Who are the best Dead By Daylight killers? For eight thrilling years, Dead by Daylight has unleashed a staggering array of frights upon its players. With a massive roster of 40 unique killers and 48 diverse survivors, keeping track of who reigns supreme – especially with constant updates to perks and add-ons – can be a real challenge. But fear not, we’re here to guide you through the darkness.
Among the top titles in PC gaming, asymmetrical horror experiences truly shine, offering the exhilarating chance to embody the villain. While surviving a harrowing ordeal in a survival game is undeniably exciting (who hasn’t wondered about their chances in a zombie apocalypse?), nothing quite beats the rush of casting aside real-world niceties to become a relentless, blood-thirsty hunter. Each of the following DBD killers wields their own unique and terrifying power, from devastating ranged axe throws to infectious bile and brutal chainsaw assaults. But who truly stands above the rest? Dive into our definitive tier list for all Dead by Daylight killers to discover your next terrifying main.
Our Definitive Dead by Daylight Killer Tier List
Our rankings are carefully constructed, factoring in Behaviour’s official difficulty rating for each killer, their distinct power, and how devastatingly effective that power can be when expertly wielded. For instance, while The Nurse and The Blight dominate the S-Tier, their complex abilities and attack mechanics make them less suitable for newcomers. However, in the hands of a seasoned Dead by Daylight player, they are unequivocally the strongest characters you can choose. We’ve given minimal weight to individual killer perks, as these can be freely interchanged across any killer build, and have not included Add-Ons in our considerations.
| Tier | Killer Name |
| S | The Nurse, The Blight, The Hillbilly |
| A | The Krasue, The Ghoul, The Spirit, The Wraith, The Lich, The Dark Lord, The Huntress, The Xenomorph, The Executioner, The Mastermind, The Nightmare, The Animatronic |
| B | The Good Guy, The Houndmaster, The Unknown, The Trickster, The Knight, The Doctor, The Nemesis, The Artist, The Singularity, The Dredge |
| C | The Legion, The Plague, The Hag, The Deathslinger, The Oni, The Twins, The Pig, The Clown, The Ghost Face |
| D | The Cannibal, The Shape, The Demogorgon, The Onryo, The Cenobite, The Trapper, The Skull Merchant |
S-tier
The Nurse (Very Hard)
Much like The Hag, The Nurse possesses the terrifying ability to swiftly traverse the map using her Blink power, Spencer’s Last Breath. She can even chain multiple Blinks together to cover vast distances. The primary drawback, however, is the fatigue effect that afflicts The Nurse after each Blink. Mastering the precise timing of this skill is crucial, as any misstep will drastically slow your movement speed, granting survivors an easy escape. Execute it flawlessly, and you could sacrifice all four survivors in record time.
The Blight (Very Hard)
The Blight shares a striking similarity with The Nurse: both are incredibly challenging to master, yet become virtually unstoppable once you do. The Blight’s power, Rush, allows him to move with extreme rapidity across the map, effortlessly closing distances on survivors. While his initial Rush doesn’t allow for an attack, crashing into a wall or obstacle activates Lethal Rush, during which he can strike. This provides invaluable opportunities to eliminate your victims. Be cautious, though; if you fail to collide with an obstacle during your first Rush, The Blight will experience a brief fatigue, giving survivors a crucial moment to escape. Expect your initial matches as The Blight to be difficult, but persisting to familiarize yourself with his astonishing speed will be immensely rewarding.
The Hillbilly (Medium)
Before the licensed Leatherface chapter, The Hillbilly was Dead by Daylight’s answer to Bubba Sawyer. He has experienced his fair share of ups and downs, typically favored only by a dedicated few due to the tricky nature of controlling his movements. However, a significant update (7.5.0) finally gave Billy the attention he needed, propelling him back up the rankings.
The core reason The Hillbilly can be so potent is that a successful hit with his Chainsaw Sprint immediately puts a healthy survivor into the dying state, making him an exceptionally powerful foe for quick hooks. The challenge lies in avoiding him, though this has become less frequent after the recent update. If you maintain precise aim, avoid ‘bumping’ into obstacles, and are fortunate enough to secure a clear path to your victim, you should have no trouble downing them. While Billy might not be the top choice for ‘nice’ killers, he can certainly be S-tier for those willing to instantly down and incapacitate survivors. In fact, with a bit of luck, you could end a game in mere minutes this way.
A-tier
The Krasue (Medium)
One of the most horrifying killers introduced, The Krasue is rooted in traditional Thai folklore. A beautiful woman consumed by her own desires, a Krasue transforms into a floating head to hunt at night, a terrifying ability she brings to The Entity’s Realm in Dead by Daylight.
