Dead by Daylight (DBD) is a multiplayer twist in a survival horror genre dominated by single-player titles. A match of DBD consists of 5 players: 4 survivors against a designated killer.
The killer’s goal is to hunt down each survivor in a procedurally generated map.
For players who enjoy taking on the role of the killer, we’ve made a tier list that ranks the best ones to use. With this list as your guide, you’ll know which characters will enable you to hunt faster and wiser. Let’s dive right into it.
Table of ContentsShow
S-Tier
These are the best killers to play. They have plenty of useful tools that will give you a huge advantage in hunting down the survivors.
| Killer | Perks | Power | Description |
| “The Nurse” Sally Smithson | Stridor Survivors’ Grunts of Pain are 25/50/50 % louder and regular breathing is 0/0/25 % louder. Thanatophobia For each Injured, Dying, or hooked Survivor, all Survivors receive a stack-able penalty of 4/4.5/5 % to their Repair, Sabotage, and Totem-Cleansing speeds up to a maximum of 16/18/20 %. A Nurse’s Calling The Auras of Survivors who are healing or being healed are revealed to you when they are within a range of 20/24/28 meters. | Spencer’s Last Breath Blink for up to 20 meters upon activation. | The killer with the highest skill cap and ceiling is arguably the best one in the game as well. The Nurse’s blink ability essentially nullifies solid objects, making it easier to chase survivors. At first, survivors will probably run around in circles with you. Once you get the hang of blinking and blink chaining, you’ll start seeing consecutive wins. |
| “The Spirit” Rin Yamaoka | Spirit Fury After breaking 4/3/2 Pallets, the next time you are stunned by a Pallet, The Entity will instantly break it. Hex: Haunted Ground When one of the two trapped Hex Totems is cleansed by a Survivor, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 40/50/60 seconds. | Yamaoka’s Haunting Press and hold the Power button to charge Yamaoka’s Haunting. The Spirit will depart her physical body, leaving behind a stationary ‘Husk’. | The Spirit can phase in and out of existence. This means that she can disappear, gain a movement buff, then reappear next to unsuspecting survivors. In Dead by Daylight, mobility runs the current meta for killers. The Nurse and Spirit play around this trait beautifully. What makes the Spirit so effective is that it removes information needed by opposing players to survive while retaining all that information to help her hunt. |
A-Tier
These are excellent killers with enough tools to secure wins often. While their attributes fall behind S-tiers (especially in mobility), they can be very rewarding to use.
| Killer | Perks | Power | Description |
| “The Oni” Kazan Yamaoka | Zanshin Tactics The Auras of all Pallets, Breakable Walls, and Vaults are revealed to you within a range of 24 meters. Blood Echo When hooking a Survivor, all other injured Survivors suffer from the Hemorrhage Status Effect until healed and the Exhausted Status Effect for 45 seconds. Nemesis Anytime a new Survivor becomes the Obsession, they are affected by the Oblivious Status Effect for 40/50/60 seconds and their Aura is revealed to you for 4 seconds. | Yamaoka’s Wrath Absorb Blood Orbs left by your injured foes. When your Power gauge is full, press and hold the Active Ability button to initiate Blood Fury. While Blood Fury is active, The Oni becomes lethal and gains access to additional abilities: Demon Dash and Demon Strike. | The Oni arguably has the best power in the game. Using it, you have a 45-second window to wipe out the entire opposing team. The Oni’s ability snowballs quite well during a match. His playstyle is centered around finding survivors, running them down, then collecting their blood to gain even more speed. The only downside to the Oni is that it takes a while to charge up his power. Once he does, he’ll be a nightmare force to reckon with. |
