Hello! I'm Bree-chan!

Welcome to my guide on Killer Archtypes! With this guide I hope I can help lead you in a direction to picking your first killer, exploring new ones, or choosing the next DLC you'd like to go after!

At the time of writing I currently have 300 hours on killer so please take what I have to say with a little grain of salt.

I main Skull Merchant, Sadako, Hag & Plague.

I recently went on an 18 game winstreak on Skull Merchant so I guess i'm not all that terrible. (I don't get a lot of chances to gloat about my achievements.. please bare with me!)

Most of my knowledge comes from opinion alone based on the kits of the killers, their add-ons, perks, etc.

Thank's for reading and I hope this helps!

This section will list some important links.

For general information on how to get better at the game the most obvious link I can include here is Otzdarva. The man is a legend in the DBD community and consistently updates his website[otzdarva.com] with builds for both killers and survivors and if you're new to the game please go check him out! You'll learn a bunch!

https://dbd.tricky.lol is a website which tracks stats of killers based on various numbers of metrics. Many of the "Who to watch" sections of this guide were sourced from this website.

https://nightlight.gg is a great website for tracking personal progress on killers. It has a tiny bit of a curve to getting into it but you can use the website to track all of your killer stats with screenshots you take post game!

The Wiki [deadbydaylight.fandom.com] is a great place to learn the in's and out's of killer powers and many different interactions between killers perks and survivor's perks.

In almost every online multiplayer game, characters can be assigned into certain archetypes based on their play style. In fighting games you tend to have zoners, rushdown, mixup, etc. In MOBA's you have divers, tanks, team-fighters, etc.

Dead by Daylight is no different! While all killers can be played outside of their intended archetypes each one falls into a certain category based on three key components.

Aggro:

Killers that fall into this Archetype tend to be insane at W keying people. They are great at chasing survivors, baiting out pallets (and sometimes subverting them all together) and have very high mobility and one shot potential.

Stealth:

These Killers like to keep to the shadows, typically to proc certain powers or add-on's they have. Usually these killers have powers built into their kit which allows them to go Undetectable or lower their terror radius. While they tend to have very passive early play styles these killers can have EXPLOSIVE mid-games, having ways to expose you out of stealth and one shot you.

Set Play:

Zone control. The killers that gravitate to this play style tend to control zones with their power. Often placing traps in certain places, marking generators, making you play mini-games, placing reconnaissance drones, etc. The hardest of the three to play efficiently but one of the most rewarding "big brain" play styles

Most killers take up hybrid roles based on these archetypes and can share many traits between them. With unique add-on's and a plethora of perks you can really play any killer almost any way you want, however understanding these archetypes is monumental to picking a new killer up.

Archetype: Set-Play/Aggro
Power: BEAR TRAP
The Trapper starts the Trial with 2 Bear Traps equipped, with 6 additional Bear Traps spawned randomly throughout the Trial Grounds.
The Trapper sees the auras of every Bear Trap at all times.

Bear Traps in the environment are disarmed by default.


SPECIAL INTERACTION: SETTING TRAPS
Press and hold the Power button to set and arm a Bear Trap from The Trapper's inventory in a valid location in front of him:

An armed Bear Trap will trap and immobilise any Survivor who steps into it.
If the Survivor was healthy, they will be put into the Injured StateIconHelp injured.
An armed Bear Trap will also trap The Trapper, if he steps into it.
This temporarily immobilises him while he frees his foot and resets the Bear Trap.
If he was carrying a Survivor, that Survivor will escape from his shoulder.
A trapped Survivor can attempt to free themselves from the Bear Trap or wait for another Survivor to rescue them out of it.

SPECIAL INTERACTION: COLLECTING TRAPS
Press the Interaction button while standing near or on a disarmed Bear Trap to collect it.
The Trapper can carry 2 Bear Traps at a time.

SPECIAL INTERACTION: RESETTING TRAPS
Press the Power button while standing near or on a disarmed Bear Trap to reset it, arming it in the process.

SPECIAL INTERACTION: CATCHING SURVIVORS StatusIcon trap
Press the Interaction button on a trapped Survivor to lift them out of the Bear Trap and onto The Trapper's shoulder, immediately allowing you to carry them.

1. You like setting traps around the map.
2. You like chasing survivors in a big game of chess around your traps.
3. You LARP as Bear Grylls.

Trapper will usually place his traps down around the map in predetermined locations and then force survivors into them by trying to lure them into positions around the traps. Doing this at a consistent level is hard for even the best trappers.

Trappers to Watch:
TheEntitysLeftHand[www.twitch.tv]
maou_asada[www.twitch.tv]
Mr.Assassin

Archetype: Stealth
Power: Wailing Bell

The Wraith starts the Trial Cloaked, which has the following effects:

Grants the undetectable Status Effect.
Increases his Movement speed (6.0 m/s).
The Wraith is partially invisible as a shimmering form to Survivors who are within 20 metres of him and fully invisible to Survivors who are farther away.
The Wraith becomes fully invisible when standing still for a second, including for himself, and for as long as he remains stationary.
The Wraith is unable to attack Survivors or interact with them, but can still interact with environmental objects.

