With multiple Killers each with three unique perks, the variety of Killer perks in Dead By Daylight is extensive. Perks function in helping you keep control of objectives throughout the map and subdue Survivors, and can often completely change the landscape of how a match plays out. That's where the best killer perks in Dead By Daylight come in handy.
Unlike Survivors, each Killer has unique weapons, abilities, and physical stats. In some circumstances, the viability of certain perks is rendered completely useless for certain Killers, whereas for others, they can be invaluable. Despite this, there is a solid list of Killer perks that are useful and effective for almost every single Killer and should always be considered when creating your build before each match.
What are the best Dead by Daylight killer perks?
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+ 3Ultimate Weapon (The Xenomorph)
The Ultimate Weapon perk was released just last year, in August 2023. It came with the popular alien Killer, the Xenomorph, from the movie franchise Alien. This perk is one of the essentials in various builds these days due to its ability to reveal Survivors within a certain radius for half a minute and will also afflict Blindness within the same time limit. It is both locator and can afflict a status effect at the same time.
Deadlock (The Cenobite)
One of the most annoying things that Survivors do is have one of them bait the Killer away from the others, and the rest complete the repairs of the Generators so they can win the trial. With Deadlock, this will make it harder for them to do so.
If this perk activates, The Entity will block the Generator with the most progression for a few seconds. This is enough for the Killer to damage or regress the Generators and make the Survivors do it all over again. The perfect insurance in case one of the Survivors is a Looper build.
Save the Best for Last
Michael Myers' unique perk Save the Best for Last is suddenly popular due to its ability to make the cool-down of a Killer's attack faster as long as you are attacking a Survivor aside from their Obsession. Players who like to use basic attacks to pin down their victims will want this perk at all times in their builds.
click to enlarge + 3Corrupt Intervention
Want your Survivors to have a hard time at the start of the trial? Corrupt Intervention is the perk to choose from. At the beginning of the trial, 3 Generators located farthest from you will be blocked by The Entity for a few minutes. This can set you up for chasing victims before they start fixing generators. Just know that if you put one Survivor in a Dying State, the perk will deactivate immediately, so be careful.
Sloppy Butcher
This is a General Killer perk but it is one of the most important perks to have in various builds. Players who attack Survivors with Basic Attacks will inflict Status Effects like haemorrhage and Mangled. Survivors will easily bleed with this perk and regress healing with the Haemmorhage status effect. It's a good way to paralyze the Survivors for a while until they get fully healed.
Gearhead
This is a type of perk that is good insurance if a Survivor gets lucky with Skill Checks. If they did get a Good Skill Check, at least the Killer will be able to see the aura of those Survivors for a few seconds. Best way to find those pesky Survivors hiding around a Generator and bring them to a hook.
Mindbreaker
Mindbreaker is a unique perk belonging to The Demogorgon. For those who don't know, all Survivors suffer from Exhaustion and Blindness while repairing a Generator. Both Status Effects last for up to 5 seconds after a Survivor stops the repair.
click to enlarge + 3Pop Goes the Weasel
Another perk that would mess up the progress of a Generator, Pop Goes the Weasel activates when a Survivor gets hooked. When this is activated, a Generator that will have a Damage Generator Action performed will instantly regress by 30% of its current Progression Normal Generator. Ironically, damaging a Generator will deactivate this perk.
Infectious Fright
When you are running around chasing one Survivor and forget where all the others are, this perk will make it up for you. Once a Survivor is put in a Dying State, all of the other Survivors within your Terror Radius will scream and reveal their current location for a few seconds. This will let you know where the others are and then chase the next victim.
Nowhere to Hide
Whenever you have this perk and you start the Damage Generator Action on a Generator, this will activate. The Auras of all Survivors within 24 metres will be revealed to you for a few seconds. You can finally locate your first potential victims who have hidden away somewhere and start chasing them. Perfect to pair with perks that will extend revealing those auras for a few more seconds.
So there you have it, that's our list of the best killer perks. For more on Dead By Daylight, redeem the latest codes for some added items in-game. Additionally, we've got a killers tier list to see where each villain ranks, as well as the best Demogorgon build for that specific killer.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Dead by Daylight page.