| “The Hag” Lisa Sherwood | Hex: The Third Seal Hitting a Survivor with a Basic Attack while the Hex Totem is active applies the Blindness Status Effect. Hex: Ruin Whenever a Generator is not being repaired by a Survivor, it will immediately and automatically regress its Repair progress at 100/150/200 % of the normal Regression speed. Hex: Devour Hope When a Survivor is rescued from a Hook at least 24 meters away, Devour Hope receives a Token. 2 Tokens: Gain a 3/4/5 % Haste Status Effect 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, for a duration of 10 seconds. 3 Tokens: Survivors suffer from the Exposed Status Effect. 5 Tokens: Grants the ability to kill Survivors using your own hands. | Blackened Catalyst Press the Power button to bend down and draw the Phantasm Trap sign. The Hag can teleport to a tripped Phantasm Trap located within a range of 40 meters. | The Hag has to be the most annoying killer to play against. Her traps can force and control the movements of the survivors to fit her strategy. A good hag player wins by controlling the entire arena with her traps instead of blindly hunting down survivors. Despite her strength, the Hag can easily be countered by using flashlights and burning her traps. To pull this off, however, requires tremendous skill and communication from the surviving party. |
| “The Executioner” Pyramid Head | Forced Penance Survivors who take a Protection Hit are inflicted with the Broken Status Effect for 60/70/80 seconds. Trail of Torment After kicking a Generator, you become Undetectable until the Generator stops regressing or a Survivor is put into either the Injured or the Dying State by any means. Deathbound When a Survivor heals another Survivor for one Health State at least 32 meters away from the Killer, the Survivor performing the Healing action will scream, revealing their location and activating Deathbound for the next 60 seconds. | Rites of Judgement Hold the Power button to activate, then move forward in any direction to carve a trail into the ground. Survivors who walk or run on the trail will trigger Killer Instinct and be afflicted with Torment. Survivors affected by Torment may be sent to a Cage of Atonement while they are in the Dying State. | Pyramid Head controls the map in a different way than other killers in this list. He doesn’t have much mobility, yet his tracking and trapping skills are very useful. He also has a long-ranged ability which makes up for his limited movement speed. When playing as Pyramid Head, the player is often given good awareness of the map. His abilities allow him to easily locate survivors and deal with them accordingly. |
| “The Nightmare” Freddy Krueger | Fire Up For each Generator completed, gain a stack-able 3/3.5/4 % buff to Picking-up, Dropping, Pallet breaking, Breakable-Wall breaking, Generator damaging, and Vaulting speeds for the remainder of the Trial. Remember Me Each time you hit your Obsession, you increase the Exit Gate Opening time by 4 seconds up to a maximum of 8/12/16 additional seconds. Blood Warden As soon as the Exit Gate is opened, Blood Warden is activated. The Auras of any Survivors located within Exit Gate areas are revealed to you. | Dream Demon The Nightmare passively puts Survivors to sleep for over 60 seconds, after which they enter the Dream World. | Freddy has been consistently a good option since he was released. He has a great mobility skill that allows him to teleport to unfinished generators. He’s fantastic at chasing down survivors thanks to Dream Snares he can put down on the ground. All of this apply to a normal state of battling Freddy. Once you enter the Dream World (which is every minute, by the way), he becomes even more difficult to deal with. |
| “The Hillbilly” Max Thompson Jr. | Enduring The duration of Pallet stuns is reduced by 40/45/50 %. Lightborn Grants immunity to Blindness caused by Flashlights or Firecrackers. Survivors attempting to blind you have their Aura revealed for 6/8/10 seconds. Tinkerer When a Generator is repaired to 70 %, you receive a Loud Noise notification, and you are granted the Undetectable Status Effect for 12/14/16 seconds. | The Chainsaw Press and hold the Power button to break into a Chainsaw Sprint. Survivors hit during a Chainsaw Sprint are put into the Dying State. | The Hillbilly’s viability begins and ends with how well the player controls the chainsaw. It has been nerfed using the overheat mechanic over the previous patches because of how overpowered it was. Despite this, the Hillbilly still boasts excellent map control, decent snowballing towards the end of the match, and great chase potential. |
B-Tier
These are great killers with a few flaws that could easily be negated by the best players.
