Welcome back to the Fog, where Dead by Daylight has introduced a very special guest as part of its 10th anniversary. Enter Jason, the Slasher, a powerful new Killer with wild mobility, ranged attacks, and info gathering.
I will be going over how he works and a few builds that really make him excel, both with current powerful perks and his own tools. Now let’s take a step into the Entity’s Realm and see just how the King of Slashers does when it’s time to step up to the plate.
How Does Jason Play in Dead by Daylight?
Jason, also known as the Slasher, has two abilities packed into his Power. This Power, Omniscient Evil, allows Jason to fade into mist, filling the map with a thick fog and allowing him to move rapidly.
Between this mobility, his follow-up teleports, and his throwable spikes, Jason can apply constant pressure across the map. While Jason can’t actually see Survivors while in Omniscient Evil, he can see their footsteps, and blood red smoke should they idle. The Survivors won’t be able to avoid him for long, thanks largely to his two abilities.
Omniscient Evil Ability – Jump Scare
While moving through the mist, Jason can only reappear by selecting a Window, Breakable Wall, or Pallet to Jump Scare from. While Jump Scaring, Jason will either vault or destroy the interactable he targets before granting himself Haste and marking all nearby Survivors with Killer Instinct.
Jump Scare gives Jason a hyper-flexible method of traversing the map, mixing up Survivors in chases, and generally keeping pressure applied to the enemy. It does has a few notable quirks, like requiring careful planning on which side he exits from.
It’s also important to note that Jason takes much longer to recover from Jump Scaring an already destroyed Pallet or Breakable Wall. This forces you to get creative, utilizing multiple methods of entry when it comes time to close in on the Survivors.
Omniscient Evil Ability – Throwing Spikes
Jason spawns into the Trial with a Throwing Spike, a ranged weapon he can ready by holding right click and toss with his basic attack button. Additional Throwing Spikes can be claimed at Hooks and Scrap Piles around the Trial, restocking whenever Jason uses Omniscient Evil.
Should Jason hit a Survivor with a Throwing Spike, they will fly backwards, losing a health state and becoming Impaled. Impaled Survivors can’t heal until they remove the Spike, and Jason can see the Spike’s aura through the terrain.
If a Survivor is already injured and is struck by the Throwing Spike, they can be knocked into a wall and trapped against it. From there, Jason can pick the Survivor up as if they were downed. If a survivor is Impaled and on their Death Hook, Jason can kill them directly.
These Throwing Spikes have incredibly forward velocity, really selling Jason’s monstrous strength. With minimal drop, you’ll need to aim longways and try to funnel Survivors into corridors where they won’t have the chance to dodge.
Also note that claiming a Throwing Spike from a Hook will temporarily destroy the hook, forcing you to use another if you manage to down a Survivor.
Best Jason Builds
Now that we know how Jason’s power works, let’s take a look at a few builds I found to be extremely effective. Jason is super flexible, so he can abuse plenty of powerful Perks to keep even experienced Survivors guessing.
Best Jason Build # 1: Unstoppable Force – Anti Pallet Chase
Our first build is a fun one, utilizing one of Jason’s unique Perks to really lean into the power fantasy of being an unstoppable force of nature. You’ll take a hit or two, sure, but they’ll regret poking the bear. You just have to show them.
| Perk | Description | What Makes the Perk A Must-Have |
| Rampage | Gain a token whenever you basic-break a Pallet or Breakable Wall. Whenever you’re blinded from any source or Pallet-stunned, for the next 13 seconds, you gain 1% Haste for every token on Rampage, up to 13. (Get it?) | Huge bursts of move speed whenever you’re pallet stunned allow you to sprint down Survivors who won’t be expecting it. |
| Hex: Ruin | A Hex Totem is ignited at the start of the Trial. All Generators that aren’t being worked on constantly regress. | Constant passive regression force Survivors to look for the Totem, wasting time, or risk losing any progress they’ve gained when you force them running. |
| Brutal Strength | Basic-break Pallet, Breakable Walls, and kick Generators 20% faster. | Punch through pallets faster, gain tokens for Rampage faster, and stop them from properly running. |
| Enduring | When not carrying a Survivor, Pallets stun you half as long. | Minimize the negative effects of proccing Rampage to catch up even faster. |
What Makes Unstoppable Force So OP?
Whenever you’re blinded from any source of Pallet-stunned, for the next 13 seconds, you gain 1% Haste for every token on Rampage. While getting Pallet-stunned and blinded sounds less than helpful, our other Perks minimize the punishment while making the most of this benefit.
Ruin is a great source of general slowdown, and keeping Survivors on the run will give them no time to hunt down the Totem and cleanse it. Of course, sometimes you get a bad spawn, but those games happen.
Brutal Strength greatly speeds up the Rampage stacking process, allowing you to blitz through the slow part of your game plan.
Enduring makes it FAR less punishing to take Pallet stuns, allowing you to bait Survivors into getting run down with higher Rampage stacks.
The gameplan here is to force Survivors to drop as many Pallets as possible, chasing them down and taking the time to pop each as they come. Once you’ve stacked even half of Rampage’s max, you can bait stuns and chase the fools who tried you down.
