Each Dead by Daylight killer is distinct, yet they all strike dread into survivors in their own horrifying manner, with distinct perks and skills. The Killers are frequently the focus.
Some are unique Behaviour Interactive inventions with complicated backstories, while the rest of the ensemble includes some well-known horror film legends. Each Killer is ranked in terms of strength, playability, and appearance.
As the meta continues to bend and adapt around the new arrivals, this naturally comes with a fresh wave of regulations and checks. If you’ve been away or their mechanics have undergone an unexpected revamp, finding out that your favorite Killer has been nerfed in a patch may be frustrating. Here is an updated ranking of all the Dead By Daylight Killers so that you can quickly determine who is in charge.
1. The Wraith
The Wraith was an early Killer in Dead By Daylight. Wraith has no traps or unique items to lay down. Instead, his main mechanic is his ability to become invisible. The Wraith is a jack-of-all-trades killer that is also highly popular.
Despite being one of the easiest killers accessible, it is yet utilized by experts and long-time gamers. The Wraith uses his Wailing Bell abilities to become nearly totally invisible to survivors. He may be seen as a blur if you pay great attention to your surroundings, but this means he can quickly sneak up on players who are focused on repairs or healing.
The Wraith has improved movement speed while cloaked, making it easier to close the gap on cunning players. The catch is that he can’t hurt or down them while cloaked. To do so, you must first uncloak, which somewhat reduces The Wraith’s movement speed.
2. The Nurse
The Nurse is a two-edged sword. She has a high skill ceiling, but if a player is unfamiliar with the complexities of her character, it really shows. In contrast, if they recognize her, victory is very certain. The nurse has the ability to blink across the map, resulting in her unpredictable during chases because she may just disregard pallets, walls, and stairs.
She has to recharge after a set number of teleports, although, for passionate Nurse players, this isn’t a problem. Many Survivors struggle to play properly against her since she can close gaps and turn generators so well.
3. The Spirit
The Spirit is an angry spirit given a katana. Her particular skills allow her to manipulate Survivors’ minds, allowing her to vanish during chases and leaving survivors wondering where she is and where she will appear. She may acquire the upper hand on many unsuspecting opponents by making merely a slight noise to alert them to her existence. Her katana has a considerable reach as well, allowing her to land strikes more easily than most Killers.
As far as teleporting killers go, The Spirit is significantly simpler to understand because the camera follows her throughout the map rather than merely reappearing in a new spot.
4. The Blight
Blight’s initial introduction was odd and silly, but people quickly discovered how strong Blight actually is. His primary objective is to charge survivors with his Lethal Rush. If he runs into a wall or an item by mistake, it will just increase your momentum and keep you moving forward.
His bloodcurdling cry would be as terrible as any Killer’s thundering footsteps pursuing you if he wasn’t bonking his head on everything. The Blight has the ability to quickly reach generators and survivors.
5. The Hag
The Hag and The Nurse are two horrific killers you’ll see frequently if you play as a survivor on a regular basis. When controlled by the correct player, these two are challenging to escape and are common options among veteran players of the game.
The Hag has an ability similar to that of the Trapper. She can set up traps all around the area to trip unaware Survivors, although her traps serve a somewhat different purpose than Evan’s. In addition to providing survivors with a terrifying shock, the Hag can teleport to the set traps at any time and begin a chase. However, focused players should play Hag, since the killer may become distracted if survivors keep setting out traps.
6. The Huntress
The Huntress is the most known Killer who can launch projectiles toward Survivors. A few other Killers can also do this. Huntress is noted for her ability to launch hatchet missiles across the map while humming an eerie Russian song.
Because Huntress may examine lockers for hatchets, hiding in lockers becomes a far less viable option for Survivors. Her sole disadvantage is that she moves slowly, making her easy to evade if she doesn’t have hatchets equipped. Although hatchet-throwing timing might be difficult to perfect, she is a powerful Killer for enthusiasts of ranged attacks who enjoy a challenge.