Beginning in her human form, Burong Sukapat, The Krasue can only perform a standard melee attack. However, her secondary form – a disembodied head complete with flowing entrails – allows her to Leech survivors with a projectile attack, and then injure and down them. In this terrifying form, she moves faster and more stealthily.
Survivors can remove the Leeching effect by consuming glowing fungi found near the locations where Sukapat transforms. When played skillfully, The Krasue has the potential to be one of the game’s elite killers. We would consider her S-tier if not for her learning curve, as her projectile attack requires significant practice to master and can be skillfully countered by adept survivors.
The Ghoul (Medium)
The Ghoul quickly became one of the most popular new killers, a testament to his incredible mobility. Utilizing his Kagune, Kaneki can sprint across the map, closing in on survivors in an instant. At close range, he can still deploy this power to overwhelm survivors during chases around loops, leaving them with very few options to avoid injury.
Unlike some other top-tier killers in Dead by Daylight, The Ghoul is also relatively easy to learn. You might even wonder why he isn’t in the S-tier. It was a difficult decision, and we could certainly justify placing him there given the limited ways survivors can outplay him. However, his inherent Quick Time Events (QTEs), cooldown periods, and the need to maintain his power keep him firmly in high A-tier. We also anticipate potential adjustments (nerfs) in future updates.
The Spirit (Hard)
The Spirit often fluctuates between S-tier and A-tier in player rankings, but we’ve chosen to place her in the upper echelons based heavily on her performance once fully mastered. Similar to the killers mentioned earlier, Rin Yamaoka requires significant practice to become proficient with, particularly because her power temporarily blinds her. However, once you become adept at controlling her abilities (and ideally, use a good headset), you’ll discover that this apparent handicap is precisely what makes her so formidable.
The Spirit moves across the map in her spirit form, rendering her almost completely invisible to survivors. To counterbalance this potent ability, survivors also become invisible to The Spirit as she traverses an alternate plane. In this phased state, she moves at an accelerated rate and can still detect environmental cues like startled wildlife, rustling grass, and active generators, all pointing to survivor locations. The key to her power lies in using audio cues to surprise survivors, and if you emerge from your spirit form at the opportune moment, you can catch a survivor completely off guard. As far as teleporting killers go, The Spirit is slightly more approachable for beginners, as her camera follows her movement across the map, rather than abruptly reappearing in a new, disorienting location.
The Wraith (Easy)
As one of the ‘easiest’ killers to learn, yet still frequently employed by competitive and veteran players, The Wraith is truly a versatile killer, and remarkably popular. Utilizing his Wailing Bell power, The Wraith achieves near-complete invisibility. While observant survivors might vaguely discern him as a blur, his stealth allows him to effortlessly sneak up on players engrossed in generator repairs or healing. When cloaked, The Wraith gains increased movement speed, making it simple to close the distance on evasive players. The trade-off is that he cannot injure or down survivors while cloaked; to do so, he must first uncloak, which briefly reduces his movement speed.
While The Wraith excels at swiftly sacrificing survivors, true mastery comes from knowing the precise moments to cloak and uncloak. Additionally, avoid accidentally releasing the action button too soon during uncloaking, as this will reveal your position without granting you the ability to attack.
The Lich (Medium)
The Lich encountered some initial challenges during the Public Test Build (PTB) but, as expected, received crucial buffs before his official release. Now, this Matthew Mercer-voiced character stands among the game’s top killers. There’s a slight learning curve to overcome initially, as Vecna’s spell wheel introduces an entirely new mechanic, presenting four icons on your screen from which to choose your desired spell. However, once you become accustomed to each spell’s location and function, The Lich enables you to assert control over large portions of the map simultaneously.
Wielding four distinct spells, this Dungeons and Dragons character can fly through obstacles (similar to The Nurse), manipulate or block pallets (like The Knight), launch damaging projectiles through the environment (reminiscent of The Unknown or The Artist), or project an aura-revealing sphere. That’s a significant array of powers. Once you learn to deploy them effectively, survivors will find it incredibly difficult to counter The Lich.
The Dark Lord (Hard)
Dracula, also known as The Dark Lord, much like The Lich before him, commands a potent combination of powers, some mirroring those of other killers. As Dead by Daylight’s first true shape-shifting killer, Dracula can assume the forms of a wolf or a bat, in addition to his original vampire guise, to effectively track and pursue survivors.
