Dead By Daylight has a wide variety of Killers to choose from, ranging from science-fiction creatures like The Xenomorph to creepypasta-inspired monsters like The Unknown. But when it comes to classic horror archetypes, it wasn’t until the launch of Chapter 33: Castlevania that DBD got its first vampire.

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Descending from his mighty castle in the sky, Dracula, otherwise known as The Dark Lord, has arrived in the Entity’s realm – and he’s bringing a whole new bag of tricks to help you sacrifice unsuspecting Survivors.

How Does The Dark Lord’s Power Work

Every Killer has a special ability to help them catch the Survivors, but Dracula’s Power – Vampiric Shift – is effectively three powers in one.

Pressing the Secondary Action button followed by either your Attack or Power button, allows you to switch between The Dark Lord’s three Forms: Vampire, Wolf, and Bat. Each Form has its own strengths and cooldowns, so you’ll need to learn how they all work together to make the most out of this Killer.

Vampire

In Vampire Form, you are a tall Killer with normal movement.

Holding your Power button allows you to charge the Hellfire Spell, a ranged attack that creates sevenPillarsofFlame in a straight line, injuring Survivors in its path.

Wolf

In Wolf Form, you are a short Killer with (mostly) normal movementand athird-person camera.

Holding your Power button allows you to charge a Pounce, which sends you darting forward once, and then a second time after a short delay if the first doesn’t connect. Hitting a Survivor with your Pounce will injure them, and hitting a Breakable Wall or Pallet will break it.

Your ability to see Scratch Marks and pools of blood is increased, and any Survivor that performs a Rushed action near you is revealed by Killer Instinct.

While you are in Wolf Form, Survivors will drop Scent Orbs. Collecting these Scent Orbs gives you Haste and lowers the cooldown of your next Pounce.

Bat

In Bat Form, you are a fast-moving, Undetectable Killer with a Lullaby and a third-person camera. While in Bat Form, you can move over Windows and dropped Pallets, cannot attack, and cannot see Survivors. Instead, you will need to track them by sound and Scratch Marks.

Holding your Power button allows you to Teleportto a nearby Window or dropped Pallet.

Tips For Playing The Dark Lord

Dracula’s many forms and independent cooldownscan be hard to keep track of, but learning to master every part of his kit will make you feel like the final boss of Dead by Daylight.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you play The Dark Lord:

  • Whichever Form you are in, you can see the cooldown for Hellfire Spell, Pounce, or Teleport in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  • While in Vampire Form, your Hellfire Spell can be usedover low obstacles (such as windows and pallets) but cannot be cast through solid walls.
  • Each of the seven Pillars of Flame can deal damage independently, so a single Hellfire Spell can injure multiple Survivors if they are clumped together.
  • While in Wolf Form, try to herd Survivors toward areas with long, straight walls to line up easy Pounce hits.
  • Try to stay in Wolf Form when a Survivor is leading you toward a strong structure like Killer Shack, as the longer a chase lasts, the more Scent Orbs they will drop, the more bursts of Haste you will get, and the more chances you’ll get to Pounce.
  • Keep in mind the Wolf Form’s shorter-than-average height while chasing Survivors around low obstacles; you may be able to hide yourself completely behind cover, while still being able to track them with your third-person camera.
  • While in Bat Form, youcannot see Survivors or their Auras, so be wary of using too many Aura-reading Perks. Try usingnon-Aura information Perks, like Discordance or Spies from the Shadows.
  • If a Survivor drops a Pallet near a Generator orother important location, you may want to avoid breaking it – this way, you can easily Teleport to it later while in Bat Form.

Using Vampiric Shift to swap between Forms will slow you down temporarily, so make sure to plan accordingly. If you find this slowdown to be too punishing, consider bringing the Traveller’s Hat add-on.

Best Add-Ons for The Dark Lord

As you might imagine, Dracula has quite a collection of baubles and trinkets from his unnaturally long life. These add-ons improve his Power, offering many ways to upgrade each Form’s unique strengths:

Add-On

Rarity

Effect

Traveller’s Hat

Common

Increases animation speed when changingForm by ten percent.

Moonstone Necklace

Uncommon

Decreases your Terror Radius while in Vampire or Wolf Form by 4 meters.

Force of Echo

Rare

Increases spawn rate ofScent Orbs by 17 percent.

Killer Doll

Rare

Increases the cooldown reduction of Pounce when collecting Scent Orbs by 50 percent.

Lapis Lazuli

Very Rare

Blocks a Window you Teleport to for 15 seconds.

Warg’s Fang

Very Rare

Reveals the Aura of Survivors whose Scent Orb you have collected when Pounce becomes available for four seconds.

Alucard’s Shield

Ultra Rare

When an Exit Gate is opened, Pillars of Flame appear at random within the Exit Gate area.

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The Dark Lord’s Unique Perks

As if a shapeshifting, fire-spewing vampire wasn’t scary enough, Dracula brings three new Perks into the fog with him. Each one opens up new build options for The Dark Lord – as well as your other Killers, if you prestige him – and can make playing against you a real pain in the neck.

Dominance

The power you wield over the land strikes terror in the hearts of all who cross your path.

When a Survivor touches a Totem or Chest for the first time, Dominance activates, blocking that Totem or Chest for a few seconds.

You can see the Auras of blocked Totems or Chests.

Hex: Wretched Fate

You see your victim from afar and resolve to prolong their suffering.

Once the first Generator is completed, Hex: Wretched Fate activates, turning a random Dull Totem into a Hex Totem that Curses the Obsession.

The Obsession’s repair speed is heavily reduced, and they can see the Aura of this Hex Totem if they are close enough.

Human Greed

One can always rely on the avarice of the living and use it to one's advantage.

