Dead by Daylight’s developer Behaviour Interactive has announced that it’s pulled the Kill Switch on the Flashlight and all associated Perks that can make it appear in a Trial. This means the Flashlight and perks are temporarily unavailable in-game for all players.
The developer doesn’t use the Kill Switch often, only in cases where an exploit fundamentally breaks the game. The exploit fans have discovered allows Survivors to avoid Killers entirely, which is unfair at the very least, but realistically, it’s destructive to the game’s integrity.
Related: Dead by Daylight: All Hatches Location
Dead by Daylight Devs Pulls The Kill Switch on Flashlights, and Fans Want Them Back as Quickly as Possible
Dead by Daylight is a highly competitive game in which four Survivors try to repair generators and escape a Trial while a relentless Killer hunts them down, attempting to sacrifice them to The Entity. The stability of such an online game hinges on exploits being snuffed out as soon as they crop up, which is what’s happened in the last 24 hours with Flashlights and a few associated Perks being hit by the Kill Switch.
The Kill Switch is a feature that allows Behaviour Interactive to disable parts of Dead by Daylight at a moment’s notice. The developer has now pulled the Kill Switch on Flashlights and the Dramaturgy, Appraisal, and Residual Manifest Perks.
Flashlights are a powerful item for Survivors because they can blind a Killer, forcing them to pause in chases or drop any Survivors they carry. Without them, there will be more Med Kits and Toolboxes in rotation, which the community is already waiting to see the backlash from. “Watch everyone moan about the amount of medkits and toolboxes now.”
The reason Flashlights had to be disabled is because of a game-breaking exploit that allows Survivors to hide inside lockers and become invincible. Killers aren’t able to grab them, forcing them to move on and allow that Survivor to move around the map in safety, provided they’re close to a locker. The video above demonstrates how this exploit works.
While it’s easy for players to complain about an item’s removal, some see it as an opportunity to adapt. “The number of people complaining about this are probably poopy survivor mains who can’t win using game mechs that are within the parameters of the game, but are “ggs” if they win using glitches going outside the parameters of the game.” With more healing items and boosts to repair speed being used, there’s a chance for players that abused this exploit to learn.
Behaviour Interactive will be working to bring back Flashlights as fast as possible, but it seems as though not every instance of the item has been caught. Some players report seeing them in Trials, while others are finding them on the new map. “We’re still able to find flashlights in chests. My friend and I found a flashlight in the easter egg room on the Alien Map!”