| Killer | Perks | Power | Description |
| “The Huntress” Anna | Beast of Prey Grants the Undetectable Status Effect after gaining Bloodlust Tier I. Gain 30/40/50 % more Bloodpoints for actions in the Hunter category. Territorial Imperative Survivors’ are revealed to you for 3 seconds when they enter the Basement, and you are more than 32 meters away from the Basement entrance. Hex: Huntress Lullaby Survivors receive a 2/4/6 % Regression penalty when missing a Skill Check while healing or repairing. | Hunting Hatchets Press and hold the Power button to wind up a Hunting Hatchet. Release the Power button to initiate a Hatchet Throw. | The Huntress is unique in that she can kill efficiently from long range. Her entire toolkit revolves around this ability to great effect. The result is a killer who can start very strong if the player is skilled but also snowball very well throughout the match given her perks. The thing a Huntress player must work around one is maps littered with obstacles such as trees. Her killing power is reliant on sniping survivors from a distance. These obstacles make it exponentially harder to do that. |
| “The Cannibal” Bubba Sawyer | Knock Out Survivors put into the Dying State by your Basic Attack are not revealed to other Survivors when those are standing outside of a range of 32/24/16 meters. For the next 15 seconds, the dying Survivor is affected by the Blindness Status Effect and crawls 50 % slower. Barbecue & Chili After hooking a Survivor, all other Survivors’ Auras are revealed to you for 4 seconds when they are farther than 40 meters from the Hook. Franklin’s Demise Your vicious Basic Attacks make the Survivors drop their item on impact. | Bubba’s Chainsaw Press and hold the Power button to consume one Charge and perform a Chainsaw Dash for 2 seconds that can hit multiple targets. Survivors hit during a Chainsaw Dash are put into the Dying State. | The Cannibal’s chainsaw is a nightmare to deal with for survivors. It has three chances to hit per cooldown, and it gives the killer a boost to movement speed while using it. The Cannibal requires precision to master though. While using the chainsaw, he can’t bump into obstacles. Otherwise, he’ll do an animation which costs the killer valuable seconds – something he could use to hunt down the survivors. |
| “The Plague” Adiris | Corrupt Intervention 3 Generators located farthest from you are blocked by The Entity for 80/100/120 seconds at the start of the Trial. Infectious Fright Any Survivors that are within the Killer’s Terror Radius while another Survivor is put into the Dying State by any means will yell and reveal their current location to the Killer for 4/5/6 seconds. Dark Devotion Hitting the Obsession with a Basic Attack causes the Obsession to emit a Terror Radius of 32 meters for 20/25/30 seconds. | Vile Purge Infect Props and Survivors with Vile Purge to create an unending cycle of sickness. | The Plague forces the survivors to change tactics according to her pace. Against her, the opposing team must split up unless they want her infection to spread through the party. The infection that The Plague throws is an accurate projectile similar to The Huntress’ hatchets – albeit less lethal. One weak spot for this killer’s toolkit is here lack of chase options. She’s great for controlling the map and disorienting survivors, but she can be easily outrun by skilled players. |
| “The Deathslinger” Caleb Quinn | Gearhead After hitting a Survivor 2 times with your Basic Attack, Gearhead activates for 20/25/30 seconds. Each time a Survivor completes a Good Skill Check while repairing, the Generator will be revealed by a yellow Aura for as long as it is being repaired. Dead Man’s Switch After hooking the Obsession, Dead Man’s Switch activates for the next 35/40/45 seconds. While activated, any Survivor that stops repairing a Generator before it is fully repaired causes The Entity to block the Generator until Dead Man’s Switch’s effect ends. Hex: Retribution Any Survivor who cleanses a Dull Totem will suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect for 35/40/45 seconds. If any Hex Totem is cleansed, including this one, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed for 10 seconds. | The Redeemer Press and hold the Power button to aim down sights. Press the Attack button to shoot a spear that can lodge itself in a Survivor, allowing them to be reeled in towards The Deathslinger against their will. | The Deathslinger excels in 1 v 1 chases because of his redeemer spear. Additionally, he gains a weird advantage because his Terror notification sound is a custom one, able to catch opponents off-guard most of the time. Unfortunately, this killer has a slow movement speed that contributes to his poor map control in larger areas. The range of his spear isn’t that far either. |
