We have temporarily disabled The Houndmaster (Bone Chill Event queue) and Baermar Uraz's Ugly Sweater Cosmetic (all queues) due to issues affecting gameplay.

Visit the Kill Switch Master List for more information on these and other current known issues: https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/kb/articles/299-kill-switch-master-list
The Dead by Daylight team would like your feedback in a Player Satisfaction survey.

We encourage you to be as honest as possible in letting us know how you feel about the game. The information and answers provided are anonymous, not shared with any third-party, and will not be used for purposes other than survey analysis.

Access the survey HERE!

Killer Tier List on how important they are for DBD

xEa
xEa Member Posts: 4,105
edited January 12 in General Discussions

This tier list is mainly about how important those licenses are for Dead by Daylight, and not how much i like those killers.

Opinions?

PS. i would rank Chucky at the very top or bottom of A and B


New Tier List after the discussion:


Post edited by xEa on

Comments

  • Rulebreaker
    Rulebreaker Member Posts: 2,105

    We would like a definition of important please as in our eyes each is important.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,701

    Halloween did indeed give a huge boost to this game. Hard to imagine where we would be without it.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105
    edited January 8

    Okay i can do that:

    Myers is in the absolute top, and also alone because he is without a doubt the most important licence we ever got. Without him, there is a good chance, this game would have actually died long time ago. Myers brought DBD back on the map with a big Blast.

    A Tier killers have something very significant to them: Demogorgon was the first Netflix / TV series liecence and it is an insanly popular one. Freddy is then 2nd of the great 3 and therefore very important and beloved. PH was the first character from another video game frenchise - and probably one, if not the most iconic we have in horror.

    Everything below that are still great characters and good licences, but not nearly as imporant as the others above.

    D Tier is for Sadako. If i ask any person, also horror fans what her name is, most would not even know. She is a cool license, like any licence is, but not very big and important overall. Wesker is 2nd Resident Evil character. Nice to have, but really nowhere near as important as the others above. He is easily changeable for many others characters, even from that game.

  • Haddix
    Haddix Member Posts: 1,048

    looking at the playerbase numbers on SteamDB/Steamcharts, it actually stayed roughly the same for a while. it was consistently super high before myers, and consistently very high after him too.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105

    I can talk from my own perspective here: I have not been one of the oldschool DBD players, in fact i did not even know what DBD was, until they released Myers. Suddenly people talked about it (again). It brought the game on my radar and it was arguable the biggest seal of quality a game could get. If they have Myers, there must be something to this. At least these were thought processes at that time.

    Sure, the numbers did not instantly increase, but the game also did not die like others did. It survived the time after the first big hype (the time if the game makes it or not) because of it. At least this is what i stongly believe.

    Without Myers, like @GeneralV mentioned, it is hard to predict where this game would be. I bet my money on 0 players.

  • RFSa09
    RFSa09 Member Posts: 880

    resident evil and saw attracted a lot of players to the game, I think they should be in ´´very impactful´´

  • Venusa
    Venusa Member Posts: 1,491

    Alien was a flop I'm sorry. Nobody cares or talks about it anymore. I don't see any Ripley or Xeno players. The Chapter also got overshadowed by technical issues.

  • Rulebreaker
    Rulebreaker Member Posts: 2,105

    In that case:

    We'd move nemi and wesker up as that was a more widely known icon and wesker had an impact of adding another very commonly seen killer.

    We agree placing Freddy there but more for the reason that he added something extremely unique to the game, especially at the time. If not a good reason then he'd follow the below logic.

    Pig, bubba, and Xeno would all be in the same category (we can't agree where but we agree together) as they're all horror icons, but don't add any serious impact (mostly, dout any general horror fans will recognize Amanda on the spot, but many would recognize the beartraps or Billy on a box).

    We can agree not many will know Sadako by name but many horror fans would probably recognize her as the "long haired ghost girl". Make of that as ya will.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105

    Please keep in mind, this is not about how much you like the killers, but rather how important the licence are for the game.

    I agree with the quality of the Alien chapter, but it is still in my opinion that high because it is the biggest one we ever got (and probably we will ever get).

