Quick answer: Survivors share the same base speed and health, so this DBD Survivor tier list ranks the three teachable perks each one unlocks. On Patch 10.2.2a only Meg Thomas (Sprint Burst, Adrenaline) and Zarina Kassir (Off the Record) stay in S tier. Kate Denson drops to B after the Windows of Opportunity rework. BHVR's roster lists 53 Survivors, and Laurie Strode is unranked because she has left the store.
This list applies to Patch 10.2.2a, published 29 October 2026, on top of the 10.2.0 Mid-Chapter update that went live on 6 October 2026. We are in Chapter 46: Chorus of Sin. Tiers are timesaver.gg editorial opinion, but the numbers come from BHVR's own notes: 10.2.0 for the perk pass and 10.1.0 for Sprint Burst and Adrenaline. Verified 30 October 2026.
Why is a DBD Survivor tier list really a perk tier list?
The Survivor you pick doesn't change your base movement speed or health states. Silhouette and character audio matter a little, and that's about it. What really differs is the three unique perks each one owns. Prestige 1, 2 and 3 unlock a character's perks at Tier I, II and III for every other Survivor on your account.
So the real question is: whose three teachables do you want on the rest of your roster? That's what this list ranks. For the perks on their own terms, use our best Survivor perks tier list. The DBD Killer tier list covers the other side of the hook.
We applied one rule across the roster, using the placements in that perk list:
- S tier: owns at least one S-tier perk.
- A tier: owns at least one A-tier perk.
- B tier: owns a B-tier perk, or has a kit that is still a solid pick.
- C tier: nothing you need early.
The most important result is what sits outside this list. Two of the five S-tier perks need no teacher at all. Will to Live and Kindred are General Perks, and so are Dark Sense, Deja Vu, Resilience and We'll Make It from A tier. You get all of them without prestiging a single character.
What is the DBD Survivor tier list for Patch 10.2.2a?
| Tier | Survivors |
|---|---|
| S | Meg Thomas, Zarina Kassir |
| A | Dwight Fairfield, Rebecca Chambers, Bill Overbeck, Feng Min, Renato Lyra, Gabriel Soma |
| B | Kate Denson, Jeff Johansen, Mikaela Reid, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Adam Francis, Sable Ward, Kwon Tae-young, Quentin Smith, Thalita Lyra, Jill Valentine, Jonah Vasquez, Cheryl Mason, Jane Romero, Yoichi Asakawa, Lara Croft, Aurora Stardotter, Alan Wake, Orela Rose, Nea Karlsson, Nancy Wheeler, Élodie Rakoto, Yui Kimura, Leon S. Kennedy, Vittorio Toscano, Ellen Ripley, Nicolas Cage, Steve Harrington, Shane Wiigwaas, Rick Grimes, Michonne |
| C | David King, Taurie Cain, Ace Visconti, Felix Richter, Ada Wong, Haddie Kaur, Yun-Jin Lee, Ash Williams, David Tapp, Trevor Belmont, Aestri Yazar and Baermar Uraz, Vee Boonyasak, Dustin Henderson, Eleven |
| Unranked | Laurie Strode (off the store, owners keep her) |
S tier: who should you prestige first?
Meg Thomas teaches two of the five best Survivor perks in the game. Sprint Burst gives +50% Haste for 2 seconds when you start running, with 60/50/40 seconds of Exhausted. Adrenaline heals one Health State and gives +50% Haste for 4 seconds when the Exit Gates are powered, and it works while you are already Exhausted. Both durations changed in Patch 10.1.0, and older guides still print 3 seconds for both.
Zarina Kassir owns Off the Record, which runs for 30/35/40 seconds after you are unhooked. It blocks your aura, removes your Grunts of Pain while injured, suppresses Scratch Marks and grants Endurance until a Conspicuous Action cancels it. With Will to Live, it is the full anti-tunnel answer. Some wiki pages still show 60/70/80 seconds with no Endurance. That describes a 9.3.0 PTB change BHVR reverted before launch.
Prestige Meg first, then Zarina. Meg comes with the base game, so she costs you Bloodpoints only. Those two cover what most new accounts need from teachables.