7. The Trapper
The Trapper, also known as Evan MacMillan of the MacMillan Estate, is a melee attacker with a unique skill that may be highly effective when utilized correctly. The Trapper, as the name suggests, traps his adversaries.
You may hinder survivors by laying bear traps across the area, and when a survivor stumbles into one, visual and aural indications play, notifying you of their whereabouts. Once caught in the trap, they must strive to release themselves, which may take several attempts, leaving them exposed as easy prey. All of this makes Trapper a simple and deadly killer, as long as traps are used correctly.
Starting with only two traps, you may acquire additional ones from across the map and move them to better placements – because these weapons are all about location. If they are too conspicuous, survivors can simply dodge them, rendering Trapper’s abilities ineffective.
To get the most out of survivors, try putting traps under windows or entrances and enticing them into a pursuit nearby.
8. The Hillbilly
The Hillbilly, the original chainsaw-wielding Killer, can quickly decimate a Survivor squad with the correct abilities. With the aid of his chainsaw, he can sprint across the map, cut through pallets, and close the gap while pursuing by taking out survivors in a single blow.
With suitable add-ons, he can turn swiftly and track survivors around walls to confirm kills. The survivors are in for the battle of their life when a skilled player has a Hillbilly.
9. The Executioner
Pyramid Head from Silent Hill and Cheryl Mason as a Survivor both made appearances in Dead By Daylight. Pyramid Head is equipped with a heavy sword that he may use to deal fast justice to the meek Survivors who stand in his way.
In addition to having a melee weapon with a long hit length, Pyramid Head may also use ranged strikes and leave a Torment Trail. Survivors who cross these pathways will be marked, hurt, and deemed suitable for the Cage of Atonement, which takes them over the whole map. The Executioner is among the most powerful killers because of his size and very simple skills.
10. The Ghost Face
Despite not being an officially licensed chapter (thus the purposeful Ghost Face format of its name), The Ghost Face is unquestionably one of the most recognizable characters in Dead by Daylight. The Ghost Face is one of the few stealth killers in Dead by Daylight, however, he was greatly molded by the original horror villain.
The Ghost Face, one of the few murderers in the game with the ability to crouch, may easily saunter up behind unwary survivors, especially those who are solely focused on fixing Generators. Because he loses his Terror Radius when he uses his Night Shroud power, it is considerably harder for survivors to realize he is behind them.
Ghost Face may stalk survivors while hiding and crouching. A successful stalk will leave the victim marked and exposed for a while. Given that Ghost Face only has one attack type—a straightforward melee—none of this changes the reality that mastering the stalking ability is the only way to triumph against this murderer.
11. The Mastermind
Wesker, or The Mastermind, of Project W is already gaining a reputation as a very effective killer. The Mastermind has no real drawbacks because it combines a ranged assault with the potential to quickly transport a survivor when used correctly.
His outstanding collection of Perks enables adept monitoring of Survivors, and Virulent Bound serves as both a weapon and a tool for movement. It enables you to jump over pallets and walls more rapidly, catch up during a pursuit, and choke-slam survivors into surrounding walls, other Survivors, or just toss them across the room. Wesker is a Killer to be feared thanks to his merciless use of surveillance and brute force.
12. The Knight
The Knight is a difficult killer to include on this list since he is yet another who is very challenging to understand—possibly the most challenging so far. The Knight’s power is intricate, but when it is mastered, it may be disastrous for survivors.
The Knight isn’t alone, as his power ability conjures guards to carry out his orders: destroying generators, smashing pallets, and searching for survivors. They’ll do this independently, unlike The Twins, effectively making a game with two killers if you know how to exploit it.
With one strike from a Guard and one from you, you can instantly turn a survivor from a healthy to a dying state. Alternatively, you may just let your Guard take care of business while you go looking for another survivor.
13. The Shape
Since Michael Myers, also known as The Shape in-game, is a long-game murderer, he definitely isn’t the one for you if you struggle to find survivors. But if you’re ready to wait your turn with this sly stalker, you may transform him from a shadowy presence to a killing machine in the last seconds of the game.
