Dead By Daylight: Strongest and Fastest Killers in DBD

With 33 playable Killers in Dead By Daylight, each possesses unique abilities and perks, but not all are equal due to patches and new character releases. Our ongoing tier list highlights the best killers in DBD, and is subject to updates as the game evolves, so check back for the latest rankings.

The Fastest Killer in Dead By Daylight

In our opinion, the Hag is the fastest killer in DBD. Sure, she by default has some of the slowest move speed in the game, but this is only to balance out the most ridiculous mobility and map control she gets under certain conditions.

If a survivor gets stuck in one of her traps, she gains the ability to immediately teleport to them. This makes her incredibly oppressive and able to jump between crucial points instantaneously. Not to mention that the Hag’s Waterlogged Shoe add-on increases her movement by 7.5%, giving her one of the highest base speeds in the game.

Best Killers in Dead By Daylight: Ranked

This list will cover S, A, B, C, and D Tier, in alphabetical order. We will start with the best killers in the game, and work our way to the bottom of the barrel.

You can also check out our Survivor Tier List here.

Hag Perks (Official Description)

• Hex: The Third Seal: The last 2/3/4 Survivors hit with either your Basic Attack or Special Attack suffer from the Blindness Status Effect. The Hex effects persist as long as the related Hex Totem is standing.
• Hex: Ruin: All Generators automatically regress at 100/150/200% of the normal Regression speed whenever they are not being repaired. The Hex effects persist as long as the related Hex Totem is standing.
• Hex: Devour Hope: Each time a Survivor is rescued from a Hook when you are at least 24 meters away, Hex: Devour Hope receives one Token (The Hex effects persist as long as the related Hex Totem is standing).
  • 2 Tokens: 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, gain a 3/4/5 % Haste Status Effect for the next 10 seconds.
  • 3 Tokens: Survivors suffer permanently from the Exposed Status Effect.
  • 5 Tokens: You are granted the ability to kill all Survivors by your own hand.

Max Thompson Jr. – Hillbilly

Hillbilly looks like the old-school Texas Massacre-style villain. Sometimes he’s hard to maneuver with when he’s sprinting, but when you are experienced with him, Max can truly wreak havoc on the Survivor team and efficiently kill them one by one because it’s very hard to stop him once he starts gaining up on a Survivor.

Hillbilly Perks (Official Description)

• Enduring: Reduces Pallet Stun duration by 40/45/50%.
• Lightborn: The Auras of Survivors attempting to blind you with a Flashlight are revealed to you for 6/8/10 seconds. Lightborn grants immunity from being blinded by Flashlights, Firecrackers, Flashbangs, or Blast Mines.
• Tinkerer: Whenever a Generator is repaired to 70%, you benefit from the following effects: Triggers a Loud Noise Notification for that Generator, revealing its location, and Grants the Undetectable Status Effect for the next 12/14/16 seconds.

Rin Yamaoka – Spirit

Rin is a master of mind games and illusion. Hard to master, but highly rewarding if played right. She’s one of the fastest killers in the entire game. She can wander into the Spirit Realm, allowing her to pass through objects, but making it so that Rin cannot see Survivors, and Survivors cannot see Rin. In that state, all players must rely on sound more to determine the position of the enemy.

Spirit Perks (Official Description)

• Spirit Fury: Each Pallet you break magnifies the wrath of The Entity. After breaking 4/3/2 Pallets, the next time you are stunned by a Pallet, The Entity will instantly break it. You still suffer from the Stun penalty.
• Hex: Haunted Ground: Two trapped Hex Totems will spawn in the Trial Grounds. When either Hex Totem is cleansed or blessed, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 40/50/60 seconds. The second Hex Totem will immediately turn into a Dull Totem.
• Rancor: You become obsessed with one Survivor (you can only be obsessed with one Survivor at a time). Each time a Generator is completed your Aura is revealed to the Obsession for 5/4/3 seconds. All Survivors’ locations are revealed to you for three seconds. And once all Generators are completed:
  • The Obsession suffers from a permanent Exposed Status Effect.
  • You are granted the ability to kill the Obsession by your own hand.

Sally Smithson – Nurse

The Nurse is probably the slowest Killer. However, she has the Blink ability which compensates for this, but it is high-risk, high-reward and can severely slow you down if you do not play it right. Nurse is definitely one of the best Killers in the game right now, but very, very hard to master.

Nurse Perks (Official Description)

• Stridor:
  • Increases the volume of Survivors’ Grunts of Pain by 25/50/50%.
  • Increases the volume of Survivors’ regular breathing by 0/0/25%.
• Thanatophobia: Each injured, dying, or hooked Survivor incurs a stack-able 4/4.5/5% penalty to all Survivors’ Repairing, Sabotaging, and Cleansing Action speeds, up to a maximum of 16/18/20%.
• A Nurse’s Calling: The Auras of Survivors, who are healing or being healed, are revealed to you when they are within a range of 20/24/28 meters.

