Summary
- Dead by Daylight features 26 killers and consistently attracts thousands of monthly players, showcasing its enduring popularity.
- Key killers like The Demogorgon, The Clown, and Albert Wesker offer unique strategies and perks, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- Beginners are recommended to start with easier-to-learn killers such as The Trapper, The Nightmare, and The Wraith before tackling more complex options.
When Dead by Daylight was first released in 2016, it started with just three killers and four survivors. The game's concept was simple yet thrilling: a hide-and-seek style where survivors had to outsmart the killer to escape. Few could have predicted the game's explosive growth. Over the years, Dead by Daylight has evolved into what many refer to as the "Super Smash Bros. of horror," featuring a diverse roster of 26 killers and maintaining an average of 62 thousand monthly players as of July 2021.
The game offers a decent tutorial that covers the basics of gameplay, but it doesn't delve into the intricacies of each killer. Without friends to practice with, testing out new killers can be challenging, as there are no bot matches available. Choosing from a lineup of 24 characters can be daunting for newcomers, but certain killers are more beginner-friendly.
Updated on January 15, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam, Dead By Daylight is set to introduce a new Licensed Killer and Original Survivor in March and April 2025, respectively. As fans eagerly await these additions, new players have ample time to experiment with various killers. Among the must-tries are iconic villains like the Demogorgon from Stranger Things, the game's equivalent of a crazed clown, and Resident Evil's mastermind, Albert Wesker.
15 The Beast - The Demogorgon
Cover Distance With Portals
The Demogorgon, an interdimensional being from the sci-fi horror series Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons, was introduced to Dead By Daylight in Chapter 13: Stranger Things. Known for its terrifying appearance with a mouth full of teeth, the Demogorgon is a killer that can outsmart survivors attempting to escape by using its teleportation abilities. It can vanish and reappear where survivors least expect it.
How To Play The Demogorgon
The Demogorgon excels in surprise attacks through its Portals, utilizing the Of the Abyss Power to sense when survivors are near. This allows for quick teleportation and a powerful leaping attack. Up to six Portals can be strategically placed across the map to facilitate chases, although survivors can seal visible Portals.
Its unique perks enhance its Portal interactions, such as blocking vault locations upon generator repair (Cruel Limits), inflicting Blindness and Exhausted on survivors repairing generators (Mindbreaker), and causing all generators within 32 meters to regress when a basic attack sends a survivor into the Dying State (Surge). Demogorgon players should position Portals near generators without being too obvious, and use fake Portal-hopping and lunges to catch survivors off guard.
14 The Clown - Kenneth Chase, Jeffrey Hawk
A Killer Clown With An Infectious Laugh
Before becoming the Clown, Kenneth Chase, also known as Jeffrey, was a child fascinated by the living, eventually using anesthetics to collect "keepsakes" from animals and humans. After his dark deeds were discovered, he joined a traveling circus to continue his pursuits, which led him into the Fog. The Clown uses a noxious gas to hinder survivors during chases.
How To Play The Clown
The Clown is a chase specialist, utilizing the Afterpiece Tonic to release clouds of noxious gas that impair survivors' vision and movement. His perks enhance his chasing capabilities, such as blocking a window after vaulting (Bamboozle), reducing healing speed and increasing healing skill check rotations within his terror radius (Coulrophobia), and causing generator regression after hooking a survivor (Pop Goes The Weasel).
Survivors often pre-drop or pre-run to gain an advantage, so Clown players must develop strong game sense and map knowledge. It's crucial to identify when to pursue chases and when to focus on generator regression. Proper use of Tonics is essential, with Purple Gas Clouds for zoning chokepoints and Yellow Antidote Bottles for preparing pre-chases.
13 The Mastermind - Albert Wesker
Never Get Caught In His Attacks
Introduced in Chapter 25: Resident Evil: PROJECT W, Albert Wesker, known as the Mastermind, brings his superior genetics and mutated biology to Dead By Daylight. Bypassing his confrontation with Chris Redfield, Wesker finds himself in the Fog, using the Uroboros Virus to hunt down survivors.
