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Some of Dead by Daylight’s terrifying killers are more difficult to learn than others. Some of these villains require quick reflexes, others quick thinking. A few require a deep knowledge of maps. Whatever the case, learning any of these killers is a daunting challenge. For those with the patience to pull it off, the reward is being able to play some of the strongest and most fun characters in the game.
10. The Trickster
The Trickster is slow and must reload from lockers whenever he runs out of throwing knives. Unless the player has deadly accuracy, survivors can tank a few blades and gain considerable distance while the killer is forced to reload. It doesn’t help that playing him on a console is even more difficult.
9. The Hag
The Hag’s sluggish movement forces her to rely on a web of traps to catch survivors instead of chasing them directly. Placing those traps correctly requires planning and patience. It also requires a thorough understanding of every map in DbD so that the killer can predict and cut off survivor movements to gain the upper hand.
8. The Spirit
The same phasing power that grants the Spirit incredible speed also blinds her to survivors. Having to rely on sound, scratch marks, and environmental signs to track other players is tricky. Players with difficulty hearing are at a particular disadvantage, and even those with keen ears can easily miss their targets without practice. Even romancing the Spirit in Hooked on Your is easier.
7. The Oni
An explosive killer who draws strength from his enemies’ blood, the Oni often struggles to land his first hit without his power. Even once his power is active, using his abilities effectively requires the player to understand a variety of techs and execute tricky movements with precision. Knowing how and when to slow down, slide, and flick is an art that most DbD players find tough to master.
6. The Twins
The Twins’ unique ability to split up, sending Victor to chase survivors while Charlotte lingers elsewhere, is tough to get used to. However, the biggest problems with mastering the Twins are their notorious bugs and painful cooldown. Using their power often feels like a waiting simulator, making the Twins one of Behavior Interactive’s most frustrating and hardest killers to learn.
5. The Singularity
Tracking survivors and teleporting to them using alien biopods is cool, but it’s also difficult to coordinate. If the player isn’t careful, they’ll find themselves jumping from camera to camera, trying to get an eye on survivors but not doing anything. As the newest killer, the true depths of Singularity’s difficulty are still unknown.
4. The Blight
The second most potent killer in the game, the Blight, is also one of the most difficult killers to learn. His ability to rush across the map and bounce off objects like a deranged pinball requires quick reflexes and deep map knowledge. Without those, the Blight will find himself sliding off surfaces instead of bouncing toward his prey, even with his best builds. Nothing is quite as frustrating as being fast and still failing to catch up.
3. The Hillbilly
Being able to sprint across the map with a chainsaw and down a survivor in one hit should be awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, the Hillbilly’s power is underwhelming in practice. His chainsaw can overheat if run too long, and his poor steering makes him easy to avoid as long as one isn’t caught in the open. As if to add salt to the wound, the Hillbilly also has a bad habit of getting nerfed.
2. The Nurse
The strongest killer in Dead by Daylight, the Nurse, is also one of the hardest killers in the game. The Nurse has the slowest basic movement speed of any killer, forcing her to anticipate survivor movements and land precise teleports to catch up. The difficulty of learning the Nurse is the only thing keeping her kill rates in check. Unfortunately, that is probably preventing a much-needed nerfing as well.
1. The Cenobite
Learning to play Pinhead well is as brutal as the Hellraiser films. The possessed chains he summons are difficult to steer. Strange spawn logic makes finding and activating his infamous box challenging, even for knowledgeable players. Controlling the match with his power requires precise macro and micro gameplay. And after all that, Cenobite players must still be able to understand and execute the basic strategies and tricks of other M1 killers.
Dead by Daylight is available now on PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.