Dead By Daylight: Best Survivors Ranked (2024) | High Ground Gaming (2024)

With 39 courageous Survivors to choose from in Dead By Daylight, there’s a Survivor for every style of player. Whether you work best alone or want to support your team, there’s an array of Survivors who can match your energy as you find your perfect build.

Although each Survivor has its strengths, whether it’s looping, stealth, healing, or a jack of all trades, there are a select few Survivors who bring more to the table than others. Even though it’s possible to prestige the characters and get the best of what all the Survivors have to offer, if you’re looking to jump into the game with a Survivor who has a quality set of perks — we have you covered.

Following up on our Dead By Daylight: Best Killers Ranked, here is High Ground Gaming’s guide to the Best Survivors Ranked in Dead By Daylight.

DBD Survivors Tier List

DBD Survivors Ranked Good to Best

Here’s a closer look at the Dead by Daylight survivors in our tier list.

Let’s go!

#15 Jane Romero– D Tier

Although Jane Romero doesn’t make it to the top of many ranking lists, due to one perk in particular, I thought she deserved some recognition. She has a flexible set of skills that help get her out of dangerous situations, agitate the Killer, and support her team.

The strongest Jane Romero perk is Head On, which allows you to rush out of a locker and stun a Killer for three seconds if they’re within range. This can be an especially useful looping perk, or as a way to distract the Killer while they’re mid-chase with a teammate. If you’re a player who prefers to go on the offensive and interact with Killers, this perk is a must have.

Jane Romero’s other perks help with stealth and healing. Poised keeps you from leaving scratch marks for at least six seconds after a generator is completed, giving you the ability to sneak away. This is also beneficial if you’re playing solo queue to give you an advantage with stealth. Coupled with Solidarity, which allows you to passively heal yourself when injured by at least 40% of your altruistic speed while healing another Survivor. So regardless of you’re playing alone or with friends, you can take care of yourself and your team.

Overall, Jane Romero is a great choice for players who aren’t afraid to engage with the Killer and work with their teammates, but isn’t fully reliant on them.

#14 David King – D Tier

David King is a mixed bag of some useful perks and one that is essentially a worse Plot Twist (Nicholas Cage Perk). For players who want a more confrontational build that can still support their teammates, David King is a good choice.

The best David King perk is by far Dead Hard, which activates after being unhooked. While injured you can tap into your adrenaline bank to trigger the Endurance status effect for 0.5 seconds, which allows you to resist damage from the Killer. This is helpful to ensure that you get points from a safe unhook, as well as keep your team mates safe. If you enjoy looping the Killer, this is a really helpful perk to give you an edge while drawing their attention away from other injured Survivors. Similarly, We’re Gonna Live Forever, allows you to help the other Survivors. Not only do you increase your healing speed by 100% when healing a dying Survivor, but you gain tokens when you perform a safe hook rescue, take a protection hit for an injured Survivor, or stun/blind the Killer to rescue a carried Survivor. By consuming those tokens, you can grant Endurance to any Survivor healed from the dying state. Together, these perks make David King a helpful team mate to have!

Unfortunately, David King’s third perk, No Mither, leaves him incredibly vulnerable. Although your pools of blood are suppressed, grunts of pain are reduced when injured, and you can fully recover from the dying state — you stuffer from the Broken status effect for the entire trial. This in turn makes it hard for you to get the most out of his other Perks, so it’s a fairly pointless Perk to run.

#13 David Tapp – D Tier

Originating from the movie SAW, David Tapp is a Survivor that is focused on survival at all costs. His personal Perks grant him the ability to rapidly recover and scope out necessary locations on the map.

If you’re a player who wants to know where everything is, Detective’s Hunch is the Perk for you. It comes in handy when playing alone and with friends, because you can communicate your findings with your other teammates. This Perk unlocks the auras of generators, chests and totems within at least 32 meters for 10 seconds every time a generator is completed, so you can know what is around you to help make the best decision for the next stage of game play. If you’re holding a map, you can automatically track these revealed objects too, which help you get the most out of this Perk.

