BEST and WORST Designed Killers in Dead by Daylight!

This week we're exploring the idea of what makes a killer successful in terms of their design in Dead by Daylight. To do this we're going to discuss Game Feel and "Juice". We'll also look at Camera, Character and Controller in regards to the killer design and how they are balanced. Finally we'll construct a sort of tier list going through the killers chronologically to explore my personal thoughts on each killers design.
References:
Denisova, A & Cairns, P. 2015. First Person vs. Third Person Perspective in Digital Games: Do Player Preferences Affect Immersion? Available at: www.researchga... [Accessed on 20 September 2022].
GDC, 2017. An Approach to Holistic Level Design. [online] Available at: • An Approach to Holisti... [Accessed on 19 September 2022].
Grapefrukt, 2012. Juice it or lose it - a talk by Martin Jonasson & Petri Purho. [online] Available at: • Juice it or lose it - ... [Accessed on 20 September 2022].
Iida, H, 2007. On Games and Fairness. Available at: www.researchga... [Accessed on 19 September 2022].
Interaction Design Foundation, 2019. User Experience (UX) Design. [online] Available at: www.interactio... [Accessed on 20 September 2022].
Swink, S., 2008. Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation. London: Routledge.

[@Doncroft1]

Thank you for loving the Twins! Their bugs are not the same as their design. Their design is great.

[@Xtrevertx]

Generally agree with all of these! I do disagree with Twins mostly and would put them in the Killer tier for reasons similar to Pinhead. It’s fun to play against them imo when I’m with friends and we can communicate a strategy, but it’s very painful solo queue.

[@YolmCasey]

Loved the video and tierlist. Thank you for the intro, it’s always nice to understand industry terms and how they are applied in games

[@ItsOleander]

Great video! I think a video similar to this but regarding dbd map design (including balance, enviornmental story telling, etc.) would also be really interesting!

[@BasementDweller_]

I disagree with Hag. She’s one of the most fun killers to play against and as. Watching where she places a web and carefully traverse is awesome and she’s one of the few killers that can scare people.

[@potatoweaver4116]

I agree with him on Hag, but that's alright if you disagree

[@eikatsukiyomi963]

I would love to see a deep dive and discussion about each killer in this way with you, Runningman, and John Wolfe in the Spine Chill podcast! I think it would interesting (and hilarious) to hear why one of you might love a killer's design while another one of you hates it. You praise Wraith's overall design, while John thinks Wraith is an absolute drag. On the other hand, you both seem to share similar opinions about Hag.

[@Ontarianmm]

I am a former hag main and I agree with this ranking.

[@danowen79]

I disagree Sadako is poor. Love her sound design and visuals, and it’s great to play her despite Dredge’s similar teleport now being a better version. If she gets a slight reworking I think she could be excellent tier.

[@rileyf1178]

Part of it is that no one knows how to play Sadeko she plays very defensively and almost never hooks and gets all her kills by farming condemned stacks

[@danowen79]

@@rileyf1178 That’s a relatively new play style, in terms of seeing it done, and annoying for survivors if they slug to teleport and build up condemned. I wish she could phase through pallets and walls occasionally perhaps.

[@FlyManChimera]

​@@danowen79 She should be able to phase through windows, pallets and breakable walls briefly after manifesting. Similar to how it works with survivors temporarily after manifesting

[@danowen79]

@@FlyManChimera maybe yeah. It would be pretty OP, so maybe you’d have to be manifested for a while before that ability is possible.

[@thederrick770]

This is an excellent video, really well thought out for a tier list! It is hard to disagree with a lot of your placements, given the parameters that you laid out at the start. I do question one placement though. Plague, as I feel you could argue that her infection mechanic, while being fair in a balance sense, does not feel fair from a survivor's perspective. What do I mean by this? Well when the Plague vomits on a generator or hooked survivor, she effectively is able to infect, and therefore damage, a survivor through no interaction with said survivor, and very little investment from the Plague. Worse yet these two actions, generators and unhooking, are a requirement for survivors to succeed forcing them to take the damage through no fault of their own.

[@TheHotCross]

I think what I like about Plague in that sense is the risk vs reward feeling I get as survivor. Should I waste time looking for another gen? Should someone already infected go for the unhook? But I can see why that can also be annoying!

