Pyramid Head has had a busy two weeks. Behaviour used its new Backend Tunables system to buff The Executioner on 29 October (10.2.2a), then pulled one of those values partway back on 9 November (10.2.2b).
This guide covers The Executioner on live 10.2.2b, with every number checked against Behaviour's patch notes on Steam and the Dead by Daylight wiki.
Quick answer: how do you play Pyramid Head in DBD?
TL;DR (13 November 2026, Patch 10.2.2b): Hold your power to draw Torment Trails at 4.2 m/s. Survivors who walk over them get Torment, which means that once downed they can go to a Cage of Atonement instead of a hook. Press attack in Rites of Judgment to fire Punishment of the Damned, a 16 m ground wave that goes through walls and costs 2 of your 8 charges. 10.2.2a made him much faster to use, and 10.2.2b slowed the wave's spread from 0.001 s to 0.015 s per segment. Best add-ons: Rust-Colored Egg, Lost Memories Book and Iridescent Seal of Metatron. Otz rates him A+ on his 10.3.0 list.
Three numbers to remember:
- 16 metres. Punishment of the Damned's range since 10.2.2a. It was 10 m, and 8 m before Patch 9.1.0
- 16 seconds. A full refill of Rites of Judgment from empty. Before 10.2.2a it took 40 seconds
- 54.06%. The Executioner's kill rate on NightLight over 234 games between 12 October and 9 November, third-highest on the board
What does Pyramid Head's power, Rites of Judgment, do?
Behaviour rates The Executioner Very Hard on deadbydaylight.com, one of seven Killers with that rating alongside The Nurse, The Blight, The Hag, The Judgment, The Oni and The Twins. The power has five parts.
Rites of Judgment. Hold the power button to drag your Great Knife and leave a Torment Trail behind you. You move at 4.2 m/s instead of the normal 4.6 m/s. The gauge holds 8 charges, drains at 1 charge per second while you draw and refills at 0.5 per second. Trails last 90 seconds, cap at 100 segments, and you see their auras within 32 m.
Torment. A Survivor who touches a trail without crouching becomes Tormented and triggers Killer Instinct for 3 seconds. Torment is only removed when the Survivor is rescued from, or rescues someone from, a Cage of Atonement.
Punishment of the Damned. While in Rites of Judgment, press attack to send a wave along the ground in front of you. It goes through walls and pallets, damages every Survivor it touches, costs 2 charges and has a 2.25-second cooldown. It cannot climb slopes steeper than 42 degrees.
Cages of Atonement. Press the secondary power button over a downed Tormented Survivor to send them to a cage instead of carrying them to a hook. If you stay within 10 m of it for 3.5 seconds, it moves.
Final Judgment. If a downed Tormented Survivor is already on their second Hook stage, the same button kills them on the spot with a mini-Mori.
Within 4 m of Generators and hooks, 3 m of exit switches and the hatch, in the Basement and on stairs, trail segments vanish after about 3 seconds.
What changed for The Executioner in 10.2.2a and 10.2.2b?
Both were server-side patches with no download, only a restart.
| Value | Before 29 Oct | 10.2.2a (29 Oct) | 10.2.2b (9 Nov, live) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rites of Judgment activation | 1 s | 0.8 s | 0.8 s |
| Rites of Judgment cancel | 1 s | 1.2 s | 1.2 s |
| Maximum charges | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Recharge rate | 0.25 charges/s | 0.5 charges/s | 0.5 charges/s |
| Punishment initial spawn delay | 0.267 s | 0.25 s | 0.25 s |
| Delay between Punishment segments | 0.033 s | 0.001 s | 0.015 s |
| Segment lifetime | 0.18 s | 0.3 s | 0.3 s |
| Punishment maximum range | 10 m | 16 m | 16 m |
Behaviour's 10.2.2a dev note explained the aim: "Overall, our goal is to make The Executioner feel snappier when using his power, while also giving him more range to help promote those awesome plays."
The 10.2.2b note blamed one add-on: "The previous reduction to 0.001s made it a little too efficient, especially when paired with the Iridescent Seal of Metatron add-on. This is a great example of why we intend to add add-on support to Backend Tunables, because sometimes, basekit changes will end up synergizing more than we expected." The same post says "add-ons and perks aren't currently supported" by the system yet.
What this means in a match:
- He is still far stronger than in September. The segment delay is 0.015 s, less than half the old 0.033 s, and every other buff stayed
- Full refills are 2.5 times faster. 10 charges at 0.25/s took 40 seconds. 8 charges at 0.5/s take 16
- You draw for less time. 8 seconds of trail, down from 10, and cancelling is slower at 1.2 s
The wiki still lists 0.001 s on 13 November. The 10.2.2b Steam post is newer.
