Each Killer in Dead By Daylight comes with a special killer ability, a weapon, and three unique Perks to use against the Survivors. Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical horror game, meaning the Killer runs solo while Survivors work together in teams of four to escape the Trial before they can be sacrificed to The Entity. Unlike Survivors, who can eventually use any combination of the same Perks, Items, and Add-Ons with any character, the choice of Killer matters for their unique powers. Some Killers in Dead By Daylight have strong attacks to overpower Survivors in a single hit or ones that become stronger the more often they injure or down Survivors.
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Four Killers in Dead By Daylight are particularly heavy-hitters, using brute force to take down Survivors and feed their power. There are certain Perks that can augment any Killer’s strength and power, but the best Power Killers in Dead By Daylight are those whose innate abilities already make them strong before the addition of Perks. Here are the best powerhouse Killers to choose from in Dead By Daylight and how players can make them stronger.
How to Choose a Power Killer in Dead By Daylight
The best power Killers in Dead By Daylight are those whose attacks and auxiliary powers allow them to either down a Survivor in a single hit or become more deadly the longer they stalk and the more they attack. Players should choose from the following Killers:
The Oni
The Oni increases his power each time he injures a Survivor. He is able to absorb the blood energy of hit Survivors and use it to transform into a demon. Each time The Oni hits a survivor, they can use the power Yamaoka’s Wrath to absorb the Blood Orbs in the environment. The Blood Orbs fill his power gauge, allowing The Oni to activate Blood Fury, his demon state. He can move incredibly fast with Demon Dash and use Demon Strike, with its extended Lunge range, to down Survivors with a single hit. His unique Perks, Zanshin Tactics, Blood Echo, and Nemesis help him avoid Survivor stuns, anticipate Survivor Vaulting, punish Survivors for managing to stun him, and further harm injured Survivors.
The Nemesis
The Nemesis is the newest DLC Killer in Dead By Daylight from the Resident Evil Chapter. He has the ability to deploy his tentacle and infect healthy Survivors with the T-Virus. The first hit infects, and the second will injure. A third hit will down Survivors. Each successfully infected Survivor increases The Nemesis’ Mutation Rate, allowing his Tentacle Strike ability to destroy Breakable Walls and Pallets or reach Survivors from a greater distance. Nemesis is also aided by two AI Zombies who can infect or damage Survivors in his stead. Each time an infected Survivor cures the T-Virus with a vaccine, they become visible to Nemesis for a short time. The Nemesis’ unique Perks, Lethal Pursuer, Hysteria, and Eruption help him find and ambush or confuse Survivors and set back Generator progress.
The Cannibal
The Cannibal, Bubba Sawyer from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, can enter a frenzy with his chainsaw, skipping the injury phase to immediately down any Survivor in his path. The ability to put Survivors in the Dying state with a single hit is invaluable, but players will need to be careful how they use this power, as they only start with three charges. They can use Chainsaw Sweep to hit multiple targets, Chainsaw Dash to lunge forward at incredible speeds, and Tantrum to wildly lash out with the weapon. His unique Perks, Knock Out, Barbecue & Chilli, and Franklin’s Demise help him find Survivors and cost them their inventory Items.
The Shape
The Shape, Michael Myers from the Halloween series, can stalk survivors to increase his own power. Often, The Shape will stalk a single Obsession, just as Myers does in the movies. His power, called Evil Within, allows him to become Undetectable, see his target Survivor clearly, and begin stalking to build up power. Each time a target gets away, Evil Within enters a new Tier and augments The Shape’s Terror Radius, Movement Speed, Lunge Range, and Vaulting Speed. At Tier III, the target becomes Exposed for 60 seconds, allowing The Shape to strike with his Kitchen Knife. His unique Perks, Save the Best for Last, Play with Your Food, and Dying Light help him select a new Survivor for his Obsession and grow stronger when focusing on that single character.
Unfortunately, all the most powerful Killers are only available through DLC. Players wanting a strong Killer without needing to pay extra may want to consider using The Hillbilly, a base game character on par with The Cannibal.
As Killer players unlock Teachable perks in each character’s Bloodweb, they can experiment with different loadouts to complement Killer powers. Good Perks to add to any Killer for increased power include:
- Beast of Prey (The Huntress): Upon gaining Bloodlust at Tier 1, Killers are Undetectable as long as Bloodlust is active.
- Brutal Strength (The Trapper): The Killer can break Pallets and Breakable Walls and damage Generators 10/15/20% faster.
- Hex: Devour Hope (The Hag): The Killer receives Tokens each time a Survivor is rescued from a hook at a distance greater than 24 meters. With two Tokens, The Killer gains 3/4/5% Haste for 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor. With three Tokens, Survivors suffer the Exposed status effect permanently. With five Tokens, the Killer can skip the hooking and kill all Survivors.
- Oppression (The Twins): When a Killer damages a Generator, up to three others also begin regressing at random. This will trigger a difficult Skill Check if the Generator is currently being repaired.
- Sloppy Butcher: Wounds from a Killer’s Basic Attacks cause Survivors to suffer from the Haemorrhage and Mangled status effects to increase Bleeding frequency.
- Surge (The Demogorgon): When a Survivor is put in a dying state by a Killer’s Basic Attack, all Generators within 32 meters explode and begin regressing.
- Thanatophobia (The Nurse): Each time the Killer injures, downs, or hooks a Survivor, all Survivors suffer a 4/4.5/5% penalty to their repair, sabotage, and cleansing action speeds, up to 20%.
Each Power Killer in Dead By Daylight will also have Add-Ons in their Bloodweb to increase the potency of their basic and special attacks as well as their special abilities.
Dead By Daylight is available for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, & Nintendo Switch.
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