[Top 5] Dead By Daylight Best Shape Builds

The Shape, otherwise known as Micheal Myers, was added to Dead by Daylight in October of 2016. The Shape became the first licensed character outside of Dead by Daylight to be added to the game. The Shape can be played in many different ways; depending on addons and perks. These builds will showcase some of the interesting perk builds you can use to experiment with different playstyles.

5. Beginner Shape Build

The Shape comes with three unique perks:

Save The Best For Last: Each time you hit a Survivor other than your Obsession with a Basic Attack, STBFL gains 1 Token, up to a maximum of 8 Tokens: Gain a stack-able -5 % Cool-down reduction on successful Basic Attacks per Token, up to a maximum of -40 %. Each time you hit your Obsession with a Basic Attack, Save the Best for Last loses 4/3/2 Tokens. When the Obsession is sacrificed or killed, Save the Best for Last freezes its current Token count.

Play with Your Food: Each time you chase your Obsession and let them escape, Play with Your Food receives 1 Token, up to a maximum of 3 Tokens: Each Token applies a stack-able 3/4/5 % Haste Status Effect, up to a maximum of 9/12/15 %. Performing Basic Attacks, or Special Attacks that can damage Survivors, consumes 1 Token.

Dying Light: Each time you hook a Survivor other than your Obsession, you gain 1 Token: For as long as the Obsession is alive, all other Survivors suffer from a stack-able 2/2.5/3 % penalty to Repairing, Healing, and Sabotaging speeds per Token, up to a maximum of 22/27.5/33 % or 11 Tokens. The Obsession is unaffected by this penalty and instead granted a permanent +33 % Action Speed bonus to Unhooking and Healing other Survivors.

For this beginner build we are going to use:

• STBFL
• Dying Light
• Sloppy Butcher
• Whispers

STBFL is a great perk to help you have quicker chases with the reduced hit cooldown. This should help you save time and chase more efficiently. Dying Light is a tricky perk to utilize. However, it is a good slowdown perk to put on if you don’t have any others. It will still get the job done.

Sloppy Butcher is a universal perk. When you injure a survivor with a basic attack, that survivor suffers from the hemorrhage and mangled status effect. These effects increase bleeding and slow healing speed. It additionally regresses and heals progress passively. Finally we have whispers. Whispers is a perk that activates whenever at least one Survivor is within 48/40/32 meters of your location. When this perk activates, you hear the sporadic whispers of the Entity. This perk will help you locate survivors quicker and easier. Especially at the start of the game.

The goal with this build is to build a base kit with universal perks that beginner players will have available to them. This should allow them a solid build they can use while they build their perk library.

This build excels at:

• Injuring and slowing Survivors down. Dying Light and Sloppy Butcher both make it more difficult for Survivors to heal, causing them to spend more time recovering and less time working on objectives. Sloppy Butcher also regresses healing progress, making it even more challenging for Survivors to stay healthy.
• Tracking Survivors and applying pressure. Whispers helps you locate Survivors quickly and easily, especially at the start of the game. This information can be used to initiate chases, force Survivors to move around the map, and prevent them from making progress on objectives.
• Shortening chase times and securing kills. Save the Best for Last (STBFL) reduces the cooldown of your successful basic attacks, making it easier to chain hits and secure downs.This can be especially helpful for beginners who are still learning the nuances of chase mechanics.

4. Super Slowed Build

This build includes:

• Thanatophobia
• Dying Light
• Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain
• Pop goes the Weasel

Thanatophobia is a perk from the Nurse. Each injured, dying, or hooked Survivor afflicts Survivors with a stack-able 1/1.5/2 % Action Speed penalty to Repairing, Sabotaging, and Cleansing, up to a maximum of 4/6/8 %. Increases the Action Speed penalty by a further 12 %, if there are 4 Survivors, who are either injured, dying, or hooked at the same time. Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain is a teachable perk from The Cenobite. Each time a Survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the following effects apply:The Survivor suffers from the Haemorrhage and Mangled Status Effects until healed. Upon being healed, the Survivor suffers from a 10/13/16 % Action Speed penalty to Healing and Repairing until they are injured again.

Pop goes the Weasel is a teachable perk from The Clown.After hooking a Survivor, Pop Goes the Weasel activates for the next 35/40/45 seconds: Performing the Damage Generator Action on a Generator instantly regresses it by -30 % of its current Progression. Normal Generator Regression applies afterwards.

