basic Attack Killers depends upon how effective their anti-loop abilities are: in short, how good they are at preventing a Survivor from using the terrain to avoid hits.
When the Dredge activates its power, it enters the Gloaming, leaving a smoky Remnant of itself behind and traveling at a greatly reduced speed. Rather than teleporting to a locker, the Dredge can choose to teleport back to its Remnant instead. Teleporting to the Remnant is an invaluable anti-loop ability and one of the greatest strengths, a point that isn't obvious to everyone new to the Killer.
4 Trying To Hit-And-Run
The hit-and-run style of gameplay, injuring one Survivor and then dropping chase to quickly find and injure another rather than pursuing the first victim for a down, was once popular with many Killers. Unfortunately, powerful med-kits and the addition of Boon: Circle of Healing to the meta have made that playstyle impractical for M1 Killers.
Though injuring healthy Survivors builds the Nightfall meter and is important, securing a down is typically the better choice. Hooking a Survivor also builds the meter, and letting someone go risks them healing before they can be caught again.
3 Spreading Oneself Too Thin
With teleporting Killers like the Nightmare, the Onryo, and the Dredge, it can be tempting to jump to the far side of the map in order to protect a generator, believing that teleportation alone can be enough to pressure the entire map.
Spreading oneself too thin is risky, as leaving an area with multiple generators in order to check on a lone generator or totem risks breaking a crucial three-gen. Good Survivors are clever and will take advantage of the Killer's absence to complete their objectives. As painful as it is, it's better to accept losing a generator or Hex in order to increase one's chances of winning.
2 Going To The Wrong Locker
A player doesn't realize just how many lockers there are on the map until they're asked to pick one to teleport to. With the screen suddenly lighting up with the auras of lockers to choose from, it's far too easy to accidentally send oneself soaring down into the basement instead of darting ahead of the Survivor being chased.
It's worth taking an extra second to choose exactly the right locker rather than risk going to a far-flung corner of the map and losing all the pressure that had been built up a moment ago, especially if the mistake gives the Survivor time to regain their spent Exhaustion perk.
1 Not Teleporting Enough
Whether Daytime or Nightfall, the Dredge should be making use of its teleportation ability. Teleporting does far more than grant cross-map mobility; it builds the Nightfall meter and denies Survivors intel as to the Killer's present location and objective.
Knowing when to teleport and when to roam the map normally only comes with time and experience, but a good Dredge player knows the value of their power and isn't afraid to use it throughout the game. With the right use of Nightfall, teleportation, and the Remnant, the Dredge can be one of the most elusive Killers in Dead by Daylight.
Dead By Daylight is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and Stadia.