Dead By Daylight: The 10 Best Survivor Builds (2024) (2024)

Dead by Daylight continues to show off impressive staying power. With more and more chapters for the game on the horizon, the future of the game looks exciting, fresh, and full of new perks. As of now, there are over 100 survivor perks in Dead by Daylight, and while many rarely see regular play, there are plenty of very powerful survivor perks to be had.

2023 added plenty of new content to Dead by Daylight and brought a meta shakeup for Killers and Survivors, alike. There are numerous ways to play as a Survivor and plenty of niches that can be filled with the right builds. Players looking to spice up their perks or try new builds have plenty of new options when it comes to playing as Survivor.

10 The Non-Teachable Build

Best For Newcomers

For players completely fresh to the game, they may not have access to perks like Overcome and Windows of Opportunity, as these are locked behind DLC characters. This build is made to accommodate those newcomers as they enter The Fog for the first time.

• Kindred (General Perk) – When you or another Survivor is hooked, reveal all other Survivor’s auras. If The Killer is within 16 meters of the hook, reveal The Killer’s aura, also. These auras are revealed to allies when you are hooked.
• Déjà Vu (General Perk) – The aura of three generators within close proximity to each other are revealed. Gain a 6% repair speed bonus when working on these generators.
• We’ll Make It (General Perk) – After recusing a Survivor from hook, gain a 100% speed bonus to healing actions for 90 seconds.
• Resilience (General Perk) – While injured, gain a 9% speed boost to all actions.

While Kindred and Déjà Vu work to provide information, We'll Make It and Resilience grant the player some impressive speed boosts that can help complete objectives and protect fellow Survivors at greater efficiency.

9 The Beginner Build

Beginner-Friendly, But With Access To More Perks

For players new to Dead by Daylight,many of the confusing maps and mechanics can be overwhelming. This build is targeted at players who are less familiar with the game, but have access to some of the perks available to Survivors.

• Windows of Opportunity (Kate Denson) – The auras of pallets, breakable walls, and vault locations are revealed when within a 32-meter radius.
• Overcome (Jonah Vasquez) – Upon being injured, retain movement speed bonus for an additional 2 seconds. This perk causes the Exhaustion effect for 40 seconds.
• Kindred (General Perk) – When you or another Survivor is hooked, reveal all other Survivor’s auras. If The Killer is within 16 meters of the hook, reveal The Killer’s aura, also. These auras are revealed to allies when you are hooked.
• Déjà Vu (General Perk) – The auras of three generators within close proximity to each other are revealed. Gain a 6% repair speed bonus when working on these generators.

Windows of Opportunity will allow newcomers to find nearby pallets and windows around which they can learn to loop Killers. Meanwhile, Kindred and Déjà Vu reveal auras that can greatly help to coordinate hook rescues and break up sets of generators to make patrolling them more difficult for The Killer. Finally, Overcome is helpful in the chase for any player not yet ready to learn the intricacies of other Exhaustion perks.

8 The Escapist Build

Don't Let Them Catch You

Not every survivor is going to be great at stealth or looping. Players make mistakes, get scared by The Killer, and might end up in a dying state. There is often nothing a Survivor can do from the dying state, especially if they are picked up by the killer immediately. While Survivors can try and wriggle free from The Killer's grasp, there are enough hooks around the map to make this a rare occurrence. This build seeks to change all of that. Going down is just the beginning for Survivors running these escape-centered perks:

• Balanced Landing (Nea Karlsson) – After falling, the stagger duration is reduced by 75%, and the volume of grunts is reduced by 100%. Afterward, break into a sprint at 150% normal running speed.
• Flip-Flop (Ashley J. Williams) – While in the dying state, 50% of recovery progression is converted into wiggle progression when picked up by The Killer.
• Power Struggle (Élodie Rakoto) – While being carried by The Killer, reaching 15% wiggle progress allows you to use the Active Ability button to drop a nearby pallet to stun The Killer.
• Plot Twist (Nicholas Cage) – After being injured, press the Active Ability button while crouched and still to silently enter the dying state. In this state, you make no noise and can fully recover your health. Upon doing so, gain 50% Haste for 4 seconds. This perk deactivates upon first use but reactivates once the exit gates are powered.

These perks synergize very well together but still require a little luck to maximize their value. For example, if the killer doesn't let the survivor sit on the ground for long enough, Flip-Flop won't have too much value. It can therefore be more valuable to Plot Twist on top of a pallet. Dying on a pallet takes a bit of know-how, but escaping The Killer is possible, especially when coordinated with fellow teammates who can distract The Killer while Flip-Flop builds wiggle progress.

