Best Killers for beginners in Dead By Daylight

Playing as the Killer in Dead By Daylight can be a daunting task for new players. Regardless of you being the terrifying thing on the field, you are outnumbered by the Survivors, who have more than a couple of ways to get away from you, even though you move faster than them. Because of that fact, some Killers do not lend themselves as great experiences for first-time players. You need a Killer with a simple playstyle that can be learned so you can practice with them before moving on to the more complex characters. With that in mind, here are the best Killers for beginners in Dead By Daylight.

Base game and free DLC Killers

These Killers are all either included in the base version of Dead By Daylight, without any extra purchases or are free to download, so give them a try if you are looking to play this role for the first time.

The Doctor

The Doctor is great at making Survivors reveal themselves to him by making them lose their mind. The more he hits them with his Power, the more they will level up through three tiers of madness, making them scream, see hallucinations of The Doctor, or keep them from performing actions until they snap out of it. The mad man’s perks are:

• Monitor & Abuse – Increases Field of View by 3/8/10 degrees
• Overcharge – When you damage a Generator, the next person to repair it needs to complete a difficult Skill Check to keep it from losing 3/4/5% extra progress
• Overwhelming Presence – Survivors in your Terror Radius lose 80/90/100% item efficiency when using it

The Hillbilly

The Hillbilly has a chainsaw that will have him speed off in the direction he is facing when he revs it up. Hitting any Survivors with this attack will one-hit down them. He also can be one of the tougher Killers to lose in a chase, making him one of the most recommended Killers for beginners. His perks are:

• Endurance- Pallet stuns don’t last as long as usual
• Lightborn- See the auras of Survivors who attempt to blind you with a flashlight
• Tinkerer- get notified when a generator is 70% repaired and become undetectable

The Huntress

The Huntress is a woman who creepily hums a lullaby as she hunts down her prey. She throws hatchets that allow you to harm Survivors from range in addition to her up-close melee attacks. While hitting your hatchet throws will take a little bit of skill, it’s a simple process that makes the Huntress a lot of fun and easy to get ahold of. Here are her exclusive perks:

• Beast of Prey- When entering Bloodlust (faster speed during a prolonged chase), the terror radius and red stain are disabled, and you get extra Bloodpoints in the Hunter category
• Hex: Huntress Lullaby- Failed skill checks have a regression penalty and hooking Survivors will cause skill checks to give more delayed warnings
• Territorial Imperative- Temporarily see the aura of a Survivor entering the Killer’s Basement if you are 32 meters away

The Trapper

The Trapper is the big guy on the cover of Dead By Daylight. As you might expect from his name, he lays down bear traps for unobserving Survivors to walk into. When the trap snaps on their leg, the character lets out a scream, letting you know where they are. The Trapper doesn’t get much more complicated than that. His exclusive perks are:

• Agitation- Terror radius and speed are increased when carrying a survivor to a hook
• Brutal Strength- Damaging generators and breaking pallets and walls is faster than normal
• Unnerving Presence- Survivor skill checks are more often and harder to pull off when within your terror radius

The Wraith

The Wraith is about as simple as Killers get in Dead By Daylight. He can cloak himself and walk around the arena almost completely undetectable. No terror radius alerts for Survivors until you reveal yourself next to them, and at that point, it is too late. His exclusive perks are:

• Bloodhound- You can see blood pools from Survivors much easier and track them longer
• Predator- Scratch marks tell you where a Survivor has gone more accurately
• Shadowborn- Increases your Field of View

Paid DLC Killers

These characters all need to be purchased to be playable. Consider these beauties if you are looking for a good entry point to the expanded roster.

The Cannibal (Leatherface)

All horror fans will recognize Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As you might guess, he has a chainsaw that will one-hit down opponents when he charges it up and swings it around violently. During this time, you will quickly destroy any pallets dropped on you. The Cannibal also has one of the very best perks in the game called Barbeque & Chilli.

