Best Killer Perks In Dead By Daylight

There is a large roster of utterly terrifying Killers in Dead By Daylight. They each have their strengths and abilities that when combined with powerful perks make them brutal killing machines that can make the round a living nightmare for survivors.

There are a lot of perks to choose from and some are better than others. Ultimately, which perk players choose should be based on who they like to play as and cater to their strengths, but the best killer perks in Dead By Daylight can make a big difference when it comes to becoming the ultimate big bad.

Updated September 29, 2024 by Mara Cowley: The ever-growing roster of Dead by Daylight sees new perks added with each killer, with the addition of Dracula from Castlevania seeing even more perks added, shifting the ever metamorphosing meta.

There are undoubtedly more Killers to come, especially following the exciting announcements during the anniversary stream hinting at yet another popular license, and as the meta of the best killer perks in Dead by Daylight is always shifting, it’s important to keep on top of what the current best killer perks in DbD are. This is why this article has received a necessary update to include more of the Killer perks that are currently holding strong before even more killers change the meta.

35 Hex: Two Can Play

The Good Guy

Anytime the Killer is stunned or blinded by any Survivor a total of 4/3/2 times, and if there is not yet a hex totem already associated with Hex: Two Can Play and there is at least one dull totem remaining, Hex: Two Can Play activates on a random Totem:

• Blinds all Survivors who stun or blind you for 1.5 seconds

Normally, only Survivors have the capabilities to inflict blindness, and not Killers. But Chucky decided two can play that game, and turns their tricks back on the Survivors, blinding them for every 4th, 3rd, or 2nd time he is stunned or blinded.

As there are many ways Survivors can do this, such as Blast Mine, flashlights, Head On, or dropping a well-timed palette, it is likely Killers can at least get a few uses from this during any trial. Pairing it with other perks such as Spirit Fury and Hubris can make for devastating combos.

34 Dominance

The Dark Lord

• Chests and totems are blocked for 4/6/8 seconds when they are interacted with by a Survivor for the first time.
• The aura of blocked chests and totems is revealed in white.

Dracula, also known as The Dark Lord in their trials, is a vampiric addition that likes to lord over all that is in his domain, particularly chests and totems. These are optional objectives for the survivor, with chests containing items they can pilfer, and the clearing of totems banishing any hexes associated with them, as well as offering an easy way to obtain blood points.

Dracula can directly interrupt these objectives, as they can be blocked by the Entity for a short time for the first time they are touched by a Survivor. This slows them down, temporarily protects any hexes, and even lets Dracula know the rough location of a Survivor who tried to open one of the chests, so he can hunt them down and claim his first victim.

33 Forced Hesitation

The Singularity

Whenever a Survivor is put into the Dying State by any means, all other Survivors within 16 meters of them suffer from:

• a -20 % Hindered Status Effect for 10 seconds.
• Forced Hesitation has a cool-down of 40/35/30 seconds depending on perk level.

Chasing down skilled Survivors can be one of the most frustrating experiences in Dead by Daylight, especially if they have a good loop nearby where they can take the Killer on a prolonged chase and buy their teammates essential time to unhook Survivors or complete generators.

But, the Singularity’s perk Forced Hesitation aids Killers in these chases by giving Survivors the Hindrance status effect, as this effect does cause the Survivors’ run speed to be reduced. This helps Killers close gaps quickly, and may also help cancel out some Survivor perks that offer boosts to their speed, such as Lithe.

32 Hex: Wretched Fate

The Dark Lord

After a Generator is completed, this perk is activated, lighting a dull totem and cursing the Obsession:

• Reduces their repair speed by 27/30/33%.
• The aura of the Hex Totem is revealed to them within 12 meters.

Survivors’ main objective is to complete the generators and make their escape, and as such, it is not unheard of for Killers to run slow-down builds, gathering a set of perks designed to hinder their efforts.

Hex: Wretched Fate is one of these perks, as it directly affects one single Survivor and their repair speed, slowing it down by a considerable amount. The only downside is that it is a hex, so it can be cleared by the Survivors. What is more, they can see the hex totem’s aura within 12 meters, allowing them to track and cleanse it. But still, this hunt for the totem adds a few extra seconds of delay, and when paired with one of the Dark Lord’s other perks, Dominance, they can even protect their hex totem for a few precious seconds.