7 The Lone Survivor Build

Survive The Trials

Sometimes, the only thing a Survivor can do in Dead By Daylight is rely on their own abilities to survive the Entity's trials. The following perks promote a playstyle that can help escape as many trials as possible:

• Clairvoyance (Mikaela Reid) – After cleansing a Totem with an empty hand, use the Active Ability button to see the auras of exit gates, generators, hooks, chests, and the Hatch within 64 meters for up to 10 seconds.
• Sole Survivor (Laurie Strode) – For each Survivor no longer in the trial, gain a token. Each token denies The Killer any aura reading on you within 24 meters. When you’re the last Survivor alive, gain a 75% action speed bonus for repairing generators and a 50% speed bonus for opening the exit gates or the Hatch.
• Inner Strength (Nancy Wheeler) – After cleansing a Totem, enter a locker for 8 seconds to be healed.
• Lithe (Feng Min) – After performing a rushed vault, sprint at 50% increased speed for 30 seconds. This perk has a 40-second cooldown.

Clairvoyance and Inner Strength allow Survivors to heal and reveal Hatch auras with just a cleanse of a Totem. Furthermore, Lithe can drastically help in the chase, while Sole Survivor from Dead by Daylight's "Halloween" Chapter helps players escape when exit gates are the only remaining option.

6 The Locker Build

Best Place To Hide

Lockers are usually used to hide in plain sight from The Killer. Opening lockers takes precious time away from The Killer, so they often won't check every locker. This build turns lockers from hiding places into weapons to be used by Survivors.

• Quick and Quiet (Meg Thomas) – Once every 20 seconds, any rushed actions performed are silent.
• Head On (Jane Romero) – After standing in a locker for 3 seconds, Head On will activate. Performing a rushed action to leave a locker will stun a nearby Killer for 3 seconds. This perk causes the Exhaustion effect for 40 seconds.
• Bond (Dwight Fairfield) – See the auras of other Survivors within a 36-meter range.
• Flashbang (Leon S. Kennedy) – After completing 50% progress on any generator, enter a locker to craft a Flashbang.

If a teammate needs a quick distraction to evade The Killer, this build has it covered. Coordinating a well-timed Head-On and Blind with Leon Kennedy's Flashbang can leave Killers without a viable chase on their hands and can prevent them from tunnelling.

5 The Endgame Build

Outrun The Killer In The Endgame

Despite the introduction of an anti-camp feature in 2023, Killers will often resort to camping and tunneling in the Endgame in order to secure a kill. This build seeks to counter the more brutal playstyles that Killers adopt in the Endgame Collapse.

• Hope (General Perk) – Gain a 7% Haste effect once the exit gates are powered.
• Reassurance (Rebecca Chambers) – Within a 6-meter radius of any hooked Survivor, use the second Active Ability button to pause their struggle progression for 30 seconds.
• Adrenaline (Meg Thomas) – Once the exit gates are powered, instantly heal one health state and break into a sprint at 50% increased speed for 5 seconds. This perk causes Exhaustion for 40 seconds.
• Sprint Burst (Meg Thomas) – Upon running, sprint at 50% increased speed for 3 seconds. This perk has a 40-second Exhaustion.

This build allows players to outrun The Killer in the Endgame. By Reassuring Survivors on the hook, players can extend the struggle timer, giving others more time to reset or cleanse any nasty endgame Totems. When paired with powerful healing items, this build can ensure a speedy escape.

4 The Team Player Build

Work With Your Team

Dead By Daylight thrives on teammates who can help one another in sticky situations. Helping to take chase from weaker Survivors and working hard with the team to avoid leaving the final three generators close together are all important aspects when approaching Dead By Daylight. The following perks will help tremendously with team play:

• Deliverance (Adam Francis) – After performing any safe hook rescue, gain a 100% chance of unhooking yourself upon first hook stage. A successful Deliverance leaves the Survivor Broken for 60 seconds.
• We’ll Make It (General Perk) – After recusing a Survivor from a hook, gain a 100% speed bonus to healing actions for 90 seconds.
• Distortion (Jeff Johansen) – Start the trial with 3 tokens. Each time your aura would be shown to The Killer, for the next 10 seconds your aura and scratch marks are hidden, and a token is consumed. Regain a token for each 30 seconds spent in The Killer’s Terror Radius.
• Background Player (Renato Lyra) – When the Killer picks up another Survivor, this perk activates for 10 seconds. Upon running, sprint at 200% normal running speed for 5 seconds. This perk causes Exhaustion for 40 seconds.

Renato Lyra's Background Player is fantastic for pulling off well-timed flashlight saves, blinding the Killer at the perfect time as they pick up a Survivor to deny them a hook; paired with Dwight Fairfield's perk Bond, even players in solo queue can pull off some impressive saves. Deliverance is perfect for getting right back into the action and avoiding being camped by the Killer, potentially drawing attention away from Survivors working on generators. Finally, Distortion will allow altruistic players to get the drop on The Killer, safely rescuing Survivors and setting up a Deliverance play.

