DBD Killer Tier List - All 26 Dead By Daylight Killers Ranked
Not fond of losing too often? Or maybe you want a Killer with a specific playstyle that suits your needs? Or maybe you want a general idea of how strong each character in the game is. I put together this DBD Killer Tier List to help you out. It is informed, up-to-date, and ranked from best to worst. Enjoy!
And if you lack Bloodpoints to build any of the characters you like from this DBD Killer Tier List, we have you covered! Check out this guide to codes for Dead By Daylight.
Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical 4vs1 survival horror game. A team of Survivors squares up against a single Killer in a desperate struggle for survival. But since you are here, I assume you already know about that. You might not know that there is a significant power gap between some of the game's best and worst Killer characters.
S-Tier
The crème de la crème, the very peak of the Dead by Daylight Killer tier list. They offer a significant advantage compared to anyone in the tiers below. When in skilled hands, there are very few things the Survivors can do to squeeze out a win.
The Nurse
The Nurse is just an absurd powerhouse. And there will not be an end to her supremacy until Behaviour Interactive seriously reworks her. Her blink ability allows her to phase right through any solid objects in the game. This lets you effortlessly ignore climbing through windows and pallets and makes short work of any complicated structures. Meaning that you render the main defensive options of Survivors useless.
Now, this comes at a price. The Nurse is undoubtedly the most complex character to pick up, play and master. She is the only character in the game that moves at 96.25 % movement speed. It means that you are slower than running Survivors. You need to blink perfectly near them to compensate them and land a hit. This requires immense knowledge of both your ability and the map around you.
Due to mentioned strengths, The Nurse is the best Killer in all of Dead By Daylight. And if you are interested in playing her, be sure to visit our Nurse build.
The Spirit
The Spirit is everything about Nurse scaled down somewhat. Spirit is easier to pick up, and master requires way less map knowledge but is also somewhat easier to handle by the enemies. But that doesn't change the fact that she is near the very top of the food chain. Her ridiculous 60% increased movement speed during the Phase-Walk enables The Spirit to catch up to anyone running easily.
Even if your prey positions itself in a tactical position, let's say on top of a pallet, waiting to drop it on your head. You are invisible during the Haunting. So they will need to guess which direction you choose to attack and at what time. And even if they guess correctly, an impressive amount of reaction time is required to stop The Spirit in her tracks.
And if you are interested in playing The Spirit and experiencing her full strength. Then be sure to visit our The Spirit build/guide.
The Blight
The Blight is unique in that he has a persisting presence in the game, no matter how far away from him you are. After all, he can rush across the entire map in seconds thanks to chaining rushes by running into stuff along the way. Like the old Hillbilly before developers nerfed him with the “overheat” mechanic.
The Blight power is relatively simple compared to the blink of The Nurse. But few other characters require this insane amount of map knowledge. You need to know every rock, wall, and obstacle by heart. Because some hitboxes allow Blight to “surf” alongside them, allowing him for rather sharp turns without slamming into a wall. You need to know every single way a randomly generated map can distribute jungle gyms and how to navigate them using his power if you want to be the very best Blight you can be. And there are 37 maps in the game currently!
If you want a character you can devote yourself to, someone who requires hundreds of hours of practice to squeeze out maximum potential. Someone who has virtually no weaknesses at the top of his play. Then you should look into Blight. And to draw out that maximum potential, be sure to visit our The Blight build/guide!
A-Tier
The high tier, the good tier, the almost S-tier. The one big, glaring issue that stops anyone from A-Tier from entering S-Tier is just that. They have some sort of “issue”, or a shortcoming that a knowledgeable and skilled team of Survivors can abuse to pull an advantage over you. Overall still a very strong, deadly bunch of characters from this DBD Killer tier list.
The Oni
The Oni is a real doozy when you start reading what his power does. He can cross the entire map in seconds, much like Blight and Hillbilly. And he can down Survivors in one hit instead of the usual two, just like Hillbilly, Canibal, The Shape, and Ghost Face. But he has virtually no shortcomings of any of these characters. He requires way less map knowledge than Blight. Unlike Hillbilly and Canibal, you can run into any wall and slide alongside it, whereas those two would get stunned for running into obstacles. And Ghost Face and The Shape have to meticulously charge their power during the match to “one-shot” someone.
