Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List [January 2023]

Dec 16, 2022 · 18 min read ·

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Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List: All the DBD Killer perks ranked from S-Tier (Current meta/Overall best killer perks) to Tier D (The worst and most situational perks in the game).

Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List: S-Tier

S-Tier DBD Killer Perks are all the perks that are currently the “meta”. This is bread and butter for any Killer in Dead By Daylight, and you will likely see these perks in almost every match you play.

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance – The Artist Perk: Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white. Upon hooking anyone on a scourge hook, the generator with the most progression explodes, instantly losing 9/12/15 % of its Progression and starting to regress anyone repairing the gen when it explodes screams, revealing their location.
Pop Goes the Weasel – The Clown Perk: After hooking a Survivor, Pop Goes the Weasel activates for the next 35/40/45 seconds. The next generator you damage instantly loses 25% progress and begins to regress at the regular rate.
Barbecue & Chilli – The Cannibal Perk: After hooking a Survivor, all other Survivors' Auras are revealed to you for 4 seconds when they are farther than 40 meters from the Hook. Each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time, gain a stackable 25 % bonus to all Bloodpoint gains, up to a maximum of 50/75/100 %.
Corrupt Intervention – The Plague Perk: At the start of the Trial, the 3 Generators located farthest from you are blocked by The Entity for 80/100/120 seconds.
Hex: Ruin – The Hag Perk: All Generators automatically regress at 100/150/200% of the normal Regression speed whenever they are not being repaired.
Call of Brine – The Onryo Perk: After damaging a Generator, the Call of Brine activates for 60 seconds. The Generator regresses at 150/175/200 % of the average Regression speed, revealing its Aura to you. Each time a Survivor completes a Good Skill Check on a Generator affected by Call of Brine, you receive a Loud Noise Notification.

Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List: A-Tier

A-Tier Dead By Daylight Killer Perks are cut above the rest. They are delicate, with few drawbacks, if any. They aren't as all-powerful as the S-Tier ones.

