The Skull Merchant, introduced to Dead by Daylight in March 2023's Chapter 27, has been a challenging Killer to master.  Known for her strategic gameplay and reliance on drones for information gathering and long-range attacks, she hasn't achieved the same popularity as other Killers. Behaviour Interactive is addressing this with a substantial rework designed to shift her playstyle from passive to active hunting.

The changes primarily revolve around her drones. While they will retain their reconnaissance function, Survivors will now only see the direction of the drone scan, not its full range, making it harder to evade detection. The biggest shift is the ability for The Skull Merchant to directly control drones and use them as offensive weapons.  Colliding a drone with a Survivor will inflict damage at the cost of the drone, effectively trading one health state for another.

While controlling a drone offensively, The Skull Merchant gains the advantage of undetectability, forcing Survivors to prioritize disabling the attacking drone.  Each drone has limited power, adding another layer of strategy to the chase.  Further enhancing her hunting capabilities, The Skull Merchant gains a new detection power (details yet to be revealed) that will expose the location of any running Survivor. Survivors will be alerted when this power is active, creating tense moments of cat and mouse.

Survivors retain the ability to hack drones, but the stakes are higher. A successful hack reveals The Skull Merchant's aura, providing valuable intel on her position.  However, a failed hack not only temporarily disables the Survivor's hacking ability but also reveals their location to The Skull Merchant via Killer Instinct, making hacking a riskier but potentially rewarding maneuver.

These changes aim to streamline The Skull Merchant's gameplay, making her more accessible for players while simultaneously creating more dynamic and engaging encounters for both Killers and Survivors. The shift to a more active playstyle, centered around direct drone control and enhanced detection, promises to revitalize The Skull Merchant and solidify her place within the Dead by Daylight roster. While the implementation date remains unknown, these changes are highly anticipated by the community.

This update also follows the addition of other anime-inspired characters, demonstrating Dead by Daylight's continued exploration of diverse horror themes.  Characters like Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul have paved the way for more anime crossovers, opening up a world of possibilities for future Killer additions.