Best Killers In Dead By Daylight

Sometimes everyone has a dark fantasy of being the killer in a horror movie, right? Tons of players love to be on the prowl hunting down survivors in Dead by Daylight. With killers from famous horror franchises, among original creations, there’s a ton of fun to be had in the game.

Still, not all killers are created equal. They all come with unique abilities that offer major upsides and downsides. When players want to be successful in Dead by Daylight, they need to know the best killers to use to do the job. Favorite movie villains aren’t always the best choice for those players who want to be competitive.

Updated April 9, 2024, by Mara Cowley: Dead by Daylight remains an ever popular asymmetrical horror game, with a large roster of licensed and original Killers, it can be tough to decide who among them are the best killers in Dead by Daylight. Since the latest updates, which brought popular horror icons Chucky and the Xenomorph, developers BHVR are making some changes and tweaks to Killers to bring about more balance. However, this might change who among them is the best DbD killer. As such, this article has been updated to accurately reflect the current state of the Killer side of the game.

34 Freddy Kruger – The Nightmare

The Nightmare World Makes Survivors More Suspectible To His Powers

Freddy Kruger is just as much of a nightmare on Elm Street as he is in Dead by Daylight. He was once the worst character in the game, received a powerful rework, and then was nerfed again, pushing him back down the list. All Freddy has to do is make survivors fall asleep for them to be in the realm of nightmares, where he can best use his unique Killer abilities to take them down.

He has the ability to keep up strong pressure with his teleporting, has decent stealth capabilities while in the dream state, and can make things difficult if he keeps survivors isolated so their allies can’t wake them up. His anti-loop blood pool ability isn’t great, but it’s still much more reliable than the fake pallet alternative. He’s an easy killer to learn, but no longer the monster of nightmares he once was.

Perks for The Nightmare

• Fire Up: This perk charges every time a generator is completed. There is a stackable 3, 3.5, or 4% action speed to breaking pallets and breakable walls, damaging generators, vaulting windows, and picking up or dropping survivors.
• Remember Me: The killer gains 1 token each time they attack the Obsession with a basic attack. The opening time for the Exit Gates is increased by 6 seconds for each token, up to a maximum of 12, 18, or 24.
• Blood Warden: This perk activates when an Exit Gate is opened. Survivors standing within the area of the Exit Gate have their Auras revealed. If a survivor is hooked while this perk is active, The Entity will block the Exit Gates for 30, 40, or 60 seconds.

Power: Dream Demon

The killer is invisible to players further than 32 meters. The presence on the trial grounds causes survivors to fall asleep for 60 seconds and enter the Dream World. In the Dream World, survivors are inflicted with Oblivious and are susceptible to Dream Palettes and Dream Traps. Basic attacks will transport players into the Dream World.

33 Michael Myers – The Shape

The Shape can Insta-Down Survivors, Or Outright Kill Them With The Right Add-On

Yes, this is the Michael Myers! This horror movie icon is able to stalk survivors and gain more strength for taking them down as he does so. If killers can get to Tier III of Evil Within, Michael becomes beyond devastating. It’s just not always easy to make that happen, and it doesn’t last forever.

Almost any killer with an instant takedown attack is high tier and strong, but the Shape suffers from an extremely weak early game due to his slow speed and reduced lunge range in Tier I. Overall, the Shape is weaker than his cinema infamy would suggest, but players should never dismiss him because his Tombstone add-ons grant him the ability to instantly mori Survivors, regardless of their Health Stat. But even with this add-on, the Shape still suffers, as he takes much longer to grow into Tier III, and players can get around this by hopping into lockers.

Perks for The Shape

• Save the Best for Last: The killer gains 1 token for each Survivor they hit with a Basic Attack who is not the Obsession. Tokens result in a 4% cool-down reduction on attacks to a maximum of 32%.
• Play with Your Food: The killer gains 1 token each time they chase the Obsession but let them escape. These tokens apply toward a stackable 3, 4, or 5% Haste effect.
• Dying Light: Each time the killer hooks a survivor who is not the Obsession, they gain a token. Survivors other than the Obsession suffer from a stackable 2, 2.5, or 3% penalty to repairing, healing, and sabotaging so long as the Obsession is still alive. The Obsession has a permanent +33% bonus to Unhooking and Healing other Survivors.