[@alexthecreature]

i dont fully agree w most of the top tier but i respect your opinions its cool to see different takes on the killers

[@DarkPhoenix2001]

I appreciate the work you put into this. Have a few disagreements (twins, wraith and plague being excellent. I hate going against all 3 and don’t enjoy playing them). Also Dredge I love on both sides, yes his darkness can be difficult but it is a highly intense period which I seldom feel on other killers). I think he is a fantastic killer and I love him on both sides, he provides some much needed horror to the game. Finally birb lady I still love to play as, getting a great snipe or mind gaming a survivor into a waiting bird is great. So I’d put her in fun to play as. Plus she feels so much better than other ranged killers on console. But yeah, still great job and I do respect your opinion and thought process.

[@TheHotCross]

Yeah I think that's part of the beauty of DbD, there's different killers and survivors for everyone!

[@DarkPhoenix2001]

@@TheHotCross yep. It is amazing how much variety there is in killers. Almost guaranteed to find one you like to play as or go against.

[@chidzhustle3570]

Sadako’s sound design is so impeccable that I can’t say she’s poorly designed. Yes she’s bad, but her flickering in and out of existence, the crawling out of TVs.. so amazingly animated. power sucks tho

[@josemedina1805]

Speaking in defense of Myers. Although he is, without a doubt, a weak killer, I think most players think he is a bottom killer since when they play him, they can't bring themselves to slug heavily, which is often the most efficient way to use his power; having one person on the ground, forcing someone else to go pick up that person, and chasing someone else in the meantime, all while still in constant fear of getting one-shotted during his burst of power is his form of map pressure. He's probably the best killer for variety, too! I love how the devs expanded upon a relatively simple ability by giving it different uses. Lots of satisfying "juice" all around.

[@potatoweaver4116]

Spirit should 100% go in a mix bag. I think you'll be hard pressed to find many survivors that really like playing against Spirit. Since her power can feel pretty unfair to go against. Other than that pretty good tier list. There isn't any other placements I hard disagree with.

[@geno_xi]

I very much disagree with legions placement, I think it should be noted why they are so popular. Many people really love just stabbing and going fast and you essentially ignored the variety of playstyles spawned from their very unique addons and how satisfying chaining hits and getting indta downs are. Furthermore, as survivor I really enjoy cutting it close and timing out their power, or losing them since scratch marks are gone or making them miss the frenzy. I think the most poor designed part of them is definitely the never sleep pills. Yes, I main them but that is because they are fun to me. I think their unique spin on heavily 1 v 4 focused is a very unique take on a glass canon that easy counterplay yet can still be devastating when they are played well. A lot of people who in their survivor gameplay dumb them down to "mending" but ignore the whole aspect of how fun frenzy can be to outplay.

[@vanillaseahorse4228]

Note that this is my opinion, I don’t speak for everyone who plays survivor. If you disagree with this, explain why in detail because I really WANT to enjoy playing against Legion, but I can’t. I play a lot of survivor and while it can be incredibly satisfying to outplay a Frenzy, it feels weighed down by almost everything else about Legions style of gameplay. It’s genuinely not fun to mend because it makes the game last even longer than it has to, especially with perks like Thanatophobia which Legions like to run. And outside of mending and trying to get away from a Frenzy? There really isn’t much to do when playing against them that’s unique or particularly fun. They’re a basic M1 killer with a gimmick, and I’m a Pig main so I’m not going to trash that because I’d be trashing my own girl, but their gimmick already is unfun and them offering nothing else to the table just makes it not very rewarding in average gameplay. This doesn’t help matters when most Legions go for a hit-and-run playstyle in Frenzy, which guarantees disruption for whatever everyone is doing. I get angry going against Legions because I just want to finish what I’m doing but I get constantly interrupted, either by needing to mend after a Frenzy attack or by them coming back afterwards for a free smack just because they can. It makes a match feel neverending. Sometimes there are exciting highlights in a Legion match, but most of the time it’s just boring or frustrating.

[@grinrawr3821]

In my experience playing as and against onryo I found that she is extremely underrated. She can actually be very powerful if played correctly.

[@FinalFrontier101]

Sadako is the worst killer by far I have unlocked every tier 3 perk for her and have mixed and match everything there are very few things she can do and only three add-ons that are even remotely help her in chase or in the game in general. Sadako is long overdue for a buff. BHVR has all their priorities backwards nurse is always OP and all the other shit M1 killers have to brunt the bear this games meta is balanced around a nurse main. I don't understand BHVR devs logic when it comes to game balance. Nurse is too good Sadako is too bad.