Hubris from the Knight is another fun alternate Perk if you’re willing to swap out Ruin, but no Generator regression is a hard ask in the current state of Dead by Daylight.
Best Jason Build #2: Smothering Darkness – Anti Heal Scouting
Healing is a major headache for Killers in Dead by Daylight, and if you’ve had enough of Survivors shrugging off your damage, this build is all about stopping them. Jason innately slows healing thanks to the Impaled status effect, and he can abuse certain perks beautifully.
| Perk | Description | What Makes the Perk A Must-Have |
| A Nurse’s Calling | You see the auras of Survivors healing within 32 meters of you, even through terrain. | Getting eyes on anyone who tries to recover from the damage you deal allows you to set up for Jump Scares, long-range Spikes, and careful positioning. |
| Coulrophobia | Healing within your terror radius is slowed by 50% | Slow their healing even further, force them to waste more time, gather more time to plan and execute your ambushes. |
| Scourge Hook: Weeping Wounds | 4 Hooks become Scourge Hooks. When a Survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, they gain Hemorrhage and Mangled for 90 seconds. Once healed, they heal and repair 16% slower. | Slow down Survivors from reaching full strength, and punish them for doing so with further slowdown. They either have to stay injured or work slower as you hunt them down. |
| Eruption | Generators you kick are marked. When you down a Survivor, all marked Generators explode and begin to regress. | Very effective slowdown that allows you to kick progressed Generators and move on, promising further slowdown later when you catch Survivors unawares. |
What Makes Smothering Darkness So OP?
With A Nurse’s calling, you’ll be able to easily punish anyone trying to heal nearby. This is already good for closing the distance, but with the range of Jason’s Throwing Spikes, you can nail people from ridiculous spots. With our other slowdown Perks, you’ll have plenty of time to cut them down.
With their heal rate reduced by half thanks to Coulrophobia, you’ll have plenty of time to line up the perfect attack and keep the pressure on.
With Hemorrhage, Survivors will bleed more, making them easier to track, and lose healing progress if interrupted. This forces Survivors to take even more time to heal themselves up, and if they manage to, they’ll repair Generators slower, working as a great general slowdown.
Our final Perk is really up to you; any Generator slowdown works, but I really enjoy Eruption from the Nemesis. With Eruption, any Generator you kick will explode for extra regression when you force a Survivor into the dying state.
This includes a normal swing, your Throwing Spikes, or any other method. More slowdown is always welcome, and your goal with this build is to bleed the Survivors dry over a real endurance round.
Best Jason Build #3: Drag Them Down – Gen Stall
Now for the really strong stuff. Survivors have plenty of ways to play, but at the end of the day, their goal boils down to one thing: finishing Generators. As such, many of the strongest tools on offer to Killers are focused on slowing them down as much as possible.
This build centers on just that, stopping Generator progress whenever possible, and further regressing them when available. It’s simple to pilot, effective, and gives even more info than expected if you know what to look for. Let’s take a look!
| Perk | Description | What Makes the Perk A Must-Have |
| Dead Man’s Switch | When a Survivor is Hooked, the first time a Survivor stops repairing a Generator, the Generator is blocked for 35 seconds. | Every Hook will lead to over half a minute of blockage once a Survivor comes to help. A very convenient form of stalling that punishes altruistic Survivors who think they’re ready for you. |
| Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance | 4 Hooks become Scourge Hooks. The first time each Survivor is hooked on a Scourge Hook. spend one of four tokens. The Generator with the most progress loses 20% of its progress, regresses, and anyone repairing it screams. | Some of the most effective targeted regression in the game, Pain Resonance will slow down progress and give you info on which Generator is under threat if someone is working on it. Keep the pressure up to keep it regressing. |
| Scourge Hook: Weeping Wounds | 4 Hooks become Scourge Hooks. When a Survivor is unhooked from a Scourge Hook, they gain Hemorrhage and Mangled for 90 seconds. Once healed, they heal and repair 16% slower. | Slow down Survivors from reaching full strength, and punish them for doing so with further slowdown. They either have to stay injured or work slower as you hunt them down. |
| Thrilling Tremors | When you pick up a Survivor, all Generators not being worked on are blocked for 16 seconds. | Not only does this stop Generators from being worked on for a time, but you can also use it to figure out which is being worked on by looking for the unblocked Generator. |
What Makes Drag Them Down So OP?
Fun fact: while only 4 Scourge Hooks can be active, they’ll gain all the effects of your stacked Scourge Hook Perks. The combo of Pain Resonance and Weeping Wounds will slow Generators, slow healing, and force Survivors to make a tough choice.
Do they stay wounded to keep up their speed, leaving them a single hit away from a down, or heal up and slow down their progress even further? It’s a choice with no right answer, exactly where you want to be.
Our other Perks stop Survivors from interacting with Generators in any way and allow you to see exactly where Survivors are stacking their efforts. More time to win tough chases, tear through resources, and push them further and further until you reach a 4K.
This build doesn’t ask you to play anything other than standard Dead by Daylight. Focus on weak Survivors, run them down, and keep an eye out for whatever generators aren’t immediately blocked when you pick Survivors up. Rinse and repeat.
