Summary
There is a large roster of utterly terrifying Killers inDead By Daylight. They each have their strengths and abilities that when combined with powerful perks make them brutal killing machines that can make the rounda living nightmare for survivors.
There are a lot of perks to choose from and some are better than others. Ultimately, which perk players choose should be based on who they like to play as and cater to their strengths, but the best killer perks inDead By Daylightcan make a big difference when it comes to becoming the ultimate big bad.
Updated Jun 21, 2025 by Mara Cowley:The ever-growing roster of Dead by Daylight sees new perks added with each killer, with the addition of the new original Killer the Hound Master bringing more powers and perks with her into the fog, changing the ever-metamorphosizing meta.
There are undoubtedly more Killers to come in the future, with certain announcements made in the past hinting that a long-awaited crossover is in the works, and will soon be in the player’s hands. With the constant release of new characters and their perks, it is imperative to keep on top of what thebest killer perks in DbDare. This is why this article has received a necessary update to include more of the Killer perks that are currently holding strong before even more killers change the meta.
37Hex: Two Can Play
The Good Guy
Anytime the Killer is stunned or blinded by any Survivor a total of 4/3/2 times, and if there is not yet a hex totem already associated with Hex: Two Can Play and there is at least one dull totem remaining, Hex: Two Can Playactivates on a random Totem:
Normally, only Survivors have the capabilities to inflict blindness, and not Killers. But Chucky decided two can play that game, and turns their tricks back on the Survivors, blinding them for every 4th, 3rd, or 2nd time he is stunned or blinded.
As there are many ways Survivors can do this, such as Blast Mine, flashlights, Head On, or dropping a well-timed palette, it is likely Killers can at least get a few uses from this during any trial. Pairing it with other perks such as Spirit Fury and Hubris can make for devastating combos.
36Dominance
The Dark Lord
Dracula, also known as The Dark Lord in their trials, is a vampiric addition that likes to lord over all that is in his domain, particularly chests and totems. These are optional objectives for the survivor, with chests containing items they can pilfer, and the clearing of totems banishing any hexes associated with them, as well as offering an easy way to obtain blood points.
Dracula can directly interrupt these objectives, as they can be blocked by the Entity for a short time for the first time they are touched by a Survivor. This slows them down, temporarily protects any hexes, and even lets Dracula know the rough location of a Survivor who tried to open one of the chests, so he can hunt them down and claim his first victim.
35Forced Hesitation
The Singularity
Whenever a Survivor is put into the Dying State by any means, all other Survivors within 16 meters of them suffer from:
Chasing down skilled Survivors can be one of the most frustrating experiences inDead by Daylight, especially if they have a good loop nearby where they can take the Killer on a prolonged chase and buy their teammates essential time to unhook Survivors or complete generators.
But, the Singularity’s perk Forced Hesitation aids Killers in these chases by giving Survivors the Hindrance status effect, as this effect does cause the Survivors' run speed to be reduced. This helps Killers close gaps quickly, and may also help cancel out some Survivor perks that offer boosts to their speed, such as Lithe.
34All-Shaking Thunder
The Houndmaster
After falling from a height, All-Shaking Thunder activates for 8/12/16 seconds:
The Houndmaster was released in late 2024, bringing in a new Killer into the fog with an AI-controlled companion in the form of a dog. Man’s best friend will only be aiding the killer as the duo relentlessly hunts the survivors down across the map, with the help of the Houndmaster’s perks.
Lunge attacks are base-kit for all killers, and they can help bridge the distance between survivor and killer, and land that all-important attack. Sometimes, it can be all too easy to overestimate the killer’s reach, resulting in a miss and prolonged chase, but All-Shaking Thunder can help to offset this. If the killer falls from a height, their lunge is increased by a mighty 75%, meaning it could offset survivor perks such as Balanced Landing.
33Hex: Wretched Fate
After a Generator is completed, this perk is activated, lighting a dull totem and cursing the Obsession:
Survivors' main objective is to complete the generators and make their escape, and as such, it is not unheard of forKillers to run slow-down builds, gathering a set of perks designed to hinder their efforts.
Hex: Wretched Fate is one of these perks, as it directly affects one single Survivor and their repair speed, slowing it down by a considerable amount. The only downside is that it is a hex, so it can be cleared by the Survivors. What is more, they can see the hex totem’s aura within 12 meters, allowing them to track and cleanse it. But still, this hunt for the totem adds a few extra seconds of delay, and when paired with one of the Dark Lord’s other perks, Dominance, they can even protect their hex totem for a few precious seconds.
32Hex: Face The Darkness
The Knight
Once a Survivor is injured by any means, and there is a dull totem remaining, Hex: Face the Darkness activates and lights it, cursing that Survivor:
Tracking down survivors can sometimes be tricky depending on what map the trial takes place on and what playstyle the Survivors are employing. As such, aura-reading perks can be essential picks for the Killer to track down the Survivors. Hex: Face the Darkness is one such perk, a unique teachable perk to the Knight.
This perk activates once the Killer injures the survivors by any means, a dull totem is chosen at random and becomes lit, and all other survivors that are not within the Killer’s terror radius scream at intervals revealing their aura to the killer. The screaming not only reveals the Survivors to allow the Killer to hunt them more efficiently but also interrupts any actions they are taking, such as repairing generators or healing other Survivors.
31Languid Touch
The Lich
When a Survivor scares a crow within 36 meters, this perk activates:
Exhaustion perks are a powerful tool in the Survivor’s arsenal, as most are designed around increasing the Survivor’s speed, which can allow them to escape the Killer’s grasp, or waste enough of the Killer’s time to allow the other Survivors to focus on completing generators.
This is where Languid Touch can come into use, as it forces the Survivors to become exhausted, disabling anyexhaustion perkthey have equipped. And since crows normally make noise when scared away, the Killer can then catch the Survivor in a vulnerable state.
The Skull Merchant
While chasing the Obsession, this perk activates:
Hate is a powerful tool both Killers and Survivors can gain from various perks or items. For the Skull Merchant, her chase perk Game Afoot provides a big Haste bonus that can help them close the distance between them and slippery Survivors.
Though they do have to burn precious seconds, damaging part of the environment to activate the haste portion of this perk, this can still work to their benefit as palettes or walls might be between them and their prey, and the Killer should take care to damage the generators they come across, lest the Survivors complete them all and make their escape.
29No Quarter
Whenever a Survivor healing themselves by any means reaches 75 % Healing Progress, No Quarter triggers its effect:
Healing is one of the key components of the game for survivors, as having one more health state puts them one place away from being hooked, and ultimately being sacrificed to the entity. There are several killer perks that interact with healing survivors, with one of them belonging to the Houndmaster.
This perk makes self-healing a risky maneuver for survivors, if it is interrupted, or they miss one of the continuous skill checks, the healing cannot be completed, and they will suffer the broken status for up to 30 seconds, leaving them vulnerable to being finished off by the killer.
28Iron Maiden
The Legion
Iron Maiden increases your locker search speed by 30/40/50 %. Survivors who exit a Locker suffer from the following afflictions:
Lockers are a common hiding place for Survivors to evade Killers on the prowl or even a place that is needed for Survivor perks such as Inner Strength, Flash Grenade, and Head on. But, there are Killer perks that affect locker play too, such as Iron Maiden.
Iron Maiden is useful on Killers such as Huntress who need to reload at lockers as they can search them more quickly, with the added bonus that Survivors scream when they exit them and become Exposed. This means Killers know where the vulnerable Survivors are, and can cut their time in the trial short.