How To Play
Albert Wesker's Virulent Bond allows him to charge a Bound Attack for a lunge that auto-vaults dropped pallets and windows or interacts with survivors by lashing out or executing a grab-throw. These interactions infect survivors with the Uroboros Virus, eventually causing a Hindered Status Effect. His perks reflect his advanced genetics, such as detecting auras of nearby survivors while carrying one (Awakened Awareness), boosting vaulting speed when a nearby survivor finishes a rushed vault (Superior Anatomy), and inflicting Broken on injured, dying, or hooked survivors until an exit gate is opened (Terminus).
Wesker mains should leverage his power to finish chases efficiently, reserving knife plays for survivors adept at evading his more potent attacks. Mastery of map knowledge and control is essential for maximizing Wesker's deadly potential.
12 The Trapper — Evan MacMillan
The Trapper, one of the original killers since Dead By Daylight's 2016 launch, remains a solid choice for beginners. His straightforward skillset, focusing on pursuit and trap placement, helps new players "feel their way around the game."
How To Play The Trapper
Despite his name, The Trapper's kit is simple. Evan MacMillan uses bear traps to immobilize survivors, allowing easy pick-ups and movement to nearby hooks. He also benefits from a movement speed bonus via Agitation when carrying a survivor.
As an Area Denial Killer, The Trapper sets traps to steer survivors away from objectives and into his traps. While trap placement requires learning, their ease of use makes them ideal for beginners. The Trapper can also break through pallets and walls more easily and cause increased damage to generators, making his presence a significant challenge for survivors.
11 The Nightmare — Freddy Krueger
Dead by Daylight has successfully integrated iconic horror figures like Freddy Krueger, introduced in 2017 as a DLC character. Freddy's auto-stealthing ability makes him an excellent choice for beginners.
How To Play The Nightmare
Freddy's Dream Demon power allows him to remain visually invisible to survivors at a certain distance, becoming intermittently visible as he closes in and fully visible at 16 meters. This stealth advantage helps beginners surprise new survivors.
Freddy's strength increases as generators are repaired, thanks to his Fire Up perk. He can also become obsessed with one survivor, increasing the time to open exit gates with each basic attack. Additionally, he can shut exits temporarily after hooking a survivor. His auto-stealth, increased action speed, and ability to block exits make him an ideal choice for beginners learning the killer role.
10 The Cannibal — Leatherface
The Cannibal, available through the "Leatherface" DLC, is easy to learn and features the powerful Barbeque & Chili perk. While effective against new survivors, he struggles against more experienced players.
How To Play Leatherface
Leatherface uses a sweeping chainsaw dash attack, starting with three charges per match. A charge initiates a 2-second sprint, boosting movement speed and instantly downing survivors hit by the chainsaw. However, using his ability builds a "tantrum" meter, which, when full, causes Leatherface to stop moving and swing wildly, downing any survivors caught in the tantrum but halting his progress. Balancing his power and tantrums is crucial, especially against survivors adept at looping.
9 The Deathslinger
Introduced in the 2020 Chains of Hate DLC, The Deathslinger offers a unique ranged ability, appealing to players who enjoy FPS games. His harpoon gun requires good aim, making him a challenging but rewarding choice for new players.
How To Play Deathslinger
Though his perks are not meta, they are suitable for new player lobbies. The Deathslinger's weapon has a single shot before needing to be reloaded, making misses costly. Successful hits allow him to reel in survivors, who can then be hit, leaving them injured and suffering from Deep Wounds. If not mended in time, Deep Wounds will down the injured player.
Controller users may find his ability challenging due to limited sensitivity and dead zone options, as Dead By Daylight prioritizes third-person horror gameplay over FPS mechanics.
8 The Trickster
Initially considered one of the weakest killers, The Trickster received a significant buff on July 27, 2021, making him a viable choice. His Showstopper ability allows him to throw small blades at survivors, building their laceration meter and causing damage upon reaching six hits.