So why is he not S-tier? He sounds amazing. Well, he is terrific… after you collect the blood, you need. You have no powers at all without an injured person on the map. You only have the tools any other Killer in the game has. 115% movement speed and basic attacks. And a lot of players are aware of that. Good Survivors will stay away from you, hide behind pallets, and drop them off early. If that happens, most of the objectives can be completed before you activate your power once. Granted, all hell breaks loose as soon as Oni powers up. He will be downing people left and right, hooking them, and then if they are rescued, he will restock blood quickly, repeating the circle.
The Huntress
The Huntress remains one of the top-tier Killers that stood the test of time. And despite several new ranged Killers coming out throughout the years, she continues to be the best one by far. Her kit is straightforward, making her easy to pick up. You have five hatchets, and you throw 'em. Each one does precisely one health state of damage, meaning two hits guarantee a down on a Survivor. You can easily throw them over obstacles of medium height, rendering some loops extremely dangerous for Survivors. You can also snipe people from across the map if you know where they are. Just remember that hatchets drop down in an arc over long distances.
Just because Huntress is easy to pick up doesn't mean she is easy. Her hatchet throw physics are entirely unique. So you will need to learn it from the ground up, commit a lot of time to master her, and then those skills do not transfer to other Killers. Knowing the maps inside out also plays a role in playing this Killer. Some cheeky spots like boarded-up windows or holes in a wall that a hatchet will fit through. Knowing these spots will always net you some nice hits. Also, be aware that there is one glaring issue with her kit. Survivors running loops with high walls and generally interiors are the bane of The Huntress. Because you cannot hit them if you do not see them.
Executioner (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Executioner, a.k.a Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill DLC, is quite a terror as he's supposed to be. His power, which sends out a shockwave through walls or obstacles, is a normal attack with range. He naturally does not have the crazy range of any ranged character on this list, but just enough to render any loop useless if you are good enough. The Executioner can also set down “traps” in form of his trails. They remain in place for 75 seconds, and anyone who steps on them will be revealed to you. When you send Survivors to the cage of atonement, you save a bunch of time you would typically spend hooking them. He seems so solid. So why is he “mid-A” and not higher?
Well, I personally hate using his power. To shoot your “shockwave”, you need to hold the power button, which makes you drag your sword on the ground. Then you aim, and you shoot. The shockwave travels from your position to the end of its range, so you must account for projectile travel time. But when dragging your sword, you do not turn buttery smooth like normal. Your turns suddenly are very clunky, like you are turning 15 degrees with each mouse movement. Which made me miss quite a lot of attacks. And you waste A LOT of time when you miss. You need to learn a lot to know when to “fake” using a shockwave and when to commit to the attack, thus his difficulty rating of “hard”.
Nemesis (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Nemesis is a very weird Killer. One of the more unique ones from this Dead By Daylight Killers tier list. Randomness is part of the Dead by Daylight experience. Every time you start a match you go against 4 people who could wildly range in skill and capability. Then you also enter a random map that is either Killer or Survivor-sided. And Nemesis adds another layer of complete randomness with his AI zombies. They will sometimes just hunt you down left and right by spawning at the most perfect place on the map, ready for a pincer maneuver. Or they will sit in a corner of the map, never contributing anything.
But ignoring the complete RNG aspect of his power, you are left with the tentacle strike ability. And this little fella is perhaps one of the most robust chasing tools in the game. The tentacle goes over every obstacle in the game that doesn't cover the Survivor from head to toe. Just be mindful that they can crouch behind low cover to dodge it. Your tentacle has almost 0 penalties for missing; it is very forgiving. It can also destroy pallets when you level up the ability throughout the game. Even very experienced Survivors struggle to dodge it consistently.
The downside is the obvious three hits instead of 2. When you strike someone with your tentacle, he becomes “infected,” which gives him the usual speed boost Survivors get when hit by the Killer. Only when someone is infected then your tentacle does damage. So you will always need three hits instead of 2 at the beginning of a game unless you ignore his power. And at some point, there is so much you can do with his tentacle since it doesn't go through objects like Pyramid Heads wave. So the Killer is more straightforward overall but with a much lower skill ceiling.
The Plague
The Plague is amazing, and you should not trust anyone who says otherwise. I have seen people put The Plague as low as “high-C” or “mid-B,” which I cannot disagree with. But then maybe I'm biased since I love her gameplay. As Plague, you need to vomit your way to victory. You store up your power and release bile that follows the center of your camera as best as it can. When an invisible meter fills up, a Survivor will become fully infected. This automatically injures him and prevents healing via any means other than cleansing at your fountains. Plague can freely use her power in the middle of chasing someone because building up bile doesn't slow her down almost at all.
