Dead by Daylight: New Survivor Nicolas Cage Guide

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Aliya Hall is a writer and occasional freelance journalist who lives in Portland, Oregon with her fiancée and their three cats: Jane Austen, Hanni... Read more

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

In an unexpected but exciting twist, Dead by Daylight has unveiled its latest Survivor: Actor Nicolas Cage. 

The eccentric actor, best known for stealing the Declaration of Independence in National Treasure, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and many more movies with a cult following, will be joining the Survivor ranks in Chapter 28.5, set to release on July 25, 2023, but is now currently playable as part of the Public Beta Test for the DLC. 

Nicolas Cage spoke about joining the “museum of horror” during Summer Game Fest 2023, explaining that when the iconic character from the Ring franchise, Sadako Yamamura, was introduced to the game in 2022, “that was good enough for me,” he said.

 Cage added that a family member was an enthusiast of the game and that “put the hook” in him for an opportunity to branch out. 

“I’m always looking for new adventures,” he said.

Survivor Nicolas Cage is a heightened, exaggerated version of the actor, and his addition comes with 10 minutes of voice lines that are featured throughout game play. 

Here’s everything we know about the new Nicolas Cage Survivor so far! 

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DBD Nicolas Cage Overview

Superstar Nicolas Cage had seemingly done it all — from the numerous awards, billions of dollars and a film repertoire of over one hundred films — but when the script of Descend Beyond crossed his desk, it ignited something deep within him. 

He became so transfixed by the script that he ignored the warnings of his agent that the film was backed by questionable financiers and boarded a private jet to the set. Ready to film immediately, he was brought to the film’s key location: ruins of an ancient temple. 

When “Action!” was called, the actor gave his all to the opening scene, dipping his fingers into a cup of red ink and repeating a dark incantation as he painted symbols on the stone alter. When he looked up, the walls were actually glowing, revealing more symbols. Around him, black fog billowed from the temple and enveloped him. 

So much for it only being a movie. 

Nicolas Cage Perks

Nicolas Cage comes with three perks that are unique to him, Dramaturgy, Scene Partner, and Plot Twist, which bring some fun and unexpected elements to gameplay. The perks lean into the drama, giving the Survivor an advantage while escaping, revealing the Killer’s aura and pretending to be dying. 

Although these perks may not be strongest from a strategy perspective, they do succeed in shaking up a trial by attempting to make the game tougher for the Killer in specific ways — and more fun for the Survivor. 

Dramaturgy 

When you’re healthy, you can activate Dramaturgy while running with high knees for .5 seconds to gain a 25% Haste for two seconds. This is followed by one of the following effects:

• Suffer from the Exposed status for 12 seconds.
• Extend the duration of Haste for another two seconds.
• Scream, but without notifying the killer.
• Receive one rare item with a random selection of add-ons attached to it, but automatically drop any previously held item.

The same effect cannot happen twice in a row. Using the perk will also cause the Exhausted status effect and cannot be used when you’re exhausted.  

• Tier 1 (Yellow): TheExhausted status effect lasts 60 seconds.  
• Tier 2 (Green): TheExhausted status effect lasts 50 seconds.  
• Tier 3 (Purple): TheExhausted status effect lasts 40 seconds.  

Scene Partner

When you are inside the Killer’s terror radius, Scene Partner activates. When you look at the Killer, it causes you to scream, revealing their aura for a few seconds. There is also a 50% chance that you will scream again, which would extend the aura-reveal for another two seconds. The perk has a cool-down of 60 seconds.

• Tier 1 (Yellow): Reveals the Killer’s aura for 3 seconds.  
• Tier 2 (Green): Reveals the Killer’s aura for 4 seconds.  
• Tier 3 (Purple): Reveals the Killer’s aura for 5 seconds.  

Plot Twist

Similarly to the “play dead” concept, Plot Twist puts your acting skills on the spot. Whenever you are in the injured state, the perk activates. While crouching and motionless, you can press the Active Ability button to silently enter the dying state. The benefits of this includes: 

• Suppresses grunts of pain
• Suppresses pools of blood
• Grants the ability to fully recover from the dying state.

Once you make a full recovery using Plot Twist, you are healed instantly and gain a 50% haste for a few seconds. The perk deactivates once you recover, but it will reactivate once more when the Exit Gates are powered. 

• Tier 1 (Yellow): Gain a 50% haste for 2 seconds. 
• Tier 2 (Green): Gain a 50% haste for 3 seconds. 
• Tier 3 (Purple): Gain a 50% haste for 4 seconds. 