[@TheRagingWookie]

God i love the time when there’s a new video on this channel. Always interesting and informative. Keep it up 💙

[@highlycalm]

I disagree with the artist. She is unfun to play against, however, she can be really fun to play, there's a lot to master with the artist, which is not immediately apparent. You could say that she's just another Antiloop killer, but that's by far the least strong playstyle with her because people just run away. Learning to split pressure by chasing a survivor and trying to damage others with snipes across the map, holding on using more than 1 crow, learning slingshot techs and timings all play into getting a way more effective and fun match out of the artist rather than just using her to trap loops, which is more consistent but way less effective.

[@brandonz1330]

Juice is the sizzle to the steak

[@squirrelwithaflute8512]

Great video as usual Gary, can't believe you actually had to play as NURSE for your background vid, that must've been painful 😳 😬

[@ractustherat2356]

I personally don't like the design for Wesker as a survivor. His dialogue is repetitive and annoying; his terror radius is so large that the music is also. Also, I don't think anyone plays Freddy as a killer because his add-ons are, in fact, terrible. There is only one good one, and that's the red paintbrush.

[@Sullstice]

Great video! Concerning Freddy, I'd say the problem is he doesn't have the juice. Also Bubba top tier :)

[@lollollolOHO]

*ängry Sadako screeching* I still main her, but nice list thou

[@TheResidentPsycho]

This is kickass educational! Excellently made!

[@WangzGamez]

I know I'm ten months late and all, but I can't help but disagree with your placements of: Legion, Plague, Clown, Wraith and Doctor. For Legion I believe their core gameplay and design are really well honed in on. Where as I do agree that the one thing I would argue is not having more to offer. Legion as a killer is probably one of the most fair, and equally satisfying killers to face off against, both in chase fromn the moment you see he multiple indicators and warnings before they come to get you. The only thing I would argue is: Lore wise their power makes little sense, and that the punishment for making a mistake on the survivor's end can feel like a chore, however it puts the legion in an awkward position whereas, "if the devs were to get rid of his deep wounds, then what was the point to making deep wounds the entire purpose of their power." where it overall, could have been better designed, but I'm fine with just leaving their power as is, with the possibility of adding more to the legion's power. Plague's power on the other hand feels both unfair for both killer and survivor sides in my personal opinion. Not only does she have passive pressure that plays the game for her, but she can down survivors within 8 seconds using only uncommon or even no addons at all. My personal gripe is mostly with vile purge feeling unavoidable at times, and option limiting similar to the Knight, which was obviously not introduced yet at this time. Plague also reinforces survivors to choose to opt for the Resilience MFT meta which is annoyingly predominant with the endurance effect also feeling like a slap in the face for plague to now simply be just an m1 killer, but in casual or solo queues be a nightmare to go against. The Clown's power I argue is actually pretty decent in design, with the two bottles at his disposal, he is sure to make for satisfying and coordinated strategies on the killer said. Although I will say that from the survivor side it may seem annoying or unfair. Knowing how the clown's power now works from the killer's side makes me realize that it's not unfairness, but realizing that the game needs to be plyed a bit different when facing off against the clown, instead of playing against clown using classic dbd tactics. Th wraith in my opinion I have hated to play against since day one cause of his lack of visual queues he gives for survivors. The fact that he is abysmally impossible to position around the map is my gripe, especially when in a 1v1 stand off. His mind gaming on loops are pretty good, but the fact that he is impossible to trace from the survivor's side is what makes him feel unfair to go against, but feel fun from the killer's side of things as his kit is great and juicy from the killer side. And finally Doctor's power in chase probably feels the second most annoying besides the wraith's. Not only does the killer side force you to make bad decisions, but it some how is so outdated that the doctor can feel impossible to use when going against the top most players. The fact that his power is somewhat unavoidable at times, forcing the survivor to make poor choices, is my opinion is bad game design. It's like if a dark souls boss had the ability to, if they hit you with an aoe attack, disable dodge rolls, and follow up with a attack that forces you to heal from 1 hp. It's stupid, but if it's hit box was reworked to something like Pyramid Head's Attack I would reconsider, as everything else is fine for the most part, and to add mobility to his kit by making survivors that stop snapping out hindered for a little bit just to give the doctor a little bit of an edge. My main issue with killer's is having limited options of counterplay, or not having enough reaction time for counterplay is my gripe. The Skull merchant is probably the unfortunate worst for having the worst counterplay, and limited reaction time in the entire game, and the Knight having and unfair advantage in 1v1 chases as his only gimmick. However, the Alien Chapter I would argue is the best designed killer right beside Wesker.

