Sometimes, the best thing a Killer can do is control the map during a Dead By Daylight Trial, and four Killer characters have abilities that make them particularly good at area control. In Dead By Daylight, each Killer comes with a special attack or ability, a weapon, and three unique Perks with dozens of Add-Ons to use against Survivors. Unlike playing Survivors, who can eventually use any combination of the same Perks, Items, and Add-Ons for any character, the choice of Killer matters for their unique powers. Certain Killers in Dead By Daylight come with attacks that, while not impressively powerful or injurious, can allow them to play the long game and slowly turn the tide of a Trial in their favor.
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Four Killers in Dead By Daylight are particularly good at maintaining control over a Trial. Their abilities may not always lead to a Survivor being injured or hooked, but they can often prevent Survivor healing, reveal Survivor locations, keep Survivors off Generators, or trap Survivors in place. There are certain Perks that can augment any Killer’s strength and power, but the best Control Killers in Dead By Daylight are the ones whose innate abilities allow them to terrorize Survivors and make their escape more difficult before the addition of Perks. Here are the Killers whose special Killer power helps them control the map in Dead By Daylight and how to improve that control.
How to Choose a Control Killer in Dead By Daylight
The best Control Killers in Dead By Daylight are excellent at corralling Survivors to specific areas, slowing Generator progress to a crawl, and slowly turning the tide of a Trial in their favor until no Survivor can escape. To do this, they will often be able to control the map to be in multiple places easily or control Survivor behavior.
Fans wanting to use patience and control when playing a Killer in Dead By Daylight should choose one of the following characters:
The Doctor
The Doctor can slowly drive Survivors incurably insane with his Shock Therapy and Static Blast abilities. There are three levels of Madness Survivors experience, corresponding to three or more shocks. They will scream and reveal their locations, experience auditory and visual hallucinations, and eventually prevent them from taking any actions during the Trial until they Snap Out of It. The induced madness allows The Doctor to find and easily attack Survivors or trick them into eventually running right into him. His three unique Perks, Overwhelming Presence, Monitor & Abuse, and Overcharge force close Chases and hinder Survivors while they are driven slowly to madness.
The Clown
The Clown can throw Afterpiece Tonic bottles to intoxicate Survivors, making it hard for them to see where they are going and hinder their movement. The gas cloud caused by Afterpiece Tonic causes brief coughing that helps The Clown find the Survivor and can only be dissolved using an Afterpiece Antidote bottle. The Antidote will invigorate The Clown and any survivors caught in the cloud, giving them a 10% movement speed bonus for five seconds. Using the bottles effectively can allow the Clown to incapacitate and then pounce on a Survivor before they are able to properly react. His unique Perks, Bamboozle, Coulrophobia, and Pop Goes the Weasel allow him to gain an advantage when vaulting and make it harder for Survivors to Heal and Repair Generators.
The Demogorgon
From the Dead By Daylight: Stranger Things chapter, the Demogorgon uses many of the same abilities from the Netflix original series. The Demogorgon can place Portals on the ground anywhere in the Trial and enter them to traverse The Upside Down. They can use these Portals to quickly move around the map, monitor Generators, and find Survivors. When emerging from a Portal, the Demogorgon is Undetectable for three seconds. While Survivors can see and seal Activated Portals, the Demogorgon can see Survivors nearby while in The Upside Down and easily prevent this. The Demogorgon’s unique Perks, Surge, Mindbreaker, and Cruel Limits allow it to slow progress on Generator repairs and Exhaust Survivors, making it more difficult for them to get away.
The Trapper
The Trapper is one of the original Killers in Dead By Daylight. He can set up to six Bear Traps around the map to capture Survivors. Each time a Survivor is trapped and immobilized, the Killer receives a Loud Noise notification and can find and incapacitate them. The Trapper can move and reset the Bear Traps at any point during the Trial. Placed strategically, it is possible Survivors never see the Traps and end up easy prey. The Trapper’s unique Perks, Unnerving Presence, Brutal Strength, and Agitation make him better in chases and at carrying Survivors to hooks.
As Killer players unlock Teachable perks in each character’s Bloodweb, they can experiment with different loadouts to complement Killer powers. Good Perks to help supplement Control Killers and help any Killer exert more control include:
- A Nurse’s Calling (The Nurse): The Auras of Survivors who are healing or being healed are revealed to the Killer when the Survivors are within a range of 20/24/28 meters
- Barbecue & Chilli (The Cannibal): After hooking a Survivor, all other Survivors’ Auras are revealed for 4 seconds when they are farther than 40 meters from the hook.
- Bitter Murmur: Each time a Generator is completed, the Auras of Survivors within 16 meters of the completed Generator will be revealed to the Killer for 5 seconds.
- Blood Warden (The Nightmare): The Auras of Survivors standing within the Exit Gate area are revealed to the Killer, and, once per Trial, hooking a Survivor while Blood Warden is active blocks the exits for all Survivors for 30/40/60 seconds.
- Corrupt Intervention (The Plague): At the start of the Trial, the 3 Generators farthest from the Killer are blocked by The Entity for 80/100/120 seconds.
- Deathbound (The Executioner): When a Survivor heals another Survivor for one Health State at least 32 meters away from the Killer, the Survivor will scream, revealing their location and causing them to suffer from the Oblivious status effect for 60 seconds when farther than 16/12/8 meters away from the healed Survivor.
- Distressing: The Killer’s Terror Radius increases by 22/24/26%.
- Hex: Blood Favour (The Blight): Hitting a Survivor with a Basic Attack prompts The Entity to hold all Pallets within 16 meters of the Killer’s location for the next 15 seconds, preventing Survivors from pulling them down.
- Hex: Crowd Control (The Trickster): Survivors who perform a rushed vault through a Window prompt The Entity to block it for the next 14/17/20 seconds.
- Oppression (The Twins): When damaging a Generator, up to three other random Generators also begin regressing.
- Spies from the Shadows: Crows startled by Survivors within 20/28/36 meters of the Killer trigger a Loud Noise Notification.
- Starstruck (The Trickster): Survivors suffer the Exposed status effect while in the Killer’s Terror Radius and for 26/28/30 seconds after leaving the Terror Radius.
- Tinkerer (The Hillbilly): Whenever a Generator is repaired to 70%, it triggers a Loud Noise Notification and the Killer is Undetectable for 12/14/16 seconds.
Each Control Killer in Dead By Daylight will also have Add-Ons in their Bloodweb that increase the potency of their basic and special attacks, further improving their ability to prevent Survivors from escaping.
Dead By Daylight is available for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, & Nintendo Switch.
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