31 Hex: Face The Darkness

The Knight

Once a Survivor is injured by any means, and there is a dull totem remaining, Hex: Face the Darkness activates and lights it, cursing that Survivor:

• All other Survivors will scream every 35/30/25 seconds (depending on the level of perk) if they are outside of the Killer’s terror radius, revealing their auras for 2 seconds each time.
• Hex: Face the Darkness deactivates when the Cursed Survivor either enters the dying state or is healed, extinguishing the totem.
• Hex: Face the Darkness is disabled for the remainder of the Trial if Survivors manage to cleanse their hex totem.

Tracking down survivors can sometimes be tricky depending on what map the trial takes place on and what playstyle the Survivors are employing. As such, aura-reading perks can be essential picks for the Killer to track down the Survivors. Hex: Face the Darkness is one such perk, a unique teachable perk to the Knight.

This perk activates once the Killer injures the survivors by any means, a dull totem is chosen at random and becomes lit, and all other survivors that are not within the Killer’s terror radius scream at intervals revealing their aura to the killer. The screaming not only reveals the Survivors to allow the Killer to hunt them more efficiently but also interrupts any actions they are taking, such as repairing generators or healing other Survivors.

30 Languid Touch

The Lich

When a Survivor scares a crow within 36 meters, this perk activates:

• Causes the Survivor the suffer the Exhausted status effect for 6/8/10 seconds

Exhaustion perks are a powerful tool in the Survivor’s arsenal, as most are designed around increasing the Survivor’s speed, which can allow them to escape the Killer’s grasp, or waste enough of the Killer’s time to allow the other Survivors to focus on completing generators.

This is where Languid Touch can come into use, as it forces the Survivors to become exhausted, disabling any exhaustion perk they have equipped. And since crows normally make noise when scared away, the Killer can then catch the Survivor in a vulnerable state.

The Skull Merchant

While chasing the Obsession, this perk activates:

• Gain a 5% Haste bonus for 8/9/10 seconds after damaging a Generator, Breakable Wall, or Palette

Hate is a powerful tool both Killers and Survivors can gain from various perks or items. For the Skull Merchant, her chase perk Game Afoot provides a big Haste bonus that can help them close the distance between them and slippery Survivors.

Though they do have to burn precious seconds, damaging part of the environment to activate the haste portion of this perk, this can still work to their benefit as palettes or walls might be between them and their prey, and the Killer should take care to damage the generators they come across, lest the Survivors complete them all and make their escape.

28 Iron Maiden

The Legion

Iron Maiden increases your locker search speed by 30/40/50 %. Survivors who exit a Locker suffer from the following afflictions:

• Scream and reveal their location to you for 4 seconds
• Suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 30 seconds

Lockers are a common hiding place for Survivors to evade Killers on the prowl or even a place that is needed for Survivor perks such as Inner Strength, Flash Grenade, and Head on. But, there are Killer perks that affect locker play too, such as Iron Maiden.

Iron Maiden is useful on Killers such as Huntress who need to reload at lockers as they can search them more quickly, with the added bonus that Survivors scream when they exit them and become Exposed. This means Killers know where the vulnerable Survivors are, and can cut their time in the trial short.

27 Save The Best For Last

The Shape

Each time the Killer hits a Survivor other than the Obsession with a basic attack, Save the Best for Last gains 1 token, up to a maximum of 8 tokens.

• For each token, the Killer gains a stackable -4% cooldown reduction on successful basic attacks.
• Hitting the Obsession with a basic attack causes Save the Best for Last to lose 2 tokens.

A 5% reduction to attack cooldowns may not seem like much, but the 40% reduction provided by max tokens gives Killers extraordinary lethality, allowing them to deal blow after blow to Survivors, resume chase almost instantly, and punish unhooks.

Characters like Trapper and Demogorgon get tremendous value out of Save the Best for Last, but almost every Killer can find a place for this perk in their builds.

26 Thrilling Tremors

The Ghost Face

• After picking up a Survivor, all generators not currently being repaired by Survivors are blocked by The Entity for the next 16 seconds.
• The auras of blocked generators are highlighted to the player through a white color.
• Thrilling Tremors has a cool-down of 100/80/60 seconds.

Generators being the main objective for Survivors to escape means that killers must do their utmost to protect the generators and prevent the Survivors from working on them, which is where Thrilling Tremors comes into play.

