[Top 10] DbD Best Killers To Buy (Ranked)

Updated:

28 Oct 2024

At the time of writing this article, there are 37 killers in Dead by Daylight, each boasting their own distinct power. And as killer mains, we all want to play as characters with abilities that would actually help us win the game.

Behaviour, being the generous company that it is, has given you four free characters, but now it’s time for you to dig into your own wallet, filled with either iridescent shards or with real money, for those coveted, powerful killers. But wait, if you base your purchases on nothing but killer abilities, you’d be missing out on the holistic killer experience. Each killer has three teachable perks and unless you’d like to wait an indefinite amount of time for a certain killer’s unique perk to pop up in the Shrine of Secrets, you’d better take perk value into consideration when you’re bringing a new killer onto your roster. Complicated, isn’t it? But fret not, we’ve got just the right list for you.

1. The Good Guy (Difficulty: Moderate)

Perks:

Hex: Two Can Play

Anytime you are stunned or blinded by any Survivor 4/3/2 times, if there is no Hex Totem associated with Hex: Two Can Play, a Dull Totem becomes a Hex Totem.
Survivors who stun or blind you are blinded for 1.5 seconds. This does not affect carried Survivors.
The Hex effects persist as long as the related Hex Totem is standing.

Batteries Included

When within 12 meters of a completed generator, you have 5% Haste.
The movement speed bonus lingers for 1/3/5 seconds after leaving the generator's range.

Friends ‘Til the End

You become obsessed with one Survivor.
When you hook a Survivor that is not the Obsession, the Obsession becomes Exposed for 20 seconds and reveals their aura for 6/8/10 seconds.
When you hook the Obsession, another random Survivor screams and reveals their position and becomes the Obsession.

Motivational quote of the day: height doesn’t matter. Chucky is the perfect exemplar. It is so much more important to have great teachable perks and even greater abilities like The Good Guy himself does. Now let’s give him a moment to climb onto the podium, where the first spot’s carved out just for him.

Chucky is an innovative killer. For one, Chucky is the first killer that features a third person gameplay angle and, let me tell you, that’s a huge deal. Having a wider camera angle means that you can perceive your surroundings better, which is crucial for playing as a killer. The fact that The Good Guy is only the size of a totem is equally groundbreaking. Maps like Toba Landing are jam-packed with trees and bushes and they all serve to conceal the figure of this tiny, sadistic doll, turning the simple act of standing guard into a chore. And have I told you that his teachable perk Friends ‘Til the End is also deemed a top-tier aura perk? But as you may have expected, there’s a catch. The inconvenient truth is that Chucky’s face isn’t the only part that’s ugly about him; The Good Guy aims for the heart, but he also aims for the wallet. I’ll let this one slide though due to the substantial amount of value he offers.

Why you should get The Good Guy:

Chucky’s stealth-and-rush playstyle is a breath of fresh air for those who despise playing as conventional stealth killers.
Batteries Included can be incorporated into end-game builds for extra speed in chase.
Friends ‘Til the End is one of those rare perks that’ll probably forever remain meta unless a nerf comes its way. Hooking regular survivors with this perk exposes the obsession and reveals their aura, which puts unimaginable pressure on survivors in smaller maps.

2. The Blight (Difficulty: Very Hard)

How about we switch things up by playing a bit of pinball?

Perks:

Dragon’s Grip

After damaging a generator, for the next 30 seconds, the first Survivor that interacts with it will scream, revealing their location for 4 seconds, and becoming afflicted with the Exposed status effect for 60 seconds.
Dragon's Grip has a cooldown of 60/50/40 seconds.

Hex: Blood Favor

Injuring a Survivor will call upon The Entity to block pallets from being pulled down within a 24/28/32 meter radius of the Survivor location for 15 seconds.
The Hex effects persist as long as the related Hex Totem is standing.

Hex: Undying

While Hex: Undying is active, Survivors within 2/3/4 meters of any Dull Totem have their aura revealed.
When another Hex Totem would be cleansed, that Totem's Hex transfers to the Hex: Undying Totem, deactivating Hex: Undying. Any tokens the transferred Hex had are transferred as well.

You know the pinball machines in that dusty arcade in your hometown, the ones that you used to spend your allowance on when you were young? You can revisit those childhood memories by playing as our second best killer to buy, The Blight, who’s known for his high map mobility and intricate mechanics.