Why do players say Pyramid Head "feels bad again"?
The r/DeadByDaylightKillers post Pyramid Head feels "bad" again (12 November) says the basekit buffs were fine and that Survivors were still learning to dodge his wave. After 10.2.2b, its author, u/SahnigerFred, wrote that "survivors have 3 business days to dodge your M2" and that he feels "so clunky against good survivors all over again". Several replies said Behaviour should have nerfed the Iridescent Seal instead, which the tunables system can't change yet.
The r/deadbydaylight post Pyramid Head Is Legitimately Insane Right Now (13 November) disagrees. Its author, u/KingFlash0205, said the 0.015 s change doesn't move him "in the Tier List literally at all". They put him at the low end of the top 10, held back only because he "simply doesn't have any map mobility whatsoever", and expect the Iridescent Seal to be nerfed next.
Both agree his power is far better than before 29 October and that the Iridescent Seal is the real problem.
Which Pyramid Head add-ons are the best?
The Executioner has 20 add-ons. These are worth bringing on 10.2.2b.
| Add-on | Rarity | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Rust-Colored Egg | Very Rare | Hitting with Punishment refills 30% of your Rites of Judgment charge |
| Lost Memories Book | Very Rare | Survivors hit by Punishment are Oblivious for 80 seconds |
| Crimson Ceremony Book | Very Rare | Survivors hit by Punishment get Haemorrhage and Mangled for 80 seconds |
| Iridescent Seal of Metatron | Iridescent | Punishment range starts at -50% and grows by up to +200% while you draw trails. Resets after a Punishment hit |
| Misty Day, Remains of Judgment | Rare | Survivors hit by Punishment have their aura revealed for 8 seconds |
| Tablet of the Oppressor | Rare | Undetectable while using Rites of Judgment |
| Cinderella Music Box | Uncommon | Punishment cooldown -10% |
| Forgotten Videotape | Uncommon | Punishment travels 10% faster |
| Lead Ring | Common | Punishment range +25%, width -25% |
Our pick for everyday games: Rust-Colored Egg and Lost Memories Book. The Egg refunds charge on every hit, so you get more 2-charge shots per chase. Lost Memories Book makes the Survivor Oblivious, so they lose the heartbeat warning while you line up the next wave (power sounds still carry).
Strongest add-on: Iridescent Seal of Metatron. Draw trails before a shot and the wave reaches far beyond 16 m. Behaviour named it in the 10.2.2b note. A change has not been announced, but players expect one once Backend Tunables support add-ons.
Forgotten Videotape is worth more after 10.2.2b. A 10% faster wave partly offsets the slower spread. With Cinderella Music Box it is the best cheap pair.
Skip: Scarlet Egg. Tormented Survivors leave 5-second trails when they sprint, but you lose the auras of all your trails.
What are The Executioner's perks, and are they any good?
Prestige 1, 2 and 3 teach Tiers I to III to every other Killer. Live values:
Forced Penance. A Survivor who takes a protection hit becomes Broken for 60/70/80 seconds.
Trail of Torment. Kick a Generator and you become Undetectable until it stops regressing. Survivors see that Generator's aura in yellow. Cooldown 60/45/30 seconds.
Deathbound. When a Survivor finishes healing someone, the healer screams. They are Oblivious while more than 12/8/4 m from the healed Survivor until they take damage.
Our best Killer perks tier list ranks all three.
What is the best Pyramid Head build on Patch 10.2.2b?
Wall-shot build (aura). Nowhere to Hide, Lethal Pursuer, Barbecue & Chili, Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance. Add-ons: Rust-Colored Egg and Lost Memories Book. Nowhere to Hide shows Survivors within 24 m of a kicked Generator for 3/4/5 seconds, Barbecue & Chili shows far-away Survivors for 5 seconds after each hook, and Lethal Pursuer adds 2 seconds to every timed reveal.
Community aura build. In the "feels bad" thread, u/Virtual_Scheme_4773 described their build as "Celestial Witness, Nemesis, Lethal Pursuer, Lightborn". Every 30 seconds Celestial Witness shows the Obsession if at least 40 m away, or else makes the farthest Survivor the Obsession. Nemesis shows the new Obsession for 8 seconds whenever the Obsession changes, including when a Survivor who blinds or pallet-stuns you takes the role. Lightborn stops blinds.
Generator-block build (Grim Embrace). Grim Embrace, Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance, Deadlock, Trail of Torment. Grim Embrace earns a token for each Survivor's first hook and blocks every Generator for 6/8/10 seconds once you move 16 m away (40 seconds at 4 tokens), and Deadlock blocks the most-progressed Generator for 15/20/25 seconds whenever one pops.