Tinkerer – The Hillbilly Perk: Whenever a Generator is repaired to 70%, it Triggers a Loud Noise Notification and grants you the Undetectable Status Effect for the next 12/14/16 seconds.
Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage – The Onryo Perk: Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white. Each time a Survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the Auras of all other Survivors are revealed for 5/6/7 seconds.
Hex: Undying – The Blight Perk: The Auras of Survivors within 2/3/4 meters of any Dull Totem are revealed to you. When another Perk's Hex Totem is cleansed or blessed, its Hex is transferred to the Undying Totem, including any accumulated Tokens, disabling Hex: Undying instead.
No Way Out – The Trickster Perk: For each Survivor, you hook for the first time and gain a Token. When a Survivor interacts with the Exit Gate Switch, you receive a Loud Noise Notification. The Entity blocks both Exit Gate Switches for 12 seconds and an additional 6/9/12 seconds per Token in your possession, up to a maximum of 36/48/60 seconds.
Hex: No One Escapes Death – General Killer Perk: Once the Exit Gates are powered, and there is at least one Dull Totem left unbroken, No One Escapes Death lits up at that dull totem location. Increases your movement speed by 2/3/4 %, and Survivors suffer from a permanent Exposed Status Effect.
Thrilling Tremors Ghost Face Perk: After picking up a Survivor, all Generators not currently being repaired by Survivors are blocked by The Entity for the next 16 seconds.
Save the Best for Last The Shape Perk: Each time you hit a Survivor other than your Obsession with a Basic Attack, Save the Best for Last gains 1 Token, up to a maximum of 8 Tokens. Gain a stackable 5 % Cool-down reduction on successful attacks per Token, up to 40 %.
Hex: Blood Favour The Blight Perk: Whenever a Survivor loses a Health State by any means, Hex: Blood Favour calls upon The Entity to block all Pallets within 24/28/32 meters of that Survivor's location from being used for the next 15 seconds.
Deadlock The Cenobite Perk: Whenever a Generator is completed, The Entity blocks the Generator with the most progression for 20/25/30 seconds.
Infectious Fright The Plague Perk: Whenever a Survivor is put into the Dying State by any means, all other Survivors within your Terror Radius will scream and reveal their current location to you for 4/5/6 seconds.
Discordance The Legion Perk: Any Generator within a range of 64/96/128 meters that two or more Survivors are repairing is marked by a yellow Aura.
Surveillance The Pig Perk: The Auras of regressing Generators are highlighted in white. Surveillance increases the audible range of Survivors' Generator-repairing noises by 8 meters.
Hex: Devour Hope The Hag Perk: Each time a Survivor is rescued from a Hook when you are at least 24 meters away, Hex: Devour Hope receives 1 Token. The following effects apply at the following Token count – 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.
Lethal Pursuer The Nemesis Perk: At the start of the Trial, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed to you for 7/8/9 seconds.
Starstruck The Trickster Perk: When carrying a Survivor, other Survivors suffer from the Exposed Status Effect while in your Terror Radius. The Effect lingers for 26/28/30 seconds after leaving your Terror Radius.
Bamboozle The Clown Perk: Performing a Vault action is 5/10/15 % faster and calls upon The Entity to block that Vault location for Survivors for 8/12/16.
I'm All Ears Ghostface Perk: Any Survivor performing a rushed action within 48 meters of your location has their Aura revealed to you for 6 seconds.
Make Your Choice The Pig Perk: Each time a Survivor is rescued from a Hook when you are at least 32 meters away, Make Your Choice activates: The Rescuer screams revealing their location, and suffers from the Exposed Status Effect for the next 40/50/60 seconds.
Hex: Haunted Ground The Spirit Perk: Spawns 2 “trap” hex totems. 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 also immediately turn into a Dull Totem.
Sloppy Butcher General Killer Perk: Wounds inflicted by Basic Attacks cause Survivors to suffer from the Haemorrhage and Mangled status effects. Hemorrhage increases the Survivor's Bleeding frequency by 50/75/100 %.
Jolt General Killer Perk: When you put a Survivor into the Dying State with your Basic Attack, all Generators within 32 meters of you instantly explode and start regressing at normal speed.
Remember Me The Nightmare Perk: Each time the Obsession loses a Health State, Remember Me gains 1 Token. Increases the Opening time of both Exit Gates by 4 seconds per Token, up to a maximum of 8/12/16 additional seconds. Obsession is not affected by this perk.
Hex: Retribution The Deathslinger Perk: Survivors cleansing or blessing any Totem suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect for 35/40/45 seconds. After cleansing or blessing a Hex Totem, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed to you for 15 seconds.
Monitor & Abuse The Doctor Perk: Your base Terror Radius is increased by 8 meters. Whenever you are outside a Chase, your Terror Radius is reduced by 16 meters while your Field of View is increased by 3/5/10 degrees.
A Nurse's Calling The Nurse Perk: 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.
Oppression The Twins Perk: When damaging a Generator, up to 3 other random Generators also begin regressing. Trigger a difficult Skill Check if a selected Generator is being repaired. Oppression has a cooldown of 120/100/80 seconds.
Eruption The Nemesis Perk: After kicking a Generator, its Aura is highlighted in yellow. When you put a Survivor into the Dying State, every affected Generator explodes and starts regressing, removing the highlighted Aura. Applies a 6 % Progression penalty. Any Survivor repairing a Generator when it explodes will scream and suffer from the Incapacitated Status Effect for 12/14/16 seconds.
Brutal Strength The Trapper Perk: Increases the Action speed of breaking Pallets, Walls, and damaging Generators by 10/15/20 %.
Thanatophobia The Nurse Perk: Each injured, dying, or hooked Survivor incurs a stackable 4/4.5/5 % penalty to all Survivors' Repairing, Sabotaging, and Cleansing Action speeds. Up to a maximum of 16/18/20 %.
Hex: Plaything The Cenobite Perk: If at least one Dull Totem remains in the Trial Grounds, Hex: Plaything activates on a random Totem each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time. The hooked Survivor suffers from the Cursed and Oblivious Status Effects until Hex: Plaything is cleansed. For the first 90 seconds, only the Cursed Survivor can cleanse the Hex Totem. The Aura of Hex: Plaything's Hex Totem is revealed to the Cursed Survivor within 24/20/16 meters.
Whispers General Killer Perk: You hear the sporadic whispers of the Entity whenever at least one Survivor is within 48/40/32 meters of your location.
Hex: Pentimento The Artist: You see the Auras of cleansed Totems. You can perform a ritual on a cleansed Totem to resurrect it as a Rekindled Totem. The more Rekindled Totems you create, the greater their effects. 1 Totem – Reduces the Repair speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %. 2 Totems – Reduces the Healing speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %. 3 Totems – Reduces the Recovery speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %. 4 Totems – Reduces the Gate Opening speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %. 5 Totems: All Totems are blocked by The Entity. When a Rekindled Totem is cleansed, its remains are consumed by The Entity.
Dead Man's Switch The Deathslinger Perk: After hooking a Survivor, Dead Man's Switch activates for the next 35/40/45 seconds. While activated, any Survivor that stops repairing a Generator before it is fully repaired causes The Entity to block the Generator until Dead Man's Switch's effect ends.

Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List: B-Tier

B-Tier is for the average Killer Perks. They either have too many downsides or are simply not powerful enough to compete with any viable perk in the current meta. They might be situationally okay-ish. But don't pick them if you want to win:

Merciless Storm – The Onryo Perk: Whenever a Generator is repaired to 90%, Survivors repairing it are faced with continuous Skill Checks. If they miss one or stop repairing, the Generator becomes blocked for 16/18/20 seconds.
Bitter Murmur General Killer Perk: Each time a Generator is completed, the Auras of all Survivors within 16 meters of that Generator are revealed to you for 5 seconds. Once the last Generator is completed, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed to you for 5/7/10 seconds.
Enduring The Hillbilly Perk: Reduces Pallet Stun duration by 40/45/50 %.
Franklin's Demise The Cannibal Perk: Basic Attacks make Survivors drop their held Items. If not recovered within 150/120/90 seconds, the lost Items will have their Charges depleted by The Entity.
Agitation The Trapper Perk: Carrying a Survivor Increases your movement speed by 6/12/18 % and Terror Radius by 12 meters.
Blood Warden The Nightmare Perk: 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.
Spies from the Shadows General Killer Perk: Crows startled by Survivors within 20/28/36 meters of you trigger a Loud Noise Notification.
Lightborn The Hillbilly Perk: The Auras of Survivors attempting to blind you with a Flashlight are revealed to you for 6/8/10 seconds
Fearmonger General Killer Perk: Whenever a Survivor is repairing a Generator, they suffer from Blindness and Exhausted Status Effects. The Status Effect lingers for 3/4/5 seconds after the Survivor stops repairing.
Play with Your Food The Shape Perk: Each time you chase your Obsession and let them escape, Play with Your Food receives 1 Token, up to a maximum of 3 Tokens. Each Token applies a stackable 3/4/5 % Haste Status Effect, up to a maximum of 9/12/15 %. Performing Basic Attacks, or Special Attacks that can damage Survivors, consumes 1 Token.
Distressing General Killer Perk: Increases your Terror Radius by 22/24/26 %. Grants 100 % bonus Bloodpoints for all actions in the deviousness category.
Trail of Torment The Executioner Perk: After kicking a Generator, you are granted the Undetectable Status Effect until that Generator stops regressing or you damage a Survivor by any means.
Iron Maiden The Legion Perk: You open Lockers 30/40/50 % faster. Survivors who exit Lockers will scream and suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 30 seconds and their location is revealed to you for 4 seconds.
Spirit Fury The Spirit Perk: After breaking 4/3/2 Pallets, the next time you are stunned by a Pallet, The Entity will instantly break it.
Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain The Cenobite Perk: Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white. Each time a Survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the following effects apply – The Survivor suffers from the Haemorrhage and Mangled Status Effects until healed. Upon being healed, the Survivor suffers a 7/8/9 % Action Speed penalty to Healing and Repairing until they are injured again.
Grim Embrace The Artist Perk: Each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time, Grim Embrace gains a Token. Upon reaching 4 Tokens, all Generators get blocked for 30/35/40 seconds, and Aura of the Obsession is revealed to you for 5 seconds.
Coup de Grâce The Twins Perk: Each time a Generator is completed, gain a token. Consume 1 Token to increase the distance of your next Lunge Attack by 40/50/60 %.
Dark Devotion The Plague Perk: Hitting the Obsession with a Basic Attack causes them to emit a Terror Radius of 32 metres for the next 20/25/30 seconds. You are granted the Undetectable Status Effect.
Dragon's Grip The Blight Perk: Kicking a Generator traps it for the next 30 seconds. The first Survivor to interact with it will scream, revealing their location for 4 seconds, and suffer from the Exposed Status Effect for 60 seconds.