SPECIAL ABILITY: CLOAK / UNCLOAK
The Wraith must Uncloak in order to attack Survivors.
Press and hold the Power button at any time to ring the Wailing Bell and Uncloak, leaving the Spirit World.

Grants a short speed burst for 1 second to increase his Lunge range and compensate for his slowed Movement speed while Uncloaking.
The Wraith can Cloak and re-enter the Spirit World at any time by pressing and holding the Power button again to ring the Wailing Bell.


SPECIAL OBJECT: WAILING BELL
The Wailing Bell's toll is heard up to 24 metres away.
The accompanying *Wooosh* noise of The Wraith entering and exiting the Spirit World is heard up to 40 metres away.

1. You like sneaking up on opponents.
2. You like games of cat and mouse where you constantly have survivors on their toes.
3. You like spamming the bell over and over after you mod it to sound like the Taco Bell ding.

The Wraith's play-style generally involves starting your chase directly ontop of survivor's by getting right ontop of them with your cloak/uncloak ability. While The Wraith is the original stealth killer of the game he has fallen off a little bit in the past few years due to changes they have made to his stealth making him a bit easier to spot. Overall a solid, good, free entry into playing a stealth killer.

Wraith's to Watch:
niamarl
captainwraith[www.twitch.tv]
Altair

Archetype: Aggro
Power: CHAINSAW
Press and hold the Power button to break into a Chainsaw Sprint, moving at twice your regular Movement speed (9.2 m/s).
Survivors hit during a Chainsaw Sprint are put into the Dying dying.

Each Chainsaw action (starting, revving, and sprinting) will cause the Overheat meter to fill.
When the Overheat meter is filled, the Chainsaw cannot be used until its fully cooled down.
Reaching the Overheat limit will not interrupt an ongoing Chainsaw Sprint.
The Overheat meter decreases when the Chainsaw is not in use.

1. You like extremely mobile characters
2. You like big risk/reward game-play with plenty of one-shots.
3. You like to blast Initial-D at every opportunity you can.

One of the starter killers who has a VERY straightforward game-plan. Wants to stay ontop of survivors all game and can do so by being able to traverse the map very fast with his Chainsaw Sprint while also being a menace with his one-shot potential and ability to run through pallets and doors. Get's a bit screwed on some indoor maps and maps with a lot of ledge loops.

Hillbilly's to Watch:
UncleStanBanal[www.twitch.tv]
ruireina[www.twitch.tv]
KaiZ[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro
Power: Spencer's Last Breath

Channeling its energy allows The Nurse to pierce and jump through the Spirit World in a blink multiple times in a row. Doing so leaves her in a state of fatigue.

SPENCER'S LAST BREATH:
Press and hold the Power button to charge a Blink:

Blink for up to 20 metres upon activation.
During the ensuing Chain Blink Window, charge again to initiate a Chain Blink of up to 12 metres upon activation.
After either the Chain Blink Window closed or the final Chain Blink elapsed, enter a state of Fatigue (2-3 seconds*).
Grants 1 Chain Blink.

1. You like characters with dashes/blinks.
2. You like being in survivors faces and hitting them with non-stop jukes.
3. You like to go SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE before you swing.

Nurse really likes to dash around the map. She has pretty good control going between floors on vertical maps and can do some insane things with her blink. The outplay potential on this killer is through the roof and her ability to harass and bully survivors for the entirety of the match is almost unmatched. Probably one of the most hated killers in the game. Has consistently been S tier since her release.

Nurses to Watch:
bloodynurs3[www.twitch.tv]
SHINKAI[www.twitch.tv]
DBD_dage[kick.com]

Archetype: Stealth/Aggro Hybrid
Power: EVIL WITHIN
Activating Evil Within allows The Shape to see his prey clearly and build up more evil power by stalking them:

Evil Within I:

The Shape is granted the undetectable Status Effect.
The Shape has a reduced Movement speed of 4.2 m/s.
The Shape has a reduced Lunge Attack open time of 0.2 seconds, decreasing his range.
The Shape has a normal Vaulting time of 1.7 seconds.

Evil Within II:

The Shape has a reduced Terror Radius of 16 metres.
The Shape has a normal Movement speed of 4.6 m/s.
The Shape has a normal Lunge Attack open time of 0.5 seconds.
The Shape has a reduced Vaulting time of 1.48 seconds.

Evil Within III:

All Survivors suffer from the exposed Status Effect for 60 seconds, after which The Shape automatically regresses to Evil Within II.
The Shape has a normal Terror Radius of 32 metres.
The Shape has a normal Movement speed of 4.6 m/s.
The Shape has an increased Lunge Attack open time of 0.6 seconds, increasing his range.
The Shape has a further reduced Vaulting time of 1.275 seconds.

SPECIAL ABILITY: Stalk
Press and hold the Power button to stalk all visible Survivors.
Stalking Survivors builds up your progress through Evil Within Tiers.

1. You like to stalk survivors as if they are your prey.
2. You like to play a slow, patient, stealthy game while your power builds over time.
3. This.

