Unpopular Perks

For killer I like using bloodhound from time to time. Not only does it completely counteract Iron Will, but having a nice bright shiny trail lead you to where the survivor is, is a nice touch. Not to mention it combos really well with sloppy butcher.

I always run Shadowborn it's nautious to play without it. Blood Warden is pretty popular but that is something I always have in my back pocket while playing it's really funny to see people's reactions to getting hit by it. I think Zanshin Tactics is good on Pyramid Head I use that always.

Just a few I have that I don't think get used a lot.

1. Retribution. Since Ruin/Undying is still somewhat meta, I'd say this perk can get a lot of value if you're running meta.
2. Dying Light, ESPECIALLY PAIRED WITH THANATOPHOBIA. Imagine the value. At least 8 stacks with all survivors injured means that it is nearly impossible to get a single gen done.
3. Hysteria. Literally I never play plague (my main <3) without this perk. Since good survivors will typically never cleanse, having all survivors injured and oblivious is the most value you can get out of this perk + they will (hopefully) never heal.
4. Plaything + The Third Seal. Self-Explanatory. Survivors can't see the plaything totems aura if they are blind. Meaning they wont hear you coming or see other survivors on the ground or where they are hooked. Pretty fragile though considering third seal is a hex, so be careful.
5. Dragon's Grip. Very niche bully squad counter. If you hit the gen and there are two people on it, one of them will most likely try and get you to chase them so the other can finish the gen. Best possible scenario is that they do the gen right in front of you and become exposed. Value.

Alert: It is a staple in my survivor build. I get more info from it than I do other information perks imo.

I play 50/50 so that means a lot of survivor. Back when I needed BP to unlock perks etc I always ran We're Gonna Live Forever - it helped with getting people off ground faster and with BP. I still think it is a great perk for players who need BP and want to play survivor.

Soul Guard: This is a great perk in my opinion. I play solo survivor 98% of the time and people will try to get you up while the killer is coming towards you - well no problem with Soul Guard.. get up run at killer.. get hit...get that 8 second Endurance effect and the speed boost when the killer hits you. Also a great perk against Hex perks - especially NOED in the end game. This perk is fun to run with Unbreakable and Tenacity. That combo has saved me and allowed me to escape numerous times.

Open hand and kindred best combo. On killer dying light is a personal favorite on Oni

Object of Obsession. People think the "nerf" killed it but i think its honestly a buff. the majority of the time if a killer sees you have it they ignore you. and if they do chase you it works MIDCHASE, pair that with alert and you can see the killers aura constantly. making it so any mindgame they try to play becomes allmost worthless the majority of the time. also lets me dodge lethal pursuer and tell if there is bbq and chili , I'm all ears (against pyramid heads mostly) , and any other aura reading perk. a must have on the majority of my builds.

Here's 3 from each side I adore, but it doesn't come up as part of the more popular, yet limited, selection:

1. Deja Vu: This perk is so underrated in SoloQ! It progressively makes the killer work harder to stop the gens flying by, along with preventing a 3-gen problem in the late game. It's difficult to see the results of Deja Vu's benefits, but it is a supreme game changer.

2. We'll Make It: This perk switches a dire situation into a positive one so quickly. Paired with Empathy it's amazing, but alone it's still an extremely efficient perk to get your fellow survivors back into action.

3. Smash Hit: It basically ends the chase for the killer. Not only do they have to recover from the smack, but then they've lost a ridiculous amount of ground. I call this "Roadrunner", as it reminds me when Wile Coyote gets smacked by his own trap, then Roadrunner appears, goes "Meep meep!", and sprints off.

1. Spies From The Shadows: Never underestimate the crows. Those guys have been so good I was even accused of cheating because a crow alerted me to them sneaking into a locker .. on The Game! A keen eye, plus survivor unawareness, makes this a brilliant perk.

2. Iron Maiden: For those trying to deal with über-immersive of Quick & Quiet survivors, or even those just needing a locker, this can be great, especially if they had to leap into one at the last moment. Catches out more than you think, and dynamite with BBQ & Chili.

