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If you’ve been in theDead By Daylightcommunity for a while, you probably already know that 2v8 has been one of the most desired game modes. With the game modifier returning, you may once again take part in this 2v8 chaos from Jun 02, 2025, to June 11, 2025, allowing plenty of time to enjoy.
Due to the sheer amount of variables present in a normal trial of the game, this mode comes with quite a few restrictions. This can also make it a little confusing at the start, but these tips and key information will help you enjoy it a lot better!
Updated on July 09, 2025, by Sanyam Jain:The first release of the 2v8 mode was a huge success, and the developers seem to be embracing that by making it one of the fastest modifiers to get a rerun. There are tons of changes in the second iteration of this mode, and the article has been updated with these.
How To Access The 2v8 Game Mode
The first thing you need to know about the 2v8 game mode is that, much like every other event and game modifier in Dead By Daylight,it has a separate queue from the normal game. This allows people to enjoy the normal 1v4 asymmetrical game by accessing the normal version if they desire.
To enter the 2v8 queue, you have to click on the game mode’s button in the main lobby and thenselect whether you want to play survivor or killer. Since there are a lot more people wanting to play killer, you’ll commonly find a huge Bloodpoint bonus as an incentive for playing survivors, going up to 250 percent per match.
This bonus can be seenwhen you’re selecting your rolewritten in red color on the right side.
After finding a game in this mode, the pre-game lobby will look similar to the normal pregame lobby for both sides, but you’ll be able to seeall survivors when you’re playing survivor and all the players as killeron the left side. This is also the only place where you can invite a friend and play killer alongside them.
While playing this mode, you canonly play on one of the following realms: Autohaven Wreckers, Macmillan Estate, Coldwind Farm, Red Forest, Crotus Prenn Asylum, Dead Dawg Saloon, and Yamaoka Estate.
How To Play Survivor In 2v8 Game Mode
Apart from the separate queue and changes in the lobby, there are also a ton of base game changes for balance reasons in the 2v8 game mode. Firstly, as a survivor, your team will have tofinish a total of eight generators instead of the normal five. The number of generators found on the map has also increased to 13.
Moreover, you’ll quickly notice that there are a lot more pallets on each map, which is also intentional due to the sheer number of survivors to use them. Generally,you’ll find at least two to three pallets around every generator, allowing you to keep the killers busy for quite a long time if they’re not coordinated.
If you’re getting chased by a killer, it’simportant to keep an eye aroundsince the other one might sneak up on you.
Even with this many pallets, if you have both the killers chasing you,the best thing you can do is run as far as possible. As a survivor, you’re not allowed to use any perks, items, or offerings in this mode. Instead, you get to choose between one of the four following classes:Escapist, Guide, Medic, and Scout.
Each class has three exclusive skills and one exclusive active ability. Out of the three skills,one only unlocks after you get caged for the first time, which is called the unlock ability. Moreover, the active ability gets charged over time, with different cooldowns for each class. Each class can be used by up to four people on the team.
If you have your active ability while being slugged on the ground,you can use it to recover yourself, much like unbreakable.
Another new thing added in the recent iteration of this mode is making killers pick up the survivors before they’re sent to cages. Thisallows you to get flashlight or pallet saves if you can time them correctly. With that, here’s some more information on different classes:
Escapist
Reveal Skill
You can see pallet and window auras within a 16-meter radius.
Team Skill
When a survivor comes within a small radius of you, including yourself, theygain a 50 percent Haste effect for three secondsfollowed by a 20-second Exhaustion.
The Haste cannot trigger again as long as they’re Exhausted.
Active Ability
With a cooldown of 30 seconds, this ability cansilence all your rushed actionsand all the survivors' within a small radius for eight seconds.
Unlock Ability
You can heal yourself at 70 percent of the normal healing speed.
Arguably one of the most popular classes in the first iteration of the mode, thisone got balanced to be on the same level as the others. Of course, it’s still the best class you can use if you’re playing solo since the ability to heal yourself is too good to skip. Being able to see vault and pallet auras will also help in the chase.
Guide
You can see the aura of four generators on the map that are the closest together, and also theauras of unfinished generators within a 32-meterradius of yourself.
Survivors repairing generators within an 8-meter radius of you make less repair noises andgain an additional three percent progressionon great skill checks.
When you’re repairing a generator,your and the generator’s aura is revealedto all survivors.
With a cooldown of 90 seconds, this ability gives all survivors within aneight-meter radius an eight percent repair speed bonusfor ten seconds.
When you complete a generator, you gain a token for each survivor within an eight-meter radius.Five percent repair progress is instantly applied to the next generatoryou start repairing for each token you have.
In contrast to Escapist, this class is the most broken when you play with a group of people. All you need is a bunch of generators that can be repaired by four guides at the same time and one extra survivor running with them.This allows you to get five stacks after repairing the first generator, which is 25 percent progress for each guide.
you’re able to then simply run around with the group and instantly pop all four-man generators as long as youensure that all four guides are touching each generatoras they pop. This still leaves you with three survivors that can distract the killers.
