Of all the killers in Dead by Daylight's roster, The Ghost Face might be having the most fun, cheekily peeking at his prey from around corners and even taking selfies with his victims. Few killers have more personality, and that only makes him scarier.
His unique combination of stealth and insta-down mechanics make him powerful in the hands of an experienced player, but can take some getting used to. By employing the right strategies, taking advantage of his unique strengths, and minimizing his weaknesses, players can make sure their Ghost Face is one that would make the Wes Craven original proud.
10 Don't Crouch Too Much
The Pig and The Ghost Face are the only two killers in Dead by Daylight who can crouch, and the action serves a similar purpose for both: lowering their profile to keep them out of sight, which allows for mind games and stealthy approaches. While it can be tempting to crouch-walk around the map, thereby staying as stealthy as possible, doing so is a mistake.
Crouching reduces The Ghost Face's movement speed significantly. Players that crouch-walk too often will see generators repaired, survivors healed, and totems cleansed, all because The Ghost Face is too slow to stop them. Instead, reserve crouching for mind gaming around low structures.
9 Remain Stealthy
As one of the game's few stealth killers, The Ghost Face must take a different approach to downing survivors. Running headlong at survivors along predictable routes is a recipe for disaster.
Using the Night Shroud power eliminates The Ghost Face's Terror Radius and Red Stain. To make the most of this advantage, The Ghost Face should take unexpected routes to survivors, taking extra time to circle around structures and approach from wherever is least expected. Doing so will grant extra hits, downs, and gen-grabs that otherwise wouldn't have happened, even against the best survivors.
8 Run Recovery Addons
There's a reason that most Ghost Face players run at least one, sometimes even two recovery addons. The base recovery rate for Night Shroud is 30 seconds, and cutting that time significantly is a huge advantage.
Without Night Shroud, The Ghost Face is effectively an M1 killer, with nothing but his basic attack to fall back on. Recovery add-ons allow The Ghost Face to keep maximum pressure on survivors. Between the threat of the potential insta-down and the paranoia created by his lack of Terror Radius, regular access to Night Shroud is a threat that survivors can't ignore.
7 Stalk From Afar
Unlike The Shape, for whom stalking speed is based on distance, The Ghost Face stalks at the same rate no matter how far away his target is. The killer can take advantage of this by finding hiding places far enough from survivors that they believe themselves safe. By stalking from afar, The Ghost Face minimizes the chance of survivors revealing him.
A good Ghost Face player, no matter the build, will progress their stalk on a survivor to 99% from a distance but wait until they have approached to finish the stalk. By doing so, they ensure The Ghost Face will be able to get a down before the stalked survivor is no longer Exposed.
6 Avoid Stalk Waste
Injuring a survivor eliminates any accumulated stalk on them, wasting critical time that The Ghost Face spent getting into position and stalking. It's to the killer's advantage to 99% the stalk and complete it at the last moment, allowing for an insta-down. Careless hits that waste stalk are a common mistake among new Ghost Face players, and the sooner the habit is broken, the better.
The ability to put a healthy survivor into the dying state with a single blow not only shortens chases, but also prevents survivors from safely taking protection hits to unhook a teammate or escort them through the exit gates during End Game Collapse. It's an ability that should be preserved whenever possible.
5 Stalk From A Lean
It takes five seconds to stalk a survivor normally, but only two and a half seconds to stalk from a lean. Cutting the necessary stalking time in half would justify leaning in itself, but leaning has a second tremendous benefit. If less than 30% of The Ghost Face's body is visible to the survivor's camera, the survivor cannot reveal the killer and rob him of his power.
Because of this, it is always to The Ghost Face's advantage to stalk while leaning rather than in the open. Stalking the way The Shape does, standing boldly in the open, is never advised. The ability to reveal The Ghost Face and rob him of his power is one of survivors' main defenses against him, and they should be denied it whenever possible.
4 Don't Use Night Shroud Near The Hook
For most killers, once a survivor is on the hook, they're no longer a threat. They must be policed for unhooks, but otherwise, they don't hold much importance for the killer. This is not the case for The Ghost Face, because hooked survivors are able to reveal the killer and rob him of his power just like unhooked survivors are.
Keeping the hooked survivor's line-of-sight in mind is vital, lest the killer accidentally cheat themselves of a potential stalk and insta-down due to inattention. Good survivors will take advantage of this weakness, and The Ghost Face must be able to anticipate and counter their strategy. The Ghost Face is a killer that takes finesse.
3 Ghost Face Can't Stalk While Revealed
It might seem simple, but it's easy for new Ghost Face players to forget in the midst of a heated Trial: The Ghost Face cannot stalk while revealed by a survivor. Whenever a survivor reveals the killer, The Ghost Face must either reposition and begin staking anew or continue chase as an M1 killer.
Which of those tactics is preferable depends on a number of variables, but the player must be ready to swap between these two styles of play on the fly. In this way, Ghost Face is a more reactive killer than many others, his strategy shifting with the ebb and flow of Night Shroud and exposure.
2 Be Wary Of Open Maps
It's no secret in Dead by Daylight that certain maps are better for some killers than others. Scratched Mirror Myers might love The Game with its many walls and tight corners, but The Huntress suffers from her inability to take advantage of cross-map hatchet throws.
Open maps are the bane of Ghost Face's existence, allowing survivors to see him at a great distance and rob him of his power from afar. The killer must pay particular attention to the distribution of structures and the resulting sightlines on these maps, doing their best not to use their power in places where they can be revealed from afar. On these maps, crouching can be more important than it would otherwise be, keeping The Ghost Face well out of sight.
1 Beware Of Collision Loss
When The Ghost Face stalks, he loses his collision, allowing survivors to pass right through him. Taking advantage of this collision loss is one of the best ways for survivors to counter Ghost Face, and experienced players are sure to take advantage of it. The Ghost Face's best counter for this tactic is also the most obvious: don't stalk a survivor when so close to them that collision loss is a factor.
It can be frustrating for The Ghost Face to finish stalking a survivor, only for them to slip through the killer's body, vaulting a wall or throwing a pallet and thereby extending a chase long enough that their Exposed status wears off. Though sometimes close stalking is necessary, a good Ghost Face will always consider collision loss first.
Dead By Daylight was released in June 2016 and is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and Stadia.
