Dead By Daylight is full of different Killers to use, and if you want to strike fear into Survivors, we’ve ranked every murderer in the game from best to worst in our ultimate tier list.
There are tons of choices to make in Dead By Daylight, from the Perks you want to use, to who you want to play. Whether you’re trying to survive with your group of friends, or are hunting down innocent victims, it can be tricky to decide.
Our tier list is here to help make your decision easier. We’ve broken down every Killer in Dead By Daylight below into rankings so you can know who’s best to use.
Dead By Daylight Killers tier list
| Tier | Killer |
|---|---|
| S | The Nurse, The Blight |
| A | The Huntress, The Artist, The Good Guy, The Xenomorph, The Lich, The Executioner, The Spirit, The Mastermind, The Oni, The Singularity, The Unknown, The Dredge |
| B | The Plague, The Ghost Face, The Hillbilly, The Doctor, The Demogorgon, The Onryo, The Twins, The Skull Merchant |
| C | The Legion, The Wraith, The Knight, The Cannibal, The Clown, The Deathslinger, The Pig, The Shape, The Nemesis, The Hag, The Trickster, The Cenobite |
| D | The Nightmare, The Trapper |
Our tiers explained
Here’s a short-hand for how our tiers in the table above work:
- S: The best Killers in the game
- A: Very good Killer
- B: Good Killers but not as impactful as A or S-tier options
- C: There might be situations where these Killers can perform well
- D: Best to avoid unless you find yourself drawn to them
S-tier Killers in Dead By Daylight
The Nurse
The Nurse isn’t an easy Killer to use but she’s extremely deadly if played correctly. Her Blink ability allows her to teleport across the map and not be hindered by stairs, palettes, or walls.
It can take a while to master the best timing for the skill, and you’ll be temporarily fatigued after Blink has been executed a few times, but in the right hands, The Nurse can be unstoppable.
Out of the two Killers in S-tier, we’d particularly recommend The Nurse due to her Blink ability. It’s one of the strongest skills in the game and if used correctly she can be utterly deadly.
The Blight
The Blight is another Killer that’s hard to master but when you do they’re a force to be reckoned with. This Killer’s biggest weapon is their movement speed so you can easily corner and catch up to survivors.
The Rush power turns into a Lethal Rush after The Blight rushes into a wall or other obstacle which then allows you to attack survivors. Getting used to their quick speed and executing Rush correctly does take time, but it’s worth it if you want to dominate matches.
A-tier Killers
The Huntress
The Huntress has a ranged approach to matches as she can throw her Hunting Hatchet projectiles around the map. Strike a survivor twice and they’ll go down. The Hatchets are powerful, and there’s a relatively quick cooldown time between throws.
The main drawback of The Huntress is her slow speed which can make her tricky to master. Once you’ve got the hang of timing your Hatchet throws, however, you’ll be downing survivors left and right.
The Artist
The Artist is another Killer who can fight from a distance like The Huntress. Her Dire Crows can track survivors across the map, and damage anyone in their path. Once someone’s been hit, the Crows will swarm around them revealing their location so you can hone in for the kill.
You’ll need to be careful with the placement of your Crows as if you get it wrong survivors will know exactly where you are. If you can tame them, however, they’re a hugely fierce weapon.
The Good Guy
The iconic spooky doll Chucky joined the ranks of Dead By Daylight in November 2023. He may be small but he’s deadly and sits comfortably in the A-tier as one of the best Killers in the game.
His short stature puts you at a great advantage because he’ll be concealed under most windows on maps. This gives you a lot of opportunities to quietly creep up on survivors and move in for the kill. He’s speedy, sneaky, and powerful, and is a solid killer for both beginners and veterans to learn.
The Xenomorph
Ridley Scott’s beloved Alien is also featured in Dead By Daylight. If you prefer to be as aggressive as possible then the Xenomoph could be the alien for you.
Its Tail Whip attack covers a large area making it handy if you need to damage a survivor who’s farther away. It can also travel via underground tunnels and sense player footsteps if they’re treading above where you’re hiding. Generators can also be heard underground, making it quick and easy to find unsuspecting victims.
If you want a fast killer who’s great at tracking survivors then the Xenomorph is the way to go.
The Lich
Another big crossover came to DbD with Dungeons & Dragons. The big bad of Stranger Things Season 4, Vecna, introduced the tabletop RPG Lich to the wider world and he debuted in Dead By Daylight in June 2024.
The four unique spells The Lich wields put him at a unique advantage as a killer. He can use a Dispelling Sphere that can reveal survivor locations, block and move palettes, send hostile entities across the map, and fly through the environment, all depending on the spell you choose.