Another strong Perk that David Tapp offers is Tenacity, which has a lot of uses particularly near the end of gameplay. This Perk increases your crawling speed by at least 30%, reduce the volume of injured grunts while in the dying state by 75% and — most importantly — the ability to crawl and recover at the same time. If you’re going up against a slugging Killer, this Perk is one of the best, because you can work on recovering while moving and hiding from the Killer. Regardless of the Killer you’re up against, Tenacity can be really helpful to get you back in the game as quickly as possible when you’re downed.

Lastly, Stake Out offers a small benefit for hitting skill checks, although it’s not necessarily enough to make a huge difference in regards to gameplay and can put you at more risk. For every 15 seconds you’re within the Killer’s terror radius and not being chased, you gain a token that is consumed with each good skill check and grants an additional progression bonus of 1%. While it’s not a bad perk to have, there are other Survivors with more to offer.

#12 Felix Richter – C Tier

All of Felix Richter’s perks can offer a decent amount of mileage regardless of what type of Survivor you are. He’s a great option if you’re playing alone or with friends, because his perks aren’t necessarily reliant on teamwork, and they can definitely help turn around gameplay.

One of the most interesting Perks that Felix Richter has is Built to Last, which helps you get the most out of your tools. When hiding in a locker for up to 14 seconds while carrying a depleted item, you can replenish its charge to 99%. Although using this perk multiple times reduces the percentage by 33%, it is extremely helpful to get numerous uses out of an item — particularly if you bring one in. If you’re a player who wants to focus on items and doing things like fixing generators and healing teammates, this is a strong perk to have on your side. Coupled with Visionary, which reveals the auras of generators within 32 meters, this allows you to focus on the task at hand: repairing generators so your team can escape.

The third perk that rounds out Felix Richter’s build is Desperate Measures, which gives Survivors an advantage if a game starts to turn sour. Your healing and unhooking speed increases by at least 10% for each injured, hooked or dying Survivor up to a maximum of at least 40%. This can make a huge difference when the gates are open and can give you more points when you show up to help your team.

If you spend the first half of the game focusing on generator repairs and the second half dedicated to supporting your team, there’s a decent chance you can help your team escape.

#11 Dwight Fairfield – C Tier

One of the original Survivors of Dead By Daylight, Dwight Fairfield is a great Survivor to play if you’re an altruistic player who wants to help your teammates — especially if you’re playing as part of a squad and want to keep your friends in the game. His perks are dedicated to group work by finding other Survivors and offering bonuses for their actions as well as your own.

Bond reveals the auras of all the other Survivors within at least 20 meters of your location. This is particularly useful in combination with Prove Thyself, which increases your repair speed by at least 6% for each Survivor within four meters of your location up to a maximum repair speed of at least 18%. This effect also extends to all other Survivors within your range, which makes it even more beneficial. For players who want to focus on generators, this is a particularly helpful Perk. Lastly, Leader, increases the action speeds of Survivors in all action speeds by at least 15% if they are within 8 meters of your location. Together, this allows Dwight to help keep the team focused on tasks and gives you the ability to follow through on the benefits of the Perks.

What’s nice about this build, is that everything works off each other and is particularly helpful if you’re a new player because of the emphasis on doing things together. The biggest downside to Dwight Fairfield’s build is when you’re going against Killers that play with perks meant to dissuade teamwork behavior.

#10 Jake Park – C Tier

For players who tend to prefer a more solitary experience with Dead By Daylight, Jake Park is a Survivor who can hold his own. With perks that help him more around the environment more effectively and survive while injured, along with offering a helping hand to teammates at the same time, Jake Park is a worthwhile Survivor to explore.

The most unique personal perk of Jake Park is Saboteur, which allows you the ability to see auras of every hook within 56 meters for the duration of the Killer carrying another Survivor and sabotage the hook without needing a tool box. Not only is this extremely beneficial for game play, but it’s a fun aggressive move that doesn’t necessarily require confrontation with the Killer. You can use this when the Killer is mid-chase or even as a prevention tool around the map.

