For players new to Dead by Daylight, few sounds are as ominous as the ringing of the Wraith's Wailing Bell. Watching the gaunt figure materialize out of nowhere as he sheds his invisibility can be a terrifying sight for new Survivors, and even experienced ones must keep an eye out for his sneak attacks.
Combining stealth with speed, the Wraith can be a ferocious sneak attack Killer in the right hands. With his simple and satisfying power, the Wraith is often one of the first Killers that players new to Dead by Daylight learn, teaching them fundamental skills and strategies that will carry them through the rest of their time with the game.
Wailing Bell
The Wraith's power is the Wailing Bell. By ringing his bell, the Wraith can cloak, remaining that way until he chooses to ring his bell again. While cloaked and motionless, or more than 20 meters away from Survivors, the Wraith is totally invisible, detectable only by his growling. While in motion, the Wraith is discernable only by the faint shimmer surrounding his body, making him difficult to see.
The Wailing Bell can be heard up to 24 meters away, and the accompanying "whooshing" sound can be heard up to 40 meters away. While cloaked, the Wraith moves at 6.0 m/s, allowing him to quickly close the distance on Survivors, and when uncloaking he receives a 1-second speed burst.
The Wraith is unable to attack while cloaked, but can still perform interactions. Vaulting windows, breaking pallets and breakable walls, kicking generators, and snuffing boon totems are all possible while benefiting from the Wailing Bell's invisibility. While cloaked, the Wraith is vulnerable to Lightburn; shining a flashlight on or detonating a Flash Grenade or Fireworks near him stuns the Wraith and forces him to uncloak.
The Wraith's Teachable Perks
The Wraith was one of the three original Killers with which Dead by Daylight launched, and it shows from his perks. Predator, Bloodhound, and Shadowborn are all tracking perks that are primarily useful for those first learning the game, and assist the stealthy Killer in tracking his prey.
- Predator (Level 30): The scratch marks left by Survivors spawn considerably closer together.
- Bloodhound (Level 35): Pools of blood are shown in bright red and can be tracked for several seconds longer than normal.
- Shadowborn (Level 40): Increases the Killer's field of view by 15°.
Players new to the role of Killer often struggle with locating Survivors and avoiding losing them in chase, and these perks can help significantly in that area. More experienced Killers are likely to leave these perks behind, trading them in for perks that give information, additional lethality, or another powerful effect. There's nothing wrong with running these perks to learn the game, however. Some players even retain them after that, out of personal preference.
General Strategy
The Wraith is a true stealth Killer, and as such he is most effective when capitalizing on the element of surprise. Unlike the Pig, the Wraith has no Killer Item on the map to give away his identity at the start of the match: until he is seen or heard, Survivors will not know what Killer they are facing. The Killer should take advantage of this, using surprise as well as possible in the early game.
Approaching Survivors from unexpected directions is ideal. Often, the Wraith will be able to sneak around the edge of the map or take the long way around a structure in order to come at Survivors from an angle they don't expect, thereby scoring a hit they would have otherwise lost.
The player should take advantage of the Killer's speed by using it to cover as much of the map as they can as quickly as possible, patrolling generators and looking for Survivors. Once a Survivor is found, it's important that a hit be scored before the Survivor can make it to a window or pallet, as the Wraith has few means of countering those. Hiding behind an object and beginning to uncloak there, emerging from behind the object just as the Wraith begins his lunge attack, is one of the best ways to reliably score stealth hits.
Once in chase, the Wraith can cloak again, using the speed boost to quickly catch up to his prey. Remember that the Wraith has collision while invisible, so racing ahead of a Survivor and bodyblocking a window or pallet before they can reach it is ideal. Though hit-and-run tactics were once meta, Boon: Circle of Healing has made them far less viable, so the Wraith's best bet is now to chase and down an injured Survivor.
Recommended Build
The following perks let the Wraith make the most of his speed and invisibility:
- Hex: Devour Hope (Hag Level 40) – The player will receive certain benefits when distant Survivors are unhooked. These include increased speed, Exposure, and finally the ability to mori all Survivors. This perk ensures that the Wraith's surprise attacks can inflict maximum damage, becoming insta-downs instead of mere injuries.
- Hex: Ruin (Hag Level 35) – Generator progress will regress when a Survivor stops working on it. This prevents the Survivors from finishing generators too quickly, capitalizing on the Wraith's high speed and ability to force multiple Survivors off generators at once.
- Hex: Thrill of the Hunt (General) – Survivors will suffer a speed penalty to cleansing and blessing. This perk also grants the Killer bonus Bloodpoints. Thrill of the Hunt acts as a shield for both Devour Hope and Ruin, slowing down the speed at which Survivors can cleanse those Hexes and giving the Wraith time to interrupt them.
- Hex: Pentimento (Artist Level 40) – The Killer can rekindle destroyed totems, granting a series of debuffs to Survivors. These include slower generator repair and healing speeds. This perk is the build's safety net: in the event that Survivors cleanse the Hexes, Pentimento will enact punishing debuffs that make them regret the decision to ever touch a totem.
The Wraith also has a pair of fantastic Iridescent add-ons to accentuate his power:
- Coxcombed Clapper: Silences the Wailing Bell tolls. This nasty add-on allows for devastating sneak attacks.
- "All Seeing" - Spirit: When cloaked, the intensity of the aura of generators reveal their repair progression. With this, players can ensure that the Wraith always knows where to strike next.
This build makes up for the Wraith's status as an "M1" basic attack Killer by granting him considerable lethality and slowdown potential. With these perks and add-ons, the Wraith can maintain lethal pressure from beginning to end of the Trial.
Dead By Daylight is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and Stadia.