The Best Nemesis 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 Nemesis builds in Dead By Daylight.

The Nemesis entered Dead by Daylight’s Fog as a part of the first Resident Evil chapter. This killer’s entrance into the fog is one of the most iconic horror game franchise crossovers of all time, encouraging new players to play Dead by Daylight and bringing veterans back. 

Nemesis remains of the most formidable foes in the game against skilled survivors, at least when in the right hands. Here is everything you need to know about The Nemesis’ killer powers, perks, and best loadout so you can play him to his fullest potential. 

The Nemesis Power And Perks

To pick out the best perks for The Nemesis, you'll first need to understand his power and how it works so you can think about how the game's many perks may be able to complement it. You should also learn more about The Nemesis' own teachable perks since they come with the killer by default and can be used together to earn Adept Nemesis.

Let's go over all of The Nemesis' perks:

Perk: Hysteria

• Whenever you put a healthy Survivor in the injured state with a basic attack, all injured Survivors suffer from the Oblivious status effect for 30 seconds. Hysteria can only trigger once every 60 seconds

Perk: Eruption

• After kicking a generator, its aura is highlighted in yellow. When you put a Survivor in the dying state with a basic attack, every affected generator explodes, regressing their progress by 6% and causing their auras to disappear. Any Survivor repairing a generator when it explodes will scream and suffer from the Incapacitated status effect for 14 seconds. Eruption has a cooldown of 90 seconds. 

Perk: Lethal Pursuer

• At the start of the Trial, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed to you for 7/8/9 seconds.

• Extends the duration of a Survivor's Aura being revealed to you by +2 seconds.

• Lethal Pursuer benefits from its own effect.

Power: T-Virus

The Nemesis’ power is called the T-Virus, which can affect survivors and make them easier to locate and down. The in-game description reads:

• Your Power expands as your Mutation Rate grows.

• Filling the Power gauge with Contamination points from attacking Survivors or Zombies with his Power increases The Nemesis' Mutation Rate:

MUTATION RATE 1:

• No special benefits

MUTATION RATE 2:

• Tentacle Strikes can destroy Breakable Walls and Pallets.

MUTATION RATE 3:

• Increases the reach of the Tentacle Strike from 5 meters to 6 meters.

• Increases the Movement speed of The Nemesis while charging a Tentacle Strike from 3.8 m/s to 4.0 m/s.

SPECIAL ATTACK: TENTACLE STRIKE

• Press and hold the Power button to charge an attack, then tap the Attack button to unleash a Tentacle Strike.

• Hitting a Survivor with a Tentacle Strike afflicts them with Contamination and adds +3 Contamination points to the Power gauge.

• Hitting a Survivor already afflicted with Contamination with a Tentacle Strike will damage them, but add just +1 Contamination point to the Power gauge.

• Hitting a Survivor with a Tentacle Strike, regardless of their Contamination status, suffer very briefly from the Hindered Status Effect.

SPECIAL AFFLICTION: CONTAMINATION:

• Survivors afflicted with Contamination are susceptible to damage from both The Nemesis' Tentacle Strike, as well as attacks from his Zombies. Contaminated Survivors will also occasionally cough.

• Survivors can cure Contamination by using a Vaccine either on themselves or on other Survivors.

• A limited number of Vaccines can be found in 4 Supply Cases, that are placed throughout the Trial Grounds.

• Using the Vaccine briefly reveals the Survivor's location through Killer Instinct.

SPECIAL ENEMY: ZOMBIES

• T-Virus causes 2 Zombies to spawn in and roam about the Trial Grounds.

• The Zombies can attack Survivors when they come too close, but abide by the same conditions as a Tentacle Strike.

• The Nemesis can wilfully destroy a Zombie to add +1 Contamination point to his Power gauge.

• Destroying them using a Basic Attack yields no such reward.

• This can be used to manually cause the Zombies to respawn in a different location in the Trial Grounds.

• Survivors have limited options to interact with Zombies:

  • Blinding them to lose line-of-sight using Flashlights, Firecrackers, or Flash Grenades.

  • Destroying them to force a respawn using Pallets or Head On.

• The Zombies respawn after 12 seconds if they were destroyed by The Nemesis and after 45 seconds if they were destroyed by Survivors.

Best Nemesis Builds In Dead By Daylight

The best Nemesis builds in Dead by Daylight help this killer patch up his weaknesses and boost his strengths.

With so many perks available in Dead by Daylight, there is not just one build that works well on Nemesis - there are many choices. Here are just a few of the best.

Beginner Nemesis Build

When you're starting as a new Nemesis main, it can be hard to figure out what perks to use. That's why we've put together this beginner Nemesis build using only perks that come with The Nemesis or can be found in any killer's Bloodweb.

• Hex: No One Escapes Death

• Jolt

• Eruption (The Nemesis)

• Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis)

This build helps you every step of the way, from the beginning of the match to the very end. Lethal Pursuer gives you the boost you need to get started and find survivors early on, while Jolt and Eruption will help you stall generators throughout the match as you down survivors. Hex: No One Escapes Death will provide you with some extra support at the end of the game if any survivors remain.

Generator Surveillance Nemesis Build

Nemesis is a strong killer in chase, but he needs to go out of his way to damage generators to slow the survivors'' progress. This loadout plays on Nemesis' weakness, allowing him to survey generators and determine where his attention is most needed.

• Discordance (The Legion)

• Call Of Brine (The Onryo)

• Eruption (The Nemesis)

• Surveillance (The Pig)

Almost every perk in this build is based on finding survivors; Discordance shows when two or more survivors are on a generator, while Surveillance shows you the aura of kicked generators when survivors work on them. Eruption and Call of Brine help regress the generators you've kicked, ensuring that survivors don't get that head start against you.

Aggressive Nemesis Build

Because Nemesis is so strong in a chase, it can be fun to try out a more aggressive Nemesis build that gives him an even greater edge on survivors throughout the game. This build by streamer RedsGamingGears helps Nemesis excel in chase, making him a seemingly unstoppable force.

• Enduring (The Hillbilly)

• Dissolution (The Dredge)
• Save The Best For Last (The Shape)
• Hex: Crowd Control (The Trickster)

Enduring and Dissolution help The Nemesis recover after pallet stuns, while Hex: Crowd Control blocks windows to prevent survivors from taking another escape route. Save The Best For Last helps Nemesis gain speed, making him an even more formidable foe.

What Are The Best Perks For The Nemesis?

Those are all the best builds for The Nemesis, but you might still be wondering which individual perks work best on this killer. After all, creating your own builds can be fun and allow you to try new playstyles.

You can mix and match the following perks to create an incredible build for The Nemesis:

• Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis)

• Jolt

• Discordance (The Legion)

• Surveillance (The Pig)

• Merciless Storm (The Onryo)

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.