Can you earn the characters in-game?

[Kailen]

I'm curious about the game, I got it a while back via Humble Bundle but never really sat down to play it. I do see that there are a lot of characters, skins, new 'monsters' etc. that every other Free to Play (even if this game isn't) Live Service mobile app (even if this game isn't) monetization practices have. But what I want to know is, can I actually earn the proper currency (let's just call it "Gold" since the specific name really doesn't matter) to buy the various, for example, monsters, in game?

I took a look, and, just as an example, Freddy is ~800 gold. There's three currency types of course, Gold, Irrelevant, and Even More Irrelevant. The former being the one you have to buy with real money. The game says it's available in their, well'll call it "Battle Pass" because the specific name doesn't really matter. So I went and looked. And no, no you cannot EARN Gold in the Battle Pass.

The Battle Pass only gives you Gold if you buy the premium version. You can earn up to 1000 Gold. But it COSTS 1000 Gold to get the premium. So, at best, you will only ever get what you pay in. So, no, you can't earn it there. Is there somewhere where Gold is ACTUALLY earned in game, or is this game yet another pure cash grab that I can go ahead and keep avoiding like the plague for being the cancer on the entire video game industry that that represents?

And yes, I would like serious answers, even though my very, VERY negative opinion of the game already is very clear. Prove me wrong, please.

[PsionicDiamond]

You can use shards to purchase characters, but they cost around 9000 each time. You earn them by playing the game, and levelling up your 'player level'... It is possible to reach level 99, and then it restarts at 1 so you can continuously earn shards.

[someblk]

To add to the above, no you cannot earn Auric Cells ("gold") in the game. You can earn Iridescent Shards ("irrelevant") by playing the game, though.

The first, premium currency (real money) is required to buy licensed characters - eg, those that come from other franchises, such as Freddy, who you mentioned. The next currency, the one that I mentioned you can earn in game, can be used to purchase characters which are IP of the developers, at a cost of 9000 shards each, again as mentioned in the above post.

[Jinx]

you can also buy some cosmetics with shards tho, and all the original characters. I wouldn't say its irrelevant by any means. Since that's how I always buy their original characters. Given how much I play. I always earn up to them in time. Atm I have 10k shards. Saving up for the next chapter. It is slow though. I been told the more you level up devotion, the more shards you get as well.

[Chan]

You can't earn auric cells in game. Shards though will accumulate over time and you can buy non-licensed dlcs with them. You're right in calling it a cash grab and why I refuse to buy anything because they have and will endlessly churn out content you can only buy with money. Still a great game and a lot of fun.

[Kailen]

So the answer is "sometimes". Ok, that makes some sense. I don't like that the licensed ones are "in the store", but the argument could be made that if you JUST want the character then you should just wait for the DLC to go on sale and get it even cheaper than the gold value anyway. Usual price $7 for the DLC, $5 for the in-game gold price. The fact that you can earn their unique chars in game (and hopefully they keep churning those out if they're going to do the live service route) than it's something.

[Tibcsikid]

Originally posted by someblk:

To add to the above, no you cannot earn Auric Cells ("gold") in the game. You can earn Iridescent Shards ("irrelevant") by playing the game, though.

The first, premium currency (real money) is required to buy licensed characters - eg, those that come from other franchises, such as Freddy, who you mentioned. The next currency, the one that I mentioned you can earn in game, can be used to purchase characters which are IP of the developers, at a cost of 9000 shards each, again as mentioned in the above post.

To add to this, if you are going to buy a trademarked character do it from their respective bundles on steam, coz if you buy them all seperately in the ingame shop it will be more expensive most of the time.

[Dakota]

so having to pay for something they spent time and money making is a cash grab??

dlc for most games aren't free so not sure what you expected

I mean just the fact that you can buy all the original killers and survivors (and a large amount of skins) with shards makes the whole "cash grab" idea nonsense

if you have any interest in the battle pass id just wait until you have maxed it out and then buy it which will give you your auric cells right back and then can be used for any other pass you might want in the future

[Branchu]

It's one hell of a grind to buy characters with shards (which you can also use for perks or cosmetics), but doable.

I think the most cost-efficient way is to wait for Steam sales and buy characters you're interested in piece-meal. They usually drop down to $3 or $4 dollars a piece, and that's usually a killer and survivor.

[NuclearHendrix]

BHVR's pricing is both kinda scummy/predatory and pretty generous at the same time lol. You can actually get quite a bit of stuff for free via grinding, but they also have overpriced stuff like certain cosmetics/skins. Like why the hell is a legendary skin more than twice the cost of a chapter? It's just a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ skin. Meanwhile, a typical chapter gives you a couple of characters, perks, and the exclusive item. Even the larger chapters that come with 3 characters cost less than a legendary skin.

And BHVR has to pay to get licensed characters brought into their game, so there's no way you're getting them for free. You can get those licensed characters perks for free though. They'll show up on the Shrine of Secrets on the in-game store.

[Sailor Tin Nyanko]

I haven't read others' replies.

The three currencies are basically like Real Money Currency, Earned Game Currency, and Bloodweb Currency.

Bloodweb Currency works only on Bloodweb. The Bloodweb is where Perks and consumables are collected. It's similar to some games' skill tree replacement. This is easy to earn from gameplay.

Real Money Currency works on most items in the store. This includes Characters and Cosmetics. Not every Cosmetic is available for Real Money Currency. Every Character that hasn't been removed can be bought with Real Money Currency. It is extremely rare that Real Money Currency can be earned.

Earned Game Currency is the middle ground here. It can be used to buy most cosmetics and all Original ( BVHR created) characters. It can also be used in the Shrine to buy Perks. Earned Game Currency is slow to earn and low in amount rewarded.


Your concerns lie with Original Content versus Licensed Content. Licensed Content are characters, locations, and cosmetics that BHVR ( Dead by Daylight's company) has to pay for to be in the game. As part of this arrangement pre-agreed upon monetary amount has to go to the License Holders each time certain characters or cosmetics are bought. Due to this need for a paper trail of money and for this to all be itemized, Licensed Characters and Cosmetics can only be sold with something monetary attached. Contracts allow some exceptions and not all contracts are set this exact way. But the contracts can be changed so all content that can be effected needs to be treated as if this effect is already in place.

As far as Original Characters go.. people earn them based on the level of their activity. Some people earn an enough Earned Game Currency to buy an Original Character every two years. Others only need two or three months.


I think most people end up getting this game for free or under 5 dollars. Considering I paid 30 dollars in a Free-To-Play for a mount, that's a good deal. Chapters are frequently on Sale on Steam. Freddy's Chapter is $6.99, I paid $8 on Free-to-Play for a dress. Freddy's Chapter might cost $3.48 at times, I bought a head in Second Life for 3999L which is about $16. Hopefully, you'll just watch the Dead by Daylight store on Steam and get a good deal there instead of spending $10 on the " Premium Battle Pass". But, hey, if you do spend $10 on the "Premium Battle Pass" because you want the Limited Edition Cosmetics you could reward yourself later by buying Freddy with the Real Money Currency you earned from the "Premium Battle Pass".

[banuno]

basically, you can get original characters like the spirit and adam francis for around 9000 iridescent shards, which you get by leveling up, but licensed characters like michael myers and laurie strode are only unlockable through the store with auric cells (which you need to buy).

the rift or the "battle pass" as you call it only gives out skins and charms that are only avaliable for a limited time as every few months a new "Tome" comes out offering challenges awarding bloodpoints and more character lore and the rift is based around the lore.