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Dead by Daylight: What Are The Most Popular Perks? (October 2023)

There are hundreds of perks in Dead by Daylight, so many that it's hard to know what to use, but other players can help by being a guide.

Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp

Published: Oct 8, 2023 04:57 pm

Dead by Daylight has dozens of Perks thanks to being continuously updated with regular new Killers and Survivors that all bring new abilities to the game. They can be used to augment a character in subtle ways that help the player out in the role they’re playing.

What Are the Most Popular Perks in Dead by Daylight

Developer Behaviour Interactive is fantastic at sharing the most popular Perks in Dead by Daylight each month. This means we know what the most popular Perks for Killers and Survivors for the month preceding October 2023 (August 25 to September 25) were.

Below, we’ve outlined what the most popular Perks for Killers and Survivors are according to Dead by Daylight’s developer, not community members who only think they know what players are using. This should give all players a great baseline from which to create their own builds for characters like The Xenomorph and Ellen Ripley.

10 Most Popular Survivor Perks in Dead by Daylight

The table below contains the most popular Survivor Perks in Dead by Daylight for the past month. We’ve also explained what these are, how to play with them, and how to unlock them in the game.

Perk	How to Use it	How to Unlock it
1) Windows of Opportunity: Reveals the auras of pallets, breakable walls, and windows to players within a specific radius.	This is a passive Perk that’s incredibly useful in a chase. There’s not much more to it than playing normally and paying attention to the information available to get away from the Killer.	Prestige Kate Denson once to unlock this Perk for all Survivors. She starts with it regardless.
2) Made For This: Activates in the Injured State. Gain Haste while running for a short time, and Endurance after completing a healing action on another Survivor. It can’t be used when suffering from Exhaustion.	This Perk is a bit of a clutch one. It’s great if players keep letting injured, giving them a quick getaway, but it should be coupled with a way to heal pretty soon after.	Players need to Prestige Gabriel Soma at least once to unlock this Perk across every Survivor.
3) Adrenaline: Survivors are instantly healed by one health state as soon as the Exit Gate is powered. They also sprint at 150% standard speed for 5 seconds. If players are trapped or stuck when it should activate, it’ll hold. When playing against The Nightmare, Adrenaline will also pull players from the Dream World. Ignores Exhausted Status but will trigger it after activating.	Adrenaline is a great way for players to ensure they have a last chance at getting away from the Killer. It’s incredibly powerful, but Killers will also work around it if they’re expecting it. Pairing it with something else to keep Killers on their toes is best.	Players must Prestige Meg Thomas once to get this Perk on every Survivor. She’ll have it from the start of the game.
4) Resilience: Increases action speeds, healing, repairing, sabotaging, cleansing, blessing, opening, vaulting, unhooking, and unlocking by a small percentage while injured.	The key to this Perk is starting the Trial injured or getting injured as soon as possible. This will help speed up everything else. Pairing it with another perk that allows players to heal themselves is good because they can deliberately take damage, repair every generator, and then heal to full health for the exit assault.	Available to all Survivors.
5) Lithe: Survivors break into a sprint at 150% run speed right after a vault for a maximum of 3 seconds. Then, they’ll be hit with the Exhaustion Status for a short time and must recover before Lithe can activate again.	With this Perk, players need to make the most of being chased. They can be the bait and escape Killers pretty quickly if they know what they’re doing.	Prestige Feng Min at least once to unlock this Perk for every Survivor in the roster. She’ll have it to start with.
6) Self-Care: Allows Survivors to heal themselves without needing a Med-Kit.	Players need to remember to heal themselves with this Perk active. It’s an unusual one but really can be the difference between a win and a loss. Self-preservation is key because this one character can heal an entire team if they can stay healthy.	Prestige Claudette Morel once to unlock this Perk for every Survivor. She’ll have it to start with anyway.
7) Deja Vu: The auras of the three closest generators are always revealed to the player, and they’re automatically added to a Map item if the player is holding one. The player’s repair speed is also increased.	Players can easily track every generator with this Perk. In fact, it’s overpowered when combined with a map, allowing one Survivor to cover the whole map and outsmart the Killer by working on every generator easily.	Unlocked for all Survivors from the start.
8) Sprint Burst: When Survivors start to run, they break into a sprint at 150% their normal speed for 3 seconds. Causes the Exhausted Status.	This is a fairly simple Perk, but its drawback is very harsh. It’s almost not worth using if players are going to keep getting chased, so it should be paired with something else that deters Killers.	Players will need to Prestige Meg Thomas once to unlock this Perk for all Survivors. It’s unlocked for her from the start.
9) Dead Hard: Activates after being unhooked or the player unhooking themselves. Players can then press the active ability button while running to trigger Endurance for 0.5 seconds to avoid taking hit. Then, players must work through the Exhausted State for a short time.	This Perk is a last ditch effort at survival. If players find themselves constantly on the hook, it’s a great way to dodge damage for a short while longer and make Killers suffer for chasing them.	Players need to Prestige David King once to unlock this Perk for all Survivors. He’ll have it as soon as players pick him up.
10) Kindred: While the player is hooked, all Survivors can see each other’s auras. When Killers approach the hooked Survivor, their aura is revealed to every Survivor in the Trial. When Survivors other than the player are hooked, the player sees the auras of all other Survivors. They’ll see the Killer’s aura if they approach a hooked Survivor too.	This Perk is all about providing information to help the player. They can see the Killer’s position if they’re too close to a hooked ally, and that gives players a chance to get more safe rescues in. Likewise, other players can do the same based on the information being broadcast to them.	All Survivors have this Perk automatically.

