Most Killer perk tier lists rank perks as if they were independent of one another. Since Patch 9.6.0 they are not. Dead by Daylight applies Diminishing Returns to repeated modifiers, so the fourth slowdown perk in your loadout is worth a twelfth of the first. Half the "best four gen perks" lists out there are mathematically arguing for a three-perk build with a dead slot in it.
This tier list is written against the live build, Patch 10.1.2a, released on 17 September 2026. Every number below is the current in-game value. Where a perk is scheduled to change on the 10.2.0 Public Test Build, that is called out separately instead of being quietly baked into the ranking.
TL;DR
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- The S tier is Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance, Corrupt Intervention, Grim Embrace, Pop Goes the Weasel, Lethal Pursuer and Nowhere to Hide.
- Do not run four regression perks. Diminishing Returns pays the highest modifier at 100%, the second at 50%, the third at 25% and the fourth at 12.5%.
- Two meta perks were renamed: Deadlock is now No Holds Barred and Save the Best for Last is now Keep Them Waiting, and both are General Perks every Killer can use.
- Jolt does not exist in the current game. The perk is called Surge again.
- 10.2.0 is on the PTB as of 15 September 2026. BHVR has not published a live release date for it.
What patch is this DBD killer perk tier list for?
Patch 10.1.2a, live since 17 September 2026. It was a hotfix with one line of content in it: The Judgment's Divine Light curve window was reverted to 0.6 seconds while Zealous, and reverted again for the non-Zealous state. BHVR's note says The Judgment's "performance skyrocketed following HF2" and that they are reverting to evaluate it over a longer period.
No perk numbers moved in 10.1.2a, 10.1.2 or 10.1.1. The last patch that touched Killer perk values at scale was 10.1.0 (Chorus of Sin, 25 August 2026), which is also the patch our DBD Killer Tier List for September 2026 is built on.
What are the best killer perks in DBD right now?
The ranking weighs three things: how much value a perk generates without you playing around it, how many Killers can use it, and whether its effect survives Diminishing Returns once it is stacked.
S tier — take these on almost anyone
| Perk | Current effect (10.1.2a) | Why it is S |
|---|---|---|
| Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance | 4 Scourge Hooks, 4 starting Tokens. A Scourge Hook hook explodes the most-progressed generator for 10/15/20% and makes repairers scream | Instant regression plus free information for doing what you already do |
| Corrupt Intervention | Blocks the 3 furthest generators for 80/100/120 seconds at match start | Buys the entire early game. Ends once the first Survivor goes down |
| Grim Embrace | 1-3 Tokens block all generators 6/8/10 seconds; 4 Tokens block them 40 seconds and reveal the Obsession for 6 | Blocking is not regression, so it dodges Diminishing Returns |
| Pop Goes the Weasel | Active 35/40/45 seconds after a hook. A kick regresses 15% extra, 20% in total | The highest instant-regression payout per kick in the game |
| Lethal Pursuer | Reveals every Survivor 7/8/9 seconds at match start, and extends your other aura reveals by 2 seconds | The only perk that buffs your other perks |
| Nowhere to Hide | Kicking a generator reveals Survivors within 24 metres for 3/4/5 seconds | Turns a routine kick into a chase start |
A tier — excellent, slightly conditional
| Perk | Current effect (10.1.2a) |
|---|---|
| Hex: Ruin | Unattended generators regress at 100/125/150% of the default rate until the totem goes |
| Eruption | Kicked generators explode for 10% on any down and reveal repairers for 8/10/12 seconds |
| No Holds Barred (was Deadlock) | Each generator completion blocks the most-progressed generator for 15/20/25 seconds |
| Dead Man's Switch | After a hook, blocks the first generator a Survivor stops repairing for 25/30/35 seconds |
| Surge (the perk people still call Jolt) | A basic-attack down explodes every generator within 32 metres for 6/7/8% |
| Darkness Revealed | A locker search reveals Survivors within 8 metres of any locker for 6/7/8 seconds, 30 second cooldown |
| Discordance | Generators within 64/96/128 metres repaired by 2 or more Survivors are highlighted |
| Bamboozle | Permanent 5/10/15% vault speed, and blocks the vaulted window for 8/12/16 seconds |
| Keep Them Waiting (was Save the Best for Last) | Up to 6/7/8 Tokens, 5% basic-attack cooldown each, maximum 30/35/40% |
| Hex: No One Escapes Death | Exposed on everyone once the gates are powered, plus 2/3/4% Haste |
| Ultimate Weapon | A locker search makes Survivors within 40 metres scream, Blindness 30 seconds, cooldown 55/50/45 |
| Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage | Every Scourge Hook unhook reveals all other Survivors for 5/6/7 seconds |
B tier — good in the right build
Barbecue & Chilli (aura 60/50/40 metres from the hook for 5 seconds), Terminus (Broken lingering 35/40/45 seconds after a gate opens), No Way Out (12 seconds of gate block plus 6/9/12 per Token, up to 36/48/60), Starstruck (Exposed lingering 26/28/30 seconds), Friends 'til the End (Obsession Exposed for 20 seconds, aura 6/8/10), Enduring (pallet stuns 40/45/50% shorter), Brutal Strength (10/15/20% faster breaking), Sloppy Butcher (70/80/90 seconds of Haemorrhage and Mangled), A Nurse's Calling (28/30/32 metre heal aura), Coup de Grâce (70/75/80% longer lunge), Undone (up to 18/24/30 Tokens).