Use the Evil Within power of The Shape to observe and pursue your victim from afar. Simply observing your victims go about their business will improve your Evil Within powers, making you stronger with each level. The Undetectable Status is granted by Evil Within I, although basic attack lunge and mobility speed are reduced. Evil Within II increases your walking speed and attack lunge while decreasing your fear radius.
Wait until Evil Within III, and all survivors will be affected by the Exposed state effect, allowing you to take them down with a single hit. After 60 seconds, Evil Within III will revert to level two, and survivors will hear an audio cue each time Evil Within levels up. But if you take out all four of them while they’re exposed, the game can be over in a matter of seconds.
14. The Doctor
For players who are unfamiliar with The Doctor’s specific mechanics, he may be a difficult Killer. The Doctor electrocutes the Survivors to increase their insane levels. If their level of insanity is high enough, they won’t be able to succeed in anything until they regain their wits.
The Doctor’s electricity allows him to easily locate survivors who are trying to hide. He may also worsen their insanity simply by being close enough. The only efficient method to avoid him is to hide in a locker.
15. The Trickster
In terms of character design, The Trickster is perhaps one of the most eye-catching and distinct Killers. While his design is impressive and his voice lines are precise, he isn’t one of the most powerful killers.
It’s not a terrible Killer, Trickster. He can do what he has to do. He isn’t particularly powerful either. The trickster is armed with a baseball bat and many throwing knives. Throwing knives is merely irritating and frustrating for both teams and may reduce a game to just minutes, as opposed to being an OP feature that allows you to employ ranged attacks to the most of your ability.
To properly play him, you’ll need an eye as keen as your blades because his throwing knives only deal significant damage when you hit a set number of throws. Try a build that will aid in other ways, such as hindering Generator repairs and disclosing survivor positions, if you do decide to run The Trickster.
16. The Nemesis
One of the game’s most menacing and terrifying killers is without a doubt Nemesis. No killer has yet been able to make you feel as unsafe as Nemesis, who is closing in on you quickly. When you play as Nemesis, you may infect Survivors much like the Plague by using a ranged tentacle strike. When you do this, Survivors’ health and skills begin to deteriorate; if they recover, you gain power.
In addition to that power, you can command up to two zombies on the map. Despite their sluggish movement, survivors can run into them or struggle to remove a zombie from the remaining generator. Nemesis is undoubtedly a powerful killer, but unfortunately not the most powerful.
17. The Artist
Pressure is applied throughout the map by The Artist using a horde of Survivor-seeking Dire Crows. She gives you the ability to monitor Survivors from a distance and, if you strike them with your crows twice in a row, injure them as well.
The Artist must be utilized carefully and intelligently, even though labeling and capturing survivors appears to be a powerful enough technique. Although you can’t just drop a number of Dire Crows and hope for the best, she can be a potent anti-looping Killer who is challenging to overcome when deployed properly.
18. The Skull Merchant
The Skull Merchant, a multi-millionaire mechanist killer, can chop her victims apart while deploying buzzing drones to identify and impede Survivors’ attempts to escape. When this swift assassin comes near enough, she uses a pair of twin blades that are worn on her wrist and cut deeply.
There are many unpleasant tricks in her toy box. She has four of them to begin with, and they utilize radar to locate Survivors. Each person located at once receives an increasing Haste bonus. Although they can be hacked, these drones may be manually recalled or put into patrol mode, and they can inflict horrible debuffs like Exposed on any survivors they come across.
Additionally, the Skull Merchant possesses a Claw Trap that functions very similarly to the Trapper’s Bear Trap. Overall, a challenging enemy to battle and a challenging Killer for newcomers.
19. The Pig
The Killer that represents the Saw franchise is the Pig. The Pig, in true Saw style, has Jigsaw-style traps set throughout every map on which she appears. After she downs a Survivor, she has the ability to install a reverse bear trap on their head, which they’re given a limited time to take off otherwise they would die horribly.