The Blight, along with the Nurse, is known as one of the most oppressive killers in Dead by Daylight. And before all else, I must warn you – with great power comes great responsibility. To achieve The Blight’s full potential, you’ll have to spend a good amount of time learning about his techs, much like what you’d have to do for Wesker. Now let’s talk about what you’ll get for all that hard work that you put in. His bounces, due to their high speed, can seem erratic and unpredictable to survivors, making them horribly difficult to dodge. If that alone isn’t enough to convince you that The Blight’s a must-buy, his perk Hex: Undying can elevate your hex builds by giving your hexes a second life. Need I say more?

Why you should get The Blight:

The Blight’s high skill ceiling means that you can play as him for hundreds of hours and still find new ways to turn the tides of the game.
The Blight’s high map mobility turns some of the already overpowered information perks in Dead by Daylight, like Barbecue & Chili, into something absolutely horrid for survivors.
Hex: Undying can be incorporated into any hex build to save those glass canons from shattering upon a survivor’s touch.

3. The Knight (Difficulty: Moderate)

Perks:

Hex: Face the Darkness

Injuring a Survivor by any means lights a Dull Totem, activating the Hex.
While the Hex is active, all other Survivors outside of your Terror Radius will scream every 35/30/25 seconds, revealing their positions and auras for 2 seconds.
When the Survivor enters the dying state or becomes healthy, the Hex totem becomes dull again and this perk deactivates.
If the Hex totem is cleansed, this perk is permanently disabled.

Hubris

Whenever you are stunned by a Survivor, that Survivor suffers from the Exposed status effect for 10/15/20 seconds.
Hubris has a cooldown of 20 seconds.

Nowhere to Hide

Whenever you damage a generator, reveal the aura of all Survivors standing within 24 meters of your position for 3/4/5 seconds.

You may or may not have seen this coming, but on the third spot is The Knight. Everyone was abhorred when he first came out. We all thought we were heading into a new era, one where generator-protection reigns. Luckily, that didn’t happen. I mean, this medieval killer still excels in that regard, but after having been tweaked in various patches, he is now a balanced killer with two perks that you simply cannot miss out on.

The Knight’s base kit has changed a lot since his initial release. While you can still opt for the 3-gen late-game route if you so desire, this murderous tinman can now do so much more. His guards, when deployed strategically, can be used to break pallets, start chases, apply map pressure and do almost everything that a regular killer can. But in my opinion, that’s not his main selling point. The real reason why you should get The Knight is because he’s got two awfully powerful teachable perks: Nowhere to Hide and Hex: Face the Darkness, both capable of amping up your information builds.

Why you should get The Knight:

The Knight’s ability can be used as both a measure for anti-loop and a means of exhausting resources on the field.
Hex: Face the Darkness proves to be strong in disruption builds. Just be careful not to overdo it or you might get some profane comments in the end-game chat.
You can activate Nowhere to Hide by simply kicking a generator and you’ll get a free hit nine times out of ten.

4. The Cannibal (Difficulty: Moderate)

You saw through them in mindgames, so Bubba can saw through them in chases

Perks:

Barbecue & Chili

After hooking a Survivor, all other Survivors' auras are revealed to you for 5 seconds when they are further than 60/50/40 meters from the hook.

Franklin’s Demise

Your basic attacks make Survivors drop their item on impact. While on the ground, it takes up to 150/120/90 seconds for the item to lose all of its charges if it is not picked up.
Reveal items on the ground within 32 meters with a white aura. The Aura will slowly fade to red until the Item is empty of charges.

Knock Out

Survivors put into the dying state by your basic attacks are not revealed to other Survivors when they are standing outside of a 32/24/16-meter range.
Survivors put into the dying state by your basic attacks crawl 50% slower for 15 seconds, and their recovery speed is reduced by 25%.
During this time, Survivors are affected by the Blindness status effect.

People love Bubba for the same reason as they love instant noodles; both fill the pit in one’s stomach in mere minutes. And it is exactly because of The Cannibal’s efficiency in sending survivors to their graves that he’s taking the fourth place on this list.

Knowing that Bubba was the design reference for The Hillbilly, it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that the two have similar abilities – both of their M2s can take survivors down in one hit. That said, the two killers are still immensely different gameplay-wise. The Cannibal is slower, but has a more oppressive presence in chases since tight corners don’t faze him as much as they would for The Hillbilly. As for teachable perks, The Cannibal, funnily enough, has got an information perk that’s perfect for high-mobility killers like The Hillbilly. I guess they’re two peas in a pod, huh?

Why you should get The Cannibal:

The Cannibal has a rather low skill floor, making him the ideal candidate for new players who’d like to try out insta-down killers.
Stealth builds turn The Cannibal into a silent lawnmower that you can use on peaceful Sunday mornings to weed out survivors.
Barbecue & Chili brings a lot to the table, especially when you’re playing as a killer whose speed is comparable to bullet trains.