Power: Evil Within

The killer is gifted the Undetectable effect. Evil Within II reduces the Terror Radius and vault time. Evil Within III causes all survivors to be inflicted with Exposed for 60 seconds.

32 Lisa Sherwood – The Hag

Unsuspecting Survivors Can Trigger Traps, Allowing The Hag To Teleport To Them

Lisa Sherwood, better known as the Hag, can set down phantasm traps that allow her to directly teleport to the location of survivors if they draw close enough to them. As long as she can set these up well, it allows her to keep immense amounts of pressure on the survivors. Common tactics are to track Hooked Survivors or pivotal Generators to stall the Survivors, and maybe even grant her a kill.

She’s technically one of the slower killers in the game, but the teleportation makes up for that easily. Her traps can be tough to spot, making it much easier for survivors to fall into them compared to other killers. But eagle-eyed Survivors can find them, and even erase them if they have brought or find a flashlight in the trial. With ten of them able to be on the map at once, players have to take their time and be cautious. The Hag is one of the game’s most strategic killers, but players that master her web of traps can be close to a true menace.

Perks for The Hag

• Hex: The Third Seal: Survivors hit with a basic or special attack are inflicted with Blindness.
• Hex: Ruin: Generators regress at 50, 75, or 100% of their speed when not being repaired.
• Hex: Devour Hope: The Killer gains 1 token when a survivor is rescued from a hook within 24 meters of the Killer. With 2 tokens, Survivors have a 3, 4, or 5% Haste status for 10 seconds after being unhooked. With 3 tokens, Survivors permanently are inflicted with Exposed. With 5 tokens, the killer can kill all Survivors with their own hands.

Power: Blackened Catalyst

The Killer can have up to 10 Phantasm Traps. Survivors within the area of effect will spawn a Mud Phantasm. The Mud Phantasm disorients the player and emits a fake Terror Radius, and the Killer can teleport to them if they wish.

31 Evan Macmillan – The Trapper

Traps Set Across The Map Ensnare Unsuspecting Survivors

Evan Macmillan was the first killer in the game, and is essentially the mascot of the franchise at this point. His name might make his ability obvious, since he uses bear traps to ensnare and injure Survivors. The major problem here is that it isn’t easy to set up bear traps quickly. They need to be perfectly located so that the player can make sure to down survivors or else all the time will be for nothing.

Since players can also help free Survivor allies from the traps, those that travel in groups can negate the ability quite quickly. Oh, and players can actually set off traps safely if they spot them. It makes it far harder to use them effectively, so there are better killers to use. That said, few things in the game are harder to escape than a basement trapped by this Killer. Furthermore, certain add-ons can ensure trapper Survivors are immediately downed by stepping into one.

Perks for The Trapper

• Unnerving Presence: Survivors repairing generators or healing within the Terror Radius are affected by this perk. It will increase the odds of a Trigger for skill checks by 10% and decrease the Success zone by 40, 50, or 60%.
• Brutal Strength: The action speed for pallets, breakable walls, and damaging generators is increased by 10, 15, or 20%.
• Agitation: The Terror Radius is increased by 12 meters and the carrying speed is increased by 6, 12, or 18% when carrying a player.

Power: Bear Trap

The Killer begins the trial with 2 Bear Traps; 8 Bear Traps are already spawned on the map. Bear Traps will trap players and put them in the Injured State. The Killer can also be trapped by a Bear Trap, but only temporarily.

30 Amanda Young – The Pig

Reverse Bear Traps Stall Survivors, and Can Outright Kill Them

Inspired by the famous Saw franchise, The Pig has a lot of artillery at her disposal. She can put reverse bear traps on the player, enter stealth by crouching, and can charge at Survivors with the longest lunge attack in the game. Still, each of these moves has problems. The bear traps take far too long to count down and are almost guaranteed to get taken off by survivors. Plus, they are severely limited, so once they are out that tool for pressure is totally gone.

