The Wiggle Mechanic, also known as "Wiggling", is an integral Game Mechanic in Dead by Daylight
exclusive to Survivors
.
Overview[]
Wiggling is available to Survivors whenever they are being carried by the Killer while in the Dying State
.
It displays a series of Ping-Pong-style Skill Checks
that slowly fill a Progress Bar (also known as the Wiggle Meter) with each successful Skill Check.
Input from the Survivor is entirely optional in this phase, but advised, as the process of filling the Wiggle Meter causes the carrying Killer to involuntarily strafe sideways and filling it to 100 % stuns the Killer and causes them to drop the wiggling Survivor back into the Injured State
.
Wiggle Skill Checks[]
While being carried by the Killer, Survivors are faced with continuous (but optional) Wiggle Skill Checks.
The Skill Check overlay features two opposing Success Zone areas (one at 3 o'clock, one at 9 o'clock) with an inner zone for Great Skill Checks that is framed by an outer zone for Good Skill Checks.
Without any input from the Survivor, the Skill Check Pointer will continuously rotate in a clock-wise direction, with the Skill Check only ending once the Killer stops carrying the Survivor, either by dropping them or by hooking them.
The Wiggle Meter will automatically fill at a fixed rate of +1 c/s for as long as the Survivor continuously succeeds the Wiggle Skill Checks and pauses whenever a Skill Check is failed.
The Wiggle Meter requires 16 Charges to be filled, meaning Survivors who continuously succeed at the Wiggle Skill Checks will always wiggle free from the Killer's grasp after 16 seconds.
Succeeding Skill Checks[]
Succeeding Wiggle Skill Checks has the following effects:
- Allows the Wiggle Meter to continue filling.
- Causes the Killer to involuntarily strafe sideways:
- The strength of the effect is reduced to 50 % of its default value for Good Wiggle Skill Checks.
- The strength of the effect is increases to 120 % of its default value for Great Wiggle Skill Checks.
Failing Skill Checks[]
Failing Wiggle Skill Checks has the following effects:
- Pauses the Wiggle Meter from progressing further.
- Pauses the involuntary sideways strafing of the Killer.
Drop-Penalty[]
The Killer is penalised for dropping a Survivor they are carrying (also referred to as "dribbling").
Dropping a Survivor instantly fills their Wiggle Meter by +25 %, causing them to wiggle free at the latest after the fourth time.
Should a Survivor's Wiggle Meter already have accumulated at least 75 % Progression from succeeding at Wiggle Skill Checks, then dropping them even for the first time will immediately release them from the Killer's grasp.
Unlockables[]
Survivor Perks[]
|
Boil Over | You are a battler and do everything to escape a foe's grasp.
While being carried by the Killer, the following effects apply:
Swing to be free, Your hands just can't keep ahold of me." — Kate Denson's "Boil Over" |
|---|---|---|
|
Breakout | You kick into high gear when someone is in trouble, inspiring them to overcome any obstacle.
The following effects apply while you are within 5 metres of the Killer carrying another Survivor:
"Come, we are going to rip our way out of this." — Yui Kimura |
|
Flip-Flop | You have an uncanny ability to escape the inevitable.
|
|
Power Struggle | You have never given up and you are not about to start now.
While being carried by The Killer, reaching 25/20/15 % Wiggling progression activates Power Struggle:
Power Struggle deactivates after triggering successfully. "I relied on others to protect me once and I lost everything. Never again." — Élodie Rakoto |
Killer Perks[]
|
Agitation | You get excited in anticipation of hooking your prey.
When carrying a Survivor, you benefit from the following effects:
|
|---|---|---|
|
Awakened Awareness | Your genes have been altered to heighten your senses in intense situations.While carrying a Survivor, you benefit from the following effect:
|
|
Iron Grasp | Your powerful grasp on Survivors causes escapes to be nearly impossible.
Whenever you are carrying a Survivor, the following effects apply:
|
|
Mad Grit | Whenever you are carrying a Survivor, Mad Grit activates:
"There's no getting out of this now. We're too good at it." — The Legion |
History[]
Original Wiggle System[]
- Players could opt into the new system already from Patch 5.5.0 onwards through the BETA feature tab)
Up to its Rework in Patch 6.5.0, wiggling would require Players to swiftly alternate between the 'A' and 'D' keys on their keyboard or rotate the movement stick on a controller.
If not interrupted, this action would fill the Wiggle Meter after 16 seconds.