When you ingest corruption from a fountain that someone cleansed at, your bile instead will deal damage. Even a single drop will damage someone. If you build up a lot of puke, it becomes almost impossible for the Survivor to avoid damage unless he is at a fantastic loop with very high walls. Even then, the odds are heavily against them.
The major downside is that Plague is a very “reactionary” character. With your powered-up bile, you are a killing machine. Without it, you will need to smack someone with your basic attack to down them since the infection will only injure, never down. And to get your “power-up”, a Survivor needs to cleanse. If they choose to stay injured and never use your fountains, and they just so happen to be very good at looping the Killer, your options become extremely limited. Since then, you are a Killer without any ability against a team of good Survivors.
The Artist
The Artist is the very latest Killer added to Dead by Daylight. It has been 2 months since her release in Portrait of a Murder Chapter. You would think this is enough time to have her “figured out”, but you have to understand that it takes years to find new “tech” that can make or break a Killer. But as is right now, I would put her in the Low-A category.
Her ability is fantastic for information gathering. You can send crows to generators across the map and instantly find out if anyone is there. But do not expect to be getting a lot of injuries or downs across the map. Then when in direct confrontation Artist can put down a crow in the middle of a loop, making it impossible to use since she will just injure you with the “trap” set in place.
But then again, The Artist struggles across good Survivors who make their movement unpredictable. While setting down a trap, they might already be running to the next set of obstacles rendering your set-up pointless. You will catch them eventually, or you can strategically corner Survivors. But you might waste just enough time on the process to lose the game later.
B-Tier
The “okay” tier. There is nothing wrong with these characters, but you will be expected to perform with these Killers if you want to see any actual results. Anyone from this segment of my Dead By Daylight Killers tier list is perfectly viable, but expect Survivors to push back BIG TIME against you.
The Hag
The Hag, in my heart of hearts, should be higher on the list. But I just personally dislike her play style. I just find it too slow. But this is a personal preference. The Hag is VERY strong once you master creating zones with your power and strategically pushing Survivors into them.
Her “traps”, the muddy signs she draws on the ground, are super duper hard to see on most of the game's surfaces. You can also teleport to them from a significant distance. Thus The Hag is one of the few Killers in the game that can chase a Survivor and then when a trap is triggered teleport to defend someone on the hook or near a generator.
She is incredibly oppressive when played well. Not much mechanical skill is required for her, but knowledge of maps, strategic chokepoints, and a good amount of strategic thinking is required for her.
The Twins
“Prepare for trouble, and make it double”. The Twins is again a Killer that I personally knocked down from “Low/Mid-A” to “High-B” because I do not find Victor and Charlotte that satisfying to play. But the potential for this character in hands interested in drawing it out is crazy high.
Victor, in particular, is a real menace. He is extremely short, so you cannot spot him easily. And what is more important, he has no terror radius or other sound/music effects that give away his position. The only exception is his growl that you often hear when he is already pouncing on you from a significant distance away.
You can easily set up pincer maneuvers by pushing Survivors into idle Charlotte with Victor and switching between the two. You can put Victor down to reveal any enemies near hooked Survivors. Both information gathering and chases are a breeze for these two. And they are not that hard to learn and play.
The Cenobite (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Cenobite, a.k.a Pinhead, is decent. But just decent. One of the things this Killer has going for him is that you do not have to do anything to gain an upper hand. The Lament Configuration helps you by just existing pretty much. If Survivors ignore it, they will face the Chain Hunt which is exceptionally annoying and slows down generator progress. And if someone picks it up you can instantly teleport to it and initiate a chase with said person. No matter what Survivors do, you will find them eventually, thanks to this.
But his chasing tool, the Possessed Chain, is mediocre. Every chaser above and even some below him have much more effective powers. You need to be extremely precise for minimal returns (unless you use some busted add-ons). And thus, I cannot put him any higher in good faith.
The Demogorgon (Paid DLC-Only Killer. Not available for purchase since Nov. 17, 2021)
The Demogorgon, or the best boi, is perhaps the most balanced Killer in Dead by Daylight. So no better place than precisely at the midpoint of my Dead By Daylight Killers tier list.
His portals allow him to pressure multiple points on the map due to the threat of his teleporting. His shred lunge attack is a great tool that allows you to “dash” and hit someone from quite a distance with the trade-off of wasting precious seconds if you miss.
