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A new killer and survivor duo - as well as a blood-hungry dog - are joining theDead by Daylightroster later this month. The asymmetrical horror game’s 34th chapter,Doomed Course, is scheduled to go live on November 28. The chapter will cost $7.99 USD when it goes live, and can also be purchased in-game for1,000 Auric Cells or 18,000 Iridescent Shards.
The chapter will feature a new original killer (The Houndmaster) and a new survivor (Taurie Cain). There will be no new map released with this chapter. Read on to learn more about The Houndmaster’s story and powers, as well as the unique new perks that the killer and survivor will be bringing to the game.
Note: The Doomed Course chapter is currently live for playtesting on Steam via the public test build. Some details about the powers and perks listed below may change upon final release.
New Killer: The Houndmaster
The Houndmaster aka Portia Maye was born to a sailorman in a prosperous port town in the Caribbean. Once, as a child, Portia joined her father on a trip to Italy, where, among their trades, they acquired a litter of puppies to be trained as hunting dogs. Portia was to receive the strongest pup of the litter for her twelfth birthday, but the two of them never made it back home. A father-daughter trip instead turned to tragedy when a storm forced their ship off course. There, they were kidnapped by a vicious man named Molak, and Portia’s father was tortured and murdered before her eyes. Portia was kept alive only to guide Molak back to her father’s port town.
Instead, Portia used the navigational skills instilled in her by her father to lead them all off-course, into a cursed area shrouded by storm, known as the Dragon’s Tooth. Molak and his ship turned away from the storm and left her to perish, but Portia refused to surrender and pushed onward until her ship would capsize and leave her for dead. She would survive, however, waking up on the shores of an island in the Dragon’s Tooth with one of the pups from her dad’s prized litter - Snug - barking at her to wake up. There, over the years, she devoted her life to hunting down and inflicting violence on people, with her trusty companion Snug to help her rip apart unlucky souls in her pursuit to one day find Molak and make him pay.
The Houndmaster’s power,Scent of Blood, calls on her dog companion to help her find and attack survivors. The in-game description reads “The Houndmaster and her dog operate as one. Her commands are followed without question or delay.” As the game’s first AI-controlled animal companion, Snug will be able to sniff out and chase down survivors through one of two player commands: Chase or Search.
The Houndmaster and her dog operate as one. Her commands are followed without question or delay.
Chase sends the dog running in the direction of a survivor, and pressing the power button a second time during the pursuit will redirect the chase, changing the dog’s path. If the dog grabs hold of a survivor, the survivor will become hindered as they are pulled in towards the Houndmaster, who will finish the job. (Survivors can free themselves from the dog’s grip by stunning the dog or by being rescued by a fellow survivor.)
Search plays a bit differently. Commanding the dog to search will send him out towards a target location, leaving behind a search path. Survivors caught within Snug’sHoundsense radiuswill be revealed by Killer Instinct. As an added bonus: If The Houndmaster follows the dog’s excact search path, she will gain increased movement speed while on that path. Survivors affected by Houndsense also receiveDeep Woundsif injured, prompting the immediate need to mend themselves. These survivors will also produce louder cries of pain and leave behind longer pools of blood if put into the dying state.
Best of all, you can pet the dog in-game.
New Killer Perks
The Houndmaster introduces three new killer perks to the game:
All-Shaking Thunder
After falling from tall heights, your lunge attack distance is increased by 75% for 16 seconds.
This perk has a 5-second cooldown.
Scourge Hook: Jagged Compass
At the beginning of the trial, up to 4 random hooks are changed into scourge hooks. You’ll see their auras in white.
When you hook a survivor on a scourge hook, the aura of the generator with the most progress is revealed to you for 10 seconds.
No Quarter
When a survivor reaches 75% healing progress while self-healing, they are faced with continuous skill checks.
If a skill check is missed or the heal is interrupted, the survivor will suffer from the Broken status effect for 30 seconds.
New Survivor: Taurie Cain
Taurie Cain was born and raised outside of Glasgow with her older brother. Their parents were part of a secret society, and both Taurie and her brother were raised to be members of that same group: The Disciples of the Black Talon, a cult that has existed for centuries to worship The Entity.
Instead of taking family vacations to the beach, the Cains would visit historical cites of ancient civilizations, areas that had overlap with The Entity’s realm, or “Bleeds.” The Disciples of the Black Talon built an underground complex near each Bleed they discovered. These Bleeds were known to be incredibly dangerous, and Taurie lost her mother and brother exploring one of them. She returned physically unscathed and more certain than ever that she was meant to serve The Entity. She’d venture into these Bleeds again and again, all while rising through the Black Talon ranks.
New Survivor Perks
Taurie Cain introduces three new survivor perks to the game:
Invocation: Treacherous Crows
While in the basement, press the ability button to begin the invocation. Invocations take 60 seconds, and other survivors can join you.
Once the invocation is completed:
You become injured and gain the Broken status effect for the rest of the trial.
When a survivor is in the terror radius and the killer scares a crow, the killer’s aura is revealed to all survivors for 2 seconds.
Clean Break
After you finish healing a survivor, while being healed by another survivor, press the ability button to gain the Broken status effect.
After 60 seconds, you will lose the Broken status effect and become healthy.
Note: This perk does not activate if you are already Broken, and will be canceled if you go into the dying state.
Shoulder the Burden
Once per trial, as long as you are not on death hook, press the ability button in front of a hooked survivor to unhook them.
When they are unhooked, they lose 1 hook state and you gain 1 hook state. You will also gain the Exposed status effect for 20 seconds.
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