His other Perks focus on reducing noises, which helps you stick to the shadows and avoid detection. This can help you keep your head down and complete the tasks you have at hand. Whether you want to run an unhooking or totem cleansing build, both of these offer protection while you’re sneaking around. Iron Will reduces the volume of grunts while injured by at least 25%, which can help keep you moving stealthily around the map. In combination with Calm Spirit, you can also prevent crows from alerting your proximity, as well as suppress the urge to scream from any cause at all times and noises related to unlocking chests or cleaning totems. Calm Spirit can especially come in handy with certain Killers and their perks that revolve around eliciting noises.

#9 Adam Francis – B Tier

Adam Francis has a unique set of perks that rely on him helping his teammates to his own advantage. While some of his perks are stronger than others, he has a few perks that can be fairly useful.

One of the best Adam Francis Perks is Deliverance, which causes your next self-unhook to always succeed after you perform a safe hook rescue on another Survivor. This perk can be a game changer, especially near the end of the trial, or as a way to keep the Killer from focusing on you. If you don’t require help from another Survivor to unhook yourself, it’s harder to keep the Survivors distracted from generators. This is also nice if you’re playing solo queue because you won’t have to rely on the other players making the effort to unhook you either.

The other Perk that players enjoy is Autodidact, which gives you a healing stackable progression bonus. Although you start the trial with a progression penalty of minus 25% for succeeding a good skill check while healing another Survivor it grants you tokes that can be used for that stackable progression. This is helpful, but will keep you busy healing your teammates and works better for players with more experience.

Adam Francis’ final Perk is Diversion. Although this can be helpful, it only works in a specific scenario and requires some finessing to keep from backfiring. After being within the Killer’s radius for at least 40 seconds without being chased, you can throw a pebble while crouched to distract a Killer within 20 meters distance from your location. The distraction includes a loud noise notification and fake scratch marks, which are helpful, but means you have to be skilled sneaking around the Killer while in their radius and — depending on the Killer — can put you at greater risk.

#8 Feng Min – B Tier

The ultimate Survivor for players who want to dedicate their time to sneakily getting generators done is hands down Feng Min. Her personal perks specifically focus on generator repair as well as locating the Killer so you can avoid them. Together, her build allows her to work silently and sneak away from the Killer before being noticed.

Technician reduces the audible range of your repair noises and surpasses the explosion and loud noise notification if you fail a skill check. You do need to be mindful though with this Perk, as failing a skill check will instantly regress the generator by at most 5% on top of the default penalty. So while Feng Min may not be the best for beginners trying to learn the ropes of the game, if you’re more experienced, with skill checks, you can use this perk to your advantage.

Alert and Lithe work together to help you find and escape the killer. Whenever a Killer destroys a pallet or wall, or damages a generator, their aura is revealed for a few seconds. This way you can tell where the Killer is on the map and if you’re about to enter their terror radius. For Lithe, if you choose to flee, you can make a quick departure through a rushed vault, and it allows you to break into a spring of 150% your normal movement for three seconds. This is a great option particularly if you do get engaged in a chase and want an extra advantage to escape.

#7 Leon Scott Kennedy – B Tier

A favorite from the Resident Evil Franchise, Leon Scott Kennedy have some fun perks that can disorient the killer, track regressed generators and ignore pain. These Perks offer a good variety to help the player with a variety of tasks in gameplay, and makes him a great addition to the team — whether you’re solo queued or not.

The most fun Leon Scott Kennedy Perk is Flashbang. After repairing a generator at least 70%, you can enter any lockers to craft a flash grenade that you can use to distract the Killer with a large sound and bright light. This allows you to help your teammates mid-chase or divert the Killer’s attention, and can be a fun option to wield in tandem with a flashlight if you’d like to antagonize the Killer more.

Bite the Bullet suppresses all noises related to healing if you’re healing yourself or another Survivor, and minimized the impact of failed healing checks. If you’re a new player, that is particularly useful because it reduces the room for error.