His bat form is akin to The Spirit’s power: he cannot see survivors directly but moves faster and can more easily follow scratch marks. In this form, Dracula also gains the ability to teleport. As a wolf, meanwhile, Dracula can also travel swiftly and execute a lunge attack reminiscent of The Demogorgon’s Shred. In his vampire form, The Dark Lord can unleash pillars of fire ahead of him, similar to The Executioner’s Punishment of the Damned. While initially challenging to switch between these diverse powers, once mastered, it becomes clear why possessing such a wide range of skills makes Dracula one of the strongest DBD killers currently available.
The Huntress (Moderate)
While many of our A-tier killers boast some form of ranged attack, our beloved Huntress was the pioneer with a throwable weapon: her Hunting Hatchets. This power elevates her to a truly top-tier killer, as a keen eye and precise aim can down survivors mere seconds into a match. You still require two successful hits to down a player, but there’s only a slight cooldown between throws, which can be further reduced with add-ons. Injuring a survivor with the first hatchet will also apply the normal movement speed reduction, allowing you to close in for a basic melee attack.
The greatest advantage of her ranged attack is the ability to strike a survivor even if they are shielded by a pallet or window. However, be mindful of your hatchet count. The Huntress is limited to five hatchets in hand at any given time (unless equipped with the Leather Loop add-on), so make sure to regularly restock from lockers.
The Xenomorph (Medium)
The Xenomorph has consistently held its ground in the A-tier since its debut as part of the Alien DLC in August 2023. The only reason we’re not elevating this killer to S-tier is our focus on the base character, rather than their perks and add-ons; with those included, our Alien friend could easily climb even higher.
As a standalone character, regardless of the perks you choose, The Xenomorph remains incredibly strong, primarily due to its inherent aura-reading abilities. While navigating its underground tunnels, The Xenomorph can detect survivor footsteps if they cross its path above ground. It can also hear generators while subterranean. This grants an exceptionally easy way to locate players, often within moments of a trial beginning. Emerging from the tunnel, if survivors are close enough, they might even trigger Killer Instinct, further enhancing its already powerful aura-reading capabilities. The only factors preventing this killer from being *too* dominant are its slightly lower base speed and the irritating flame turrets deployed by survivors to counter it. That said, even with some buffs to the turrets, The Xenomorph would still be a formidable attacker.
The Executioner (Very Hard)
Fans of the Silent Hill franchise will immediately recognize Pyramid Head – The Executioner – from the official Silent Hill chapter. The Executioner is a complex killer to master, offering a wide array of actions, yet he transforms into an absolute powerhouse when played skillfully.
Without delving into every minute detail of The Executioner’s kit, the most crucial elements to understand are Torment and Final Judgment. Utilize Pyramid Head’s power, Rites of Judgement, to carve a trench into the ground – particularly effective near hooked survivors, generators, or across doorways. If a survivor walks through this trench, they will be afflicted with Torment. A survivor with Torment can then be instantly sacrificed (or Mori’d) if they are in the struggle phase on the hook or in a cage – this is known as Final Judgment. Therefore, the most effective strategy for The Executioner is to aim for two hooks on all survivors, rather than focusing on the third and final capture. Then, you can deliver that devastating Final Judgment.
The Mastermind (Medium)
Project W’s Wesker, or The Mastermind, may have become everyone’s favorite DBD ‘Daddy,’ eclipsing The Trapper and Trickster in popularity, but he’s also a remarkably strong killer. Combining a ranged attack with the potential to instantly carry a survivor when executed skillfully, The Mastermind presents very few downsides – once you’ve truly mastered his playstyle.
Wesker possesses a standard melee basic attack, but can also lunge at survivors with his unique power, Virulent Bound. With a direct charge at a survivor, Wesker slams them against a wall, causing them to lose a health state. Even if he collides with an obstacle, the survivor will still be injured. Either way, Virulent Bound inflicts the Urobros Virus, causing the survivor to become Infected. This Infection gradually increases unless the survivor uses a First Aid Spray. A fully-infected survivor is instantly picked up upon another successful attack, while using the spray reveals their location, offering a benefit regardless of the outcome.
The Good Guy (Medium)
Chucky arrived on the scene as an immediate standout killer, effective for both beginners and seasoned players. Even after minor post-release adjustments that tweaked the maneuverability of his Slice and Dice power, Chucky remains a phenomenally brutal force. While his Slice and Dice action can be a bit challenging to control for those new to killer gameplay, Chucky’s other power, Hidey-Ho Mode, combined with his small stature, makes him an exceptionally potent killer. Hidey-Ho Mode renders Chucky undetectable, and his ability to fit under most windows makes it incredibly easy to ambush unsuspecting victims, even for new players adopting this killer.
