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!

5 Best *Designed* Killers In The Game?

StarLost
StarLost Member Posts: 8,077
edited January 2023 in General Discussions

Not going off power or anything, just in terms of how well they are put together, how much fun they are to play/face etc.

I'd say:

  1. Dredge. Nightfall can be a little annoying on Midwich, but aside from this, fantastic addons, great mobility and a wonderfully deep toolkit with a lot of unique counterplay. That snowman skin might actually get me maining him. Never sad to see him either.
  2. Wesker. Gold standard for how to make a fair but powerful killer. Tons of fun to play and play against. Plus, his chase music is a banger.
  3. Plague. She can be a bit volatile, but she can also turn a 4o into a 4k faster than almost any killer on the roster. Fun, creative addons and just feels good to use.
  4. Artist. If her addons were a bit more interesting, she'd be my main and probably #1 on this list. I know some folks don't like her, but I've never understood it. Such a creative kit and I'm never sad to be playing her. Her new skin also helps.
  5. I was tempted to say 'Slinger', but he's just a touch on the clunky side. Then I almost said 'Blight' but stopped taking my crazy pills. So I'll give this one to Demogorgon - he needs some love, as the game sort of left him behind, but his kit is wonderful, he has some awesome addons (and some terrible ones) and I'm struggling on him these days, but still a lot of fun.

Comments

  • Murgleïs
    Murgleïs Member Posts: 1,105
    edited January 2023

    My top 5 :

    5. Plague. Unfortunatly she has to get redpuke at a fountain, wish she could pop it anywhere on the map as long as it is available somewhere.

    4. Dredge. But his tp is kinda slow and easy to counter.

    3. Blight. Speed is always fun.

    2. Nurse. Teleporting is ton of fun and she is one of the most unique killer of DBD.

    1. Sadako. Again I love teleporting and mini mori is always satisfying. She is hard to play without good addons but you don't feel bad if you lose, she is a m1 killer after all.

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    Ah. That's interesting. I'd consider Sadako to be one of the worst in terms of design.

    Like...I see where they wanted to go with her, but her TVs can be really RNG, her small size hurts her as much as it helps (grass basically becomes a cornfield) and her Condemned mechanic is just...that was never going to be balanced, and also causes both you and that survivor to automatically depip unless you go out of your way to two hook someone before killing them.

  • Pulsar
    Pulsar Member Posts: 20,909

    All time greats of DBD's history?


    Myers and Old Billy back in the day.

    Wesker, Oni, Demogorgon now.

  • SmolBlob
    SmolBlob Member Posts: 399

    Nurse, Blight, Spirit. The rest of the killers are a ways off from being as well-designed as these three, because the others are RNG dependent or otherwise just genuinely underwhelmingly poor at their tasks.

    You're in Nightfall as Dredge and a survivor runs somewhere with no lockers? Well, guess what? You realistically don't have a power.

    You're Oni and the game just started? Well shucks, if the survivors are smart, they'll play safe and predrop and make you a useless zero-power M1 killer until very late into the game.

    You're Huntress and no lockers are nearby? Tough luck.

    You're a "M2 for hit at X" killer and they hold W? Well, you're useless. You get to X? You auto-guarantee a hit if you have half a brain.

    You don't have anti-loop? Well you're automatically significantly disadvantaged on any decent tile and have literally no say about it because whatever mindgames you do, the survivor has more or better options to mindgame you back or deal with your mindgames.

    So on and so forth.

  • DarkMagik265
    DarkMagik265 Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 6

    Best Designed

    1.Blight

    2.Wesker

    3.Huntress

    4.Demogorgon

    5.Wraith

  • Omans
    Omans Member Posts: 1,081

    Wesker - fun to play as and against

    Huntress - frustration from playing as her is due to current map creation, frustration from playing against her is slightly large hitboxes, but that doesn't take away from how fun it is to dodge hatchets well

    Nurse - she has a great design. Too bad she is super OP. Hope this patch goes to fixing that.

    Demo - simple, easy to understand. His addons and portals could use some QOL adjustments.

    Dredge - if Wesker didn't come out right after Dredge I would have much more time on Dredge

    Worst 5 (in no specific order):

    Artist (Dead man's switch gameplay is so, so boring.

    Knight - such a shame to make a killer like this after such a great killer like wesker

    Trickster - enough said

    Hag - boring to play as and against

    honorable mention to Legion when they first came out (worst character design decision I've maybe ever seen).

    Also, Cannibal is a great design, but he is still able to face camp with impunity, so until that changes he is down at the bottom

    All of the above 5 worst killers have the potential to basically remove any interactivity between players.

