Killer Guide

Master the art of hunting in Dead by Daylight. Learn how to apply pressure, track survivors, and secure sacrifices for the Entity.

The Killer Role

As the Killer, you are the lone hunter facing four Survivors. Your goal is to sacrifice them to the Entity by hooking them three times each. Unlike Survivors who work as a team, you must manage the entire map yourself.

Killers play from a first-person perspective and move faster than Survivors (4.6 m/s vs 4.0 m/s for most Killers). Each Killer has a unique power that defines their playstyle and gives them tools to catch Survivors.

Main Objectives

1. Find Survivors

Use your senses and perks to locate Survivors. Look for scratch marks (red marks left by running Survivors), blood trails from injured Survivors, and listen for footsteps, breathing, and generator sounds. Many perks reveal Survivor auras.

2. Chase and Down

Once you find a Survivor, chase them down. Hit them twice to put them in the Dying State (one hit injures, two hits downs). Use your power and mind-games at loops to catch them efficiently. Don't commit too long to one chase.

3. Hook Survivors

Carry downed Survivors to hooks. Each Survivor has three hook stages - after the third hook, they're sacrificed. Hooks are scattered across the map, so find the nearest one. Survivors can be rescued by teammates during stages 1 and 2.

4. Apply Map Pressure

Survivors die on hook over time, but generators are always being repaired. Balance defending generators, chasing Survivors, and guarding hooks. Spread your attention across the map rather than camping one area.

Essential Hunting Tips

Know When to Leave

If a chase is taking too long (more than 30-40 seconds), consider abandoning it. While you chase one Survivor, three others are repairing generators. Sometimes applying pressure elsewhere is more valuable than securing one down.

Patrol Generators

Focus on protecting a cluster of 3-4 generators rather than spreading across the entire map. This is called a "3-gen strategy" and makes it harder for Survivors to complete the last generators.

Master Your Power

Every Killer has a unique ability. Spend time in custom games practicing your power. Understanding when and how to use it effectively is the difference between average and great Killer gameplay.

Mind-Game at Loops

Survivors will try to loop you around pallets and windows. Don't just follow them mindlessly - use fake-outs, moonwalking (walking backwards to hide your red stain), and sudden direction changes to catch them off guard.

Popular Killer Perks

These are some of the most commonly used and effective perks:

Barbecue & Chilli

A deep bond with The Entity unlocks potential in one's Aura-reading ability. After hooking a Survivor, all Survivors who are at least 60/50/40 metres away from that Hook have their Aura revealed to you for 5 seconds. "I just can't take no pleasure in killing. There's just some things you gotta do. Don't mean you have to like it." — Drayton Sawyer

Corrupt Intervention

Your prayers invoke a dark power that meddles with the Survivors' chances of survival. At the start of the Trial, the 3 Generators located farthest from you are blocked by The Entity for 80/100/120 seconds. Corrupt Intervention deactivates prematurely once the first Survivor is put into the Dying State. "It shall be known across the land that the Gods curse the unfaithful." — (The Tablet of Adiris, 3.7)

Hex: Ruin

A Hex that affects the Generator Repair progress of all Survivors. Whenever a Generator is not being repaired by a Survivor, it will immediately and automatically regress its Repair progress at 50/75/100 % of the normal Regression speed. All effects of the Hex Perk persist until its Hex Totem is cleansed or blessed. "A curse is upon you. It will cause your ruin."

Pop Goes the Weasel

A deep bond with The Entity unlocks great strength. After hooking a Survivor, Pop Goes the Weasel activates for 35/40/45 seconds.Perform the Damage Generator action while Pop Goes the Weasel is active to benefit from the following effect: Instantly regresses the damaged Generator by -20 % of its current Progression. Pop Goes the Weasel deactivates after the Generator is damaged or once the timer runs out.

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance

Overwhelming pain reverberates outwards. At the start of the Trial, 4 random Hooks are changed into Scourge Hooks: The Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white. You start the Trial with 4 Tokens on Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance. Each time a Survivor is hooked on a Scourge Hook for the first time, 1 Token is consumed and the following effects apply: The Generator with the most Progression explodes and instantly regresses by 10/15/20 % of its total Progression. Normal Generator Regression applies afterwards. All Survivors repairing that Generator will scream, but not reveal their location. Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance is disabled for the remainder of the Trial once all Tokens are consumed. "The pain spills beyond flesh/darkness staining the horizon." — Girl in the Shadow by Carmina Mora

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