The Nightmare (Medium)
Yes, that’s right, we’ve elevated the perpetually controversial Freddy Krueger significantly, placing him squarely in the low-A tier. In January 2025, The Nightmare underwent substantial reworks after years of being reviled as one of the least desirable killers to play.
Freddy’s power still pulls survivors into the Dream World, with all survivors eventually entering this state automatically over time, and basic attacks forcing them into the dream state instantly. Now, however, he commands the power to manifest both Dream Pallets and Dream Snares. When asleep, survivors are immune to Freddy’s Terror Radius and are far more gravely affected by these Dream Snares and Pallets.
Freddy can cause Dream Pallets to explode, injuring sleeping survivors within their area of effect and accelerating the dream timer for awake survivors. This remote injury effect is one of his two most powerful maneuvers. His Dream Snares hasten the sleep timer for awake survivors but also Hinder sleeping survivors, significantly slowing their movement. Survivors can awaken themselves by failing skill checks or by interacting with alarm clocks scattered across the map, but while they are asleep, Freddy now holds a distinct advantage.
The Animatronic (Hard)
The Animatronic marked a pivotal moment in Dead by Daylight history. As the most requested killer of all time, Springtrap finally arrived with Chapter 36, immediately establishing himself as one of the game’s top characters – an easy A-tier killer.
The only factors preventing The Animatronic from being even stronger are his relatively slow movement speed and the sharp projectile drop-off of his fire axe. If you have experience playing The Huntress, let alone if you’ve mained her, you’ll find this ranged weapon’s trajectory takes considerable adjustment. While we don’t factor add-ons into this list, the common Help Wanted Ad add-on displays the axe’s trajectory, making it worthwhile if you struggle and potentially boosting Afton’s tier ranking. The Animatronic’s most formidable asset is his mobility, utilizing security room doors to swiftly traverse the map, though his slow speed will be noticeable during direct chases.
B-tier
The Houndmaster (Medium)
The formidable Houndmaster and her loyal companion, Snug, made their debut in Chapter 34, Doomed Course. Initially, her placement on a tier list was challenging due to bugs and other issues. However, she has now settled into her role within the fog, and we can confidently place Portia Maye as, at minimum, a high B-tier killer.
The reason for her strength lies in her beloved pet dog, Snug. While Snug can be difficult to control at first (explaining why The Houndmaster isn’t ranked higher), his power becomes lethal once mastered. When Snug intercepts a Survivor, he latches onto their arm, immobilizing them. This not only halts survivors in their tracks, making them easy targets to catch, but can also be used for crowd control, similar to The Knight’s Guards. Sending Snug one way around an obstacle while you take the other leaves the survivor with nowhere to escape.
The Unknown (Medium)
Next to The Dredge, The Unknown stands as Behaviour’s most terrifying and unsettling original killer to date. This twisted entity also delivers some of the most enjoyable gameplay, whether you’re playing as killer or survivor, thanks to its cryptic voice lines, UVX power, and a blend of abilities inspired by existing killers.
Charging The Unknown’s UVX allows it to hurl an explosive projectile at survivors, reminiscent of The Singularity’s biopods. A direct hit with the pod hinders the survivor, and they are weakened if caught in the blast. Weakened survivors can then be injured by a subsequent hit, similar to The Artist’s Birds of Torment, requiring two hits to cause an injury. Making it even harder to injure a survivor with this power, they can actively remove the weakened effect by gazing at you for a short duration, drawing inspiration from The Ghost Face’s reveal mechanic.
This might lead one to believe The Unknown should be ranked lower than B-tier. However, this power can be strategically deployed in various ways to exert pressure on survivors, and it’s not solely about direct hits. We’ve discovered that the most effective use of UVX doesn’t even require striking a survivor; merely avoiding the blast can force their movement, pushing them directly into your basic attack. For example, survivors find it significantly harder to ‘loop’ The Unknown compared to other killers, as you can compel them to stop or turn back into you with a precisely aimed UVX pod.
Then there are The Unknown’s Hallucinations, which manifest sporadically throughout the game. While survivors can dispel them, any that remain standing serve as teleportation points for the killer, enabling incredibly swift map traversal and placing even greater pressure on survivors as they work on generators.