How To Play The Trickster
Activating Showstopper lets The Trickster throw blades one at a time or continuously, though this slows him down. Building up the Main Event special allows him to throw an unlimited number of blades quickly, downing survivors in a small area. However, blades are not infinite and must be restocked from lockers.
Like the Deathslinger and Huntress, the Trickster relies on good aim, which can be challenging for controller users due to basic sensitivity options.
7 The Huntress
The Huntress, available to all Dead by Daylight players, is identifiable by her haunting hum. While challenging to master, her power is easy to learn and understand.
How To Play The Huntress
The Huntress primes a throwing hatchet by holding down the power button and releases it to launch the hatchet forward. Hitting survivors can be challenging due to the lack of a crosshair and the cluttered maps. Her intuitive power and decent lunging attack make her a good choice for new players, though hatchets must be restocked at lockers.
6 Legion
Legion is one of the most mobile killers, with nearly unmatched speed on foot. Their power is easy to learn but can become frustrating at higher levels.
How To Play Legion
Legion's Feral Frenzy allows them to sprint and chain attacks, losing sight of scratch marks and blood pools but gaining the ability to slide over pallets and vault windows like survivors. Survivors hit during Feral Frenzy are injured and afflicted with Deep Wounds, while others in the terror radius are marked for Legion to pursue next. However, Legion cannot down survivors while in Feral Frenzy, requiring players to finish them off without the power.
5 The Doctor
The Doctor is considered challenging for most survivors, especially in new lobbies. His ability is powerful when used correctly, despite being classified as "Hard" due to its complexity.
How To Play The Doctor
The Doctor induces Madness in survivors using Static Blast within his terror radius, causing them to scream and reveal their positions, and Shock Therapy, which affects a smaller area in front of him. Madness has three tiers, with increasing negative effects such as backward skill checks, hallucinated pallets, and fake terror radius notifications. The Doctor's power is effective with minimal use, constantly debuffing survivors.
4 The Pig — Amanda Young
Amanda Young, known as The Pig from the SAW franchise, offers a stealthy playstyle. Her ability to crouch grants the Undetectable effect, removing her terror radius and red killer light while masking her aura.
How To Play The Pig
From the crouched state, The Pig can perform an Ambush Dash to sprint and attack survivors, either injuring or downing them based on their health. After downing a survivor, she can place a reverse bear trap on their head, which activates after a generator is completed and kills the survivor after 150 seconds unless they find the right key in a Jigsaw box. While The Pig requires more learning, her power and traps are straightforward.
3 The Hillbilly
The Hillbilly, inspired by Leatherface, uses a chainsaw rush that works differently from Leatherface's dash. His power is easy to learn but challenging to control.
How To Play The Hillbilly
The Hillbilly's chainsaw rush propels him forward at twice his regular speed in a straight line, instantly downing survivors and destroying pallets and breakable doors. However, he can be easily dodged or baited into running into walls. Mastering the chainsaw rush requires good turning and maneuvering skills, making him less approachable for beginners, especially controller players due to limited sensitivity options.
2 The Shape — Michael Myers
Michael Myers, the first licensed killer in Dead by Daylight, is a recognizable slasher icon. His power is simple to learn, making him suitable for new players, though he is considered a late-game killer.
How To Play The Shape
Michael Myers builds his power meter by stalking survivors, moving slower while highlighting them. Stalking white-highlighted survivors builds the meter faster than red-highlighted ones. At tier three, Myers becomes a one-hit-down killer until his meter reverts to tier two. The skill in playing Myers lies in timing when to activate tier three and effectively moving around the map.
1 The Wraith
The Wraith, one of the original three killers, is the best option for new players due to his forgiving power. He is available to everyone and offers an easy-to-learn gameplay experience.
How To Play The Wraith
The Wraith can cloak himself by ringing his Wailing Bell, becoming nearly invisible and gaining the Undetectable status. He must uncloak to attack, receiving a speed boost upon uncloaking that allows him to injure or down survivors. The Wraith is a versatile and fun killer for beginners to learn the game.