Talbot Grimes – Blight

Received a bump to S Tier with this update. Indeed, it has a high skill cap and a somewhat bigger learning curve than Nurse

A Tier – Excellent Killers, But Less Optimal Than the S Tier Killers

• Anna – Huntress
• Bubba Sawyer – Cannibal
• Carmina Mora – Artist
• Frank, Julie, Susie, Joey – Legion
• Herman Carter – Doctor
• Kazan Yamaoka – Oni
• Nemesis T-Type – Nemesis
• Philip Ojomo – Wraith
• Pyramid Head – Executioner
• Tarhos Kovács – Knight
• The Xenomorph
• Albert Wesker – Mastermind
• HUX-A7-13 – Singularity (New killer!)

Kazan Yamaoka – Oni

Oni is an absolute monstrosity if you manage to injure many survivors since they leak blood orbs when hurt. Getting enough of these blood orbs powers you up so much that you can one-shot Survivors if you hit your skill shot.

Oni Perks (Official Description)

• Zanshin Tactics: The Auras of Breakable Walls, Pallets, and Windows are revealed to you within 24/28/32 meters.
• Blood Echo: When hooking a Survivor, all other Injured Survivors suffer from the Hemorrhage and Exhausted Status Effects for 45 seconds. Blood Echo can only be triggered once every 80/70/60 seconds.
• Nemesis: Any Survivor who blinds or stuns you becomes the Obsession. Anytime your Obsession switches to another Survivor by any means, that Survivor then suffers from the Oblivious Status Effect for 40/50/60 seconds and their Aura is revealed to you for four seconds. You can only be obsessed with one Survivor at a time.

B Tier – Above Average Killers

• Adiris – Plague
• Caleb Quinn – Deathslinger
• Charlotte & Victor Deshayes – Twins
• Danny Johnson – Ghost Face
• Druanee, The – Dredge
• Ji-Woon Hak – Trickster
• Adriana Imai – Skull Merchant (New killer!)

Dredge

Dredge can teleport to a Locker, making it a very deadly ability when combined with the Darkness Revealed perk since you can very easily place yourself near a Survivor.

Dredge Perks (Official Description)

• Dissolution: Three seconds after injuring a Survivor by any means, Dissolution activates for 12/16/20 seconds. While Dissolution is active, if a Survivor fast vaults over a Pallet while they are inside your Terror Radius, The Entity will break the Pallet at the end of the vault, deactivating Dissolution.
• Darkness Revealed: In your presence, places once thought to be safe are perhaps the most dangerous. When you search a Locker, the Auras of all Survivors within eight meters of any Locker are revealed to you for 3/4/5 seconds. Darkness Revealed has a cooldown of 30 seconds.
• Septic Touch: Whenever a Survivor performs a Healing action while they are inside your Terror Radius, that Survivor suffers from the Blindness and the Exhausted Status Effects. These effects linger for 6/8/10 seconds after the Healing action is interrupted by any means.

C Tier – Average or Under-Average Killers

• Elliot Spencer – Cenobite
• Demogorgon – Demogorgon
• Freddy Krueger – Nightmare
• Sadako Yamamura – Onryō
• Amanda Young – Pig
• Michael Myers – Shape
• Evan MacMillan – Trapper

Freddy Krueger – Nightmare

Nightmare has a unique ability to trap the Survivors in the Nightmare realm once they fall asleep. He can also teleport to a Generator. Freddy Kruger is a great Killer for beginners as he’s fairly easy to pick up and wields great power.

Nightmare Perks (Official Description)

• Fire Up: Each time a Generator is completed, Fire Up grows in power. Gain a stackable 3/3.5/4% Action Speed bonus to picking up and dropping Survivors, breaking Pallets and Breakable Walls, damaging Generators, and vaulting Windows, up to a maximum of 15/17.5/20%.
• Remember Me: You become obsessed with one Survivor. Each time the Obsession loses a Health State, Remember Me gains 1 Token which Increases the Opening time of both Exit Gates by 4 seconds per Token, up to a maximum of 8/12/16 additional seconds. The Obsession remains unaffected by this penalty. You can only be obsessed with one Survivor at a time.
• Blood Warden: As soon as one Exit Gate is opened, Blood Warden activates. The Auras of Survivors standing within the Exit-Gate area are revealed to you. Once per Trial, hooking a Survivor while Blood Warden is active calls upon The Entity to block the exits for all Survivors for 30/40/60 seconds.