The goal with this build is to slow the game down as much as possible. Thanatophobia, Gift of Pain, and Dying Light all apply speed penalties to either healing or repair speed. Pop goes the weasel can easily shut down a gen with lots of progress.

This build excels at:

• Significantly hindering Survivors' progress on objectives. Thanatophobia, Dying Light, and Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain all inflict various action speed penalties on Survivors, making it much harder for them to repair generators, heal each other, and sabotage hooks. This creates a constant state of pressure and forces Survivors to spend more time recovering and less time working on objectives.
• Applying consistent pressure and discouraging Survivors from healing. Pop Goes the Weasel provides a burst of generator regression whenever a Survivor is hooked, effectively resetting their progress and forcing them to start over. This, in combination with the action speed penalties from the other perks, discourages Survivors from healing and forces them to dedicate more time to fixing generators.
• Securing kills and snowballing your advantage. By slowing down Survivors' progress and forcing them to make difficult choices between healing and repairing, you create opportunities to capitalize on their mistakes and secure kills. Once you've eliminated a few Survivors, the effects of Thanatophobia and Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain become even more pronounced, making it even harder for the remaining Survivors to escape.

3. Chaotic Build

This build includes:

• Dark Devotion
• Ultimate Weapon
• Corrupt Intervention
• Hex: Face the Darkness

Dark Devotion is a perk from The Plague. Whenever the Obsession loses a Health State by any means and thus enters the Injured State, Dark Devotion activates: Your Terror Radius transfers to the Obsession for 20/25/30 seconds, and its radius is set to 32 meters. Grants the Undetectable Status Effect for the same duration. Ultimate Weapon is a teachable perk from The Xenomorph. Whenever you open a Locker, Ultimate Weapon activates for 30 seconds: Survivors entering your Terror Radius  scream and reveal their location to you. Those Survivors suffer from the Blindness Status Effect for 30 seconds.

Corrupt intervention is a perk from The Plague. This perk blocks generators at the start of the game for a total of  80/100/120 seconds.  Hex: Face the Darkness is a teachable perk from The Knight. Once you injure a Survivor by any means, if there is still a Dull Totem remaining on the Map, Hex: Face the Darkness activates and lights it, cursing that Survivor: All other Survivors will scream every 35/30/25 seconds if they are outside of the Killer's Terror Radius, revealing their Auras for 2 seconds each time.

The goal with this build is to cause as much chaos and distraction as possible. Your aim is to down the obsession, so you are undetectable with dark devotion. Then you go open a locker to activate Ultimate Weapon. Since the downed obsession adapted your terror radius, everyone around them will scream; Making them think you are camping the downed survivor. In reality, you are skirting around outside of that terror radius looking to get a cheeky down.

This build excels at: 

• Creating confusion and disorientation among Survivors. Dark Devotion and Ultimate Weapon both cause Survivors to scream and reveal their auras, which can be used to create chaos and make it difficult for Survivors to coordinate their actions. Hex: Face the Darkness also forces Survivors to scream periodically, further disrupting their communication and making them more vulnerable to your attacks.
• Catching Survivors off guard and securing surprise downs. By using Dark Devotion to become Undetectable and then opening a Locker to activate Ultimate Weapon, you can catch Survivors off guard and get easy downs. The fact that your Terror Radius is transferred to the Obsession when they are injured can also lead to confusion and allow you to sneak up on other Survivors.
• Applying map pressure and keeping Survivors on edge. Corrupt Intervention allows you to block generators at the start of the match, giving you more time to set up traps and establish map control. Hex: Face the Darkness forces Survivors to scream if they are outside of your Terror Radius, making it harder for them to move around the map without alerting you to their presence.

2. Jumpscare Build

This Build:

• Monitor & Abuse
• Nemesis
• Furtive Chase
• Hex: Plaything

Monitor & Abuse is a teachable perk from the Doctor. Increases the radius of your default Terror Radius by +8 meters for the entire Trial. Whenever you are not in a Chase with a Survivor, the following effects apply: Reduces your Terror Radius by -16 meters. Increases your Field of View by 3/5/10 °. Nemesis is a teachable perk from The Oni. Any Survivor who blinds you or stuns you using a Pallet or a Locker becomes the Obsession. Anytime your Obsession switches to another Survivor by any means, that Survivor then suffers from the Oblivious Status Effect for 40/50/60 seconds and their Aura is revealed to you for 4 seconds.

