Summary
Dead by Daylightwas originally not supposed to be a highly competitive game. The developers originally wanted it to be a spooky, hide-and-seek-style party game. As with any game placing people against each other, though, it grew and developed its own meta. Nearly any killer in the game is viable against most lobbies of survivors, although the survivors generally have the upper hand in higher-level play as it is.
While every killer can get wins with their unique skillsets, there are a few that are a lot tougher to get the hang of using. This doesn’t make them bad options; it often means that learning them will be even more rewarding in the end.Dead by Daylightisn’t always an easy game, especially for the killer. These are some of thehardest killers to masterin the current roster.
Updated on June 01, 2025, by Mara Cowley:Dead by Daylight continues to evolve with a thriving player-base to provide for. More Killers are constantly being added to the roster, changing the meta and adding characters players need to learn the playstyle for. With the newDbD 2v8mode on the horizon, players may be moving away from their life as a Survivor main to learning how to play Killer as well, and the challenge of certain Killers may be a little daunting. Killer mains will be the inverse of this, searching for a new challenge once their main has grown too simple. As such, this article has been updated to include more of thehardest Killers to get to grips with.
15The Hillbilly - Max Thompson Jr.
Precision Is Necessary To Land Chainsaw Dashes
The Hillbilly is one of two chainsaw killers in the game. With how destructive this tool is, chainsaws are capable of immediately downing a Survivor if they land, so naturally, they come with a bit of a catch.
In terms of the Hillbilly, revving his chainsaw causes him to dash in a fast line, with turning being just about as awkward astank controls from gamesof yore. As such, Survivors can easily dodge chainsaw hits by looping around obstacles or even just evading him in large open portions of the map. Though experienced players may be able to learn to predict survivor movements, there is a high skill ceiling for those who are new to this killer.
14The Lich - Vecna
Mechanics Can Be Tough To Remember And Use Effectively
Vecna is a legendary antagonist from the mythos ofDungeons and Dragons, a dangerous lich with untold powers and a whole trove of magical treasure, which are invaluable to plucky adventurers hoping to put an end to his reign of terror.
In an unforeseen crossover, Vecna joined the league of evil creatures inDead by Daylight,introducing a dice roll mechanicand more with his vast wealth of skills. His abilities to fly across the map in spectral form and block pallets from being thrown sound like useful mechanics that are beneficial to the killer. But in the heat of the movement, players new to Vecna could very easily forget about these skills as they focus too much on chasing down their prey. Not to mention, lucky players can gain valuable loot to use against him.
13The Knight - Tarhos Kovacs
Knowing When To Deploy Guards Is Never Simple
From eras ago, the Knight brings his skill with a sword and histhree ghostly guardswith him into the fog, alongside Survivor Victorio Tosscano. This original killer never found much popularity among players, but that could be due to how hard it can be to effectively play him.
With three guards that he can call upon one at a time, each one has a different effect to aid the killer. But doing so hides scratch marks and pools of blood, making it difficult to track down slippery survivors, and most of the guards do not directly injure survivors either. Timing and game sense are needed to master this deceptively tricky killer.
12The Shape — Michael Myers
Evil Within Requires Time And Patience
Micheal Myers exists in a weird place inside the meta ofDead by Daylight. On one hand, his ability is arguably one of the easiest in the game to learn. He stalks victims by holding the active power button and watching survivors. Stalking builds a meter, which powers Myers up with each tier, ending in a timed tier three. On paper, this is very simple to learn and use.
Truly mastering Myers is a lot trickier, though. Players should note that Myers doesn’t lose tier two once it is reached. As it is a limited-use ability, good Myers players will often save tier three for when they need it most. This means getting the tier 2 meter to 99% and saving it. Meter management is key for Myers players to learn. Combine this with Myers' lack of anti-looping, and he becomes one of theharder killers to master, especially with no add-ons.
11The Ghost Face - Danny Johnson
Certain Maps Render His Power Near Useless
Like Michael Myers, Ghost Face is a stealth-type killer inDead by Daylight.These killers play differently than nearly any other killer in the game and add a layer of difficulty that many players simply find too intimidating. Though hard to master, Ghost Face is the definitive choice for players looking to play a stealth killer. Unlike Myers, Ghost Face can apply pressure with his ability much earlier in the match, as he doesn’t need to level it up. He can mark multiple people and expose them early on. He can also crouch, making him muchharder to spot than Myers.
