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Dungeons & Dragons has spat out some iconic baddies, but none more vile than Vecna. The Entity may be happy that the Lich accepted its invitation, but survivors sure aren’t. Vile Darkness grants Vecna four swappable spells, making him one of the most flexible killers in the game. With traversal, range attacks, tracking, and anti-loop at his disposal, a talented Lich is tougher to escape than a Tarrasque. Learning to master his fiendish folio before the last generator pops is something else. Here are 5 tips for how to play Vecna the Lich Dead by Daylight.
Anticipate and Corral
Although it’s tempting to use the Dispelling Sphere at the beginning of the Trial, it’s often unnecessary. Even without Corrupt Intervention, you should be able to predict survivor spawn locations based on their distance from you, making the Sphere unnecessary. You can’t use it for the first 18 seconds of the Trial, but if your initial search turns up nothing, you can use Dispelling Sphere to check a gen. With the info it provides, you can even try to corral the first survivor you find toward their friends. Burn the spell too early, however, and you lose it for 38 valuable seconds.
Magically Multitask
While killers like Chucky and Wraith must devote their full attention to the chase, killers like Artist, Singularity, and Vecna can split their focus. If you’re waiting a few seconds at a loop for Mage Hand to come off cooldown, you might be able to cast a sneaky Dispelling Sphere to gather info for you elsewhere while you chase. Splitting your attention enough to sneak Flight of the Damned through the wall can be enough to catch a nearby teammate off-guard while you pursue another survivor. Time management is key, and without Time Stop, Vecnas need to multitask.
Fickle Flight
Flight of the Damned is arguably Vecna’s hardest spell to get value from. Unless the survivor is stuck in an animation such as vaulting a window, they can simply duck beneath your five projectiles and avoid all harm. Here are some tips to make Vecna’s projectile useful in Dead by Daylight:
- Use Flight of the Damned to deny windows, pallets, and other resources
- Target survivors who are locked in animations (such as vaulting)
- Fire through walls and behind other LOS blockers to minimize dodge time
Flight of the Damned is more useful as a deterrence than a weapon. Whether it comes from Flight or the Afterthought Dagger, a hit is a hit. Don’t focus so hard on landing Flight hits that you lose sight of easy M1s. The Whispered One always has a backup plan.
Fly to Deny
Fly is Vecna’s only traversal spell, but it’s often more useful for anti-loop. Instead of just using it to check gens or exit gates the way The Unknown would, use it to overtake the survivor you’re chasing and bodyblock pallets and windows. Use Fly to deny survivor positions, and you’ll often force them to trade a health state to escape. This maneuver is risky since the survivor could win the 50/50, guessing your plan and doubling back, but it’s worth it. More often than not you’ll be rewarded with a hit, and the better you are at anticipating survivors, the more this technique will work.
Vecna’s Loadout
He might be the Lord of the Rotted Tower, but in Dead by Daylight, Vecna’s an M1 killer (sorry, Flight, you don’t count). Without consistent mobility or ranged attacks, you need another way to get hooks and downs. Often that means trapping survivors in the Trial long enough to deplete their resources. Here are some perks that go well in any Vecna loadout:
- Corrupt Intervention (Plague) – blocks three generators at the start of the Trial
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (Artist) – damages the most progressed generator each time you hook a unique survivor
- Grim Embrace (Artist) – blocks generators after you hook a survivor
- No Way Out (Trickster) – temporarily prevents survivors from using the exit gate switch
Meta builds always favor gen stall and regression, but sneaky M1 perks like Coup and Hex: No One Escapes Death still provide a lot of value. Managing multiple cooldowns and magic items can be a challenge, but if you pull it off, Dwight will be begging for a Wish.
Dead by Daylight is available for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
