Dead by Daylight Beginner Guide
Play both sides, split gens, and pick Wraith before Nurse.
What you are actually playing
Dead by Daylight is 4v1 asymmetric horror. Survivors repair generators; the killer hunts. Loops, perks, and map tiles matter more than jump scares once you leave the tutorial. You win as survivor by splitting gens, looping when chased, and unhooking safely. As killer, you pressure multiple gens, not one survivor for three minutes.
The first week
Play both sides. You will loop better after you have been the killer staring at a pallet. Learn to pre-drop versus holding every pallet. Dead Hard and windows do not replace map knowledge. As killer, pick Wraith, Huntress, or a simpler licensed killer before Nurse.
Gens and hooks
Do not 4-stack one generator. That is a 3-gen you built for the killer. Unhooking in the killer's face with no trade is a second hook. Take the hit or wait.
DLC
You do not need it. The base roster is enough to learn. Licensed killers are cosmetics plus powers, not a paywall to play.
What good looks like after a week
You can run shack, split gens, unhook without a tunnel gift, and kick a gen as killer after a hook. Then indoor maps. Then Nurse, if you must.