The killers of Dead by Daylight all hold unique backstories and abilities, with their roster ranging from deranged psychos like Michael Myers to inhuman monsters like The Dredge. All are terrifying in their own ways, and all are at a surprising disadvantage inside the game. Despite having incredible strengths and abilities over the survivors, the killer is often the one fighting to win a match. Good groups of survivors can make even decent killers seem like new players.

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As such, killers will need any advantage they can get in Dead by Daylight. As of now, there are more than 100 usable killer perks, and these can be combined into several different builds. Because the killers are all so unique, not every build will be as effective on one killer as it might be on another. It's a good idea to research the different perks to build around the killer the player enjoys the most, but generalized builds can be very effective on most killers. For more tailored builds, check out GameRant's other Dead by Daylight build guides.

Updated on October 5th, 2023, by Lewis Smyth: Over the past year, Dead by Daylight has received numerous updates that heavily impact perks and the way they interact with game mechanics. As such, some of the builds featured in this article are somewhat outdated, as new, more useful perks have replaced them, or their effects have been nerfed entirely. This update will keep players informed of the best killer builds in DBD for 2023 and heading into the new year.

The General Meta Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds generic build

Some perks simply perform well on every killer. These perks are always a safe option for killers looking for a winning combination. They combine Slowdown and Map Control into one solid package. These perks will allow the player to slow generator progress massively upon hooking each Survivor by hitting them with Pain Resonance Scourge Hook, followed up by kicking a generator with Pop Goes the Weasel. By blocking generators at the beginning of the match, Killers can find Survivors early and establish a three-generator setup to guard; meanwhile, healing is slowed with Sloppy Butcher. This build gives Killers a fighting chance against good Survivors, and the perks are good on most killers in the game.

  • Corrupt Intervention (The Plague) – At the start of the trial, the 3 generators furthest from the killer's starting location are blocked for 120 seconds or until the first survivor is downed.
  • Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
  • Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator in the next 45 seconds will remove 30% of its current progression.
  • Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.

The Terror Radius Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds terror radius build

Each killer in Dead by Daylight has a Terror Radius. This is the circle around the killer in which survivors can hear their heartbeat and the music of the selected killer. As the killer gets closer, the heartbeat quickens, and the music becomes more intense while also getting louder. Therefore, maximizing the Terror Radius with perks is a niche build that can work well on killers with already large terror radiuses like The Mastermind.

  • Agitation (The Trapper) – While carrying a Survivor, the Killers’ movement speed is increased by 18%, and their Terror Radius is increased by 12 meters.
  • Coulrophobia (The Clown) - Survivors within the Terror Radius heal 50% slower, and skill check speed moves 50% faster.
  • Unnerving Presence (The Trapper) - Survivors within the Terror Radius have a 10% greater chance of triggering skill checks, which are 60% smaller.
  • Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.

The Information Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds information build

Information on the survivors' whereabouts is critical to any killer inside Dead by Daylight. Knowing where to find the survivors is half the battle of winning as the killer. Survivors will often try to be stealthy and hide their position, even while injured. Players looking to find survivors quickly and consistently should try and gather good Information perks. This build will allow players to quickly find survivors working on generators.

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  • Surveillance (The Pig) – Any regressing generator will be highlighted in white. If the generator begins to be worked on, it will be highlighted in yellow for the next 16 seconds. Generator repair noises are made audible by an additional 8 meters.
  • Hex: Ruin (The Hag) – As long as the Hex Totem remains standing, all Survivors not working on progressed generators will immediately begin to regress. This effect is removed once the first Survivor is killed.
  • Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
  • Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator in the next 45 seconds will remove 30% of its current progression.

The Stealth Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds stealth build

Survivors can often hide to outlast the Killer in Dead by Daylight. However, Killers don't have to play The Shape or The Ghost Face to get the jump on Survivors. With this nifty build, Killers can just as easily surprise Survivors and bring the horror back to the game. Hitting the Obsession with this build will mask the Terror Radius, as will hitting generators, giving the perfect opportunity to peel from the chase and find someone blissfully unaware.

  • Trail of Torment (The Executioner) – After kicking a generator, become Undetectable until the generator stops regressing or a Survivor touches it. This effect can be triggered once every 60 seconds.
  • Hex: Plaything (The Cenobite) – Upon hooking a Survivor for the first time, a random Dull Totem on the map will become a Hex Totem, cursing the Survivor with the Oblivious status ailment until cleansed.
  • Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator in the next 45 seconds will remove 30% of its current progression.
  • Dark Devotion (The Plague) – When the Obsession loses a health state, the Terror Radius transfers to them for 30 seconds, and the Killer becomes Undetectable.

The Anti-Healing Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds anti-healing build

If damaging generators is considered to slow down the Survivor's game, then healing could be considered the Survivors slowing down the Killer's game. Numerous perks make healing faster and more effective, and the Hour of the Witch update buffed healing even more with the inclusion of Boon Totem perks. This build allows the killer to see Survivors when they heal and slows down healing progress in general. It also causes them to scream, which can further interrupt healing.

