[Proposal] Passive Perk System for Killers

Hello friends (this isn't Otz),
I’d like to share an idea I’ve had for a long time to help reduce, even if just a little, the disparity between killers, and try to close the gap between high-tier and low-tier killers. It would also help low-tier killers in general (for context, I’m a killer main, but I also enjoy playing as survivor).

My idea is to give killers “Passive Perks.” Each killer would have at least one of these, and they can be disabled if the player chooses to. For this, I’d also like to categorize killers. The weaker the killer, the stronger the passives they receive. Meanwhile, stronger killers might not get any passives at all.

Don’t take this too seriously, it’s just a tentative idea and I haven’t thought too deeply about how each skill would affect gameplay. In fact, I invite you to improve upon this idea and discuss it reasonably.

Important clarification after writing this:
No passive perk stacks with a regular perk. If a passive perk feels too weak, you can remove it and replace it with a regular perk in your perk slot.

Another important clarification I thought of while writing: in very rare cases, there might be demerits. But these could be completely omitted if you don’t like them. And if demerits were implemented, unlike passive perks, they wouldn’t be removable.

Killer: The Trapper

Threat Level:
Passive Perks:

  • Ultimate Blessing of the Entity:
    Essentially basekit Corrupt Intervention. It lasts for one minute. (Doesn’t stack with Corrupt Intervention)
  • Bloodthirsty:
    Basekit Sloppy Butcher.
  • Night Stalker:
    Basekit Surveillance.

Killer: The Wraith

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention, but only lasts 20 seconds. (Doesn’t stack)

Killer: The Hillbilly

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Nurse

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks (Demerits):

  • Blinded by the Entity:
    Can’t see auras at the start of the match (approx. 15 seconds).
  • Exposed by the Entity:
    Survivors can see the killer’s aura for 5 seconds at the start.

Killer: The Shape

Threat Level:
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention. (Could be nerfed if using iridescent add-ons)

Killer: The Hag

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Doctor

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Huntress

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention for 20 seconds. (Doesn’t stack)

Killer: The Cannibal

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Cathedral of Monsters:
    Basekit Monstrous Shrine.
  • Blessing of the Entity:
    20 seconds of basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Nightmare

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Pig

Threat Level:
Passive Perks:

  • Ultimate Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention for one minute. (Doesn’t stack)

Killer: The Clown

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Spirit

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Legion

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Plague

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Blessing of the Entity:
    20 seconds of basekit Corrupt Intervention. (Doesn’t stack)

Killer: Ghost Face

Threat Level:
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.
  • Night Stalker:
    Basekit Surveillance.

Killer: The Demogorgon

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.
  • Eyeless Horror:
    Basekit Lightborn.

Killer: The Oni

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Deathslinger

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.
  • Night Stalker:
    Basekit Surveillance.

Killer: The Executioner

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.
  • Eyeless Horror:
    Basekit Lightborn.

Killer: The Blight

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰✰
Demerits:

  • Blinded by the Entity:
    No aura reading at the start (15s).
  • Chained by the Entity:
    Moves significantly slower at the start.
  • Exposed by the Entity:
    Survivors can see his aura for 5 seconds at the start.

Killer: The Twins

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Trickster

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.
  • Cathedral of Monsters:
    Basekit Monstrous Shrine.

Killer: Nemesis

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Entity’s Grasp:
    Basekit Grim Embrace.

Killer: The Cenobite

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Bloodthirsty:
    Basekit Sloppy Butcher.

Killer: The Artist

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Onryo

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Dredge

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Mastermind

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Cool Sunglasses / Eyeless Horror:
    Basekit Lightborn.

Killer: The Knight

Threat Level: ✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Blessing of the Entity:
    20 seconds of basekit Corrupt Intervention. (Doesn’t stack)
  • Night Stalker:
    Basekit Surveillance.

Killer: The Skull Merchant

Threat Level:
Passive Perks:

  • Ultimate Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention for one minute. (Doesn’t stack)
  • Bloodthirsty:
    Basekit Sloppy Butcher.

Killer: The Singularity

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Demerit/Benefit:

  • End-Times Balance:
    Basekit No Way Out, but cameras can’t be used near exit gates (within a large radius).

Killer: The Xenomorph

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Advanced Blessing of the Entity:
    Basekit Corrupt Intervention.

Killer: The Good Guy

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Night Stalker:
    Basekit Surveillance.

Killer: The Unknown

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Lich

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Dark Lord

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • None.

Killer: The Houndmaster

Threat Level: ✰✰✰
Passive Perks:

  • Relentless Punisher:
    Basekit Save the Best for Last.

Killer: The Ghoul

Threat Level: ✰✰✰✰✰
Demerit:

  • Unravel:
    The Ghoul cannot use powers until hitting a survivor with a basic attack (M1).

Killer: The Animatronic

Threat Level: ✰✰✰ (To be determined)
Passive Perks:

  • To be determined. I need more data.

Comments

  • crogers271
    crogers271 Member Posts: 3,371

    It's not a bad idea, but there a few issues that it runs into.

    1: Not all killers are meant to be equal, they have differing levels of difficulty. Trapper/Wraith are starting type killers, while more complex killers like Nurse have higher skill ceilings and lower skill floors. This would exacerbate that, it would make the starting killers too strong early while making something like Nurse even harder to pick up.

    2: BHVR seems to be happy with the place that most killers are at, so most of these would be 'buffs' that would need nerfs elsewhere.

    3: There's an easier solution which has been proposed a few times, that being some killers just get more perks slots than others or they get stronger gen kicks or different hook timers. Those would be easier to implement because you wouldn't have to go killer by killer, you'd just give them the same gen kick boost (as an example) that others on their level have.

  • phillip671
    phillip671 Member Posts: 9

    they need to do this with survivor also. or alteast more gamemodes that arent just rotating

  • Yippiekiyah
    Yippiekiyah Member Posts: 588
    edited June 2025

    You could ask 100 different people and get 100 different answers when it comes to killer strength. Also some of the supposed weaker killers like Sadako and Pig have long been amongst the highest killrates. Do you buff them and boost their killrate further? Also if killers are needing buffed it's better to buff their power than give them free perks.

  • Scarletprince15
    Scarletprince15 Member Posts: 21


    Oh! I didn't know about those suggestions. They're interesting, and I like them. The idea of giving weaker killers more perks sounds really intriguing to me. What I did know is that not all killers are designed to be equal. Either way, this is more of a fun exercise than anything else. Thanks for replying!


    I’d love for them to implement a game mode with proximity voice chat someday. There could be two versions: one where only the survivors can hear each other, and another (ore chaotic one) where the killer can also hear the survivors. It would be super immersive and fun. Of course, there should be an option to mute people in case they start trolling.

    Hi! Thanks for commenting. Personally, I don’t think things should be balanced around new players. Obviously, some adjustments should be made so it’s not overwhelming, but DBD is inherently overwhelming for newcomers, so there’s only so much that can be done. In my opinion, buffing weak killers is the right move, even if they have high kill rates at low MMR. No game balances itself around new players: it’s the newcomer who should learn and adapt, not the other way around.