Though the cooldown can be quite substantial, with the highest level perk reducing it down to a minute, the 16 seconds that all other generators are blocked could help the Killer stall the Survivors escape, particularly if not all Survivors were repairing generators. For Killers looking to counteract gen-jockeys, Thrilling Tremors is certainly worth consideration.

25 Friends ‘Til The End

The Good Guy

After hooking any Survivors that is not the Obsession, the following effects apply to the Obsession:

• Their Aura is revealed for 6/8/10 seconds.
• They suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 20 seconds.

After hooking the Obsession, the following effects apply to a random Survivor:

• Cause the Survivor to scream and reveal their location to the Killer.
• They become the new Obsession.

In every game, one Survivor at random is chosen to be the Obsession, which can be determined by the claws surrounding their portrait on the HUD. Being the Obsession won’t normally affect gameplay in any way, unless the Killer has perks that interact with the Obsession, such as Chucky’s Friends Til the End.

If they hook a different Survivor, the Killer can see the aura of the Obsession, who then also becomes exposed, allowing the Killer to down them in a single hit if they manage to get to them before the effect runs out, whereas hooking the Obsession passes this curse on to another Survivor. This means that none of the Survivors are safe, as they could become the next Obsession, placing them directly in the sights of the Killer.

24 Franklin’s Demise

The Cannibal

Basic attacks make the Survivors drop their carried items:

• Causes dropped item to lose its charge over 150/120/90 seconds
• The Auras of dropped items are revealed within 32 meters

Franklin’s Demise is known to be a nuisance among players. If they are hit early on in the game it can cause them to drop an item that they haven’t even begun to use, and watch those precious charges fade to nothing as they are forced to flee for their life.

With the release of Vecna, Franklin’s is currently seeing an upshoot in use as it combos well with one of his unique perks, creating a devastating combination. But even without running Weave Attunement, Killers can still get rid of those pesky flashlights, toolboxes, and healing kits to decrease the players’ efficiency.

23 Weave Attunement

The Lich

Whenever an item is depleted for the first time, it is automatically dropped:

• The Auras of dropped Survivor items are revealed to you, as well as the Auras of any Survivors within 12 meters of them
• Causes Survivors picking up a Survivor item to suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect for 20/25/30 seconds

As a Killer with innumerable amount of treasure at his disposal, it makes perfect sense he would have a perk that revolves around items, which are treasure for the Survivors.

The perk revealing Survivors’ auras and making them Oblivious is a powerful combo, as this allows the Killer to sneak up on unsuspecting Survivors. Combined with the Cannibal’s perk Franklin’s Demise, they can force Survivors to drop their items to make this perk work for them. Unsurprisingly, both of these perks are seeing a lot of play in the current meta.

22 Leverage

The Skull Merchant

• When a Survivor unhooks another Survivor, the altruistic and personal healing speeds of Survivors are reduced by 30/40/50% for the next 30 seconds.

Healing is one of the tools Survivors have in their kit to even the playing field against Killers, ensuring they can take another hit before they are put in the dying state. So, if a Killer can do anything to lessen the healing potential of Survivors, it is definitely worth considering.

This is where the perk Leverage comes into play, as it can slow the healing progression of Survivors up to 50% depending on the rarity While this does mean the perk can take a while to really take off, it can be the difference between winning and losing the end game.

21 Surge

The Demogorgon

• Whenever a Survivor is put into the dying state with a basic attack, all generators within 32 meters of your location instantly explode and start regressing.
• Affected generators regress by 6/7/8 %.

Surge was long dismissed as one of the weaker regression perks, but with massive nerfs to Hex: Ruin and other favorites of the former meta, many have begun to reconsider Surge’s usefulness, and now it is considered an asset among Killers.

Surge gives Killers the ability to regress generators without having to travel between them or gamble their regression on Ruin, giving Killers a reliable means of slowing Survivors without needing to frequently break chase and lose pressure. To make the most of the perk, the Killer must have good situational awareness and be able to corral Survivors in desirable areas, however. Mastering such techniques is part of what gives the game such good replay value.

20 Hex: No One Escapes Death

All Killers

Once the exit gates are powered, if there is still a dull totem remaining on the Map, Hex: No One Escapes Death activates and lights it:

1. Increases Killer Movement speed by 2/3/4 %.
2. Survivors suffer from a permanent Exposed Status Effect.

• Hex: No One Escapes Death remains inactive if no Dull Totems are available.
• Once the Status Effect is revealed to Survivors, Hex: No One Escapes Death reveals the Aura of its hex totem to all Survivors within 4 meters and gradually expands that range to 24 meters for 30 seconds.

