[Top 11] Dead by Daylight Best Survivors And Why They're Great

Running away is quite a lot of what they'll be doing.

Updated:

05 Apr 2023

As many of you already know, Dead By Daylight is full of many memorable faces, each sporting their unique perks to spice up the gameplay and make the trials an annoyance for any killer they go up against. Each with their own story as to how they ended up in the realms of The Entity, facing countless trials against the onslaught of slashers, creatures, and horrors dragged into the trials just as they were. In this article, we’ll be looking at the history, achievements, and abilities of the best eleven survivors in Dead By Daylight, hopefully, to help you take your pick of who you’ll master and main.

11. Claudette Morel

"Basic Botany Knowledge could save your life someday" — Claudette Morel

The studious botanist of the bunch, Claudette Morel is a Canadian college student with a love for science since a young age. Claudette studied botany and answered botany-related questions on a forum, she later found herself engulfed in the fog of The Entity during a stroll one night after a long bus ride. Few wondered where she disappeared to after a week of her absence. Despite her disappearance, she remains helpful to those she meets: Her knowledge and altruism are invaluable to her new company. Claudette is one of the most invaluable survivors to level up her default perks. She is one of the original survivors unlocked and carries great healing beginner perks, that being Empathy, Botany Knowledge, and Self-Care, respectively allowing her to see injured survivors from essentially across the map, healing faster while conserving medkit charges, and the ability to heal herself even without the use of a medkit – and conserve even more medkit charges while tending to her own wounds

What makes Claudette Morel great:

Her dark complexion allows her to blend in with the shadows of the map, earning them the community nickname of ‘Blendettes’ albeit in a demeaning way.
Her perks Empathy and Botany Knowledge are great perks for healing a survivor quickly, and can quickly ‘reset’ health states of survivors and undo the killer’s attempt at pressuring them.
Self-Care allows her to fix her wounds without a medkit, allowing her be versatile and patch herself up should the killer choose to leave her after a hit. This can come in extremely handy for dedicated loopers and when healing is required in a pinch.

Read more on Claudette Morel: [Wiki Link]

10. Mikaela Reid

"Try this, it is better than anything you'll find in a pharmacy." — Mikaela Reid

Everyone’s beloved witch in Dead By Daylight – or very hated if you prefer to play killer. Released in October 2021 in a half-DLC chapter, Mikaela Reid is a barista who dabbled in witchcraft and white magic, later to be haunted and taken by the entity during a stage show at her job at “The Moonshine” café. Now stuck in its realm after her show, she uses her abilities that allow her to support her fellow survivors with evading and healing. Mikaela was the survivor to introduce the “Boon mechanic” which is the opposite of a killer’s “Hex” mechanic: Able to set it up anytime at an unbroken totem through blessing it. Carrying her own weight in the trials, she brings to the table the perks of Clairvoyance, Boon: Circle of Healing, and Boon: Shadow Step. These perks allow her to cleanse a totem to gain the ability to see objects quite far for a short time, and her last two perks grant her the ability to set up a boon that speeds healing progress and enable self-care, and the last perk hiding a survivor’s trail when they run in addition to masking their aura.

What makes Mikaela Reid great would have to be:

Her low profile and small stature allow her to hide better, plus moderately loud grunts in comparison to the louder survivors.
Boon: Circle of Healing and Boon: Shadow Step are some of the best in the meta, several aiding survivors and being a detriment to the killer if they don’t take the time to shut it down.
Her boon totems along with Clairvoyance also encourage totem hunting, allowing her to shut down hexes and foil a killer’s plan with them.
Aesthetically, her cosmetics are either cozy or appealing, even sporting an actual Halloween witch hat for those looking for more survivor fashion.

9. Feng Min

"U mad?" — Feng Min

A dedicated and competitive Chinese gamer, Feng Min was introduced to computers at a young age and eventually sought to pursue her hobby as a career, much to the dismay of her parents. It all eventually lead to a place of success for her, only to then lead to a downwards spiral after she began to overexert herself. It all led up to the point where she woke up one day in The Entity’s realm, learning of the trials, and realizing everything’s been working up to this moment: She is determined to win. Feng Min is a great choice for newer players to unlock without the premium currency (auric cells) as she’s an originally made character for the game. Her perks are Technician, Lithe and Alert – encompassing an all-rounder playstyle. Her perks are useful to silence generator repair skill check fails, escape with faster movement speed upon vaulting, and reveal the killer when they perform a breaking action.