The Trickster (Medium)
A fan-favorite for his charming looks, The Trickster is surprisingly unpopular as a main killer. His ranged ability, Showstopper, enables him to unleash a volley of sharp blades at survivors, even over pallets and through windows. From a survivor’s perspective, he can sometimes feel impossible to evade as their Laceration Meter rapidly fills. Each successful hit charges The Trickster’s Event Meter, which, when full, unleashes an even deadlier barrage of throwing knives. However, Showstopper slows The Trickster down so significantly that, without exceptional aim, he gains very little real advantage. The Trickster did receive a notable nerf to his powers, reducing the hits required before Main Event to eight, but this change didn’t seem to make him any more appealing – as a killer, at least. If you do intend to play The Trickster, consider a build that bolsters other areas, such as sabotaging generator repairs and revealing survivor locations.
The Knight (Medium)
The Knight is a challenging killer to categorize, largely because he requires considerable effort to master due to his three distinct Guards. However, while The Knight’s power is intricate, it can prove devastating to survivors when wielded skillfully. As The Knight is not alone, and his ability summons guards to execute his commands, tasks like breaking pallets, damaging generators, and hunting survivors can be performed concurrently with The Knight’s own patrols. This essentially creates a scenario with two killers – if you can effectively coordinate them. You can either use this synergy to swiftly transition a survivor from healthy to dying in one decisive move (one hit from a Guard and one from you), or simply delegate tasks to your Guard while you pursue another survivor entirely.
The Doctor (Hard)
The Doctor is another killer who primarily relies on a basic attack, but if you effectively leverage his special abilities, he becomes exceptional at locating survivors and impeding their progress.
The Doctor’s power, Carter’s Spark, inflicts Madness upon nearby survivors, which intensifies with each successive hit. As their Madness level increases, skill checks become more challenging, and failed skill checks reveal their location while disrupting generator repair progress. Each time a player is struck by Carter’s Spark, they also scream, pinpointing their location. Furthermore, Madness levels II and III trigger illusions of The Doctor, which further aid in approximating a player’s position. Once you master the accuracy of The Doctor’s Spark, you can effectively delay survivor objectives while simultaneously tracking their whereabouts, tilting the game entirely in your favor.
The Nemesis (Hard)
We know Dead by Daylight fans adore a Resident Evil crossover, with the game’s initial ‘sequel’ bringing Resi back in Chapter 25. That original chapter introduced us to Nemesis, another killer with formidable abilities that are difficult to master, yet incredibly enjoyable to play.
The Nemesis’s T-Virus power allows him to infect survivors, which functions as an additional health state, though victims will become injured after a second hit. This status is inflicted by The Nemesis’s tentacle, making it a ranged attack that can be used over pallets and through windows. The more successful T-virus infections you land, the more your powers evolve, eventually granting the ability to break pallets and increase movement speed. Beyond that, The Nemesis’s zombies not only infect survivors who venture too close, potentially forcing them away from generators, but also alert you to their presence if you remain attentive.
The Artist (Medium)
Another killer who employs a form of ranged attack, The Artist’s deadly swarm of crows can significantly assist you. Deploy one to three crows with Birds of Torment, and they will fly forward, inflicting damage on any survivors in their immediate path. Their flight continues, but instead of injuring distant survivors, they will instead encircle a survivor’s head with a swarm, pinpointing their location. This combination facilitates taking down multiple survivors in quick succession, but you still need to close the distance for your basic melee attack. Moreover, poorly aimed crow attacks will not only be ineffective but will also reveal your position to survivors.
The Singularity (Hard)
The Singularity, also known as Hux-A7-13, was introduced alongside Gabriel Soma in the End Transmission chapter, marking the game’s initial venture into sci-fi horror before the official Alien chapter.
The Singularity, affectionately nicknamed Singu or even Larry, is exceptionally strong – so strong, in fact, that only one minor factor prevents him from reaching S-tier in our assessment: your personal skill and knowledge of Dead by Daylight maps. The Singularity functions remarkably well as an M1 killer (we even achieved a win without any perks in our first Singularity game), but to truly maximize Hux’s potential, you need to utilize his biopod power.
His Quantum Instantiation power allows you to strategically place ‘cameras’ within biopods across the map, using them to observe, locate, and even apply the ‘Slipstream’ effect to survivors. Similar to The Twins, The Singularity leaves his motionless body on the map while you cycle through camera views – but you must remember their relative positions and your own to use them effectively, as it can be somewhat disorienting.
One of The Singularity’s most powerful abilities is the capacity to teleport to slipstreamed survivors. If you have a survivor targeted by a biopod, you can quickly warp to their location, instantly breaking any pallets in your path. Survivors can counter biopods and slipstream by employing EMP devices found around the map.
