New Dead by Daylight Perk Lets Players Trade Hook States

Dead by Daylight's Doomed Course chapter, which hit the PTB servers by surprise today, includes an intriguing new killer called The Houndmaster, and a survivor, Taurie Cain, to the Fog.  One of Taurie Cain's perks, Shoulder the Burden, allows players to effectively trade hook states, a long-requested feature from survivors.

Using Shoulder the Burden, players who aren't on death hook can unhook another survivor once per trial to take on that hook state for themselves. To make the trade-off a little more fair for the killer, the unhooker will also scream and gain the Exposed status effect for a while. 

This perk is pretty unique, and easily has the potential to alter the meta - or at least significantly impact any matches that it's used in. It gives the survivors more control over which players gain hook states, allowing for a new way to prevent tunnelling. It seems like it has some pretty interesting potential for synergy, too; combining it with other hook save perks could help ensure that the unhooked survivor stays safe, while throwing in some other chase perks can ensure that you survive after the killer hears you scream.

Shoulder the Burden, and the rest of the Doomed Course chapter, is currently available in the Dead by Daylight PTB. The perk is subject to change before it's added to the game's final build, but it'll interesting to see how this new mechanic will play out in trials!

Doomed Course is set to release on 28 November, 2024, featuring Taurie Cain and The Houndmaster.