A tier: who should you unlock next?
| Survivor | Unique perks | Why A tier |
|---|---|---|
| Dwight Fairfield | Prove Thyself, Bond, Leader | Prove Thyself gives +6/8/10% Repair speed per nearby Survivor, capped at 18/24/30%. Bond was the No. 3 Survivor perk in Japan. |
| Rebecca Chambers | Reassurance, Hyperfocus, Better Than New | Better Than New jumped to 40/45/50% from 12/14/16%. Reassurance pauses the Sacrifice Process for 20/25/30 seconds. |
| Bill Overbeck | Unbreakable, Borrowed Time, Left Behind | Unbreakable gives +25/30/35% recovery and one self-recovery per Trial. BHVR reverted the Borrowed Time rework before launch. |
| Feng Min | Lithe, Alert, Technician | Lithe gives +50% Haste for 3 seconds after a Rushed Vault, and it was the No. 2 Survivor perk outside Japan in BHVR's latest data. |
| Renato Lyra | Background Player, Blood Rush, Teamwork: Collective Stealth | After the Killer picks up another Survivor, starting to run within 10 seconds gives +50% Haste for 5 seconds. It is a pickup-save tool first. |
| Gabriel Soma | Made for This, Scavenger, Troubleshooter | Made for This grants 6/8/10 seconds of Endurance when you finish healing another Survivor while injured. |
B tier: who sits in the wide middle?
Most of the roster lands here. Three former S-tier names now sit at the top of B:
- Kate Denson drops two tiers. Windows of Opportunity now shows only Windows within 24 metres, vaults them 10% faster and has a 40/35/30 second cooldown per vault.
- Jeff Johansen keeps Distortion, which is still the answer to aura reading, but that makes him a counter-pick and not a first unlock.
- Mikaela Reid keeps Boon: Circle of Healing at +50/75/100% Altruistic Healing without a Med-Kit, though the Killer can snuff the Boon Totem.
Four others moved down from A: Jake Park, Adam Francis, Sable Ward and Kwon Tae-young. Kwon's Five Moves Ahead lost Windows, but his Flow State rose to 13/14/15% per Token, so his value mostly shifted. Three moved up from C: Claudette Morel (Botany Knowledge), Quentin Smith (Vigil and a stronger Pharmacy) and Thalita Lyra (Friendly Competition now gives 10% repair speed for 80/85/90 seconds).
Also worth a note: Yoichi Asakawa's Empathic Connection live is 30/35/40%, not the 40/45/50% the PTB tested. Jane Romero's Solidarity is now 65/70/75% with no Med-Kit restriction. A perk-lookup bot was still quoting the old 50/60/70% text on r/deadbydaylight this week, so check the patch notes rather than the bot.
C tier: who can wait?
Fine characters, nothing urgent. David King and Taurie Cain are the two big fallers.
Dead Hard only activates after you are unhooked and gives 0.5 seconds of Endurance. It is still in BHVR's top 10 most used perks, but usage is not value. Shoulder the Burden now leaves you Injured and Broken for 160/140/120 seconds, instead of Exposed for 60/50/40 seconds.
David Tapp stays here because Stake Out's special Skill Checks, in BHVR's words, are "more difficult and no longer activates other Skill Check perks". Yun-Jin Lee stays too, with Self-Preservation cut to 13/14/15 seconds. Felix Richter still has fans: a thread this week came from a player tired of getting blamed for hopping in a locker with Built to Last. Check a teammate's perks before you judge them.
What changed since our September list?
Our September list was written before 10.2.0 shipped, so it had the biggest shift wrong by default. No Survivor perk value has changed since 10.2.0. Patch 10.2.1 fixed Survivor perk bugs but changed no values, 10.2.2 changed the Killer perk Dark Arrogance, and 10.2.2a only touched The Executioner and The Good Guy.
| Survivor | September | Now | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kate Denson | S | B | Windows of Opportunity rework |
| Jeff Johansen | S | B | Counter-pick, not a first unlock |
| Mikaela Reid | S | B | Boon: Circle of Healing sits in B tier on our perk list |
| David King | A | C | Dead Hard is post-unhook only |
| Taurie Cain | A | C | Shoulder the Burden penalty |
| Kwon Tae-young | A | B | Five Moves Ahead lost Windows |
| Claudette Morel | C | B | Botany Knowledge is a B-tier perk |
BHVR explained the headline change plainly in its PTB-to-live developer update: "we do believe that Windows was doing too much and overshadowing other perks." The replacement is Dark Sense, which after a Generator completes triggers when the Killer gets within 20 metres, showing Pallets and Windows within 32 metres plus every Survivor and the Killer for 13/14/15 seconds. Our Windows of Opportunity rework guide has the full comparison.
Who do players actually pick?
BHVR's DbD Day 2026 stats, published 18 October 2026, show how far popularity sits from power. Outside Japan, the most played Survivors were:
- Sable Ward, 7.6%
- Feng Min, 6.3%
- Meg Thomas, 5.9%
- Kate Denson, 5.3%
- Lara Croft, 5.2%
In Japan, Feng Min led at 7.9%. Only Meg and Feng appear in both our top two tiers and that outside-Japan top five. Sable and Lara rank high there despite B-tier teachables. BHVR doesn't say why, but our read is that character appeal drives those picks more than perk value. The average Survivor escape rate outside Japan was 40.0% for the year to 31 July 2026, and solo players escaped 40.1% of the time. Full numbers are in our DBD kill rates and pick rates breakdown.