On the other hand, Survivors can easily either ignore these portals or seal them up. And his shred attack is telegraphed by animation and relatively easy to bait out in most scenarios. So it will almost always come down to who can perform better in a given situation.
The Hillbilly
The Hillbilly used to be A-tier. A real menace. A true terror. But… not anymore. He still can cross the map in seconds and catch you off guard. He is still one of the best characters for “patroling” generators, so the late game against him on open maps is adamant. But he now has to deal with the unnecessary Overheat mechanic. This limits how much he can use his chainsaw before its cool down.
You can perform on him. His insta-down chainsaw is still scary. But his significantly reduced overall map pressure lands him in Low-B or even lower, depending on how you feel about him. Not to mention that playing him on in-door maps is some of the most frustrating gameplay Dead by Daylight offers.
The Cannibal (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Cannibal, a.k.a Leatherface. He is straightforward to pick up and “master”. He has a watered-down version of Hilbillys chainsaw. Which is sometimes a good thing! Since he goes slower, his turn radius is much more expansive. This means you can control his chainsaw sweep much easier. He is also the only Killer in the entire game that can insta-down the entire Survivor team if all the stars align.
That being said, he is straightforward to play against. Survivors just have to hand around structures with windows to make your chainsaw neigh useless. Unless you pull out a Giga-brain mind game. Again, he is a little worse at his job than the other chasers on the list. Sorry, Bubba, but this is as high as you will go on my Dead By Daylight Killers tier list.
C-Tier
We are now entering the segments of my Dead By Daylight Killers tier list that feature characters I consider unviable. Picking any Killer from this tier puts you at a disadvantage in the game, so they should be avoided. Unless you are particularly fond of any Killer from here on out due to their unique visual design or creative powers, you best forget all about them. That being said, you can master any Killer and see success with him/her. But except to put in A LOT more effort while playing anyone from C and D tiers.
The Nightmare (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Nightmare is just a combination of weak powers. You have pseudo-stealth because he is visible only from medium range, enough that Survivors can quickly run away. His traps are bright red, and you can only activate them while asleep, rendering them useless against good Survivors. Then he has a teleport ability that he can cancel to scare you away from a generator or use it to travel across the map. This one is the most useful, but it gets put on a long cooldown each time you use it.
He is just too gimmicky with a broad range of mediocre abilities. Why play him if you can play an excellent Chaser or Set-Up Killer? Or someone who has actual stealth I guess. Anyone above him on this Dead By Daylight Killers tier list will do his job much better.
The Ghost Face (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Ghost Face might be the best Killer from the worst category of Dead By Daylight's Killers. His stealth-centered gameplay is a significant advantage at the beginning of the game when no one knows who they are up against. You can easily sneak up on Survivors, grab them off generators, fill up their Stalk meter.
But it goes downhill quickly once the cat is out of the bag. During chase time, you have no valuable abilities to corner Survivors, which means drawn-out games of catch with one of them. This is naturally very bad for you since three other Survivors are free to complete objectives, heal, unhook, and whatnot. He can be very threatening, especially on indoor maps. But most of the time, he really won't be.
The Deathslinger
The Deathslinger was hit with a significant nerf a couple of patches ago. He used to be able to shoot his gun almost instantly thanks to “quick scoping.” But now, it takes a second to go into “aiming mode”. This change gutted his potential. Now you cannot pull off many shots as you could before in a chase. And just like any other Dead By Daylight Killers tier list, I have to move him down due to these changes.
He is still one of the most threatening Killers in a 1v1 situation. But he used to be the absolute king of it. Other than that, he has nothing. No map pressure, no movement options. This means that 75% of the enemy team is not under any kind of pressure for most of the game, which quickly spells his doom.
The Doctor
The Doctor is interesting in some ways. His power makes it impossible for Survivors to hide from him. It covers a significant chunk of the area around him, and when it hits a Survivor, it causes him to scream, revealing his location. This often surprises survivors since no one has such a good tool for finding Survivors in hiding. He might be one of the best seekers of Survivors on this entire Dead By Daylight Killers tier list.
Outside of this unique, strong suit, The Doctor is mediocre AT BEST. His power takes a while to charge up, and it doesn't do much for you in a chase. Anyone outside of complete novices will just run in a straight line away from you as soon as they see you charging his shock ability. And since it doesn't slow down their movement but charging it slows yours, you just lost distance on them. It prevents Survivors from using pallets and windows for 2.5 seconds when hit. But that rarely is useful against even mediocre Survivor players.
