A Killer most foul, this feather-loving fiend needs little introduction; his bombastic outfits and painted face mark him simply as The Clown, Dead by Daylight’s answer to the infamous merry men murders of fact and fiction.

With the power to slow down Survivors and speed himself up with his Afterpiece Tonics, The Clown can be a ferocious M1 Killer in close-range scenarios, shutting down loops and zoning Survivors. To enhance his powers and end chases quickly, follow this guide showing the best builds for The Clown in Dead by Daylight.

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The Clown: Best Non-Teachable Build (2024)

Unlike some Killers, The Clown begins with some great base kit perks, like Bamboozle and Pop Goes the Weasel, which help him slow down generators and speed up chases. This build uses these perks, among others, to help The Clown in and out of chases until the endgame.

• Bamboozle (The Clown) – Vault speed is increased by 15%, and performing a vault will block the window for 16 seconds.
• Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator in the next 45 seconds will remove 30% of its current progression.
• 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 users gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.

The Clown: Best Build (2024)

Given The Clown’s innate ability to shut down loops, this build primarily focuses on slowing generator progress with perks, like Corrupt Intervention and Pain Resonance, while gaining an advantage on Survivors at loops with an extended lunge.

• Corrupt Intervention (The Plague) – At the start of the trial, the 3 generators furthest from the killer's starting location are blocked for 120 seconds or until the first survivor is downed.
• 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. After hooking each Survivor once, all generators are blocked for 40 seconds and the Obsession's aura is revealed for six seconds.
• Coup de Grâce (The Twins) – For each generator completed, this perk gains two tokens. Use one token to increase lunge attack distance by 80%.

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The Clown Best Add-Ons

Fingerless Parade Gloves

Though players may struggle to adjust to this add-on’s fundamental changes to The Clown’s bottle-throwing arc, this Common Afterpiece Tonic Add-On increases the speed at which you can lob bottles, allowing you to more quickly slow Survivors or speed yourself up.

Starling Feather

A simple Uncommon Add-On, the Starling Feather decreases the bottle throw cooldown by 50%, enabling you to throw bottles more frequently. If you want to barrage Survivors with bottles, viciously slowing them down before they can reach a map's strongest resources, this add-on is the way to go.

Flask Of Bleach

By default, The Clown’s pink bottles slow down Survivors by 15%. To further hinder their movements, the Flask of Bleach Add-On increases that penalty by 4%.

Bottle Of Chloroform

For controller users, or those less capable of accuracy, the Bottle of Chloroform is remarkably powerful given its green rarity. This Add-On increases the size and spread of The Clown’s Afterpiece Tonic by 20%, meaning it spreads faster and further to Intoxicate Survivors just out of reach.

Garish Makeup Kit

For fans of The Clown’s yellow bottles, used to speed himself up, the Very Rare Garish Makeup Kit increases the duration of the Afterpiece Antidote’s effects by 2 seconds.

Ether 15 Vol%

In Dead by Daylight, every second counts. A single second can mean the difference between a quick down and a 5-generator chase. The Ether 15 Vol% Add-On slows down Survivors hit by the Afterpiece Tonic by an extra one second.

Cigar Box

Since the best build for The Clown featured in this guide lacks information perks, players struggling to find nearby Survivors needn’t switch out their build to gain aura-reading abilities — instead, they can use the Cigar Box Add-On. This modifier allows The Clown to see auras within 16 meters while Invigorated, which is useful both in and out of chase.

Cheap Gin Bottle

Pairing well with the Cigar Box or the Garish Makeup Kit, the Cheap Gin Bottle increases the Afterpiece Antidote Invigoration effects by 3%, making you go even faster.

Tattoo’s Middle Finger

Like the Cigar Box, Tattoo’s Middle Finger gives The Clown basekit aura reading. However, this iridescent add-on is much more useful in chase. For six seconds, the auras of any Intoxicated or Invigorated Survivors are revealed, allowing you to better read Survivor pathing and mindgames. Remember that all aura reading add-ons and perks can be extended by The Nemesis’ Lethal Pursuer perk.

Dead by Daylight

Platform(s)

PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Stadia , Switch , Mobile

Released

June 14, 2016

Developer(s)

Behaviour Interactive

Genre(s)

Horror , Survival