Dead By Daylight is a survival-horror game that's made waves in the gaming and horror communities as one of the most frequently streamed games on Twitch. The game involves Killers and Survivors made specifically for the game, but it also features characters derived from pop culture media, such as Ash from The Evil Dead franchise and the Demogorgon from Stranger Things.

The game regularly adds DLC that allows players to try out different Killers or Survivors, so the game is constantly evolving. As a Killer, players can only see in first-person but the fun in playing a Killer resides in their unique perks and abilities that make gameplay difficult for Survivors. Some Killers are harder to play than others and some might have better skills as well.

Updated June 30th, 2021, by Brittanie Maldonado: Dead By Daylight is a frequently evolving game and power levels between Killers and Survivors are constantly in flux. Moreover, new DLC is regularly announced, and some characters might outrank others depending on the changes that are made. Having a look at how the landscape changed in the year since the original list was published will be helpful for people playingDead By Daylight Killers.

13 Ghost Face Has A One-Shot Skill But Requires Excessive Stalking

ghost face from dead by daylight

Ghost Face, most notably known as the killer in the Scream movies, is a pretty tough character for Survivors. He is the ultimate stalker. When he is in stalk mode, Survivors won't be able to hear a terror radius or heartbeat. In fact, they won't suspect a thing until they see him, which is almost always too late.

The more he stalks the victim the closer he gets to being able to expose them, revealing their aura for a duration of time as he hunts them down.

12 The Twins Are Tricky To Play Properly

the twins charlotte and victor from dead by daylight

Charlotte and Victor could rank higher if they weren't so difficult to manage. Newbie Killers will have a tough time switching between Charlotte and Victor if they're not already acclimated to how the game works, so choosing an easier-to-play Killer is probably best for newcomers.

Nevertheless, the key to playing the Twins successfully is to camp with Victor and use him as a signal to alert Charlotte where Survivors are. Unfortunately, their Perks alone aren't good enough to warrant using them before unlocking other Killer Perks to boost their utility.

11 The Demogorgon Can Teleport Around The Map

the demogorgon from stranger things

The Demogorgon was a character added to Dead By Daylight right before Halloween in 2019. The addition attracted a bunch of new players to the scene because of the popularity of Stranger Things. The Demogorgon is an all-around good killer. He has a lunge ability called Shred that allows him to dart to his prey and use his incredibly long claws to attack.

He also makes the Demogorgon cry that can be heard throughout the map, which is a nice bit of fanservice to those who enjoy the show. He can also place a few portals around the map and appear in new areas when needed.

10 The Nightmare Is An Homage To Freddy Kruger & Uses Dream Worlds

the nightmare from dead by daylight

The Nightmare has occasionally been listed as the top-tier character in the game, even beating out Nurse on some lists. He's a bit of a complex Killer to use, however, so he might not be the best choice for new players.

Freddy has a lot going on between his dream world and his teleporting orbs. Survivors who fall asleep won't wake up until they take damage, help each other, or run across the map to an alarm clock. Freddy's unique perks also make it so that the late game is exponentially hard, making the exit gate a focal point for him.

9 The Oni Is Great For Generator Control & One-Shotting Survivors

the oni from dead by daylight

The Oni is another potential top-tier killer as he gets stronger with the more damage he deals and the more blood he consumes. He has the ability to consume blood left by his victims to power up his ultimate ability, Yamaoka's Wrath. Once this activates, he is easily able to one-shot all of his victims for a short duration.

The blood orbs left by his victims also are extremely visible, leaving a direct trail to the injured Survivors. The only downside to Oni is that his movement is pretty large, meaning Survivors can evade him by turning sharp corners around him.

8 The Executioner Has Strong Skills But Poor Mobility

Silent Hill Revelation Pyramid Head

This Killer is an homage to Silent Hill, as the Executioner takes the appearance of Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2. The Executioner isn't able to get around the map effectively, but there's an important mechanic in his toolkit called Rites of Judgment. This technique places trails on the ground that will put Survivors in the Tormented state if they run into them.

Additionally, their location will be revealed, and the Executioner can hone in for the kill. His lunge move is powerful but requires precision to pull off correctly.

