Across more than 40 chapters and ten years' worth of content updates,Dead By Daylighthas no shortage of playable killers. From unique characters original to the game to iconic guest stars brought in from other famous franchises, Behaviour has curated something of a horror hall of fame, playing host to characters likeChucky, Michael Myers, Ghostface, and many more. Though their effectiveness in the meta may fluctuate from patch to patch, there’s no denying that Behaviour has always done an excellent job recreating these iconic characters within the framework of the game.
One killer’s latest iteration might even be too faithful to his source material. Recent data published by Behaviour shows that one of the roster’s killers, despite having one of the highest kill rates in the game, is not picked by players nearly as much as they should be. His sudden burst of power is all the more surprising considering the fact that he’s been a permanent fixture at the bottom ofDead By Daylight’s killer tier lists for years now. But it seems that his recent reworks have turned the killer in question into the Dream Demon he was always meant to be.
Freddy is the Deadliest Killer in DBD, But is Flying Under Players' Radars
Freddy’s Latest Rework Has Turned Him into a Real Nightmare
Freddy Krueger, aka The Nightmare, has been absolutely dominating matches ever since his most recent rework.Kill rates data published by Behaviourindicate that whenever Freddy is in a game, he is almost always a dominant force, with a devastating 69% kill rate. For reference, Behaviour has stated in the past that it strives for kill rates to be around 50% to ensure that survivors have a relatively balanced chance at escape. Freddy’s sudden surge in power comes hot on the heels of the character’s third rework since his original release all the way back in 2017.
Despitereworked Freddy’s overwhelming strengthon paper, the same report indicates that he remains one of the least picked killers in the game, falling in the bottom 10 killers in terms of player selection along with the likes of Legion, Wraith, and Nurse. Though these figures indicate some sort of disconnect, there are a few easily explainable reasons as to why Freddy’s kill rate is so high compared to his pick rate.
Understanding why Freddy’s pick rate is so low requires a brief history lesson on his history inDBD.Freddy entered the Fog back in 2017during the earliest days of the game’s lifecycle. On release, he was a decently powerful killer who functioned very, very differently from what he is today. He was always invisible to players outside the dream realm, and he needed to track players down and put them to sleep manually. Sleeping players had what is now called the Oblivious effect, and Freddy could see their aura from anywhere on the map. There was no hiding from launch day Freddy.
Behaviour quickly saw Freddy dominating the meta, especially at lower ranks, and made some snap decisions to nerf him that essentially executed the character’s viability at all ranks. A few years later,the Nightmare got his first reworkthat gave him dream snares and pallets, but even then, he still wasn’t pushing the envelope in any meaningful way. Only after three reworks is Freddy now seeing actual high-level play.
That was a relatively quick summary of Freddy’s sad tenure inDead by Daylight, but it’s critical to rememberFreddy’s status as the worst killer in the gamewas ironclad for as long as he’s been in the game. This killer has been a punchline for survivor players for nearly eight full years now. No matter how good the Nightmare is now, he still carries some of that stigma. Longtime members of the community have picked their favorite killers already, and not many people invested much effort into maining a killer with such poor returns. Freddy did have his small but loyal following of diehard fans, but even they struggled to make the character work as well as higher-tier characters like Oni, Nurse, and Blight. But clearly good things come to those who wait, and Freddy mains have been waiting longer than their fair share.
Survivors are Still Adapting to The Reworked Freddy, Making Him Look More Lethal
In all likelihood, it’s probably Freddy’s cult following enjoying his rework the most. The players who stuck with the character from his lowest are the ones who knew how to maximize him at his worst. Now that they have access to a buffed, more powerful Freddy, it makes sense that they’re going to be running circles aroundDead By Daylight’s survivor playersthat, for the longest time, have seen the killer as a punching bag.
The simple reality is that the most recent rework has turned Freddy into a force to be reckoned with. And the vast majority of survivor players just aren’t used to going up against him in general, never mind a Freddy that has the tools they need to perform reasonably well. They just need to take some time to adjust to the new state the character is in, but because he’s mostly being played by some of the most dedicated killer mains in the game, it’ll take some time. Freddy’s new strength doesn’t just come from the rework, but fromDBDsurvivors having to adjust their playstylesin the face of experienced Freddy players who know exactly what they’re doing and now have the tools to do it even better.
It’s entirely possible that the reworked Freddy will eventually require some fine-tuning to bring him more into line with the50% kill rate Behaviour chases with its killers. But for now, it’s probably for the best to leave him as is and see how the community adapts around him. Survivor players can test their mettle against a new threat, and the loyal Freddy mains out there can finally get their time in the sun.
