Dead By Daylight best Freddy Krueger build (November 2022)

Another iconic horror legend alongside Leatherface and Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger is a highly mobile Killer that was added to Dead by Daylight alongside Survivor, Quentin Smith. He is the fifth licensed character to be included in the asymmetrical horror game, and was the first Killer to get a major rework.

In-game, Freddy Krueger is referred to as The Nightmare, but for this guide we’ll be using his movie name as it is more recognisable. This guide will work to help you understand what makes Freddy Krueger such a powerful Killer in Dead by Daylight, focusing on his major rework, as well as his perks, powers, add-ons, and tips and tricks.

Feel free to also check out our best Michael Myers build and best Leatherface build for two other Hollywood icons in Dead By Daylight. We've also got an overall tier list to see how each killer ranks.

Dead By Daylight Freddy Krueger perks

Freddy Krueger has three unique perks that can be unlocked for other Killers via the Bloodweb.

• Fire Up - You gain a stackable 3/3.5/4% Action Speed bonus to picking up and dropping Survivors, breaking Pallets and Unbreakable Walls, damaging Generators as well as Vaulting Windows each time a Generator is completed.
• Blood Warden - When you hook a Survivor after the Exit Gates are open, the Entity will block the exit for all Survivors and reveal their Aura when they are standing near the Exit Gate for 30/40/60 seconds.
• Remember Me - Each time you hit your Obsession with a Basic Attack, you gain a Token. The opening of the Exit Gates is increased by up to a maximum of 8/12/16 additional seconds. However, the Obsession is unaffected by this penalty.

What are the best builds and perks for Freddy?

We would go with the following perks for the Best possible Freddy Build:

Corrupt Intervention (The Plague Perk)

• At the start of the Trial, the 3 Generators located farthest from you are blocked by The Entity for several seconds.

Hex Ruin (The Hag Perk)

• A Hex that affects all Survivor's Generator Repair progress. All Generators automatically regress at percentage of the normal Regression speed whenever they are not being repaired. The Hex effects persist as long as the related Hex Totem is standing.

A Nurse's Calling (The Nurse Perk)

• Unlocks potential in your Aura-reading ability. The Auras of Survivors, who are healing or being healed, are revealed to you when they are within a range of several metres.

BBQ & Chili (The Cannibal Perk)

• A deep bond with The Entity unlocks potential in one's Aura-reading ability. After hooking a Survivor, all other Survivors' Auras are revealed to you for 4 seconds when they are farther than 40 metres from the Hook. Each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time, gain a stack-able 25 % bonus to all Bloodpoint gains, up to a maximum of several percent.

Dead By Daylight Freddy Krueger powers

Freddy Krueger’s Power is called Dream Demon.

Dream Demon makes Freddy Krueger invisible to Survivors who are more than 32 metres away from him, but he is still more than capable of seeing them. The closer Freddy gets to awake Survivors, the more they are able to see him. At 32 to 16 metres, he flickers in and out of existence, and only when Survivors are asleep are they able to see him fully. His Terror Radius, however, can be heard but is completely non-directional.

His passive ability forces Survivors to enter into micro-sleep, and that’s where Freddy’s main powers come into play. His main power via Dream Demon is Dream Projection. With this ability, Freddy is able to Teleport to a Generator - which will bubble and bleed blood to warn Survivors that Freddy is coming - that he can see. For each Survivor in the Dream World, you gain a stackable 15% cooldown time for using the Dream Projection ability.

Depending on whether you use add-ons or not, Freddy can also use Dream Snares and Dream Pallets. Dream Pallets work similar to how The Doctor uses Madness to cause Survivors to see illusionary Pallets, but unlike The Doctor’s abilities, Survivors are able to interact with Dream Pallets and pull them down. However, they’ll explode in a pool of blood and Freddy can hit Survivors through it.

Dream Snares on the other hand are placed directly on the ground in front of Freddy. Survivors who walk through a Dream Snare are affected by the Hindered status effect and slow them down.

Best add-ons for Freddy Krueger in Dead By Daylight

Freddy Krueger is a highly mobile Killer and can get around maps fairly quickly due to his Dream Projection ability - so some of the best add-ons are to compliment Freddy’s mobility by slowing Survivors and their progress down.

• Red Paint Brush - All Survivors starting in the Dream World (aka being asleep) gives you a major advantage. For one, they work slower on generators, have slower healing, etc, and two… They can’t wake up by failing a Skill Check - making them solely reliant on other awake Survivors or Alarm Clocks.
• Class Photo - An excellent, deceptive add-on that will catch Survivors by surprise due to all Generators spewing blood when you use your Dream Projection. The downside is you can no longer cancel the action, but again, if paired with a Perk like Surveillance or Discordance, gives you information to where Survivors might be.
• Blue Dress - This add-on slightly increases the Regression penalties that Survivors already receive when asleep in The Dream World. Even worse, when failing a Skill Check of any kind, Survivors' aura's are revealed to Freddy Krueger. Now pair that with Hex: Huntress Lullaby and you’ll have a ton of information being given to you.
• Paint Thinner - This add-on adds Dream Pallets to your arsenal instead of Dream Snares. While not as strong as the latter, Dream Pallets will absolutely keep Survivors second-guessing each Pallet they go to. Pair it with the Red Paint Brush and they simply won’t have any idea which Pallet they’ve used in a Chase.

Dead By Daylight Freddy Krueger tips and tricks

• If you’re in a Chase with a Survivor and you see them running towards an incomplete Generator, you can teleport to that generator using your Dream Projection. It’ll catch the Survivor off guard and you can go for an easy hit. It doesn’t always work though, so use this sparingly!
• Dream Snares are perfect at shortening a loop, so place them just before a Pallet or Window to prevent Survivors from getting the speed necessary to get away from your hits.
• You’re able to ‘fake’ teleporting to Generators, which can be perfect if you have a Perk like Surveillance to let you know which Generators are being worked on so that you can actually teleport to the right location.
• Dream Pallets are a fun add-on to have to give Survivors some fake security - what’s more fun than a ‘gotcha’ moment? But Dream Snares are much more versatile and far simpler to use.
• Don’t go out of your way to do this, but the best way to mess with Survivors is to keep them asleep. Sometimes they’ll interact with a Clock to wake them up, and they have a short time of not being asleep. So, the best thing to do is Dream Snare any Clock nearby - just so you have an idea of where Survivors are.
• Trickier Survivors will run away from loops that you place Dream Snares at, so don’t go crazy with putting snares everywhere on just one loop. Instead spread your snares out and apply pressure that way.

That's all you need to know about the best The Nightmare builds in Dead by Daylight. Be sure to check back regularly to see how your build could be improved. In the meantime, check out the killers we wish to see in Dead by Daylight soon, or some games like DBD for when you need a break.