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In Dead By Daylight, there are few characters quite as oppressive as The Artist, the cold-hearted crow-wielding Killer with the power to pressure loops and generators from up close and afar with her Birds of Torment. Featuring valuable perks like Hex: Pentimento and Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance, The Artist is a high-priority unlock for any Dead By Daylight Killers looking to pressure Survivors with Hex Totems and Scourge Hooks.

As The Artist can down Survivors without using her basic attack, her prowess comes from creating unsafe loops and stalling generator progress while still in chase. This guide will highlight the best perks that synergize well with The Artist’s abilities, including the best builds for players with teachable and non-teachable perks.

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Updated July 3, 2024 by Lewis Smyth: The Artist has, since release, remained one of the most powerful Killers in Dead by Daylight. In recent patches, she has only gotten stronger as her perks are buffed and her best builds change. This updated guide features new builds with the best perks and lists The Artist's best add-ons for beginners.

The Artist: Best Beginner Build (2024)

With the power to injure survivors from a distance with her Birds of Torment, The Artist thrives by knowing Survivors' locations to mark and down them with her crows. By maintaining pressure on Survivors and keeping generators regressing with each hook, this build can slow the game down long enough for a brutal endgame.

  • Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
  • Grim Embrace (The Artist) – Each time The Killer hooks a new Survivor, all generators are blocked for 12 seconds after moving 16 meters away from the hook. Upon hooking each Survivor once, all generators are blocked for 40 seconds and the Obsession's aura is revealed for six seconds.
  • Bitter Murmur (General Perk) – Each time a generator is completed, the auras of Survivors within 16 meters of that generator are revealed for 5 seconds. Once the last generator is complete, all Survivors’ auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
  • Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment and you gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.

The Artist: Best Build (2024)

This build similarly focuses on generator pressure and finding Survivor locations to force them from generators. Using Pain Resonance and Grim Embrace, whenever The Artist hooks a Survivor, they are severely punished as their generators explode and become blocked by The Entity. Using The Deathslinger's Gearhead to find the generators being worked on whenever you down a Survivor, The Artist can then send Dire Crows to block that generator further with Dead Man's Switch after each hook.

  • Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
  • Grim Embrace (The Artist) – Each time The Killer hooks a new Survivor, all generators are blocked for 12 seconds after moving 16 meters away from the hook. Upon hooking each Survivor once, all generators are blocked for 40 seconds and the Obsession's aura is revealed for six seconds.
  • Gearhead (The Deathslinger) – After a Survivor loses a health state, for the next 30 seconds the Killer can see the aura of Survivor who performs a good Skill Check on a generator for 8 seconds.
  • Dead Man’s Switch (The Deathslinger) – After hooking a Survivor, Dead Man’s Switch activates for 30 seconds. Any Survivor who leaves a generator before it is repaired will have it blocked for the duration of the perk.
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The Artist: Best Add-Ons

dead by daylight portrait of a murder logo best addons

The Artist is an exceptionally powerful Dead by Daylight Killer, but not all their add-ons match their strength. This section of the Best Builds guide highlights the best add-ons to use on The Artist, in order of their rarity.

Thick Tar

dead by daylight the artist thick tar addon

Not a bad effect for a Common Add-On, the Thick Tar increases the dispelling time of Dire Crow swarms by half a second, leaving a slightly greater window for a follow-up attack.

Velvet Fabric

dead by daylight the artist velvet fabric addon

To help with reading a Survivor’s intended movements beyond line-of-sight, the Velvet Fabric shows the aura of swarming Dire Crows for an additional 1.5 seconds after a Survivor begins to dispel them.

Untitled Agony

dead by daylight the artist untitled agony addon

A small but impactful effect, Untitled Agony Hinders Survivors for 1.5 seconds when Dire Crows swarm them. This can be useful in close quarters to more easily catch up to Survivors in chase.

Festering Carrion

dead by daylight the artist festering carrion addon

Perhaps The Artist’s most consistently valuable add-on, the Festering Carrion decreases the cooldown of Birds of Torment by 0.5 seconds with each Dire Crow flight. This means that you can always get your power back more frequently after sending out swarms.

Thorny Nest

dead by daylight the artist thorny nest addon

When it comes to slowing healing speeds in Dead by Daylight, inflicting Mangled and Hemorrhage on Survivors is the most viable means of applying pressure. The Thorny Nest Add-On applies these status effects for 70 seconds on Survivors injured by Dire Crows.

O Grief, O Lover

dead by daylight the artist o grief, o lover addon

While many Survivors will use Exhaustion perks at the beginning of chases, those who don’t may find themselves Exhausted before they can use them with O Grief, O Lover.

Severed Tongue

dead by daylight the artist severed tongue addon

The Severed Tongue reduces The Artist’s movement speed penalty after sending out Dire Crows by 0.5 seconds, better enabling you to close gaps to Survivors.

Severed Hands

dead by daylight the artist severed hands addon

A hugely powerful add-on that further encourages Survivors to stay split up, preventing them from healing or quickly completing generators, the Severed Hands makes her Dire Crows a contagion, spreading to any Survivors near those already swarmed.

Matais’ Baby Shoes

dead by daylight the artist matias' baby shoes addon

A fantastic add-on that helps Dead by Daylight players of all skill levels land hits on Survivors, Matais’ Baby Shoes shows the aura of Survivors within 5 meters of an idle Dire Crow. With this, you can more easily out-mind-game Survivors at loops and learn when to propel your idle Crows to damage them.

Garden Of Rot

dead by daylight the artist garden of rot addon

While the Garden of Rot Add-On may not provide as consistent value as others, it’s still worth mentioning given how strong it can be when it does work. This Very Rare modifier Exposes Survivors for 4 seconds each time they repel Dire Crows, making it exceptionally oppressive at close range, damning those who repel, and dooming those who don’t risk being hit by another Crow.

dead by daylight
Dead by Daylight

Released
June 14, 2016
Developer(s)
Behaviour Interactive
Genre(s)
Horror , Survival