Dead by Daylight Stats Show Freddy Is the Best Killer After His Rework

In the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, kids would sing “1, 2, Freddy’s coming for you.” It appears Survivor mains in Dead by Daylight are now saying the same thing. Developer Behaviour Interactive has released new data from January 1st through March 31st, offering a closer look at stats for the game’s killers. One of the charts revealed that The Nightmare (better known as Freddy Krueger) was officially the deadliest killer during that span, with a kill rate of 69% in both the “MMR 500 and Above” and “MMR 1,800 and Above” categories.

Behaviour Interactive is crediting Freddy’s newfound deadliness to a rework earlier this year. The developers had identified low pick rates for the killer, and wanted to improve his viability. These stats seem to indicate that this was a success, given Freddy’s chart-topping dominance. While deadliness has clearly improved, pick rates aren’t quite as high. Freddy failed to place in the top for “MMR 500 and Above,” but he did manage to rank third with players at “MMR 1,800 and Above.” As a whole, the game had an average kill rate of 60% across all MMR, with that number slightly increasing to 63% for just the higher-skilled players.

Considering the popularity of Freddy Krueger with the general public, it’s nice to see the horror icon become a more viable Killer in Dead by Daylight. In the pantheon of horror movie villains, Freddy generally ranks near the top, thanks to his evil sense of humor, and clever kills. This is a character that has been beloved by horror fans for more than 4 decades, and it was important to make sure the Killer wasn’t just a chump. It will be interesting to see if these improved stats convince more Killer mains to give him a second chance, if they haven’t already.

Behaviour Interactive likes to share these stats every 3 months, and the developer is already teasing that we’ll be seeing the next set of data in July. Those stats should be interesting to see, as they’ll include the recently released The Ghoul (Ken Kaneki). Upon the Killer’s release, players were clearly frustrated, with many declaring The Ghoul to be overpowered. The latest update for Dead by Daylight seemed to drastically nerf The Ghoul’s abilities, making him more tolerable to play against. By the time July rolls around, we should have a much clearer picture of how things have turned out, and whether the nerfs actually go far enough for players.

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It’s great to see Behaviour Interactive not only tweaking Dead by Daylight based on the overall data and player records, but also sharing all of this with the public. The transparency is more than welcome, as it gives everyone a better idea why these decisions are being made. Not every developer is that candid, but it’s certainly beneficial to the game’s community.

Are you happy to see Freddy Krueger become more viable in the game? Have these changes encouraged you to use the Killer more? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!