Can you still buy Laurie Strode?
No. BHVR retracted the HALLOWEEN Chapter on 19 January 2026, when it stopped being available to unlock. Patch 9.4.0, live 27 January 2026, recorded the change: "The Shape, Laurie Strode and their respective outfits are no longer available in the store. These characters will remain playable for players who already had them unlocked."
You don't need her. Her perks were split: owners keep the old names, and everyone else got General Perks under new ones.
| Laurie's perk | General Perk name |
|---|---|
| Decisive Strike | Will to Live |
| Object of Obsession | Bound by Obsession |
| Sole Survivor | Down to the Last |
Will to Live is one of the five best Survivor perks in the game and it costs you nothing. 10.2.1 also fixed it failing when the Killer was in the falling state. Any list placing Laurie in S tier for Decisive Strike is describing a store page that closed in January.
How many Survivors are in Dead by Daylight?
BHVR's character roster lists 53 Survivors as of 30 October 2026. Add Laurie for accounts that own her, and that's 54 playable on those accounts. Our September list said 54 for everyone, which was wrong. BHVR's internal S54 asset name for Aurora is a sequence number, not a roster count.
The six newest are the ones most lists miss. Orela Rose, Rick Grimes and Michonne came just before them in 2025.
| Survivor | Patch | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Vee Boonyasak | 9.2.0 Sinister Grace | 23 September 2025 |
| Dustin Henderson | 9.4.0 | 27 January 2026 |
| Eleven | 9.4.0 | 27 January 2026 |
| Kwon Tae-young | 9.5.0 All-Kill: Comeback | 17 March 2026 |
| Shane Wiigwaas | 10.0.1 | 25 June 2026 |
| Aurora Stardotter | 10.1.0 Chorus of Sin | 25 August 2026 |
Where will Sienna Shaw rank?
Sienna Shaw is the Survivor in the Terrifier Chapter. Her perks are in the 10.3.0 PTB notes, and our PTB guide covers access. The DLC is listed on Steam for 24 November 2026. We won't rank her until her live values are out, but the PTB perks are Valkyrie's Rage (Pallet stuns 75% longer after a chase of 40/35/30 seconds), Shared Trauma and Best Gift Ever. Our Art the Clown guide has the full Chapter.
The same PTB touches this list. Dark Sense gets Tokens, up to 5, so it no longer depends on a Generator completing at the right moment. Calm Spirit rises to 23/24/25% from 8/9/10%, which helps Jake. These are PTB numbers and can change before release.
What are all the Survivors, perks and tiers?
| Survivor | Unique perks | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Meg Thomas | Sprint Burst, Adrenaline, Quick & Quiet | S |
| Zarina Kassir | Off the Record, For the People, Red Herring | S |
| Dwight Fairfield | Prove Thyself, Bond, Leader | A |
| Rebecca Chambers | Reassurance, Hyperfocus, Better Than New | A |
| Bill Overbeck | Unbreakable, Borrowed Time, Left Behind | A |
| Feng Min | Lithe, Alert, Technician | A |
| Renato Lyra | Background Player, Blood Rush, Teamwork: Collective Stealth | A |
| Gabriel Soma | Made for This, Scavenger, Troubleshooter | A |
| Kate Denson | Windows of Opportunity, Dance With Me, Boil Over | B |
| Jeff Johansen | Distortion, Aftercare, Breakdown | B |
| Mikaela Reid | Boon: Circle of Healing, Boon: Shadow Step, Clairvoyance | B |
| Claudette Morel | Self-Care, Botany Knowledge, Empathy | B |
| Jake Park | Iron Will, Calm Spirit, Saboteur | B |
| Adam Francis | Deliverance, Autodidact, Diversion | B |
| Sable Ward | Invocation: Weaving Spiders, Strength in Shadows, Wicked | B |
| Kwon Tae-young | Flow State, A Place For Us, Five Moves Ahead | B |
| Quentin Smith | Wake Up!, Vigil, Pharmacy | B |
| Thalita Lyra | Cut Loose, Friendly Competition, Teamwork: Power of Two | B |
| Jill Valentine | Blast Mine, Counterforce, Resurgence | B |
| Jonah Vasquez | Overcome, Corrective Action, Boon: Exponential | B |
| Cheryl Mason | Soul Guard, Repressed Alliance, Blood Pact | B |
| Jane Romero | Head On, Solidarity, Poised | B |
| Yoichi Asakawa | Empathic Connection, Boon: Dark Theory, Parental Guidance | B |
| Lara Croft | Finesse, Hardened, Specialist | B |
| Aurora Stardotter | Fruits of your Labor, Salvation's Cry, Boon: Steadfast | B |