Hex: No One Escapes Death (NOED) is one of the most notorious perks in the game and for good reason. Survivors who don’t do bones early in the game may find themselves getting snowballed by the Killer thanks to the extreme lethality of this perk.

Despite the nerf that has made it easier for Survivors to track down and cleanse, good Killers can still make use of this perk to change a 0 kill match into a 4k, though this also depends on the altruism of the other Survivors.

19 Hex: Devour Hope

The Hag

Each time a Survivor is rescued from a hook while the Killer is at least 24 meters away, Hex: Devour Hope receives 1 token, up to a maximum of 5 tokens:

1. 2 Tokens: 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, gain a 3/4/5 % Haste Status Effect for the next 10 seconds.
2. 3 Tokens: All survivors suffer from a permanent exposed status effect.
3. 5 Tokens: grants the ability to Mori Survivors

For those that don’t want to gamble on the risk of end-game kills with NOED, there is Devour Hope, another Hex perk that relies on Killers hooking and then leaving the area to gain the tokens necessary to access its effects.

Few perks are more terrifying than Hex: Devour Hope. As soon as Survivors realize they are Exposed, all work on generators is likely to stop, and the game becomes a mad scramble to find and cleanse Devour. There will be many games in which Devour is cleansed before it can do anything, but if Devour remains standing it can single-handled win the game for the Killer.

18 Hex: Undying

The Blight

• The auras of Survivors within 2/3/4 meters of any dull totem are revealed to the killer.
• When another perk’s hex totem is cleansed or blessed, Hex: Undying activates, and the Survivor will disable Undying instead of the other Hex perk.

The cornerstone of any Hex build, Undying gives fragile Hexes a chance to do their work. When paired with perks like Retribution, Thrill of the Hunt, Haunted Ground, or another Hex, Undying can create lose-lose scenarios for Survivors in which cleansing totems is almost as dangerous as leaving them alone.

In addition, the aura-reading aspect of the perk can allow Killers to begin a chase if they are struggling to find Survivors on the map. The versatility of Hex: Undying makes it a no-brainer for Killers when they are crafting a Hex build.

17 Hex: Pentimento

The Artist

Killers see the auras of cleansed totems and can perform a ritual on a cleansed totem to resurrect it as a Rekindled Totem. For each Rekindled Totem active at once, Hex: Pentimento gains an additional effect:

• 1 Totem: reduces all Survivors’ Repair speed by 20/25/30 %.
• 2 Totems: reduces all Survivors’ Healing speed by 20/25/30 %.
• 3 Totems: reduces all Survivors’ Recovery speed from being downed by 20/25/30 %.
• 4 Totems: reduces all Survivors’ Exit Gate Opening speed by 20/25/30 %.
• 5 Totems: all Totems are permanently blocked by The Entity.

Unique among the Hex perks, Hex: Pentimento allows the Killer to rekindle a cleansed totem, stacking additional detrimental effects for every rekindled totem. The first four rekindled totems impose a 30% speed penalty for repairs, healing, recovery from the Dying State, and Exit Gate opening, respectively. If the fifth and final totem is rekindled, these effects become permanent.

With some of the most popular regression perks falling out of favor, slowdown perks like Pentimento and Thanatophobia have received new attention. All of Pentimento’s effects are useful, but the 30% repair speed penalty imposed by a single rekindled totem is the most devastating. Pentimento has tremendous synergy with Hex builds, letting the Killer rekindle a totem whenever a Hex falls.

16 Ultimate Weapon

The Xenomorph

Whenever the Killer opens a lock, this perk activates:

• Survivors entering your Terror Radius scream and reveal their location to you.
• Survivors entering your Terror Radius also suffer from the Blindness Status Effect for 30 seconds.

The Terror Radius allows players to gauge just how close the Killer is with music cues or a visible heart on the screen, with it being an important mechanic to help Survivors know when they should leave the area. Multiple perks interact with this mechanic, such as Xenomorph’s Ultimate Weapon.

When the Killer opens a locker, any Survivor who enters their Terror Radius screams, revealing their locations, and are blinded for 30 seconds, making them easy prey for the Killer. Killers could stack this Perk with Perks that expand their Terror Radius to ensnare even more Survivors in their trap.