The Dredge (Medium)
The Dredge, introduced in the Roots of Dread chapter, boasts highly unique abilities. However, when played skillfully, The Dredge can become an unstoppable force.
When playing as The Dredge, the primary ability to master is its Special Ability, The Gloaming. By leaving a Remnant behind, The Dredge can teleport into any visible locker. This action reveals any survivors standing within a short radius of a locker, immediately alerting you to their presence. If no one is nearby, you can choose to exit the locker or teleport up to two more times. This power is amplified when Nightfall is active, plunging survivors into deep Darkness and silencing The Dredge’s Terror Radius for 60 seconds. There are numerous ways to utilize The Dredge’s teleportation skill, from ambushing a survivor during a chase to halting generator progress, or simply pinpointing their location. That said, during a direct chase, The Dredge is slow, and its loud presence often alerts survivors to its approach from afar, even during Nightfall.
C-tier
The Legion (Easy)
As a survivor, you might frequently encounter The Legion, and you might even lose to them quite often, but this doesn’t automatically mean they are a strong killer. While The Legion excels at significantly slowing down survivor progress and prolonging the game, actually downing and hooking victims can be challenging. Consequently, after a long, drawn-out trial for both parties, the outcome can often be uncertain.
The inherent issue with The Legion is that while their power, Feral Frenzy, boosts their movement speed, it can be quite difficult to control. Furthermore, their Special Attack, Feral Slash, requires five hits to down a survivor, rather than the standard two. If you get stunned or miss a hit, Feral Frenzy will prematurely end, stunning you again and providing survivors with an opportunity to escape and heal. The most effective strategy with The Legion is to simply use Feral Slash once and then pursue another victim, inflicting the initial survivor with Deep Wound. Deep Wound is an additional injured state with a timer, compelling the survivor to find healing – or be healed – before the timer depletes and they enter the dying state. All this time, they will be diverted from crucial generator repair efforts.
The Plague (Hard)
Despite the protective nature depicted in her backstory, Adiris, The High Priestess of Babylon, unleashes an infectious plague to inflict harm upon survivors. Another ranged attacker, The Plague might appeal to new killers who prefer to avoid melee engagements; however, her Special Ability can slow down the pace of the game, potentially leading to struggles in sacrificing all four victims. Vile Purge infects survivors, injuring them only after a delay – an effect they can also remove. A useful trick is to remember that you can ‘infect’ generators and other environmental objects, subsequently infecting players who interact with them. Survivors can cleanse themselves at a Pool of Devotion, but this very pool can then be utilized by you, as The Plague, to activate Corrupt Purge – an ability that allows you to directly injure with your attack rather than just infect.
The Hag (Very Hard)
The Hag once held a coveted S-tier position but has since fallen in the rankings, relinquishing her crown. This decline is largely attributed not to direct changes to The Hag herself, but primarily to shifts in her most effective perks and the introduction of survivor perks that are now better equipped to counter her.
The Hag, also known as Lisa Sherwood, possesses the power to “shape mud to her will,” manifesting Phantasm Traps on the ground. When a survivor steps on one of these traps, The Hag can instantly teleport to their location, provided they are within 40 meters. Strategically concealing Phantasm Traps around generators, hooks, and looping areas can catch survivors off guard at critical moments. However, if these traps are placed in plain sight, survivors will easily avoid them as they are not particularly well disguised. Survivors also have the ability to wipe traps away. Much like The Trapper, who has also seen a decline in prominence, The Hag requires a significant amount of preparation for what can sometimes feel like minimal reward.
The Deathslinger (Hard)
They don’t come much wilder than the Deathslinger from the Wild West. His incredibly unique power allows him to reel survivors in with a Harpoon fired from his modified rifle. While the harpoon itself doesn’t cause injury, it brings them close enough for a direct attack. Striking a speared survivor also inflicts Deep Wound. Attempt this in an open area, however, as survivors can free themselves from the spear, most easily by placing a wall or rock between you and pulling back. While this will inflict Deep Wound, it will also briefly stun you, giving them an opportunity to escape.
The Oni (Very Hard)
The Spirit’s distant ancestor, Kazan Yamaoka, is an exceptionally powerful killer, capable of traversing large distances at high speed with his Demon Dash and instantly transitioning survivors from a healthy state to dying with his Demon Strike. However, both of these abilities necessitate the absorption of Blood Orbs, which are left behind by injured survivors. This means you need to land numerous successful hits before you can activate his devastating powers.