5. The Artist (Difficulty: Moderate)

Crows are pretty aggressive creatures, y'know?

Perks:

Grim Embrace

Each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time, gain a token. When moving 16 meters away from the hook, all generators are blocked for 6/8/10 seconds.
Upon reaching 4 tokens, when moving 16 meters away from the hook, The Entity instead blocks all generators for 40 seconds. The Obsession's aura is revealed to you for 6 seconds.
Then, Grim Embrace deactivates.

Hex: Pentimento

You see the aura of destroyed Totems. You can perform a ritual on a destroyed Totem to rekindle it as a Hex Totem for Hex: Pentimento. For each Hex Totem active at the same time, Hex: Pentimento gains an additional effect.
1 Hex Totem: Decreases Survivors' repair speed by 20/25/30%.
2 Hex Totems: Decreases Survivors' healing speed by 20/25/30%.
3 Hex Totems: Decreases Survivors' recovery speed from being downed by 20/25/30%.
4 Hex Totems: Decreases Survivors' exit gate opening speed by 20/25/30%.
5 Hex Totems: All Totems are blocked by the Entity.
When a previously rekindled Hex Totem is removed by any means, its remains are consumed by The Entity and it cannot be rekindled again.

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance

At the start of the trial, 4 random hooks are changed into scourge hooks. You see their auras in white.
You start the Trial with 4 tokens, 1 for each Survivor. If a generator is available when that Survivor is hooked on a scourge hook, lose 1 token. The generator with the most progress explodes, instantly losing 10/15/20% progress, and will start to regress.
Once you have no tokens, Pain Resonance deactivates for the rest of the Trial.

Some say artists shed light on the world even during the darkest times. I don’t know how true that statement is, but I can tell you for certain that our killer in the fifth spot, The Artist in Dead by Daylight is one for snuffing out the light of hope in all survivors’ hearts with her sniping potential and amazing perks.

Corporations should start testing their employees’ aptitude by having them play as The Artist. Want to know why that is? The Artist is what I’d refer to as a busy killer. She can launch crows across maps and obtain information or injure survivors with them. Many don’t realize this, but you can mount up so much map pressure just by harassing generators far away from you with your crows as you walk around. And sure, you might not be a fan of ranged killers, but think of the perks you’ll be adding into your arsenal with her purchase. Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance and Hex: Pentimento are considered go-to generator slowdown perks by a lot of Dead by Daylight players. You’d know why once you try them out.

Why you should get The Artist:

The Artist, despite her subaverage kill rate, can consistently secure 4Ks. All the player has to do is pay extra attention to the downtime of her ability.
Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance has been nerfed, but wiping, in total, 80% of generator progress is still a lot for just four hooks.
Hex: Pentimento can be paired with Hex: Plaything to put survivors between a rock and a hard place. Either way you get something out of at least one perk.

6. The Shape (Difficulty: Moderate)

Perks:

Dying Light

You become obsessed with one Survivor.
Your Obsession gains a 33% action speed bonus to unhooking and healing other Survivors.
Each time you hook a Survivor other than the Obsession, if the Obsession is alive, gain a token.
If the Obsession is alive, all Survivors who are not the Obsession get 2/2.5/3% penalty to repair, healing and sabotage speeds for each token.

Play With Your Food

You become obsessed with one Survivor.
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%.
Performing a basic attack or Special Attack spends one token.

Save the Best for Last

You become obsessed with one Survivor.
Earn a token for each successful basic attack that is not dealt to the Obsession. Each token grants a stackable 4% decreased successful basic attack cooldown, you can earn up to 6/7/8 tokens.
When you hit the Obsession with a Basic Attack or Special Attack, lose 2 tokens. You cannot gain tokens as long as your Obsession is sacrificed or killed.

Anyone who plays survivor in Dead by Daylight can tell you that one of the most terrifying sound cues to hear during a trial is that faint piano tune that seems to always come out of nowhere. That’s when you know someone’s going to go down in one hit. If you too would like to strike the same kind of fear in your opponents’ hearts, then you’ve got to try out he who sits in the sixth spot: The Shape.

Yep, yet another killer that has to be bought with auric cells, but I’m sure you’ll find the investment worthwhile after reading what I have to say. The Shape may not be the most beginner-friendly for survivors, but it certainly is a saving grace for new killer mains. The Shape accommodates for all sorts of playstyles. You want to be aggressive? Sure! Want to lay low? No problem! And seeing The Shape perform an instant mori on survivor is sure to give you a refresher on the definition of satisfying. On a different note, two of his three teachable perks, Play With Your Food and Save the Best for Last, are also pivotal for advanced obsession avoidance builds, making The Shape an essential purchase for all players.

