One of the first Killers to ever arrive in Dead by Daylight, The Wraith is a fast-moving, nearly silent ghost that can stalk Survivors while remaining Undetectable. With such high movement speed, he can cut off Survivors’ only means of escape before going in for the kill and – with the right selection of perks – this Killer can be a formidable foe.
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This guide will highlight some of the best builds and add-ons to run with The Wraith in Dead by Daylight, with perks featured both in the base game and in the variety of DLC Killers, for players with varying levels of experience.
Updated August 28, 2025 by Mark Sammut: The Wraith has not received any major updates over the last year, so his builds have largely remained the same. Consequently, a section has been added that goes over whether he is a good Killer for new Dead by Daylight players.
The Wraith: Best Beginner Build (2025)
For players with access only to the base game, Wraith’s own perks are some of the most niche and ineffective in Dead by Daylight. However, Predator is now much more useful at tracking Survivors mid-chase. Meanwhile, General Perks like Sloppy Butcher can slow down the mid-game, as Bitter Murmur helps find Survivors, and Hex: No One Escapes Death potentially secures kills in the Endgame Collapse.
- Predator (The Wraith) – Survivors who escape chase have their aura revealed for 6 seconds. This perk has a 40-second cooldown.
- Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment, and you gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
- Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments for 90 seconds, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.
- Bitter Murmur (General Perk) – Each time a generator is completed, the auras of Survivors within 16 meters of that generator are revealed for 5 seconds. Once the last generator is complete, all Survivors’ auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
The Wraith: Best Build (2025)
As a Killer with little chase potential outside of his uncloak speed boost, arguably the most effective build for The Wraith includes a number of generator slowdown perks. This build features The Plague’s Corrupt Intervention to prevent early game progress, as well as Pop Goes the Weasel and Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance to slow them down throughout the mid-game. Meanwhile, Bamboozle will help The Wraith cut Survivors off from resources mid-chase.
- Bamboozle (The Clown) – Vault speed is increased by 15% and performing a vault will block the window for 16 seconds.
- Corrupt Intervention (The Plague) – At the start of the trial, the 3 generators furthest from the killer’s starting location are blocked for 120 seconds or until the first survivor is downed.
- Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – For 45 seconds after hooking a Survivor, damaging a generator will remove 20% of its current progress.
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
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The Wraith: Best Add-On Tier List
|
Tier |
Add-On Name |
Add-On Description |
Add-On Comments |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
S |
|
“Windstorm” – Blood |
Increases Cloaked movement speed by 9% |
Great for covering cross-map distance and cutting off Survivors |
|
“Windstorm” – White |
Increases Cloaked movement speed by 7% |
Since the Windstorm add-ons can stack with each other, as well as Haste perks, The Wraith can move at lightning speeds |
|
|
“Swift Hunt” – Blood |
Increases uncloaking speed by 12% |
Helps deny Survivors the chance to reach resources before a hit |
|
|
“Swift Hunt” – White |
Increases uncloaking speed by 10% |
Can stack with other Swift Hunt add-ons to speed up hits |
|
|
A |
|
“Windstorm” – Mud |
Increases Cloaked movement speed by 5% |
The Mud variant of Windstorm helps cover a little more distance while cloaked |
|
“Swift Hunt” – Mud |
Increases uncloaking speed by 8% |
Like the other Swift Hunt add-ons, the Mud variant is good for getting quick surprise attacks |
|
|
“Shadow Dance” – Blood |
Increases speed of vault and break actions by 60% while cloaked |
Great for maintaining pressure in chase by shredding pallets and cutting off windows |
|
|
“Shadow Dance” – White |
Increases speed of vault and break actions by 40% while cloaked |
Combines well with The Clown’s Bamboozle to break down loops |
|
|
“All Seeing” – Blood |
Reveals auras of Survivors within 8 meters while cloaked |
Great for out-mind-gaming nearby Survivors at loops and finding stealthy players |
|
|
“All Seeing” – Spirit |
Generators have their aura intensity determined by their progress while cloaked |
A good substitute for information perks |
|
|
B |
|
Coxcombed Clapper |
Silences the Wailing Bell |
Useful for getting the jump on unwary Survivors |
|
Bone Clapper |
Sounds the Wailing Bell to all Survivors |
Pretty good for disorientating Survivors and landing surprise attacks |
|
|
“The Ghost” – Soot |
Suppresses the Terror Radius and Red Stain for 6 seconds after Uncloaking |
Useful for getting the jump on Survivors, especially when paired with one of the Clapper add-ons. |
|
|
“Blind Warrior” – White |
Surprise attacks inflict Mangled and Hemorrhage for 70 seconds |
A good replacement for Sloppy Butcher if you’re adopting a hit-and-run playstyle, though not as effective as the perk itself |
|
|
C |
|
“Blind Warrior” – Mud |
Surprise attacks inflict Blindness for 60 seconds |
Okay for denying aura reading perks like Windows of Opportunity, despite being hampered by its short duration |
|
“Blink” – White |
Increases cloaking speed by 60% |
A nice enough effect, but not incredibly impactful in chase |
|
|
“Blink” – Mud |
Increases cloaking speed by 40% |
Can be stacked with other Blink add-ons |
|
|
D |
|
“The Hound” – Soot |
Brightens blood marks while Cloaked |
A decent tracking effect for beginners |
|
“The Serpent” – Soot |
Automatically Uncloaks after performing a break action |
A mostly detrimental effect, though it can be combo’d with the best chase build for Killers to land hits |
|
|
F |
|
“The Beast” – Soot |
Cloaking no longer grants Undetectable |
Removes The Wraith’s element of surprise entirely |
Is The Wraith A Good Killer For DBD Beginners?
With 40 Killers and counting, Dead by Daylight floods players with choices, and newcomers might very well feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options at their disposal. If someone has just bought the base game, they will only be able to use a select few original characters (including The Wraith), and they will need to decide whether to focus on them or drop cash on one of the many familiar faces from horror history. That raises the question: Is The Wraith worth investing in? Should new players start with this Killer or pick one of the other freebies? Should they ignore all of them and buy a chapter containing one of their favorite movie or game villains?
Honestly, this question is difficult to answer, as it depends on what your priority is. If you want a Killer with depth and a high skill ceiling that can keep you going for dozens or hundreds of hours, The Wraith is not a great pick, even compared to other free options like The Nurse or The Huntress. The latter come with a steeper learning curve, but they are better options in the long run. If you are willing to pick up a few DLC Killers, characters like The Ghost Face, The Legion, and The Clown are better all-around picks. The latter can be unlocked using Iridescent Shards, too, which are earned in-game; however, if you go that route, they cannot be your first Killers.
That said, if we are simply talking about easy Killers that are accessible to new players who have no grasp of the fundamentals, The Wraith might just be the best option in the game. In fact, he is basically considered the Killer for beginners, as he has a very simple moveset that enables the chance of success even if his user is not familiar with a map’s layout or concepts like looping. In due time, you will likely want to switch to another Killer, but you should give The Wraith if you are just trying to get a foot in Dead by Daylight.
