http://dbd.game/killswitch
Any tips for playing Skull Merchant?
Greetings, friends of the Fog! I hope this thread finds you doing well.
So, I am asking this question here because I recently got back to playing Skull Merchant, mostly because I am a little bit tired of playing current Freddy while knowing full well that he was and should be way more fun than he currently is.
But I am no Skull Merchant expert, so I am requesting assistance here to make sure I don't mess up my own games
For added context: I was only around for the very last days of her original design. I did play the version of her that we had immediately prior to her nerfs (which I still think were extremely unnecessary and shouldn't have happened at all, she was perfect as she was, but that is a discussion for another time) and I thought she was really, really fun. Now, I am aware of the severity of her nerfs, but I still think she is fun to play and I want to enjoy her before the next rework which, if it follows the route presented in the last two design previews, will be awful.
So, do you have any tips? Strategies? Build suggestions? Any help is appreciated here!
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All I've seen from the people who can still stomach her is they change drone direction when survivors enter to ensure they get a tag
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Don't play Skull Merchant until they rework her. That's my advice.
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Is there a plan to do so or you're assuming it will happen?
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Don't expect your drones to do anything.
She is pure M1 killer with stealth on command, trying to get drones to work will only waste your time.
Whispers is good now, because it tells you when to deploy drone before survivors hear your TR (she has 24 meters TR now).
STBFL is must have for her now, because most of your hits will be M1.2 -
Yep, I do need to remember to do this more often.
As I've said in my post, I won't wait for the rework because from what we've seen the rework looks awful. If I want to play Skull Merchant, and I do, now is the time to do it.
Well, they've released two slightly different design previews already, but both look extremely unfun.
Interesting perk suggestions, my friend, thank you. I'll see if I can experiment a little bit with then, though I'll have to decide which perks to remove from my build carefully, as I only have three slots to work with (never play without our lord and savior Lightborn).
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Skull Merchant is unique in her dual identity as both a trap setting as well as stealth killer. Deploy drones to enter stealth or to lay a trap, recalling your drones immediately if only for stealth. Drones scan through windows (Saloon, Haddonfield homes etc) so placing them in high traffic areas is recommended. They also have a generous detection area that is not properly conveyed in game, so drones on stairs/tables will scan above and below itself. Dissolution is a uniquely strong perk, if you enter stealth and get a hit early, a survivor may drop a pallet and vault before they can see the debuff. Claw Traps also charge dissolution.
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They're currently in the process. They've released a couple of dev blogs about it, and it should be done either late 2025 or early 2026.
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Interesting points, my friend, thank you!
I've also found that placing drones in high traffic areas seems to be the play. Thanks to the event most tiles are very easy to run as killer, so you don't really have to worry if one tile in particular happens to have no drone on it, at least in my experience so far.
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BHVR said they will. They have also emailed out new that the community can get feedback on her before she hits PTB. :)
When I play her I have a lot of success with this style of build. I call it the convenience build.
Sloppy, Surge, Bam, Brutal. Addons Purple Addon - that makes you do actions faster. Really good for vaulting, the speed catches your opponents off guard. The other addon is your choice. I use the iri where they start with claw traps. It’s my own personal Lethal. :)Hopes this helps!
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Ok… then you're playing an M1 killer with essentially no power. Play her like she doesn't even have a power, because she pretty much doesn't
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Don' t play her
wait for the rework
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Thanks friend, I appreciate the assistance!
Please, friend, I just said in the post that I don't want to wait for the rework because the design previews are awful.
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Finding good advice gonna be incredibly hard to come with a pick rate probably not even 0.5%. I used to rely enjoy her 2.0 version, but haven't touched her since she's been gutted so I can't help other than direct you.
Know "Pixel Bush"? search his YouTube channel he's got a lot of DBD content and turns out SM is his favorite. IDK the exact video, but he has a few good video guides on how to play her current version just have to look a bit. He's the only person I know of that has any legit content about her.
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I also enjoyed her 2.0 version, my friend. I think she was perfect as she was and I still think it is ridiculous how people would still DC or hook suicide against her even though the killer was fine, and didn't cause any problems for the game.