10 Most Popular Killer Perks in Dead by Daylight

Below are the top 10 most popular Perks Killers have been using for the past month, Players should take note if they’re struggling to hook anyone, because these can really help.

Perk	How to Use it	How to Unlock it
1) Jolt: When the Killer puts a Survivor into the Dying State with a basic attack, all generators within 32 meters explode and start to regress after an instant burst of regression.	This Perk is one of the greatest Killer passives in Dead by Daylight. Through nothing more than hitting Survivors, a Killer can destroy generator progression across the map. When paired with other powerful Perks than punish generators, it can be a death sentence for Survivors.	Automatically available to all Killers from the start of the game.
2) Pop Goes the Weasel: This Perk is activated by hooking a Survivor. While it’s active, damaging a generator instantly hits it for -30% progression, and normal regression will apply after.	If Killers want to hurt Survivors and make them work for their win, this is a good Perk to use. It could be combined with Jolt to make for a true nightmare if players want to be especially cruel.	This Perk is unlocked by Prestiging The Clown once. He’ll have it available from the start.
3) Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance: From the Trial’s start, 4 random hooks become Scourge Hooks. The auras of them are revealed to the Killer in white. Killers begin the Trial with 4 hooks and spend one every time they hook a Survivor on a Scourge Hook. Those Scourge Hooks cause the generator with the most progression to explode immediately and have increased regression. They also make all Survivors scream but not reveal their location.	Scourge Hooks are a great way to push back against Survivor teams that are dominating. The Perk gives Killers an edge when they might not have had one before, allowing them to scare and attack Survivors in ways they might not expect.	To unlock this Perk for every Killer, players need to Prestige The Artist. She’ll have it from the beginning.
4) Sloppy Butcher: Wounds Killers inflict with basic attacks also apply the Mangled and Haemorrage Status Effects. It also increases the bleeding frequency of Survivors and the regression rate at which healing is lost. Survivors lose the Status Effects when fully healed.	Adding insult to injury is what this Perk is all about. It’s great because it gives Survivors too much to handle at once. Even with someone nearby to heal them, it’s easy for Killers to simply chase the same Survivor and down them pretty quickly with so many Status Effects pulling them back.	This Perk is available to all Killers from the start of the game.
5) Barbecue and Chilli: Reveals the auras of Survivors far away from a Survivor the Killer has just hooked for 5 seconds.	With this information Perk, Killers can see the far away Survivors who are trying to outlast the Killer and work on generators in the corner or not at all. It’s great for making those players suffer for their choices by hunting them down and giving Killers someone to work toward at all times.	To get this Perk for every Killer, players need to Prestige The Cannibal once. He will have it from the start.
6) Lethal Pursuer: The auras of all Survivors are revealed for a brief time at the start of the Tiral. Anything that causes a Survivor’s aura to be revealed is increased by +2 seconds.	This information Perk is brilliant for Killers who can act on it. From the start of a Trial, Killers know where to go, and they can keep pushing if they’re good enough to find ways to get Survivors to reveal themselves.	To unlock this Perk for all Killers, players need to Prestige The Nemesis once. It has it unlocked from the start.
7) Save the Best for Last: Gains 1 Token up to a maximum of 8. Killers gain a stackable -5% cooldown reduction for their basic attack for every Token. Hitting the Obsession costs the Killer a certain number of Tokens.	This Perk is quite subjective and only really works well for other Perks in The Shape’s repertoire. Still, if players can pay attention to the Obsession and aim to leave them alone as the final Survivor, they can make quick work of everyone else in the Trial.	The Shape must be Prestiged to unlock this Perk for all Killers. It has it from the start of the game.
8) Nowhere to Hide: Triggered by damaging a generator. This Perk will reveal the auras of all Survivors within 24 meters of the Killer’s position.	This is a great Killer information Perk, giving the Killer a way to track Survivors when they’ve completely lost them. All Survivors will hang out near a generator, and this Perk punishes that behavior.	Unlocked by Prestiging The Knight at least once. Available to that Killer from the start.
9) Corrupt Intervention: At the start of a Trial, the three farthest generators are blocked by the Entity.	This Perk is great. It provides Killers with a new layer of control from the start of a Trial, giving them less space in which they need to worry about Survivors. If players can get a kill in before the Perk deactivates, they’ll probably win.	Players will need to Prestige The Plague once to unlock this Perk for every other Killer. She’ll have it automatically.
10) Hex: No One Escapes Death: This Perk activates if the Exit Gates are powered, and there’s still a dull totem left. Killers gain increased movement speed, and Survivors are permanently hit with the Exposed Status. Survivors will see the aura of the active Dull Totem, with the range growing over time if they’re still stuck in the Trial.	Killers who need some extra help in the closing moments of a Trial should run this Perk. It prevents Survivors from pushing too hard and escaping and might result in one or two final hooks when all hope seems lost.	Every Killer starts the game with access to this Perk.

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