Not to mention, her stealth strike is also easy to telegraph and dodge because of the loud lion’s roar she makes before striking as well. The combination of all these weaknesses makes her have a hard time taking out survivors. The Pig has received a number of (arguably unnecessary) nerfs, but she remains a fun though challenging Killer to play.

Perks for The Pig

• Scourge Hook: Hangman’s Trick: The killer will receive a Loud Noise Notification when a player starts to sabotage any of the four Scourge Hooks. The Auras of any Survivor within 8, 10, or 12 meters of the Scourge Hooks are revealed when a player is being carried.
• Surveillance: The Auras of regressing generators are revealed to the killer. If the regression of a generator is interrupted, it is highlighted in yellow for 8, 12, or 16 seconds.
• Make Your Choice: This perk activates when a survivor is rescued from a hook within 32 meters of the killer. The rescuer is inflicted with Exposed for the next 40, 50, or 60 seconds.

Power: Jigsaw’s Baptism

The killer begins the trial with 4 Reverse Bear Traps, and 5 Puzzle Boxes spawn. When players are in the dying state, the killer can place a Bear Trap on their heads. Bear Traps are activated whenever a generator is complete. Players must search around the map to find a key to free themselves from the Bear Trap before the timer runs out, or the trap will be activated and kill them.

29 Tarhos Kovács – The Knight

The Guards Help Track And Down Survivors

The Knight is a somewhat difficult character to rank in Dead by Daylight. Since he plays far differently than other killers in the game, some players won’t find him to be much of a threat. Most players are used to playing killers that actively stalk, chase down, and kill players throughout the game. Anyone playing The Knight in a similar fashion is going to find it very difficult to appear as much of a threat to the players in the round.

Instead, it’s more appropriate for players to approach The Knight as a character who guards and defends regressing generators rather than a character who actively seeks out players. The Knight can then strategically send out the three various Guards to help make sure the generators don’t progress. The Carnifex can be used for breaking pallets, the Assassin for chasing players, and the Jailer for general patrol. Ultimately, The Knight can be a powerful enemy when in the right hands, he just requires a fair amount of strategy to be menacing. With most players playing him as a simple chase-and-kill character, however, he’ll seem like a weak addition to Dead by Daylight‘s offering of numerous villains.

Perks for The Knight

• Nowhere to Hide: After damaging a generator, the Auras of all players within 24 meters are revealed for 3, 4, or 5 seconds.
• Hex: Face the Darkness: If there’s still a Dull Totem on the map, after injuring a player, “Face the Darkness” activates. That player is cursed, and all other survivors outside the terror radius scream every 35, 30, or 25 seconds. If the cursed survivor is healed or enters the Dying State, the perk deactivates.
• Hubris: When the killer is stunned by a player, that player has the Exposed status effect for 10, 15, or 20 seconds.

Power: Guardia Compagnia

The Knight can summon three Guards in a fixed order, each with their own unique ability:

• The Carnifex has a longer hunt phase and can break or damage objects faster.
• The Assassin moves faster while hunting and can inflict Deep Wounds on survivors.
• The Jailer moves faster while patrolling and patrols for longer and has a larger range for detection.

28 Victor & Charlotte Deshayes – The Twins

Victor Can Pounce and Incapacitate Survivors

The Twins have some unique mechanics to work with, and are the only Killers that give players two for the price of one. Victor can be faster when separated from his sister, but can also be crushed by survivors or simply be torn off of them once he pounces. It takes a long while for him to regrow once inside Charlotte, which can make it difficult if they didn’t damage players enough to take them down.

The Twins nonetheless suffer from some punishing cooldowns when swapping between siblings, keeping many players from learning these otherwise unique characters. Still, in the right hands, it’s possible to find success as The Twins.

Perks for The Twins

• Hoarder: If a Survivor opens a chest or picks up an item within 32, 48, or 64 meters of the killer, a Loud Noise Notification will trigger.
• Oppression: 3 other generators will regress while the Killer damages a generator, and triggers a difficult Skill Check for Survivors working on any of those Generators.
• Coup de Grace: The killer earns a token each time a generator is completed. They can use the token to increase the distance of a lunge attack by 70, 75, or 80%.