3 The Anti-Tunnel Build

Divert The Killer's Focus Somewhere Else

Players who are sick of getting immediately chased after being unhooked may want to consider running a certain set of perks that waste The Killer's time when they choose to engage in those types of chases.

• Dead Hard (David King) – After being unhooked or unhooking yourself, Dead Hard activates. While injured, use the Active Ability button while running to gain the Endurance effect for 0.5 seconds, after which Dead Hard deactivates. This perk causes the Exhaustion effect for 40 seconds.
• Off The Record (Zarina Kassir) – Upon being unhooked or unhooking yourself, for the next 80 seconds gain the Endurance status effect, have your aura hidden from The Killer, and have all grunts of pain made silent.
• Decisive Strike (Laurie Strode) – After being unhooked or unhooking yourself, Decisive Strike activates for the next 60 seconds. After being picked up by a Killer while the perk is active, succeed at a difficult Skill Check to break free from their grasp, stunning them for 5 seconds. Powered exit gates and Conspicuous Actions disable this perk's effects.
• Unbreakable (William “Bill” Overbeck) – Upon entering the dying state, recover 35% faster and gain the ability to fully recover once per trial.

Being hit off the hook will send players being tunneled into Deep Wounds, after which they can safely enter the dying state within one minute to allow Decisive Strike or Bill Overbeck's Unbreakable to hit The Killer. Better yet, if The Killer continues to tunnel, now out of Deep Wounds, players can hit a well-timed Dead Hard to utterly ruin the tunneler's day. While this build takes a lot of skill and practice to pull off, when it works, it can massively waste The Killer's time.

2 The Runner Build

Outpace The Killer

Players adopting the newer meta of Dead by Daylight will probably want to leave stealth behind. Looping Killers isn't an easy skill to learn, but once mastered, a Survivor can run a killer around for several minutes straight without getting downed once. Runners are often key components to escaping a trial as a team, as they distract The Killer long enough for generators to be completed in quick succession. Players looking to attract The Killer and run them around should consider using the following perks:

• Sprint Burst (Meg Thomas) – Upon running, sprint at 50% increased speed for 3 seconds. This perk has a 40-second Exhaustion.
• Adrenaline (Meg Thomas) – Once the exit gates are powered, instantly heal one health state and break into a sprint at 50% increased speed for 5 seconds. This perk causes Exhaustion for 40 seconds.
• Windows of Opportunity (Kate Denson) – The auras of pallets, breakable walls, and vault locations are revealed when within a 32-meter radius.
• Troubleshooter (Gabriel Soma) – For 10 seconds after starting chase, you see the aura of the most progressed generator, and dropping a pallet will reveal the Killer's aura for six seconds.

Effective runners can easily distract a Killer and buy their teams plenty of time to complete objectives. They can also get into the heads of some Killers and cause their play to weaken as a result. Remember, it can be fun and feel rewarding to loop a Killer, but remember to be a good sport and avoid toxicity.

The Much-Needed Speed Boost

Players looking to maintain a generally good build will find that the core meta perks, while different from those before, feature various perks with similar effects. The best all-around Survivor perks center around getting a speed boost in the chase and the safe rescue of hooked teammates. This build usually contains the following perks:

• Lithe (Feng Min) – After performing a rushed vault, sprint at 50% increased speed for 30 seconds. This perk has a 40-second cooldown.
• Adrenaline (Meg Thomas) – Once the exit gates are powered, instantly heal one health state and break into a sprint at 50% increased speed for 5 seconds. This perk causes Exhaustion for 40 seconds.
• Decisive Strike (Laurie Strode) – After being unhooked or unhooking yourself, Decisive Strike activates for the next 60 seconds. After being picked up by a Killer while the perk is active, succeed at a difficult Skill Check to break free from their grasp, stunning them for 5 seconds. Powered exit gates and Conspicuous Actions disable this perk's effects.
• Unbreakable (William “Bill” Overbeck) – Upon entering the dying state, recover 35% faster and gain the ability to fully recover once per trial.

These perks are very common among Survivors, and are effective against every Killer in the game. Lithe causes Exhaustion, so it must be managed correctly for maximum efficiency. It can prove to be incredibly powerful against most Killers. Meanwhile, Decisive Strike helps Survivors avoid being tunnelled out of the game while buying the team more time to coordinate a rescue. For team players, Adrenaline is insanely effective at denying the Killer downs in the endgame, hopefully ensuring that as many Survivors as possible can escape.

Dead by Daylight

Horror

Survival

Platform(s)

PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Stadia , Switch , Mobile

Released

June 14, 2016

Developer(s)

Behaviour Interactive

Publisher(s)

Behaviour Interactive

See at Official Site