Michael Myers is an iconic killer from the Halloween series who is an unstoppable entity that watches from the shadows for a perfect chance to strike. His play style in Dead By Daylight reflects that to a tee. You mostly hide (or pretend to be AFK) and build your power up until you get Evil Within III. If you really want to make people angry run the tombstone add-on.

Myers to Watch:
asweetghostie[www.twitch.tv]
Mr_Smithsonian
laser bears gamer #2

Archetype: Setplay
Power: Blackened Catalyst

The Hag bends and shapes mud to her will. With simple ritualistic drawings, she creates deceitful duplicates of herself, made from mud and decay, which she can use for various effects.

BLACKENED CATALYST:
Press the Power button to bend down and draw a muddy Phantasm Trap sign:

The Hag can maintain up to 10 Phantasm Traps.
Each subsequently drawn Phantasm Trap will replace the oldest one.

Phantasm Traps:
Survivors entering the Phantasm Trap's Area of Effect will trip the trap, spawning a Mud Phantasm:

The Mud Phantasm will yank the Survivor's camera towards it, disorienting them.
The Mud Phantasm will emit a fake, short-ranged Terror Radius and keep its sight trained on the Survivor disappearing.
Survivors can prevent tripping a Phantasm Trap by either crouching around or interacting with Props within its Area of Effect.
Crouching over a Phantasm Trap gives Survivors the option to wipe it away, neutralizing the trap.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Teleport
Press the Active Ability button to teleport to a tripped Phantasm Trap located within a range of 40 metres, taking the place of the Mud Phantasm.

1. You like extensive planning and high mobility.
2. You like to cut off certain parts of the map and deny generation progress.
3. You like to play in the mud.

The Hag is one of the original setplay characters next to trapper. Her ability to place near-invisible traps on some maps is nearly unmatched. She can control 3/4th of the map at a time with her traps if spread out properly and still have room to block a loop or two. A great killer to start with if you want to explore setplay.

Hag's to Watch:
ronibg
soraminkun[www.twitch.tv]
CahNepo[http//CahNepo]

Archetype: Aggro
Power: CARTER'S SPARK
Successfully striking Survivors with either of The Doctor's electro-convulsive abilities causes them to suffer from the tiered madness Status Effect.


SPECIAL AFFLICTION: MADNESS
Madness causes increasingly potent afflictions in the affected Survivors depending on its Tier.

Once the Madness Status Effect is obtained, Survivors are unable to lose it and may only regress back to Madness I by performing the Snap Out of It interaction after reaching Madness III.


Madness I:

Causes Survivors to scream once during the tier-up, revealing their location to The Doctor.
Causes Skill Checks to have a 33 % chance to be Madness Skill Checks.

Madness II:

Causes Survivors to scream once during the tier-up, revealing their location to The Doctor.
Causes Skill Checks to have a 66 % chance to be Madness Skill Checks.
Causes Survivors to experience occasional hallucinations in the form of Illusionary Doctors.

Madness III:

Causes Survivors to scream once during the tier-up, revealing their location to The Doctor, then intermittently every few seconds.
Causes Skill Checks to have a 100 % chance to be Madness Skill Checks.
Causes Survivors to experience occasional hallucinations in the form of Illusionary Doctors and allows The Doctor to read the auras of the Illusionary Doctors.
Suppresses the ability of Survivors to use their items.
Suppresses the ability of Survivors to interact both with other Survivors and Props.

SPECIAL ABILITY: SHOCK THERAPY
Press and hold the Power button to perform a Shock Therapy Attack, unleashing a cone-shaped, ranged shock attack on the ground in front of The Doctor.

Survivors struck by Shock Therapy suffer from the following afflictions:

Increases their Madness by +0.5 Tiers.
If this coincides with a Tier-up, afflicted Survivors will scream once, revealing their location to The Doctor.
Interrupts any interaction they are performing at the moment of impact.
Suppresses their ability to perform any interactions for the next 2.5 seconds, including vaulting window and dropping pallets.
Shock Therapy negates the oblivious Status Effect, shocking Survivors suffering from it.


SPECIAL ABILITY: STATIC BLAST
If the Power gauge is full, press and hold the Active Ability button to perform a Static Blast, unleashing a shock attack that propagates outwards from The Doctor through the air and covers his entire Terror Radius.

Survivors struck by Static Blast suffer from the following afflictions:

Increases their Madness by +1 Tier, causing all afflicted Survivors to scream once, revealing their location to The Doctor.
Interrupts any interaction they are performing at the moment of impact.
Static Blast negates the Oblivious Status Effect, shocking Survivors suffering from it.

Static Blast has a cool-down of 60 seconds.

1. You like a large and expansive kit with plenty of ways to apply preassure.
2. The ability to stop survivors from vaulting, repairing and unhooking with static blast and shock therapy.
3. You play Faust in Guilty Gear.

The Doctor has a large and extensive kit which allows him to control the tempo of the game while being a huge bully. He is extremely good at tunneling and can prevent survivors from interacting with many different things in the game. Madness III prevents them from using items as well. Good killer once you can learn his kit!