The Wraith
The Wraith, like The Ghost Face, has the advantage of being a stealth Killer. This enables him to put God's feat into Survivors and score some hits early in the game due to the element of surprise. And just like Ghost Face, as soon as the cat is out of the bag, it all goes downhill fast.
The Wraith has some saving graces. When you uncloak, you are still moving much faster for a couple of seconds, which can help you hit Survivors who think they are safe behind a dropped pallet. But still, Wraith's power does not offer you anything of significance when chasing a Survivor. And unlike Ghost Face, he cannot one-shot Survivors making a chase much shorter. Thus, he lands near the bottom of the C-Tier.
The Trickster
The Trickster is very fun to play, in my opinion. There is something just so satisfying in throwing his glass blades. And hearing him laugh like a bit of psycho when he injures someone. He even laughs when someone disconnects from the game; how hilarious is that?
But never go into a match as he expects excellent results or easy games. Maps with high walls are challenging for Killers like The Huntress, but they destroy The Trickster. When you catch someone out in the open as The Trickster, you can quickly down them from total health. His Main Event ability is fantastic, but I swear, you will never have it when you need it. Since you need to build up the meter for it, you have 30 seconds to use it before it is gone, and you need to build up for it again.
Play other ranged characters if you want results. Play this one for fabulous fashion and killer background music.
The Legion
The Legion is C-tier only because I have a soft spot for him. In the eyes of inexperienced players, he is the most overpowered Killer in the game but a complete joke to anyone else. His power always grants you the first hit for free. It is hard to mess up and not injure someone with Feral Frenzy. But then you are utterly powerless for the rest of the game. You can only basic attack like anyone else in the game. Legion is just a waste of time. This is sad because I like rushing people down in Feral Frenzy.
D-Tier
Picking any Killer from this tier puts you at a SEVERE disadvantage in the game, so they best be avoided. Unless you are particularly fond of any Killer here for any reason, you best forget all about them. The very bottom of my little Dead By Daylight Killers tier list. Reserved for the worst killers.
The Shape (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Shape is probably one of the best Killers in the game if you want to fool around. You can stalk people giving them heart attacks. Which gets ridiculous with some of his add-ons. He looks hilarious when moon-walking. He is an excellent meme material. And he was the first Killer added to Dead By Daylight from an already established horror franchise.
So then, on the not-so-bright side. He is awful. Do not play him for any other reason than the ones stated above. He can be a menace due to some disgustingly OP add-ons. But without them, it takes so freakin long to hit Evil Within Tier 3 that most of the game is done by that point, and you get 60 seconds of absolute pressure. Michael can only attack with his basic attack, making him pretty dull when played in a traditional manner.
The Pig (Paid DLC-Only Killer)
The Pig is one of the consistently weakest characters in Dead By Daylight history. She doesn't have any add-ons that break the game. She was never in the meta. She is in the exact opposite situation. Players at this point are begging to have her buffed so she can compete with other Killers. Because as of right now, judging by this Dead By Daylight Killers tier list, she is struggling.
She has no helpful power in a chase, except for her ambush dash, which rarely gets anyone and is telegraphed on many different levels. Seriously, you will never hit anyone who knows what they are doing with this. If you manage to down someone, you trap them with the reverse bear trap. And then one of the two happens. They either get the trap off on the first try, or they are unlucky enough to run around, not get it off after three attempts, and just die after being downed once, which is a stupid and disgusting game mechanic. The most threat you can generate is up to random chance.
The Clown
The Clown is, well, a clown, a jester, essentially a joke. All his power does is slow Survivors down a little bit. And then they will just drop a pallet cutting you off or run in a straight line. And all Clown can do is eat their dust. The Clown can speed himself up for 5 seconds, which will not help you in most cases.
He does have some disgusting add-ons. Most notably, Redhead's Pinkie Finger allows you to one-shot down anyone in your gas. But outside of that, he has nothing going for him.
The Trapper
The Trapper lacks everything that is good about The Hag. You need to painstakingly shuffle over to your randomly spawned bear traps, pick them up, and then carry them all the way over to a strategic place. For it to be disarmed by the Survivors in a matter of seconds. A process that will repeat like a broken record until you go insane. Or just frustratingly lose the game. If you like putting down traps, scroll up to the Hag and read up on her. She is Trapper but better in every way possible.
Since a better Trapper exists in the spirit of The Hag and his overall dog water kit, the Trapper is the worst Killer in Dead By Daylight.