Power: Blood Bond

This ability unleashes Victor, who can traverse the environment at great speeds. If Victor finds a player in a locker, player control will be reverted to Charlotte, and Victor will hold the survivor in place for 10 seconds. Victor can also let out a shriek that will trigger killer instinct on nearby survivors.

27 Danny Johnson – The Ghost Face

The Stalk and Lean Ability Make Survivors Vulnerable to Ghost Face’s Attacks

From the hit movie franchise Scream, Ghost Face has a unique ability that requires him to stalk survivors individually. If he does so well enough, he can manage to down them instantly for a short period of time. His major strength comes from his stealth, so patient players can make him work nicely.

The only issue is that once his stealth fails, he becomes quite useless. If the Survivors spot him or hit him in any way, he loses all those advantages he was building up, and it can be annoying to get them back again, especially as he doesn’t have any significant mobility advantages. Lethal Pursuer and other information perks can help combat these weaknesses, however, giving Ghost Face some lethality back.

Perks for Ghost Face

• I’m All Ears: Survivors performing a rushed action within 48 meters of the killer will have their Aura revealed for 6 seconds.
• Thrilling Tremors: Generators not being repaired are blocked by The Entity for 16 seconds after picking up a survivor.
• Furtive Chase: Everytime the Killer hooks the Obsession, they gain the Undetectable Status and 5% Haste for 14, 16, or 18 seconds.

Power: Night Shroud

The Killer is Undetectable. If a Survivor reveals the Killer, their location is revealed through killer instinct for 2 seconds. If the Killer fills up the stalk meter, that Survivor becomes exposed for 60 seconds, and can no longer reveal him.

26 HUX-A7-13 – The Singularity

Can Quickly Teleport To Survivors

As cool of an idea as a villain like The Singularity is, his perks and abilities don’t quite live up to the terror he could potentially inflict. Many of his perks are more focused on hindering the Survivors rather than actually helping the killer, such as Genetic Limits which gives healed players the Exhaustion effect, or Forced Hesitation which gives certain players the Hindered effect.

The Singularity’s special ability is a unique one, albeit quite complicated to learn, let alone master. The Singularity can release up to 8 biopods to help observe the environment and highlight survivors. He can also inflict survivors with Temporal Slipstream, allowing the Singularity to teleport to infected players and initiates the Overclock Mode, making the Singularity more menacing for a few moments. While this may be an interesting and potentially devastating feature, it requires players to be familiar enough with the killer in order to be pulled off effectively. Without practice, it’s a cool idea that will likely be unused, at least not to its full potential.

Perks for The Singularity

• Genetic Limits: When a survivor finishes a healing action, the survivor will have the Exhausted status effect for 24, 28, or 32 seconds.
• Forced Hesitation: After a survivor is put into the dying state, any survivor within 16 meters will have a -20% Hindered effect for 10 seconds.
• Machine Learning: This perk activates after performing the Damage Generator action on a generator. The next Generator the Killer damages will become compromised until it’s completed. After completion, the Killer will have the Undetectable and +10% Haste status effects for the next 20, 25, or 30 seconds.

Power: Quantum Instantiation

The Singularity begins the trial with 8 biopods. Each biopod can be released into the environment and is remote-controlled by the Singularity, who can use them to observe the environment or teleport to Slipstreamed survivors. Survivors within 20 meters of a biopod will have their aura outlined in white. Tagging players will inflict them with Temporal Slipstream.

When the Singularity teleports to a Slipstreamed survivor, they are put into the Overclock Mode. While in the Overclock Mode, the Singularity can’t be stunned by pallets. Attempting to stun the Singularity with pallets will only cause the pallet to break and briefly slow the Singularity, ending the Overclock Mode.

While in Overclock Mode, the action speeds of breaking breakable walls and pallets and vaulting windows are increased by 75%. Overclock Mode lasts 4.7 seconds, though its duration is increased by 1 second for each Slipstreamed survivor, for a maximum of 8.7 seconds.

25 Pinhead – The Cenobite

Chains Hinder the Progression of Survivors

As one of the most iconic horror villains of all time, Pinhead from Hellraiser has come to torment the players of Dead by Daylight. Pinhead can be a pain to go up against, largely because of all the tools at his disposal that he can use to torture the survivors. This is especially true of survivors he hooks.

