How does Forced Penance work in Dead by Daylight?

There’s nothing more annoying than being the opposing force in an asymmetrical multiplayer game and having the opposing team run circles around you. You’re supposed to be the stronger one by design, but it’s rather demoralizing to have all of your efforts rendered null. Luckily, if you’re a Killer main in Dead By Daylight, there is a way to punish those who get in your way, at least in a minor capacity. So, how does Forced Penance work in Dead By Daylight?

How does Forced Penance work in Dead by Daylight?

Forced Penance is a Killer Perk added to the game alongside the addition of Pyramid Head, AKA The Executioner. Punishment and penance are kind of his shtick after all, so it’s a thematically appropriate ability. The in-game Perk description reads as such: “Survivors who take a Protection Hit suffer from the Broken Status Effect for the next several seconds.” There’s a bit of terminology to unpack there.

What is a Protection Hit?

A Protection Hit is a Survivor hit condition that occurs when a Survivor takes a hit from a Killer while within 10 meters of an Injured Survivor, or while the Killer is carrying a Survivor over their shoulder. The idea is that a Survivor can take a blow for an injured ally in order to prevent them from being downed. It is in this condition, however, that Forced Penance is activated.

When Forced Penance is activated, the Survivor who took the Protection Hit is inflicted with the Broken status effect. When a Survivor is Broken, they’re unable to heal or be healed back to the Healthy state, and must remain in the Injured state until the effect wears off or they take another hit into the Dying state. 

The tier of Forced Penance determines how long the affected Survivor will be Broken for. At Tier 1, it lasts for 60 seconds, at Tier 2, 70 seconds, and Tier 3, 80 seconds. With this Perk, a Killer can either subtly discourage Survivors from taking hits for each other or, if they do so anyway, punish them for getting in the way by making it more difficult for them to recover.