  • Sandt1985
    Sandt1985 Member Posts: 389

    Bubba, Freddy, and Meyers should all is in the top tier. They are 3/4s of the mount rushmore of horror, with only Jason missing. Those three give DBD a great deal of legitimacy to the idea of this game being "The Hall of Fame of Horror." SO seeing Bubba in second to last tier is downright insulting

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,701

    We agree placing Freddy there but more for the reason that he added something extremely unique to the game, especially at the time.

    Indeed. And the ANOES chapter also attracted players to the game, especially before Freddy's first nerf.

    I myself only bought the game because Freddy is here.

  • Smoe
    Smoe Member Posts: 2,963
    edited January 8

    PH was the first character from another video game frenchise

    That title belongs to Bill.

    D Tier is for Sadako. If i ask any person, also horror fans what her name is, most would not even know. She is a cool license, like any licence is, but not very big and important overall.

    To say that The Ring, which is essentially the stephen king of J-horror, is not a very big and important IP is just flat out incorrect.

  • Venusa
    Venusa Member Posts: 1,491
    edited January 8

    Really? Tbh I don't think Alien is that important of a license for this game. Ripley and Xeno could be killswitched and nobody would even notice. I don't ever see them.

    If you ask me which licenses are a staple in DBD: Halloween, Stranger Things, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Saw, Bubba, Ghost Face come to my mind since they pulled such a big audience and they were executed and marketed properly.

    For some reason Alien felt like just another chapter and didn't have a cultural reset impact like the other licenses had... But I know these can be subjective.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105
    edited January 8

    Sure, i did not mention survivors tho. Was focusing on the horror villain icons.

    The ring was a successful movie and even bigger when we include Ringu, but for me personally, it is just a random horror movie license with not much to it besides the one hit wonder it was. On top of that, it is not very special.

    Compared to those one tier above. Saw, TCM, Hellraiser, Scream, Resident Evil. Ring is not even close to any of those licences in terms of popularity or impact. And it had very little impact on the game aswell.

    But this is just my opinion. Its not more or less correct then yours.

  • Smoe
    Smoe Member Posts: 2,963
    edited January 8

    Except here's the thing, you may not see it as anything significant, but that does not change that it is very much objectively a popular and very important horror franchise that has had a big impact on horror, especially with J-horror.

    Just to give you an idea of it's impact, here is a bit from a dead meat video talking about just how impactful Ring has been. (From Timestamp to 1:26

    You not finding it anything special or the people you talk with not knowing it does not change the fact that alot of people, and i mean ALOT of people, is familiar in some way or form with the imagery of the long haired ghost girl that crawls out of the TV. That's not an opinion, that is a fact.


    Compared to those one tier above. Saw, TCM, Hellraiser, Scream, Resident Evil. Ring is not even close to any of those licences in terms of popularity or impact.

    Considering how big it's impact has been, i'd argue Ring is more popular than Hellraiser and has had a bigger impact on horror in general than what SAW, Hellraiser and Scream has had altogether.


    The ring was a successful movie and even bigger when we include Ringu, but for me personally, it is just a random horror movie license with not much to it besides the one hit wonder it was. On top of that, it is not very special.

    Same argument can be applied to Hellraiser & TCM.

    Post edited by Smoe on
  • humanbeing1704
    humanbeing1704 Member Posts: 8,998

    I think what ruined the ring dlc for me was it being teased months in advanced if I can recall

  • Smoe
    Smoe Member Posts: 2,963
    edited January 8

    Part of me is kinda glad they did because then leakers didn't have a chance to spoil it, but on the other hand, i too would also prefered if they hadn't teased it so far in advanced.

    Still, i think the fact that dbd is the first game in 2 decades to get official Ring related content is pretty huge and speaks volume of how popular and recognizable the game has become.

  • tjt85
    tjt85 Member Posts: 988
    edited January 9

    I don't know if it means anything, but Bubba and Myers were the very first Killers that I bought when I started playing early last year. If they hadn't been in the game, I'm not sure I would have been quite so interested in playing it. Other than the Xeno, Ghost Face and Freddy, none of the other licensed Killers are half as iconic as those two. Personally, I would put all 5 in the very top tier (although Ghost Face and Freddy aren't the "real" ones, which potentially knocks them down a tier).