• Barbeque & Chilli- When hooking a Survivor, see the aura of all other Survivors who are far enough away from the hook. Also, gain a bonus to all Bloodpoint categories when you hook a Survivor for the first time
• Franklin’s Demise- Basic attacks cause Survivors to drop their held item
• Knock Out- Survivors downed by your basic attack cannot be seen by other Survivors who are far away, and their vision is lessened

The Clown

Clowns are one of the most common irrational fears that people have, so it is not surprising that Dead By Daylight would work one into their game. The Clown tosses out a bottle that breaks and lets out a gas cloud that will cause anyone who runs through it to be slightly slowed, have impaired vision, and cough uncontrollably for a few seconds. This makes catching up to Survivors much easier, so just placed your bottle throws carefully. The Clowns exclusive perks are:

• Bamboozle- vaulting obstacles (besides pallets) will have the entity block that obstacle from being vaulted again by Survivors for a short time
• Coulrophobia- Survivors in your terror radiance heal slower
• Pop Goes The Weasel- hooking a Survivor will allow you to deal 25% damage to partly replaced generators instantly

The Nightmare (Freddy Krueger)

Well known for his Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy Vs. Jason movies, Freddy Krueger, brings his nightmare-inducing powers to Dead By Daylight. In matches with this horror icon, Survivors will fall asleep and are in more danger than before from his abilities. He can teleport to and crawl his way out of a generator and set traps that slow Survivors when they spring them. He is also invisible to awake Survivors when he is far enough away from them. His perks are:

• Blood Warden- See the auras of Survivors standing in exit gates when the gate is open and have The Entity block both exit gates if you hook a survivor during this time temporarily
• Fire Up- Get bonus speed to breaking pallets and walls, picking up survivors, vaulting, and damaging generators when each time a generator is repaired fully
• Remember Me- Each time you hit the Obsession, the exit gate will take longer to open once all generators are repaired

The Pig

The Pig is from the Saw series and is as sneaky as she is deadly. She can crouch into a more stealthy approach when sneaking up on Survivors, and she can place reverse bear traps on Survivors when they are downed. This makes it so even if they are pulled off a hook, they are on a time limit to remove the bear trap from their head by one of the Jigsaw Puppets set up around the arena. If the time runs out or the Survivor tries to escape with the trap on still, they will instantly die. Her perks are:

• Hangman’s Trick- Be notified when a hook is being sabotaged or when a Survivor is near a hook while carrying another Survivor
• Make Your Choice- Anyone who rescues a hooked Survivor while you are far away will get the Exposed status effect and can be downed in one hit
• Surveillance- See regressing generator auras and when they are being repaired again

The Shade (Michael Myers)

All horror fans (and people who don’t like horror) know who Michael Myers is. The Halloween series icon is built to observe Survivors and then introduce them to his kitchen knife. The more you stalk Survivors, the more powerful you become, giving them the Exposed status effect and downing them in one hit. His perks are:

• Dying Light- Hooking Survivors other than the Obsession will cause all Survivors besides the Obsession to have slower healing, repairing, and sabotaging speeds
• Play With Your Food- Each time the Obsession escapes a chase from you, you earn a faster Haste status effect
• Save The Best For Last- Harming Survivors other than the Obsession gives you a reduced cooldown on attacks

The Trickster

The Trickster is a ranged Killer that starts each match with 60 throwing knives in his arsenal. Hit a Survivor with a throwing knife six times to put them either in the Injured or Dying state. This also fills up a bar that will have him endlessly throw out blades with no penalty to his movement when filled. His perks are:

• Hex: Crowd Control- The Entity blocks off a window when a Survivor does a rushed vault through it
• No Way Out- For every Survivor you hook at least once, The Entity will block both exit gates for up to a minute. You also receive a noise notification when this happens
• Starstruck- While carrying a Survivor, all other Survivors are Exposed when close enough to you.