Iron Grasp General Killer Perk: While carrying a Survivor Decreases Wiggle effects, which cause you to strafe sideways, by 75 % and Increases Wiggle duration by 4/8/12 %
Gearhead The Deathslinger Perk: After a Survivor loses a Health State, Gearhead activates. While Gearhead is active, a Survivor succeeding a Great Skill Check while repairing reveals their Aura to you for 6/8/10 seconds, after which Gearhead deactivates.
Nemesis The Oni Perk: 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 4 seconds.
Hex: Huntress Lullaby The Huntress Perk: Survivors receive a 2/4/6 % Regression penalty on Failed Skill Checks for Repair and Healing actions. Hex: Huntress Lullaby gains 1 Token each time you hook a Survivor. Each token shortens the time between the Warning sound and the Skill check by 14 %/28 %/42 %/56 %, and finally, at 5 Tokens, it disables the Warning sound altogether.
Stridor The Nurse Perk: Increases the volume of Survivors' Grunts of Pain by 25%/50%/50 %. Increases the volume of Survivors' regular breathing by 0%/0%/25 %.
Hoarder The Twins Perk: The hoarder triggers a Loud Noise Notification for 4 seconds whenever a Survivor unlocks a chest or picks up any Items within 32/48/64 meters of your location. Hoarder spawns two other chests in the Trial.
Dying Light The Shape Perk: Each time you hook a Survivor other than your Obsession, you gain 1 Token. For as long as the Obsession is alive, all other Survivors suffer from a stackable 2/2.5/3 % penalty to Repairing, Healing, and Sabotaging speeds per Token, up to a maximum of 22/27.5/33 % or 11 Tokens. The Obsession is unaffected by this penalty and instead granted a permanent 33 % Action Speed bonus to Unhooking and Healing other Survivors.
Hangman's Trick The Pig Perk: Gain a Loud Noise Notification whenever a Survivor begins sabotaging a Hook. While carrying a Survivor, see the Aura of any Survivor within 2/4/6 meters of any Hook.
Deerstalker General Killer Perk: The Auras of all Survivors in the Dying State within 20/28/36 meters of your location are revealed to you.
Forced Penance The Executioner Perk: Survivors who take a Protection Hit suffer from the Broken Status Effect for the next 60/70/80 seconds.
Hex: Crowd Control The Trickster Perk: Survivors who perform a rushed vault through a Window prompt The Entity to block it for the next 14/17/20 seconds.
Hysteria The Nemesis Perk: Whenever you put a healthy Survivor into the Injured State, all injured Survivors suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect for 20/25/30 seconds (30 Seconds Cooldown).
Mad Grit The Legion Perk: While carrying a Survivor, you suffer no cooldown on missed attacks. Successfully hitting a Survivor will pause the carried Survivor's Wiggling Progression for 2/3/4 seconds.
Blood Echo The Oni Perk: When hooking a Survivor, all other Survivors suffer from the Haemorrhage and Exhausted Status Effects for 45 seconds.
Rancor The Spirit Perk: 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 3 seconds. Once all Generators are completed, the Obsession suffers from a permanent Exposed Status Effect. You are then granted the ability to kill the Obsession by your own hand.
Fire Up The Nightmare Perk: Each time a generator is completed, gain a stack-able 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 %
Knock Out The Cannibal Perk: When putting a Survivor into the Dying State with your Basic Attack, their Aura is not revealed to any Survivor farther away from them than 32/24/16 meters. For the next 15 seconds, the dying Survivor suffers from a decreased Field of View, the Blindness Status Effect, and crawls 50 % slower.
Overcharge The Doctor Perk: Damaging a Generator causes the next Survivor interacting with it will be faced with a problematic Skill Check. Failing the Skill Check results in an additional Progression loss of 3/4/5 %. Succeeding the Skill Check does not grant any bonus Progression.
Shadowborn The Wraith: Increases your Field of View by 9/12/15 degrees.

Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List: C-Tier

C-Tier is for the below-average Killer Perks. They have too many downsides to compete with any viable perk in the current meta. They can be helpful if you have a particular build in mind. Don't pick them if you want to win:

Hex: Thrill of the Hunt General Killer Perk: For each totem remaining in the game, Survivors suffer a stack-able 8/9/10 % Action Speed penalty per Token to Cleansing and Blessing Totem speeds, up to a maximum of 40/45/50 %.
Overwhelming Presence The Doctor Perk: Survivors using an Item within your Terror Radius suffer from an increased item Depletion rate (80/90/100 %).
Zanshin Tactics The Oni Perk: The Auras of Breakable Walls, Pallets, and Windows are revealed to you within 24/28/32 meters.
Unnerving Presence The Executioner Perk: Survivors repairing or healing within your Terror Radius Increases the odds of triggering Skill Checks by 10 % and have the Success zone of Skill Checks decreased by 40/50/60 %.
Hex: The Third Seal The Hag Perk: The last 2/3/4 Survivors hit with either your Basic Attack or Special Attack suffer from the Blindness Status Effect until the hex is removed.
Unrelenting General Killer Perk: Reduces the Cool-down of missed Basic Attacks by 20/25/30 %.
Furtive Chase Ghostface Perk: Each time you hook your Obsession, you gain 1 Token, up to a maximum of 2/3/4 Tokens. While in a Chase, your Terror Radius is reduced by 4 meters per accumulated Token. When a Survivor rescues the Obsession from the Hook, that Survivor will become the new Obsession.
Deathbound The Executioner Perk: When a Survivor heals another Survivor for the equivalent of 1 Health State at least 32 meters away from you, that Survivor will scream, revealing their location and activating Deathbound. For the next 60 seconds, that Survivor suffers from the Oblivious Status Effect when farther than 16/12/8 meters away from the healed Survivor.
Coulrophobia The Clown Perk: The Healing speed of Survivors within your Terror Radius is reduced by 30/40/50 %.
Insidious General Killer Perk: Grants the Undetectable Status Effect after standing still for 4/3/2 seconds and until you are moving again.
Bloodhound The Wraith Perk: Pools of Blood are shown in bright red and can be tracked for 2/3/4 seconds longer than normal.

Best Killer Perks Dead By Daylight Tier List: D-Tier

D-Tier is for the worst Killer Perks in Dead By Daylight. They have way too many downsides to compete with any other Killer Perk. They usually are also useless in terms of creating a specific build. Therefore, there is not a single reason to EVER pick any of them for your match:

Claustrophobia General Killer Perk: Whenever a Generator is completed, all Windows and Vault locations within 32 meters of it become blocked for all Survivors for the next 20/25/30 seconds.
Beast of Prey The Huntress Perk: Upon gaining the Bloodlust Status Effect, Beast of Prey activates. Grants the Undetectable Status Effect for as long as Bloodlust is active.
Territorial Imperative The Huntress Perk: The Aura of a Survivor entering the Basement when you are at least 32 meters away is revealed to you for 3 seconds. Territorial Imperative has a cooldown of 30/25/20 seconds.
Monstrous Shrine General Killer Perk: Basement Hooks are empowered by this perk. They accelerate Sacrifice Progression by 3/6/9 %, Increase Self-Unhook difficulty by 5/10/15 %, and Increase Self-Unhook penalty by 3/6/9 %.
Predator The Wraith Perk: The Scratch Marks left by Survivors spawn slightly/moderately/considerably closer together.

About Dead by Daylight

Dead by Daylight is an isometric(4vs1) multiplayer horror game. One player takes on the role of the Killer, and the other four play as Survivors, trying to escape the Killer and avoid being caught and killed. Many horror icons such as Michael Meyers, Freddy Krugger, Samara Morgan, Pyramid Head, and Resident Evil's Nemesis star as guest Killers in the game.