  • Dwight_Fairfield
    Dwight_Fairfield Member Posts: 7,095

    Halloween is top of the pile in my opinion in terms of impact. Getting that license was huge and helped put Dbd on the map. It certainly brought Dbd to my attention when I heard Michael Myers and Laurie Strode were in a video game as playable characters.

    I think Resident Evil and Stranger Things were also quite impactful.

  • Xendritch
    Xendritch Member Posts: 1,842

    Nemesis was the the first and only time this game got to 100k concurrent players on steam I'd argue he's number 2 behind Myers in terms of impact.

    Alien is a tier below it's a massive license for sure but let's be honest I don't think Alien means anything to zoomers so it simply came too late to have the impact it could have.

  • Dreamnomad
    Dreamnomad Member Posts: 3,965

    Can we just take a second to appreciate that all of these licenses are in the same game? That is pretty amazing. There really aren't that many more licenses within the horror genre even worth going for (besides Jason). As far as the tier list goes, I would bump Bubba and Pig up to "important". Add Chucky to important. Drop demogorgon and pyramid head down to "no crazy impact". That is based purely on the size of the license.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105

    Absolutly, and not just for a second.

    DBD has its flaws, but it is insanly strong when it comes to licenses. I can only think off maybe a handul of games that is on the same level as DBD in that regard. And those games (for example Fortnite or Mortal Kombat) dont use them as effective as DBD. Here they are icons with a background, there they are "skins" with not much to it.

  • radiantHero23
    radiantHero23 Member Posts: 4,483

    I guess Sadako is not that important in your region.

    In the Japanese community, she's probably right up there with Myers.

  • Heliosse
    Heliosse Member Posts: 125

    Ring is a very important IP in horror, saying it's just a random movie is crazy. You don't have to say "in your region", Ring is everywhere and everyone who watched a lot of horror movies have watched it or at least knows the "ghost in the tv with long black hair".

    Many players in dbd are not familiar with the horror genre and are just gameplay drived which is fine.

    Just because the dbd community dislike a killer does not make the IP bad or anything, it's just a failure among their "lives".

    Alien (or ring i guess) failed in dbd just like colonial marines failed as a game while Alien Isolation was a masterpiece while IPs like SH or RE did great in dbd.

    Just like in anything, some are a hit, some are a miss. In the end Ring (or Alien) are still complete giant, far surpassing this game, that had such an impact on modern horror and creature/abilities power. If Alien did not exist, Demogorgon would probably be very different since the brothers said it was the prime inspiration (it wasn't only Alien of course, but still). Ring is the same.

    It's kinda sad seeing theses IP getting trashtalked for being "bad" in dbd, im so happy to even have them but hearing some people, they would be better without it. Halloween was the first IP, replace it with Ring or any others IPand it would have been the same. The insane thing back them was dbd even having a collab woth a big horror IP, not Halloween in particular imo.

    Some respect for Ringu !

  • Sava18
    Sava18 Member Posts: 2,439


    The actual horror licenses are worth nothing, all of them are worth nothing gameplay wise and only serve to draw people in.

  • radiantHero23
    radiantHero23 Member Posts: 4,483

    I absolutely adore the Ringu - franchise!

    After the introduction of Sadako, i researched everything there is about our favourite little ghost. Its amazing what is IP is, how it came into being, and what it spawned.

    I found the comment on her lack of importance a bit strange, therefore i wanted to clarify.

    Ringu is one of DBDs biggest licenses, representing japanese horror if you ask me. Right up there with Myers, Freddy, Pig, Bubba, Ghostface and Xenomorph.

    Shes incredibly important and well known (pun intended).

  • radiantHero23
    radiantHero23 Member Posts: 4,483

    Well said and a great video to give some background knowledge!

    Agree!

  • MikaelaWantsYourBoon
    MikaelaWantsYourBoon Member Posts: 6,564

    Wesker is crazy popular and you put him to this tier? Wesker is probably played more than all of your top 5 killers.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105

    Interesting, i had no idea. There are even comics/mangas about it.

    Yea its true, here (EU) the Franchise is pretty much unknown. I mean, some can remember the movie but thats about it. No where near as big as basically everything on that list.