Lastly, Rookie Spirit will reveal the auras of any regressing generators after you succeed five good or great skill checks when repairing a generator. This is particularly huge if a Killer has a generator focused build dedicated to regressing your progress.

Overall, Leon Scott Kennedy is a versatile Survivor that can be used for all types of gameplay, although he particularly shines in healing and generator repairs.

#6 Nea Karlsson – A Tier

What I appreciate about Nea Kalsson’s personal perks is that they all work together as a unit to make her a stealthy, quick-footed Survivor that helps her evade the Killer. If you’re a player who prefers to work behind the scenes and pull off some sneakier maneuvers, like totem cleansing or unhooks, Nea Karlsson is a solid Survivor to play as.

Of all her perks, Balanced Landing is a generally sought after addition. When falling from great heights, your stagger duration is reduced and your grunts of exertion are suppressed. If that’s not helpful enough, you also break into a sprint at 150% your normal running speed for three seconds. This is great if you’re looking to make a quick escape off of buildings mid-chase or avoid detection from the Killer. Particularly because at least one generator can be found upstairs in each map, you can use Nea Karlsson to tackle those generators too.

Another strong perk of hers is Urban Evasion, which increases your crouching movement speed by at least 90%. This is extremely helpful when you’re creeping around the map or hiding from the Killer. Especially if you’re solo queued, her perks are focused on helping her escape, which is nice if you’re not wanting a build that’s as altruistic.

Lastly, Streetwise rounds out Nee Karlsson’s build. It increases the efficiency of your items by at least 15%, so if you do choose to heal teammates with a medkit or repair generators with a tool box, you’ll be even more effective of a teammate.

Although her perks can’t dramatically change the course of a game, it does give her an advantage to escape while still offering some useful qualities to the whole team.

#5 Ada Wong – A Tier

Another character from the Resident Evil franchise, Ada Wong is a Survivor that does her best work when solo queued. Her Perks allow her to spy on the Killer, gain a surge in healing while her teammates are hurt and offers a dramatic advantage as the final Survivor. Although she isn’t necessarily the most altruistic Survivor, at least one of her perks benefits all of the Survivors. As a whole, she is an extremely strong Survivor to play as.

The most coveted perk of Ada Wong’s is Wiretap. After repairing a generator for a total of 50%, the Perk activates and you can install a Wiretap that stays active for at least 100 seconds. Whenever the Killer comes within 14 meters of the tapped generator, their aura is revealed to all Survivors. This is a huge move for Survivors who are working on generators, giving them enough of a heads up to evade the Killer as they do a sweep of the area. While a Killer can destroy the wiretap if they damage the generator, you can always put it back in place.

Another interesting perk of Ada Wong’s is Reactive Healing. While your allies are struggling, you get an extra boost to help you out. When another Survivor loses a health state within 32 meters of your location while you’re also injured, you are granted at least 40% of your missing health progression to your health bar. This is a great passive perk that can help you as the game approaches end game, and helps set you up if you become the final Survivor.

Low Profile is the perk that ties it all together. When it’s just you and the Killer left in the trial, it surpasses your pools of blood, scratch marks and grunts of pain for 70 seconds, giving you a chance to make your great escape.

Due to the fact that Ada Wong’s perks are focused on helping her escape the trial, she works best for more experienced players so they can get the most out of her abilities.

#4 Mikeala Reid – A Tier

One of the things that sets Mikeala Reid apart as a Survivor is her ability to alter the trial with supernatural abilities. She adds some fun elements to playing Survivor because of her ability to bless totems and create areas of refuge for her teammates. What’s extra cool is that all of her perks work in tandem together, which gives her an all-around strong build that enhances her powers.

Her most useful perk is Boon: Circle of Healing. She can create a boon on a dull or Hex totem to create a protective radius of 24 meters that allows all Survivors within the area to increase their altruistic healing speeds by at least half when not using a med-kit as well as reveal injured Survivor auras so players can easily find and heal injured teammates.