The Twins (Very Hard)
The Twins, Charlotte and Victor, are a truly unsettling original creation in Dead by Daylight. Due to their unusual development, Victor emerges from his sister’s chest. In DBD killer terms, this means Charlotte can dispatch a screeching Victor to scuttle across the map and pursue victims. While Victor is active, Charlotte remains stationary, as you control her brother. This is a valuable power, as you can leverage Victor’s increased movement speed to pinpoint survivor locations. Victor can then pounce on a player, briefly incapacitating them, allowing you to move in as Charlotte to finish the chase. The drawback is that with a well-timed kick, survivors can interrupt Victor’s attack and escape, and if Charlotte is a significant distance away on a large map, the power can be rendered ineffective.
The Pig (Hard)
Saw’s iconic Pig is another intriguing killer whose effectiveness hinges entirely on skillful play. Used correctly, she can lead to swift victories, but if mismanaged, her abilities can prolong your agony rather than that of the survivors.
The optimal strategy for success involves swiftly trapping all players in a Reverse Bear Trap. These traps activate immediately upon a generator’s completion and initiate a countdown to a deadly attack. Not only do they consume valuable time to remove, but survivors also have a limited number of Jigsaw boxes at which to do so. This diverts crucial time away from generator repairs. Furthermore, if multiple players are trapped simultaneously, they may need to travel greater distances to locate available Jigsaw boxes, wasting even more time. Should the countdown expire before the trap is removed, the survivor is instantly sacrificed, regardless of whether they’ve been hooked before. To balance the immense power of these traps, you are limited to four per match, and their removal can sometimes be quick – depending on luck.
The Clown (Medium)
The Clown’s power revolves around mixing and throwing potions – a purple tonic that impairs survivors’ vision and movement speed, and a yellow antidote that boosts your own movement speed. This is where the challenge arises, as not only do you need excellent aim, but it’s also easy to accidentally throw the wrong potion when switching between them. Hitting a survivor with the antidote not only increases their movement speed but also cures them of the intoxicated effect caused by the tonic.
The Clown has seen a slight climb in our rankings following an increase in the number of potions he can carry at once, making his power a bit more manageable. Given that his Afterpiece Tonic slows survivors down during chases, once you master this killer and his abilities, he can be devastating.
The Ghost Face (Hard)
The Ghost Face is undeniably one of Dead by Daylight’s most recognizable characters, even without being an officially licensed chapter (hence the distinct ‘Ghost Face’ naming convention). Heavily inspired by the original horror villain, The Ghost Face stands out as one of the few dedicated stealth killers in Dead by Daylight.
As one of the only killers capable of crouching, The Ghost Face can easily creep up behind unsuspecting survivors, especially those solely focused on generator repairs. Activating his Night Shroud power also renders him Undetectable, and this absence of a Terror Radius makes it even harder for survivors to realize he’s directly behind them. While crouched and hidden, Ghost Face can Stalk survivors, and a fully completed Stalk action will mark the survivor, leaving them Exposed for a period. With all this in mind, it’s important to remember that there’s no inherent bonus to Ghost Face’s only attack method, which is a simple melee. Therefore, success with this killer relies entirely on mastering that stealthy Stalk ability.
D-tier
The Cannibal (Medium)
The official Leatherface killer, The Cannibal, unfortunately doesn’t quite measure up to Dead by Daylight’s original chainsaw-wielding character, The Hillbilly. However, his Chainsaw Sweep offers a wide attack arc, contrasting with Hillbilly’s focused lunge, which might be advantageous if you struggle with melee hits on survivors. The sweeping attack covers the entire area in front of The Cannibal, while his Special Attack encompasses the circumference around him, allowing both to potentially hit multiple victims. Despite this, the cons largely outweigh the pros with The Cannibal, as survivors can often anticipate his attack and evade it, his movement speed is affected, and he incurs a significant cooldown.
The Shape (Medium)
Michael Myers, known in-game as The Shape, is a long-game killer. So, if you’re like us and find it challenging to consistently locate survivors, this killer might not be your ideal choice. However, if you’re prepared to patiently bide your time with this stealthy stalker, you can transform him from a figure lurking in the shadows into a relentless killing machine in the match’s final moments.
