Dead by Daylight is celebrating the Lunar New Year with a special event called the Scarlet Swarm. This event will last from Jan. 21 to Feb. 4 and seems refreshingly fun. Behaviour Interactive are always learning and adapting their game based on what players want, and I think they are starting to get events down right.
Like in previous years, they have added a lot of custom visuals for the event, like special event menu screens, generators, hooks, and a firecracker item for survivors. But unlike previous years, there is no special event offering. This means no bonus bloodpoints for using the event generators or hooks. Still, I think the event is being run much better this time around.
Past events were far more tedious to do. Last year, survivors had to escape with a lantern in order to get coins to unlock a lunar cosmetic. But killers had to destroy the lanterns to get coins, making for a competitive event. The year before that, players had to use an offering to spawn extra event items; then power the event generators, or hook a survivor on the event hooks, to get coins. Survivors had to get a whopping 80 coins, and killers 40. While these events were fun for many, they also felt like a chore for others. Players who were more casual felt forced to play the game more in order to complete the events in time. Other players thought the amount of games needed to complete the event was just ridiculous. The Rift solves all these problems.
The Rift is basically a battle pass, not that different from those found in other games. It comes with a free tier, as well as a purchasable tier which costs 1,000 auric cells (which is about $10). The Rift changes every 3 months and Behaviour is using it to dish out event-themed rewards. Since The Rift is open for so long, it caters to both the hard core and casual player. Hard core players can breeze through the archive objectives to unlock all the rewards. Casual players on the other hand, can take their time and still get the rewards they want.
The Rift that just opened up has many Lunar New Year themed cosmetics in it, and the final cosmetic reward is a lantern charm. The model is the same lantern that killers and survivors fought over last year. So it’s a nice throwback to the past event. By allowing players to obtain Dead by Daylight event rewards in this way, there is no more pressure to play the game in a fight against the clock.
There are more rewards coming in the Scarlet Swarm event, including – for the first time ever – login rewards. Players who log in between Jan. 21 and 28 at 11 A.M. EST, will get the Lunar Rat Charm and Longevity Blessing Charm. For the second week of the event, players who log in between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 11 A.M. EST will get 3 special cosmetics: The lunar Rat Cap for Dwight, Rat Print Top for Nea, and Brutal Rat Hammer for Hillbilly.
The Scarlet Swarm event also has two new Dead by Daylight cosmetics which are only available for purchase with auric cells. First we have the New Year Shoplifter outfit for the killer Legion. Second is a survivor cosmetic for Jeff, called Jeff’s New Year Showgoer. These cosmetics are added permanently to the shop, so players will be able to purchase them any time they want.
As an added bonus during the event, the 3 lunar cosmetics from last year are 30% off. Enjoy the Scarlet Swarm event and happy Lunar New Year!