What makes Feng Min great? Easily:

Her small stature - like most on this list - allows her to hide in spaces easily. In addition, her grunts are quieter than most survivors.
Flashy and stylish cosmetics, easily showing off a quirky fashion sense with a sensible color pallet as she vaults pallets.
Beginner-friendly perks overall geared towards masking failed generator skill checks, allowing a faster escape, and showing the killer’s aura when breaking pallets and doors.

8. Leon S. Kennedy

"Get outta my face!" — Leon Scott Kennedy

A beloved character from the Resident Evil series, Leon Scott Kennedy is a rookie cop during Resident Evil 2 – specifically the 2019 remake that his model was taken from. Being a resourceful survivalist and adapting to the situation, Leon – along with fellow franchise character Jill Valentine – were taken by The Entity due to their qualities, and thrust upon them were the challenges of the trials. Leon boosts a bit of sort of specialized playstyle, with his perks of Bite The Bullet, Flashbang, and Rookie Spirit, his focus is on generators while his first perk allows him no grunting noises during healing – This is also shared with any survivor Leon is tending to – and nullify any loud noises upon a failed skill check. While Rookie Spirit is easy to activate and can easily keep track of generators to ensure the killer’s generator regression attempts are futile, his best perk is easily Flashbang, allowing him to craft a pyrotechnic explosive that acts as a near-instant blinding light in an area of effect.

What makes Leon Scott Kennedy great would easily be:

Leon’s origins and backstory, in addition to his character design, make him extremely memorable. For fans of Resident Evil 4, an optional cosmetic of his appearance is available based on his outfit during his mission in Spain. Chris Redfield is available as an alternative model for Leon for purchase.
His perk Flashbang allows for technically unlimited flashbangs, allowing him to craft them one at a time after half of his generator repairs progress through a locker. Players who can master flashbangs can extend a chase and rescue other players from a hook state.
A difficult but rewarding playstyle. Rookie Spirit and Bite The Bullet allow his Leon to occasionally play support for healing and generators, enabling him to stealthily heal a wounded survivor, as well as highlight any generators that are being regressed.

Read more on Leon S. Kennedy: [Wiki Link]

7. Jake Park

“No matter what is hunting you, you need to stay one step ahead." - Jake Park

It’s time to talk about Jake Park, one of the original survivors and a self-made survivalist. Born in South Korea to a wealthy family, Park would drop out of school and decide to live in the woods, isolated from others. One day he mysteriously disappeared in said woods, yet he couldn’t help but feel at home save for the brutal killers, hunting him for sacrifice. Jake Park is a less-than-moderately difficult survivor to play – not too hard, albeit sometimes easy. The survivalist brings to the trial the perks of Calm Spirit, Saboteur, and Iron Will. With those perks, Jake will not alert the occasional crow that flock to the map or scream when in pain or normally when a survivor would, allow him to sabotage a hook without the need of a toolbox and its charges, and the most important would be his ability to make little to no noise while wounded. This facilitates Jake remaining silent despite being wounded, encouraging a bit of stealthy gameplay to avoid the killer and cleverly cutting hooks to give survivors more time to break free from the grasp of one.

What makes Jake Park great would be:

His perks allow him to play quietly and in a very craft manner, especially his perk Iron Will which is one of the most well-known perks in almost any meta build.
A beginner character, easy to pick up and play without much heavy introduction into the game and its mechanics.
Looks-wise, Jake Park has rugged cosmetics available, as well as magnificent beards that suit someone that survives in the woods solo – he also has a few quirky hats available to obtain, making him one of the more stylish survivors in the number of cosmetics.

6. David King

"Come on then, let's ave' it! I don't give a shit pal." — David King

Ah, David King, the rugger scrapper from Manchester, UK. Despite growing up with a wealthy family, David lived for the thrill of a fight with his quick temper, eventually costing him his rugby career. Secretly he worked as a loan shark and an underground fight-club participant. One day, he stopped showing up to his usual pub in Manchester, having been snatched away by the entity to fight in its games against foes much stronger than he is.