3. Trail Of Torment: With the variety of perks that light up gens for survivors, this perk can easily sneak in and cause a ruckus. Also, oblivious is a great status to impact on survivors. It's just a great perk I get a lot of use out of.

I have to have Shadowborn on every killer, the default fov makes me feel so slow when I need to feel fast in games

Giving a few on both sides here:

Killer:

Surge: Pretty much my favorite regression perk. It can be inconsistent, but the sheer time saving function of it alone makes it worth it in my opinion. Plus that 8% regression can sometimes be the difference between a gen popping or not.

Hex: Plaything: haven't seen many people comment on this one much, but I actually really like it. It's almost a reverse beartrap in the sense it stalls the game out a bit, and you can get free downs if you're lucky with it too since people don't always know you're coming. I prefer it to be used without other hexes because otherwise a single dull totem cleansed means you lose the effect on the fourth survivor.

Lethal Pursuer: I've seen it seldom enough I feel this is off meta, which I think is a shame - the perk is extremely useful to give you an immediate first chase, and eliminates the scare and worry of those games where you pick every side of Ormond but the one they all spawned on and now you're down a gen with nothing to show for it.

Survivor:

Blood Pact: I know people say Bond and Empathy are stronger, but the fact of the matter is those both only work for you, not two people. Free aura reading on a team member if either of you are injured makes for a super useful tool, and they get it too, so if they're smart they know to not go where you're working on a gen now.

We'll Make It: Not the first person to say it here, but it's so so nice getting someone off the hook and having them healed in 8 seconds. Plus since it's active for 90 seconds you can further benefit the team if there's more injured survivors around.

Kindred: Controversial opinion since people know it's strong - after all, they want it basekit, but they refuse to put on the perk because it's not a meta perk. It's core on all my survivor builds as early as 2017, and the buff it got last year just cemented it as my favorite survivor perk. It's 100% worth a perk slot, even in casual SWF. Put on the perk people. DO IT.

Same lol I’ve become a big fan - especially on Wraith

I pretend that I don't have it, like I drastically spin away, face walls when picking up, camp bodies pretending that I am afraid of a save. And then when they need it most, Hello Zep starts playing in the background and I get so much value they might as well rename it "value, the perk."

Dragons Grip. Fun perk. The problem is unless you're a stealth killer, you're pretty much never going to get to effectively use it. I basically call Dragons Grip "Ghostface only"

Definitly iron maiden

killers i run it on billy survivors like to jump in lockers hoping for a bait

ghostface survivors who are exposed try to avoid a hit using lockers

also basement hooks become stronger and it can give nice info

example i hook dwight claudette gets in a locker to avoid bbq ( wich i never run )

and bam i know where claudette is

as i go on i chase others knowing dam well claud wont go for the save as she is exposed

Killer: Oppression, Eruption, and Fire Up.

Survivor: Alert, Counterforce, and Detective's Hunch.

I usually have atleast 1 unpopular perk on my 3 mains.

Pyramid Head:

Brutal Strength, helps deal with pre-dropping which is one of his best counters

Blight:

Shadowborn, I was miserable between the pinhead release and the bugfix because I could not play Blight without the increased FOV

Twins:

Mindbreaker, counters the sprint burst megheads who try to run to a pallet when Victor shows up

I've been quite enjoying Dead man's switch on Pinhead, especially when a chain hunt starts.

Loving scourge hook gift of pain on my twins also. A sloppy and a slow down in one perk.

Shadowborn, Bloodhound and PWYF are my favorites non-pupular perks.

Gearhead is nice on Freddy, I had fun with a Gearhead+Dragon's Grip+PWTG build, you should try it.

Ligthborn is my choice here, mainly because flashlights make survivors play stupid, they drop pallets when they shouldn't only to blind you, and if they stun you instead of gaining distance they stay there trying to blind, with Lightborn that's basically a free M1/power so in a nutshell this perk saves TIME which is the most important thing for killers.

With 2 flashlights on the lobby I always put it and I can tell you, Lightborn wins games.