Though Ghost Face will never match the level of a high-skill Nurse or Blight, he can be very effective in most lobbies once his gameplay loop is mastered. Like most killers,Ghost Face is weak on certain maps,particularly those where he stands out against the props and backgrounds. However, learning to play these maps is key to mastering the best stealth killer in the game.
10The Twins - Charlotte And Victor Deshayes
Managing Two Killers Is A Tough Balancing Act
Managing a killer’s powers can be hard. Now, take that feeling, and double it. The Twins are built aroundplaying as essentially two characters. Charlotte is the primary killer, while her vile twin, Victor, can be thought of as her unique ability. Players can separate Victor from Charlotte’s body and play a whole new killer for a brief period. That said, managing when to use Victor and how to capitalize on his own powers can be very difficult.
Victor moves very quickly but cannot see survivor scratch marks. He can use his special attack to pounce on survivors. Already-injured survivors will go down, while healthy survivors will be constantly attacked by Victor for 8 seconds. Killer control then swaps back to Charlotte, who must find the pounced survivor. There’s plenty more that Victor can do, but these killers are among some of the hardest to master, simply because the player may feel overwhelmed by the task of managing two unique characters.
9The Oni - Kazan Yamaoka
His Speed Makes Him Incredibly Hard To Control
The Oni is one of the largest killers inDead by Daylight,rooted in Japanese mythology. He’s also, surprisingly, one of the fastest. When the Oni injures survivors, they release blood orbs. These orbs can be absorbed by the Oni, charging his meter, which unleashes his true power. Once a full meter has been reached, the Oni can activate Blood Fury.
During Blood Fury, the Oni can Demon Dash, which allows him to sprint around the map at a terrifying speed. Unlike Legion’s sprint, though, Demon Dash can be very hard to control. The Oni’s lunge attack can also be turned into the powerful Demon Strike during Blood Fury. Demon Strike reaches farther than a standard lunge attack and instantly downs survivors no matter what health state they’re in. The Oni has the potential to be one of the strongest killers in the game, but it takes a lot of practice and a little luck with the map spawn.
8The Blight - Talbot Grimes
His Dash Is Powerful But Quite Hard To Learn
When examining high levels of play, Blight’s position as one of the top killers is undeniable. That said, his sprint is a bit strange to learn and even harder to fully master. The Blight can sprint for a brief time using his Rush power. Rush consumes one of five starting charges. On a normal Rush, the Blight cannot attack. to attack during a Rush, players will have to slam the Blight into a surface first and then initiate another Rush.
This next Rush will be a Lethal Rush. The Blight can attack survivors during a Lethal Rush. He just has to be slammed into something first. Lethal Rushes can be extended by slamming into objects along the way. Is a survivor far out but reachable in three rushes? Pinball the Blight all the way there and rush them down. He can become a top-tier killer in the right hands once his Rushing, slamming, and Lethal Rushing are mastered.
7The Plague - Adiris
Players Need To Be Vigilant Of All The Survivors Statuses
The Plague is one of the more foul foesinDead by Daylight, and her unique ability centers around projectile vomit. If that wasn’t gross enough, she can use this vomit to infect objects like generators and lockers. At max infection, survivors take damage and suffer from the Broken debuff, which doesn’t allow them to heal at all until they cleanse themselves of the sickness.
The sickness can be cured at one of many pools placed on the map. These Pools of Devotion heal survivors completely and are also what makes the Plague so tricky to play. She can injure survivors and infect them, but they can fully heal themselves at the pools. However, The Plague can also drink from these used pools to upgrade her bile into Corrupt Purge, which makes her vomit more lethal. Playing the Plague is all about player decisions. The right decisions need to be made at the right times, and infections need to be watched closely. Once a player has mastered the Plague, though, they will find that there are few other killers in the game that can hold a three-gen better than she.
6The Executioner - Pyramid Head
Rites Of Judgment Is Hard To Land
There is perhapsno monster more iconicin the world of horror video games than Pyramid Head from theSilent Hillfranchise. Pyramid Head can drag his sword along the ground to enact the Rites of Judgment, leaving a trail of barbed wire. Survivors who hit this barbed wire will be afflicted with Torment.
Tormented survivors can be sent to a Cage of Atonement. These cages act like hooks but don’t require Pyramid Head to grab the downed survivor. Pyramid Head also has a ranged attack. Pressing the attack button while using Rites of Judgment makes Pyramid Head send barbed wire forward in a straight path. This attack goes through walls and is great for catching survivors off guard. Unfortunately, the attack is quite easy to dodge, and it leaves Pyramid Head in a small recovery animation.
