Summary
- Dead By Daylight features a range of powerful Killer perks to enhance gameplay and create an advantage.
- Killer perks like "Hex: No One Escapes Death" and "No Way Out" are crucial for securing late-game kills.
- Understanding and strategically using perks like "Discordance" and "Corrupt Intervention" can help Killers control the game pace.
There is a large roster of utterly terrifying Killers in Dead By Daylight. They each have their strengths and abilities that when combined with powerful perks make them brutal killing machines that can make the round a living nightmare for survivors.
Dead By Daylight: Every Killer, Ranked
Dead By Daylight allows players to play as their favorite killers from horror movies, along with some fresh faces. However, not all killers are equal.
There are a lot of perks to choose from and some are better than others. Ultimately, which perk players choose should be based on who they like to play as and cater to their strengths, but the best killer perks in Dead By Daylight can make a big difference when it comes to becoming the ultimate big bad.
Updated January 10, 2025 by Mara Cowley: The ever-growing roster of Dead by Daylight sees new perks added with each killer, with the addition of the new original Killer the Hound Master bringing more powers and perks with her into the fog, changing the ever-metamorphosizing meta.
There are undoubtedly more Killers to come in the future, with certain announcements made in the past hinting that a long-awaited crossover is in the works, and will soon be in the player's hands. With the constant release of new characters and their perks, it is imperative to keep on top of what the best killer perks in DbD are. This is why this article has received a necessary update to include more of the Killer perks that are currently holding strong before even more killers change the meta.
37 Hex: Two Can Play
The Good Guy
Anytime the Killer is stunned or blinded by any Survivor a total of 4/3/2 times, and if there is not yet a hex totem already associated with Hex: Two Can Play and there is at least one dull totem remaining, Hex: Two Can Pla y activates on a random Totem:
- Blinds all Survivors who stun or blind you for 1.5 seconds
Normally, only Survivors have the capabilities to inflict blindness, and not Killers. But Chucky decided two can play that game, and turns their tricks back on the Survivors, blinding them for every 4th, 3rd, or 2nd time he is stunned or blinded.
As there are many ways Survivors can do this, such as Blast Mine, flashlights, Head On, or dropping a well-timed palette, it is likely Killers can at least get a few uses from this during any trial. Pairing it with other perks such as Spirit Fury and Hubris can make for devastating combos.
36 Dominance
The Dark Lord
- Chests and totems are blocked for 8/12/16 seconds when they are interacted with by a Survivor for the first time.
- The aura of blocked chests and totems is revealed in white.
Dracula, also known as The Dark Lord in their trials, is a vampiric addition that likes to lord over all that is in his domain, particularly chests and totems. These are optional objectives for the survivor, with chests containing items they can pilfer, and the clearing of totems banishing any hexes associated with them, as well as offering an easy way to obtain blood points.
Best Castlevania Dracula Perk Builds In Dead By Daylight
Darcula has descended into Dead by Daylight, and this new Killer can wreak havoc among Survivors with these devastating perk builds.
Dracula can directly interrupt these objectives, as they can be blocked by the Entity for a short time for the first time they are touched by a Survivor. This slows them down, temporarily protects any hexes, and even lets Dracula know the rough location of a Survivor who tried to open one of the chests, so he can hunt them down and claim his first victim.
35 Forced Hesitation
The Singularity
Whenever a Survivor is put into the Dying State by any means, all other Survivors within 16 meters of them suffer from:
- a -20 % Hindered Status Effect for 10 seconds.
- Forced Hesitation has a cool-down of 40/35/30 seconds depending on perk level.
Chasing down skilled Survivors can be one of the most frustrating experiences in Dead by Daylight, especially if they have a good loop nearby where they can take the Killer on a prolonged chase and buy their teammates essential time to unhook Survivors or complete generators.
Dead by Daylight: How to Play The Singularity
This guide explains The Singularity's power as well as how to play him in Dead by Daylight's DLC Chapter "End Transmission."
But, the Singularity's perk Forced Hesitation aids Killers in these chases by giving Survivors the Hindrance status effect, as this effect does cause the Survivors' run speed to be reduced. This helps Killers close gaps quickly, and may also help cancel out some Survivor perks that offer boosts to their speed, such as Lithe.
34 All-Shaking Thunder
The Houndmaster
After falling from a height, All-Shaking Thunder activates for 8/12/16 seconds:
- Increases the range of your Lunge Attack by +75 %.
The Houndmaster was released in late 2024, bringing in a new Killer into the fog with an AI-controlled companion in the form of a dog. Man's best friend will only be aiding the killer as the duo relentlessly hunts the survivors down across the map, with the help of the Houndmaster's perks.
Lunge attacks are base-kit for all killers, and they can help bridge the distance between survivor and killer, and land that all-important attack. Sometimes, it can be all too easy to overestimate the killer's reach, resulting in a miss and prolonged chase, but All-Shaking Thunder can help to offset this. If the killer falls from a height, their lunge is increased by a mighty 75%, meaning it could offset survivor perks such as Balanced Landing.