The Best Builds for Nicolas Cage

With the unique and entertaining perks that Survivor Nicolas Cage brings to the table, it’s not shocking that there’s more opportunity for some kooky and interesting builds. Many of the perks that work best for him are scene stealers, helping to get the Killer’s attention away from your teammates as they finish generators and racking up points during chase sequences. 

Plot Twist-centered Build

If you’re looking for a build that revolves around getting the most from Plot Twist, we recommend choosing Perks that can help you evade the Killer if you get picked up and ease the pressure off your teammates.

When combining Plot Twist with Flip Flop (Ash) you have an opportunity to evade the Killer if picked up. When in the dying state, Flip Flop activates, covering 50% of your recovery progression into wiggling progression up to a maximum of 40% once picked up by the Killer. With Plot Twist putting you into the dying state, you have more of an  opportunity to make an escape next time you’re in the Killer’s grasp.

In addition to Flip Flop, Power Struggle can be an interesting perk to help you escape the Killer’s clutches as well. When in the dying state, the auras of the nearby pallets are revealed to you. As your being carried by the Killer, once you reach the 25% wiggling progression, you can drop a nearby, standing pallet to stun the Killer and fully escape — giving you an alternative method of escape.

Tenacity (David) is another useful perk to have with Plot Twist because it allows you the ability to crawl and recover at the same time, as well as increase your crawling speed by 30%. Your grunts of pain are also reduced by 75%, although with Plot Twist, those sounds would already be suppressed. 

Distracting Build

Why not bring something light-hearted to our favorite murder game? If you’re looking for a build that may not necessarily help you win, but will help you distract the killer and meme about while doing it — we got you covered.

Scene Partner adds a lot of screaming to the game, but when you’re going up against a stealth Killer, it can be especially useful to help you reveal their aura and inform your other Survivors about where the Killer is.   

Other additions to this build that helps with chase sequences — or aiding in a chase sequence, is the combination of Quick & Quiet (Meg) and Head On (Jane).  In general, Quick & Quiet is an extremely useful Perk, because it surpasses both the loud noise notification and sound effects triggered by rushing to vault windows, pallets or entering and exiting lockers. With Quick & Quiet’s cool down of 30 seconds, you have plenty of time to use it in conjunction with Head On, which activates while standing in a locker for three seconds. By rushing out of the locker when a Killer is within range, you can stun the Killer for three seconds. While it causes the Exhausted status for 60 seconds, these perks can help draw the Killer away from your other teammates and give you an opportunity to earn more blood points during chase sequences. 

To help aid during those chase sequences, a perk like Any Means Necessary (Yui) can add a delightful, deceptive advantage. By pressing the active ability button for six seconds while standing beside a dropped pallet, you can reset it to its upright position as well as have the added ability of seeing the auras of all the other dropped but not destroyed pallets. By resetting pallets, you’re not only putting more defensive maneuvers back in the game, but you’re also eating into the Killer’s time, because in order for them to remove a pallet from the environment, they have to take the time to destroy it. 

Best Build Overall

If you’re looking for the overall best build with Nicolas Cage’s Perks, especially if you’re new to the game, we suggest using Dramaturgy because it has the ability to function a little like Dead Hard used to before the patch update, in the sense of having a haste speed boost. 

Adding this in conjunction with Plot Twist and Tenacity is a great way to get the most out of Nicolas Cage’s “playing dead” perk without being stuck in one spot. 

In addition, Decisive Strike (Laurie) can be beneficial to help escape too. After being unhooked or unhooking yourself, you have a chance of escaping the Killer if they decide to go after you again when the perk activates. For the next 40 seconds if you’re grabbed or picked up by the Killer, succeeding in a skill check will have you automatically escape their grasp and stun them for three seconds. After stunning the Killer, decisive strike will be disabled for the remainder of the trial and result in you becoming the obsession, which is why this perk is best for more advanced players or when the generators are completed. It’s important to note, however, that this perk does deactivate once the exit gates are powered, so you will want to be careful about when you choose to utilize this perk. 

Together though, these perks will put you on the offensive, help you evade the Killer and potentially even distract the Killer from pursuing your other teammates. 

What You’ve Really Been Looking For: Nicolas Cage Survivor Voice-lines

Although we are seeing more Killers and Survivors incorporating voice-lines, such as Survivor Ash Williams and killers The Cenobite and The Mastermind, Nicolas Cage is currently the first and only Survivor to speak actively during the trial. In his 10 minutes of voice-lines, he comments on various aspects of the trial.  

