Best Builds for The Ghost Face

Dead by Daylight has welcomed dozens of icons from horror history, covering movies, TV shows, and games. From Stranger Things‘ The Demogorgon to Resident Evil‘s Nemesis and The Ring‘s Sadako, a few of the all-time greatest and most powerful villains are currently available as part of the game, and most of them are pretty incredible (and somewhat difficult to master).

Then, there is The Ghost Face, aka Danny Johnson. Hailing from Scream, the killer is an ordinary human in the movie, albeit one who has a twisted sense of humor and a taste for blood. In theory, the DBD version should not be all that amazing, but this Killer certainly has his fans and is quite popular. Admittedly, you will need to spend some time with The Ghost Face to grow accustomed to his strengths and weaknesses, but he is worth the investment.

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If this is your first time playing as Danny, you will need to prepare for his non-existent anti-loop game, and the best way to do so is to pick complementary perks that help cover up his blind spots. This article goes through a few of the best Ghost Face builds, hopefully to set you on the right path. We have a beginner build guide, along with one for more veteran players with higher prestige levels.

Updated on January 2, 2026, by Mark Sammut: Welcome to the new year! Dead by Daylight is not going anywhere anytime soon, and Ghost Face will likely continue to be fairly popular. However, is Danny a great Killer in 2026? Is he worth playing at all?

The Ghost Face: Best Beginner Build (2025)

Getting Into The Chase

Without a great range of powerful base perks, The Ghost Face can be a little intimidating for newer players. Luckily, The Ghost Face comes with useful information perks like Thrilling Tremors, which allows him to see progressed generators from afar, and I’m All Ears, which is an excellent chase perk. This build concentrates on pressuring these generators and chasing Survivors from them while slowing down their healing speeds.

• Thrilling Tremors (The Ghost Face) – After picking up a Survivor, all generators not being repaired by Survivors are blocked by the Entity for a certain period. This effect has a cooldown.
• I’m All Ears (The Ghost Face) – Every 40 seconds, when a Survivor fast vaults within the killer’s vicinity, you see their aura for a brief period.
• Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment, and the killer gains the Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
• Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.

The Ghost Face: Best Build (2025)

Making Up For Danny’s Weaknesses

The Ghost Face doesn’t have the best mobility to close the distance on Survivors quickly. He also lacks any innate slowdown in his kit, which makes aura-reading and generator regression perks a must in his best builds.

Opting for Lethal Pursuer to quickly find a few Survivors that can be marked to 99% is ideal. While Nowhere To Hide and Pop Goes The Weasel synergize better with high mobility killers, the Ghost Face greatly benefits from the aura-reading the former provides, which will be further buffed by Lethal Pursuer. Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance is a safe and reliable option for the final perk slot to have consistent pressure on the map.

• Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis) – At the start of the trial, the 3 generators furthest from the killer’s starting location are blocked for an extended duration or until the first survivor is downed.
• Nowhere To Hide (The Knight) – Kicking a generator reveals the auras of survivors nearby that generator for a brief period
• Pop Goes The Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a survivor, kicking a generator regresses it massively.
• Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose massive progress.

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The Ghost Face: Best Add-Ons

For players looking to strengthen The Ghost Face’s Night Shroud power, various add-ons can help. Enhancing different aspects of his abilities, this Best Add-Ons section details the strongest Add-Ons to use on The Ghost Face — in order of rarity on the Bloodweb.

“Philly”

Despite being a Common Add-On, “Philly” is among The Ghost Face’s most consistently impactful. This Night Shroud Add-On reduces the time it takes to Mark a Survivor by 10%, meaning you can more quickly Expose Survivors as you stalk them, wasting less time and making you less likely to be Revealed in the act.

Walleye’s Matchbook

An uncomplicated Ghost Face Add-On, the Walleye’s Matchbook, reduces the recovery cooldown on Night Shroud by 3 seconds, allowing you to reenter your power a little sooner after it ends. The default Night Shroud cooldown lasts 17 seconds.

Olsen’s Address Book

Olsen’s Address Book is a pretty decent Uncommon rarity add-on considering the effect it provides. A full five seconds of wall hacks when chasing a Marked Survivor can be a game-changer in getting downs and maintaining the tempo of the game. It also synergizes very well with Lethal Pursuer, which is part of the Ghost Face’s best build.

Olsen’s Wallet

To get back into Night Shroud faster, Olsen’s Wallet may be more appealing than Walleye’s Matchbook. This Rare Add-On immediately recharges The Ghost Face’s power upon breaking a pallet or wall, giving you more opportunities to Mark Survivors mid-chase.