David King is often referred to as the “King of Bloodpoints” due to his abilities. Tough and headstrong, he carries the perks of We’re Going To Live Forever, Dead Hard, and No Mither. The first perk allows healing a downed survivor much faster whilst granting additional bloodpoints for essentially safeguarding survivors from hooks and dying states. This is followed up by his ability to dash forward a short distance, granting him invulnerability frames and allowing him to gain an upper hand against a killer in a chase. And finally – No Mither: Somewhat of a joke in the community, it causes the survivor using it to be ‘broken’, essentially only having a single health state as opposed to two before going to a dying state, however, survivors with it can recover completely and get back on their feet without the aid of another survivor.

What makes David King great would have to be:

Easily able to obtain extra bloodpoints through an altruistic playstyle, mainly through hook rescues.
Dead Hard is one hell of an exhaustion perk – able to avoid damage while used and dashing forward to gain distance, potentially adding a second health state through its usage.
Easy to use, hard to master. Playing David and his original perks is a true show of skill, especially with No Mither. Although it may seem easy to pick up and use, players may find it a little more tricky to get the full value out of him, and it’s all the more satisfying when you do.

5. William “Bill” Overbeck

"Probably stings like hell, but it ain't gonna kill ya. Up and at 'em soldier. Time to move!" — Bill Overbeck

William “Bill” Overbeck is one of the most recognizable characters, hailing from Valve’s Left 4 Dead series, Dead By Daylight takes Bill after he meets his unfortunate end and places him into the trials, The Entity deeming him worthy and not wanting to waste his skills and potential. Originally released as a PC-exclusive character early on, Bill is a veteran who’s faced hordes of infected humans from his home series. Despite his lack of combat in the trials, Bill carries with him the perks of Left Behind, Borrowed Time, and Unbreakable. These perks allow Bill to locate the hatch from a distance visually which spawns if he’s the last survivor left in the trial. Enable him to unhook a survivor and provide them potentially a shield for a few seconds after in the case that they’re targeted right off the hook. And finally, Bill can pick himself up once a trial and recover from the dying state faster without needing to resort to having only one health state – keeping it hidden and allowing him to escape an unsuspecting killer should they become occupied after downing him.

What makes Bill great is easily:

Borrowed Time allows safe unhooking even against a camping killer who focuses on a singular survivor, making any attack on them not be an instant dying state for a few seconds
Unbreakable gives him the ability to clutch a match with a sudden recovery if the situation calls it, allowing for some unique plays and saves for the Survivor’s side.
Available as a starter character, sporting some of the best perks and not very complex to learn. Bill is easily a fun character to use in Dead By Daylight for both starters and veterans of the game.

Read more on William "Bill" Overbeck: [Wiki link]

4. Dwight Fairfield

"We have to work as a team, I need you to survive so that I can survive!" — Dwight Fairfield

Dwight Fairfield is one of the original survivors and is often used as the face of Dead By Daylight’s survivors. He is usually everyone’s first character, resulting in the term community ‘baby Dwight’ referring to players with little to no skill/experience in gameplay. Regardless, the nervous leader yet lovable Dwight Fairfield is used by even some of the best players in the community, giving the duality of them being either completely new to the game, or a staunch veteran with near-complete control over their matches. Leading the team with the perks of Bond, Leader, and Prove Thyself, Dwight can easily locate fellow survivors, speed up their actions, and allow for far better generator rushing through his perks, making him one of the top survivors for both newbies and experienced players – Don’t get too used to his perks now.

Easily, Dwight Fairfield’s greatness lies in:

Able to locate nearby survivors easily with a passive aura – showing them in a visual yellow silhouette through Bond. Although it would be best to use another perk in place of this, this perk is great for new players to seek help and seek to help others.
Leader allows for those near him to perform faster healing, chest opening, sabotaging, and unhooking. This makes him a great support character as his perk Leader easily buffs his team’s performance and saves him.
Prove Thyself, being one of the best perks in the meta, removes a generator slowdown that’s applied the more survivors are cooperating on a single generator – hence allowing faster repairs. It also grants Dwight more bloodpoints for cooperative repairs, granting faster ranking with more points in the “Objective” category when it.
Adorable cosmetic choices, from dressing up as a Christmas elf or even the Christmas presents themselves to even a Dog Walker and Bald Dwight (A little cursed), Dwight players will find a solid set of cosmetics for him to customize his appearance to a wide degree

