Best Cenobite Builds in Dead by Daylight

From The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s cannibalistic killer, Leatherface, to Ringu’s vengeful videotape spirit, Sadako, Dead by Daylight enables fans of all horror subgenres to inhabit the role of their favorite antagonist, including Hellraiser’s lead Cenobite and Hell Priest, commonly known as Pinhead. Despite a few bugs present on release, Pinhead’s arrival was met with positivity by the Dead by Daylight community, perfectly capturing the spirit of the character while implementing unique and interesting mechanics for fans to play around with.

Dead By Daylight: The Best Killer Perks, Ranked

Dead by Daylight is a 4v1 multiplayer horror experience where killers kill and survivors survive. Here are the best killer perks in the game.

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This guide will show players the best builds and perks available to Pinhead that make the most of his Lament Configuration passive slowdown and chain-hunting abilities. These builds will feature teachable and non-teachable perks for Killers with varying levels of prestige.

Updated on 29 July 2024 by Lewis Smyth: The Cenobite has remained largely untouched since their arrival in Dead by Daylight back in 2021. Since then, the meta has shifted considerably, and this updated guide reflects those changes by introducing new builds that make use of the latest, most powerful perks for 2024.

The Cenobite: Best Beginner Build (2024)

The Cenobite is a fantastic Killer for Dead by Daylight newcomers to unlock as – despite his high skill ceiling – he comes with three great perks that help with slowdown and remaining undetected. This build focuses on The Cenobite’s slowdown abilities, keeping Survivors injured and generators pressured while sneaking up on the unwary.

Deadlock (The Cenobite) – After a generator is repaired, the generator with the most progress is blocked for 25 seconds.
Hex: Plaything (The Cenobite) – Upon hooking a Survivor for the first time a random Dull Totem on the map will become a Hex Totem, cursing the Survivor with the Oblivious status ailment until cleansed.
Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks inflict the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments for 90 seconds, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.
Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment and you gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.

The Cenobite: Best Build (2024)

This build shows the best perks that synergize with Pinhead’s ability to send chains to interrupt the solving of the Lament Configuration. With Sloppy Butcher and Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance, the Killer can force Survivors to lose progress on healing and completing generators. Meanwhile, Lethal Pursuer and Barbecue & Chil i allow the Cenobite to track the Lament Configuration and trigger a Chain Hunt, keeping constant pressure on Dead by Daylight's Survivors to complete the box.

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 20% of its progress.
Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis) – At the start of the trial, all Survivor's auras are revealed for 9 seconds. This perk also increases the duration of other aura–reading abilities by an extra 2 seconds.
Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks inflict the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments for 90 seconds, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.
Barbecue & Chili (The Cannibal) – After hooking a Survivor, this perk will reveal the aura of all other Survivors’ further than 40 meters from the hook for 5 seconds.

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By Amy Cowley

The Cenobite: Best Add-Ons

With the following add-ons, ordered by rarity, players can maximize The Cenobite’s power to bring pain and pleasure to The Entity’s trials.

Lively Crickets

For newer players learning to get to grips with The Cenobite’s Summons of Pain, the Lively Crickets can prove useful in course-correcting misaligned chains.

Wriggling Maggots

When paired with the Lively Crickets, the Wriggling Maggots similarly help you curve possessed chains onto targets mid-chase. These two add-ons can assist in getting more value out of dodged chains, though you should generally aim to spawn chains on top of Survivors to make them unavoidable.

Skewered Rat

Another good add-on for Dead by Daylight beginners, the Skewered Rat reduces the cooldown on Summons of Pain by 9% after possessing a chain. This makes missed chains less costly and allows you to slow down Survivors more frequently.

Liquified Gore

Interrupting the solving of the Lament Configuration is a key component of advanced Pinhead play. By finding the box, or downing the Survivor carrying it, The Cenobite can stall the game almost indefinitely as Survivors struggle to progress generators while harassed by the Chain Hunt. The Liquified Gore gives you an extra second during which you can interrupt the solving with a well-placed possessed chain, making this add-on very valuable.

Larry’s Remains

Like the Liquified Gore, Larrry’s Remains extends the box solve duration by 2 seconds. This add-on is frequently used by Cenobite mains to more consistently interrupt the solving of the Lament Configuration, extending the Chain Hunt further into the match.

Frank’s Heart

Pairing well with Larry’s Remains or the Liquified Gore, the Rare Frank’s Heart Add-On effectively increases the range from which The Cenobite can interrupt the box. As smart Survivors will regularly take the Lament Configuration into a distant corner to solve it, the best Cenobites will predict their movements and send a chain to interrupt. Though less useful in chase, on larger maps especially, Frank’s Heart can give you an edge when you play around the Lament Configuration.

Original Pain

A clear-cut add-on, the Original Pain inflicts Deep Wound on injured Survivors hit by possessed chains. This can place increased pressure on Survivors by resetting healing progress and nullifying the effects of powerful Survivor perks like Off The Record and Dead Hard, as well as Medkit add-ons like Anti-Hemorrhagic Syringes and Styptic Agents.

Impaling Wire

Pinhead’s possessed chain slowdown can be largely negated when Survivors use the environment to break their chains, which can be easily done on indoor maps or around windows. The Impaling Wire ensures you get more value from possessed chains by targeting Survivors who break them on the environment with an additional chain.

Greasy Black Lens

Butterball's Greasy Black Lens reveals the auras of Survivors hit by a possessed chain for 6 seconds, giving you useful information on their movements as they try to remove their bondage.

Iridescent Lament Configuration

As aforementioned, the Chain Hunt is a core component of The Cenobite’s basekit slowdown. The Iridescent Lament Configuration Add-On provides more consistent Chain Hunt value as Survivors struggle to find the box before it begins, particularly in Dead by Daylight's larger realms.

Engineer’s Fang

A powerful ability, more so when paired with one of his Very Rare Add-Ons, The Cenobite’s Engineer’s Fang Add-On injures Survivors hit by possessed chains at the cost of reducing the ability’s slowdown. This has the unfortunate effect of weakening The Cenobite’s chase potential against injured Survivors but creates a wealth of pressure when paired with a stealth build to sneak up on them.

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