Introduction to The Wraith in Dead by Daylight
The Wraith is one of the first killers you’ll encounter in Dead by Daylight, available for free at the start. His lore is quite grim, but his mechanics are relatively straightforward, making him an excellent choice for beginners. The Wraith’s primary ability is the Wailing Bell, which allows him to cloak and become invisible. While cloaked, he can move faster to close the gap between himself and unsuspecting survivors. However, uncloaking has a small delay, so it’s crucial to time it right to land successful hits. Swift Hunt add-ons can enhance his cloaking power, making him even more effective in chase scenarios.
How to Play The Wraith Effectively
The Wraith is a straightforward chase killer, and his Wailing Bell power is the key to his effectiveness. The best way to play him is to chase down survivors, cloak, and uncloak as opportunities arise. When cloaked, you have a significant speed boost, making it easier to close the gap. However, uncloaking requires precise timing to avoid the small delay. Once you master this ability and its timings, you’ll find it easy to pick off survivors one by one. The Wraith’s mechanics are similar to other initial killers, making him a good introduction to the game’s kill mechanics. The Wailing Bell is a light but crucial ability that helps you learn the game more effectively than with The Trapper.
Best Early Game The Wraith Build in Dead by Daylight
All killers in Dead by Daylight start with three unique perks, which can be shared with other killers through prestige. For early-game builds, when you might not have progressed much in the Bloodweb, we’ll focus on The Wraith’s unique perks and how to best utilize them. His initial perks are:
- Predator: Reveals survivors’ auras after breaking chase.
- Bloodhound: Enhances the Wraith’s ability to track fresh bloodstains.
- Shadowborn: Boosts movement speed when blinded.
While The Wraith’s initial perks aren’t the strongest in the game, Predator has been upgraded recently, transforming from a simple tracking perk to an aura-reading perk. Shadowborn is generally less useful but can come in handy against new players who overuse flashlights. Overall, The Wraith’s early options are limited, but they improve significantly as you unlock more perks.
Best Mid-Game The Wraith Build in Dead by Daylight
Once you unlock a few perks, The Wraith’s mid-game build becomes more effective. These perks are available in the Wraith’s Bloodweb and should take around 10 to 15 levels to unlock. Here are our recommended mid-game perks:
- Hex: No One Escapes Death: Boosts your movement speed and inflicts survivors with Exposed when all generators are fixed.
- Sloppy Butcher: Inflicts survivors with Mangled and Hemorrhage, significantly reducing their healing potential.
- Hex: Thrill of the Hunt: Provides bonus Bloodpoints and slows survivor totem-cleansing based on the number of Hex Totems.
- Bitter Murmur: Reveals survivors near fixed generators and all survivors when the last generator is completed.
These perks are fantastic for first-time players. Sloppy Butcher improves your basic attacks, while the hexes hinder survivors significantly if they fix generators or cleanse totems. Bitter Murmur is particularly useful when generators are completed. Add-ons like Blink – Mud and Swift Hunt – Mud are great for mastering the art of cloaking and uncloaking with less penalty for mistakes.
Best Late-Game The Wraith Build in Dead by Daylight
As you progress in Dead by Daylight and unlock everything for several killers, you’ll have the right tools for this late-game build. You’ll need at least one prestige level on The Plague, The Artist, The Clown, and The Nemesis. These killers provide exceptional perks that enhance The Wraith’s performance. Here are the recommended late-game perks:
- Corrupt Intervention (The Plague): Blocks three farthest generators at the start of the match.
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist): Hooks survivors to Scourge Hooks, causing the generator with the most progress to explode and regress.
- Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown): Buffs the Damage Generator action when you hook a survivor, significantly reducing generator progress.
- Eruption (The Nemesis): Highlights damaged generators and causes them to explode when a survivor is downed, revealing and screaming survivors near them.
This build targets generator fixing, as The Wraith is primarily a straightforward chase killer with stealth mechanics. These perks are essential for disrupting generator progress. If you prefer, you can swap out some perks for Sloppy Butcher to enhance your chase and attacks. For add-ons, either double Windstorm – Blood or a Windstorm – Blood and All Seeing – Spirit combo work best.
Best Toxic The Wraith Build in Dead by Daylight
This build maximizes the Shadow Dance add-on, making The Wraith quicker at breaking walls, pallets, and damaging generators. This add-on is particularly useful as it doesn’t waste a perk slot with Brutal Strength, allowing you to stay cloaked. By focusing on damaging generators and hooking survivors, this combo will cause significant trouble for the survivor team, making it hard for them to make any progress on generators. Here are the recommended toxic perks:
- Nowhere To Hide (The Knight): Reveals all survivor auras within 24 meters after damaging a generator.
- Overcharge (The Doctor): Causes a difficult skill check for survivors after damaging a generator, regressing the generator if failed.
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist): Explodes the nearest generator when a survivor is hooked.
- Eruption (The Nemesis): Highlights and explodes generators when a survivor is downed, revealing and screaming survivors near them.
With this build, The Wraith becomes a relentless force, making it extremely difficult for survivors to maintain generator progress. Stay focused, and the survivor team will struggle to complete their objectives.