Doctor's to Watch:
XAHTEP[www.twitch.tv]
Selindrila[www.twitch.tv]
docnoobzy[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro (Slight setplay)
Power: HUNTING HATCHETS
Press and hold the Power button to wind up a Hunting Hatchet.
Release the Power button to initiate a Hatchet Throw.

Start the Trial with 5 Hunting Hatchets.
The Hatchet Throw can be charged for maximum Throwing speed (40 m/s).
The Hatchet Throw can be cancelled mid-charge.
Hunting Hatchets are consumed on use and can be refilled at lockers.

1. You like long range killers that can control generators from a distance.
2. You like having an option to stop loops from a distance.
3. You like to attempt 360 no scopes in FPS games and hail mary throw hatchets downrange eventually hitting a tree or pallet.

The Huntress has possibly the biggest skill ceiling in the game. Her hatchets make or break her game-play and a good huntress can apply pressure from across the map with them. Has amazing aggro potential and can make survivors want to DC. Hard to pick up, but a great reward if you put the time into her.

Huntress's to Watch:
TUR_Jay
MaxxDW
Ralph[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro
Power: BUBBA'S CHAINSAW
The Cannibal starts the Trial with 3 Charges.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Chainsaw Sweep
Press and hold the Power button to consume one Charge and perform a Chainsaw Dash for 2 seconds that can hit multiple targets.
Survivors hit during a Chainsaw Dash are put into the Dying state.

Additional Chainsaw Dashes
Press the Power button again during the Chainsaw Dash window to consume another Charge and extend the Chainsaw Sweep by another Chainsaw Dash.

Resets the Chainsaw Sweep timer to 2 seconds.
Increases the Chainsaw Sweep cool-down by 1 second per charge.
Charges replenish while Bubba's Chainsaw is not in use.

Tantrum
The Tantrum meter slowly fills when revving Bubba's Chainsaw.
Once the meter is full, or after hitting an obstacle during a Chainsaw Sweep, The Cannibal unleashes a Tantrum, wildly slashing out and damaging any Survivors in close proximity, putting them into the Dying State.

Tantrum duration increases by 1 second for each Charge that was consumed.
Lose any remaining Charges.
Tremendously decreased Movement speed.
The Tantrum meter decreases when Bubba's Chainsaw is not in use and completely depletes during a Chainsaw Sweep.

1. You like killers with one shot potential.
2. You like being able to break pallets and doors easily in a chase.
3. You're a fan of Ed Gein

The Cannibal (Bubba) is another infamous licensed killer. He can be pretty underwhelming in the wrong hands but in the right ones he can be unstoppable. He's most notably known for face-camping after a down with his chainsaw and not allowing survivors the play in the zones he controls.

Cannibals to Watch:
Dresnak[www.twitch.tv]
6mota[www.twitch.tv]
SethGameON[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Stealth/Setplay
Power: DREAM DEMON
Dream Demon cloaks The Nightmare from awake Survivors, causing them to hear his Terror Radius, but only seeing him fully when he is within 16 metres, and only intermittently from 16 to 32 metres.
The Nightmare is invisible to Survivors when he is farther than 32 metres away.


Micro-Sleep:
The Nightmare's presence in the Trial Grounds induces micro-sleep, passively causing Survivors to fall asleep over 60 seconds, after which they enter the Dream World.


Dream World:
Once inside the Dream World, Survivors suffer from the oblivious Status Effect:

Survivors only hear The Nightmare's non-directional Lullaby.
Survivors can see and be affected by Dream Traps placed by The Nightmare.
Successful Basic Attacks immediately pull Survivors into the Dream World, unless they recently woke up using an Alarm Clock


Waking Up:
Survivors have several ways to wake up and leave the Dream World:

Failing Skill Checks
Have an awake Survivor perform the Wake Up action on them.
Each successive Wake Up action will take twice as long to perform.
Find and use their personal Alarm Clock.
Using the Alarm Clock will give Survivors immunity from micro-sleep for 30 seconds.
This includes being pulled into the Dream World by successful Basic Attacks.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Dream Snare
Press and hold the Power button to place a Dream Snare on the ground directly in front of The Nightmare.
Survivors that come in contact with a Dream Snare suffer from the hindered Status Effect, slowing them for as long as they remain within its Area of Effect and for a short duration after leaving it.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Dream Pallet
Press and hold the Power button to place a Dream Pallet at an available location.
A Dream Pallet dropped by a Survivor will be destroyed immediately and not stun The Nightmare.

SPECIAL ABILITY: Dream Projection
Press and hold the Active Ability button to perform a Dream Projection and teleport to a generator in view.
Releasing the button early will cancel the action.

For each Survivor in the Dream World, the cool-down of using Dream Projection is reduced by a stack-able 15 %.

1. You like forcing survivors to play mini-games.
2. You like characters who shift between different dimensions to attack from different angles on the map.
3. You just really like Freddy for some reason.. or you love playing bottom tiers.