Read more on Dwight Fairfield: [Wiki link]

3. Nea Karlsson

"You are doing it wrong! Let me show you how it is done." — Nea Karlsson

Nea Karlsson, a rebel from Sweden who eventually moved to the US, gained a habit of tagging government buildings and hanging around in skater parks. Nea has spent years avoiding authorities and skateboarding to keep up with her mischief. Despite being taken by The Entity, Nea still found a good way to put her skills to use, and those skills have made it a lot more tedious for killers to catch up. Nea is a good introduction to everyone to skills that encourages players to run the killer from high places or outright sneak everywhere with the power of one’s inner crab. This is encouraged by Nea’s perks of Balance Landing, Urban Evasion, and Streetwise. Respectively this allows a survivor to drop and recover from falling from heights then speeding them up, allowing their crouch speed to be the same as their walking speed to adjust themselves in hiding places much quicker, and the last allowing more uses out of one’s item.

What makes Nea Karlsson great:

Easily and without a doubt: Cosmetics. Nea features the most stylish and hip cosmetics one can get for any character, flaunting a lot of style for those who enjoy that. She’s extremely colorful and not enough emphasis can be placed on the stylishness that her purchasable outfits exude.
Balance Landing is another exhaustion perk that essentially give her the ability to dominate on certain maps that feature many high falls, certain to put a dent in a killer’s plan to chase and hook you.
Urban Evasion is one of the more stealth-focused perk, as stated before it allows one to channel their inner crab and crouch potentially the entire map at a faster pace, effectively allowing her to evade killers before a chase starts.

2. Yui Kimura

"That's not enough to beat me. Not even close." — Yui Kimura

A hardened street racer, Yui Kimura is a Japanese Biker who spent the last of her money from her Grandmother on a bike, working her way to fame and fortune and through a disaster regarding a stalker attacking her. Yui vowed to repay her gang of female bikers, winning race after race until one day, during one of the biggest street races, she entered a fog, and realized she no longer was in Tokyo… But her tenancy never wavered even in the trial. Yui Kimura is another character who has a bit of a specialized gameplay style. Tenacious and undefeated, Yui’s perks are Lucky Break, Any Means Necessary, and Breakout – These perks allow her to escape quietly from a chase without a trail, reset dropped pallets, and aid in the escape of fellow survivors in a killer’s grasp.

What makes Yui Kimura great:

Her Lucky Break perk is good for players who are sick of being down on the first go: Activating when getting wounded, Lucky Break has a timer of one minute of use and masks all scratch marks and blood trail, granting a good opportunity to slip away and incentivizing being healing up quickly.
Any Means Necessary capitalizing on the killer’s neglect to break dropped pallets that may have been used to stun them. The pallets are highlighted to Yui to go after, whereby she can lift them up and allow them to be used again as normal.
Breakout is a perk that gives following the killer carrying a survivor a purpose, as being near them increases the wiggle speed of a survivor to break free, and gives

1. Meg Thomas

"See you if you can catch up..." — Meg Thomas

The athlete of the group, Meg Thomas is an energetic survivor who is unshackled and taught to direct her limitless energy to run. Meg gave up her chance at an athletic career and college to take care of the mother who fell ill. One day on her usual runs, she was taken by The Entity, but she never stopped running as fast as she always did… Meg is an excellent choice for those who wish to outrun a killer. Starting with the perks of Quick & Quiet, Sprint Burst, and Adrenaline: These perks allow Meg to evade the killer by silently performing normally a loud action, start the chase off with increased distance, and potentially run and escape from the killer upon the completion of all generators – Making her one of the most perfect choices for one to carry themselves through a trial.

What makes Meg Thomas great would be:

A beginner character with extreme ease to pick up and play: Energetic and ever-moving, Meg is a simple choice for those who wish to escape the trial on their own accord.
Sprint Burst is a great choice for a starter exhaustion perk – activating when not exhausted upon sprinting, allowing a survivor more breathing space and to close the distance.
Adrenaline is amazing, acting essentially as an instant heal, a speed boost akin to Sprint Burst or getting hit – and even picking you off the ground if you’re downed. All this is triggered if your teammates – or yourself - manage to repair all generators in the trial. Even if you’re not in the condition to receive healing or the speed boost, the perk will save the effects until you’re able to.