Anyone hooked while Pinhead is the killer will suffer from a variety of effects, from hemorrhage to cursed status effects. Needless to say, players don’t want to be on the other side of The Cenobite. By using Hoarder, the player can even predict where the Cenobite’s cube will spawn, getting a jump on Survivors at the beginning of the Trial. However, the amount of counter-play Survivors can employ, even just by communicating via voice chat, can help Survivors overcome and prevent Chain Hunts and come out on top.

Perks for The Cenobite

• Deadlock: The Entity will halt the progression of the highest-progressed Generator for 20, 25, or 30 seconds whenever a generator is complete. This generator’s aura is revealed to the killer.
• Hex: Plaything: As long as there’s a Dull Totem on the map, Hex: Plaything will be activated. Survivors hooked for the first time will suffer from the Cursed and Oblivious effects until the Dull Totem is cleansed. Only the Cursed survivor can cleanse the totem in the first 90 seconds; the aura of the totem is revealed to the player within 24, 20, or 16 meters.
• Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain: 4 random hooks will become scourge hooks; their auras are revealed to the killer. Survivors will suffer from the Hemorrhage and Mangled effects after being unhooked; they will continue to suffer from those effects until they are healed. After being healed, the Survivor will suffer 10, 13, or 16% penalty to Healing and Repairing.

Power: Summons of Pain

A chain can be summoned to the killer. This chain can bind a player, causing them to become Incapacitated, hindering their speed and preventing them from escaping through the Exit Gates.

24 Jeffrey Hawk – The Clown

The Clown Can Buff Themselves and Debuff Survivors

The reason that The Clown is so low on the list is because of his special abilities. Slowing down Survivors with intoxication bottles may seem strong at first, but the length of time to reload makes things very difficult. Plus, smart players can simply run through the gas as the reduced visibility just isn’t strong enough, especially if they have exhaustion perks.

He takes a lot of playing things by ear which makes it especially hard to make him successful in the higher ranks. A good Clown player who knows how to alternate between types of bottles can be strong, but there’s still only so much this funny man can do. Despite his lack of map pressure, the Clown is still a good time, especially with Party Bottles and the Redhead’s Pinkie Finger.

Perks for The Clown

• Bamboozle: Vaults are 5, 10, or 15% faster. The Entity will block that vault location for 8, 12, or 16 seconds
• Coulrophobia: Players within the Terror Radius have their healing speed reduced by 30, 40, or 50%, and increases rotation of Healing skill checks by 50%.
• Pop Goes the Weasel: This perk activates for 35, 40, or 45 seconds after hooking a survivor. The next generator damaged by the killer will lose 30% of its current progression.

Power: The Afterpiece Tonic

The Clown starts the trial with 6 bottles. The Afterpiece Tonic will create a gas cloud that will infect players with impaired vision, coughing, and the Hindered effect. This lasts for 2 seconds after leaving the gas cloud, and can be neutralized by the Afterpiece Antidote. The Antidote provides 10% Haste for 6 seconds.

23 Sadako Yamamura – The Onryo

Condemned Survivors Are Easy Prey for a Mori

The Onryo has incredible mobility thanks to the fact that she can teleport between televisions, and she has stealth due to her ability to Demanifest. Survivors who allow themselves to become fully Condemned by her power can also be executed with an abbreviated mori.

The Onryo’s major problem is a lack of anti-loop abilities which, combined with her lack of lethality, makes it very hard to put survivors into the dying state and maintain pressure on a team. Though her powers are fun and spooky, they aren’t actually that good at killing people. Players instead need to lean into her Condemnation power, which, with certain add-ons, can still be surprisingly deadly.

Perks for The Onryo

• Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage: Each time a survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the auras of all other survivors are revealed for 5, 6, or 7 seconds.
• Call of Brine: Damaging a generator causes it to regress at 115, 120, or 125% speed and reveal its aura for 60 seconds. Each time a survivor completes a Good Skill Check on that generator, the killer receives a loud noise notification.
• Merciless Storm: Whenever a generator is repaired to 90%, survivors repairing it are faced with continuous Skill Checks. If they miss one or stop repairing, the generator becomes blocked for 16, 18, or 20 seconds.