  • HugTechLover
    HugTechLover Member Posts: 2,482

    1) blight

    2) oni

    3) spirit

    4) wesker

    5) billy

  • HugTheHag
    HugTheHag Member Posts: 3,140
    edited January 2023

    I'll preface this by saying that I haven't played all killers, only about 6 or 7 of them, with only 3 I play regularly (Hag, Legion, Ghostface).

    So some of those will be from playing against them more than playing them.

    1- Legion : They're just so fun to use !! I know people hate them, but for me there's nothing more pleasant than zooming around slashing and chaining. Their addons are cool as well.

    2- Doctor : I've only played him a little yet, but he's my favourite killer to go against. I just think his kit is super cool, his addons are a mess to read but awesome (I love the fact that some affect the red stain, or make you hear the chase music outside of chase, it's like spicy undetectable).

    3- Spirit : I've played her a little bit and plan on playing more of her, she is just really fun to use !

    4- Hag : From playing her she feels a touch too clunky, too many counters to her ability and without it she is useless, but from a survivor perspective I appreciate that she is one of the few killers with actual counters. Still fun to use (for me), so she goes on the list.

    Honorable mentions : I would have said Nemesis, as even with his issues he's really fun to play as and against (when not tunneling lol), but yeah, zombies AI, funky hitboxes and infection speedboost could take some loking at.

    5- I think Pinhead. Never played him, often die to him, but he feels at a nice spot in terms of balance and probably fun to use !

  • GannTM
    GannTM Member Posts: 10,893
    1. Spirit
    2. Spirit
    3. Spirit
    4. Spirit
    5. Spirit

    Call me bias all you want c:

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    Interesting. We see this game very differently.

    I'd never describe Hag or Artist as boring to play against. Hags can be irritating when they just poop traps around hooks, but otherwise pretty damn fun. Artist - don't think I'm ever sad to see her. So much interesting play/counterplay.

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077
    edited January 2023

    I love playing Legion, but they can be miserable to face. People have twigged onto that their kit allows them to very easily tunnel and circumvent BT.

    Doctor is...blaah. Interesting kit, but his shocks have a weird latency to them that make them incredibly unreliable.

    I do love Hag.

    Pinhead is another snowbally killer.

  • Brokenbones
    Brokenbones Member Posts: 5,223

    My top 5 best designed killers. My criteria is how balanced I think their kit is for both sides

    1) The Oni

    2) The Cenobite

    3) The Huntress

    4) The Dredge

    5) The Plague

    I typically always enjoy my time vs these killers, their powers are both highly rewarding while also having counters to them allowing an equal chance of winning for both sides.

    Wesker is also a pretty close contender. The only issue I have with Wesker's design is just how easily he can tunnel people that are infected. A small blight on an otherwise very well designed character though

  • Plu
    Plu Member Posts: 1,456

    Top 5 for me would be:

    1- Wesker (Balanced, fun to play and to go against)

    2- No addons Hillbilly before the nerf ( He was balanced and fair at base kit, the only thing that needed nerfs were his addons and nothing else)

    3- Oni ( Very fun to play but very hard to learn and master, very fun to go against and overall pretty balanced)

    4- Demogorgon ( Very simple but effective, Very fun to both play and verse, might need a slight buff but overall balanced)

    5- Huntress (Balanced and really fun to both play and go against, weird hitboxes sometimes but overall they're fine)

  • HugTheHag
    HugTheHag Member Posts: 3,140
    edited January 2023

    Yeah, I know they can drag things out a little, especially if they're bringing Thana or other slowdown for example. I personally prefer short & sweet with some aura reading and Jolt as my only slowdown.

    But when I go against Legion, I never feel like I'm being tunneled. The fact that they go around hitting everyone makes me feel less of a target, and since I run Aftercare these days I generally know where they are from who is getting hit, and know where to run to evade KI.

    I probably just haven't run yet into a really vicious Legion. I used to see a lot of Legions before and around 6.1.n but since a couple of months I've literally seen more Hags (to my absolute pleasure, but wish there were still some Legions around).

  • Rulebreaker
    Rulebreaker Member Posts: 2,119
    1. Artist: fun to play and face as like nurse you have to be creative if you want to burn her time and can be creative to set up stylish downs. Map wide shots are also so satisfying, but we may be biased.
    2. Wesker: Aside from running into him 30 times, also fun to face (bull fight boss~) and fun to play (yeeting survivors just makes us smile)
    3. Huntress: Not counting the ones who keep throwing point blank, she's earned her spot here
    4. Blight: say what you will, but he is both fun to play and face (unless he's running what we call the basic ##### build). Bounce WAAAAAAGH bounce WAAAAAAGH hit.
    5. Nurse: similar to the above. Baring certain play styles, we enjoy facing her as we gotta be creative (or more chaotic) to keep the chase going. Being able to go through everything and surprising survivors (or just smacking down the ones who keep trying to abuse Myers house) is a joy.

