The Best Executioner Builds In Dead By Daylight (Update 8.2.1)

4 September 2024 - We've updated the page to reflect any recent changes to perks and abilities in Patch 8.2.1 that might impact the best Executioner builds in Dead By Daylight.

The popular 4v1 asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight includes many icons from other horror franchises, including the terrifying monster Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. Known in The Fog as The Executioner, Pyramid Head is a force to be reckoned with, given his powerful ranged attack. Using perks can help you make the most of Pyramid Head's strong ability and down survivors relentlessly. Here are the best Executioner builds and loadouts to make the most of this licenced killer in Dead by Daylight.

The Executioner's Power And Perks

Before we delve into the best builds for The Executioner, let's look at this killer's power and teachable perks so you know what you're working with. First, here are Pyramid Head's three teachable perks:

Perk: Forced Penance

• Survivors who take a protection hit are temporarily inflicted with the Broken status effect.

Perk: Trail of Torment

• After kicking a generator, you become temporarily Undetectable. During this time, the generator’s yellow aura is revealed to Survivors.

Perk: Deathbound

• When a Survivor heals another Survivor for one Health State while away from the Killer, the Survivor performing the Healing action will scream, revealing their location and temporarily activating Deathbound.
• While it is activated, the Survivor will suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect if they move away from the healed Survivor.

Power: Rites of Judgment

The Executioner's power is called "Rites of Judgment." The in-game description reads as follows:

• Hold the Power button to activate, then move in any direction to carve a trail into the ground.
• Survivors who walk or run on the trail will trigger Killer Instinct and be afflicted with Torment.
• Survivors affected by Torment may be sent to a Cage of Atonement while they are in the dying state.

Pyramid Head also has one special attack, Punishment of the Damned:

• Press the Attack button while Rites of Judgment is active to perform Punishment of the Damned. This unleashes a wave of force, damaging any Survivors in its path.

To top off his kit, The Executioner has two special abilities, Cage of Atonement and Final Judgment.

• Cage of Atonement - Press the Active Ability button while standing over a dying Survivor suffering from Torment to send them to a Cage of Atonement where they can be sacrificed as if they were on a hook. Being rescued or rescuing another Survivor from a Cage of Atonement will remove Torment.
• Final Judgment - Press the Active Ability button while standing over a dying Survivor suffering from Torment who has already reached the struggle phase on a hook or in a cage to execute them.

Best Pyramid Head Builds In Dead By Daylight

Pyramid Head's kit is one of the most diverse in the game, equipping him with lots of different powers and giving him the ability to pressure survivors in countless ways.

As such, there are a lot of different ways you can play this killer. Here are just a few of the top Executioner builds that you can try.

Beginner Executioner Build

If you are just getting started as a new Pyramid Head main, it might be hard to decide what aspects of gameplay you want your build to focus on. Pyramid Head is a well-rounded killer on his own, even without the help of perks, so a build that touches lots of different bases is your best bet as a beginner.

• Whispers
• Trail of Torment (The Executioner)
• Bitter Murmur
• Fearmonger

All of the perks included in this build are general perks, meaning they either come by default with The Executioner or can be found in the Bloodweb of all killers without prestiging or reaching level 50.

We recommend Whispers for beginners as it helps you avoid dead zones and ensures that you are where the survivors are at all times. Trail of Torment allows you to sneak up on survivors and use your ranged attack, while Bitter Murmur will show you your enemies' auras after generators are completed. Fearmonger ensures that when you do approach survivors, they can't dart away using an Exhaustion perk.

All-Seeing Executioner Build

The Executioner performs at his best when he can see survivors' auras regularly. After all, seeing a survivor's aura makes it significantly easier to keep track of them in the chase and aim his ranged ability. As such, this build focuses on allowing you to see survivors' auras throughout the match.

• A Nurse's Calling (The Nurse)
• I'm All Ears (The Ghost Face)
• Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis)
• Discordance (The Legion)

Lethal Pursuer will not only help you find survivors at the beginning of the match, catching them off guard before they have a chance to get their bearings - it also adds two seconds to all of the other aura-reading perks in this build. Discordance will help you find survivors powering through generators throughout the match, while I'm All Ears will show you survivors' auras after they vault. This is perfect for ending chases early. In case any survivors manage to escape your grasp, A Nurse's Calling is a part of this build, too, so you can land some cheeky hits on survivors while they are healing.

End-Game Executioner Build

Because The Executioner excels in so many areas, he can largely hold his own throughout the match without the help of perks. This especially holds true for veteran players who have a strong sense of the game and can easily locate survivors. This end-game Executioner build is designed to give you and the survivors an adrenaline rush at the end of the game, allowing you to make an epic comeback or land those final kills.

• No Way Out (The Trickster)
• Hex: No One Escapes Death
• Blood Warden (The Nightmare)
• Hex: Haunted Ground (The Spirit)

No Way Out will block the exit gates before survivors can open them, while No One Escapes Death will give you the ability to instantly down survivors once they are powered. Blood Warden prevents survivors from escaping at the end of the game if a fellow survivor is hooked. Hex: Haunted Ground can either give you a boost throughout the match if it is cleansed early on, or can serve as a distraction from your hex at the end of the game.

What Are The Best Perks For Pyramid Head?

We've given you some builds to test out on The Executioner, but you might be wondering what the best perks are on him.

A few of the best perks on Pyramid Head in Dead by Daylight are:

• I'm All Ears (The Ghost Face)
• A Nurse's Calling (The Nurse)
• Jolt
• Discordance (The Legion)
• Whispers
• Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist)
• Corrupt Intervention (The Plague)
• Surveillance (The Pig)
• Tinkerer (The Hillbilly)
• Trail of Torment (The Executioner)

We recommend mixing and matching the perks in the builds we've provided to create your favorite loadout. As you familiarize yourself with this killer, you'll determine which perks are your favorites and be able to mix and match these perks effectively.