7 The Hag Is A Spooky Jump Scare Killer

the hag from dead by daylight

The Hag is one of the scariest characters in the game due to her knack for creating major jump scares for Survivors. The Hag's main trick is to place traps around the map with the goal being for Survivors to trigger the traps. Once triggered, the Hag is able to teleport to the activated trap's position if she's within 40 meters of it.

Additionally, she can place them by generators while being looped, and by hooks to discourage Survivors from using them. Alternatively, she could smack Survivors down once she teleports to them.

6 The Doctor Relies On Invoking Madness In Survivors

Dead By Daylight - Doctor close up

The Doctor seems like a weak Killer, but he's very effective if used correctly. Where the Doctor shines best is in his ability to locate survivors. His attack capabilities are weak in comparison to other Killers but the Doctor's ability to increase Survivors' Madness makes it easy for him to find them.

On top of that, whenever a Survivor's Madness tier increases, they will have a higher likelihood of having to pass a skill check. Failing a skill check alerts the Killer to the Survivor's location, making it even easier for the Doctor to locate them.

5 The Huntress Takes Practice To Master

the huntress from dead by daylight

The Huntress is a super fun character to play with a variety of different abilities that make her totally unique. Her terror radius, for example, is represented by her constant humming of a lullaby to indicate how close or far a Survivor is.

She was also the first projectile-based Killer, and she relies heavily on throwing hatchets at Survivors. This means it'll take a fair bit of practice before players can become proficient with this Killer. When Survivors are hit by a hatchet, it puts them in the injured status. If they are already injured, it knocks them down. The Huntress's lullaby also makes skill checks for survivors more difficult.

4 The Hillbilly Has Good Mobility & A One-Shot Mechanic

the hillbilly from dead by daylight

The Hillbilly is a top-tier Killer who is a little difficult to master due to his chainsaw charge. If properly timed, however, he can do some serious damage and cut down chase time by a lot. Notably, the Hillbilly resembles the Cannibal (also known as Bubba or Leatherface) from Texas Chainsaw Massacre and was added to Dead By Daylight in the second DLC of the game.

The Hillbilly has a hammer alongside his chainsaw and can attack survivors with either. Whenever he is in his chainsaw state, he becomes increasingly fast and drops any Survivor he hits to a dying state.

3 Blight's Speed Makes Him Excellent In Catching Survivors

blight from dead by daylight

Blight is unmatched in his speed, but only the most experienced Killers should try working with Blight. With his special power, Blighted Corruption, Blight can rush ahead toward Survivors but can't attack. The trick is vaulting off obstacles using lethal rush.

In this stance, Blight is able to attack. He can vault off obstacles a total of five times before he gets fatigued and goes on cooldown, so accuracy and practice are key. The potential to scout maps and quickly close in on Survivors is unmatched and a skillful Blight player can dominate the game in a short time.

2 Yamaoka's Haunting Allows The Spirit To Quickly & Stealthily Traverse The Map

the spirit from dead by daylight

The Spirit is an excellent Killer due to the ability Yamaoka's Haunting, which allows her to phase-walk. She leaves behind a husk of herself and enters the Ethereal Plane, meaning she can travel unseen through the map. In this state, she can no longer see survivors, but she will be able to track them based on the scratch marks they leave on the floor and the noises Survivors emit.

Once Survivors are located, Spirit can suddenly appear alongside them, catching them off guard and creating quite the jump scare in even the bravest of players.

1 The Nurse Has Excellent Potential To Avoid Being Looped

the nurse from dead by daylight

The Nurse has an ability to teleport through obstacles, meaning that vaulting out of windows and dropping pallets is pretty much useless against her. One of the main components of this game for Survivors is the ability to "loop" a Killer. This tactic allows a Survivor to bait the Killer and distract them with a chase while other Survivors repair generators.

This idea is pretty much nonexistent when it comes to Nurse, since she can blink through obstacles. She's also able to tell when a Survivor is healing, meaning they have to make a tough choice between being detected or risking the noisy state of an injured Survivor.

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