[@jasonwithaw9992]

Disagree with Nemmy, very frustrating to face. Sometimes the tentacles feel really bad to get hit by because of how far off they can be to hit you

[@4sakenDBD]

For all You said About Plague =

[@zerochill4096]

You've been waaaaayyyy too soft on Pig's design. She's on Onryo's level of bad design due to her power feeling very weak in general due to RNG dependence and never being able to have particularly good relevance in a match without her feeling unfair to play against. I also think that you were overly harsh on Artist as it is quite satisfying to plan out your birds in advance to anticipate where the Survivors go and feel joy when the plan comes altogether. However, she definitely is unfair for Survivors as very little counterplay exists against her.

[@Ontarianmm]

*Sad Hag noises*

[@ahbraveconscript997]

there are people who like to play against doctor or plague? interesting. i haven’t met one.

[@Ontarianmm]

This is the second time I have seen these two on people fun to play against list and I am surprised too.

[@noelteague1109]

I love to play against both of them

[@samuelpace860]

Well done video subscription added

[@bonk_queen8573]

I liked many of your takes, but I would like to point out that blights hug tech isn't his strength and is counterable if you observe the blight and understand his power. Blights oppressiveness in chase come from speed add ons and bump logic because speed means anti-loop I feel it is important to make this distinction. Also, pyramid head is generally hated by survivors since he puts you in a lose\lose situation and usually just zones you in tiles he is also the best tunneling killer in the game by far which is boring and oppressive. Aside from that great video:)

[@Roman-db9ux]

Love your content

[@nufnuf3840]

Freddy and Spirit are good for survivors? Who and where are these survivors?

[@potatoweaver4116]

I mean Freddy is pretty easy killer to go against for survivors, but yeah I really dont know what he was smoking to say Spirit is good for survivors

[@skeletonwitch.]

J U I C E

[@garrettlauderbaugh312]

Started out strong, but hard disagree with Legion, Executioner, and Bubba placements

[@Zakon673]

I feel like Leatherface's design is great as long as he doesn't camp. His oppressive ability to facecamp should keep him out of excellent tier, though. Basically a killer who is fun to play against if he's not camping.

[@garrettlauderbaugh312]

@@Zakon673 Yeah but until that day comes he doesn't deserve such a high placement

[@redjestergaming2678]

I agree with most of your takes but 1, I don't feel that plague is a well designed killer at all Her playstyle is to easy play as and doesn't feel rewarding when you done a survivor. Also as a survivor it feels unfair as you either play the game exposed, don't do task or give her an op projectile. So personally I don't feel that it feels good to play as her or against her

[@micky160]

27:21. I really do see no point in playing him now. He now seems like a killer with a power where it is easier for a survivor to avoid being than for the killer to actually. He went from one of the most entertaining killers to one of the most lackluster and boring to play against for both sides. As the killer I feel like I'm putting in too much of a gamble for too little of a reward and for survivor I feel like I've won every game against one now. Good vid though.

[@mr.fowler4644]

he just said twins were well designed wtf?

[@TheMrFancyKiwi]

I think you over sold some killers. Mainly Plague and Doctor.

[@ezcheese8960]

22:36 i dont wanna be that guy but bruh

[@WhereIsSincere]

Why is pig in excellent😂😂

[@pajeetsingh]

6:30 Come on man. Dark Souls/Elden Ring and other FromSoftware games proved that wrong. Hand holding makes game feel bland like EA/Ubisoft games. May be your point applies to DBD specifically but open world need to be open to explore and thus less intuitive on how to reach goals.

[@Zakon673]

There's two that I enormously disagree with, but only in the context of this being as objective as an analysis as possible, with community perception taken into account, not just personal preference. The first is Plague. While she's interesting to play as, she is probably one of the most unpleasant killers to play against in the game. It's no hyperbole to say that I've never met even one person until this video to say Plague is fun to play against, and I would argue she comes the closest to being objectively not fun to play against. A significant number of survivor options simply do not work against her. Anything related to being healthy, anything related to taking hits, anything related to being stealthy, anything related to healing yourself or others, all of them just do not work. Medkits also don't function. This is a problem because you have no way of knowing you're up agains Plague until you've loaded into the match. So your build and your item you brought in might be totally worthless against her. Also many find the constant vomiting and the screen effects to be unpleasant to listen to. Then on top of that she's also probably the most punishing to solo queue players of any killer in the game, even more than Pinhead. At least against Pinhead, if you know how deal with the box, you can handle it every time as long as you remain alive. Plague is different, your ally healing at the wrong time can wipe your whole team. She's just all around dreadful, whenever I load in and see one of those fountains I wonder why I felt like playing survivor today. The other is Sadako, who you're way too hard on. Her reception when she came out was extremely positive. She received widespread praise for being fun to play as, fair to play against, and for bringing the horror back to Dead by Daylight. Her one limiting factor is that she's currently underpowered, but that could be solved by a few buffs to her kit, which is otherwise fine in concept. The fact I still frequently see her even though I don't even play that much survivor and even though she's one of the worst killers in the game and that Dredge also exists with almost the same playstyle should be a testament to how well-liked she is. Also she doesn't get a speed boost when manifesting, only when coming out of a TV.