| Alan Wake | Champion of Light, Deadline, Boon: Illumination | B |
| Orela Rose | Do No Harm, Duty of Care, Rapid Response | B |
| Nea Karlsson | Balanced Landing, Urban Evasion, Streetwise | B |
| Nancy Wheeler | Inner Strength, Fixated, Better Together | B |
| Élodie Rakoto | Power Struggle, Deception, Appraisal | B |
| Yui Kimura | Any Means Necessary, Breakout, Lucky Break | B |
| Leon S. Kennedy | Flashbang, Bite the Bullet, Rookie Spirit | B |
| Vittorio Toscano | Potential Energy, Fogwise, Quick Gambit | B |
| Ellen Ripley | Chemical Trap, Light-Footed, Lucky Star | B |
| Nicolas Cage | Dramaturgy, Plot Twist, Scene Partner | B |
| Steve Harrington | Babysitter, Camaraderie, Second Wind | B |
| Shane Wiigwaas | Wide Open Throttle, Lend a Hand, Cross-Examination | B |
| Rick Grimes | Apocalyptic Ingenuity, Come and Get Me!, Teamwork: Toughen Up | B |
| Michonne | Conviction, Last Stand, Teamwork: Throw Down | B |
| David King | Dead Hard, No Mither, We're Gonna Live Forever | C |
| Taurie Cain | Shoulder the Burden, Clean Break, Invocation: Treacherous Crows | C |
| Ace Visconti | Open-Handed, Ace in the Hole, Up the Ante | C |
| Felix Richter | Visionary, Built to Last, Desperate Measures | C |
| Ada Wong | Low Profile, Reactive Healing, Wiretap | C |
| Haddie Kaur | Inner Focus, Overzealous, Residual Manifest | C |
| Yun-Jin Lee | Smash Hit, Fast Track, Self-Preservation | C |
| Ash Williams | Mettle of Man, Flip-Flop, Buckle Up | C |
| David Tapp | Detective's Hunch, Stake Out, Tenacity | C |
| Trevor Belmont | Exultation, Eyes of Belmont, Moment of Glory | C |
| Aestri Yazar and Baermar Uraz | Bardic Inspiration, Mirrored Illusion, Still Sight | C |
| Vee Boonyasak | Road Life, One-Two-Three-Four!, Ghost Notes | C |
| Dustin Henderson | Bada Bada Boom, Change of Plan, Teamwork: Full Circuit | C |
| Eleven | Extrasensory Perception, We See You, Teamwork: Soft-Spoken | C |
| Laurie Strode | Decisive Strike, Object of Obsession, Sole Survivor | Unranked |
FAQ
Who is the best Survivor in DBD right now? Meg Thomas on Patch 10.2.2a. She teaches Sprint Burst and Adrenaline, two of the five best Survivor perks. Zarina Kassir is second for Off the Record.
Who should I prestige first in 2026? Meg, then Zarina. After that, pick from A tier based on how you play: Dwight for Generators, Rebecca or Bill for saves, Feng for chases, Renato for pickup saves.
Is Kate Denson still worth unlocking? Not first. Windows of Opportunity now shows only Windows within 24 metres and has a cooldown per vault. Dark Sense, a General Perk, took over Pallet and Window auras within 32 metres, though only under its own trigger.
Does the Survivor you pick change anything? Not your base stats. Base movement speed and health states are shared. The real differences are the three unique perks, plus smaller factors like silhouette and character audio.
How do I get another Survivor's perks? Prestige them. Prestige 1, 2 and 3 grant that character's unique perks at Tier I, II and III to your other Survivors. General Perks need no prestige.
How many Survivors are in Dead by Daylight? 53 on BHVR's character roster as of 30 October 2026, plus Laurie Strode for accounts that already own her. Sienna Shaw is due with the Terrifier Chapter, listed on Steam for 24 November 2026.
Is Sable Ward the best Survivor because everyone plays her? No. She was the most played Survivor outside Japan at 7.6%, but Wicked is a B-tier perk. Popularity is not the same as teachable value.
Where to go next
Prestiging your way through the roster? These are the Dead by Daylight guides worth reading before you spend the Bloodpoints.
- Best Survivor perks in DBD 2026: full tier list
- DBD Builds 2026: best Killer and Survivor builds
- DBD Killer tier list: all 44 Killers ranked
- DBD codes: every working reward
Sources: Behaviour Interactive patch notes for 9.2.0, 9.4.0, 10.1.0, 10.2.0, 10.2.1, 10.2.2 and 10.2.2a, the 10.3.0 PTB notes, the PTB-to-live developer update, the DbD Day 2026 statistics, the HALLOWEEN departure notice and the official character roster. Tier placements are timesaver.gg editorial opinion.
