- "You've fooled them, haven't you Michael? But not me."
- ―Dr. Sam Loomis[src]
Michael Myers, AKA The Shape, is one of several Killers featured in the video game Dead by Daylight. He is based upon the Halloween character of the same name.
He was introduced as the Killer of CHAPTER II: The HALLOWEEN® Chapter, a Chapter DLC released on 25 October 2016.
Character[]
The Shape is a haunting Killer, intent on monitoring Survivors from a distance to feed his Power. The more he stalks, the stronger and faster he becomes.
His personal Perks, Save The Best For Last, Play With Your Food and Dying Light, select one Survivor to become his Obsession and will trigger deadly effects based on the Obsession Status.
His Perks are focused around Obsessions, just like Michael Myers is obsessed with killing, the Killer picks a Survivor, and tags them as his Obsession.
Difficulty Rating: Moderate
(These Killers require the Player to be comfortable with the basics of the role, though they share common mechanics with easier ones)
- "Something, or rather someone, is here now. I've never seen this... Shape before. A man hiding behind a mask. He comes with a determination. But more worrying, he comes with an apparent grasp of the hunt. He does not strike me as someone who even went unwillingly to this place. Is there more to this being than I can fathom?"
- ―Unknown[src]
I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding of even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil.
Dead by Daylight lore[]
Some humans are simply bad seeds. Seeds infused with a distilled and pure form of evil.
Michael Myers is one of those seeds. He had no issues with causing the pain of others. Instead, it was exactly what he sought. But even life can be tough on those with minds filled with terror. The difference is just how one goes about to solve those problems. For Michael, he had to kill to find some inner peace. As he took his sister's life, the police found a silent boy dressed as a clown at the scene.
When one stumbles upon a growing fire, one does not pour gasoline on it. But this was an action taken by officials that had no idea how it would shape this demon in the boy's body. Sending Michael to a mental institution was a feeble attempt to save the child. Unsuccessful therapy and nightly screams just made him even more introverted and deranged.
People hoped that Michael Myers would end up a parenthesis, soon to be forgotten and buried, a failure that would soon rot away. But then...he escaped.
Perks[]
Save the Best for Last[]
- You become obsessed with one Survivor. Each time you hit a Survivor other than your Obsession with a Basic Attack, Save the Best for Last gains 1 Token, up to a maximum of 8 Tokens:
- Gain a stack-able 5 % Cool-down reduction on successful attacks per Token, up to a maximum of 40 %. Each time you hit your Obsession with a Basic Attack, Save the Best for Last loses 4/3/2 Tokens.
- When the Obsession is sacrificed or killed, you can neither gain nor lose any more Tokens. You can only be obsessed with one Survivor at a time. "Death has come to your little town, Sheriff." — Dr Sam Loomis
Patch 1.5.0[]
- Rework: no longer affects missed Basic Attacks and only applies its effect once after chasing a Survivor for a considerable amount of time.
- Buff: increased the Cool-down reduction to successful Basic Attacks from 25/29/33 % to 30/35/40 %.
- Nerf: must be chasing a Survivor for at least 20 seconds to activate Save the Best for Last.
- Nerf: removed the Cool-down reduction to missed Basic Attacks.
Patch 2.1.0[]
- Rework: now works on the basis of accumulated Tokens: the more Tokens the higher the Cool-down reduction.
Patch 7.5.0[]
- Buff: changed the Token loss from a variable 4/3/2 Tokens to a fixed -2 Tokens.
- Nerf: now causes the Perk to lose Tokens when the Obsession loses a Health State by any means, making it impossible to by-pass the penalty on Killers with a Special Attack.
- Nerf: reduced the Cool-down reduction from a stack-able -5 % to -4 %.
- Nerf: changed the maximum Token count from a fixed 8 Tokens to a variable 6/7/8 Tokens.
Play with Your Food[]
- You become obsessed with one Survivor. Each time you chase your Obsession and let them escape, Play with Your Food receives 1 Token, up to a maximum of 3 Tokens:
- Each Token applies a stack-able 3/4/5 % Haste Status Effect, up to a maximum of 9/12/15 %.
- Performing Basic Attacks, or Special Attacks that can damage Survivors, consumes 1 Token. Play with Your Food has a cool-down of 10 seconds on Token-accumulation. You can only be obsessed with one Survivor at a time. "You've fooled them, haven't you Michael? But not me." — Dr Sam Loomis
Dying Light[]
You become obsessed with one Survivor.