Power: Deluge of Fear

Deluge of Fear allows Sadako to teleport between televisions scattered across the map, Demanifest to become Undetectable, and build Condemnation on survivors, allowing her to mori those that don’t remove the affliction in time.

22 Philip Ojimo – The Wraith

The Wraith’s Lunge Makes His Attacks After Uncloaking Difficult to Avoid

One of the original killers in the game, The Wraith can go invisible at the ring of a bell. Invisibility sounds like it would be entirely broken, but in the end, it is balanced out by the need to ring the bell again to uncloak so that they can attack Survivors they encounter. Additionally, the visible shimmer of his cloaked form can be seen by attentive Survivors.

Since players have to ring a bell to become visible once more and attack, it makes it difficult to actually ambush the Survivors with the attack, but the speed of his lunge means most Survivors will take a hit upon him uncloaking. The Wraith is arguably the best killer to learn the game with, but doesn’t fare well at more competitive levels.

Perks for The Wraith

• Predator: Scratch marks are either slightly, moderately, or considerably closer together, depending on the tier unlocked by the player.
• Bloodhound: Pools of Blood can be seen for 2, 3, or 4 more seconds. They appear in bright red.
• Shadowborn: When Blinded, the Killer receives 6, 8, or 10% Haste for 10 seconds.

Power: Wailing Bell

The killer can cloak themselves, becoming invisible and increasing their movement speed. The killer is also gifted the Undetectable effect. They can’t attack or interact with Survivors while invisible.

21 Carmina Mora – The Artist

Carmina’s Crows Can Hinder or Hurt Survivors

The Artist is a fun villain to play, and a terrifying one to go up against. A former demented artist with an affinity for crows, all of her skills are used to torment the players. She can disrupt the players’ progress, hook survivors to gain an advantage, and use a literal murder of crows against players.

That is to say nothing of her totems; the more Survivors cleanse them, the harder the Trial will be. With virtually unmatched cross-map pressure and excellent anti-looping, the Artist is one of the strongest killers in the game. However, getting to grips with her play style does weaken her strengths somewhat. And now that players can bless totems instead of cleansing them, some of the Artist’s perks can be nullified completely.

Perks for The Artist

• Grim Embrace: The killer gains a token each time they hook a survivor for the first time. This perk activates once the killer earns 4 tokens. Generators will be blocked by the Entity for 40 seconds. The killer can see the Aura of the Obsession for 6 seconds.
• Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance: 4 random hooks will become scourge hooks at the beginning of each trial. These hooks will be shown in a white Aura. When a survivor is hooked on a scourge hook, the Generator with the highest progression will explode. It will lose 15, 20, or 25% of its maximum possible progression and begin regressing. Any survivor repairing that Generator will scream.
• Hex: Pentimento: The killer can resurrect a cleansed totem to turn it into a rekindled totem. The number of rekindled totems in the trial will create different effects. With 1 totem, survivors’ repair speed is reduced by 20, 25, or 30%. With 2 totems, survivors’ healing speed is reduced by 20, 25, or 30%. With 3 totems, survivors’ recovery speed is reduced by 20, 25, or 30%. With 4 totems, the speed of the gate openings is reduced by 20, 25, or 30%. With 5 totems, all totems become blocked by the Entity.

Power: Birds of Torment

The killer can summon dire crows and create their flight path. When each crow finishes its flight path, they will all merge and become a swarm, flying in a straight line through the environment and passing through any solid objects. Any survivor in the way of the swarm will be attacked.

20 Frank, Julie, Susie, And Joey – The Legion

Feral Frenzy Downs the Fifth Hit Survivor Regardless of Their Health State

The Legion is not one, but four Killers that players can choose from, but they each share the same abilities. Implied to be an imposter during their marketing, the Legion turned out to just be very fast Killers, which disappointed many. Still, their abilities, especially after their rework, hold lethal potential to Feral Frenzy. The Legion can down survivors with a fifth hit during Frenzy.

A powerhouse at keeping the whole team injured and easy for new players to pick up, the Legion has a tough time keeping up with knowledgeable players and finishing the bloody work they started. Their ability to vault pallets and move quickly from one Survivor to another can turn matches around if Survivors aren’t careful, as high-level Legion players have demonstrated.

