Dead By Daylight's Most Underrated Perks (2024)

First Published September 28, 2023, 12:44

With a total of 240+ perks in Dead by Daylight, it's easy to get overwhelmed with all of the choices. While some perks find their way into nearly every player's build and weave their way into heated fan discussions (looking at you, Dead Hard), others become obsolete over time or just never become a part of the meta. Here are some of our favorite Underrated and overlooked perks in Dead by Daylight for both killers and survivors, as well as why we'd recommend giving them a go.

Dead By Daylight's Most Underrated Survivor Perks

Many DBD survivors rely on meta perks like Dead Hard and Off The Record to bolster their builds. Newer players, though, might be surprised to find out that Dead Hard used to be even stronger - and Off The Record could've easily made our list of Underrated survivor perks just a few months ago, only rising to popularity after a major buff and rework.

Behaviour nerfs and buffs perks all the time to keep the meta fresh, but these perks aren't currently used in many survivors' builds despite their strength.

Calm Spirit

Calm Spirit, belonging to Jake Park,has a number of helpful stealth effects all rolled into one great survivor perk. With Calm Spirit, you won't scream at all - including on hook, when shocked by The Doctor, or when running through the Clown's Tonics. You also won't scare away crows or make noise while cleansing Hexes, allowing you to freely complete objectives without worrying.

"With Calm Spirit, you’re denying the Killer vital map knowledge and are way harder to find," explained one Reddit user who suggested the perk. "Plus you’re free to run whenever you want, scratch marks aside."

Bond

Bond shows you the location of nearby teammates, allowing you to adjust your own actions accordingly. While many players have replaced this perk in their builds with other aura-reading perks, like Empathy or Kindred, some fans believe that Bond is your best bet for an aura and information perk.

Dead By Daylight's Most Underrated Killer Perks

Like the survivor meta, Dead by Daylight's killer meta changes all the time. While some perks on our list, like Gearhead, were once a part of the game's meta, they've now faded into obscurity after changes to how they work. While these perks aren't used by many killers, they can prove to be game-changing in most trials when used correctly.

Gearhead

The Deathslinger's Gearhead allows you to see the auras of survivors who hit a good skill check on generators. Experienced survivors - or simply those using certain perks or Toolboxes - usually hit skill checks pretty often, meaning that this perk can give you pretty frequent aura reveals throughout the match. All you'll need to do to activate it is injure a survivor through any means.

"It can be such a good perk and show you auras so many times," a Redditor pointed out. "It's particularly good on Huntress and Spirit." Another Redditor suggested using the perk on Xenomorph, so players can track down survivors and use the Xenomorph's tunnels to sneak up on them.

Spies From The Shadows

Spies From The Shadows, dubbed just "Spies" by some players, is more helpful in chases than many would think. It'll show you when a crow is disturbed on the map, which means that a survivor has been to that location very recently. Experienced killers know just how important crows are to tracking survivors, and Spies From The Shadows ensures that you never miss a single one.

"I love Spies," one Redditor agreed. "So many chases I might have lost if the bird hadn't been there."

Mad Grit

The Legion's Mad Grit allows you to hit survivors - or attempt to - while holding a survivor, without their wiggle bar increasing. This can make for some pretty interesting plays when survivors are trying to body block the hook, allowing you to down them with ease - much to their surprise.

"Sure, it may not be the greatest, but you can do some really stupid sh*t with Mad Grit," said one user. "The best part about Mad Grit is that nobody expects you to run it alone."

Those are just a few of our favorite "non-meta" Dead by Daylight perks for both killers and survivors. There are hundreds of DBD perks to choose from, so why not try out a few more of them to freshen up your build?

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