    This is our personal list

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    I also like facing Blight and Nurse...to an extent. Nurse should be a lot more manageable now. Blight needs an addon pass.

  • Piruluk
    Piruluk Member Posts: 995

    Spirit

  • brokedownpalace
    brokedownpalace Member Posts: 8,813

    Demogorgon, Artist, Nemesis, Oni, and Pyramid Head are some of my favorites. Not that they are flawless but they are the killers I enjoy the most. I actually love playing as Wraith, but not a fan of playing against his hit and run strategy so I didn't include him.


    Can't stand Legion, Plague, Sadako and Twins. And while I think Nurse is well designed.. she's well designed for a single player or killer vs killer game.

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077
    edited January 2023

    Wraith is...yeah. Streaky. Get the right map and average survivors, and you can do well. Get the wrong map and a decent SWF, and he feels completely useless.

    The big problem with Wraith is that he lacks pressure.

    Demo...love him, love his kit but I'm not sure what happened in the 6.1.0 patch - it feels like shred didn't get the buff to hit recovery, and it's just so punishing to use.

    Nemesis - he's fun, but also streaky. Zombie AI is still spectacularly broken, and some maps (swamp especially) cause them to constantly bug out and freeze. His addons are also craptacular.

    Oni is one of four killers that I have yet to put time into learning. But playing against him, he either gets destroyed or hard tunnels someone out ASAP.

    PH - amazing kit - but horrific, boring addons.

    Sadako - I do okay as her, but facing her - she either gets wrecked or is running that obnoxious condemn build.

  • RainehDaze
    RainehDaze Member Posts: 2,573

    I can't really do five, since I don't think I've even played that many Killers consistently (and I wouldn't say Spirit belongs in the list so long as she's in a weird janky audio-cue land that hands all the info over to the other side unless you use the one addon that helps if someone understands stealth), but I'd say Wesker is top for best designed.

    Honourable mention to Pinhead, no matter how questionable the numbers on the chains are given how annoying they are to land.

  • Aurelle
    Aurelle Member Posts: 3,611

    1. Artist

    2. Dredge

    3. Pinhead

    4. Sadako

    5. Demo

  • AverageKateMain
    AverageKateMain Member Posts: 949

    Well I'd say the 5 best designed is Wesker, Blight, Billiam the 3rd, Pinman, and Huntretta.

    2 of them are simple and strong. Huntress with her hatchets and skill curve and Billy with chainsaw and curve potential. Well Billiam isn't as strong these days but yeah.

    The others are more complex with the abilities. Pinhead requires you to not sleep the game away and actually pay attention and interact with the map. Blight is simple but tricky. He has so much mobility and actually has a skill ceiling that seems rewarding. And Wesker has it all. Chase power that also is mobility, passive slowdown that actually has meaning to it, a counter that doesn't cuck him hard, and is attractive so yeah

  • SMitchell8
    SMitchell8 Member Posts: 3,302

    Oni

    Spirit

    Dredge

    Wesker

    Plague

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    I definitely wouldn't call Billy a well designed killer. He basically plays like a neutered Oni.

  • Forza
    Forza Member Posts: 109

    Plague - maybe unfun to play against from the survivor side sometimes but her addons are some of the best designed in the game which open up a variety of playstyles.

    Wraith - stealth killer with map control that isn't unfair to play against. strong addons that actually do change the way he's played.

    Blight - his kit is extremely fun to play with and against. only thing is that he's a bit unfair to play against sometimes.

    The Oni - even if he's not the strongest killer in the game he can still invoke fear in even the most skilled survivors. downing survivors while charging can feel very rewarding. only downside is that his addons are boring.

    The Huntress - very fun killer to play against, and feels very rewarding to hit survivors with hatchets. downside is the skill requirement which i think is actually higher than the nurse which make her prone to being bullied. also boring addons

    popular mention:

    the demogorgon - very unique kit with his portals and feels very rewarding to hit survivors with his leap attack.

  • gnehehe
    gnehehe Member Posts: 510

    1) Demo

    2) Demo

    3) Demo

    4) Demo

    5) Demo

    🤗

  • AverageKateMain
    AverageKateMain Member Posts: 949

    He was well designed in the past. I'm still kinda clinging on to old Billiam honestly. I'm technically coping hard atm

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    Oh yeah, old Billy was awesome. Just...so many crazy moments, especially skybilly.

