Dead by Daylight Chapter 31: Dungeons & Dragons is Finally Here! My In-Depth Look at Vecna, New Perks & Meta Changes

Hey everyone! As a long-time DBD degenerate, I am absolutely buzzing right now. The day has finally arrived! Chapter 31: Dungeons & Dragons is officially live in Dead by Daylight, and it's bringing one of the most iconic villains from any universe straight into The Fog. That's right, VECNA is here, and he's known in-game as The Lich. This isn't just a new chapter; it feels like a massive crossover event, complete with a brand-new survivor, a fantastic new map, and a ton of balance changes that are going to shake up the meta. I've been diving into the PTB notes and official info, so let's break down everything you need to know about this monumental update.

The Main Attraction: The Lich (Vecna)

Okay, let's talk about the big bad. The Lich's power is centered around his Grimoire, a book bound with flesh that grants him access to four different spells. This makes him incredibly versatile and mind-game heavy. Here's his spellbook:

• Mage Hand: Creates a magical hand to lift a downed pallet or block an upright one for 4 seconds. Perfect for zoning and controlling loops.

• Flight of the Damned: Conjures 5 spectral entities that fly through walls and can injure Survivors. Great for area denial and hitting people around corners.

• Dispelling Sphere: Casts a moving invisible sphere that reveals Survivors and disables their Magic Items (more on those in a sec).

• Fly: Grants a burst of flying speed to quickly traverse the map and fly over vaults and pallets. His mobility tool.

The real twist is the Magic Item system. Treasure Chests around the map can contain Boots or Gauntlets. Each Survivor can equip one of each, and they activate when The Lich casts the corresponding spell. For example, Boots of the Nightwatch let you see the auras of the spectral entities from Flight of the Damned. It adds a whole new layer of counterplay and information warfare!

And then there are the ultra-rare Hand and Eye of Vecna. Finding these is like hitting the lottery. They grant powerful abilities but at a cost:

• Hand of Vecna: Do a fast locker entry to teleport to a further locker. Amazing for escapes.

• Eye of Vecna: Do a fast locker exit to become invisible to The Lich and gain Haste for 12 seconds.

The catch? Using them costs a health state and reveals your location with Killer Instinct. High risk, high reward!

The New Survivor: Aestri Yazar

Aestri comes packing three unique perks that encourage a more strategic, sometimes stationary, playstyle:

• Mirrored Illusion: After doing 50% total gen progress, you can place a static illusion near certain objects. Great for mind games and wasting the Killer's time.

• Bardic Inspiration: My personal favorite. You perform for up to 15 seconds, empowering nearby allies. You roll a virtual d20, and the result gives a buff for 60 seconds. Roll a 20 for a +3% bonus on skill checks? That's the dream!

• Still Sight: Stand still for a few seconds to see the Killer's aura and nearby generators/chests within 18 meters. An incredible information perk for stealthy players.

Major Perk & Killer Updates (The Meta Shake-Up)

BHVR didn't just add new stuff; they made some significant tweaks to existing meta perks and killers. Here's the lowdown:

Killer Perk Nerfs (RIP Gen Regression Meta?):

• Pop Goes the Weasel: Progress loss reduced to 20% (from 30%). Oof.

• Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance: Progress loss reduced to 10/15/20% (from 15/20/25%). Double oof.

• Deadlock & Grim Embrace: Block durations slightly decreased.

Survivor Perk Adjustments:

• Background Player: Heavily nerfed. Speed boost down to 150% (from 200%), Exhaustion duration slashed.

• Buckle Up: Completely reworked! No more Endurance. Now, when you heal someone from the dying state, they get a speed boost and leave no scratch marks for a few seconds. More of a rescue tool now.

• Decisive Strike: Stun duration reduced to 4 seconds (from 5).

Killer-Specific Changes:

• The Blight: Add-ons like Compound Thirty-Three and Iridescent Blight Tag got significant nerfs to their bonuses.

• The Cannibal (Bubba): Basekit adjustments! Smaller collision size with Chainsaw, shorter Tantrum, but longer and faster Chainsaw Sweeps. Some add-ons were also toned down.

• The Deathslinger: Buffed! Faster reel speed, faster movement while reloading, shorter stun when survivors break free.

• The Mastermind (Wesker): Uroboros infection now resets to 1% on hook (was 50%), and the Hindered penalty at max infection is halved to 4%. Huge buff!

• The Good Guy (Chucky): Several quality-of-life tweaks to Scamper and Hidey-Ho mode cooldowns.

Toolbox Overhaul!

This is a massive change. All toolboxes now increase sabotage speed instead of just repair speed or having negative effects. This is a direct buff to sabotage builds and a shift in item utility.

• Commodious, Festive, Anniversary, Masquerade Toolboxes: All grant +50% sabotage speed (new!).

• Alex's Toolbox: Now has +100% sabotage speed (was 50%) but fewer charges.

• Add-ons like Cutting Wire and Hacksaw also got buffs to their sabotage speed bonuses.

The New Map: Forgotten Ruins

Set in the updated Decimated Borgo realm (which got a much-needed lighting fix—no more eye-searing red!), the Forgotten Ruins is a two-level map with a tower above and a sprawling dungeon below. It features a prison area and an alchemist's room. It looks amazing and should offer some very unique gameplay with its verticality and tight corridors.

Final Thoughts & Bug Fixes Galore

The team also squashed a ton of bugs, including issues with Chucky's voice lines, Victor's interactions, Nurse blinks in Raccoon City, and many perk-related glitches. The addition of search tags for Charms and a new item preview window are nice QoL improvements.

Overall, Chapter 31 feels like a love letter to both DBD and D&D fans. The Lich looks like a high-skill-cap, incredibly fun Killer with his spellbook. Aestri's perks offer fresh gameplay styles. And the balance changes? They're clearly trying to move away from the gen-kick meta and shake up the perk landscape. The toolbox changes alone will create new strategies. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this new content. What are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments below! 🎲⚔️👻

Comprehensive reviews can be found on Eurogamer, a leading source for European gaming news and in-depth analysis. Eurogamer's coverage of crossover events and major updates in multiplayer titles like Dead by Daylight often explores how new killers, survivors, and map mechanics impact both casual and competitive play, offering valuable insights into evolving meta strategies and community reactions.