Do you have to pay for killers and survivors in Dead by Daylight?

Only the licensed ones. Every original killer or survivor — the ones Behaviour Interactive created for Dead by Daylight itself — can be unlocked for free with Iridescent Shards, a currency you earn just by playing. Licensed characters, the horror-movie and video-game crossovers like Michael Myers or Leatherface, can only be unlocked with real money: either by buying their DLC chapter outright or by spending Auric Cells, the currency you buy with cash. That split exists because Behaviour has to pay for each license, and Iridescent Shards are something the game hands out for free.

Iridescent Shards come from playing: you get a batch every time your Player Account levels up from match XP, plus smaller amounts from Rift tracks and login events. There's no way to buy them — grinding matches is the only source. Auric Cells work the other way around: you can only get them by paying, either in the in-game store or bundled into a chapter's DLC price.

You don't have to own a licensed character to play against one — if another player owns Myers or Leatherface, you'll still be matched into their lobby. Owning the DLC only matters if you want to play as that killer or survivor yourself.

Perks work on a separate system. Every perk that ships with an original character can also be bought directly at the Shrine of Secrets, a rotating shop that swaps in four perks a week — two for killers, two for survivors — priced in Iridescent Shards. Buying a perk there unlocks it for every character on that side (killer or survivor) without needing to level up, or even own, the character it's normally taught by. Perks tied to licensed characters aren't sold there — for those, you still need the character itself.

If tunneling, slugging or camping are the parts of a match you actually want explained, that's a separate subject — see our guide on tunneling, slugging and the rest.