Activate The Shape’s power, Evil Within, to observe and stalk your prey from a distance. Simply watching your victims as they go about their tasks will enhance your Evil Within abilities, progressively becoming more powerful with each level. Evil Within I grants the Undetectable Status but reduces basic attack lunge and movement speed. Evil Within II shrinks your terror radius while boosting movement speed and attack lunge. Hold out until Evil Within III, though, and all survivors will be afflicted by the Exposed status effect, meaning you can down them with a single hit. Evil Within III will revert to level two after 60 seconds, and it’s worth noting that survivors will hear an audio cue each time Evil Within levels up. If you manage to down all four while they are exposed, you could end the game in mere seconds.
The Demogorgon (Hard)
The Demogorgon can be quite an enjoyable killer to experiment with, and even become highly competitive with significant practice, but it’s not the most consistently fruitful choice compared to others. Transporting the game into the Upside Down, The Demogorgon’s power, Of The Abyss, literally sends you into an inverted dimension. By placing two portals, you can traverse this eerie plane to travel between them. While this is similar to the powers of The Hag and The Nurse, among others, it’s not quite as quick to activate or as simple to navigate, making it less valuable than theirs. However, it can be useful in the late game to move between exit doors, just remember to place portals at those doors beforehand.
The Demogorgon’s most effective ability is its Special Attack, Shred. Similar to those of The Hillbilly and The Blight, Shred is a lunge attack that closes the gap between killer and survivor and – on a successful hit – places the survivor in an injured or dying state. Combining The Demogorgon’s portals and Shred can make for a powerful killer, but true mastery is hard to achieve.
The Onryo (Hard)
Sadly, despite Sadako’s highly anticipated arrival in the Sadako Rising chapter, players haven’t truly embraced The Ring villain as a Dead by Daylight killer, often preferring The Spirit, an unlicensed alternative, in her stead.
Sadako’s abilities are undeniably cool: TV sets pop up across the map when she’s the killer, allowing her to teleport to them. And while the teleportation animation is awesome, it’s slow and conspicuous, giving victims ample warning of her approach. But not only is it far more challenging to leverage to your advantage than, say, The Dredge’s similar power, if a survivor removes the tape from a TV, you can no longer teleport to it anyway. Sadako wasn’t widely favored even before The Dredge’s introduction, and now she unfortunately finds herself even more confined to her well.
The Cenobite (Very Hard)
Sadly, Hellraiser’s Pinhead, or The Cenobite, doesn’t quite live up to his namesake. While the chains unleashed by his Summons of Pain power can be irritating for a survivor, they don’t significantly impede their progress for long, with the only real benefit occurring during generator repairs or healing. However, as soon as a player picks up and solves the Lament Configuration box – a task that doesn’t take long – the chains recede. While The Cenobite can teleport to a player during the puzzle-solving process, clever survivors can prevent this by completing the Lament Configuration while you are otherwise occupied, for example, carrying another survivor. The only genuine reason to play as The Cenobite is for a bit of macabre fun… and to hear his now infamous voice line, “I came.”
The Trapper (Easy)
The Trapper, or Evan MacMillan of the MacMillan Estate, is a melee attacker with an intriguing ability that can be incredibly powerful when skillfully deployed. As his name suggests, The Trapper, well, traps his enemies.
By strategically placing bear traps around the map, you can incapacitate survivors. When a survivor steps into one, visual and audio cues activate, immediately alerting you to their location. Once caught, they must attempt to free themselves, which can take several attempts, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. All of this makes The Trapper an accessible and potent killer, provided you utilize his traps effectively, positioning them near windows and pallets in strong looping areas.
Unfortunately, The Trapper has lost some of his former luster over the years, steadily sliding down DBD tier lists across the internet. Starting with only two traps, a capacity to carry only two at a time (without an add-on), and the rest scattered unset around the map, a successful Trapper match requires considerable setup. Now, with a wider array of survivor items and perks available than when he was first released, you could potentially lose the game before you’ve even truly begun.
The Skull Merchant (Hard)
Due to her widespread unpopularity within the community, The Skull Merchant undergoes regular adjustments. The most recent nerfs further weakened her, presumably in an attempt to curb players from disconnecting when facing her. In our opinion, however, this has regrettably made her the weakest killer in the game. The Skull Merchant’s drones are now far less problematic for survivors, and while their directional rotation can be altered by the killer, this is a challenging mechanic to use effectively, especially when simultaneously focusing on a chase. While many killers present a formidable challenge these days, The Skull Merchant is, regrettably, the complete opposite.
If these compelling executioners have you hooked, you might enjoy seeing them in an entirely new context. For instance, some appear in a charming dating simulator, offering a lighthearted change of pace. Back in the original game, remember to check for the latest in-game codes to grab some valuable bonus Bloodpoints and Rift Fragments.