Four slots, one survivor
Each survivor has four ability slots. The primary is your main attack, the secondary is a stronger or situational move, the utility is mobility, and the special is a big cooldown.
Once you can name the four slots, a brand new survivor becomes readable in one fight.
Primary attacks
The primary is what you use most. It often has no cooldown, or a short one, and it defines your damage range.
Some primaries hit one target hard. Others spray an area. Your primary decides whether you fight close or far.
Secondary moves
The secondary usually has a cooldown and a stronger effect. It might pierce, explode, or apply a status.
Weave the secondary into your primary rhythm. Firing it on cooldown keeps your damage steady.
Utility and mobility
The utility slot is your movement or escape. It might dash, jump, or reposition you out of danger.
Learn this slot before the others. A survivor who can move survives long enough to learn its damage.
Specials and cooldowns
The special is the big button. It has the longest cooldown and often turns a fight, so timing matters more than spamming.
Save it for elites or the teleporter boss. Using it on a basic monster wastes the longest timer you have.
Reading a new kit
On a first run with a new survivor, find the mobility button, then the special. Those two decide how you survive and how you burst.
Continue with which survivor to start or see how kits scale with item stacking math.