    If the franchise is very imporant in Japan, she should go up a tier higher, i agree. Compared to the playerbase, it would be a bit of a exaggeration to place her in A tho.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105
    edited January 10

    Ring is a very important IP in horror, saying it's just a random movie is crazy. You don't have to say "in your region", Ring is everywhere and everyone who watched a lot of horror movies have watched it or at least knows the "ghost in the tv with long black hair".

    For me and in my region, it was indeed just a random movie, i am sorry. But that does not mean it is weak or not important, maybe i was wrong with placing her that low since many claim ringu is very popular in Japan.

    I can remember it did well at the box office (The Ring, not Ringu, this one i only knew through the ring and only have on DVD). But to be fair, that can also be said about many "random" horror movies. Annabell or Paranormal Activity are also on the same level, but the franchises are overall probably more popular (and made more money) then Ring in my region.

    It's kinda sad seeing theses IP getting trashtalked for being "bad" in dbd, im so happy to even have them but hearing some people, they would be better without it. Halloween was the first IP, replace it with Ring or any others IPand it would have been the same. The insane thing back them was dbd even having a collab woth a big horror IP, not Halloween in particular imo.

    I am not trashtalking the Ring at all, and so did nobody else in this thread. Nobody said it is bad - i put it in Nice to have. I dont think any IP we have is bad at all.

    Where i disagree is that replacing Myers with Ring would have been fine for the game. The only 2 killers that could have replaced Myers are Freddy or Jason. Just imagine a similar game at that time would have taken Myers and Freddy and DBD would have got Ring + other IP... Come on, realsiticly speaking, this would have changed the outcome a lot.

  • radiantHero23
    radiantHero23 Member Posts: 4,483

    I got some of the Mangas myself!

    Some of them are honestly adorable:

    https://thering.fandom.com/wiki/Sadako_at_the_End_of_the_World

  • Atsuka_Anarchy
    Atsuka_Anarchy Member Posts: 385
    edited January 10

    Halloween chapter was the only reason I jumped into DBDverse in 2017. Myers is a (if not The) horror icon.

    Wesker is immensely popular and a huge W for DBD with his inclusion but honestly, he feels so out of place here. He’s an extremely cunning, intelligent, and strong individual who is fully capable of world-class terrorism. Having him randomly chase survivors and being temporarily blocked off by a warehouse pallet seems delinquent. He’s my #1 villain in REverse and top 3 easily overall in the verse, but in DBD he just there for popularity, not fear or horror value.

  • Vanishlord
    Vanishlord Member Posts: 555

    Agreed, the first resident evil chapter if I recall was a saving grace for the game by no means as important as Myers but it lead to a massive increase in players. Saw I'm a bit biased but it brought the game to my attention and many others.

  • humanbeing1704
    humanbeing1704 Member Posts: 8,998

    personally I’ve never watched the original version but the American remake yeah

  • CompleatBeet
    CompleatBeet Member Posts: 118

    Nemesis should be higher, revived the game after quite the plethora of boring original chapters.

  • Heliosse
    Heliosse Member Posts: 125

    I apologise if my comment seemed offensive, it wasn't the goal at all. Back to topic, yeah i've seen a lot of trashtalk lately about the IP's on different platform and that is a bit sad considering how important they are for this game in particular (i saw a lot about Alien and Chucky). I think we peaked around Halloween, Silent Hill and Resident evil, they were in my eyes the ones that really made a lot of noises, i don't remember ST that well except some interviews and games with the actors that were cool. This one i do not remember well but it is probably just me missing the hype. The others IPs were all big event of course but a different kind of hype.

    About "Halloween being replaced", i don't think only Jason or Freddy could have done the job bit it is true that i may be overestimating the Ring influence. We will never know anyway.

    How do you perceive Hellraiser ? This one, i am very curious, i don't think a lot of people knowed this one even if, like the Ring, it is big.

  • xEa
    xEa Member Posts: 4,105

    No need to apologise, no offense taken.

    I perceive Hellraiser very well. Its a big franchise with a big fanbase. I personally like it a lot, especially the first 2 movies. I dont think it is on Nightmare on Elm Street level of Iconic, but still VERY iconic.

    Said that, i changed my Tier list a bit (in the original Topic), since some arguments you guys came up with are valid and backed up with facts.