7 Best Killer Perks in Dead By Daylight, Ranked (December 2023)

The horror game Dead by Daylight has almost 100 killer perks to choose from, and three more were added with the recent addition of Chucky. No matter which killer you play, it's essential to pick out the best perks for your playstyle to give yourself a boost and a higher chance of winning your matches.

Let's go over the best of the best killer perks in Dead by Daylight, as well as why they are an excellent choice to add to your build in 2023. Without further ado, here is our best killer perk tier list.

1 December 2023 - Dead by Daylight's meta is always changing. To help you pick the best perks to use on killer, we've updated our tier list to reflect the current meta in 2023.

#7 - Whispers

"You have a rudimentary understanding of The Entity's voice.

• You hear the sporadic whispers of the Entity whenever at least one Survivor is within 48/40/32 metres of your location."

Whispers is an excellent perk for both beginners and veterans, allowing you to hear the Entity's whispers when you are in the vicinity of any survivors. This ensures that you don't miss any survivors nearby, and you never stay in a dead zone for too long.

Whispers is a general perk and can be unlocked in the Bloodweb of any killer.

#6 - Jolt

"Your eerie presence charges the air and interferes with technology.

• 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.
• Applies an immediate 6/7/8 % Progression penalty."

Jolt is a great perk for any killers who cannot move around the map and manually kick generators consistently. With Jolt, you can regress generators from a distance just by downing a survivor.

Jolt is a general perk and can be unlocked in the Bloodweb of any killer.

#5 - Hex: Ruin

"A Hex that affects the Generator Repair progress of all Survivors.

• Whenever a Generator is not being repaired by a Survivor, it will immediately and automatically regress its Repair progress at 50/75/100% of the normal Regression speed.

• Once any Survivor is killed by any means, Hex: Ruin deactivates and reverts its Hex Totem into a Dull Totem.

• The Hex effects persist until its Hex Totem is cleansed."

Hex: Ruin was slightly nerfed back in the June perk overhaul, now deactivating when a survivor is killed by any means. This nerf wasn't a majorly bad one, though - by the time you have a survivor killed with Ruin still up, you should already be on track to win the game.

Because Hex: Ruin, like Jolt, allows you to consistently regress generators without so much as touching them, this perk is a strong choice for any killer.

Hex: Ruin is one of The Hag's teachable perks.

#4 - Discordance

"Any Generator within a range of 64/96/128metres that is being repaired by 2 or more Survivors is marked by a yellow Aura.

• When the Generator is first highlighted, Discordance triggers a Loud Noise Notification on the Generator.

• After the Generator is no longer within range or is being repaired by just 1 Survivor, the highlighted Aura will linger for another 4 seconds."

While many of the perks in our list of best killer perks focus on regressing generators, Discordance is a tracking perk. By illuminating generators with two or more survivors, you'll be able to keep track of hot spots around the map and target generators that survivors are on track to rapidly complete.

When paired with Tinkerker, another one of the perks on our list, you can patrol generators extremely efficiently. Discordance will let you know when survivors are working together on a generator, while Tinkerker will give you a notification when one is almost done, no matter how many survivors are on it. As such, you'll have constant surveillance on generators and a rough idea of their progress.

Discordance is one of The Legion's teachable perks.

#3 - Tinkerer

"Whenever a Generator is repaired to 70 %, you benefit from the following effects:

• Triggers a Loud Noise Notification for that Generator, revealing its location.

• Grants the Undetectable Status Effect for the next 12/14/16 seconds.

• Tinkerer can only trigger once per Generator per Trial."

Tinkerer lets you know when a generator is about to be completed, giving you enough time to approach and force survivors off of it before it pops.

Because it has the bonus of making you Undetectable, you may be able to sneak up on the survivors on the Generator, landing a down or a free hit.

Tinkerer is one of The Hillbilly's teachable perks.

#2 - A Nurse's Calling

"Unlocks potential in your Aura-reading ability.

• 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."

Healing is a part of the survivor meta against most killers. If you're hit by the Oni or a stealth killer, for example, you will want to heal as quickly as possible. Many survivors will even bring Boon: Circle of Healing to speed up this process. In fact, Boon: Circle of Healing is one of the most commonly used survivor perks.

A Nurse's Calling shows survivors' auras when healing, allowing you to catch them out when they're the most vulnerable. Boon: Circle of Healing might be a counter to killers who hit and run, but A Nurse's Calling is also a counter to Circle of Healing!

A Nurse's Calling is one of The Nurse's teachable perks.

#1 - Lethal Pursuer

"You have been designed to track down and eliminate targets.

• At the start of the Trial, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed to you for 7/8/9 seconds.

• Extends the duration of a Survivor's Aura being revealed to you by +2 seconds.

• Lethal Pursuer benefits from its own effect."

Lethal Pursuer is an exceptional killer perk given just its primary ability; allowing you to see all of the survivors at the beginning of the match provides you with a considerable advantage. The start of the game is one of the most critical points; if you aren't able to find survivors, the generators will be completed in no time

The Aura reveals extension is a great bonus, too, making it wise to run Lethal Pursuer with other Aura-reading perks like Awakened Awareness or I'm All Ears.

Lethal Pursuer is one of The Nemesis' teachable perks.

Best Killer Loadout In Dead By Daylight

Now that you've looked at all of the best perks in DBD, it's time to create a build for yourself.

There are over 30 killers to choose from in the game, with more being added regularly. Each killer has a unique playstyle and power. As such, you'll need to experiment to determine the best killer loadout for you in the game.

You can try to mix and match the best killer perks to create a build that works for you, creating a healthy balance between generator regression perks and tracking perks. 

Here is an example of a highly effective build:

• Discordance (The Legion)
• Tinkerer (The Hillbilly)
• Hex: Ruin (The Hag)
• Jolt

This build works so well because Discordance and Tinkerer give you intel on survivors' locations, while Jolt and Hex: Ruin empower you to regress generators effortlessly.

Those are all the best killer perks you can use in Dead by Daylight. Using the right perks for your playstyle and main killer can completely turn your game around, so we hope this guide will help you take down more survivors in The Fog.

For more Dead by Daylight news be sure to check out our dedicated section, or some of our Guides & Tutorials, just below: