Dead by Daylight characters lore and perks

There are many Dead by Daylight characters to choose from, with there being 34 killers and 40 survivors. Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed. You’ll find the Laurie to your Michael, the Nancy to your Freddy, or the Jill to your Nemesis. In this guide, we intend to hone in on the survivors, detailing who they are, what perks they possess, and frankly, what chances they have of actually being alive by daylight.

If you’re after more information on the maniacs, head over to our Dead by Daylight killers guide, it explains what their powers are, which perks they have, and what weapon they intend to slice and dice with. We also dive into their lore, giving some insight as to how they became so psychopathic. Or, if you’re after some different scares, we have lists of the best mobile horror games and best Switch horror games.

Without further ado, here are the Dead by Daylight characters.

Dead by Daylight characters

Dwight Fairfield

Dwight is one of the original Dead by Daylight survivors. It’s fair to say that he’s a bit of a geek – no judgement, we’re all nerdy here – and as a result, was picked on. He was also a bit of a laughing stock, never quite making it on to any of the sports teams he tried out for.

Then, one day, he went into the woods with his colleagues on a team-building exercise. After drinking moonshine, Dwight woke up alone and never found his way out of the woods. Fortunately, he’s well equipped to be a survivor. Having been bullied, he’s used to flying under the radar, making it tricky for killers to track him down.

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Meg Thomas

Meg Thomas is an original Dead by Daylight survivor, and she’s rebellious, though whether this comes from being raised by a single mother, or lingering anger at her father for abandoning her, we don’t know. However, she still excelled in school, going so far as to earn a college scholarship, yet she never got to go due to her mother becoming sick. One day, Meg went for a run, but was never seen again. Her impressive stamina and fitness mean she’s able to distract killers while her fellow survivors complete their tasks, a valuable friend indeed – but if she gets caught, just run, you can make other friends.

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Claudette Morel

Claudette is one of the first Dead by Daylight survivors, and she’s a bit of a science wiz, having been fascinated with the subject since she was a child. Due to her genius, she was able to attend a top tier college on an early scholarship, though her age meant it was difficult to be sociable. One evening, Claudette went for a stroll through the woods, but she never left. This survivor might not have great social skills, but she’s got what it takes to make it through the night.

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Jake Park

Another Dead by Daylight original survivor is Jake Park. As the son of a CEO, Park faced a lot of pressure, especially when his brother was academically inclined, while he wasn’t. In the end, Jake dropped out of school, cutting contact with his father after going off-grid in the woods. He still saw his mother, though, after some time, she never saw him again, with Jake becoming yet another mysterious woods disappearance.

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Nea Karlsson

Dead by Daylight welcomed Nea as part of The Last Breath chapter. Nea is of Swedish descent, enjoys graffiti, and is a bit of a troublemaker. One evening, when out with friends, Karlsson is dared to tag the old asylum, only to never be seen again. Now she’s trapped, fighting for survival against The Nurse. However, she has what it takes to survive, being the nimble girl that she is, but, does she want to make it out alive?

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Laurie Strode

Horror fans everywhere know the name Laurie Strode, she’s the leading lady from Halloween, and is the obsession of Michael Myers. She was just like any other teenager, babysitting for some extra cash, it’s just a shame that a crazed killer with a knife wants her dead. Oh, and he happens to her brother – if we go based on the original films.

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Ace Visconti

This guy is part of the Of Flesh and Mud DLC. Ace isn’t a bad guy, just one that made some bad choices, especially when it came to gambling. Eventually, this caught up with him as Ace owed money to the wrong people. To avoid what could have been a grizzly fate, he ran, it’s a shame he headed in the direction of what could be a truly horrific end.

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William “Bill” Overbeck

Any Left 4 Dead fans out there? If so, chances are you recognise Bill, who made his way into Dead by Daylight in 2017. He was once an army man, an accomplished one with a range of accolades and medals, but an injury saw him discharged. One day, he awoke to find the world he knew in pieces, and a horde of angry zombies outside. Well, at least he could finally fight again.

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Feng Min

Making her debut in Sparks of Madness, we can identify with this survivor, as she’s a hardcore gamer – though we do hope to avoid meeting deranged killers if possible. As her passion for games grew, so did her drive to be the best, despite the disapproval of her parents. Well, Feng got her wish, becoming a pro player, but she felt the pressure, leading her on a downward spiral, until finally, she was to become a victim of the trial.

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David King

David made his debut as part of the A Lullaby for the Dark DLC. He comes from money, and was once a promising rugby player, at least until assaulting a referee got him permanently banned. However, given money was no issue, this didn’t phase him, it just meant he had more time to do other things like drinking at the pub and getting into fights. Eventually, David disappeared, and now he has one heck of a fight for survival on his hands.

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Quentin Smith

Quentin is one of the teenagers from the 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street remake. It turns out that he, along with his friends and former classmates, were being abused by Freddy Krueger, at least until their parents killed him. However, Freddy returned, determined to kill those he felt wronged him, attacking the students in their dreams.

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Detective David Tapp

Detective Tapp is from the Saw franchise, and to say he has an obsession with bringing the jigsaw murders to an end would be an understatement. Unfortunately, in his haste to capture the killer, he got reckless, leading to the death of his partner, and the disfigurement of his neck. In the end, this act got him discharged from the force, but these events reinforced his desire to bring the brutal murders to an end.

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Kate Denson

From a young age, Kate Denson knew she wanted to be a singer. The girl was talented, learning to play the guitar too, she would travel with her family performing in folk music competitions. As she got older, she was able to travel by herself, and this took her all over the place. For the most part, this filled Kate with inspiration, but one day, she sat in a quiet clearing encircled by trees. As she was playing her guitar she was pulled into what can only be described as a nightmare.

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Adam Francis

A man that values education, Adam knew what his calling in life was as a college student. He wanted to teach abroad, and after some hard work, Adam managed to achieve this, heading to Southern Japan to start a new life.

However, it wasn’t what he expected it to be, adjusting to this new way of life took time, but he got there eventually. One day, the train he was riding derailed. The crash saw a door spring from its hinges, rushing towards a young girl, but Adam got in the way, saving her life. However, something strange happened, as he opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness.

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Jeffrey “Jeff” Johansen

Jeff didn’t have the best start in life, he was an anxious kid that many mistook for shyness. To protect himself, he put on a front at school, a tough act that meant bullies left him alone. At home, life wasn’t much better due to his parents fighting, but he found solace in art and music. After some time, his parents divorced, and Jeff was forced to leave everything he knew to start fresh with his mum.

This led to some questionable choices that nearly took his eyesight. Fortunately, this was the wake-up call he needed. Jeff tried to turn his life around, going back to school, getting a rescue dog, and designing tattoos and album covers. However, a phone call that his father had passed away changed Jeff’s life forever, after going back to his home town and reminiscing over his childhood, no one saw or heard from Jeff again.

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Jane Romero

Jane’s father raised her, despite her mother being a famous actress. Naturally, this led to conflict within Romero, she hated her mother for abandoning her, but at the same time, admired her for her performances on screen. Eventually, the latter of her thoughts won out, leading Jane to try and emulate her mother’s talents.

As a result, she went on auditions for all sorts of roles, until eventually landing a position as a co-host for a talk show. A couple of years later, she had a programme of her own, which her mother appeared on. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t go down well, leading Jane to make a dangerous drive to her father’s house, with black ice causing her to crash. Authorities found her car, but what happened to Jane Romero remains a mystery.

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Ash J. Williams

If you don’t know Ash, are you even a horror fan? He’s the sole survivor of the original Evil Dead movie, catapulting him into spooky stardom. On a weekend away with friends, Ash made the terrible mistake of reading from The Book of the Dead, awakening an evil entity that possessed each of his friends, leaving Ash with no choice but to kill them.

Eventually, he got payback, kinda. He was transported to the future and attacked by a demon, which he managed to overpower, the pair came to an agreement that if Ash spares it, the demon returns him to his friends. However, to pull this off, Ash needed to recite an incantation, speaking after the demon. Did he manage to do this correctly? Did he buggery, and now he’s trapped in the world of The Entity. Not only that, but he has no shotgun, no chainsaw, and perhaps worst of all, he has no beer.

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Nancy Wheeler

This one has a rebellious streak, but that’s what makes her not only an effective journalist, but also a great investigator. Nancy is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery when her friend Barb goes missing. One night, she follows a lead to the Hawkins National Laboratory, though she soon loses consciousness, waking up in a place that’s anything but friendly.

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It’s worth noting that the Stranger Things chapter is no longer available, meaning new players can’t play as her. If you bought the DLC before November 17, 2021, you can still use her.

Steve Harrington

Steve is a unique mix of arrogance and compassion, often helping out the younger kids when they find themselves in a spot of bother. Well, one night, after receiving a call from his friend Nancy Wheeler, Steve finds himself at the Hawkins National Laboratory, and – you guessed it – he winds up in a strange place.

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Much like Nancy, Steve is only available to those that bought the Dead by Daylight Stranger Things DLC before November 17, 2021.

Yui Kimura

A motorcycle enthusiast, Yuri read her grandfather’s engineering manuals so that not only could she keep her scooter in good health, but she could compete with older lads in races. Unfortunately, her dreams of being a motorbike racer meant her father shunned her from the family, but the support of her grandmother meant she could pursue her dreams. Soon enough she had a motorcycle gang, but this also came with a stalker.

One night, she returned home to find her stalker there. A fight broke out, which Yui won, though she still went to the hospital after the police showed up. It took some time before she could race again, but the support of her gang helped her pull through. They also showed support for all women needing help from stalkers and abusers. Soon enough Yui found herself in a major race again, one she was winning until a strange fog engulfed her.

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Zarina Kassir

Zarina has a unique sense of justice, one that made her go undercover at a restaurant to prove it treated its workers in a despicable way. She accomplished this, only to have the news put a sympathetic spin on it, making the restaurant seem to be the one in the right.

Zarina was spurred on by this, going on to become an accomplished filmmaker, but it wasn’t until the death of her father that she gained international acclaim. She interviewed the man that pushed him in front of a car, proving it was premeditated murder, not manslaughter. After this, she decided to shed some light on a story from an abandoned prison. She went on the walking tour, only to become shrouded in fog after entering a cell.

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Cheryl Mason

Cheryl Mason came to Dead by Daylight as part of the Silent Hill DLC. Mason first pops up in Silent Hill 3 as the main protagonist, but that’s not the story we’re following in Dead by Daylight. Instead, Cheryl has escaped the cult that’s been hunting her all her life, but she has lost her adopted father, Harry. To cope with her guilt at his passing, Cheryl volunteers at a centre for troubled youths, until one day, a black fog engulfs her, and it was as though she was in Silent Hill all over again.

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Felix Richter

This architect found himself fascinated by mysteries after the disappearance of his father. As time went on, he became a renowned architect, though working for other people didn’t sit well with him. Soon enough he created his own firm, and was hired for a job on Dyer island, where a familiar voice called out to him before his world faded to black.

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Elodie Rakoto

When Elodie was 14 years old, she lost her parents after they disappeared on a business trip to Dyer Island. The night this happened, the teenager saw her mum holding a strange object, while Elodie’s dad urged her mother to run. All of a sudden, darkness overcame them, and when Elodie came to, her parents were nowhere to be seen. Naturally, she wanted answers as to what happened, and it would take years of searching for Elodie to find any sort of closure, her quest for answers would take her all over the world.

Years later, a mysterious group began hunting Elodie, for reasons she didn’t understand, until one day, when exploring the jungles in Madagascar, her surroundings began to change, and she could hear a voice calling out for her. It was at this moment that she knew her hunters had found her.

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Yun-Jin Lee

Much like a certain killer, Yun-Jin made it big in the music industry. However, the difference between her and The Trickster is that she didn’t go on a mad one burning her bandmates alive in a fit of jealousy. However, that doesn’t mean the pressures of being famous didn’t get to her, especially when she’s the producer that added Ji-Woon Hak to the band No Spin. Of course, we know how that story ends, but what you might not know is that Yun-Jin continued to work with Ji-Woon when he adopted his new stage name The Trickster. However, as time went by, she became suspicious of Ji-Woon’s behaviour, especially when torture and violence became part of his music videos.

Apparently, the record company felt the same way, giving the pair just three months to come up with a new sound as his current music was distasteful, to say the least. Well, when the time came, Yun-Jin began choking on smoke while her fellow producers were cut to ribbons by The Trickster. Unlike most survivors, Yun Jin welcomed the darkness, it gave her the chance to get even with Ji-Woon.

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Jill Valentine

Who doesn’t love Jill Valentine? Alongside Chris Redfield, she’s one of the first two protagonists in the Resident Evil franchise. That’s right; she saw the horrors at the Spencer mansion firsthand, a mission gone wrong, in the worst possible way. More than that, she was a one-woman show in Resident Evil 3, fighting for survival against Nemesis, and this is the Jill that features in Dead by Daylight – the one from the 2020 remake, to be more specific.

The monster had just one job, kill S.T.A.R.S members. Well, by the time she was done, Jill had the creature seeing stars. Unfortunately, there’s still more in store for Valentine, as a mysterious black fog engulfed her after she battled Nemesis, bringing her to the trial grounds.

