Highlights

  • Some perks and add-ons in Dead by Daylight can backfire, like Hoarder which gives survivors more items in exchange for a weak killer effect.
  • The Amanda's Letter add-on for The Pig takes away traps in exchange for the ability to see survivor auras while crouching, which isn't worth the trade-off.
  • The Shroud of Separation and Union offerings might have their effects reversed, as the killer benefits from survivors spawning together and vice versa.

Sometimes in Dead by Daylight, something that was intended to give the user a boost in trials can have the opposite effect. This is an issue that can affect both Survivors and Killers alike, since a trial has a chance of turning sour on both sides. In a game like Dead by Daylight, there are variables in each match that can tilt the outcome. It just so happens that sometimes a player's choice can accidentally set them back.

There are several options that players can find in Dead by Daylight's bloodweb to augment their performance in trials, although forgetting them is a common mistake in Dead by Daylight. The best can feel almost required for optimum performance, while some can leave players feeling underwhelmed. These features include:

  • Add-ons that either directly affect the Killer's power or a Survivor's carried item
  • Perks, which grant various abilities or bonuses to the equipped character
  • Offerings, which have various effects on the trial as a whole
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Hoarder is a Killer Perk that Gives Survivors More Items

Elodie opening a chest with the Hoarder emblem from Dead by Daylight

A perk of the perpetually underused Twins, Hoarder spawns two extra chests in the trial, but makes a loud noise notification when an item is picked up in a fairly large radius. Unfortunately, the notification isn't enough to justify giving survivors more opportunities to get items, unlike Dead by Daylight's strong aura reading perks. Hoarder once had synergy with Pinhead's Lament Configuration, but that has since been patched out, leaving the perk with little to offer the Killers that use it.

Amanda's Letter Takes Away Part of The Pig's Power

The Pig's Jigsaw outfit alongside Amanda's Letter from Dead by Daylight

While The Pig has never been one of Dead by Daylight's strongest killers, her Reverse Bear Traps are a solid slowdown tool. That changes with the Amanda's Letter add-on, which takes away two of her traps and replaces them with the ability to see nearby survivor auras while crouching. While this has niche uses for ambush strategies, the effect not worth throwing away half of her RBTs. There are much better ways to play The Pig in Dead by Daylight, so Amanda's Letter being an iridescent add-on feels unearned.

Dead by Daylight's Shrouds Might Have Their Effects Backwards

The Shrouds of Separation and Union in front of the Temple of Purgation from Dead by Daylight

The Shrouds of Separation and Union are two of the most unusual offerings in Dead by Daylight. The Shroud of Separation is a Killer offering that makes Survivors spawn far apart, enabling them to work on multiple objectives at once. Meanwhile, the Shroud of Union is a Survivor offering that makes Survivors spawn together, enabling the killer to ambush multiple people at once. While likely designed around the horror staple of people dying when away from the group, these offering effects may have been better off reversed.

Made For This perk logo over Dvarka Deepwood from Dead by Daylight
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Playing With No Mither is Hard Mode For Survivors

David King and the No Mither perk emblem from Dead by Daylight

The infamous No Mither might as well be a fifth perk for the killer in Dead by Daylight with how much it harms the survivor using it. With No Mither, the Survivor is permanently injured for the duration of the trial, letting the killer down them with only one hit. While there are strategies involving it, mostly with perks that activate when injured, it puts the user at a large disadvantage regardless. It should be telling that playing with No Mither is almost universally considered a self-imposed challenge.

There are a lot of builds in Dead by Daylight that make their users into a force to be reckoned with, but there are also those that do the opposite. Of course, there is no shame in playing with a low-tier build in Dead by Daylight. Some players like the challenge, while others concoct wild strategies using traits often considered undesirable. In most cases though, these abilities won't have much to offer compared to their counterparts. Dead by Daylight builds have innumerable possibilities, but some added effects can set the player back more than they help.