Why you should get The Shape:

Imagine the look of horror on the survivors’ faces when they realize you’re running Tombstone Myers. It’s an old trick, but an insta-kill executed is a kill well done.
Play With Your Food can turn killers with high mobility into literal speeding motorcycles for doing one of the easiest things in the game: losing chase.
Want to up your stealth game? You should try running Save the Best for Last, which lets you activate your M2 almost immediately after dealing your M1 hit.

7. The Dark Lord (Difficulty: Moderate)

The moon's out. The blood's warm. What more could a vampire ask for?

Perks:

Dominance

The first time each totem and each chest is interacted with by a Survivor, that totem or chest is blocked by the Entity for 4/6/8 seconds.
The auras of blocked totems and chests are revealed to you in white.

Hex: Wretched Fate

After one generator has been repaired, a random Dull Totem becomes a Hex Totem and curses the Obsession.
The Obsession suffers a 27/30/33% repair speed penalty. They also see this Hex Totem's aura when within 12 meters.
This effect persists until the Hex Totem is cleansed.

Human Greed

You see the auras of unopened chests and Survivor auras are revealed for 3 seconds when they enter a 8-meter range.
You gain the ability to kick chests to close them. This ability has a 60/45/30-second cooldown. Survivors unlock these chests 50% faster.

New killers are always, to some extent, an enigma. The Dark Lord, as the newest addition to the long list of killers in Dead by Daylight, is no different. While it might be a bit too early for us to tell whether he’ll remain meta in the future, I think it’s safe to say, with his complex gameplay mechanics, he definitely deserves a place on this list, the seventh place, to be exact.

The Dark Lord’s overall kit is solid, to say the least, and should have little problem standing the test of time. Dracula himself has three different forms, each with their own special M2 skill. His vampire form features what is arguably the coolest ranged attack in Dead by Daylight whereas his bat form gives him the liberty to teleport around the map. And as though being able to traverse the map in mere seconds and attack survivors through obstacles aren’t enough, he can also take on his wolf form to pounce on his prey. His perks aren’t at all shabby as well, with Dominance standing out as an effective means of alerting killers of survivor cleansing actions.

Why you should get The Dark Lord:

The Dark Lord’s transformation mechanics open up a plethora of possibilities in terms of playstyle.
The Dark Lord has the highest kill rate in the current version of Dead by Daylight. It could be because survivors have yet to come up with a strategy to counter him. But honestly? I don’t blame them. It’s extremely difficult to turn the tables around against Dracula.
Dominance is an awesome support perk for hex perks in general.

8. The Mastermind (Difficulty: Moderate)

Perks:

Awakened Awareness

When carrying a Survivor, you can see the aura of other Survivors within 16/18/20 meters of your position

Superior Anatomy

When a Survivor performs a fast vault within 8 meters of you, this perk activates. The next time you vault a window, your vaulting speed is increased by 30/35/40%.
This perk deactivates after vaulting a window.
This perk has a 30 second cooldown.

Terminus

When exit gates are powered, this perk activates. While Terminus is active, injured, downed and hooked Survivors are inflicted with the Broken status effect until exit gates are open.
When exit gates are open, Survivors will stay Broken for an additional 20/25/30 seconds.

Seven minutes. Seven minutes is all you need to fall in love with our killer on the eighth spot – The Mastermind, who has one of the highest kill rates among all Dead by Daylight killers.

Unlike our friend from outer space, The Mastermind neither salivates excessively nor attacks survivors through windows and pallets. In spite of that, Wesker remains to be one of the most dreaded killers in Dead by Daylight due to his ability: Virulent Bound, which allows him to dash towards survivors and grab those who are in his way. Wesker’s lack of regard for personal space doesn’t just stop at his ability though. Two of his teachable perks, Awakened Awareness and Superior Anatomy, are also insanely useful for M1 killers whose main goal in the trial is to quickly catch up with survivors and give, as I’d call it, gentle head pats. Unfortunately, if you too want to try invading others’ comfort zones, you’ll have to pay a few dimes.

Why you should get The Mastermind:

His high kill rate says it all. You’ll have to master some of The Mastermind’s “bounce techs”, but you’ll know it’s all worth it when you get that 4K consistently.
A multitude of fun perk combinations can be made from Awakened Awareness. For starters, why don’t you try out the perk with Mad Grit?
Superior Anatomy works incredibly well in chase builds for M1 killers. As an example, The Shape, with the Tombstone addon and Superior Anatomy, can pulverize survivors the same way victims got crushed in Autohaven Wreckers.