33 Hex: Wretched Fate
The Dark Lord
After a Generator is completed, this perk is activated, lighting a dull totem and cursing the Obsession:
- Reduces their repair speed by 27/30/33%.
- The aura of the Hex Totem is revealed to them within 12 meters.
Survivors' main objective is to complete the generators and make their escape, and as such, it is not unheard of for Killers to run slow-down builds, gathering a set of perks designed to hinder their efforts.
Hex: Wretched Fate is one of these perks, as it directly affects one single Survivor and their repair speed, slowing it down by a considerable amount. The only downside is that it is a hex, so it can be cleared by the Survivors. What is more, they can see the hex totem's aura within 12 meters, allowing them to track and cleanse it. But still, this hunt for the totem adds a few extra seconds of delay, and when paired with one of the Dark Lord's other perks, Dominance, they can even protect their hex totem for a few precious seconds.
32 Hex: Face The Darkness
The Knight
Once a Survivor is injured by any means, and there is a dull totem remaining, Hex: Face the Darkness activates and lights it, cursing that Survivor:
- All other Survivors will scream every 35/30/25 seconds (depending on the level of perk) if they are outside of the Killer's terror radius, revealing their auras for 2 seconds each time.
- Hex: Face the Darkness deactivates when the Cursed Survivor either enters the dying state or is healed, extinguishing the totem.
- Hex: Face the Darkness is disabled for the remainder of the Trial if Survivors manage to cleanse their hex totem.
Tracking down survivors can sometimes be tricky depending on what map the trial takes place on and what playstyle the Survivors are employing. As such, aura-reading perks can be essential picks for the Killer to track down the Survivors. Hex: Face the Darkness is one such perk, a unique teachable perk to the Knight.
The 7 Most Iconic Knights In Video Games
Knights were some of the mightiest warriors of the Middle Ages, so it's only natural that there are plenty of iconic knights in video games.
This perk activates once the Killer injures the survivors by any means, a dull totem is chosen at random and becomes lit, and all other survivors that are not within the Killer's terror radius scream at intervals revealing their aura to the killer. The screaming not only reveals the Survivors to allow the Killer to hunt them more efficiently but also interrupts any actions they are taking, such as repairing generators or healing other Survivors.
31 Languid Touch
The Lich
When a Survivor scares a crow within 36 meters, this perk activates:
- Causes the Survivor the suffer the Exhausted status effect for 6/8/10 seconds
Exhaustion perks are a powerful tool in the Survivor's arsenal, as most are designed around increasing the Survivor's speed, which can allow them to escape the Killer's grasp, or waste enough of the Killer's time to allow the other Survivors to focus on completing generators.
This is where Languid Touch can come into use, as it forces the Survivors to become exhausted, disabling any exhaustion perk they have equipped. And since crows normally make noise when scared away, the Killer can then catch the Survivor in a vulnerable state.
30 Game Afoot
The Skull Merchant
While chasing the Obsession, this perk activates:
- Gain a 5% Haste bonus for 8/9/10 seconds after damaging a Generator, Breakable Wall, or Palette
Hate is a powerful tool both Killers and Survivors can gain from various perks or items. For the Skull Merchant, her chase perk Game Afoot provides a big Haste bonus that can help them close the distance between them and slippery Survivors.
Though they do have to burn precious seconds, damaging part of the environment to activate the haste portion of this perk, this can still work to their benefit as palettes or walls might be between them and their prey, and the Killer should take care to damage the generators they come across, lest the Survivors complete them all and make their escape.
29 No Quarter
The Houndmaster
Whenever a Survivor healing themselves by any means reaches 75 % Healing Progress, No Quarter triggers its effect:
- The Survivor is faced with a continuous stream of Skill Checks until the Self-Heal is completed.
- If they fail a Skill Check or interrupt the action by any means, they suffer from the Broken Status Effect for 20/25/30 seconds.
Healing is one of the key components of the game for survivors, as having one more health state puts them one place away from being hooked, and ultimately being sacrificed to the entity. There are several killer perks that interact with healing survivors, with one of them belonging to the Houndmaster.
This perk makes self-healing a risky maneuver for survivors, if it is interrupted, or they miss one of the continuous skill checks, the healing cannot be completed, and they will suffer the broken status for up to 30 seconds, leaving them vulnerable to being finished off by the killer.
28 Iron Maiden
The Legion
Iron Maiden increases your locker search speed by 30/40/50 %. Survivors who exit a Locker suffer from the following afflictions:
- Scream and reveal their location to you for 4 seconds
- Suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 30 seconds
Lockers are a common hiding place for Survivors to evade Killers on the prowl or even a place that is needed for Survivor perks such as Inner Strength, Flash Grenade, and Head on. But, there are Killer perks that affect locker play too, such as Iron Maiden.
Iron Maiden is useful on Killers such as Huntress who need to reload at lockers as they can search them more quickly, with the added bonus that Survivors scream when they exit them and become Exposed. This means Killers know where the vulnerable Survivors are, and can cut their time in the trial short.