Close Menu
  • Gaming
    • Game Guides
    • Codes
    • Game News
    • Game Previews
    • Game Reviews
    • Game Features
    • Game Lists
    • Platforms
      • Nintendo
      • PC
      • PlayStation
      • Xbox
      • Mobile
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Movie Features
    • Movie Reviews
    • TV
    • Reality TV
    • Royals
  • Celebrity
  • Human Interest
  • Astrology
  • Videos
  • More
    • Anime
    • Lists
    • Podcasts
    • Reviews
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn YouTube
  • About Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Advertising Policy
The Nerd Stash
  • Gaming
  • Celebrity
  • Human Interest
  • Videos
The Nerd Stash
Home»Game Features»Dead by Daylight Should Kill-Switch Skull Merchant, Not Nerf Her

Dead by Daylight Should Kill-Switch Skull Merchant, Not Nerf Her

Collecting skulls

Patrick ArmstrongBy Patrick ArmstrongSeptember 18, 20243 Mins Read
The Skull Merchant sits menacingly in front of some computer monitors in key art for Dead by Daylight
Image Source: Behaviour Interactive

Skip To...

  • Skull Merchant’s 8.3 PTB Nerfs
  • DLC Expectations

The Skull Merchant might be the most hated killer in Dead by Daylight, but she deserves better than what’s happening to her. The Player Test Build is Behaviour‘s opportunity to test changes before they go live, but you’d never know it from Adriana’s Patch 8.3 nerfs. Though I detest the whirring of Skull Merchant’s drones as much as any mediocre Nea main, Behaviour’s approach to the killer is setting a bad precedent. Hard nerfing a paid DLC character into the ground instead of reworking (or kill-switching and refunding them) is the wrong direction to go. Here’s why the Skull Merchant nerfs should concern every Dead by Daylight player.

Skull Merchant’s 8.3 PTB Nerfs

Key art showing the Skull Merchant with her weapon upheld
Image Source: Behaviour Interactive

Skull Merchant flopped upon the launch of Tools of Torment, disappointing many with her lackluster visual design and overcomplicated power. Worse, she soon entrenched herself in the meta as the perfect 3-gen controller. This gave rise to endless “Chess Merchant” memes for her ability to “outplay” survivors simply by causing stalemates so long and frustrating that people rage quit. Behaviour reworked her once, but breaking her 3-gen playstyle left the killer with even less of an identity. The result? A muddled character whose greatest strength is her ability to force DCs and suicides. Here are the 8.3 changes:

  • Decrease theย Hinderedย penalty when scanned while having a Claw Trap toย 5%ย (was 10%)
  • Drones are always in the active stateย (NEW)
  • Drone scan lines are only visible withinย 16 metersย (NEW)
  • Decrease the number of scan lines toย 1ย (was 2)
  • The Skull Merchant no longer gainsย Hasteย fromย Survivorsย being scanned or fromย Survivorsย having a Claw Trap

Related:

Dead by Daylight Tier List: Best Killers (August 2024)

At the risk of oversimplifying things, it looks like Behaviour has decided to solve Skull Merchant’s excessive kill-rate with nerfs that plant her in D-tier beside Trapper and Freddy. It’s not quite, say, removing Mario’s ability to jump, but it does gut the gameplay that players bought and paid for. Yes, as a DbD original killer, you can buy Skull Merchant with in-game Shards instead of premium Auric Cells, but plenty of players dropped actual cash on a gameplay experience increasingly different from (and worse than) what they paid for. Nurse and Blight are stronger than Chess Merchant ever was, but that’s not the point. If Skull Merchant is so broken, she should be kill-switched until there’s a proper rework.

DLC Expectations

Developers have every right to rework characters after release. That said, removing Adriana’s Haste, decreasing scan lines from 2 to 1, and cutting the Hindered penalty doesn’t make it fun to play as or against her. It just gives Adraina the Misery sledgehammer treatment, ensuring she’s in no shape to hobble off and cause problems. The Entity’s sinister magic is a free pass to retcon The Skull Merchant in fun ways, so refusal to do so raises prioritization concerns. Cosmetic sales might pay the bills, but leaving a character in this state isn’t right, even if her backstory involves dark Brazilian manga.

Related Topics
Dead by Daylight game news news
Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email
Patrick Armstrong
  • Website

Artist and writer with a lifelong love of video games. Their favorite games include Dead by Daylight, Meet Your Maker, and Project Zomboid.

SUGGESTED READS

Destiny 2 Edge of Fate Power Level 200
Game Guides

How To Reach Power Level 200 Fast in Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate

Sean Diddy Combs
Celebrity

Diddy’s Former Protรฉgรฉe Aubrey Oโ€™Day Breaks Silence: Verdict ‘Makes Me Physically Ill’

Car driving recklessly
Human Interest

Driver Has Medical Emergency While On Busy Michigan Road, ‘Scary’ Footage Goes Viral

News

Georgia Singer Gavin Adcock Sparks Outrage Over Beyoncรฉ Country Comments: ‘Just Pop and Hiphop for Hicks Who Hate Black People’

Destiny 2 Edge of Fate World Tier Changes
Game News

Bungie Responds to Community Criticism by Peeling Back Some Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate Secrets

Destiny 2 Weekly Reset Guide: Challenges, Rotations, & Rewards (June 28-May 2)
Game Guides

Destiny 2 Weekly Reset Guide: Challenges, Rotations, & Rewards (July 1 – July 7)

Trending
Texas Man records a package thief stealing boxes off the porch

Texas Man Comes up With โ€˜Epicโ€™ Idea To Get Revenge on Porch Pirates: โ€˜This Is Genius’

Florida bride has special moment with two fathers at wedding

Florida Bride’s Father Shocks Guests At Wedding When He Sees Her Stepdad In Crowd: ‘Cries In Daddy Issues’

Ric Flair poop in restaurant

Angry Tampa Server is Fed-Up With Ric Flair Pooping in Their Restaurants, ‘Dirtiest Player in the Game’

Texas woman sees dead brother during vacation

Texas Woman Shares Shocking Story of Seeing Her Dead Brother During Family Vacation in Italy: ‘This Gave Me Chills’

The Nerd Stash
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
  • About Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Advertising Policy
© 2025 The Nerd Stash. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.