9. The Xenomorph (Difficulty: Moderate)

At least it's not drooling on you, as of now

Perks:

Alien Instinct

This perk activates when you hook a Survivor.
You see the aura of the farthest injured Survivor for 5 seconds and that Survivor is Oblivious for 16/18/20 seconds.

Rapid Brutality

You can no longer gain Bloodlust.
Hitting a Survivor with a basic attack gives you 5% Haste for 8/9/10 seconds.

Ultimate Weapon

When you open a locker, all Survivors within 32 meters of the locker scream and reveal their position, then gain blindness for 30 seconds.
This perk goes on cooldown for 80/70/60 seconds.

As the feared killer from the Alien franchise and the 9th most valuable killer of Dead by Daylight, The Xenomorph is a force to be reckoned with. Its perks might be a bit too niche for most players’ liking, but its ability, which gives him outrageously high map mobility and far-extending attack range, is undoubtedly a favorite of many.

Okay, let’s start off with the less appealing aspects of The Xenomorph: its perks. The Xenomorph’s perks are mostly designed for ranged killers or killers with high mobility. Ultimate Weapon, for example, might work well for killers like The Huntress or The Dredge, but fail to do much for slower earthbound killers like The Trickster. That, however, doesn’t negate the fact that The Xenomorph is, by itself, one strong killer. Its M2, which can attack over pallets and windows, can be an effective anti-loop mechanic when deployed correctly. The hit box for the tail strike can be a bit awkward at times due to its downward motion, but once you’ve gotten used to it, you’ll be knocking survivors out cold in seconds, all thanks to its short charge time. And of course, The Xenomorph, being a licensed character from a highly advanced universe, would accept all currencies, except iridescent shards, for its ruthless services.

Why you should get The Xenomorph:

Constant information on survivor location starts rolling in with Alien Instinct once you hook your first survivor.
Ultimate weapon can be incorporated into your killer build as a variation of Darkness Revealed, offering you greater versatility in playstyle.
The Xenomorph’s tail strike can turn the trial into an intense game of hide-and-seek, only that the hiders can no longer hide in what’s usually considered a safe space.

10. The Cenobite (Difficulty: Very Hard)

I told you to stay away from the Lament Configuration

Perks:

Deadlock

After a generator is repaired, The Entity blocks the generator with the most progress for 15/20/25 seconds. You see its white aura during this time.

Hex: Plaything

The first time you hook a Survivor, they become Cursed and Hex: Plaything activates on a Dull Totem. The Cursed Survivor suffers from the Oblivious status effect until Hex: Plaything is cleansed.
Hex: Plaything's totem aura is revealed to the Cursed Survivor when within 24/20/16 meters of it. For the first 90 seconds, only the Cursed Survivor can cleanse the totem.

Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain

At the start of the trial, 4 random hooks are changed into scourge hooks. You see their auras in white.
When a Survivor is unhooked from a scourge hook, they suffer from the Hemorrhage and Mangled status effect for 90 seconds. The first time the Survivor is healed, they suffer a 10/13/16% speed penalty to healing and repairing actions until injured again.

Here I present to you The Cenobite, whose old voice lines gave birth to one of the running jokes in Dead by Daylight. His power and his perks are no laughing matter though. And both of those elements, when combined, place him on the 10th spot of this list.

The Cenobite, despite its assigned difficulty level of “very hard”, is not all that difficult of a killer to play as. He shoots out a chain that binds the survivor who’s hit with 3 individual chains. Before the survivor’s able to fully wriggle free of all three chains, their movement speed is impaired and they can’t perform any rushed actions. This gives Cenobite mains who have mastered the art of flinging chains a considerable edge in chases. Two of his perks, Deadlock and Hex: Plaything, are also great universal perks that can benefit other killers in general gameplay. What is somewhat regrettable about Pinhead is that he’s a licensed character, which means those fictional coins earned through sweat and tears simply wouldn’t cut it.

Why you should get The Cenobite:

The Cenobite can be immensely oppressive if the player knows how to utilize not just the chains, but also the Chain Hunt mechanic to prevent survivors from completing their objectives.
Hex: Plaything can be paired with Hex: Pentimento to create one hell of an awkward situation for survivors.
Deadlock has seen the rise and fall of kingdoms and is still regarded as one of the best generator slowdown perks out there.

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Cyrus C.

As a firm believer of the pen being mightier than the sword, Cyrus is a confident writer who also happens to be confident that he wouldn't last 30 seconds in the Colosseum.

Gamer Since:

2011

Currently Playing:

Supermarket Simulator, Dead by Daylight, Stardew Valley

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