Perks for The Legion

• Discordance: The Auras of generators being repaired by 2 or more survivors within 64, 96, or 128 meters of the killer are revealed. This will also trigger a Loud Noise Notification.
• Mad Grit: There are no cool-down effects on missed attacks while carrying a player. A successful attack will halt the carried player’s wiggling for 2, 3, or 4 seconds.
• Iron Maiden: Lockers can be opened 30, 40, or 50% faster. Survivors exiting lockers are inflicted with Exposed for 30 seconds. Their Auras are revealed to the killer.

Power: Feral Frenzy

When the power gauge is full, Feral Frenzy can be activated. This will make the killer move faster and gain access to the Pallet Vault and Feral Slash abilities. Chaining five successful hits together will down the Survivor hit by the fifth hit.

19 Ji-Woon Hak – The Trickster

Throwing Knives Allow Him To Injured Survivors From Afar

Fan favorite and former K-pop star Ji-Woon Hak may not be the most menacing villain in the game, but he still has a few tricks up his sleeve that will keep players on their toes. He can use his Showstopper power to throw blades at the players, making him deadly even from a distance.

Most of his perks revolve around blocking areas of the environment and downing survivors; this is especially true for players near the end of the trial, where The Entity can block all of the Exit Gate switches. Unlike the Huntress, the Trickster must land multiple players in order to injure Survivors, which is part of what reduces his strength.

Perk’s for The Trickster

• Starstruck: This perk only activates when the killer picks up a player. Survivors within the Terror Radius will be inflicted with the Exposed effect. After leaving the Terror Radius, the effect will persist for 26, 28, or 30 seconds. The perk deactivates as soon as the killer drops or hooks the carried player, but persists for affected Survivors.
• Hex: Crowd Control: When survivors perform a rushed vault through a window, The Entity will block the window for 40, 50, or 60 seconds. This perk deactivates when its connected totem is cleansed.
• No Way Out: The killer gains 1 token each time they hook a new survivor. When the Exit Gates are open, the killer will receive a Loud Noise Notification. The Entity will block the Exit Gate switches for 12 seconds. For each token, The Entity will block the switches for an additional 6, 9, or 12 seconds.

Power: Showstopper

The killer begins the trial with 44 throwable blades. The killer can throw unlimited blades during The Main Event, which can be activated once the Event Meter is filled. The Event Meter will increase with each blade hit. Blades can be replenished at lockers.

18 Herman Carter – The Doctor

The Doctor Can Use His Powers to Stun or Track His Prey

The ultimate provider of medical PTSD, the Doctor has two main abilities. Shock Therapy inflicts madness on any survivors in range and flashes their location for a short while, which helps The Doctor visit his patients for a special appointment. Static Blast forces any Survivor hit by it to gain even more madness. Unlike Shock Therapy, this ability doesn’t have a long recharge time.

If players can bring on enough madness to bring a survivor to Tier III, they can only sit and scream while they wait to snap out of it. This renders them unable to dedicate any time to completing Objectives until they successfully dispel their madness. Still, most of his abilities are better to locate survivors than dealing damage, giving him issues when it comes to sealing the deal for wins.

Perks for The Doctor

• Overwhelming Presence: The depletion rate of items used by players is increased by 80, 90, or 100% when within the Terror Radius
• Monitor & Abuse: The Terror Radius is reduced by up to 16 meters whenever not in chase with a Survivor. The base value of the Terror Radius is increased by 6, 7, or 8 meters.
• Overcharge: The killer can overcharge a Generator by damaging it. The next skill check will be extra difficult for the survivor. A failed skill check will result in a progressive loss of 2, 3, or 4%. A success grants no progression bonus.

Power: Carter’s Spark

With each strike of a special ability, the survivors’ madness will increase, resulting in the Madness effect. Madness 3 renders Survivors incapable of doing anything other than the Snap Out Of It activity. Madness 3 Survivors will intermittently scream, revealing their location.