He’s got a big toolkit and while it can be overwhelming at first, he’s tough for survivors to overcome.
The Executioner
The Executioner is a crossover with another much-loved horror game, Silent Hill 2. Pyramid Head’s melee weapon can deal ranged damage to multiple targets at a time.
His biggest strength is the Torment Trial which injures Survivors and allows Pyramid Head to send them to a Cage of Atonement or easily put them on The Hook. Furthermore, if a survivor is inflicted with Torment and has already reached The Struggle phase in the match, you’ll be able to kill them instantly thanks to the Final Judgement perk.
The Spirit
The Spirit has a powerful Katana that’s great for ranged attacks. Thanks to her distinct form she can enter The Ethereal Plane and move across the map in a nearly invisible fashion for up to 5 seconds.
Her Phase-Walk power increases her movement speed but Survivors become invisible to her. However, she can still rely on scratch marks to hunt her victims. If you can time her abilities just right, The Spirit is great at taking victims by surprise.
The Mastermind
Yet another beloved video game crossover with DbD came in the form of one of Resident Evil’s main antagonists, Albert Wesker.
The Mastermind is great at tracking and injuring survivors. He can easily vault over obstacles which puts you at an advantage during chases, and his Virulent Bound ability deals solid damage.
You can throw or slam survivors against walls (or into each other) with Virulent Bound. Even if you run into any obstacles as you’re lunging the survivor will still come away injured. Furthermore, the survivor will always get infected with Uroboros, and when they’re completely infected you can pick them up once you’ve landed another attack.
With solid mobility, powerful skills, and the opportunity to easily carry survivors to The Hook, The Mastermind is a fantastic killer to learn.
The Oni
The Oni is difficult to learn in Dead By Daylight but if you put the work in, he can be absolutely devastating. This Japanese Spirit relies on collecting Blood Orbs to unleash his full potential.
The more hits you land on survivors, the more Blood Orbs you’ll get. Once you’ve built up enough, you can activate Demon Dash to quickly zip across the map, and the all-powerful Demon Strike that can immediately down players.
The Singularity
The Singularity is another sci-fi Killer that featured in Dead By Daylight before the Xenomorph joined the scene. This mechanical robot is hyper-intelligent and uses Bipod technology to track its victims.
You can place up to 8 Bipods across the map that will track survivors in a radius of up to 20 meters, which The Singularity can then teleport to and swiftly get the upper hand.
The sheer amount of map coverage you can keep an eye on and jump to with these powers makes The Singularity massively imposing.
The Unknown
Perhaps the most twisted killer in the game, The Unknown excels in causing trouble for survivors. Up to four Hallucinations of The Unknown can randomly appear around the map and can be used to teleport to different locations – handy for sneaking up on unsuspecting targets.
They’ve also got explosive projectiles you can throw directly at, or near, survivors to either damage or send them stumbling and vulnerable to a direct attack. Overall, its range of skills makes The Unknown are tough Killer to avoid and counter which puts it safely in our A-tier.
The Dredge
The Dredge has one of the strongest teleportation powers in the entire game, thanks to its versatility. His power of The Gloaming allows him to teleport to any locker on the map. Once you’re inside a locker, consuming a Token lets you teleport directly inside another.
As well as this, the Nightfall ability will plunge survivors into complete darkness and The Dredge’s terror radius disappears for a full minute. This gives the player the perfect chance to down as many victims as possible while their vision is hindered.
The downside to The Dredge is that it moves slowly but makes a lot of noise, so he’s not the best at chasing survivors down directly but if you use teleportation to your advantage, he’s a solid option.
B-tier Killers in Dead By Daylight
The Plague
The Plague’s Vile Purge ability makes survivors ill. If the vomit projectile hits you, you’ll become sick. Anyone who’s sick will vomit randomly and cover the environment and possibly other survivors with the infectious bile.
If you’re just getting to grips with this killer, we’d recommend using her skills on generators around the map, which will in turn infect anyone who interacts with them. The range of the attack is quite limited so aiming for generators rather than a moving target is a good way to learn her playstyle.
The Ghost Face (Scream)
As the name implies, The Ghost Face is inspired by the iconic Scream villain. He’s a great option for anyone who would prefer to take a stealthy approach to pick off survivors.
Ghost Face can not only crouch to sneak up on people, but his Night Shroud ability makes him undetectable, and his Terror Radius won’t activate unless he’s running. He also excels at stalking, and all of this paired together makes him a true silent but deadly killer.
