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What I Have Learned Playing Trickster

TheBigGoo
TheBigGoo Member Posts: 38
in General Discussions

So I made a video on this, but instead of promoting it I'd like to actually start a discussion here. Strap in... this is a long one.


So i have recently started a challenge on twitch for dead by daylight. Its pretty simple, get every killer to prestige 3 level 50. Only rule is that I can only use bloodpoints earned by that character, so no boosting characters by completing challenges or anything like that.


So I am already half way with our first killer on the challenge list, the Trickster. I wanted to see if this dude has more to him than meets the eye. So here is a progress report that I can give you.

Obviously he has his problems, but I want to wait till I have beat the challenge with him to really touch on them so I can truly examine them. So instead I'd like to talk about his strengths.


  1. He is an absolute monster close range. I know that Trickster is often compared to Huntress for obvious reasons, but honestly I do not think they are that alike. I see him more as Bubba at his optimal playstyle. Your main goal as trickster is to get right on top of survivors to start laying into them with as many knives as possible. In my experience Monitor and Abuse is a must for anyone wanting to truly give trickster a try. If you are lucky enough to get close or a survivor makes a mistake and gets caught in the open they will go down incredibly fast. I have a theory that I have yet to test but will asap and update you. at a range of say 16 m, If you are hitting every knife with trickster, you will down the survivor quicker than Huntress. There's a few reasons why. -Trickster only has to bring up his knives to start laying into survivors, he then picks up throwing rate as he continues to throw. Once he ticks a survivor down a health state he can still stack knives despite the survivors non collision. Huntress has to bring up her hatchet, throw it, wait for travel time, suffer a slight cooldown, then repeat. Obviously huntress gets a better reward for her throws, but trickster in theory, can down survivors much quicker if given the opportunity.
  2. I know that high walls really hurt this killer but there are still moments that he can stack knives. Have the chance hit survivors when you believe they are going to vault. It's a good opportunity to get in knives. If timed right you can get in 5 or 6 knives in by the time its done. Pallet drops are still risky for survivors because you can easily fill the laceration meter if you are at the right loop. I have gotten plenty of downs on survivors who got greedy and waited at a pallet.
  3. There are places where you can hit survivors that know other killer can... kind of. This is incredibly situational, but Trickster does have the ability to hit where other character, save pyramid head sometimes, cant. This takes practice and I am still new to it but there are places survivors can loop you that you can hit through. A small list that I have found so far is, the boarded up killer shack windows, the tractor floor on coldwind, the holes in walls at suffocation pit, and the guard rails of dead dawg saloon. I have been able to stack a full meter through each of these terrains and if you use the addons trick blades the possibilities increase.

I want to take a moment to compare and contrast him from huntress. Huntress has more risk involved with her throws, as I said she reaps a bigger reward, but whiff too many times and your out, but she also is a monster at all ranges, and because of that she can control large maps relatively easy. But she is destroyed by indoor maps that often ruin her control. Trickster is mainly the opposite. In my experience indoor maps really play to his strengths. That's because, save for the bottom floor of the game, he has a lot of room to work with his knives up close as these maps allow him to get right on top of survivors. This might have something I have experienced due to my use of monitor and abuse, but I digress. Despite so many ways to block line of sight, there are so many ways to hit survivors on these maps, the pallets are incredibly unsafe for those going up against trickster, windows often lead to open areas that let him get more knives off, etc. I have experimented with indoor maps using offerings and my biggest wins with trickster came from playing on Lery's and the game, only ever really losing a few matches on midwich.

My times to down were always incredibly fast and it was rather easy to snowball with him once I got going. Which is why I believe he is more akin to bubba. Sure he shares the weaknesses of huntress to SOME degree, but he shares more strengths with bubba. Obstacles that aren't high walls are no problem for him and once he is on top of you it's hard to get him off. The hard part is just getting on top of you. While huntress can do whatever she pleases at any range.

-Please note that I do not have much time on huntress and am mainly talking about her from a survivors pov


I wont talk about his many weaknesses atm as, again, I want to wait till I am full prestige 3 level 50 before I comment on how I would address the issues he has to make sure I have a good grasp on them. As pretty as I have made him seem, he is not a great killer. Most of the scenarios I have spoke to you about are dream scenarios that are hard to make happen. However this past week I have only played him (save for 2 games on trapper and legion that I did to record footage for a new video) at rank one and I believe I have only ever received a entity displeased with him once or twice which I believe itself is an accomplishment.

Before I conclude this, I want to say that my build for Trickster has varied. I am experimenting with him without really trying to rely to much on meta perks (ruin, pop, corrupt, undying) even though I have used pop and corrupt to test them out I have not used them for a majority of my games. I have yet to try ruin or undying because A. I havent unlocked undying and B. I just have not gotten ruin on any of my bloodwebs. I want tell you which perks I have found really fun or useful on him.

  1. Play with your food- If you get it stacked it can close loops really easily or allow you to get right ontop of survivors to initiate knife throws. Please note that every 1 knife thrown will decrease your stacks. So if you throw 3 knifes all of your stacks are gone so be aware of that.
  2. Monitor and Abuse- my go to perk on him. I have gotten so many quick downs because of this perk it is ridiculous. If you have PWYF stacked and run at survivors, you get on top of them without them having time to react. He has a 24 meter terror radius that is lowered to 16 meters with this perk. I beg of you, give it a try if you havent already.
  3. Corrupt- My biggest problem with trickster is having a really easy first down and then suddenly gens are getting done within a few seconds. I have had so many games that I have had to sweat because too many gens went to fast at the beginning. Very good perk to use if you have it for him.
  4. Iron maiden- Basically a slight of hand for him, whats not to love?
  5. Devour hope- This isn't necessarily the best perk on him, but I just love using it on him. If you get stacked early then you will just halt the game at 3 stacks, unbelievable value that is often overlooked.
  6. I'm All Ears- simply gives you a bit of information at jungle gyms that can get you a down you would otherwise miss.
  7. Brutal Strength- Overlooked perk on him IMO. Allows you to get rid of obstacles quicker and kick gens quicker.

Perks I want to try

  1. Save the Best for Last- You shouldn't always use m1, but if you do, why not stack its cooldown?
  2. Ruin- Obviously
  3. Rancor- Always wanted to try it on him
  4. Beast of Prey- Always wanted to try this on a killer. If you get stuck in a loop, I believe this could give you mind game potential, probably not, but lets test it.
  5. Agitation- Allows me to hook quicker, so I save time.

Thank you for stopping by. I have to say, while I hated the prospect of a K-pop killer joining Dead by Daylight, I really have grown to appreciate Trickster. I have seen the videos of the K-pop stars they used as consultants for him and can respect anything that is a representation of a larger group if done right. I hope they never make anything else like him style wise. I like that he sticks out like a sore thumb in this cast, because he is so out there. Gameplay wise I have also been enjoying him surprisingly. I can certainly see this killer becoming my go to to relax and play casually which is essentially what I have already done with him. I understand his release has been lackluster, but I think with time and a few changes, this killer could become really popular and I encourage anyone to give him another chance.


-TheBigG00

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