The Best Onryo 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 impact the best Onryo builds in Dead By Daylight.

The Onyro entered The Fog in the horror game Dead by Daylight earlier this year after appearing in the 1998 cult classic horror movie Ringu. Known as Sadako Yamamura, her power offers the player the ability to sneak up on survivors and teleport across the map. Over time, her ability has seen many changes, which have altered how her Condemned ability works.

The Onryo might not excel in chases, but she is incredible in many other areas. Here is your guide to playing Sadako in Dead by Daylight, from her power and perks to the best loadout and perks to use on her.

The Onryo Power And Perks

To pick out the best perks for The Onryo, you'll first need to understand her 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 Onryo's teachable perks since they come with the killer by default and can be used together to earn Adept Onryo. Let's go over all of The Onryo’s perks:

Perk: Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage

• You form a psychic connection with The Entity and alter the rules of the Trial.
• At the start of the Trial, 4 random Hooks are changed into Scourge Hooks:
• The Auras of Scourge Hooks are revealed to you in white.
• Each time a Survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, the following effects apply:
  • The Auras of all other Survivors are revealed for 5/6/7 seconds.

Perk: Call of Brine

• Your psychic abilities influence technology in devastating ways.
  

  After damaging a Generator, Call of Brine activates for 60 seconds.

• The Generator regresses at 150/175/200 % of the normal Regression speed and its Aura is revealed to you.
• Each time a Survivor completes a Good Skill Check on a Generator affected by Call of Brine, you receive a Loud Noise Notification.

Perk: Merciless Storm

• Your horrible trauma is felt by everyone.
  
• Whenever a Generator is repaired to 90%, Survivors repairing it are faced with continuous Skill Checks.
• If they miss one or stop repairing, the Generator becomes blocked for 16/18/20 seconds.
• Merciless Storm can only trigger once per Generator per Trial.

Power: Deluge of Fear

The Onryo's power is called Deluge of Fear, which allows her to teleport around the map and sneak up on survivors. The in-game description reads:

• Before Manifesting, The Onryō gains the Undetectable Status Effect and is invisible to Survivors, but becomes intermittently visible when within 24 meters of them.

Special Ability: Manifestation

• The Onryō must physically manifest to attack Survivors.
  Press and hold the Power button to Manifest into material form in your current location.
• For a brief duration after Manifesting, The Onryō will continue to be intermittently visible to Survivors when within 24 meters.
• Afterwards, she will be fully visible within 24 meters for as long as she remains Manifested.
• The Onryō can Demanifest by pressing and holding the Power button again.

Special Ability: Projection

• The Onryō can also take material form by Projecting herself through a TV.
• Press the Ability button while looking at a powered TV to Project into it, shutting off the TV in the process and automatically Manifesting yourself.
• All Survivors within 16 meters of the TV gain Condemned progress.

Special Ability: Inexorable Stare

• A fully Condemned Survivor is revealed by Killer Instinct for 6 seconds and can be killed with the Inexorable Stare when in the Dying State.

Special Interaction: Retrieve Tape/ Turn-Off TV

• Survivors can walk up to any TV to retrieve its VHS Tape, which turns off that TV temporarily.
• Holding a VHS Tape, they can walk up to any other TV and turn it off temporarily too.
• These interactions, however, come at the cost of adding Condemned progress to the Survivor.
• Survivors also passively gain Condemned progress over time when holding a VHS Tape.
• Retrieving the VHS Tape procs a Loud Noise Notification, revealing the location of a TV, whose Aura is highlighted to the Survivor.
• This TV allows the Survivor to spread The Onryō's message by inserting the VHS Tape into it.
• Doing so removes some Condemned progress.

Best Onryo Builds In Dead By Daylight

The Onryo excels at moving around the map and sneaking up on survivors but can struggle in chases. The best builds for Onryo complement her strengths while helping her in the areas where he struggles. 

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

Beginner Onryo Build

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

• Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage (The Onryo)
• Jolt
• Hex: No One Escapes Death
• Merciless Storm (The Onryo)

The perks in this loadout synergize well to keep you powered throughout the match. Jolt provides a slowdown throughout the trial and makes sure that generators aren't being completed too quickly, as long as you're getting those downs.

Merciless Storm serves multiple purposes; if survivors miss a skill check, not only will they be unable to work on the generator, you will hear the generator explode and know exactly where to go. Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage ensures you can find survivors regularly, while Hex: No One Escapes Death ensures you can land those insta-down kills even in the end-game.

PotatoLegion Best Onryo Build

YouTuber and streamer PotatoLegion put together a well-rounded Onryo build that will allow you to take down survivors effortlessly using Devour Hope and Make Your Choice, helping you avoid relying on your Stare but still get insta-downs. This build turns The Onryo into a powerhouse for those who understand the fundamentals of her ability.

• Make Your Choice (The Pig)
• Hex: Devour Hope (The Hag)
• BBQ & Chili (The Cannibal)
• Save The Best For Last (The Shape)

Hex: Devour Hope and Make Your Choice ensure you can insta-down survivors, making it easier for The Onryo to end chases. BBQ & Chili allows her to find survivors after hooking one, and Save The Best For Last ensures she can miss without being punished. Overall, this build covers up most of The Onryo's weaknesses and helps her be more aggressive.

What Are The Best Perks For The Onryo?

Those are all the best builds for The Onryo, 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 Onryo:

• Hex: Devour Hope (The Hag)
• Jolt
• Sloppy Butcher
• Call of Brine (The Onryo)
• Eruption (The Nemesis)
• Distressing

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.