The Pig has a crouching mechanism that reduces her fear radius. Her charge out of this crouched posture, on the other hand, is fairly loud and slow, allowing Survivors just enough time to move out of the path.
20. The Legion
As a survivor, The Legion may be a frequent opponent, and you may even frequently lose to them, but it does not necessarily imply that they are an effective killer. It’s tough to really down and hook victims, thus after a long grind from both sides, it might go anyway. However, The Legion is amazing for greatly slowing down progress for survivors and extending the game.
The Legion’s power, Feral Frenzy, speeds up movement but can be difficult to manage, which is a concern. Additionally, instead of the typical two hits, their Special Attack, Feral Slash, needs five to take down a survivor. Feral Frenzy will terminate if you are stunned or miss a hit, stunning you once more and allowing survivors to flee and recover.
The Legion should only be dealt with by using Feral Slash once before moving on to seek out another victim and dealing Deep Wound to the first. A Deep Wound is an extra damaged condition with a timer that forces the Survivor to recover or get healed before the timer runs out in order to avoid entering the dying state. They’ll be squandering critical Generator repair time over this entire period.
21. The Dredge
The Dredge, who first appeared in the Roots of Dread chapter, possesses some incredibly special skills. The Dredge, nevertheless, is unstoppable when played effectively. The Dredge’s Special Ability, The Gloaming, should be used the most when playing.
The Dredge can teleport inside any open locker, leaving a Remnant behind. This ability is very helpful when paired with the Darkness Revealed perk. If you play your cards properly, you may expose a survivor’s position before surprising them by teleporting directly to that locker. This reveals any survivors standing within a short distance from a locker.
This is significantly better when Nightfall is triggered, putting survivors in Darkness for 60 seconds and eliminating The Dredge’s Terror Radius. Even if it all seems fantastic, this merely aids in the search for survivors.
22. The Plague
Adiris, The High Priestess of Babylon, utilizes her contagious sickness to damage survivors despite her protective traits revealed in her origins. The Plague is another distance attacker who can be useful for new killers who detest melee strikes, but her Special Ability might slow things down, making it difficult to sacrifice all four victims.
Survivors are infected by Vile Purge, but the damage doesn’t manifest right away; it may be treated. Knowing that you can ‘infect’ Generators and other ambient elements to afterward infect players that interact with them is another useful method. A Pool of Devotion is a resource that survivors may use to cure themselves, but you, The Plague, can also use it to trigger Corrupt Purge, which allows you to damage the survivors instead of infecting them with your attack.
23. The Oni
Kazan Yamaoka, the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of The Spirit, is an extraordinarily potent assassin with the ability to move quickly across enormous distances with his Demon Dash and instantly kill survivors with his Demon Strike.
However, in order to use your powers, you must absorb Blood Orbs that wounded survivors have left behind. As a result, you must land several critical hits.
24. The Deathslinger
Deathslinger’s one-of-a-kind ability allows him to lure survivors in with a Harpoon connected to his customized weapon. While this does not harm the survivor, it does get them near enough to attack. Doing so when speared also causes Deep Wounds.
However, try to accomplish this in a clear space, since survivors may quickly remove themselves from the spear by putting a wall or boulder between you and drawing back. While this may cause Deep Wounds, it will also shock you, allowing them time to leave.
25. The Twins
The Twins, are a horrifying DBD original. Victor erupted from the womb protruding from his sister’s chest due to improper development.
In terms of the Dead by Daylight, this means Charlotte may send a howling Victor scurrying around the map looking for victims. Charlotte will stay in position while you handle her brother. This isn’t an awful ability because you can use Victor’s improved mobility speed to find survivor spots.
Victor can then pounce on the player, temporarily immobilizing them, at which time you can make your way over as Charlotte to complete the job. The disadvantage is that survivors may block Victor’s attack and escape using a well-timed kick, and Charlotte could be a long way away on a vast map, rendering the power ineffective.