Each time you hook a Survivor other than your Obsession, you gain 1 Token:
- For as long as the Obsession is alive, all other Survivors suffer from a stack-able 2/2.5/3 % penalty to Repairing, Healing, and Sabotaging speeds per Token, up to a maximum of 22/27.5/33 % or 11 Tokens.
- The Obsession is unaffected by this penalty and instead granted a permanent 33 % Action Speed bonus to Unhooking and Healing other Survivors.
You can only be obsessed with one Survivor at a time.
"This isn't a man..." — Dr Sam Loomis
Load-out[]
Kitchen Knife[]
The Kitchen Knife is the Shape's primary weapon. An oversized blade with devastatingly sharp edges.
- If he gets a successful hit on a Survivor, the attack cooldown animation is the Shape examining his knife.
- While in Evil Within III, he will hold his knife upside down.
Power[]
The darkness inside feeds his determination to take the life of his prey.
EVIL WITHIN:
Activating Evil Within allows The Shape to see his prey clearly and build up more evil power by stalking them:
Evil Within I:
- The Shape is granted the Undetectable Status Effect.
- The Shape has a reduced Movement speed of 4.2 m/s.
- The Shape has a reduced Lunge Attack open time of 0.2 seconds, decreasing his range.
- The Shape has a normal Vaulting time of 1.7 seconds.
Evil Within II:
- The Shape has a reduced Terror Radius of 16 metres.
- The Shape has a normal Movement speed of 4.6 m/s.
- The Shape has a normal Lunge Attack open time of 0.5 seconds.
- The Shape has a reduced Vaulting time of 1.48 seconds.
Evil Within III:
- All Survivors suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 60 seconds, after which The Shape automatically regresses to Evil Within II.
- The Shape has a normal Terror Radius of 32 metres.
- The Shape has a normal Movement speed of 4.6 m/s.
- The Shape has an increased Lunge Attack open time of 0.6 seconds, increasing his range.
- The Shape has a further reduced Vaulting time of 1.275 seconds.
SPECIAL ABILITY: Stalk
Press and hold the Power button to stalk all visible Survivors.
Stalking Survivors builds up your progress through Evil Within Tiers.
"I met him, fifteen years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding; and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong.
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes.
I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realised that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil." — Dr Sam Loomis
Power trivia[]
Movement Speeds:
- Active Stalking: 0.92 m/s
- The Shape enters this mode as soon as a Survivor enters his Field of View and is within Stalking range while Stalking.
- Passive Stalking: 2.76 m/s
- The Shape is in this mode whenever he is Stalking without seeing any Survivor in his Field of View or who is within Stalking range.
- Walking Evil Within I: 4.2 m/s
- Walking Evil Within II/III: 4.6 m/s
Evil Within:
- Once The Shape tiers-up past Evil Within I, he is unable tier-down back to Evil Within I.
- The Shape's Terror Radius in Evil Within I is still defined in code as 6 metres, hence why his Character Info still lists a Terror-Radius range of 6/16/32 metres. However, since he is granted a permanent Undetectable Status Effect, he effectively has a Terror Radius of 0 metres in that Tier. Both claims (6 metres vs. 0 metres) are technically correct, given the proper context.
Lunge Attack:
- Evil Within I
- Attack open time: 0.2 seconds
- Evil Within II
- Attack open time: 0.5 seconds (Killer default)
- Evil Within III
- Attack open time: 0.6 seconds
Stalk Points / Evil:
- Stalk Points per Evil Within Tier: 5 Stalk points
- Stalk Points are obtained by stalking Survivors who are in The Shape's Field of View, draining them of their "Evil".
- Despite all Survivors being highlighted when stalking, Evil is only drained from the one closest to The Shape at a time. He cannot stalk multiple Survivors at once anymore (see Change Log).
- Stalk-Point Reservoir per Trial: 40.4 Stalk points
- This reservoir is evenly distributed across all Survivors loading into a Trial (relevant for Custom Games). In a regular Trial, this results in each Survivor having 10.1 Stalk Points The Shape can obtain from them.