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Leon Scott Kennedy

Another famous horror character got his start in the Resident Evil Franchise. Leon Kennedy had what is quite possibly the worst first day of work ever. Most rookie cops are eased into their new role, whereas Leon drove into a city that was on fire, had zombies running around, and an overrun police station with a hulking tyrant marching around. Somehow, Leon and Claire survived the events in Racoon City, and Kennedy goes on to become a special agent that tends to be thrown in the deep end to deal with bioweapons.

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Mikaela Reid

When she was young, Mikaela went sailing with her father, it was their bonding time. Unfortunately, at 16 years old, she lost her father, but the support from friends and family got her through, even helping her to discover a love for storytelling. As time went by, Mikaela also took an interest in witchcraft, and thankfully she was more of a ‘Charmed’ Wicca, and less of a Wicked Witch of the West.

Eventually, she was asked to perform at a renowned Halloween festival, a prestigious honour for a storyteller. However, this consumed her life, leading to some less than pleasant changes and many sleepless nights. Eventually, Mikaela’s roommate disappeared, but she held onto hope that he would show up at the festival. He never did, but Mikaela stole the show with her haunting story, which ended with a black fog engulfing her.

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Jonah Vasquez

Jonah has always been a bit of a genius with a penchant for brain teasers and mathematics. On his 16th birthday, he received a strange code, yet he couldn’t decipher it, and what he could work out led to Chile. In the end, Jonah abandoned the puzzle believing it to be flawed. After graduating from university, the CIA hired him as a codebreaker. It led him to work in Kwantana, though he discovered too late that his work led to the deaths of many. Jonah sought to right this wrong by transferring a small number of funds to help the struggling families. In the end, this led to an attempt on his life, though he managed to escape.

Soon enough, Jonah returned to work and was given new assignments. One of which was a code, one he knew from his birthday all those years ago. These numbers have been haunting Jonah, so he booked a ticket to Chile without running it by his boss. Was the trip worthwhile? Well, Jonah cracked the puzzle, and it turns out it was him being there, at that exact moment. Soon enough, he found himself in the trial grounds, the scent of blood lingering in the air.

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Yoichi Asakawa

Yoichi has had a fascination with the supernatural since he was a mere child, which he developed following the tragic death of his parents at the hands of an inexplicable curse. Still, he tried to put those horrific events behind him, taking after his father and graduating from a university in Tokyo specializing in marine biology – going on to become the youngest professor in the same school’s history. However, his past was about to come back to haunt him after two of his students mysteriously disappeared during a research trip in Izu Oshima.

Sure enough, Yoichi found himself facing horrendous flashbacks, culminating in the appearance of Sadako, the ghastly being responsible for the curse that continues to claim the lives of innocents. For those who don’t know, Sadako is none other than Samara from The Ring, so you know that Yoichi is in some serious danger.

Months of research and torment followed, during which time Yoichi stumbled across a similar story to that of what happened to his students, ion Scotland at a lighthouse. Wasting little time, and with the goading of his father’s spirit, Yoichi travels to the lighthouse, but while on a boat with the lighthouse in the distance, the ocean begins to behave violently. Yoichi, refusing to give in, has his world turn to black when a huge wave shatters the boat.

Upon waking up, he follows his father to the gallery of the lighthouse, walking through thick black fog.

Sable Ward

Sable Ward is the survivor from the All Things Wicked DLC that released on March 12, 2024. She happens to be friends with fellow survivor Mikaela, striking up a friendship in the third grade. Interestlingly, this would become Sable’s first friend, given her love of dark things over unicorns, sunshine, and rainbows.

Their friendship remains strong into adulthood, so strong that when Mikaela is taken by the black fog during a telling of a horror story on stage, Sable does all she can to find her. Her determination sees her also fall victim to the black fog, awakening to find that sadistic killers want to make her their next victim.

There you have it, everything you need to know about the Dead by Daylight characters. Now head over to our Dead by Daylight codes list to grab some freebies. If you’ve had your fair share of slicing and dicing, perhaps you should check out our list for the best Switch RPGs to see what adventures await you.

If you prefer to play with toys, it’s our Poppy Playtime characters (including the likes of Poppy Playtime Mommy Long Legs and Poppy Playtime Poppy) and FNAF characters (featuring FNAF Freddy, FNAF Chica, FNAF Bonnie, and FNAF Foxy) articles that you should read.