C tier — situational or outclassed
Whispers in its current 48/40/32 metre form, Territorial Imperative, Deathbound, Predator, Distressing, Insidious, Knock Out, Scourge Hook: Monstrous Shrine, Shattered Hope and Dominance. Several are reworked on the PTB, which is the point of the last section.
Why does stacking four slowdown perks not work?
Because of Diminishing Returns, added in Patch 9.6.0. When multiple positive or negative modifiers of the same kind apply, the game sorts them highest first and pays out on a sliding scale:
- 1st value, the highest: 100%
- 2nd value: 50%
- 3rd value: 25%
- 4th value: 12.5%
- 5th value and beyond: 5%
Diminishing Returns does not apply to modifiers granted by Killer powers or Survivor item add-ons.
This is the most misunderstood mechanic in Killer loadout building, and players are already doing the arithmetic in public on the 10.2.0 PTB threads: one comment on the reworked Undone points out that Pop is only "20% (15 plus the 5% for kicking a gen)", so stacking it behind another regression perk means "you'd get the 30% from undone, and 10% from pop cut in half."
The practical rule is simple. Run two regression perks, not four. Spend the other two slots on effects Diminishing Returns cannot touch: generator blocking (Grim Embrace, No Holds Barred, Dead Man's Switch), aura reading (Lethal Pursuer, Nowhere to Hide, Darkness Revealed) or chase power (Bamboozle, Enduring). Our best generator regression perks guide goes through which regression perks stack cleanly, and the Killer aura reading perks guide covers the information half.
Which killer perks were renamed?
Two perks in the A tier above will not be where you expect them in your bloodweb, and the reason is licensing. When a licensed Chapter is retracted, BHVR keeps the perk and issues an unlicensed version of it to every Killer under a new name.
Deadlock is now No Holds Barred. Identical effect, 15/20/25 seconds of block on the most-progressed generator, but it is a General Perk available to all Killers, so you no longer need to own the Cenobite to run it.
Save the Best for Last is now Keep Them Waiting. Also a General Perk now. BHVR's own 10.1.0 patch notes use the new name when listing its buff from 4% to 5% cooldown reduction per Token, and the wiki change log dates the rename to Patch 9.4.0, the same patch that renamed the Halloween Survivor perks.
Jolt is Surge. This one runs the other way. Jolt was the unlicensed placeholder; Surge is The Demogorgon's original name and what the game calls it today, so a guide telling you to run Jolt is out of date. Unlike the other two it is still teachable from The Demogorgon, not free.
Survivors got the same treatment. If you play both sides, the rename list on the Survivor half, including Decisive Strike becoming Will to Live, is in our best Survivor perks tier list.
What are the best killer builds in DBD for September 2026?
Four loadouts that respect Diminishing Returns instead of fighting it.
The default gen-defence build. Corrupt Intervention, Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance, Grim Embrace, Nowhere to Hide. One instant-regression source, one blocker, one early-game timer, one information perk. Learn a new Killer on this.
The information build. Lethal Pursuer, Darkness Revealed, Nowhere to Hide, Discordance. Lethal Pursuer adds 2 seconds to every other reveal here, so the partners run at 5-7 seconds of aura each.
The chase build. Bamboozle, Enduring, Keep Them Waiting, Pop Goes the Weasel. Nothing in the first three slots is a regression modifier, so Pop pays out at its full 20%.
The endgame build. Hex: No One Escapes Death, No Way Out, Terminus, Grim Embrace. No Way Out buys the time, Terminus keeps everyone Broken, NOED converts it. High variance, high ceiling.
Which Killer you put these on matters as much as the perks. Power rankings are in our DBD Killer tier list, and the newest Killer from Chorus of Sin is covered in the The Judgment guide.