Anyway, thank you for your comment, friend. Yes, I know who Pixel Bush is and I did watch his guide recently, it was very helpful, especially considering the fact that I hadn't played SM in a while. If you are interested in more SM content, I recommend "Skull Merchant HQ" on Youtube. His videos are really, really fun.
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As someone who enjoyed her macro style gameplay before they gutted her, you just don't. She's really bad now unless you play hit and run. And at that point you may as well just play wraith, because her drones are only good to give her undetectable at this point.
Wait for the rework, and then be disappointed that they took away another interesting concept and turned it into another anti-loop "dash" killer.
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Well, my friend, but if the rework turns her into another anti-loop "dash" killer, then I won't play her anymore because I hate those kinds of killers.
If I want to play SM, and I do, now is the time to do it.
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I sometimes get myself to suffer with her, because I simply love her skins (one of best imo)
Addons I would use always Adaptive lightning and expired batteries or geocraphical readout can work.
My build:
Whispers, STBFL, Surge, Sloppy/Franklins0 -
Her skins are some of the best, I agree! My favorite is one of her rift skins, this one:
I love it <3
Thank you for the recommendations, my friend, I appreciate it!
I am usually playing with Bamboozle, Corrupt Intervention, Pain Res and Lightborn (which I never remove from my build). It isn't as chase-oriented mostly because of the event, as the tiles are easier to run as killer due to the pallet break / enduring powers.
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Surveilance, Surge, Pain res, STBFL was my favorite build for a long time too.
My favorite skins are:
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if you know pixel bush, I got nothing to add.
haven't touched her yet since coming back. (mostly because killer has longer queue times and I want the extra bps)
gonna check out this skull merchant HQ channel.
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Well, she's much more "active" than SM 2.0. Now you must keep in mind that every time a Survivor enters a loop/high-traffic area then you have to manually switch drone rotation to have any hope to get tags. You can't just drop a drone at loops and forget it anymore.
You can also simply play her like you would play Wraith but keep in mind you have no speed boost and the Undetectable is only a few seconds although there's basically no sound cue unless Survivors are right next to you. Many people, since she got nuked, essentially play her like that and simply don't even try to set up drones for tags in strategic positions.
Remember that SM, even Undetectable, has essentially no audio cue like Wraith or Ghostie so a well-timed drone can get you a gen grab if you manage to stay unseen.
She actually does decent in indoor ma- nevermind you probably won't get one even with an offering now. RIP Scratched Mirror Myers.
She does benefit from perks messing with her Terror Radius (Trail of Torment and Unforeseen have gotten me a few cheeky grabs, Dark Devotion can be decent) but you'll likely want to have at least 2 M1 chase perks. With STBFL being more common for camping/forcing trades than normal chasing after its ill-thought-out nerf, and Sloppy being essentially ignored by good Survivors since it's on a timer (which makes it worthless if you down & hook the Survivor you just hit since the timer will have run out) I would recommend Bam and either Brutal Strength (to brute-force loops) or Nowhere To Hide (NTH synergizes well with the on-demand Undetectable and is a great info perk overall even if it's held back a little by the regression limit) alongside one or two stealth perks.
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So when I read this post I got into mood to play her again. It's so funny survivors still give up and hate to play against her. Even tho she basically has only stealth left :D
Devs really should have ignored those complaining, because clearly even nuclear nerf was not enough for them.
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Yep, I have noticed the long killer queue times, my friend. At this point I am not even sure if it still is the "Afton Effect" or we are just lacking survivor players.
Also, I hope you enjoy Skull Merchant HQ's videos, he is a P100 console Skull Merchant main and I cannot recommend his content enough, it is really good.
Thank you for your comment, my friend, the help is appreciated!
As you've said, I have indeed noticed just how good the stealth aspect can be with her. Even the random temporary stealth from the anniversary event actually gave me a gen grab last night. But even if you do not get a grab, since she is naturally very silent you can get really close to a survivor before they realize you're there, it is very fun to do.
As for maps I did indeed get Léry's earlier today, but that match was complicated. What really influenced that game's result was Steve constantly trying to body block rather than what I was doing as killer or what the other survivors were doing. But hey, we all got a lot of BPs that game, so I think it was nice.
