In the treacherous realm of Dead by Daylight, being singled out and relentlessly pursued by a killer—a practice known as 'tunneling'—remains one of the most frustrating experiences for survivors. While often a random occurrence, it can swiftly derail a team's efforts. However, the landscape of survival in 2026 has evolved, and coordinated teams now possess a formidable arsenal of perks specifically designed to punish such single-minded aggression. Countering a tunneling killer is less about individual heroics and more about strategic, collective action, turning the killer's obsession into a costly time-wasting endeavor for their side.

For survivors who frequently find themselves in the crosshairs, Off The Record stands as a paramount defensive tool. Upon being rescued from a hook, this perk grants an 80-second shield of endurance, preventing immediate downing from a hit and instead applying the deep wound status. Crucially, it also silences the survivor's pained grunts. This combination is like a cloaking device paired with a kinetic shield, allowing the targeted player to vanish into the environment while buying precious time. The effect persists unless the survivor performs conspicuous actions like repairing generators. In a coordinated squad, this creates an 80-second window where the killer's primary target effectively becomes a ghost, forcing a shift in focus.

Camping, the tunneling killer's frequent ally, is directly challenged by Reassurance. This perk, originating from Rebecca Chambers, allows a survivor within 6 meters of a hooked teammate to pause their sacrifice timer for 30 seconds. It acts as a temporal stasis field, freezing a teammate's precarious situation and granting the team breathing room. This can be the difference between a desperate, doomed rescue and a calculated, safe unhook. The paused timer stacks if multiple teammates use it, making it a powerful tool to drain a camper's time and enable generator progress elsewhere on the map.

Eradicating a killer's ability to track is another potent anti-tunneling strategy. Boon: Shadow Step creates a 24-meter radius aura where scratch marks are completely erased, and the killer's aura-reading abilities are nullified. For a tunneled survivor, reaching this zone is like stepping into a sensory null-void; their trail goes cold instantly. When combined with Off The Record's silenced pain groans, the killer loses both auditory and visual cues, making pursuit within the boon's radius nearly impossible. Success hinges on finding and blessing a totem near a high-traffic area or hook, transforming it into a sanctuary.

For those dedicated to outright defiance of tunneling, For The People is the ultimate medic perk. It allows a healthy survivor to instantly heal an injured or dying teammate by transferring their own health state, injuring themselves in the process. This is the equivalent of a battlefield teleportation swap, plucking a teammate from death's doorstep in an instant. It can rescue a survivor from their final hook state, completely reversing the killer's momentum. Its power demands high team coordination and altruism, as the user becomes the new vulnerable target.

The classic Decisive Strike remains a reliable and straightforward countermeasure. After being unhooked, survivors carry a 60-second window where a successful skill check can stun the killer and escape their grasp. Its psychological impact is significant, forcing killers to mentally track its duration or risk a punishing stun. When paired with For The People, the combo can be devastating: a Decisive Strike user healed from the dying state by a teammate retains their stun potential, creating a layered defense.

Finally, the updated Borrowed Time continues to serve a vital role. While a base endurance effect now exists after unhooking, Borrowed Time extends this protection by an additional 10 seconds and adds a haste effect. This extra duration is critical for creating distance and reaching safety, acting like a short-term adrenaline overclock for the rescued survivor. In tandem with sabotage-focused builds, it can help break a killer's tunneling pattern entirely by making hooks temporarily unavailable.

Perk Name	Core Function	Key Synergy
Off The Record	Endurance + Silence for 80s post-rescue.	Boon: Shadow Step, Decisive Strike
Reassurance	Pauses a hooked survivor's timer by 30s.	Sabotage builds, generator-rush tactics
Boon: Shadow Step	Removes scratch marks in its radius.	Off The Record, urban evasion playstyles
For The People	Instantly heals a teammate, injuring user.	Decisive Strike, Borrowed Time
Decisive Strike	Escape grasp & stun killer within 60s of unhook.	For The People, Off The Record
Borrowed Time	Extends base endurance/haste after unhook.	Sabotage, body-blocking strategies

Effective anti-tunneling in 2026's Dead by Daylight meta is not about any single perk carrying the day. It is a symphony of coordinated team play, where perks like Off The Record and Reassurance create windows of opportunity, Shadow Step obscures trails, and game-changing swaps via For The People or stuns from Decisive Strike punish killer overcommitment. The goal is to make tunneling the least efficient and most frustrating strategy a killer can attempt, turning their focused aggression into the team's path to victory. 🛡️⚡🔦