Which of these killer perks change in Patch 10.2.0?
The 10.2.0 Public Test Build went live on 15 September 2026. BHVR has not announced a live release date for 10.2.0, so treat everything below as provisional. These are the changes that would move perks in this tier list:
| Perk | Live value (10.1.2a) | 10.2.0 PTB value |
|---|---|---|
| Dead Man's Switch | Blocks the first generator a Survivor stops repairing, 25/30/35 seconds, 50 second cooldown | Survivor must stop repairing for over 2 seconds; block 30/35/40 seconds, cooldown 30/35/40 |
| Undone | Tokens from failed skill checks, up to 18/24/30, 1% and 1 second each | 1 Token per hook, up to 3; a kick spends all Tokens for 8/9/10% and 8/9/10 seconds of block each |
| Hex: Thrill of the Hunt | Token-based bless and cleanse slowdown | Reworked: hooking blocks all Hex Totems 6/7/8 seconds per lit Hex Totem |
| Whispers | Within 48/40/32 metres | 28/26/24 metres, plus 5% Haste outside that range |
| Machine Learning | 1 compromised generator, 8% Haste | Up to 3 compromised generators, 10% Haste for 40/50/60 seconds |
| Dissolution | Any damage, 12/16/20 second window | Basic attacks only, 13/14/15 second window |
| Hex: Blood Favor | Any damage, 24/28/32 metres, 15 seconds | Basic attacks only, 32 metres, 13/14/15 seconds |
| Insidious | Undetectable after 3/2/1 seconds idle | Undetectable after 2 seconds idle, ends 6/7/8 seconds after you act |
| Unrelenting | Missed basic-attack cooldown 20/25/30% shorter | 30/35/40% shorter, plus 10% on successful basic attacks |
BHVR explained the Dead Man's Switch rework directly in the PTB notes: "We found the combination of Dead Man's Switch with effects that caused brief forced interruptions lead to uninteractive moments. However we like the effect provided by Dead Man's Switch, when a Killer actively pressures Survivors off of Generators."
Read as a set, 10.2.0 is a deliberate trim of perks that produced value without a chase. Dissolution and Blood Favor are both narrowed to basic attacks specifically so power-based injuries stop triggering them. The full change list across both roles is broken down in our 10.2.0 perk changes guide.
Which killer perks are free for every killer?
The General Perk pool is stronger than it has ever been. No Holds Barred and Keep Them Waiting both sit in it, putting a top-tier blocker and a top-tier chase perk in reach without buying a licensed Killer. Sloppy Butcher, Brutal Strength, Whispers, Distressing, Insidious and Unrelenting round it out, and the last three are all buffed on the PTB.
Everything in the S tier is teachable from a purchasable Killer: Pain Resonance from the Onryō, Corrupt Intervention from the Plague, Grim Embrace from the Artist, Pop Goes the Weasel from the Clown, Lethal Pursuer from the Nemesis, Nowhere to Hide from the Knight. Prestige each to 1, 2 and 3 to unlock tiers I, II and III on every other Killer.
FAQ
What is the single best killer perk in DBD right now? Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance. It applies 10/15/20% instant regression to the most-progressed generator, makes everyone repairing it scream, and asks nothing of you beyond hooking on one of its four Scourge Hooks.
Can I just run four gen regression perks? You can, but Diminishing Returns pays the fourth at 12.5% of its listed value. Two regression perks plus a blocker plus an information perk beats four regression perks in almost every loadout.
Why can I not find Deadlock in my bloodweb? It is called No Holds Barred now, and it has moved into the General Perk pool, so every Killer has access to it.
Is Jolt still in the game? Yes, under its original name, Surge. It still explodes every generator within 32 metres for 6/7/8% when you down someone with a basic attack.
When does Patch 10.2.0 go live? BHVR has not published a date. The Public Test Build opened on 15 September 2026 and the live release is listed as to be announced. Anyone quoting a specific day is guessing.
Does Diminishing Returns affect my killer power? No. It explicitly excludes modifiers granted by Killer powers and Survivor item add-ons, so a power-based Haste or slowdown pays in full no matter how many perks you stack.
Which killer perks change the most in 10.2.0? Undone and Hex: Thrill of the Hunt are full reworks, and Machine Learning goes from one compromised generator to three.
More Dead by Daylight guides on timesaver.gg:
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Sources: in-game perk descriptions on Patch 10.1.2a, the Dead by Daylight Wiki perk and maths pages, and BHVR's official 10.1.X and 10.2.0 PTB patch notes on forums.bhvr.com. Verified 18 September 2026.