The Nightmare (Freddy) continues our first run of licensed characters by being a tad underwhelming. While you can still have success with Freddy he is considered to be one of the worst killers in the game who many think should receive a rework. He has a lot of fun mechanics though.. and forcing the survivors to play a mini-game to wake themselves up will always be a staple to his play style.

Nightmare's to Watch:
lolobranco[www.twitch.tv]
mulderyuffie[www.twitch.tv]
JimmyJoker[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Stealth
Power:JIGSAW'S BAPTISM
The Pig starts the Trial with 4 Reverse Bear Traps in her inventory, which cannot be replenished.

The Trial also spawns 5 Jigsaw Boxes placed in random locations throughout the Trial Grounds.


SPECIAL MOBILITY: CROUCHING
Press the Active Ability button to crouch or un-crouch.

While crouched, The Pig is granted the undetectable Status Effect at the cost of moving at a slower speed (3.6 m/s).

SPECIAL ATTACK: AMBUSH DASH
Press and hold the Attack button while crouched to charge an Ambush Dash attack.

The Ambush Dash causes The Pig to perform a Lunge Attack with increased duration (2 seconds) and increased Movement speed (6.9 m/s).

SPECIAL ABILITY: REVERSE BEAR TRAPS
Inactive Reverse Bear Traps:
Press the Active Ability button while standing over a downed Survivor to attach an Inactive Reverse Bear Trap to their head.

Trapped Survivors may escape the Trial through the Exit Gate, if the Reverse Bear Trap is still inactive.

Active Reverse Bear Traps:
Completing a generator will activate all currently inactive Reverse Bear Traps.

Active Reverse Bear Traps are armed and on a Death Timer of 150 seconds, which is displayed on the Survivor's Status Icon.
Once the Death Timer elapses, the Reverse Bear Trap snaps open and kills the Trapped Survivor, counting as a Sacrifice.
The Death Timer is paused whenever the Survivor is downed, hooked, or being actively chased by The Pig.

Trapped Survivors may not escape the Trial through the Exit Gates, if the Reverse Bear Trap is active.
Approaching the Point of No Return, which is located at the mid-way point inside the Exit Gates, causes the Reverse Bear Trap to beep rapidly, warning the Survivor of their impending doom.
Passing the trigger point immediately trips the Reverse Bear Trap and kills the Survivor.

Trapped Survivors may still escape the Trial through the hatch, if the Reverse Bear Trap is active.


SPECIAL INTERACTION: JIGSAW BOXES

Trapped Survivors see the auras of all unsearched Jigsaw Boxes in the environment at all times.

Trapped Survivors must search a random number of those Jigsaw Boxes (ranging from 1-4) in order to find the key to unlock their Reverse Bear Trap and remove it from their head.

If the Search of a Jigsaw Box does not yield the key, its Aura will be removed and Billy, the Jigsaw Puppet sitting atop it, will cackle at the Survivor.

1. You love characters with lunges, dashes or blinks while being stealthed.
2. You like to force side-objectives for players and force them to play mingames.
3. MARIO PARTY BABY

To round out the first batch of licensed killers we have The Pig from the saw series. Boy.. oh boy is she the QUEEN of forcing survivors to play a minigame. She's extremely reliant on her stealth and lunge attacks but once she gets you on the ground you're forced to run through a gauntlet of fake Jigsaw Boxes to not die. Really cool killer to pick up when starting the game because she has a unique playstyle vs most of the early cast.

Pig's to Watch:
Thrill_DBD[www.twitch.tv]
DrussNBubba[www.twitch.tv]
Synner99[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro
Power:THE AFTERPIECE TONIC
Start the Trial with a shared stock of 4 Bottles Tap the Active Ability button to switch between the Afterpiece Tonic and the Afterpiece Antidote.
Tap or hold and release the Power button to launch a Bottle.
The maximum Throw charge is reached when a shimmer travels across the Bottle.

Press and hold the Active Ability button to replenish your Bottles at any time.


SPECIAL ABILITY: AFTERPIECE TONIC
On contact, the Tonic Bottle will break, releasing a purple Gas Cloud that intoxicates Survivors.

Intoxicated Survivors suffer from the following afflictions while they are inside the Gas Cloud and for another 2 seconds after leaving it:

Impairs the Survivors' vision.
Triggers involuntary coughing.
Suppresses the ability to fast vault.
Incurs a 15 % hindered Status Effect.
The Tonic Gas Cloud and its effects are immediately neutralized by an Antidote Gas Cloud.


SPECIAL ABILITY: AFTERPIECE ANTIDOTE
On contact, the Antidote Bottle will break, releasing an initially white and inactive Gas Cloud, which then turns gold after 2.5 seconds and invigorates both The Clown and Survivors when they enter it.

Invigorated Players benefit from the following effects after entering the Gas Cloud:

Grants a 10 % haste Status Effect for 5 seconds.
The Antidote Gas Cloud and its effects are immediately neutralized by a Tonic Gas Cloud.

1. You like having a mid-range option which buffs/debuffs during a chase.
2. You like to stick to survivors in chase for long periods of time and apply your pressure around the map with your bottles.
3. ʜᴏɴᴋ.