I agree completely, my friend (also, nice cosmetic choices).
Surprisingly, I only got one survivor giving up so far. A TTV Feng Min on my very first game yesterday, who had quite unpleasant things to say in the post-game chat. But yes, I am still in favor of scrapping the proposed rework and reverting all of her nerfs, as complaints from people like this, who are not even interested in playing the game, will never cease, regardless of what is done to the killer.
But, on a positive note, I'm glad my little post here got you in the mood to play her!
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Just a quick update: I would like to thank everyone who commented here so far and game me some advice and / or build suggestions!
I've played her a lot more since this post was written and, despite the lack of strength from time to time, she is really fun to play. As long as those design previews aren't actually implemented to her (she shouldn't become another dash / mid range killer) I will definitely continue to play her from here on out.
Again, thanks for the assistance, and if you have more to share please do so!
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In the proposed rework I must say though I do like the part where she can use her GPS to cause a global detection frequency to find survivors. Neat little feature. :D
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Given the things they have shown us that is exactly where they are going. You are going to "Shoot" the drones out and they will attack survivors.
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And that, my friend, is very concerning.
That is why I sincerely hope the design preview has been scrapped entirely. It really should not happen.
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You're not the same without your Freddy avatar :(
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Don't worry, friend. I'll probably use it again at some point.
Juts giving SM her chance on the spotlight here, since I am playing her a lot.
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You are great at inspiring people. Even I wanted to play it for a bit. Something to think about.
The rest is just me thinking out loud. I will personally try playing with my 2 Obsession and Speed builds.
Nemesis, Friends 'til the End, Furtive Chase, Dark Devotion (Alien Instinct)
Batteries Included, Bamboozle, Unbound, Lightborn (Hex: No One Escapes Death)
The results can then be combined into something more hybrid if needed.
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You are great at inspiring people. Even I wanted to play it for a bit
Thank you, my dear friend, I'm glad my post inspired you to play her!
Very interesting builds, my friend. Bamboozle in particular is a perk I was using with her, and it really did help. Same as Lightborn, but this one I always use, no matter what.
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I'm truly hoping the two previews will never be seen the light of day
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The preview version of SM...
Before doing a rework, for now, just revert the scan lines to two immediately.
Just now! Quickly!2 -
Same, my friend. Same.
To be honest, my friend, I would prefer if the reworks never happen. Reverting her nerfs, including her scan lines of course, is the best way to fix her.
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As a merchant main i can recommend you not main her. She is without a doubt the weakest killer in the game. But if you do then I would use your drones as stealth on command to get close for the first hit. I stack chase perks and just go for downs as quick as I can. You gain a speed boost if a someone is hit by your drone if a: it is a freshly placed drone, or b: you changed the rotation direction in the last several seconds. She is a very weak m1 killer and if you want to win consistently with her you are going to have to stack slowdown, or play scummy as hell.
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Thank you for your comment, friend!
And honestly, I don't really mind if I don't get consistent wins, I just wanna have fun.
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Well, this is basically the worst time ever to play Skull Merchant as she has been basically kill switched and has no power. I liked her first iteration A LOT, but then they reworked her and she was still somewhat enjoyable to play, although kinda dull compared to the original design. Now she has basically no power until they release her second rework, which imo is such a deviation from the original design that feels like it will completely take her uniqueness. Regardless, anything is better than a M1 killer with no power, so we can at least hope they release her third iteration ASAP.
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She's probably the one you get the most pick ups and jump scares with now so that part is fun I think. She has the best stealth in the game in my opinion. It's just stealth isn't that great the higher your mmr goes.
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nooooo rip freddy icon
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The problem, my old friend, is that the design preview for her next iteration looks awful.
I hate dash / mid range killers, I don't want to play those characters, and that is basically what the design preview showed us.
They shouldn't happen, but if they do then that means the time to play her is now.
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I agree with that. It pisses me off that every killer nowadays has to have a dash or a projectile because otherwise they are going to be unpopular. Some characters are going to be niche and that's a good thing. There should be many characters for the majority, but there should be some that attend a specific demographic that enjoy other playstyles. Every game has that.
I hope they go back on those changes and keep Skull Merchant as a killer based on map control and passive effects which was what made her so unique.
