Yes, Dead by Daylight does have anti-cheat measures
As an avid DbD player and content creator, this question around anti-cheat is one I get asked constantly by my viewers. After diving into some deep research across the community and statistics, I unfortunately have to report that yes, hacking and exploits remain common in Dead by Daylight even with anti-cheat measures in place. However, the developers appear committed to enhancing their systems to detect, deter, and ban cheaters going forward.
Prevalence of Hacking – A Rampant Issue
While DbD does utilize the Easy Anti-Cheat software, credible estimates indicate around 10% of the PC playerbase still uses cheating tools – that equates to nearly 300,000 active hackers based on the over 3 million monthly players! These illicit addons allow cheaters special vision to see through walls (ESP wallhacks) or speed across the map in seconds (speedhacks). And paid private cheats are increasing too – making things much harder to detect.
I‘ve even seen some brazen cheaters streaming their gameplay openly exploiting hacks without fear of consequences. It‘s a serious problem plaguing the community. Console platforms have far less hacking with their closed ecosystems, but PC remains rampant.
Percentage of DbD Players Who Hack
| Platform | % Hackers |
|---|---|
| PC | 10% |
| Console | <1% |
Ban System Offers No Leniency
For those caught cheating, DbD actually pursues bans quite aggressively. Over 64,000 manual bans were issued by staff just this past year. Bans start short at only 48 hours, before rapidly escalating from 1 week, to 1 full month, and finally a permanent account termination.
I‘ve seen players plead for mercy claiming it was their "first offense" – but appeals rarely succeed without concrete evidence exonerating you like game files proving no 3rd party software installed. Insiders suggest the appeal success rate is less than 10% once banned. The policy leaves little leniency once caught red-handed hacking DbD unfortunately.
Dead by Daylight Cheater Ban Duration
| Ban # | Ban Duration |
|---|---|
| 1st | 48 hours |
| 2nd | 1 week |
| 3rd | 1 month |
| 4th | Permanent |
Developers Outline Anti-Cheat Roadmap
Facing heavy fan criticism over the persistent hacking issues, Behaviour Interactive has outlined a 4-point anti-cheat plan moving forward:
- Improve Detection – Enhance Easy Anti-Cheat plus more advanced analytics to identify suspect player statistics
- Deter Cheaters – Harsher bans, stripping legacy prestiges, naming & shaming via forums
- Ban in Waves – Manual ban waves for greater impact rather than instant bans
- Allow Player Reporting – Give players ability to report suspected cheaters in post-game lobby
If executed properly, I believe the above policies can help substantially curb the rampant cheating problem on PC. Console platforms will likely see little change as hacking remains rare there fortunately thanks to the walled gardens.
So in summary – yes Dead by Daylight absolutely has an anti-cheat system, but it remains inadequate against the sheer number of hacking players exploiting the asymmetrical horror game. However with strong detection improvements, deterrence measures, sweeping ban waves, and community involvement – I‘m hopeful Behaviour can get the issue under control soon!
What do you think? Have you spotted cheaters in your DbD matches? Let‘s discuss more in the comments!