The Clown is a pretty neat killer which has a unique buffing/debuffing system with his bottles. He can throw them to speed himself up, slow survivors down, cause them to cough and reveal their location and even stop people on gens with them. Another great killer if you want to try a mid-range slugger.

Clown's to Watch:
kiibo_oji3[www.twitch.tv]
arinad[www.twitch.tv]
HeartlessFiend[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro
Power:YAMAOKA'S HAUNTING
Press and hold the Power button to charge Yamaoka's Haunting and initiate a Phase-Walk.
The Spirit will depart her physical body and enter the Ethereal Plane, leaving behind a stationary Husk.

Using Yamaoka's Haunting depletes The Spirit's Power gauge (5 seconds).
It will automatically replenish over time (15 seconds).
The Power gauge must be fully replenished before another Phase-Walk can be initiated.


Phase-Walk:
The Spirit may traverse to a new location at an increased Movement speed (7.04 m/s).
The Spirit loses sight of all Survivors, but still sees the Scratch Marks they leave throughout the Trial Grounds.
The Spirit emits an audible, directional cue while Phase Walking within 24 metres of her ethereal form.
When ending a Phase-Walk, The Spirit retains her Movement Speed boost for a brief moment and her Husk fades away.

Husk:
The Husk emits The Spirit's regular Terror Radius.

Passive Phasing:
When not Phase-Walking and only from the Survivor's Point of View, The Spirit constantly phases in and out of view at random intervals.

1. You like characters with massive outplay potential.
2. You like abstract mechanics and using stealth to outsmart your opponents.
3. Hottest killer before Skull Merchant came out.

The Spirit is a super fun killer that uses their phasing ability to go stealth in aggressive ways. During a chase she can drop a clone and enter into another dimension, allowing her to effectively cloak and pop up near survivors. She has huge outplay potential although playing her is a little harder then most killers. The main reason she isn't more towards the Stealth category is because her primary game play mechanic involves aggressively shifting in and out of your stealth during a chase to bait out survivors.

Spirit's to Watch:
WNoemesis
Kelvyn<3
strinnity[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro
Power:Power:FERAL FRENZY:
Trigger Feral Frenzy to run at high speed and chain attacks between multiple Survivors, further increasing their speed and building their power.
When the Power gauge is full, press the Power button to initiate Feral Frenzy.
While Feral Frenzy is active, The Legion moves at 5.2 m/s and gains access to additional abilities: Feral Vault and Feral Slash.
However, The Legion loses the ability to see Scratch Marks and Pools of Blood bleeding while in Feral Frenzy.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Feral Vault:
Press the Interaction button while in Feral Frenzy to perform a swift Feral Vault (0.9 seconds) at any Pallet or Window window.


SPECIAL ATTACK: Feral Slash:
Press the Attack button while in Feral Frenzy to perform a Feral Slash.
Hitting a Survivor with Feral Slash puts them into the Injured State injured and inflicts the Deep Wound Status Effect.
Additionally, this refills The Legion's Power gauge and all Survivors within the Terror Radius not already afflicted with the Deep Wound Status Effect have their location revealed by Killer Instinct.

Each successful Feral Slash will further increase The Legion's Movement speed in Feral Frenzy by +0.2 m/s, up to a maximum of +0.8 m/s after four successful Feral Slashes.
Attacking a Survivor with a fifth Feral Slash will immediately put them into the dying state and end Feral Frenzy.

Hitting a Survivor already suffering from the Deep Wound Status Effect or missing a Feral Slash immediately ends Feral Frenzy.

1. You like very fast characters that chain attacks together.
2. You want to vault pallets just like survivors and quickly vault windows.
3. You watch true crime documentaries on youtube.

The Legion is a fast killer that can run around the map chaining attacks with their Feral Slash and inflicting Deep Wounds onto enemies. Although their kit takes some getting used to legion is a lot of fun and a good pick for beginners to get into playing Aggro killers! Vaulting pallets and windows in Feral Frenzy will let you keep up with survivors with an ease not many killers can mimic.

Legion's to Watch:
Tatariu[www.twitch.tv]
sunday4719[www.twitch.tv]
Shepa_hoeruu

Archetype: Setplay
Power: VILE PURGE
The Plague can infect environmental objects and Survivors with Vile Purge, creating an unending cycle of Sickness.

Press and hold the Power button to charge Vile Purge, and release it to unleash a stream of infectious bile.

Hitting a Survivor will cause them to become infected.
Hitting an environmental object will cause it to become infected for 40 seconds.
Survivors interacting with infected objects will also become infected themselves.

Sickness Meter:
A Survivor's Sickness Meter increases each time they are hit by Vile Purge.
Once the meter is filled, they are put into the Injured State injured and suffer from the Broken Status Effect.

A sick Survivor will vomit at random intervals, infecting nearby environmental objects as well as other Survivors.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Ingest Corruption
Infected Survivors can heal themselves back to full health, and cure their infection, by cleansing themselves at a Pool of Devotion.