A note on Cages. A cage is not a hook, so hook-triggered perks such as Barbecue & Chili, Pain Resonance and Grim Embrace only fire when you carry someone to a real hook. With those builds, hook when the hook is close and you want the perk value, and cage when the hook is far away or the carry would cross pallets. For more four-perk loadouts across the roster, see our DBD builds guide.
How do Survivors counter Pyramid Head?
- Crouch over Torment Trails. Crouching through a trail doesn't apply Torment. Trails show on the ground and last 90 seconds, so read the floor before you cross it
- Move before the wave, not during it. Reacting to the wave is still hard. Change direction before he swings, as you would against The Huntress
- Watch his charges. Each Punishment costs 2 of 8 charges, and his gauge only refills while he isn't drawing. Right after a wave and a long draw, he has fewer shots ready
- Use the cage anti-camp. If he stays within 10 m of a cage for 3.5 seconds, it moves. Rescue the moment he leaves
- Get your Torment cleared. Only a cage rescue removes Torment. A Tormented Survivor on their second Hook stage can be killed on the spot with Final Judgment, so get those Survivors rescued from a cage first
- Respect the add-ons. Tablet of the Oppressor makes him Undetectable (no Terror Radius, no red stain) while he uses Rites of Judgment. Spearhead shows him whoever rescues someone from a cage for 8 seconds
Rescued Survivors get Haste and Endurance for 10 seconds, plus Elusive since Patch 10.1.0.
A Generator aura glowing yellow after a kick usually means Trail of Torment (other perks can show Generator auras too), so assume he is Undetectable until it stops regressing.
Is Pyramid Head good in 2026?
Yes. He is one of the strongest Killers in the game right now.
- Otzdarva's 10.3.0 Killer tier list (posted 9 November 2026) puts The Executioner in A+ (Very Strong), alongside The Hillbilly, The Dark Lord, The Ghoul, The Spirit, The Singularity, The Slasher and The First. Only The Judgment, The Nurse, The Blight and The Twins rank higher, in S. The video went up about 80 minutes before 10.2.2b went live
- NightLight's Killer board for 12 October to 9 November shows a 54.06% kill rate over 234 games and a 2.94% pick rate. Only The Lich (55.93%) and The Judgment (54.94%) were higher, and the average across all 7,955 games was 46.33%. That window ends before 10.2.2b and includes 17 days before 10.2.2a. NightLight counts uploaded matches only, so read it as a trend
- Since Patch 10.1.0, his NightLight page showed a 45.60% kill rate on 1 November. The jump since 29 October follows the tunables buff
Our November Killer tier list sets our ranking beside Otz's.
What he costs. He comes with the Silent Hill Chapter (16 June 2020, $7.99 on Steam), or 500 Auric Cells on his own. Our Silent Hill chapter guide covers Cheryl, the outfits and the map.
FAQ
Did Pyramid Head get nerfed in DBD? Partly. 10.2.2b on 9 November raised the delay between Punishment of the Damned segments from 0.001 s to 0.015 s. All of the other 10.2.2a buffs stayed, including the 16 m range and the doubled recharge rate.
What is the range of Punishment of the Damned? 16 metres since 10.2.2a (29 October 2026). It was 10 m before that. Lead Ring adds 25%, and Iridescent Seal of Metatron starts at half range and grows by up to +200% while you draw trails.
How do you get rid of Torment in DBD? Get rescued from a Cage of Atonement, or rescue someone from one. Nothing else removes it. Crouching over a Torment Trail stops you getting it in the first place.
What is Pyramid Head's best add-on? Iridescent Seal of Metatron is the strongest, and Behaviour named it in the 10.2.2b note. For everyday games, Rust-Colored Egg plus Lost Memories Book is the best pair.
Can Pyramid Head kill you without hooking? Yes. Final Judgment kills a downed Tormented Survivor on the spot if they are already on their second Hook stage.
Is The Executioner free in Dead by Daylight? No. He comes with the Silent Hill Chapter ($7.99 on Steam) or costs 500 Auric Cells on his own.
More Dead by Daylight guides
Building a Killer for Patch 10.2.2b? These guides cover the rankings, perks and builds around Pyramid Head.
- DBD Killer Tier List November 2026
- Best Killer Perks in DBD 2026
- DBD Builds: Best Killer and Survivor Builds
- DBD Silent Hill Chapter: Pyramid Head and Cheryl Mason
- All DBD Killers List
Last verified 13 November 2026 against live patch 10.2.2b.