  • A Nurse's Calling (The Nurse) - Survivors who heal within a 28-meter range will have their auras revealed.
  • Deadlock (The Cenobite) - After a generator is repaired, the generator with the most progress is blocked for 30 seconds.
  • Sloppy Butcher (General Killer Perk) - Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.
  • Ultimate Weapon (The Xenomorph) – After opening a locker, any Survivor that enters the Terror Radius within the next 30 seconds screams and gains the Blindness ailment. This perk has a 30-second cooldown.
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The Early Game Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds early game build

Killers can sometimes capitalize on good early-game control and snowball. Quick hooks can lead to more hooks and more survivors being injured. Most importantly, early game snowballing often causes survivors to focus on saving and healing rather than doing generators or cleansing totems. The early build is risky because it suffers as the game goes on, but putting pressure on Survivors early on never hurts.

  • Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis) - At the start of the trial, all survivor's auras are revealed for 9 seconds. This perk also increases the duration of other aura-reading abilities by an extra 2 seconds.
  • Corrupt Intervention (The Plague) - At the start of the trial, the 3 generators furthest from the killer's starting location are blocked for 120 seconds or until the first survivor is downed.
  • Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.
  • Save The Best For Last (The Shape) - For every basic attack dealt to survivors who aren't the Obsession, gain a 5% decreased attack cooldown, up to a maximum of 40%.

The Late Game Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds late game build

Like the early game build, this build focuses solely on control of a certain section of the game. This build is even riskier than the early game build, as it assumes that the Survivors have finished all the generators and are trying to open exit gates to win the game for themselves. Playing with this build is risky, but nothing feels more rewarding than swiping victory right from underneath the team of Survivors. While this build can feel satisfying to use and win with, players are essentially putting all their eggs in one basket, so don't feel too discouraged when losing with this build.

  • Blood Warden (The Nightmare) - Once per match, hooking a survivor while the exit gates are open will block the exit for 60 seconds.
  • Terminus (The Mastermind) - Once the final generator is complete, all injured survivors receive the Broken status ailment until the exit gates have been open for 30 seconds.
  • Hex: Devour Hope (The Hag) – When a survivor is unhooked from at least 24 meters away, this perk gains a token. At 2 tokens, gain a 5% Haste effect for 10 seconds after hooking a survivor. At 3 tokens, all survivors suffer from the Exposed status effect. At 5 tokens, any survivor, regardless of hook state, can be killed.
  • Hex: Undying (The Blight) – Once per trial when a Hex Totem is cleansed, the effect of that Hex is transferred to another Totem. Furthermore, survivors standing within 4 meters of a Dull Totem have their auras revealed.

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The Anti-Loop Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds anti-loop build

The largest advantages survivors have are their numbers and their mobility. Killers can often find themselves in endless chases with survivors who know what they're doing. This can frustrate the killer and lead to the game ending quickly, with all the generators getting completed in one or two chases. Killers have to learn the loops just as much as survivors do, but some perks help the killer resist the looping of survivors. This build allows killers to block pallets and extend lunging attack ranges. These can all be critical in ending loops early and hooking the survivor instead of chasing them.

  • Coup de Grace (The Twins) - For each generator completed, this perk gains two tokens. Use one token to increase lunge attack distance by 80%.
  • Hex: Blood Favor (The Blight) - Injuring a survivor blocks all pallets from being pulled down within a 32-meter radius for 15 seconds.
  • Hex: Undying (The Blight) – Once per trial when a Hex Totem is cleansed, the effect of that Hex is transferred to another Totem. Furthermore, survivors standing within 4 meters of a Dull Totem have their auras revealed.
  • Hex: Pentimento (The Artist) – Cleansed Totems can be rekindled for an additional effect, each decreasing repair, healing, recovery, and exit gate opening speeds by 30%.

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The Hex Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds hex build

Hex builds allow killers to transform the Dull Totems placed throughout the maps into powerful Hex Totems. These totems offer some of the best killer perks in the entire game, but at the risk of them being cleansed by Survivors, making the Hex Build one big gamble.

  • Hex: Pentimento (The Artist) - Cleansed Totems can be rekindled for an additional effect, each decreasing repair, healing, recovery, and exit gate opening speeds by 30%.
  • Hex: Plaything (The Cenobite) – Upon hooking a Survivor for the first time a random Dull Totem on the map will become a Hex Totem, cursing the Survivor with the Oblivious status ailment until cleansed.
  • Hex: Devour Hope (The Hag) - When a survivor is unhooked from at least 24 meters away, this perk gains a token. At 2 tokens, gain a 5% Haste effect for 10 seconds after hooking a survivor. At 3 tokens, all survivors suffer from the Exposed status effect. At 5 tokens, any survivor, regardless of hook state, can be killed.
  • Discordance (The Legion) – Any generators within 128 meters that are being worked on by 2 or more survivors will be highlighted in yellow.

The Base Perk Build

dead by daylight 10 best killer builds basic perk build

Not every Dead by Daylight player has access to the game's ginormous suite of Killer perks purchased through DLC or the in-game store's Shrine of Secrets. Combining basic slowdown perks with powerful endgame perks to help get kills during the most intense moments of the game, this simple build gives less experienced and less affluent Killers a way to kill Survivors without having to spend heaps of cash and Iridescent Shards on perks.

  • Fearmonger (General Perk) – Any Survivor working on a generator is inflicted with the Blindness and Exhausted status ailments. These effects linger for 5 seconds after stopping repairs.
  • Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment, and users gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
  • Bitter Murmur (General Perk) – Each time a generator is completed, the auras of Survivors within 16 meters of that generator are revealed for 5 seconds. Once the last generator is complete, all Survivors’ auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
  • Claustrophobia (General Perk) – After a generator is completed, all vault locations are blocked for 30 seconds.

Dead by Daylight is available on Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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