“Dead By Daylight” Chapter XV: “Chains of Hate” Has Been Revealed

The latest public test build for Dead By Daylight, which went live Tuesday, has revealed the contents of chapter XV, titled “Chains of Hate.” It includes a new killer, the Deathslinger; a new survivor, Zarina Kassir; and a new map, the Dead Dawg Saloon.

The latest killer has been the source of a lot of speculation for about a week or so now, with the release of a brief teaser of a chain getting pulled by someone off screen and virtually nothing else. The teaser led some to believe the killer could be Pinhead from the Hellraiser movie, not unlike other horror icons already in the game (Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger being just a couple). There were also theories that the new killer power could have some sort of connection to the new breakable walls gameplay mechanic.

This time around, however, developers instead released another one of their own original characters. Caleb Quinn, also known as the Deathslinger, is a cowboy-style killer, which already makes him distinct in the current killer roster. His power is particularly interesting, as he wields a harpoon gun. The killer can fire a hook attached to a chain and reel survivors in to hit them. The chain can be broken if a survivor breaks free through struggling (similar to the wiggle meter) or if the chain rubs against another survivor or an obstacle in the way.

The Deathslinger is one of the killers whose movement speed and terror radius are reduced, due to his particularly strong power. This is similar to the Huntress and the Spirit, who also have unique powers that let them end loops quickly. His three teachable perks are decent, though not amazing from player experience in the PTB so far:

• Gearhead: You’ve got an ear for well-oiled gears. After hitting a Survivor 2 times with your Basic Attack, Gearhead activates for 35/40/45 seconds. Each time a Survivor completes a Good or Great Skill Check while repairing, the Generator will be revealed by a yellow aura for as long as it is being repairing.

• Dead Man’s Switch: You become obsessed with one survivor. While activated, any Survivor that stops repairing a Generator  before it is fully repaired causes The Entity to block the Generator until Dead Man’s Switch’s effect ends. Affected Generators are highlighted by a white aura.

• Hex: Retribution: A Hex that lashes out upon its destruction. Those who cross you will be punished. Any Survivor who cleanses a Dull Totem will suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect for 35/40/45 seconds. If any Hex Totem is cleansed, including this one, the Auras  of all Survivors are revealed for 10 seconds.

On the other hand, survivors will also be getting a new character, Zarina Kassir. She is the first Lebanese character added to the game, and has a lengthy backstory, like a lot of the more recent survivors. The in-game description says she is “a plucky documentarian, able to use her street smarts to avoid detection and greatly assist other Survivors.” PTB players have been intrigued by her clever teachable perks, which are as follows:

• Off the Record: You’ve learnt that a quiet approach is sometimes best. Once you are unhooked or escape from the Hook, Off the Record activates for 60/70/80 seconds. While Off the Record is active, your Aura will not be shown to the Killer and grunts of pain caused by injuries are reduced by 100%.
• Red Herring: You’ve noticed that people pay attention to whatever makes the loudest noise. After repairing a Generator for at least 3 seconds, it will be highlighted to you with a yellow Aura. The Generator stays highlighted until it is fully repairing, or you repair a new Generator, or enter a Locker. Entering any Locker will trigger a Loud Noise indicator for the Killer at the highlighted Generator’s location.Red Herring can only be triggered once every 100/80/60 seconds.
• For the People: You risk life and injury for others. For the People is only active while at full health. Press the Active Ability button while healing another Survivor without a Med-Kit to instantly heal them from Dying to Injured, or from Injured to Healthy. You become Injured and receive the Broken Status Effect for 110/100/90 seconds. You become the Obsession.

The new map, the Dead Dawg Saloon, resembles a Western ghost town at sundown, keeping in line with the killer’s cowboy theme. It is also the first map to try out the new game mechanic: breakable walls. “Chains of Hate” can currently be tried out via the Public Test Build on PC, and the DLC is set to release on all platforms March 10.