Medic
you may see the aura of injured survivors essentially across the map.
You and all allies within an eight-meter radiusenjoy a 50 percent healing boostwhile their grunts of pain are also reduced by 50 percent. When you’re healing a survivor, their aura is shown to everyone.
With a cooldown of 120 seconds, this ability caninstantly give 50 percent healing to nearby survivorsupon activation.
Yourscratch marks are suppressed while injuredand every other survivor can see your aura.
Medic is the perfect balance between all the classes as it’s best used when you’re playing with one other person. When either of you is in chase, you can both come together and activate your ability toinstantly heal the injured survivor being chased, or pick someone up from the ground.
While this ability isn’t as strong, it can easily break the killers' momentum if used in the right way.
Scout
When the killer performs a break action,you’re able to see their aurafor six seconds.
All survivors can see the killer’s aurawhen the scout has line-of-sightwith them within a 64-meter radius. Moreover, survivors within an eight-meter radius can move 100 percent faster while crouching.
With a cooldown of 60 seconds, the scout can pick up a dropped pallet oreven remake a broken one.
Your grunts of pain are removed while you’re injured andyou can also walk 25 percent fasterin general.
Scout is arguably the least powerful class among the four, but it’s still nothing to look down upon with the ability toconsistently reveal killers and recreate the likes of Shack Pallet. This class is also one of the most fun to use.
How To Play Killer In 2v8 Game Mode
While the generator system is the main mechanic for survivors in Dead By Daylight, it’s the hook mechanic for killer, and this has been completely reworked in the 2v8 mode. You’ll not find any hooks in this mode. Instead, whenever you down a survivor, you can simply pick them up and they’ll get teleported to a cage.
This mechanic works almost like Pyramid Head’s cage system, which also includes thecage with the survivor being teleported away if a killer is near it for too long. The main objective for killers in this mode is to work together to create pressure, but also know when you should separate to prevent multiple generators from popping.
If you’re playing with a random person as the other killer, it’s recommended to stay close to themand help them in chases wherever possible.
You’re only allowed to play one of the following eight killers in this mode:Trapper, Wraith, Hillbilly, Nurse, Huntress, Spirit, Deathslinger, and Blight. Each one of these killers has received significant buffs to their kit since, just like survivors, you also cannot bring any perks, add-ons, or offerings in these trials:
Trapper
Trapper starts with four traps and canhave up to four in his handat the same time. Moreover,up to eight traps spawn all around the map. The speed at which you set up a trap is increased while the speed of survivors escaping from it is decreased.
You gain 15 percent Haste after setting a trap. Moreover, the other killer can see your trap aura within a small radius andneither of you can get caught in the traps.
Wraith
Your cloaking, uncloaking, andmovement speed while cloaked is increasedsignificantly. Your speed for all actions is significantly increased when you’re cloaked.
Hillbilly
Unlike the first iteration, Hillbilly can nowinstantly down survivors with his chainsaw. He also has the overdrive mechanic. Other than that, his chainsaw sprint turn speed is increased while the cooldown for hitting obstacles is decreased.
Nurse
Nurse essentially gets an increase to herblink attack lunge, reach for the second blink, and the duration of the chain blink window. On the other hand, her fatigue is decreased across the board.
Huntress
You start the trial with ten hatchets and can have up to ten upon reloading as well. Moreover,your reload time is decreasedwhile your movement speed while winding up andwhen out of hatchetsis increased.
Spirit
You can stay in your power for longer andit also charges back faster. Your movement speed during the power is also increased.
Blight
Your rush speed, slam duration, andturn rate sensitivity are increased.
Spirit is arguablyone of the strongest killers among the rosterin this mode as long as you can hear the survivors well.
Other than all these killer-specific buffs, they alsoget up to four classes that you can choose from this time around. Each class has a team and a reveal skill, but one class can only be used by one of the killers.
Brute
You break pallets, walls, and generators 25 percent faster. If your teammate is within 32 meters when you break something, they gain 10 percent Haste for eight seconds. If this happens,this ability goes on a 30-second cooldown.
Upon breaking a generator, you can see the surrounding survivors in an eight-meter-longer radius.
Enforcer
While chasing an injured survivor, you move three percent faster. If your teammate hits a survivor within 32 meters of your location,the survivor gains a markand reveals their aura for 12 seconds.
Downing this survivor increases the other killer’s lunge distance by 60 percent, andthis skill enters a cooldown after that.
Survivor auras are revealed for longer after you kick a generator.
Fearmonger
You walk 5 percent faster when no survivor sees you. If you’re more than 16 meters away from your teammate and injure a survivor, the teammate gets a 10 percent Haste for 10 seconds, and this skill enters a cooldown.
The survivor auras that haven’t been caged yet are revealed for longer upon a generator completion.
Shadow
You gain the Undetectable effect upon entering a 32-meter radius of your teammate, whichtransfers to the teammate upon hitting a survivorand puts this ability on cooldown.
you’re able to see survivor auras for longer when your teammate starts a chase with them.
