Best DbD Survivor Builds

Summary

• Dead by Daylight offers endless gameplay possibilities with a wide array of Survivor perks for fun and unique trials.
• Players can create interesting perk combinations tailored to their playstyle, refreshing even seasoned Survivors' experiences.
• Experimenting with different Survivor builds can provide challenging gameplay, strategic advantages, and entertaining moments in The Fog.

Dead by Daylight offers the potential for infinitely diverse gameplay thanks to a catalog of over 100 Survivor perks. The interplay between the vast number of perks in Dead by Daylight provides the potential for fun and unique trials for both solo players and Survivors with friends.

Outside the meta Survivor gameplay, players can experiment with different builds that may not guarantee escape but will promise a good time. Whether it's endlessly evading hooks, confusing Killers, or staying stealthy, there are interesting perk combinations Dead by Daylight players can tailor around a specific play style, refreshing even seasoned Survivors' time in The Fog.

Updated on December 31st, 2024 by Mara Cowley: Dead by Daylight continues to be the most popular asymmetrical multiplayer horror game, and with its popularity there come more characters, more perks, and more potential builds. Those who have already sweated away hundreds or even thousands of hours might want to do something a little different from just plugging in what perks are currently considered to be the best in the meta. As such, this article has been updated to provide examples of builds which could shake up gameplay for survivors as much as DbD will keep the game a fresh and exciting experience.

1 The Medic Build

Take on the Role of the Healer to Keep Allies in the Fight

Healers are always the underappreciated but most valued of all roles in multi-player games, the only thing standing between more gung-ho players and certain death. In Dead by Daylight, a successful team-out may rely on a hard-working healer, and knowing just how integral the player was to success is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world.

Better Than New (Rebecca Chambers): Increase a player's action speeds after healing them .

For the People (Zarina Kassir): Gain the broken status and lose a health state to help an ally get back on their feet.

We'll Make It (General Perk): The player heals others with an additional 100% to their healing speed for up to 90 seconds.

Botany Knowledge (Claudette Morel): Increase base healing speed by up to 50%.

2 The Totem Build

Treasure-Hunt Across Maps for the Totems

Cleansing totems is a good way to rack up bloodpoints, and can offer a reprieve from all the bloody death and hunting from the trial, while also benefitting the team as it eradicates any hexes the Killer has brought into the trial. There are several perks which are all about tracking and cleansing totems, which can sometimes be hard to pinpoint on certain maps.

Small Game (General Perk): Hear an audio cue looking in the direction of Totems in a 45 ° cone.

Inner Strength (Nancy Wheeler): After cleansing a totem, enter a locker to heal a health state.

Overzealous (Haddie Kaur): After cleansing a totem, gain a bonus to repair speed. Hexed totems provide a higher bonus.

Counterforce (Jill Valentine): Cleanse totems faster, and see the aura of the furthest totem on the map.

3 The Stun Build

Fight Back with these Handy Stun Perks

Survivors are very limited in ways they can defend themselves against Killers, leaving running the major means method of self-preservation. But certain perks allow a modicum of self-defense, allowing them to stun the Killers which buys precious seconds. Perks themselves unlock the stun action, but Survivors can use pallets for this as well.

Any Means Necessary (Yui Kimura): Reset a previously dropped pallet to the upright position.

Head on (Jane Romero): Fast-exiting a locker stuns nearby Killers for 3 seconds.

Blast Mine (Jill Valentine): After completing a minimum of 40% repair progress on a generator, trap it with a mine which stuns and blinds Killers who attempt to damage it.

Windows of Opportunity (Kate Denson): Unlocks the auras of breakable walls, window vaults and pallets.

4 The Quick & Stealthy Vault Build

Make Quick Escapes to Survive Chases

With the help of these perks, players can vault quickly, gain a burst of speed, and even hoodwink the Killers as they leave no evidence of their vault behind.

• Finesse (Lara Croft): If the player is healthy, they vault with +20% to their Vaulting speed.
• Quick and Quiet (Meg Thomas): Loud noise notifications from rushing windows, pallets, or lockers are all suppressed.
• Dance with Me (Kate Denson): After rushing a vault or locker, scratch marks are suppressed for 3 seconds.
• Lithe (Feng Min): Grants 50% Haste for 3 seconds after vaulting a window or pallet.

5 The Hero Build

Save Other Survivors From Perishing on Hook

Teamwork is the best hope for Survivors to make their escape, so it is always a good idea to unhook fellow Survivors. This build revolves around this act of altruism, giving benefits to reduce the chances of the Survivor being tunneled.

• We'll Make It (General Perk): The player heals others with an additional 100% to their healing speed for up to 90 seconds.
• Borrowed Time (Bill Overbeck): Extends Endurance of the Survivor unhooked for up to 10 seconds, and grants them haste for 10 seconds.
• Babysitter (Steve Harrington): After unhooking another Survivor, the player sees the Killer's aura for 8 seconds. The Survivor who was unhooked doesn't leave blood pools or scratch marks and gains haste for up to 30 seconds.
• Kindred (General Perk): Whenever the Killer is within 16 meters of a hooked Survivor, the Killer's aura is revealed to the player.