26. The Nightmare
Even after a few big improvements, The Nightmare has unfortunately never become an effective killer. He’s a lot of fun to play, but he’s not very competent at sacrificing survivors to The Entity.
Freddie’s ability transports survivors to the Dream World. All Survivors are sent to Dream World every 60 seconds, but basic attack strikes will send single survivors into Dream World sooner. Players in the Dream World can’t hear Freddie’s Terror Radius and are impacted by Dream Snares, resulting in the Hindered effect – but that’s about it.
Survivors are unlikely to bother awakening from the Dream World because it isn’t that dangerous. Freddie’s greatest advantage is Dream Projection, which allows him to travel to and reappear from a nearby Generator. Blood, on the other hand, bursts from the said generator, alerting survivors to your plans and providing them a head start in evacuating.
27. The Cannibal
Hillbilly, the official Leatherface killer isn’t quite as good as the DBD original. However, his Chainsaw Sweep gives a wider strike than Hillbilly’s lunge, thus it may be useful when you have trouble hitting survivors. The sweeping strike impacts the whole area in front of The Cannibal, whilst his Special strike covers the full circle surrounding the killer, allowing both to hit several victims.
However, the disadvantages of The Cannibal outweigh the advantages because survivors may see your assault coming and move out of the path, movement speed is reduced, and there is a lengthy cooldown.
28. The Clown
The Clown’s power consists of producing and throwing potions – a purple tonic for survivors to affect their eyesight and acceleration, and a yellow repellent for yourself to improve your movement speed. But here’s where it gets tricky: not only do you require to have an amazing aim, but it’s also possible to toss the wrong potion while switching between them.
Hitting a survivor with the antidote not only enhances their movement speed but also cures them of the tonic’s intoxicating effect.
29. The Demogorgon
Only those who purchased the Stranger Things chapter before the license expired can still play The Demogorgon because it is no longer available for purchase through the in-game shop.
If you have the Demogorgon, it may be fun to attempt and, with a lot of experience, even fairly competitive. The Demogorgon’s power of the Abyss actually turns everything inside out and puts you upside down. You can cross the eerie plane to get between two portals if you place them.
While this has abilities comparable to those of The Hag and The Nurse, among others, it is less useful than theirs because it takes more effort to activate and navigate. Moving between exit doors, though, might be advantageous in the final stretch; just be sure to set up portals at the doors beforehand.
The Shred Special Attack of the Demogorgon is its strongest feature. Shred is a lunge assault that closes the distance between the killer and the survivor and, on a successful strike, leaves the victim in a wounded or dead state, similar to that of The Hillbilly and The Blight. Shred may be a lethal weapon when used with The Demogorgon’s portals, but it’s hard to properly master.
30. The Onryō
Sad to say, gamers haven’t really taken to Sadako as a DBD killer, preferring an unlicensed Spirit clone in her stead, despite her much-anticipated appearance in the Sadako Rising chapter.
Unquestionably impressive talents, Sadako can teleport to TV sets that appear on the map when she is the killer. While it has amazing animation, it moves slowly and obtrusively, so victims can spot you approaching from a mile away.
However, not only is it far more challenging to employ effectively than, say, The Dredge’s comparable capability, but you also lose the ability to teleport to a TV if a survivor removes the tape from it. Sadako wasn’t loved before The Dredge, and now that she’s been abandoned, she’ll be much less loved.
31. The Cenobite
Unfortunately, Hellraiser’s Pinhead, or The Cenobite, fails to cause much commotion. While the chains from his Summons of Pain power might be annoying, they don’t slow down a survivor for long, with the main benefit coming during repairs or healing. The chains, however, disappear as soon as a survivor picks up and completes the Lament Configuration box, that doesn’t take long.
While The Cenobite can teleport to a player throughout the puzzle process, astute survivors can avoid this by completing the Lament Configuration puzzle while engaged in another activity, such as transporting another survivor. The sole reason to play as The Cenobite is to have some fun… and to hear his now-famous words, “I came.”
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