  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    Billy reminded me of what Demo was before...whatever happened to him happened (honestly, still not sure - he was fine, now he struggles). Every single one you faced was completely different, and there was always some completely insane thing that would happen.

  • Reinami
    Reinami Member Posts: 5,641
    1. Wesker
    2. Old billy (remove overheat mechanic FFS)
    3. Pinhead
    4. Pre-nerf freddy
    5. Blight
  • StarLost
    StarLost Member Posts: 8,077

    Prenerf Freddy was a...bit much. The problem is that rather than nerfing, say, his more obnoxious addons, they completely gutted him from top to bottom, so that while he may not be the worst killer in the game, he's probably the most boring. And I haven't faced one since the start of December.

    Blight is a fantastically made killer, but a handful of his addons are a little silly.

  • Mister_xD
    Mister_xD Member Posts: 7,669
    1. Huntress - Overall great design. Unique, fun and strong power that allows for some great plays.
    2. Hillbilly (pre 4.1.0) - He used to be an amazing character. His basekit was extremely fun to use and allowed for some insane plays in the right cirscumstances, but had plenty of counterplay to it. His Add Ons were busted, so BHVR decided to nuke the whole character in response. Thanks BHVR.
    3. Deathslinger (pre 5.3.0) - He was a really fun Killer and one of the best in terms of balance. While he had a power very similar to Huntress, he still managed to fill a different nieche than she did and was very unique. He was powerful in direct one on one chases, but couldn't juggle the whole Survivor team nearly as well as other Killers, which made up for his strong chase. Then BHVR decided to remove everything that made him fun, unique and strong and now we're left with nothing but a shell of a former great character. Thanks BHVR.
    4. Wesker - Really well put together character. In terms of design quality he reminds me a lot of old Billy or Slinger, which has me worried for his future.
    5. Dredge - Very fun, but sadly also very map dependant. It brings some horror back into DbD, which is something I can appreciate a lot.
  • Brimp
    Brimp Member Posts: 3,055

    If we're talking about based powers...

    Blight

    Plague

    Huntress

    Demo

    Old Billy

  • AverageKateMain
    AverageKateMain Member Posts: 949

    The goal was never just 4k. It was to make a difference and be a change in dbd. Rip SkyBilly and SkyDemo

  • WesCravenFan
    WesCravenFan Member Posts: 2,638

    Best Designed:


    1.) Trapper

    2.) Oni

    3.) Dredge

    4.) Huntress

    5.) Old Freddy


    Worst Designed:


    1.) Blight

    2.) Wesker

    3.) Wraith

    4.) Twins

    5.) Freddy

  • WesCravenFan
    WesCravenFan Member Posts: 2,638


  • C3Tooth
    C3Tooth Member Posts: 8,266

    Trapper, Pig, Pinhead, Nemesis. Killers that not lethal in chase, but the Gens dont fly as they have their own unique way giving survivors 2nd objective.

    Some definitely need buff though.

  • GrimReaperJr1232
    GrimReaperJr1232 Member Posts: 1,713

    Hmm, tough one. I'm not gonna list them in any particular order.

    1. Blight - ADD-ONS AND BUGS ASIDE, I think Blight is a pretty well-made killer. He's strong, fun to play, and fun to go against (again, when he works and isn't using his nuclear add-ons).
    2. Demo - What's not to love about him? He's adorable. He's strong in the chase and potentially oppressive but not unstoppable. He has a few add-ons that make no sense but aside from that, he's almost perfect.
    3. Plague - I tried really hard to get into her and haven't succeeded so far, but I can't deny she's pretty well put together. She's strong but difficult to play/master. Multiple ways you can play a match as killer or the survivor, choosing how often and where to cleanse, and then dealing with the consequences of each, while having strong but not nuclear add-ons.
    4. Wesker - What's there to say? I mean, when the biggest grievance most people have with a killer is that they keep seeing him all the time, you're doing something right.
    5. Huntress - I'm going to be perfectly honest, I hate Huntress. I hate playing her and I hate versing her. But still, you can't deny she is very strong and most seem to enjoy going against her. Outside of bugfixes, her basekit has remained largely unchanged since release because there's little wrong with her. Now, if they can just address latency/hitboxes....
  • GrimReaperJr1232
    GrimReaperJr1232 Member Posts: 1,713

    I'm confused by your mention of Nemesis.

    Isn't Nemesis all about chase though? Vaccines aren't meant to be slowdown, they're there to provide a means of recovering your third health state. Wesker's infection, on the other hand, is meant to be slowdown.

    Could you perhaps elaborate? Maybe there's something I'm missing.