Dead by Daylight's Portrait of a Murder DLC introduced The Artist, Jonah Vasquez, and the Eyrie of Crows map, a desert-like scene covered with stray ink. Portrait of a Murder is a visually striking chapter, but are the characters and their perks still worth it?
Here's our review of Dead by Daylight's Portrait of a Murder DLC, featuring The Artist and Jonah Vasquez, and whether you should purchase it for yourself.
Dead By Daylight: Portrait Of A Murder Review
The Artist is a "ranged reconnaissance" killer - she can use her Birds of Torment to both track down survivors and injure them if she manages to earn a follow-up hit. These Dire Crows can cross the whole map, meaning The Artist has more range than most killers, and the only way to counter an Artist who knows how to aim well is often to just hold 'W'.
While she's been a powerful killer since she was added to the game, she isn't super beginner-friendly. Since your Crows are limited, you'll need to use them strategically, and aiming accurately is absolutely critical. This can take some practice, but those with strong map knowledge will find it easier to know when and where to utilize her birds, and will likely pick up on the ability quickly.
As with her powerful ability, The Artist's perks are quite strong - with a few caveats. They used to be significantly stronger - notably, Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance - before they were nerfed in recent updates. That said, her Scourge Hook still has its place in many builds and helps regress generators. Hex: Pentimento can be combined with other Hexes to really pack a punch, with 5 Tokens often being enough to win you the game. Grim Embrace gives you both map knowledge and generator regression, making it generally helpful for most killers.
Jonah Vasquez accompanied The Artist into the Fog, bringing his own three personal perks, too. Corrective Action isn't really useful at all for anyone other than beginners, as it'll just help your teammates if they miss a skill check. Overcome is a strong Exhaustion perk and can be synergized with many other chase perks, while Boon: Exponential can be used in a few builds to help you and your teammates avoid slugging. None of Jonah's perks are really excellent, but Overcome is better than average.
Dead By Daylight: Portrait Of A Murder Review Verdict
While Dead by Daylight's Portrait of a Murder might appeal to players with a particular playstyle, The Artist's ability isn't exceptionally unique, and she isn't very approachable for beginners. Her perks, along with Jonah Vasquez's, as relatively strong, but have seen some nerfs over the past few months, making them less necessary for meta builds.
While Portrait of a Murder isn't DBD's worst chapter by a long shot, The Artist just doesn't stand out in a growing roster of iconic killers, and Jonah doesn't boast particularly interesting perks.
Rating: 6/10
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