Pools of Devotion are located around the environment.
Cleansing will corrupt the Pool of Devotion, allowing The Plague to consume the corruption and empower her purge.
Press and hold the Interaction button while next to a corrupt Pool of Devotion to transform Vile Purge into Corrupt Purge for 60 seconds, removing it from the Pool of Devotion.


SPECIAL ATTACK: Corrupt Purge
Press and hold the Power button to charge Corrupt Purge, and release it to unleash a stream of damaging bile.

Hitting a Survivor will cause them to lose a Health State healing, putting them either into the Injured or Dying State dying.

1. You like marking parts of the map with your power to apply pressure and having a ranged option with Corrupt Purge.
2. You like collecting knowledge on your survivors by strategically placing your Vile Purge at key locations.
3. You refused to wear a mask or get vaccinated during COVID-19

The Plague is one of the queens of setplay. Her kit has everything you'd ever want for a zone-control style killer that can still chase down those who she injures. She has a nice ranged option with Corrupt Purge which lets her finished off targets she's chasing if she happens to swap her power out at a Pool of Devotion or is running an add-on to give her Corrupt Purge for free. Great killer to start getting into setplay.

Plague's to Watch:
Magi_N7[www.twitch.tv]
4saken
sammymjay[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Stealth
Power:NIGHT SHROUD
When the Power gauge is full, press the Power button to activate Night Shroud.

While Night Shroud is active, The Ghost Face is granted the Undetectable Status Effect.
Performing a Basic Attack automatically deactivates Night Shroud and depletes the Power gauge for 24 seconds.


SPECIAL MOBILITY: CROUCH
Press the Active Ability button to crouch at any time.
Press it again to stand back up.
While crouched, The Ghost Face moves at a slower speed (3.8 m/s), but is more difficult to reveal and harder to spot by Survivors in general.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: STALK & LEAN
While Night Shroud is active, press and hold the Power button at any time to stalk Survivors.
Standing behind cover will show the LEAN prompt, allowing The Ghost Face to lean around structures and stalk Survivors at twice the rate (x2) while keeping most of his body hidden, making it harder to reveal him.


SPECIAL AFFLICTION: MARKED
Fully stalked Survivors become Marked and suffer from the exposed Status Effect for 60 seconds.
While Exposed, they are unable to reveal The Ghost Face.


SPECIAL INTERACTION: REVEAL:
While Night Shroud is active, Survivors can attempt to reveal The Ghost Face by looking at him.
If they see enough of his body for at least 1.5 seconds, Night Shroud automatically deactivates and depletes the Power gauge.

While revealing The Ghost Face, markers point towards the direction The Ghost Face is being revealed from, informing him of that Survivor's general location and giving him the opportunity to attempt hiding his body from view before he is fully revealed.
If a Survivor manages to reveal The Ghost Face, their exact location will be betrayed for 2 seconds by Killer Instinct.

1. You like characters who go fully stealth and surprise survivors with their lack of a terror radius.
2. You like one-shot potential and high risk high reward play styles.
3. WAAAAAAZAAAAAH!!!!

The Ghost Face makes a return to the release of licensed killers. He is very much the epitome of stealth trumping even the pig in that department. His entire game plan is to go stealth, crouch and peak from corners and build your Marks on survivors. A good ghostface will get you to 99 and down you before you even know he's right behind you due to his lack of a terror radius during night shroud. Terrifying killer to play against and great if you love the full on stealth archetype.

Ghost Face's to Watch:
Lz_Ghostface[www.twitch.tv]
Dresden051[www.twitch.tv]
Kingus_Pingus[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Aggro/Setplay
Power:OF THE ABYSS
Press and hold the Power button to fully charge and activate Of the Abyss.

All Survivors within a close proximity to any activated Portals will be indicated by Killer Instinct.

SPECIAL ATTACK: Shred
Press the Attack button while charging or holding Of the Abyss to dive forwards and unleash a vicious slash.
Shredding into Breakable Walls or Pallets will destroy them.

SPECIAL ABILITY: Portals
Press the Active Ability button to place an inactive Portal on the ground in front of you.

Inactive Portals are invisible to Survivors and cannot be sealed by them.

Traversing the Upside Down
When standing on a placed Portal while viewing a highlighted Portal, press the Active Ability button to travel through the Upside Down, emerging from the highlighted Portal.

After emerging from a Portal, The Demogorgon is cloaked by the undetectable Status Effect for 3 seconds.

Activated Portals
Portals become activated when they are first traversed to or from.

Activated Portals are visible to Survivors and can be sealed by them.
Survivors walking atop or sealing an activated Portal suffer from the oblivious Status Effect.

1. You like a good mix of aggression and controlling zones of the map with your portals.
2. You like characters with lunges or charges.
3. You're a huge fan of Stranger Things so you bought this DLC Haha just kidding. They removed it from the store.

Unfortunately the Demogorgon was a licensed character that was only released for a limited time and because of that is inaccessible if you're just starting the game now. However, if you somehow do have this character and just never played him he has a lot of tools that are fun! His charge is akin to Pigs and his portal traversal makes him a big dangerous presence on the map. Plus.. this loud ass feet stomping on the ground are just absolutely terrifying.