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Well said, my dear friend! I completely agree.
Might go back to it at some point, friend, but I wanna go with SM for some time.
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I have long ago made 2 perk tables for myself to make builds for killers. Also remember about important perks with at least minimal benefit. I can share if needed. Although I think it is not quite appropriate here, since they are more of a universal focus for all killers.
It was quite an interesting experience. I would even say I got a triple combo for today. I hope there will be no complaints about me here for a few pictures and a short story. Yes, I like to make all sorts of pictures in Paint.
Playing for Skull Merchant was not as sad as I imagined.
The first thing I got when I turned on the game. A survivor who left on the loading screen. I don’t know if this survivor felt some kind of catch to do this. Thanks to this, I learned that statistics even register such cases.
Then I met survivors who did not burn with hatred for Skull Merchant. They even wrote a pretty funny comment. The survivors mostly behaved quite normally. She has a pretty beautiful mori.
It all ended with me meeting Skull Merchant as a survivor. This is a truly mystical coincidence on the level of luck. We could have won, but Nea Karlsson decided to turn into a bot. Apparently Skull Merchant is so hated by survivors.
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😌✊
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When I play current Skull Merchant, I run anti pallet/window builds and just throw down the drone in annoying spots in loops. I only really have issue againsnt people who hold W, in maps with connecting loops.
I feel when you are set up the information and the presence of your drones at loops can make survivors slip but for some easier hits.
Thought a lot of it is relying on people not knowing how to deal with her. A good group is always going to be strong and difficult to deal with.1 -
Scrolling back, I can see you're familiar with my work. In terms of stuff that's happened since I made my last guide…
- Compass tech has been patched, but so has the bug that causes her drones not to rotate on deployment.
- Your best perk right now is Monitor and Abuse. Her Terror Radius went down to 24m in the Kaneki patch which means Monitor takes her to 16m: the same as a Tier 2 Myers. This, combined with your drone deployment Undetectable, means you have legitimately decent stealth now.
- Finesse doesn't count as a fast vault for the purposes of fast vault immunity, and Vigil doesn't reduce the Hinder duration from clawtraps. These are both major assets to you.
- More people are running Made for This since Ghoul dropped which sucks for you, but more players are also resetting more aggressively because they have a morbillion healing perks. This means scanning Survivors who are injured becomes more valuable: you can leave them at 2 stacks injured, take a new chase, they'll reset but resetting at 2 stacks is basically 99'ing yourself to get instantly re-injured again. Bear this in mind if you notice they're stacking reset perks: Survivors being injured and Locked On is still good, and if they bring reset perks and Exhaustions that means fewer perk slots for anti-tunnel. Do with this information what you will.
- The Penti build is still good. Nowhere near what it was, but still good.
Everything else I can say, I already said in my 2025 edition of the Grandmaster's Guide to Skull Merchant, and unless she gets more balance changes or the rework at some point soon I don't think much is liable to change.
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Wait for the rework
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Yep! Your guide was very helpful friend!
Thank you for your comment and the updated information, I appreciate it.
Honestly I had a suspicion that compass tech no longer worked after trying really hard to use it and failing, but before having confirmation I thought it was a skill issue on my part. I've experimented with M&A in a couple of games and, yes, it does seem like stealth is a good approach, if nothing else then only to give survivors less time to react to your presence.
and unless she gets more balance changes or the rework at some point soon I don't think much is liable to change.
I agree, and it is truly unfortunate because the design previews for the rework are bad and, in my opinion, not needed. I still think reverting her nerfs is the best option.
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I'm working on a video "The State of Skull Merchant" right now to talk about the future for this Killer. For what it's worth I'm still playing her and loving her, even if I acknowledge that actually 4K-ing with her is FAR more difficult than it should have any right to be. And if you enjoy what she can do that almost no other Killer can, and can handle losing a few more matches than you'd like to, I would recommend you do so too. And if nothing else, the first two design previews getting thoroughly rejected by the community means she's gonna be the way she is for a little while, so I'd say… get used to her, I guess.
Playing her during the anniversary feels nice because the invite powers give her a lot of extra efficiency and options to offset your relatively crappy power.
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