The Hillbilly
This is another original Killer from Behaviour Interactive and he wields some tough weapons. The Hillbilly comes equipped with a chainsaw and axe, and he can get around maps pretty quickly.
His biggest tool is the Chainsaw Sprint power which if executed successfully can immediately down a survivor no matter how healthy they are. This alone makes him great at hooking victims which is enough to push him into our B-tier.
Just make sure you’re careful at aiming because survivors can avoid him without too much effort.
The Doctor
The Doctor inflicts survivors with madness that makes skill checks more difficult to clear. This can reveal their locations and allow the Killer to hone in on players quickly. When they reach the second and third stages of madness, they’ll start seeing illusions of The Doctor too which will again reveal their location.
If you stalk around a victim for a while, that will deepen their insanity even more, so if you want to really mess with players’ heads then The Doctor is a solid choice.
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The Demogorgon (Stranger Things)
The Demogorgon emerged from The Upside Down and entered Dead By Daylight back in 2021 as part of a Stranger Things collab. This is another Killer who can teleport via Upside Down portals but you can only travel between two at any given time. It’s also pretty destructive thanks to the Shred power that can destroy palettes and breakable walls.
Its teleportation skills aren’t as impactful as The Blight’s, and survivors have the ability to close the portals if they’re working together well which is why it’s sitting in B-tier.
The Onryo
The Onryo AKA Sakodo from The Ring uses tapes and TV to take down survivors. She teleports across the map via TV sets and infects survivors with the tapes. Once they’ve been completely infected they can be instantly killed.
However similar to The Demogorgon, if a survivor removes the tape from a TV set you won’t be able to teleport there anymore, so it has its limitations. Teleporting for The Onryo is also largely telegraphed and easy to see, allowing survivors to get away from the TV sets with time to spare.
Despite these drawbacks, she’s still an extremely cool killer worth picking up.
The Twins
This killer is unique in that it’s actually two. Charlotte and Victor are a terrifying pair of Twins. Victor can charge across the map in search of survivors, and once they’ve been found, Charlotte puts them on The Hook.
The mechanics of their playstyle take a while to get used to, as when you’re controlling Victor, Charlotte can’t move. Victor can pounce on people when he finds them but if his attacks are countered or avoided they could make a quick escape, especially if Charlotte’s left far away on one of the larger maps.
The Skull Merchant
With an arsenal of gadgets, The Skull Merchant can deploy up to 4 drones to track survivors. There’s a bit of a learning curve to getting the most out of the drones, but you can reveal survivor locations, debuff your victims, and even block generators off once you’ve got the hang of it.
She’s not the best killer by a long shot but if you’ve got an affinity for gadgets, The Skull Merchant can be pretty scary when mastered.
C-tier Killers in Dead By Daylight
The Legion
The Legion is a group of murderous friends who act as a single Killer in Dead By Daylight. They wield hunting knives and can get around maps quickly thanks to their array of Feral abilities.
You can increase The Legion’s movement speed with Feral Frenzy, vault over palettes, or through windows with Feral Vault, and apply the Deep Wound effect with Feral Slash.
A survivor experiencing Deep Wound will need extra time to heal, so that can give The Legion the opportunity to pounce and get them on the hook.
The Wraith
Although The Wraith is lower down on our tier list, they’re still a good killer for any newcomers to pick up. The invisibility cloak power makes them extremely difficult to see unless you’re paying close attention, so it’s perfect for sneaking up on survivors.
You can’t attack while invisible though so you’ll need to uncloak and act swiftly to injure or down a victim.
We’d recommend The Wraith to any new Dead By Daylight player, even if it’s just to get used to the standard mechanics before you decide on another killer to main.
The Knight
If you’re a fan of the Medieval era, you may be drawn to The Knight. This armor-clad murderer can summon guards to aid him by breaking palettes, sabotaging generators, and hunting people down.
Your guard helps with all this while The Knight patrols the map so you can either team up with them or work separately to take out multiple victims at a time. It’s extremely satisfying if used correctly but The Knight’s powers are hard to master.
The Cannibal (Leatherface)
Leatherface is another memorable murderer who’s made his way into Dead By Daylight. This killer, like Hillbilly, wields a chainsaw and his movement speed won’t slow down when he’s using it – making him impactful in a chase.
In contrast to The Hillbilly’s lunging attack, Leatherface prefers to sweep his chainsaw across a wider area so for anyone who’s not as confident hitting targets at close range then Leatherface could be a solid alternative.