Nurses to Watch:
bronxDBD (Pretty much the only Demo main. Mans is doing gods work.)

Archetype: Aggro
Power:YAMAOKA'S WRATH
Absorption Mode:
Absorb Blood Orbs left by your injured foes.

Press and hold the Power button to absorb Blood Orbs in the environment and fill your Power gauge.
When your Power gauge is full, press and hold the Active Ability button to initiate Blood Fury.


Blood Fury:
While Blood Fury is active, The Oni becomes lethal and gains access to additional abilities: Demon Dash and Demon Strike.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Demon Dash
Press and hold the Power button while Blood Fury is active, to perform a Demon Dash. This ability allows The Oni to cover large distances rapidly.


SPECIAL ATTACK: Demon Strike
Press and hold the Attack button while Blood Fury is active, to perform a Demon Strike in the direction you are facing. Demon Strike has an extended Lunge range and successful hits immediately put healthy Survivors into the Dying State.

1. You like speed and the ability to travel around the entire map twice with your power actve.
2. You like one shot mechanics and high risk/reward characters.
3. I'm not gonna over saturate the guide with weeb jokes but you probably play Yasuo in League of Legends and Shugoki in For Honor

The Oni is the true unga bunga aggro king. His entire kit is designed around inurying survivors, collecting their blood them W keying them at the speed of light with Demon Dash. Very strong aggro killer when you start the game out and has some hilarious moments.

Oni's to Watch:
Lipy[www.twitch.tv]
afoxintheraincoat[www.twitch.tv]
Saninha[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype:Aggro
Power:THE REDEEMER
Press and hold the Power button to aim down sights.
Press the Attack button to shoot a spear that can lodge itself in a Survivor, allowing them to be reeled in towards The Deathslinger against their will.


Reel:
While a Survivor is speared by The Redeemer, press and hold the Power button to reel them in towards you.
Survivors may struggle against the chain or use the environment to pressure the chain to break.
Doing so will result in briefly stunning The Deathslinger as well as putting the Survivor in the Injured State injured and applying the Deep Wound Status Effect.

Using a Basic Attack while a Survivor is speared will break the chain without applying either a stun penalty to The Deathslinger or the Deep Wound Status Effect to the Survivor.

Successfully hitting a Survivor with a Basic Attack while they are speared and healthy will also apply the Deep Wound Status Effect.


Reload:
The Redeemer must be reloaded after every shot, before it may be fired again. Press and hold the Active Ability button to reload The Redeemer.

1. You like midrange aggressive killers
2. You like having a secondary option to dealing with survivors looping you.
3. You play any FPS game at all.

The Deathslinger is a little odd because he has pretty okay mid-range tools with his rifle but lacks in a lot of other area's. He doesn't do the best job at finishing targets off and mostly has to rely on the users aim to be good. Unlike huntress you do get ironsights! (For a radically reduced range). Overall not horrible when you're starting out if you want an FPS style agressive killer.

Deathslingers to Watch:
alen820309[www.twitch.tv]
EbimoriCH
OsuchinRiberu[www.twitch.tv]

Archetype: Setplay/Aggro
Power: RITES OF JUDGEMENT
Hold the Power button to activate, then move forwards in any direction to carve a Torment Trail into the ground.

Survivors who walk or run on the Torment Trail will trigger Killer Instinct, as well as become afflicted with Torment.
Survivors afflicted with Torment may be sent to a Cage of Atonement when they are in the Dying State. Being rescued or rescuing another Survivor from a Cage of Atonement will remove Torment.


SPECIAL ATTACK: Punishment of the Damned
Press the Attack button while Rites of Judgement is active to perform Punishment of the Damned.
This unleashes a wave of force in the form of an Attack Trail, damaging any Survivors in its path.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Cage of Atonement
Press the Active Ability button while standing over a dying Survivor afflicted with Torment to send them to a Cage of Atonement
Survivors in a Cage of Atonement undergo the regular Sacrifice process as if they were on a hook.


SPECIAL ABILITY: Final Judgement
Press the Active Ability button while standing over a dying Survivor afflicted with Torment and who has reached the second Hook Stage either on a Hook or in a Cage of Atonement to execute them using a Mini-Mori.

1. You like characters that control space on the ground with a unique ability.
2. You like having an alternative to hooking survivors and a free mini-mori.
3. We all know you love Silent Hill. Just buy the damn character already.

The Executioner (Pyramid Head) is a killer which can control the zones around gens very well with his Rise of Judgement power. Not only that but he has a midrange option in Punishment of the Damned with the ability to throw out a slash that GOES THROUGH WALLS. A bit on the weaker side but tons of fun to play.

Nurses to Watch:
goldsanlive[www.twitch.tv]
configurationn[www.twitch.tv]
ogicandintuition[www.twitch.tv]

I have not slept in like 18 hours so i'm going to publish this guide now, sleep, and do the remaining 12 killers when I wake back up. Thank you so much for checking this guide out! Much love~♥