Dead by Daylight's Nightmare Gets a Much-Needed Overhaul

Freddy Krueger, aka The Nightmare, is receiving a significant rework in an upcoming Dead by Daylight patch. This update addresses long-standing player concerns about his underpowered status, aiming to boost his competitiveness while staying true to his iconic character.

The core change is the ability to seamlessly switch between Dream Snares and Dream Pallets, granting The Nightmare far greater tactical flexibility. These powers themselves are also being revamped. Dream Snares will now travel at 12 m/s, traversing walls and stairs (but not ledges), and will have different effects on sleeping and awake Survivors. Dream Pallets gain an explosive function, inflicting injury on sleeping Survivors and significantly increasing the sleep timer for awake ones.

Beyond the core power adjustments, The Nightmare's teleportation abilities are also receiving a boost. He can now teleport to any generator (completed, blocked, or endgame) in the Dream World. Furthermore, he can now teleport near Survivors actively healing, revealing them via Killer Instinct and adding to their sleep timer. This enhances his ability to disrupt Survivor strategies and capitalize on healing opportunities.

Several Add-Ons are also being adjusted to encourage more creative Killer builds, though his existing perks remain unchanged. This might be a deliberate choice to maintain thematic consistency.

Here's a summary of the key changes:

The Nightmare Rework - Key Changes:

• [CHANGE] Swap between Dream Snares and Dream Pallets using the Active Ability.
• [NEW] Dream Snares: 12 m/s speed, 5-second cooldown, pass through walls and stairs, unique effects for sleeping and awake Survivors (hinder for 4 seconds/add 30 seconds to sleep meter respectively).
• [NEW] Dream Pallets: Explode 1.5 seconds after activation (3-meter radius), injuring sleeping Survivors and adding 60 seconds to awake Survivors' sleep timers.
• [NEW] Teleport to any generator (completed, blocked, or endgame) and to Survivors healing within the Dream World (teleporting within 12 meters). Reveals nearby Survivors (Killer Instinct) for 15 seconds upon teleporting.
• [CHANGE] Teleport cooldown reduced from 45 to 30 seconds; cancellation removed.
• [NEW] Healing Survivors in the Dream World are revealed by Killer Instinct (lingering 3 seconds after stopping).
• [CHANGE] Sleeping Survivors can use any Alarm Clock to wake up.
• [NEW] Alarm Clocks have a 45-second cooldown after use.

These changes promise a significantly more powerful and strategically diverse Nightmare, making him a more viable and engaging Killer for players. While a release date isn't specified, these mechanics are currently implemented in the Public Test Build (PTB).