Power-Depletion mechanic:
- Evil Within has a built-in Power-Depletion mechanic, which drains the Power gauge by -5 Stalk points whenever Evil Within III elapses.
- Assuming there are no Add-ons equipped that increase the number of Stalk points The Shape must acquire to reach Evil Within III for the first time, this will reset the Power gauge to an empty Evil Within II.
- If there are any Add-ons equipped that increase the number of Stalk points The Shape must acquire to reach Evil Within III for the first time, this will reset the Power gauge to a partially filled Evil Within II.
Stalking:
- Stalk range: 2.5 metres to 39.85 metres.
- Outside of this range, no Evil will be drained from Survivors.
- Stalk rate: 0.8333 Stalk Points per second
- The Stalk rate is affected by a distance penalty, reducing its efficiency the farther away a Survivor is from The Shape, ranging from 100 % at closest range to just 10 % at farthest range.
- The Stalk-efficiency-to-distance ratio appears to be linear, meaning that at a distance of 50 % (~21 metres), the Stalk efficiency will be 50 % as well.
- Stalk time: 6 seconds per Tier
- The Stalk time is coupled to the Stalk rate, ranging from 6 seconds @ 100 % efficiency to 60 seconds @ 10 % efficiency.
- Unlike the Stalk-efficiency-to-distance ratio, the Stalk time increases exponentially with distance. A graph detailing this can be found in the Gallery section.
Outline colors:
- The amount of Stalk Points or Evil a Survivor has left is indicated to The Shape via the color of their outline when being stalked.
- The color ranges from white (10.1 points) to red (0 points).
This audio cue used to warn Survivors actively being stalked by The Shape that his next Tier-up was imminent (Power gauge at ~85 %).
It was disabled after a few patches as the developers considered it too much information for the Survivors.
Stances[]
Observant players may notice that The Shape changes his stance when progressing through his Evil Within Tiers or when he has specific Add-ons equipped.
However, contrary to popular belief, these stance-changes are not tied to those, but rather directly to The Shape's momentary Movement speed, which happens to often correlate with his Tiers and Add-ons.
This behaviour allows Players using a controller to fake a different stance or even the use of specific Add-ons by purposefully walking slower than his maximum speed.
The Shape has 2 distinct Stances:
| Slow Stance | Fast Stance |
|---|---|
|
|
Add-ons[]
Tacky Earrings[]
A very cheap piece of jewellery made from plastic. Painted to resemble precious material.
- Increases the Movement speed of The Shape while Stalking by +10 %.
Memorial Flower[]
A partially faded and dried pink larkspur picked up from a gravestone.
- Increases the Stalk rate by +11 %.
Boyfriend's Memo[]
A "romantic", if slightly sleazy, note left around to draw the attention of a female lover.
- Increases the range of The Shape's Lunge Attack by +50 % while in Evil Within I.
"The note is signed: D."
Blond Hair[]
A single slightly wavy blond hair.
- Increases the duration of Evil Within III by +10 seconds.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +50 %.
Reflective Fragment[]
A tiny piece of a highly reflective material most probably from a broken mirror.
- The Auras of Survivors, who have been stalked for at least 1 second while in Evil Within II, are revealed for 2 seconds.
Jewellery[]
A large necklace made of beads an inexpensive metals.
One of Judith's favourites.
- Increases the Movement speed of The Shape while Stalking by +20 %.
Hair Brush[]
A nylon bristle brush used to add body and softness to hair.
- Increases the duration of Evil Within III by +20 seconds.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +50 %.
Glass Fragment[]
A tiny piece of tinted glass, probably from a broken object.
It is impossible to determine its origin.
- The Auras of Survivors, who have been stalked for at least 1 second while in Evil Within I, are revealed for 3 seconds.
Dead Rabbit[]
A grey rabbit which has been opened from neck to tail.
- Reduces The Shape's Terror Radius by -25 % while in Evil Within II.
- Increases The Shape's Terror Radius by +25 % while in Evil Within III.
Mirror Shard[]
A large and sharp piece of a broken mirror.
- The Auras of Survivors, who have been stalked for at least 1 second while in Evil Within II, are revealed for 5 seconds.
Judith's Journal[]
A journal identified as owned by Judith M. Myers.
Most of the pages are defaced with frightening and disturbing drawings.
- Increases the Stalk rate on the Obsession by +40 %.