Actor Nicolas Cage added during Summer Game Fest 2023 that he wanted to include these lines so the gamers who play him will feel his presence. 

“We’re one and we’re fused,” he said. “Everything I do and say, from scream to grunt to exasperated expression is my voice.”

Chase Sequences

• “You kidding me?!”
• “We’re gonna stand up, and we’re gonna keep going back to the toy store. You can’t take them from us!”
• “No, no!”
• “Ahhh!”
• “Shhhit!”
• “Ahhh, fuck!”
• “Sadako, not you. Sadako! Oh wait a minute I don’t live with Sadako I mean, heh, it’s ok.”
• “What the!”
• “tuh tuh tuh tuh tuh tuh tuh tuh stop!”
• “Arhhh!”  

Downed by the Killer

• “Ahh…something’s broken…something’s…broken for sure.”
• “I’m completely, and totally and utterly cow tit fucked!”
• “Get control o’ the fear, Nick. Cause you gotta get control o’ the fear, it’s just like riding a horse. Get back on that horse, Nick.”
• “I’ve been in tougher situations…spelunking!”
• “It’s time like these when I ask myself…what would captain Nemo do?”
• “It’s just one of those nights.”
• “This is…not good…”
• “I’m just having one of those nights…just one of those nights.”
• “Don’t do this to me I’m not a worm.”
• “I’ll stand up again, I’ll walk. I’ll scare the fuck out of you, Killer. I’m Nick fucking Cage! Argh, cut.”

Grabbed by the Killer

• “Come on, turn to the light. C-come on you can do better than this, you are better than this. Didn’t y-your parents ever tell you that?”
• “Ow! Ow! Fuckin ow!”
• “No, no, no, no, no, no! Whatever you’re going through, I get it. You’re angry. You need a release. I’m telling you, this isn’t the way.”
• “No, no, no, no, no! Please…please…let’s just stop for a moment. T-take a deep breath and-and think about what we’re actually doing here.”
• “Can we please just talk about this like two rational adults? Please?”
• Hold on! Hold on! Let-let-let’s talk about this.”
• Look. W-Whatever I did…I’m sorry. I-I-I’m really, really sorry. Now will you just PUT ME DOWN!”
• “No, no, no! Please…”
• “Ow! Ok stop, would you just stop? Stop it!”

Failing a Skill Check

• “Fantastic.”
• “Sorry. Sorry about that.”
• “No!”
• “Shoot.”
• “Uh…Great.”
• “My…my mistake. My mistake.”
• “Shhh…”
• “I’m six years old again, and the boogeyman is coming because I made a big noise and I’m very sorry.”
• “I’m really sorry that I did that to all of us.”

Exit Gates Opening

• “Power up, power down, circle around, open that gate!”
• “Come on!”
• “Okay…okay…”
• “Hurry, hurry.”
• “Almost there…almost there.”
• “Please…go…a little faster.”
• “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
• “Can you go any slower? Come on.”
• “We’re gonna get out of that gate and we’re not gonna go back to that fucking campsite again.”
• “Can you just wink at everybody that ya made it, buddy? Ya made it, you’re free! You’re freeee now!”

Escaping the Trial

• “And I’mmm outta here!”
• “Now THAT was crazy!”
• “See yaaa…never!”
• “He takes the cake and he eats it tooo!”
• “Aaaand I’m outta here!”
• “O-O-Ohhh oh yeah!”
• “Out of the frying pan and…wherever I end up.”
• “Sayo-nara!”
• “Go! Go! Go!”
• “Ohhh….holy shit that was close.”
• “That, yeah…that was a trip!”
• “See ya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya, homicidal freak.”
• “Bye-bye!”
• “Damn right I made it!”
• “Hello freedom!”
• “Heeell ya!”
• “Ciao baby!”
• “Ba-bye!”
• “Drum roll, please!”
• “Whatever you do…don’t look back.”
• “And he takes the cake! Yes.”
• “Let’s go!”
• “Ha!”

Join the High Ground

Although players are just starting to get a chance to toy around with Survivor Nicolas Cage to determine the best (or most meme-y) builds, there’s no denying that Nicolas Cage’s addition to Dead by Daylight is going to be a fun way to reinvigorate game play for Survivors and Killers both! 

That’s it for our Dead by Daylight guide to Nicolas Cage — thanks for reading! Let us know which Killer we should cover next in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more content like this.

Happy gaming!