Dead by Daylight Is Adding a Brand-New Survivor Item – Here’s What It Does

It’s been ages since Behaviour added a new item for Survivors in Dead by Daylight, outside of limited-time events. But with tomorrow’s PTB, that’s finally changing.

The Fog Vial

The newest addition is the Fog Vial, and it sounds like a potential game-changer. As its name suggests:

“Using a Fog Vial causes a fog cloud to expand outward from the point where it was used, dissipating after a set time.”

This cloud isn’t just good for breaking line of sight with the killer – it’s also packed with utility. Inside the fog, scratch marks don’t spawn, audio is muffled for both sides, and auras can’t be read. It sounds perfect for escaping loops, juking the killer, or throwing them off your trail mid-chase.

Even better? The Fog Vial isn’t one-time use. It works on a cooldown, meaning you can deploy it multiple times per trial.

Steam players can try it out for themselves when the PTB launches tomorrow.

Keys and Maps Are Finally Getting Reworked

That’s not all coming in this update. (Oh, and yes – The Walking Dead is headed to DBD soon too.)

Two of the most neglected items in the game – Keys and Maps – are getting some long-overdue love. Keys have been borderline useless ever since hatch mechanics were overhauled, but that might be about to change.

New Key Mechanics

Keys now have a set number of charges instead of working on a timer. You can spend charges to:

• Reveal nearby Survivor auras for a short time
  
• Unlock the hatch
  
• Quickly open a chest to receive a rare or higher-rarity item. The chest’s aura is revealed to all survivors and can then be rummaged by others for another rare or higher item.
  

This gives Keys a bit more utility. Maybe not quite on par with a Med-Kit or Toolbox, but at least now they offer team-wide benefits and item upgrades.

New Map Mechanics

Maps are also moving to a charge-based system. Their new abilities include:

• Revealing nearby pallet and vault auras to yourself
  
• While active, you can also create a beam of light (visible only to Survivors) that highlights nearby generator auras for your whole team
  

It’s a cleaner, more team-oriented take on the Map. While perks like Windows of Opportunity still feel like stronger choices, this could be a useful solo queue tool, especially if you’re trying to guide teammates to a specific gen.

Other PTB Highlights

There’s a bunch that’s featured in this PTB update tomorrow. 

Additional highlights from the update include:

• Loadout and character preset slots increased to 7
  
• You can now name presets
  
• Mouse and keyboard support for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5
  
• Spectator improvements for custom matches
  
• Killer balance changes for Pyramid Head, The Pig (yes, a buff!), The Knight, and The Clown
  
• Perk tweaks for both killers and survivors
  

The Public Test Build goes live on July 8 for Steam players.

You can check out the announcement post here.