Jewellery Box[]
A barren wooden box in which vanity items were once stored.
- Increases the Movement speed of The Shape while Stalking by +30 %.
J. Myers Memorial[]
A glossy page ripped from the 1965 Haddonfield High School yearbook, one dedicated to the memory of Judith Myers.
- Increases the Stalk rate by +25 %.
Hair Bow[]
A blue tartan ribbon used to tie hair.
- Increases the duration of Evil Within III by +30 seconds.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +50 %.
Vanity Mirror[]
A standing portable vanity mirror in perfect condition except for a fine layer of dust and face powder covering it.
- The Auras of all Survivors within 16 metres of The Shape are revealed while Stalking in Evil Within II.
- Grants 100 % bonus Bloodpoints for Hit Score Events in the Brutality Category.
- Grants 150 % bonus Bloodpoints for Hit Score Events in the Deviousness Category.
- The Shape is unable to progress past Evil Within II.
Tombstone Piece[]
A fist-sized granite piece taken from a broken tombstone.
- Grants the ability to kill healthy or injured Survivors while in Evil Within III.
- Killing a Survivor drains the power of Evil Within III, resetting it to Evil Within II.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +150 %.
Scratched Mirror[]
A standing portable vanity mirror which has been violently scratched with a sharp metallic object.
- The Auras of all Survivors within 32 metres of The Shape are revealed while Stalking in Evil Within I.
- Grants 100 % bonus Bloodpoints for Hit Score Events in the Brutality Category.
- Grants 200 % bonus Bloodpoints for Hit Score Events in the Deviousness Category.
- The Shape is unable to progress past Evil Within I.
Lock of Hair[]
A cut lock of blond hair bunched with a black elastic.
- Increases the duration of Evil Within III by +40 seconds.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +100 %.
Judith's Tombstone[]
A large and heavy granite tombstone stolen from Mt. Sinclair cemetery, belonging to Judith Myers.
- Grants the ability to kill healthy or injured Survivors while in Evil Within III.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +200 %.
- Reduces the Movement speed of The Shape by -9 % while in Evil Within III.
"Here lies our beloved daughter."
Fragrant Tuft of Hair[]
A tuft of blond hair which was forcefully torn off someone's scalp.
Releases hints of feminine floral fragrance.
- Grants unlimited duration to Evil Within III.
- Increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time by +200 %.
Add-on changes[]
Hotfix 1.2.1d[]
- Nerf: Vanity Mirror added a Movement speed penalty of 7 %.
Patch 4.0.0[]
- Quality of Life: Blond Hair updated the description to reflect the fact that Blond Hair only increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time it is reached, rather than with every subsequent Tier-up.
- Quality of Life: Hair Brush updated the description to reflect the fact that Hair Brush only increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time it is reached, rather than with every subsequent Tier-up.
- Quality of Life: Hair Bow updated the description to reflect the fact that Hair Bow only increases the amount of Evil required to reach Evil Within III for the first time it is reached, rather than with every subsequent Tier-up.
Patch 5.3.0[]
- Change: Memorial Flower lowered the Rarity from Uncommon to Common.
- Buff: Judith's Tombstone can now only reduces Movement Speed while in Evil Within III.
Rite[]
Rite of the Dark Within[]
With The Shape, stalk Survivors for a total of 4 Evil Within tier-ups.
Change log[]
Hotfix 1.2.1e[]
- Nerf: removed the ability to stalk multiple Survivors at once to greatly progress Evil Within.
Patch 2.1.0[]
- Buff: increased The Shape's Movement speed in Evil Within I from 4.14 m/s to 4.2 m/s.
- Quality of Life: adjusted The Shape's Carrying speed to be 3.68 m/s across all Tiers (used to be slower in Evil Within I).
Patch 3.3.0[]
- Evil Within I now applies the Undetectable Status Effect.
- The Shape's Terror Radius in Evil Within I is now reduced to 0 metres from formerly 6 metres.
- Evil Within I no longer grants immunity from detection Perks, meaning that Premonition and Spine Chill, which previously would not detect him in Evil Within I, will now announce his approach.
Patch 4.1.2[]
- Nerf (undocumented): removed the ability to stalk on Evil Within III.
Patch 5.7.0[]
- Change: tweaked some values related to the Stalking ability due to a technical rework of the mechanic.