Drop-Leg Knife Sheath

Another one of The Ghost Face’s most powerful Add-Ons, the Drop-Leg Knife Sheath gives the Killer a 10% Haste effect for 5 seconds after Marking a Survivor. Complimenting perks like The Shape’s Play with Your Food, this add-on gives Survivors less time to react before you can land a hit.

Driver’s License

When generators are getting finished too fast, The Ghost Face’s Driver’s License explodes generators being worked on by Survivors who are being marked and blocks them for 15 seconds. This tremendous buff forcefully slows down the game, and it works well with other regression perks like Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance and Pop Goes The Weasel.

Outdoor Security Camera

If finding Survivors isn’t your specialty, the Outdoor Security Camera can help supplement these skills by revealing all Survivors’ auras for 7 seconds after you down a Marked Survivor. This ability allows you to better assess what generators are being worked on and where you need to apply pressure. It also helps avoid flashlights and pallet saves from nearby Survivors, and it can assist in snowballing the game in your favor.

“Ghost Face Caught On Tape”

Ghost Face is one of the few killers in Dead By Daylight that has two reliable Iridescent add-ons. “Ghost Face Caught on Tape” is easily his best add-on, as it constantly allows him to be in Night Shroud if he can get a couple of early downs on Survivors. The tempo and snowball potential this add-on brings to the table are unmatched and can quickly secure a scenario where victory is inevitable.

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How To Unlock Daniel Johnson/The Ghost Face In Dead By Daylight

As is the case with all Dead by Daylight‘s licensed characters, Ghost Face is not readily available as one of the free characters in any version of the game. Therefore, if you want to play as Danny, you will need to spend extra money to unlock them. Now, compared to other DLC packages, Chapter 12: Ghost Face is a bit different, as the package does not include a Survivor. To date, only this chapter and Chapter 30: Chucky have launched with just a Killer, and the price reflects that.

So, how do you unlock Ghost Face? Well, you just have to purchase Chapter 12, which costs 500 Auric Cells (or $4.99) on both PC and consoles. As a licensed character, he cannot be unlocked using Iridescent Shards, nor is he part of any bundle. Ghost Face is also not included in Dead by Daylight: Gold Edition​​​​​.

Is The Ghost Face A Good Dead By Daylight Killer For Beginners?

Dead by Daylight has so many Killers at this point that any (relative) newcomers looking to pick their first will be frankly spoiled for choice. On paper, too many options should be a great thing, as it ensures there will be somebody to suit everyone’s fancy. However, unless you are just looking to purchase the majority of the roster, most beginners will likely either stick to free characters or settle for a handful of DLC Killers. Should Danny be one of your first purchases if you are trying to get into Dead by Daylight?

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Honestly, every Killer is technically viable for newcomers. Sure, you will need to spend way more time mastering complex Killers like The Nurse or The Hillbilly than beginner-friendly characters like The Wraith or Albert Wesker, but the journey can be a lot more fun if you jump headfirst into the former. The pay-off is also great in both of those cases, particularly The Nurse. The Ghost Face is a bit of a strange case, as he is a relatively straightforward Killer who relies on stealth and uses his standard melee strike to deal damage. His fundamentals and builds do not sound all that complex in theory, but he is surprisingly difficult to use effectively. He is not a great chaser, as his core method revolves around stalking Survivors. This type of gameplay generally requires players to be fairly familiar with not only a map’s layout, but also traditional Survivor builds so that they can accurately predict their actions. Consequently, Danny is not great for beginners, even though he is a relatively simple Killer.

Is The Ghost Face A Good Killer To Main In 2026? Are There Better Options?

Going by Nightlight.gg’s Killer stats, Danny ranks as the 8th most popular character in the game, at least if we are focusing solely on pick rate. Part of that has to do with the fact that he has been around since 2019, so a lot of people would have bought him over the years. Scream has also managed to regain relevance in recent years, which would have helped fuel The Ghost Face sales on Dead by Daylight.

As far as stealth Killers are concerned, Danny is one of the most straightforward, and he does not really have all that many options during matches. Also, he is one of the weakest Killers in Dead by Daylight. Yeah, there is no way to get around it, but Ghost Face is not a particularly good Killer, even if he can be decent in the right hands. The Shape’s late 2025 revamp further hurt Danny, as Myers is now a far better option for players who want to go down the stealth route. While The Ghost Face’s Stealth Mode can be dangerous, Survivors only need to see him for 1.5 seconds to reveal him, making him susceptible to experienced opponents. That said, the Ghost Face can be quite good on certain maps, like Midwich and Raccoon City Police Station.

If you are looking to pick up a stealth Killer and a movie icon, the Shape is currently a better option than the Ghost Face. If you don’t want to drop any cash, The Wraith is free and a solid enough stealth option. Sadako is also superior to Ghost Face, and she is more versatile too.

Released

June 14, 2016

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language