| “The Demogorgon” | Surge Putting a Survivor into the Dying State with a Basic Attack instantly causes all Generators within a radius of 32 meters to explode and begin regressing. Mindbreaker While repairing Generators, Survivors are afflicted by the Exhausted Status Effect. Cruel Limits Each time a Generator is repaired, all Windows and vault locations within a radius of 32 meters from the completed Generator are blocked for all Survivors for the next 20/25/30 seconds. | Of the Abyss Press and hold the Power button to fully charge and activate Of the Abyss. All Survivors close survivors to an activated Portal (yellow Aura) will be indicated by Killer Instinct. | The Demogorgon has excellent map control and chase tools at its disposal. It can use its portals strategically to counter the survivors’ loops or it can use its shred ability to just downright hunt the survivors. The Demogorgon is a consistent killer, but it struggles more than others when faced against a well-coordinated team. Its abilities don’t snowball well if it does not get a decent start to a match. |
| “The Doctor” Herman Carter | Overwhelming Presence Affected Survivors’ Item Consumption rates are increased by 80/90/100 %. Monitor & Abuse While in a Chase, your Terror Radius is increased by 8 meters. Otherwise, your Terror Radius is decreased by 8 meters and your Field of View is increased by 3/5/10 °. Overcharge Overcharge a Generator by performing the Damage Generator action. The next Survivor interacting with that Generator is faced with a tremendously difficult Skill Check. | Carter’s Spark Successfully striking Survivors with The Doctor’s special abilities, Shock Therapy and Static Blast, increases the Survivors’ Madness, eventually afflicting them with the Madness Status Effect and triggering increasingly potent effects. | There are only a handful of players who use The Doctor regularly. Don’t be fooled though, that isn’t indicative of his effectiveness in a match. He isn’t a straightforward hunter like the rest of the killers, but he makes up for it by how disruptive he is to the survivors. He has an AoE ability that can also lock down an area around a generator. He also has decent movement speed to pick off stragglers. |
C-Tier
These are average killers that need a skilled player using them to justify their effectiveness.
| Killer | Perks | Power | Explanation |
| “The Ghost Face” Jed Olsen | I’m All Ears Any Survivor performing a rushed action within 48 meters from your location will have their Aura revealed to you for 6 seconds. Thrilling Tremors After picking up a Survivor, all Generators not being repaired by Survivors are blocked by The Entity and cannot be repaired for the next 16 seconds. Furtive Chase When your Obsession is hooked, Furtive Chase receives a Token, up to a maximum of 2/3/4 Tokens. Each Token decreases your Terror Radius by 4 meters while in a Chase. | Night Shroud Press the Power button to activate Night Shroud when the Power gauge is full. The Ghost Face is granted the Undetectable Status Effect when Night Shroud is active. | The current meta does not favor stealthy killers – which Ghostface is. He is the best in class when it comes to stealth kills. Sadly, this toolkit just places him in C-Tier. He has a high skill cap that is rewarded by a great ability to snowball towards the endgame. Once you down a few survivors, you’ll quickly find the match turn in your favor. Of course, you’ll have to catch some opponents first – something that Ghostface’s terrible map control hinders. |
| “The Pig” Amanda Young | Hangman’s Trick Gain a notification when a Survivor begins sabotaging a Hook. While carrying a Survivor, see the Aura of any Survivor within 2/4/6 meters of any Hook. Surveillance All regressing Generators will be highlighted by a white Aura. Once regression ends, Generators will be highlighted by a yellow Aura for 8/12/16 seconds. Make Your Choice When a Survivor rescues another Survivor from a Hook that is at least 32 meters away from you, Make Your Choice triggers and applies the Exposed Status Effect on the rescuer for 40/50/60 seconds. | Jigsaw’s Baptism Start the Trial with 4 Reverse Bear Traps. | The Pig’s “jack-of-all trades, master of none” style is the reason she places lower than other killers. She has a chase mechanic that is worse than other killers and her bear traps are wildly inconsistent. There’s still hope for The Pig though. She has decent tools that are useful as long as a skilled player is using them. |
