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Dead by Daylight's depiction of Ringu's Sadako Yamamura, also known as The Onryo, has one of the most complex killer abilities in the game. Therefore, she requires unique strategies from survivors to beat, and survivors will need to understand her ability well to escape trials reliably. The Onryo is able to rapidly move around the map with her Projection ability, moving from TV to TV with little to no cooldown (though teleporting to the same TV twice does have a cooldown). Each television is placed next to a generator, helping her slow down generator progress by forcing survivors away from them.
The Onryo can also become extremely stealthy using her Demanifestation ability. Demanifesting makes her invisible to far-away survivors and only intermittently visible to those who are close to her, though she will need to Manifest, which takes under a second, to attack. To survive against The Onryo when she uses these powers to their fullest, Dead by Daylight survivors should employ these key strategies.
Use Spine Chill Or Other Info Perks
While players can't determine which killer they'll be playing against before the match starts, it may be a good idea to equip Spine Chill or another information perk regardless. Spine Chill is used more often than other information perks, since it doesn't have a cooldown and gives reliable information. Spine Chill lights up when the killer is looking in their direction within a 36-meter radius. Spine Chill allows players to put some distance between themselves and stealthy killers like The Onryo before they get too close. They may also be able to use Spine Chill to find a hiding spot before the killer nears. Spine Chill could alert an otherwise unsuspecting player to an Onryo Projecting through a TV or attempting to stay mostly invisible while Demanifested.
Spine Chill is also an effective perk against The Ghost Face, The Pig, The Shape, The Wraith, and The Nightmare, and helps counter perks that help killers become more stealthy at key times, like Tinkerer. Overall, equipping Spine Chill is key against The Onryo's stealth abilities. If players don't fancy Spine Chill for some reason, though, there are alternatives like Alert, which tells the player when a killer breaks a pallet, or Premonition, which tells the player when they are looking in the killer's direction.
Predict, Predict, Predict
Because The Onryo's Demanifestation ability allows her to not only be more stealthy from a distance, but around loops, too, it's critical to get a feel for the killer's play style and predict what they will do. It may not be obvious at the very beginning of the game how a killer plays, but it can become clear by watching them chase other survivors - or in a player's own chase with the killer. Do they respect pallets, standing behind them and waiting, or do they lunge at every one? Will they try to mind-game around tight loops, making players question which direction they're coming from, or push through and attempt to gain Bloodlust?
Every player who runs The Onryo has a different play style and may use different perks that completely change the nature of the game. As such, it's important to realize the killer's strategy as early as possible so that survivors can effectively counter it. Dead by Daylight is largely a game of out-predicting other players, and this is made especially true thanks to The Onryo's stealth abilities.
Focus On Generators, Not TVs
Of course, if survivors want to escape, they'll need to complete all five generators within the trial and then open the exit gates. While The Onryo's power has some side objectives like the televisions, it's critical to continue to focus on completing generators rather than be distracted by side objectives. Survivors should not let the TVs distract them; it takes a long time to become Condemned, and interacting with a TV to turn it off and prevent The Onryo from teleporting is rarely truly necessary. Running when The Onryo teleports is almost always a better choice, since returning a tape takes a good bit of time.
Some of The Onryo's add-ons force survivors to interact with TVs; for example, Tape Editing Deck starts all survivors with a tape in their possession, and the TV they need is the furthest from their spawn location. In this case, it's a good idea to quickly get rid of the tape to prevent Condemnation from rising and then find a generator as usual. No matter what, survivors should keep their eyes on the prize if they want to escape: the generators.
Don't Ignore Your Condemned Status
While Condemnation is typically not easy to build up, some Onryo players may focus on Condemning survivors or use add-ons like Yoichi's Fishing Net that make Condemnation apply to survivors more quickly. Survivors gain Condemnation while holding a video tape or when The Onryo Projects through a nearby TV.
As such, survivors should always keep an eye on their Condemned status, making sure to grab a tape and return it to a TV if their Condemnation does happen to get high. Returning a tape removes 3 stacks of Condemned, a pretty substantial amount, since it takes 8 stacks to fully Condemn a survivor. When fully Condemned, a survivor can be instantly killed by The Onryo; few killers will want to miss this opportunity, so avoiding full Condemnation at all costs is important.
Dead By Daylight is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.