17 Adiris – The Plague

Infected Players Are Left Vulnerable to a Basic Attack

The Plague vomits on anything in the game, including survivors, as touching the vomit in any way gives them sickness. If the Survivors stay sick for too long, they remain permanently injured, which can make them easy targets. This can force players to cleanse in one of the fountains sprinkled throughout the map so that Adiris can easily hunt them down.

The problem comes at higher ranks, where players know to simply ignore using the fountains to recover at all. It’s not easy, but the game can still be won even with all the Survivors injured. Still, sometimes players will crack, as it’s far easier to be downed when they are severely damaged, and she can gain access to the ranged attack that makes her so strong.

Perks for The Plague

• Corrupt Intervention: 3 generators furthest from the killer are blocked by The Entity for the first 80, 100, or 120 seconds of the trial.
• Infectious Fright: Survivors within the Terror radius will scream for 4, 5, or 6 seconds if any player is put into the dying state.
• Dark Devotion: When the Obsession is hit with a basic attack, they will emit a Terror Radius of 32 meters for 20, 25, or 30 seconds. The Killer is gifted with the Undetectable effect.

Power: Vile Purge

Hitting a player or object will cause it to become infected. Players who are infected too many times will acquire the Injured state and be inflicted with Broken. The Killer can turn Vile Purge into Corrupt Purge, which deals damage instead of infection, by interacting with Pools of Devotion that Survivors have used to cleanse themselves.

16 The Dredge

Nightfall Leaves Players Almost Blind

The nightmare abomination known as the Dredge thrives in darkness and uncertainty. It can teleport through lockers, seizing any survivors within, or teleport back to the Remnant it leaves of itself, cutting survivors off on loops.

Nightfall speeds up the Dredge’s teleportation considerably, grants it the Undetectable Status Effect, and darkens the map for survivors to an intense degree. Combined, these effects give a clever killer numerous ways to find and slay Survivors. Unfortunately, Survivors who know how to avoid the Killer’s Remnant can escape loops and prove difficult to catch.

Perks for The Dredge:

• Dissolution: 3 seconds after injuring a survivor, Dissolution activates for 12, 16, or 20 seconds. If a Survivor fast vaults over a pallet while within the killer’s terror radius, the pallet will break, and Dissolution will deactivate.
• Darkness Revealed: When the Killer searches a locker, the auras of all Survivors within 8 meters of any locker are revealed for 3, 4, or 5 seconds.
• Septic Touch: Whenever a Survivor performs a healing action within the Killer’s terror radius, that survivor suffers from Blindness and Exhaustion. These effects linger for 6, 8, or 10 seconds after the healing action is interrupted by any means.

Power: Reign of Darkness

The killer begins the trial with 3 tokens. The killer can consume a token to teleport between lockers or can roam the Trial grounds until it decides to teleport back to its Remnant. Harming survivors and teleporting brings about Nightfall, where the Dredge thrives.

15 Max Thompson Jr. – The Hillbilly

Chainsaw Allows Him to Traverse Maps With Deadly Speed

Max Thompson Jr. is just a bit worse than his murderous inspiration Leatherface from TheTexas Chainsaw Massacre, even if both of them use chainsaws. The main difference is that the Hillbilly dashes forward with his weapon instead of simply swinging it side to side, granting him vast mobility.

Though he can’t down multiple Survivors as the Cannibal can, the Hillbilly can cross the map with incredible speed while sprinting with his chainsaw. The Hillbilly is arguably one of the hardest Killers to learn but is very satisfying. Just watch out, as he has a hard time when going around corners.

Perks for The Hillbilly

• Enduring: The duration of pallet stuns is reduced by 40, 45, or 50%
• Lightborn: Survivors attempting to blind the killer have their Auras revealed for 6, 8, or 10 seconds. There is immunity from being blinded by flashlights, flashbangs, and blast mines.
• Tinkerer: This perk triggers whenever a generator is repaired to 70%. There is a Loud Noise Notification for that generator. The killer becomes Undetectable for 12, 14, or 16 seconds.

Power: The Chainsaw

Survivors hit by the Chainsaw Sprint are automatically put in the Dying state. Revving the chainsaw activates Overdrive. Once the Overdrive meter is full, players are given benefits to their speed and cooldown for 20 seconds.