His attacks are very translated however which leaves survivors with plenty of time to step out of the way.
The Clown
Of course, there has to be a Clown killer in Dead By Daylight and this Clown does much more than look menacing. The killer wields potion projectiles that can be thrown at survivors to limit their movement and vision.
The Clown also has their own potion to buff their speed. It’s not easy to aim them, however, and the vials are fairly small so can be dodged if survivors keep their wits about them. This all makes him quite tough to play.
The Deathslinger
Big fans of Westerns will surely love The Deathslinger. This rooting-tooting cowboy favors a gun instead of a melee weapon. If you’re a fan of shooters his rifle comes with an attached harpoon that can pull Survivors in and down them.
While he’s a fun killer, the lack of reticle on the weapon makes aiming tough and it’s not easy to land shots as it is, so unless you desperately want to play as a cowboy, we’d advise opting for another ranged killer instead.
The Pig
The Pig represents the gory SAW franchise in Dead By Daylight, and as expected he uses a lot of traps to take down his victims. If a Survivor is downed, you can put a reverse bear trap on their head which will kill them if it’s not removed in time.
The traps are extremely powerful as even if a Survivor hasn’t been hooked at all they’ll still die if it goes off. Unfortunately, you only get 4 traps to use in a match, and if victims escape them quickly, you haven’t got much left in your arsenal afterward.
The Shape
Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise is part of the game’s Killers in the form of The Shape. This is another option for anyone who prefers Stealth as Michael will play the long game and silently stalk Survivors.
The longer you stalk, the more your Evil Within abilities will increase. Once you reach Evil Within 3, Survivors become hit with the Exposed effect which lets you down them in a single hit.
The Shape isn’t for everyone but if he’s a good option for players who don’t mind taking their time.
The Nemesis
Nemesis is another character Resident Evil fans will recognize. This monstrous Killer can infect Survivors with the T Virus by attacking them with its tentacles. As more victims are infected, Nemesis’s power will increase, leading to faster movement speed and the ability to destroy palettes.
He’s not as impactful as The Mastermind but if you’ve got a soft spot for Resi 3, he can put up a good fight.
The Hag
The Hag has an assortment of traps she can use to render her victims helpless. Once you place traps down, you’ve also got the option to transport to any that have been triggered. Be wary however because survivors can always trigger a trap to trick you too.
Traps are also relatively easy to spot if they’re not put down in more hidden locations, which means they’re easily avoided if you don’t plan accordingly.
A lot of preparation can go into using The Hag successfully, so it’s great for those who enjoy strategizing but it’s equally tricky to master.
The Trickster
A vibrant villain, The Trickster wields a baseball bat and throwing knives. Unfortunately, these weapons don’t really have a significant impact as they don’t deal much damage when your attacks land.
Having precise aim with the throwing knives is also difficult to achieve but they can be through windows, and over the top of other obstacles.
Ultimately though unless Trickster really appeals to you, he’s not an outstanding choice.
The Cenobite
The Cenobite, otherwise known as Pinhead from the Hellraiser franchise is a tricky killer to play and he’s not the most impactful either which is why he’s further down our list.
Pinhead is another murderer who can teleport across the map and slow survivors down with chains via the Summons of Pain ability.
Unfortunately, the slowdown doesn’t last very long, and survivors can counter it by quickly completing a Lament Configuration Puzzle to escape the chains.
D-tier Killers
The Nightmare
The last well-known Killer on our tier-list is The Nightmare, Freddy Krueger. As iconic as he is in horror and wider pop culture, unfortunately, Freddy just isn’t that great in Dead By Daylight.
Freddy will induce Microsleep in Survivors which causes them to fall asleep over 60 seconds. Once they’re sleeping they’re susceptible to Dream Snares which will leave them hindered as long as they’re inside it.
While it’s certainly fun and novel to play as Freddy (especially if you’re a Nightmare on Elm Street fan), he simply isn’t that effective as a Killer which is why we’ve ranked him in D-tier.
The Trapper
The Trapper is similar to The Hag in that he’s got bear traps to place around the map. Unlike The Hag though, you don’t get the advantage of being able to teleport to your traps, and you’re limited to carrying 2 at a time.
More traps will be placed randomly throughout the map but you’ll have to set them before they can work, so there’s quite a bit of running around before you can even make the best use of them.
Over the years, The Trapper’s paled in comparison to other Killers, and he hasn’t got much going for him aside from the traps so he’s coming in last.
That’s our full tier list for Dead By Daylight Killers! For more on the game, check out the codes you can redeem, and, the best Survivors to use.