Patch 6.6.0[]
- Quality of Life: removed the HUD elements when using the Tombstone Piece or Judith's Tombstone Add-ons to Mori the Survivors, allowing for a more cinematic experience when killing Survivors this way.
Patch 7.3.3[]
- Change (undocumented): changed the standard Memento Mori perspective to Third Person, making it identical to the Survivors' perspective.
Patch 7.4.0[]
- Change (undocumented): updated The Shape's Lobby Idle animation.
Perk changes[]
Change log[]
Save the Best for Last[]
Patch 1.5.0[]
- Nerf: removed the flat attack cool-down reductions of 14/18/20 % for missed attacks and 25/29/33 % for successful attacks.
- Replaced those with an attack cool-down reduction of 30/35/40 % for successful attacks only that is triggers after chasing a Survivor for 20 consecutive seconds.
Patch 2.1.0[]
- Rework: now Token-based, each Token grants a stackable 5 % decreased cool-down on successful attacks.
- Tokens are gained for each successful hit that is not dealt to the Obsession.
- You can earn up to 8 Tokens or a total cool-down reduction of 40 %.
- 4/3/2 Tokens are lost for attacking the Obsession with Basic Attacks.
Patch 7.5.0[]
- Buff: changed the Token loss from a variable 4/3/2 Tokens to a fixed -2 Tokens.
- Nerf: now causes the Perk to lose Tokens on Special Attacks on the Obsession as well, making it now impossible to by-pass the penalty on M2 Killers.
- Nerf: reduced the Cool-down reduction from a stack-able -5 % to -4 %.
- Nerf: changed the maximum Token count from a fixed 8 Tokens to a variable 6/7/8 Tokens.
Play with Your Food[]
Hotfix 1.2.1d[]
- Nerf: decreased the Movement Speed bonus to 3/4/5 % per Token.
- Nerf: added a cool-down timer to Token-accumulation.
Patch 3.7.0[]
- Change: updated the Perk's description to specify the types of Attack instead of just referring to them as "offensive actions".
Dying Light[]
Patch 3.2.0[]
- Rework: Dying Light now gains a Token each time a Survivor is hooked that is not the Killer's Obsession and as long as the Obsession remains alive, all other Survivors will be affected by a penalty to their Repair, Healing and Sabotage speed. The Obsession on the other hand gains a boost to the speed of unhooking and healing other Survivors.
Notes and trivia[]
- The Shape was the first Killer to be introduced as a paid DLC and as a licensed Character.
- The Shape's in-game name is a reference to the original 1978 movie: during the credits, his character is credited as "The Shape".
- The Shape was the first, and for a long time only Killer, to feature a unique Terror Radius and Chase Music.
- The Terror Radius, as well as the Tier-up music, is a version of a theme from the Halloween OST, specifically, "The Hanger".
- The Tier-up Warning sound cue (no longer in use) is a version of "The Hedge".
- The Shape was the first Killer to feature a Power gauge.
- The Shape was the second Killer to wear a face mask.
- The Shape has a small animated trail behind his knife when he swings.
- The Shape features standard boots in Dead by Daylight, whereas in the film, he can be seen wearing Green Vietnam Combat Jungle Boots.
- The Shape's Memento Mori is likely a reference to how he kills Bob Simms in the 1978 film Halloween. He grabs Bob with his left hand, lifts Bob up and then stabs him.
- The Shape was the first Killer to have two Memento Mori animations.
- Killing Survivors using his Tombstone Piece or Judith's Tombstone Add-ons, The Shape grabs them from behind, turns them around, and lifts them up before stabbing them.
- Killing Survivors using Perks or Offerings, The Shape lifts the downed Survivor by their neck up from the ground before stabbing them.
- The Shape was the first Killer with a unique way to kill Survivors.
- The Shape was the first Killer that can Mori the Survivors regardless of how many times they had been hooked in a Trial.
- The Shape's Weapon (the Kitchen Knife) can be found stabbed into the poker table at the Dead Dawg Saloon map.
- The Shape is voiced by Frédéric Poirier, who at that time worked as the Senior Sound Designer on the Game.
- The Shape shares his voice-actor with Felix Richter.
- The icon for Michael's killer perk: Play with Your Food can be found in Dead by Daylight's companion game The Casting of Frank Stone.