Contrary to popular belief, the speed at which one would alternate between the keys / rotate the controller would not affect the time it took to fill the Wiggle Meter.
For years, the Community complained about this system, especially Players who suffered from repetitive stress syndrome, which eventually prompted the Developers to rework it into the new Skill-Check-based system.
Wiggle Regression[]
Up to Patch 5.5.1, a little known feature in Dead by Daylight was that of Wiggle Regression.
Whenever Survivors would stop wiggling or be prevented from doing so (i.e. when they were dropped by the Killer and left in the Dying State), their Wiggle Meter would slowly regress over time at a rate of -0.05 c/s.
At this rate, it would take 320 seconds (5 minutes and 20 seconds) to completely regress a full Wiggle Meter, which contributed to this feature being essentially unknown amongst the Community.
BETA Wiggle Skill Checks[]
Introduced in Patch 5.5.0 and lasting up to Patch 6.5.0, Wiggle Skill Checks were an opt-in BETA feature and worked slightly differently to their final iteration.
Instead of affecting the strength of the Killer's involuntary strafing when a Survivor wiggled on their shoulder, Wiggle Skill Checks would affect the speed of the Wiggle Progression.
While hitting Good Wiggle Skill Checks would just progress the Wiggle Action at the default speed of 1 c/s, hitting Great Wiggle Skill Checks would accelerate this to 1.0666 c/s, allowing Survivors who could hit all Great Skill Checks to escape from the Killer's grasp after 15 seconds, compared to the default of 16 seconds.
Change Log[]
Patch 1.0.5[]
- Rework: added a Penalty for dropping carried Survivors.
- Killer Nerf: dropping now fills the Wiggle Meter by +25 %
- This nerf aimed to add a cap to how often Survivors can be dropped before wiggling free automatically.
- Killer Nerf: dropping now fills the Wiggle Meter by +25 %
Patch 1.8.0[]
- Killer Nerf: increased the Drop-Penalty from +25 % to +33 %.
Patch 3.3.1[]
- Change: added a Score Event for Wiggling, granting +25 BP/s.
Patch 3.6.0[]
- Reversal: reverted the previous Drop-Penalty increase from +33 % to +25 %.
Patch 5.5.0[]
- Rework: added Wiggle Skill Checks as an opt-in BETA feature, replacing the previous Button-Smashing-prompt with a Ping-Pong-style series of Skill Checks.
- Survivor Buff: using the opt-in feature and continuously hitting Great Wiggle Skill Checks would allow Survivors to wiggle free after 15 seconds already, shaving off 1 second, as indicated by a yellow Progress Bar.
Patch 5.5.1[]
- Survivor QoL: removed an almost imperceptible Penalty that would slowly regress the Wiggle Meter while not actively wiggling, which was usually only noticeable after having been dropped for a while before being carried again.
- The Wiggle Meter regressed at a fixed rate of -0.05 c/s.
Patch 6.5.0[]
- Rework: fully implemented Wiggle Skill Checks, replacing the old system.
- Survivor Buff: increased the strength of the strafing effect of Great Wiggle Skill Checks from 100 % to 120 %.
- Survivor QoL: increased the size of the Great Skill Check success zones.
- Survivor QoL: changed the SFX for non-attempts (i.e. giving no input from the start of the Wiggle Skill Checks) to be less intense and more subtle than the previously repeated Failed Skill Check SFX.
- Survivor Nerf: reduced the strength of the strafing effect of Good Wiggle Skill Checks from 100 % to 50 %.
- Survivor Nerf: succeeding at Great Wiggle Skill Checks no longer accelerates the fill-rate of the Wiggle Meter.
Trivia[]
- Due to there being a delay between the Wiggle Meter starting to fill and the first Wiggle Skill Check appearing, even if Survivors give no input at all, the meter will always fill a minimum amount of a few percent and cause the Survivor to struggle against the Killer at least once.
- Due to the Wiggle Meter filling at an automated and fixed rate, hitting Wiggle Skill Checks at the earliest possible moments (when the Pointer reaches the Success Zone area) to minimise the Pointer's travel-time has no effect on how long it takes to wiggle free, it is always 16 seconds by default.
- For the same reason that Boil Over
may be considered more harmful than helpful, hitting Great Skill Checks while wiggling may accelerate the Killer's movement in the direction they want to go if they are strafing and the direction in which they are doing so matches the direction the wiggling is currently pushing them.
Gallery[]
The in-game Tooltip showing the Wiggle Skill Checks.
