Dead by Daylight Killer Guide: The Wraith (Perks, Tips, & Strategies)

Many famous monsters and villains from popular horror media have featured as Killers across various DLC chapters in Dead By Daylight, but developer Behaviour Interactive has also created a comprehensive catalog of original Killers. The Wraith is one of the original base-game Killers that players unlock after completing the full Tutorial for the game. Philip Ojomo, The Wraith, was once an immigrant working at a scrap yard, where he unwittingly crushed people to death inside every car set to be destroyed. According to Dead By Daylight lore, when he found out about this after freeing someone from one of the cars and watching his boss kill the man by hand, he snapped and shoved his boss into the crusher, taking his head and spine as a trophy. As a Killer, The Wraith can cloak and uncloak at the ringing of his Wailing Bell, becoming invisible to track and sneak up on Survivors.

Like all other Killers in Dead By Daylight, The Wraith has two main powers and three unique personal Perks that can eventually be unlocked for all other Killer characters. He can ring his bell to cloak and uncloak and can hit them with his ax made from the head and spine of his former employer. His powers can be greatly improved with Add-Ons, including a few special options that make his bell muffled or completely silent to further terrorize Survivors. The Wraith is considered an Intermediate-difficulty Killer, and he is currently the most played Killer in the Dead By Daylight community. Here’s everything players should know about The Wraith’s abilities and strategies for playing him effectively in Dead By Daylight.

How to Build The Wraith in Dead By Daylight

When Killers choose to use The Wraith as their character in Dead By Daylight, they will need to master his two basic weapon powers. His basic attack is a standard-range strike with Azarov’s Skull, an ax fashioned from the skull and vertebrae of his former employer. More importantly, he hits his Wailing Bell with Azarov’s Skull, which allows him to cloak and uncloak. While cloaked, as long as he is not moving, The Wraith becomes entirely undetectable. While moving and cloaked, he has no Terror Radius and moves faster. He is not totally invisible, however; particularly observant players within 20 meters can see his shimmering outline or notice the environment moving in response to his presence, like corn and grass shifting. The Wraith also always emits a low growling or snarling sound that seasoned players can easily recognize nearby.

The Wraith cannot do anything to interact with the Survivors while cloaked and must stop to uncloak first. However, he gets a 1.25-second speed burst upon uncloaking, which can be used to quickly lunge at and injure or down Survivors. He can also break Pallets and damage Generators while cloaked. By default, cloaking takes 1.5 seconds and uncloaking takes 3 seconds, though this time can be shortened with Add-Ons. The sound of the Wailing Bell can be heard by players up to 24 meters away, and the uncloaking sound can be heard up to 40 meters away.

The Wraith has three unique Perks, all suited for tracking down Survivors while cloaked for maximum stealth attacks. Like other characters, once The Wraith reaches levels 30, 35, and 40, his Perks begin to appear in the Bloodwebs of other Killers. These Perks can be especially useful for new Killers who want to get better at winning chases and loops. The Wraith’s personal Perks are:

• Predator: The Scratch Marks left by running Survivors are slightly/moderately/considerably closer together.
• Bloodhound: Pools of Blood left by injured Survivors are brighter red and last 2/3/4 seconds longer than normal.
• Shadowborn: The Killer’s Field of Vision is increased by 9/12/15. This will not stack with other Field of View buffs.

While all three of The Wraith’s unique Perks can be useful, playstyle will dictate which ones a player equips and which they borrow from other Killers. Most players who use The Wraith end up swapping several or all of his personal Perks for better options, especially once players get the hang of tracking. The Wraith can benefit significantly from Generator-stalling Perks and Healing penalty Perks. Some alternative teachable Perks that work well with The Wraith’s stealth include:

• Corrupt Intervention (The Plague): At the start of the Trial, the three Generators farthest from The Killer are blocked by The Entity for 80/100/120 seconds.
• Hex: Ruin (The Hag): All Generators automatically regress at 100/150/200% of the normal Regression speed when not being repaired.
• Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown): After hooking a Survivor, the next Generator the Killer damages instantly loses 25% of its progress. Regular Generator Regression applies after.
• Agitation (The Trapper): While carrying a Survivor, the Killer’s Movement Speed is increased by 6/12/18% and their Terror Radius is increased by 12 meters.
• A Nurse’s Calling (The Nurse): The Auras of Survivors healing or being healed are revealed within a range of 20/24/28 meters.
• Dying Light (The Shape): For as long as the Obsession is alive, all Survivors suffer from a stackable 2/2.5/3% penalty to Repairing, Healing, and Sabotaging speeds, up to a maximum of 22/27.5/33%. The percentage increases each time a Survivor who is not the Obsession is hooked. The Obsession is unaffected by the penalty and gains a 33% Action Speed bonus for unhooking and healing.
• Discordance (The Legion): Any Generator within 64/96/128 meters of the Killer that is being repaired by two or more Survivors is highlighted yellow and triggers a Loud Noise notification only the Killer hears.
• Hex: No One Escapes Death: Once the Exit Gates are powered and there is at least one Dull Totem on the Trial Grounds, this Hex activates. Killers receive a 2/3/4% increase in Movement Speed and Survivors are permanently Exposed.

Players will need to experiment with Perks to find the best build for them, but often The Wraith is built best as a stealth Killer with speed and Objective progress stalling in mind.

Players can use Add-Ons found in The Wraith’s Bloodweb to increase his power. The best options reduce the time it takes to cloak and uncloak and muffle or eliminate the sound of the Wailing Bell to improve stealth. These include:

• “The Ghost” – Soot: After uncloaking, The Wraith’s Terror Radius and Red Stain remain suppressed for six seconds
• Bone Clapper: Survivors can no longer discern the Wailing Bell’s distance or direction
• “Swift Hunt” – Mud: Moderately reduces the Wraith’s uncloaking time
• “Swift Hunt” – White: Considerably reduces the Wraith’s uncloaking time
• “All-Seeing” – Blood: When cloaked, Survivors’ Auras within 12 meters are revealed to the Killer
• Coxcombed Clapper: Renders the Wailing Bell completely silent.

Killers are limited to whatever items appear randomly in their Bloodweb, so it is a good idea to experiment with different Add-Ons to find a combination that works best for the player’s preferred style and selected Perks.

Dead By Daylight is available for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, & Nintendo Switch.

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