You can see the Auras of unopened Chests across the map. Whenever a Survivor gets close to an unopened Chest, you can see their Aura for a few seconds.

You also gain the ability to close an opened chest by kicking it. A kicked Chest provides Aura-reading just like an unopened Chest but can be opened much faster by Survivors.

After kicking a Chest closed, you are unable to kick another Chest for a while.

When a Survivor is affected by Human Greed, they can see the Perk icon in the lower left part of their screen. A Survivor who recognizes the Perk will know that you can see them and may turn this to their advantage, baiting you into unproductive chases.

Best Build For The Dark Lord And Perk Synergies

Dracula is a versatile Killer, able to make use of many different Perks. Figuring out which Form(s) you prefer, which add-ons you bring, and your own personal playstyle will allow you to discover your own specialized builds. Here is a list of recommended Perksto help further your reign of terror:

Spies from the Shadows: When a Survivor startles a nearby Crow, you get a loud sound notification as well as a visual marker of where the Crow was. This is a handy way to track Survivors mid-chase, and is even better in Bat Form, as you cannot see Survivor Auras from other info perks.

Tinkerer:When a generator is nearly complete, you get a loud sound notification and becomeUndetectable for a while. This works while in Bat Form, but is potentially even stronger inWolf Form – your small stature and quiet footsteps allow you to ambush an unsuspecting Survivor, even in the middle of a chase.

I’m All Ears:When a Survivor performs a Rushed Vault near you, you can see their Aura for a few seconds. This Perk works best while inVampire Form: if a Survivor manages to get to a Window or Pallet before you can charge the Hellfire Spell, you can simply follow their Aura and catch them at the next corner. Even better, if the obstacle they are hiding behind is low enough, you might be able to launch your Pillars of Flame right over it!

Hex: Ruin:When the Trial starts, one Dull Totem becomes aHex Totem. While that Hex Totem is standing, any Generators not actively being worked on will start to regress. Given Dracula’s mobility and other Hex-related Perks, you should have no problem driving Survivors off Generators and letting Hex: Ruin damage them for you.

Keep in mind that if you want the Adept Dark Lord achievement, you will need to kill all four Survivors in a trial while using only Dracula’s three teachable Perks.

Dominance Perk Synergies

Dominance can easily waste a Survivor’s time, but only if they activate it in the first place. To make the most of this Perk, you need to give the Survivors a reason to touch Totems and/or Chests, preferably multiple times.

To that end, I suggest the following Perks alongside Dominance:

Hex: Plaything

The first time you hook each Survivor, a random Dull Totem becomes aHex Totem, and that Survivor is Oblivious until it is destroyed.

This Perk can create up to four Hex Totems during a match – assuming you hook everyone once – and each one will be protected in turn by Dominance.

Hex: Face the Darkness

Once a Survivor becomes Injured, a random Dull Totem becomes a Hex Totem and that Survivor becomes Cursed.

Until the Cursed Survivor is healed or put into the Dying State, Survivors outside of your Terror Radius will occasionally scream, revealing their locations and interrupting their actions. Once the Curse ends, the Hex Totem disappears and will reappear when the trigger condition is met.

While getting free info mid-chase is always welcome, the most important detail is how the Hex Totem moves around the map, rarely appearing in the same spot twice. This can give Dominance plenty of chances to work its magic, and if you have other Hex Perks, the screaming may interrupt them cleansing your Hex Totems. Finally, this Perk is better if you have asmall (or non-existent) Terror Radius, so it pairs well with Perks like Tinkerer, add-ons like the Moonstone Necklace, and the Bat Form.

Hex: Wretched Fate Perk Synergies

While Hex Totems are inherently vulnerable and risky to use, the heavy repair speed penalty from Hex: Wretched Fate can lead to the Obsession giving up on Generators entirely until they find and cleanse the Totem, which will buy you plenty of time.

Here are some Perks that pair well with Hex: Wretched Fate:

Hex: Undying

When a Survivor gets close to a Dull or Hex Totem, you can see their Aura. In addition, when another Hex Totem would be destroyed, its effects are transferred to Hex: Undying’s Hex Totem, and Hex: Undying is destroyed instead.

Not only will this Perk protect your Hex: Wretched Fate, but you’ll get occasional Aura-reading if a Survivor walks by a Totem, which may catch them off-guard.

Hex: Pentimento

You can see the Auras of cleansed Totems. In addition, you can Rekindle cleansed Totems, with each Rekindled Totem giving stacking penalties to Survivor action speeds.

Because the Obsession can see the Aura of Hex: Wretched Fate when they get close enough, it’s very likely that they will find and cleanse it before the end of the Trial. In that case, you have a backup plan: turning cleansed Totems into Rekindled Totems with Hex: Pentimento. The more Hex Perks you have in your build, the strongerHex: Pentimento becomes.

Human Greed Perk Synergies

This Perk takes something many Survivors take for granted – Chests – and turns them into tools you can leveragein chase (or out of it) to surprise Survivors who thought they were safe.

Here are a couple of Perks that will help you leverage Human Greed:

Lethal Pursuer

At the start of the game, see theAuras of all Survivors for several seconds. In addition, any other Aura-reading effects you possess have their durations extended slightly.

This Perk makes Human Greed more reliable, as every time it triggers, the Aura-reading will last longer. It will also help with your early-game pressure, and it pairs well with the Warg’s Fang add-on.

Hoarder

Whenever a Survivor opens a Chest or picks up an Item in your general area, you get a loud sound notification. This Perk also spawns two extra Chests in a Trial.

Not only do you get more Chests to trigger Human Greed with, but you also get a warning whenever someone gets wise and starts opening them to turn off your Aura-reading. Next

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