Dead by Daylight Grades Explained: Every Grade from Ash to Iridescent

In Dead by Daylight, the ranks are called Grades. There are 20 of them, from Ash IV to Iridescent I, tracked separately for Killer and Survivor. On the 13th of every month, everyone drops back to Ash IV and gets Bloodpoints in return.

One thing up front: your Grade says nothing about your matchmaking. Since September 2021 the game has used a hidden rating for that. Your Grade only shows how much and how well you have played in the current month.

This guide covers every Grade in order, the pips you need, how emblems decide your progress, what happens at the reset and how many Bloodpoints you get. Accurate as of 28 October 2026, based on Behaviour Interactive and the official Dead by Daylight Wiki.

All Dead by Daylight Grades in order

Ash IV is the lowest Grade, Iridescent I the highest. There are five qualities with four levels each. The numbers run backwards: IV is the lowest level, I the highest.

1. 05 Iridescent IV · III · II · I
2. 04 Gold IV · III · II · I
3. 03 Silver IV · III · II · I
4. 02 Bronze IV · III · II · I
5. 01 Ash IV · III · II · I

Killers and Survivors each have their own Grade. It is shared across all Killers or all Survivors, not tracked per character. You can see your Grade in your player profile. Other players cannot see it.

Grades instead of Ranks 20 to 1

Until patch 5.2.0, the game used Ranks from 20 to 1. According to Behaviour, they were converted one to one: Rank 20 = Ash IV, Rank 19 = Ash III and so on up to Rank 1 = Iridescent I. Unlike the old Ranks, Grades do not affect matchmaking, and you can no longer lose them during the month.

Pips: how many you need per Grade

You climb with pips. Fill all pip slots of a Grade and you move up a level. Values from the official wiki:

Going from Ash IV to Iridescent I takes 85 pips per role. Since a trial gives you at most 2 pips, you need at least 43 trials as Killer and another 43 as Survivor.

Emblems decide your pips

After every trial, the game rates your performance with four emblems. Each emblem has a quality, and each quality is worth emblem points:

That makes 16 points the maximum per trial. The emblems are:

• Survivor: Lightbringer (generators, totems, exit gates), Unbroken (surviving and escaping), Benevolent (healing, hook rescues) and Evader (chases and staying hidden near the Killer).
• Killer: Gatekeeper (keeping generators unrepaired), Devout (sacrifices and kills), Malicious (hits and hook states) and Chaser (finding Survivors and hitting them quickly).

How many points you need for a pip

The higher your Grade, the more emblem points you need. From Silver up, Killers face stricter thresholds than Survivors:

Below that you get no pip, but you do not lose one either. Since patch 7.7.0, de-pipping is gone. A Grade you reach is safe until the next reset.

As a Killer in Iridescent IV to II, a double pip therefore needs 16 points, meaning four Iridescent emblems.

Reset on the 13th: back to Ash IV

A season lasts one month. According to Behaviour, on the 13th of every month all players are reset to Ash IV as both Killer and Survivor, regardless of their previous Grade. Your hidden matchmaking rating stays unchanged.

• Next reset: 13 November 2026, then 13 December 2026.
• Time: Behaviour only gives the date. According to the wiki, the reset has happened for everyone at once at 11 AM US Eastern time since March 2024. On 13 November that is 16:00 UTC (17:00 in Germany).

Bloodpoint rewards

At the reset you get Bloodpoints for the highest Grade you reached, separately for Killer and Survivor. The amounts do not stack: you only get the value of your final Grade. Values from the official wiki:

With Iridescent I on both sides, you can earn up to 2,000,000 Bloodpoints a month. If you do not play at all and stay at Ash IV, you get nothing.

Grades and matchmaking: what actually counts

Since 8 September 2021, Dead by Daylight has used skill-based matchmaking with a hidden rating. According to Behaviour:

• Each Killer has its own rating. With a Killer you have just started, you will likely face easier opponents.
• All Survivors share one rating.
• The rating goes up when you do well and down when you do poorly. It is not visible.

So Iridescent I mainly means you played a lot, and played solidly, this month. A reset does not make your lobbies easier.

Tips for climbing

• Work on all four emblems: As a Survivor, doing only generators earns few points. One rescue, one heal and one won chase lift several emblems at once.
• Don't camp as Killer: According to the wiki, the Chaser emblem deducts points if you stay near a hooked Survivor for too long.
• Kills beat bleed-outs: Devout rewards sacrifices and kills, not Survivors who bleed out.
• Finish one role first: The biggest rewards sit in Iridescent. Taking one side all the way pays more than two half-finished climbs.
• Plan before the 13th: At the end of the month only your reached Grade counts. After the reset you start at Ash IV anyway.

Recommended hardware

Dead by Daylight runs on PC and consoles. As a Survivor in particular, you hear the Killer's heartbeat before you see them. These guides help with your setup:

• Gaming headset buying guide
• Gaming controller buying guide
• Gaming monitor buying guide

Three example products (manufacturer or Amazon listing specs, not our own tests):

Example model

Headset for PC and console: HyperX Cloud III

Connection

3.5 mm, USB-C and USB-A

Drivers

53 mm, angled

Microphone

detachable, 10 mm, noise-cancelling, LED mute

Platforms

PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Mac, mobile

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Example model

For Xbox and PC: Xbox Wireless Controller

Platform

Xbox consoles, Windows PC, iOS and Android

Connection

Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth

Audio

3.5 mm headset jack

Power

2 AA batteries (included), up to 40 hours according to the manufacturer

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Example model

For PS5: DualSense Wireless Controller

Platform

PlayStation 5 (not compatible with the PS4 console)

Features

haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, motion sensor, built-in mic

Connection

USB Type-C and Bluetooth

Audio

3.5 mm jack + built-in mic with mute button

Battery

built-in, charged via USB-C

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Frequently asked questions

What is the highest Grade in Dead by Daylight?

Iridescent I. There is nothing above it. Killer and Survivor each have their own Iridescent I.

How many Grades are there in Dead by Daylight?

20 Grades: Ash, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Iridescent, each with four levels from IV to I.

When is the next Grade reset?

On 13 November 2026. The reset always happens on the 13th of the month, according to the wiki at 11 AM US Eastern time.

Can you lose a Grade in Dead by Daylight?

No, not during the month. De-pipping was removed in patch 7.7.0. Only the monthly reset sends you back to Ash IV.

Do Grades affect matchmaking?

No. Matchmaking uses a hidden rating that stays the same at the reset. Your Grade only decides your Bloodpoint reward.

How many Bloodpoints do you get for Iridescent I?

1,000,000 Bloodpoints per role. With Iridescent I as both Killer and Survivor, that is 2,000,000.

Sources

• Behaviour Support: Ranks, Grades, Skill Rating and Skill-Based Matchmaking
• Behaviour: Patch notes 5.2.0 Hellraiser (Grades introduced)
• Official Dead by Daylight Wiki: Grades
• Official Dead by Daylight Wiki: Emblems
• HyperX: Cloud III (manufacturer specs)
• Xbox: Xbox Wireless Controller (manufacturer specs)
• PlayStation: DualSense Wireless Controller (manufacturer specs)