Iridescent Shards are the real currency in Dead by Daylight if you want to play without spending money on new characters, perks, and cosmetics.
Efficiently farming these Shards early on can significantly improve your gameplay by unlocking new perks and abilities. Here’s how to maximize your earnings and earn over 100 Shards in just a few games.
Why You Need Iridescent Shards
First, when you boot up Dead by Daylight for the first time, it will have very few characters. All of these characters have interesting abilities and perks, which can be unlocked and carried forward to the others.
Unlocking a new character costs 9,000 Iridescent Shards, but if you’re after certain perks, you can visit the Shrine of Secrets in the store, where the perks are individually priced at 2,000 Shards. This includes perks from licensed killers and survivors, too.
Farming Iridescent Shards for Player Leveling
You earn Iridescent Shards by gaining experience points (XP) and levelling up. Your XP progress and player level can be tracked in your profile.
- Level 100: Achieves a Devotion level and resets your player level, but the XP-to-Shard ratio remains unchanged.
- XP Gains: Up to 600 XP per match, achievable within 10 minutes. With the right strategy, you can earn up to 900 XP per match.
How to Get More Iridescent Shards
Survivor Strategy:
- Objective: Survive for 10 minutes in every match.
- Perks:
- Distortion: To hide your aura at the start of the game.
- Fixated: So you can walk faster.
- Urban Evasion: To increase crouch walking speed.
- Sprint Burst: Sprint away from the killer.
- Gameplay Tips: Focus on survival rather than winning. You can hide or cleanse totems to stay out of the killer’s sight. Healing yourself using a Medkit in a safe location will also give you extra survival time.
Killer Strategy:
- Goal: Make sure the match lasts 10 minutes.
- Choice of Killer: Choose killers who do not have slowdown mechanics, like the Huntress or Wraith.
- Perks: Corrupt Intervention and generator regression perks to keep survivors busy and ensure the match reaches 10 minutes.
Iridescent Shards Farming Efficiency
This section breaks down the specific XP gains and how they translate into Iridescent Shards, detailing the time investment required to unlock characters:
Base Calculation:
- Every game makes approximately 600 XP, equivalent to about 42 Shards. This calculation is based on the ratio of 1:14 for the XP-to-Shard ratio.
Maximizing XP Gains:
- It translates into 64 Shards when earning 900 XP per game.
Daily Playtime Scenarios:
- 20 Minutes Daily: ~120 Shards, unlock a character in ~75 days.
- 40 Minutes Daily: ~200 Shards, unlock a character in ~45 days.
- One Hour Daily: ~280 Shards, unlock a character in ~32 days.
On the other hand, without the daily bonuses, it would amount to ~240 Shards and unlock a character in approximately ~17 days (based on two hours of play daily).
Bonus Tips for Farming Shards
- Daily Bonus: Play your first match of the day as either a Survivor or a Killer to earn an additional 300 XP bonus.
- Community Codes: Follow the Dead by Daylight community regularly for special codes that give out free Iridescent Shards. They are normally shared during special events or other promotions.
