Dead by Daylight: 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.
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 November 8, 2025, by Mark Sammut: The Ghost Face is and will always be among Dead by Daylight's most popular Killers, primarily due to Scream's eternal relevance. Outside that context, Danny has plenty of positives, but also many negatives that make him among the hardest Killers to use effectively. This article seeks to lessen some of the frustration associated with this character
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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​​​​​.
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?
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 in practice. 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.