[@Ontarianmm]

Maybe I should play Hag instead of Plague.

[@Zakon673]

@@Ontarianmm Play Plague if you like her, don't worry about others.

[@billthebanuk6212]

Did you jusr call Ghostface quite rare to see???? Are we playing the same game? Not a day goes by that I don't go against that sneaky fuck, I am beyond tired of putting up with him!

[@elsiebee33]

It depends what mmr bracket you're in. Mid to lower mmr will see a bigger variety of killers + the weaker killers.

[@billthebanuk6212]

@@elsiebee33 I am Iridescent 1 rank...

[@elsiebee33]

@@billthebanuk6212 Grades are irrelevant to MMR. All grades show is how much DBD you play. There's also nothing wrong with being mid to lower MMR. Merely pointing out that what killers you see is pretty dependent on MMR bracket.

[@FinestFantasyVI]

Honestly gameplay wise I feel Trickster is better than Huntress. He's much more beginner friendly. First theres 0 windup, press button, he's ready to throw. Press another and he throws. Huntress takes 1 century to raise her hatchet and when you throw it, it takes an eternity to load up another shot. She's so slow and clunky. Even Tricksters reload animation feels faster, better and smooth. Also her meaty hatchets cant hit some more finesse shots that Trickster can do. Trickster can get cheeky shots through narrow openings. It actually takes skill to be a decent Trickster. But people shit on him cuz knives go brrr and cuz kpop theme. And I find better games with Trickster and against him. The players are actually really chill. While all Huntresses I saw are sweaty sluggers or campers who just breathe on my hooked face. So gameplay wise, I feel Trickster has a better design than Huntress or at the very least are equal in design as Trickster appeals to one crowd and Huntress to another. So both are excellent imo

[@Anza9311]

Honestly, the first 11 minutes was kinda unneeded, would be nice if you got to the point

[@noelteague1109]

I like the in-depth explanation

[@TheWorstshoe]

I like that it's included. Some can skip ahead others can watch it all

[@nicoww9182]

can i just thank you for using the correct pronouns for dredge and demo? those two arent humans and never were. it bothers me that people just assign them genders especially male ones for no reason. dredge is a creature, it's an IT. never once is he/she/they used to describe it. people get on my nerves

[@HB-fq9nn]

Why does saying the wrong pronouns for fictional monsters bother you so much? It’s not important to the characters.

[@nicoww9182]

@@HB-fq9nn It is important to the characters. If you mean that the characters themselves wouldn't care if they got assigned a gender by others, yeah, I agree, they are creatures with no sense of gender identity or roles and why would they care, but I just don't understand why people have an obsession with assigning characters genders and using gendered pronouns. It's not difficult to call dredge and demo by it/its pronouns. I like the characters and they aren't male so it just bothers me.

[@HB-fq9nn]

@@nicoww9182 In the case of Demo, I think it stems from his community nickname, “Demodoggo” / “Demodog”. Because most people instinctively say “Good boy” when referring to a dog. It’s not a conscious effort to assign a gender, it’s just what most people are accustomed to saying in regards to a pet.

[@nicoww9182]

@@HB-fq9nn I'm in the community and have been for years. I know that demo is considered the dog of the game and assigned masculinity by most in the community. It doesn't really change the way I feel. Using he/him for the characters and calling them, in demo's case, good boy or other stuff like that is an assignment of gender to a genderless character. I dont think it's done consciously or with the intention or erasing the genderless aspect of them, I think people are mostly just too lazy to read either of their lore and just assume male pronouns are the default or whatever. I hate, hate seeing the community twist the perception of a creature and humanize it by giving it gendered pronouns. It's just a thing I personally can't stand.

[@justanegg6655]

@@nicoww9182 I see we’re you are coming from but… it’s not that deep bro

[@ed299]

Took you more than 10 minutes to get to the point of this video

[@TheHotCross]

Is that a bad thing? I spent the start of the video laying out the foundation of what my opinions are based on.