Mikeala Reid’s other Boon is Shadow Step, which suppresses scratch marks and hides auras from the Killer while within a 24 meter radius. This effect is extremely helpful for Survivors who are trying to avoid detection or are looping the Killer.

On top of the boons, Clairvoyance grants her the added effect of unlocking full aura-reader potential whenever she cleanses or blesses a totem. She can see the exit gate switches, generators, hooks, chest and the hatch within 64 meters. Although it doesn’t show her the Killer, the addition of seeing the Hatch can work really well in her favor.

The one downside to Mikeala Reid is that her Perks are so focused on protecting the team that it doesn’t necessarily help her to shine on her own as much.

#3 Claudette Morel – S Tier

Another original Survivor, Claudette Morel is the best Survivor to play if you want to run a healing build. All of her Perks help her spot injured Survivors and heal both herself and the team more efficiently, which makes her a great teammate to have particularly if you’re playing with friends.

Empathy reveals the auras of Survivors who are in the injured or dying state within at least 64 meters of you, helping you find them and use your other perks to get the most out of healing them if you run Botany Knowledge. While you don’t want to have a med-kit with this build because it reduces the healing efficiency by 20%, you’ll find that you don’t really need it because the Perk increases your healing speed by at least 30%.

One of the other benefits of Claudette’s build is that while she helps others, she can also take care of herself too. Self-care allows you to heal yourself without a medkit at a quarter increase of the normal healing speed.

Depending on the Killer you’re going up against, Claudette can turn a whole game around by getting the team’s heals reset so they can focus on escaping.

#2 Meg Thomas – S Tier

One of the cool things about Dead By Daylight is how strong the original quartet of Survivors are — and Meg Thomas is no exception. Her personal perks are often utilized and help her escape chases by putting distance between herself and the Killer. If you’re looking to make some risky moves while making a great escape, Meg Thomas is the Survivor for you.

Quick & Quiet is a generally useful Perk that many Survivors take advantage of, especially for stealth builds. Quick & Quiet suppresses both the loud noise notification and sound effects triggered by rushing to vault windows, pallets or entering and exiting lockers. This is extremely useful during chase sequences or if you’re looking to get away from a Killer that you know is on its way to you.

Another strong Perk of hers is Sprint Burst, which allows you to break into a spring at 150% your normal movement for three seconds. When timed right, this can help you avoid a hit from a Killer that you’re looping.

Last, but certainly not least, is Adrenaline, which gives you a huge advantage once the exit gates are powered. You instantly heal a health state and sprint at 150% your normal speed for five seconds. There’s also an added benefit if you’re playing against the Killer The Nightmare, because it automatically wakes you up from the Dream World upon activation.

Together, these perks can be used in combination to help you escape the Killer and if you play your cards right: the whole trial.

#1 William “Bill” Overbeck – S Tier

There’s no doubt about it, Bill Overbeck is the toughest Survivor in Dead By Daylight. Leaning into his lore as a solider, Bill Overbeck has Perks that help him shine in the most stressful gameplay moments. As a whole, his build is solid to help him avoid death and help his teammates out while doing it.

Two of Bill Overbeck’s strongest perks work together to get you out of the trial — especially if you’re the sole Survivor. Unbreakable allows you to completely recover from the dying state once during the trial and increases your recovery speed by 25%. While this is extremely powerful on its own, when it’s coupled with Left Behind, it makes a Killer work overtime to try and beat you. If you’re the last Survivor remaining in the trial, the hatch’s aura is revealed to you when you’re within at least 24 meters. Although Left Behind only comes into play during certain instances, it’s powerful enough that when you need it, it will come in handy.

Lastly is Borrowed Time, which is a solely altruistic Perk that will make you your team’s favorite person. When unhooking a Survivor, the extent of their endurance increases by at least six seconds as well as the duration of their haste by 10 seconds.

Together, Bill Overbeck has a build that’s unlike any of the other Survivors and every Perk is a strong one. For that reason, he’s at the top of our best Survivors in Dead By Daylight ranking.

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Happy gaming!