What Happens When You Cleanse A Totem In Dead By Daylight?

If you've ever played Dead by Daylight, you've no doubt come across one of the piles of bones, called Totems, around the map. Each Trial features five of these interactable items, and you'll likely notice a prompt that says 'Cleanse' when you approach one as a survivor. If you're wondering what that means and whether it's worth doing, you're not alone. While cleansing Totems is a pretty important task, it's thankfully one that's easy to understand and pick up on. Let's go over what happens when you cleanse Hex Totems and Dull Totems in Dead by Daylight.

What Happens When You Cleanse A Hex Totem

When a survivor cleanses a Hex Totem, the effects of that Hex Totem are removed immediately. For example, if the killer brings Hex: No One Escapes Death, which causes all survivors to be Exposed after all five generators are completed, cleansing that totem will immediately remove the Exposed status effect from all survivors.

If the killer brings The Blight's perk Hex: Undying, however, their Hex Totem will be transferred to another Dull Totem on the map (if there are any; if not, the Hex will be gone), causing survivors to need to cleanse it again.

Some Totems also have effects on survivors upon cleansing; for example, all survivors are Exposed for 60 seconds after any survivor cleanses The Spirit's Hex: Haunted Ground. You'll earn 1,500 Bloodpoints for cleansing a Hex totem.

What Happens When You Cleanse A Dull Totem

Cleansing a Dull Totem in Dead by Daylight will not only reward you with Bloodpoints but also prevent the killer from potentially receiving numerous benefits and utilizing their Hex perks. For example, if all Dull Totems are gone, the killer won't be able to activate Hex: No One Escapes Death in the end-game if they happen to have it.

Also, if the killer has Hex: Undying and all of the Dull Totems have been cleansed, the Hex will go away entirely instead of being transferred to a new Totem.

Overall, cleansing Dull Totems is generally a good idea as a survivor; however, if you or your teammates have Boon perks, you might consider avoiding cleansing all Dull Totems since you'll want to have a place to use your Boons.

When you cleanse a Dull Totem, you'll receive 1,000 Bloodpoints.