| “The Legion” Frank, Julie, Susie, Joey | Discordance Any Generator within a range of 64/96/128 meters that is being repaired by 2 or more Survivors is marked by a yellow Aura. Mad Grit While carrying a Survivor, you suffer no cool-down on missed attacks, and successfully hitting another Survivor will pause the carried Survivor’s wiggle timer for 2/3/4 seconds. Iron Maiden You open Lockers 30/40/50 % faster. | Feral Frenzy While Feral Frenzy is active: The Legion runs at an increased Movement speed. The Legion can vault Pallets, but not break. Survivors’ Scratch Marks and Blood Pools are hidden from The Legion’s view. | This killer used to be in S-tier before getting hit by massive nerfs. He has almost no map control, yet skilled players are able to be successful with him. This is because The Legion is one of the best if the survivor party isn’t experienced. The survivor meta right now focuses on playing footsies with the killer, effectively trying to bait that chase. If survivors are clumped together or are being stationary, then The Legion would easily pick them apart. |
| “The Clown” Kenneth Chase | Bamboozle Your Vault speed is 5/10/15 % faster. Performing a Vault action calls upon The Entity to block that Vault location for 8/12/16 seconds. Coulrophobia Survivors within your Terror Radius have a 30/40/50 % penalty to the Healing progression speed. Pop Goes the Weasel After hooking a Survivor, the next Generator you damage instantly loses 25 % of its progress. | The Afterpiece Tonic Tap or press and hold the Power button to launch a Bottle of The Afterpiece Tonic. Upon contact, the Bottle will break, emitting a Gas Cloud that will intoxicate any Survivors within its Area of Effect. | The Clown’s best trait is his gas projectiles. His entire play style revolves around how accurate the player is with them. Sadly, this is not enough to increase this killer’s lethality. If his movement speed was faster, then he’d probably be more menacing. |
D-Tier
These are killers that have almost fallen off the meta. Expect only a few players using them as they don’t offer a good experience.
| Killer | Perks | Power | Description |
| “The Shape” Michael Myers | Save The Best for Last Earn a Token for each successful hit with your Basic Attack that is not dealt to the Obsession. Each Token grants a stack-able 5 % cool-down reduction on successful attacks. Play with Your Food Every time you chase your Obsession and let them escape, you receive a Token up to a maximum of 3 Tokens. Each Token increases your Movement speed by 3/4/5 %. Dying Light Your Obsession gains a 33 % Action Speed bonus to unhooking and healing other Survivors. Each time you hook a Survivor that is not the Obsession and the Obsession is alive, gain a Token. If the Obsession is alive, all other Survivors get a stack-able 2/2.5/3 % penalty to Repair, Healing, and Sabotage speed for each Token. | Evil Within Activating Evil Within allows The Shape to see his prey clearly and build up more evil power by stalking them. | Myers arguably has the worst map control of the game. He has a toolkit like Ghostface’s and The Plague’s, yet both are superior to him in what they mean to accomplish. Myers’ playstyle isn’t cohesive which is why it’s hard to find what he excels in. This is why he’s stuck in D-Tier for now. |
| “The Wraith” Philip Ojomo | Predator Scratch Marks left by Survivors will spawn slightly/moderately/considerably closer together. Bloodhound Pools of Blood are shown bright red and can be tracked for 2/3/4 seconds longer than normal. Shadowborn Your Field of View is increased by 9/12/15 degrees. | Wailing Bell Press and hold the Power button to cloak. Press and hold it again to uncloak, granting a speed burst for 1 second upon re-appearing. | The Wraith has good map control, but the cues associated with his skills can be heard by survivors from miles away. The Wraith’s slow animations between skills give a survivor plenty of time to react and run away from him. This lessens his lethality by a lot. |
F-Tier
The worst killer to use in the game.
| Killer | Perks | Power | Description |
| “The Trapper” Evan Macmillan | Unnerving Presence Survivors within your Terror Radius have a 10 % greater chance of triggering Skill Checks when repairing, healing, or sabotaging. Brutal Strength Destroy dropped Pallets and Breakable Walls, and damage Generators 10/15/20 % faster. Agitation Increases your Movement speed while transporting bodies by 6/12/18 %. While transporting a body, your Terror Radius is increased by 12 meters. | Bear Trap Survivors caught in a Bear Trap become Injured and are temporarily immobilized. | The Trapper feels bad to play because you need to do an immense amount of setting up before you see success. This success is also largely dependent on how skilled the survivors are. They can easily sabotage and loop around The Trapper’s shenanigans – essentially wasting all that hard work. |