6 No Mither Build

Survivors Can Use This Build To Play DbD On Hard Mode

This build capitalizes on the game's notoriously worst and most absurd perk, No Mither. Escaping a trial with this setup is the ultimate challenge for players seeking to test their skills.

• No Mither (David King): The player's pools of blood and grunts of pain are drastically reduced, their recovery speed is increased by 25%, and they can fully recover from the dying state. However, the Survivor is permanently injured and cannot heal, making them constantly one-hit.
• Decisive Strike (Laurie Strode): Decisive Strikes activate for 60 seconds after being unhooked; if the Killer picks the player up in this time, they can escape their grasp by passing a skill check.
• Object Of Obsession (Laurie Strode): Anytime the Killer reads their player's aura, the player also sees the Killer's. This perk makes the Survivor a huge target for a chase, as their aura is revealed to the Killer every 30 seconds for 3 seconds. The player's repairing, healing, and cleansing speeds increase by 6%.
• Lithe (Feng Min): After performing a rushed vault action, the player receives a 50% Haste buff.

7 Gen Rush Build

Players Can Speedrun The Trial With This Build

There are many generator perks and, therefore, plenty of generator-dedicated builds, but this one stands out as the most fun. It works best when used as a co-op build, and players can also bring in a toolbox to finish the generators at record speed.

• Invocation: Weaving Spiders (Sable Ward): This perk allows the player to perform an Invocation in the basement for 60 seconds, revealing their aura to all Survivors and speeding up the process if others join. Upon completion, all generators require ten fewer repair charges, but the player will become injured and suffer the Broken status effect for the rest of the trial.
• Resilience (General Perk): This perk pairs well with Invocation because when the player is injured, their repairing, healing, and other action speeds increase by 9%.
• Déjà Vu (General Perk): The auras of the three generators closest to each other are revealed to the player, and their repair speed on those generators is increased by 6%.
• This Is Not Happening (General Perk): Increases the success zone of great skill checks by 30% when injured.

8 The Luck Build

Players Must Rely On RNG To Survive

This build adds hilarious unpredictability to trials, with perks that maximize randomness, resulting in either incredible luck or great misfortune. Players can also use Offerings to boost their chances of success.

• Dramaturgy (Nicolas Cage): When Healthy, players can activate Dramaturgy to be granted a 0.5-second burst of +25% Haste followed by one of four randomized effects: become Exposed for 12 seconds, gain an extended 2-second Haste, scream, or acquire a random Rare Item with Add-ons.
• Bardic Inspiration (Aestri Yazar): When standing still, the player can enter a unique animation where they play the lute for 15 seconds, empowering nearby Survivors for 90 seconds with an effect dependent on the outcome of a rolled dice. The effects range from the player screaming to boosting skill check progress by up to 3%.
• Slippery Meat (General Perk): Increases the player's odds of successfully unhooking themselves by 4% (on top of the base 4%) and adds to their number of available hook escape attempts by +3.
• Up The Ante (Ace Visconti): Boosts all players' odds of successfully self-unhooking by 3% for every Survivor still in the trial, stackable up to a maximum of 9%. This perk combines well with Slippery Meat, granting the player a 17% chance of unhooking themselves.

9 The Deception Build

Survivors Can Outsmart Killers With These Mind Game Perks

This build empowers Survivors to shift the balance against the Killer with skillfully employed mind games. Using these perks, players can trick and misdirect the Killer, creating openings for strategic and satisfying plays.

• Mirrored Illusion (Aestri Yazar): After repairing a generator by 50%, Mirrored Illusion activates, allowing the player to produce a clone of themselves for 120 seconds on a generator, chest, exit gate, or totem.
• Diversion (Adam Francis): Players can distract the Killer by throwing a pebble that creates a loud sound and fake scratch marks in that direction.
• Red Herring (Zarina Kassir): After repairing a generator for 3 seconds, Survivors can misdirect the Killer by entering a locker and triggering a missed-skill check notification at the generator's location.
• Deception (Élodie Rakoto): Players can confound Killers by fake entering lockers, after which they leave no scratch marks or pools of blood for 3 seconds.

10 The Trap Build

Survivors Can Turn The Tables On The Killer With These Trap Perks

This build enables Survivors to strategically entrap the Killer, turning pallets and generators into deadly weapons in their arsenal.

• Wiretap (Ada Wong): After repairing generators by 50%, players can install a trap that will reveal the Killer's aura to all Survivors within 14 meters.
• Chemical Trap (Ellen Ripley): After repairing generators by 50%, Chemical Trap can be installed on a dropped pallet. When the Killer breaks it, the Trap explodes and slows them.
• Any Means Necessary (Yui Kimura): Allows the player to reset a dropped palette so Survivors can re-use it.
• Blast Mine (Jill Valentine): After repairing a generator by 50%, the player can install a trap on a partially progressed generator. When the Killer damages it, the Mine explodes, stunning them.