Dead By Daylight: Scariest Killer Builds

Dead By Daylight, the thrilling asymmetrical multiplayer game, has a lengthy roster of horrifying Killers for players to choose from, ranging from vengeful spirits to nightmarish clowns. Once the epitome of terror, the Killers have since struggled to keep up the fear factor against better-equipped and more experienced Survivors.

Fortunately, many perk combinations promise to revive the Killers' dominance in the Fog and validate Dead By Daylight's horror label. Whether through jump-scaring survivors or brutally forbidding escape, these builds will strike fear in Survivors and allow Killers to fulfill their terrifying duty to the Entity.

8 The Impossible Skill Check Build

Skill checks can make or break a Survivor's time in the Fog. The following build will increase the frequency and difficulty of skill checks, allowing Killers to capitalize on failed skill checks and turn them into a horrifying advantage; playing as The Doctor will make this build even stronger for Killers.

Overcharge (The Doctor): When the Killer damages a generator, the next Survivor to repair that generator is tasked with a difficult skill check, which causes an additional 5% regression penalty if failed. The regression speed increases from 85% to 130% over 30 seconds.
Merciless Storm (The Onryō): Whenever a generator reaches 90% progression, the Survivors repairing it must pass continuous skill checks, or the generator will be blocked for 20 seconds.
Oppression (The Twins): When the Killer damages a generator, up to 3 other generators also regress, and a difficult skill check is triggered for the Survivors repairing those generators.
Unnerving Presence (The Trapper): Survivors within the Killer's terror radius are 10% more likely to trigger skill checks, and the success zones of their skill checks are decreased by 60%

7 The No Exit Build

The following build combines some of the best Killer perks to make endgame nightmarish for Survivors and escape near impossible.

No Way Out (The Trickster): When a Survivor interacts with the exit gate switch, the Killer receives a loud noise notification, and the exit gates are blocked for 12–60 seconds.
Remember Me (The Nightmare): Whenever a Survivor is injured, the Killer earns tokens that extend the time it takes to open the exit gates by a maximum of 16 seconds.
Blood Warden (The Nightmare): When the escape gates are opened, the auras of all Survivors close to them are shown to the Killer. If the Killer hooks a Survivor while the perk is active, the gates are blocked for 60 seconds.
Hex: No One Escapes Death (General): Once the exit gates are open, the Hex totem activates, giving the Killer a speed boost and afflicting the Survivors with the Exposed status effect, meaning they can be downed with one strike.

6 The Anti-Heal Build

This build is tailored to prevent and punish the healing process, disrupting Survivors' hopes of recovery and making them extremely vulnerable to the Killer.

Sloppy Butcher (General): Inflicts the Mangled and Hemorrhage debuffs to damaged Survivors, substantially increasing the pools of blood Survivors produce and the regression rate of partial healing.
A Nurse's Calling (The Nurse): The auras of healing Survivors are exposed if they are within 28 meters of the Killer.
Coulrophobia (The Clown): Survivors within the Killer's terror radius have a 50% penalty to their healing speed, and their skill checks move faster.
Distressing (General): Increases the Killer's terror radius by up to 26%, which complements Coulrophobia. Killers can further maximize the impact of Colurophobia by playing as the Mastermind, who has the largest default terror radius.

5 The No Terror Radius Build

No Terror Radius Killer Build Dead By Daylight

Specialized for maximum stealthiness, Killers can use the following build to suppress their terror radius and stalk unsuspecting Survivors before jump-scaring them at opportune moments. Gamers can also play as one of Dead By Daylight's stealth Killers to capitalize on their built-in stealth abilities.

Dark Devotion (The Plague): Anytime the Obsession loses a health state, the Killer's terror radius transfers to them for up to 30 seconds, and the Killer is granted the Undetectable status effect, which suppresses their terror radius, red stain, and aura.
Trail of Torment (The Executioner): Whenever the Killer damages a generator, they become Undetectable until the generator stops regressing or a Survivor takes damage.
Tinkerer (The Hillbilly): When any generator reaches 70% repair progress, a loud noise notification is triggered at that location, and the Killer becomes Undetectable for 16 seconds.
Hex: Plaything (The Cenobite): Each time a Survivor is hooked, they suffer from the Oblivious status effect, which causes them not to hear the Killer's terror radius.

4 The Speed Boost Build

Survivors frequently rely on their agility and speed to escape the Killers; the following build counters this by increasing the Killers' mobility, creating terrifying chases for Survivors where the Killer can quickly challenge their pace.

Play With Your Food (The Shape): Each time the Killer chases the Obsession and lets them escape, they gain a token that produces a stackable Haste status effect, increasing their speed by 15%.
Bamboozle (The Clown): The Killer's vault speed increases by 15%. After the Killer vaults a window, the Entity blocks it from being vaulted by Survivors for 16 seconds.
Superior Anatomy (The Mastermind): Increases the Killer's vaulting speed by 40% when a Survivor fast vaults within 8 meters of them.
Fire Up (The Nightmare): When a generator is completed, the Killer gains a token that produces a stackable speed bonus of up to 20% to actions including vaulting windows, breaking walls or pallets, and damaging generators.

3 The Anti-Vault Build

In Dead By Daylight, vaulting is essential for Survivors to loop a Killer successfully. The following build is designed to counter vaulting, making Survivors' once-reliable escape tactic useless against the relentless Killer and leaving them nowhere to run.

Claustrophobia (General): Whenever a generator is repaired, all vault locations are blocked for Survivors for 30 seconds.
Bamboozle (The Clown): After the Killer vaults a window, the Entity blocks it from being vaulted by Survivors for 16 seconds. The Killer's vault speed is increased by 15%.
Spirit Fury (The Spirit): After destroying two pallets, the next time the Killer is stunned by a pallet, the Entity automatically breaks it.
Hex: Blood Favor (The Blight): Whenever a Survivor is injured, all pallets within 32 meters are blocked from being dropped for 15 seconds.

2 The Loud Terror Radius Build

The following perks maximize the Killer's terror radius to keep Survivors on edge at all times. Players can choose one of the best indoor maps to further amplify the Killer's terror radius and instill paranoia and panic in Survivors.

Distressing (General): Increases the Killer's terror radius by up to 26%.
Agitation (The Trapper): Improves the Killer's movement speed by 18% and extends their terror radius by 12 meters.
Coulrophobia (The Clown): Capitalizes on the intensified terror radius by giving Survivors within its range a 50% decrease in healing speed and more challenging skill checks.
Starstruck (The Trickster): When the Killer picks up a Survivor, any Survivor inside the Killer's terror radius is afflicted with the Exposed status effect.

1 The Perma-Exposed Build

In Dead By Daylight, the Exposed status effect is a dreaded debuff that renders survivors vulnerable, meaning Killers can put them in the dying state with a single melee attack. The following build is tailored around making Survivors Exposed as much as possible, guaranteeing swift takedowns for Killers.

Starstruck (The Trickster): While the Killer carries a Survivor, all other players within the terror radius suffer from the Exposed status effect for 30 seconds.
Hex: Devour Hope (The Hag): Each time a Survivor is unhooked at least 24 meters from the Killer, the Killer earns a token: 3 tokens afflict all survivors with the permanent Exposed status effect, 5 tokens allow the Killer to mori all Survivors.
Iron Maiden (The Legion): Anytime a Survivor exits a locker, they become Exposed for 30 seconds, and they scream, revealing their location for 4 seconds.
Make Your Choice (The Pig): Whenever a Survivor is unhooked at least 32 meters from the Killer, the rescuer screams and becomes Exposed for 60 seconds.