The Artist in Dead By Daylight has had quite a sad backstory, that being of a grieving artist betrayed by the world around her. After the death of her brother, a grieving Carmina Mora regained new faith in life after a murder of crows stopped her from taking her life. While her new art form launched a new art movement in her hometown, this invited the attention of malicious forces to come her way. And in her dying moments, it’s the same murder of crows that showed her renewed faith - this time, in vengeance after death.

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Having arrived on November 2021’s “Chapter XXII: Portrait of a Murder,” The Artist makes her way to Dead By Daylight with her murder of crows, utilizing these minions to wreak havoc to what little life Survivors have left. However, players shouldn’t underestimate The Artist simply for her love for crows, as there’s a lot of ways to maximize the level of agony she can bring to Survivors she’s chasing.

8 Perks Make Items Even More Annoying

Introducing the Artist

It’s evident that a lot of environmental elements such as Hooks, Generators, and Totems are almost always built against Survivors. In fact, it’s only thanks through Boon Totems that Survivors get relevant bonuses, and the ability to clear Hooks and Generators that give them a fighting chance against Killers. However, the Artist makes using these items even more of a struggle thanks to her Perks. At its core, she has access to three unique Perks, each tailored to affect particular items in the field:

  • Grim Embrace: With this Perk, the Artist gains a Token whenever they hook a Survivor for the first time. When fully triggered, the Entity can block all Generators for a prolonged period of time.
  • Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance: With this Perk, four random hooks in the area become Scourge Hooks. Whenever a Survivor is placed into one of these hooks, a Generator explodes and suffers a penalty in its repair rate.
  • Hex: Pentimento: With this Perk, the Artist can essentially revert any Boon Totems back in her favor. Instead of getting them back as neutral Totems, they instead become Rekindled Totems with respective debuffs.

7 Power: Birds Of Torment Reignites The Hunt

The Artist surrounded by crows in Dead By Daylight

Unlike other Killers, the Artist may attack in melee, but much of her abilities resemble that of a supernatural hunter. Her Power: Birds Of Torment allows her to have a long-ranged component in the chase, providing her access to both melee and ranged options whenever she has to chase a target.

When the Artist spawns a Dire Crow, they’re set to follow a particular path. However, they lie dormant until the Artist activates them. Dire Crows recharge over time, but their idle time stays longer whenever the players summon a new Dire Crow. It’s these Dire Crows that practically give the Artist the core ability to hunt Survivors, as they provide her with the ability to scout for Survivors without having to go to a particular area immediately. However, the Artist needs to take note that her Idle Crows can be destroyed with Flash Grenades, Firecrackers, and Flashlights.

6 All Is Revealed In The Swarm

The Artist celebrating her craft

When the Artist activates her Dire Crows, they follow the Flight Path she set before deployment. Dire Crows deal damage to any Survivor in their Flight Path, which the Artist can see. However, where the Dire Crows get really deadly is by the time they exceed their Flight Path. When a Dire Crow exits their Flight Path, they become a Swarm.

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Like Dire Crows, Swarms can also pass through the environment. However, Swarms now reveal nearby Survivors through its Killer Instinct. And when a Swarm hits a Survivor, they swarm them with crows and distract them. As a result, the Swarm reveals a white aura to the Artist, indicating that they caught a Survivor. Moreover, directing a Swarm to a Swarmed Survivor will deal damage as well.

5 Mind The Repel

The ARtist primed for attack

However, Survivors do have the means to get the Swarm off of them. They can do two things to repel the Swarm - either get inside a Locker or do the Repel Command. If they complete the Repel action or enter a Locker, their aura disappears and the Artist can’t see them anymore. But then again, it’s likely too late for them anyway.

At its core, the Swarm is an extremely detrimental gameplay element for Survivors. After all, their only choice is to find a way to repel it or risk being constantly exposed to the Artist. Chances are, they’ll do the latter and focus on the Repel action. This slows them down and gives the Artist time to tear them apart.

4 Grim Embrace Is A Generator Detriment

The Artist chasing a Survivor

One common Survivor strategy is to lure the Killer into a chase so they’re able to try and repair some of the Generators the Killer may have left behind. The Artist practically renders this strategy detrimental to the team, as the Grim Embrace trait attaches an element of risk to the chase. Basically, if a Survivor plans on luring the Artist into a chase, they better outrun them.

If the Artist manages to hook all four Survivors for the first time, Grim Embrace activates and the Entity blocks the Generators. Grim Embrace has the following additional properties:

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  • When fully activated, the Entity blocks all Generators for at least 30 seconds and up to 40 seconds.
  • When activated, the aura of the Artist’s Obsession will be revealed to them for 5 seconds.

3 Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance Is A Pain, Alright

The Artist unleashing a crow

Before Survivors get to open any Exit Gate, they need to power Generators for the gates to function. This is one of the key elements Killers need to watch on top of having to chase four pesky Survivors, and the Artist has the Entity by her side to make this work in her favor. With Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance, four random hooks in the map become Scourge Hooks. At its core, Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance possesses the following properties:

  • The Artist sees all Scourge Hooks as white in her vision.
  • When a Survivor is placed onto a Scourge Hook, the Generator with the most progression explodes. Depending on the rank of the Perk, the damage can range from 9% to up to 15% of the total progression.

2 Hex: Pentimento Ensures Death Is Only A Matter Of Time

The Artist with a menacing glare

Why would the Artist even tire herself chasing Survivors when she can just wait for them to get exhausted enough and give up? Hex: Pentimento is a representation of such a mentality, as this Perk transforms Boon Totems against the Survivors’ favor. At its core, Hex: Pentimento has the following properties:

  • The Artist can only perform Hex: Pentimento on a cleansed Totem. Doing so transforms it into a Rekindled Totem.
  • The more Totems become reclaimed, the more detriments they give to Survivors. Depending on the Perk strength, the debuffs can be as strong as 20% and up to 30%.
  • 1 Rekindled Totem can reduce the Repair speed of Survivors.
  • 2 Rekindled Totems will reduce the overall Healing speed of Survivors.
  • 3 Rekindled Totems will reduce the Recovery speed of all Survivors.
  • 4 Rekindled Totems will reduce the speed of Gate Opening for all Survivors.
  • 5 Rekindled Totems will have the Entity block all Totems.

1 Consider The Add-Ons

The Artist preparing for a kill

Aside from her deadly Perks, the Artist does have a number of Add-Ons she could use to augment her Birds of Torment. Depending on which ones she uses, her Dire Crows get improved abilities and stats:

  • Vibrant Obituary: This boosts the Dire Crow’s Killer Instinct duration, helpful when the Artist prefers a stalking approach to hunt prey.
  • Ink Egg: This gives the Artist another Dire Crow to use, and decreases the idle time for Dire Crows before they distinguish. This is extremely helpful for the Artist that loves pinning Survivors down from long range.
  • Iridescent Feather: This gives the Artist the Undetectable trait whenever she isn’t holding a Dire Crow and she has Birds of Torment on cooldown. In exchange, she loses one Dire Crow.

Dead By Daylight was released in June 2016 and is currently playable on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, iOS, and Android.

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