Furtive Chase is a teachable perk from The Ghostface. Each time you hook your Obsession, you benefit from the following effects for 14/16/18 seconds: Grants the Undetectable Status Effect. Grants a +5 % Haste Status Effect. Hex: Plaything is a teachable perk from The Cenobite. If there is at least one Dull Totem remaining in the Trial Grounds, Hex: Plaything activates on a random Totem each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time: The hooked Survivor suffers from the Cursed and Oblivious Status Effects until Hex: Plaything is cleansed. For the first 90 seconds, only the Cursed Survivor is able to cleanse the Hex Totem. The Aura of Hex: Plaything's Hex Totem is revealed to the Cursed Survivor within 24/20/16 meters.

The Goal with this build is to sneak up on survivors. Your decreased terror radius allows this; however Monitor and Abuse increases your terror radius in chase. Thankfully, Furtive chase will decrease your terror radius in chase, canceling it out.  Nemesis will constantly change your obsession and make them oblivious after a pallet stun. Hex: Plaything will help to create confusion.

This build excels at:

• Strategic Terror Radius Manipulation: Monitor & Abuse's dual effects provide a unique advantage. Its increased Terror Radius when not in chase allows you to exert map pressure and discourage Survivors from venturing too far from generators, while the reduced Terror Radius during chase makes it easier to sneak up on unsuspecting Survivors.
• Constant Obsession Rotation and Obliviousness: Nemesis's ability to switch the Obsession after a pallet stun introduces an element of unpredictability, disrupting Survivors' coordination and making it challenging for them to anticipate your next move. The Oblivious status effect inflicted on the new Obsession further enhances the element of surprise.
• Undetectable Status and Haste Boost: Furtive Chase grants Undetectable status and a Haste boost after hooking the Obsession, allowing you to quickly close in on unsuspecting Survivors and secure additional downs before they can react effectively.
• Confusion and Hex Pressure: Hex: Plaything creates confusion by making the hooked Survivor the only one capable of cleansing the Hex Totem for 90 seconds. The Cursed status effect and Obliviousness make the hooked Survivor an easy target for further pressure, while the revealed Totem Aura provides additional information for the next hook.

1. Pressure Build

For this build we will use:

• Knock Out
• Hysteria
• Surge/Jolt
• Dark Devotion

Knock out is a teachable perk from The Cannibal. Putting a Survivor into the Dying State with your Basic Attack blocks their Aura from being revealed to any Survivor, who is farther than 32/24/16 meters away from them. For the next 15 seconds, the following effects apply to the dying Survivor: Reduces their Field of View and causes them to be deafened. Suffers from the Blindness Status Effect. Reduces the Crawling speed by -50 %. Reduces the Recovery speed by -25 %.

Surge is a perk that instantly regresses affected Generators within 32 meters of your location  by 6/7/8 % when you put a survivor in the dying state with a basic attack. This will help you manage gen progression.

Hysteria is a perk from The Nemesis. Whenever you put a healthy Survivor into the Injured State, all injured Survivors suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect for 20/25/30 seconds. Hysteria has a cool-down of 30 seconds. Once again we are using Dark Devotion from The Plague.

The goal with this build is to regress and slow down the game by slugging survivors (downing them, but not hooking). Jolt will help slow gen progression while you slug and knock out will keep them on the ground longer. Dark devotion and Hysteria will allow you to creep up stealthily on survivors and get cheeky downs.

This build excels at: 

• Slugging Survivors and Regressing Generators: The combination of Knock Out, Surge (Jolt), and Hysteria effectively slows down the game and disrupts Survivors' progress. Knock Out hinders injured Survivors' ability to communicate and coordinate, while Surge (Jolt) regresses generators whenever you down a Survivor. Hysteria further disrupts Survivors by inflicting the Oblivious status effect on injured Survivors, making them more vulnerable to surprise attacks.
• Securing Surprise Downs and Maintaining Map Pressure: Dark Devotion grants you Undetectable status whenever the Obsession loses a Health State, allowing you to sneak up on unsuspecting Survivors and secure additional downs. This, coupled with the reduced coordination and awareness caused by Knock Out and Hysteria, creates opportunities for surprise attacks and map control.
• Applying Pressure and Coercing Survivors into Risky Actions: The threat of Knock Out's debuffs and the constant pressure from Surge (Jolt) may encourage Survivors to adopt riskier strategies, such as attempting to heal injured Survivors or rushing objectives, which can lead to further mistakes and opportunities for you to capitalize.

These builds will ensure that you not only experience fun, interesting matches. They will also help to improve your gameplay and teach you new perk combos that can be utilized when playing The Shape. Happy hunting!