As a stealth Killer with good movement speed, there are a large number of viable perks for Wraith. In this guide, we’ll list some of the best choices, and explain why they’re effective in general, and for Wraith specifically. Listed first are “General” perks, i.e. perks available for free without purchasing any DLC chapters or Killers. Then, we’ll list unique perks, i.e. perks that you can only get by purchasing the associated Killer, or by purchasing them from the Shrine of Secrets.
For more information on how unlocking perks works, see our Killer Loadouts guide.
Best General Perks for Wraith
In case you don’t want detailed info (and just want to know which perks to try out), here are the best general perks for Wraith in Dead by Daylight:
- Bitter Murmur
- Hex: No One Escapes Death
- Hex: Thrill of the Hunt
- Jolt
- Sloppy Butcher
- Whispers
Read on to find detailed explanations on how the perks work, and why they’re effective on Wraith!
Bitter Murmur
Each time a generator is completed, the Auras of all Survivors within 16 meters of that Generator are revealed to you for 5 seconds. Once the last generator is completed, the Auras of all Survivors are revealed to you for 5/7/10 seconds.
Anything that gives you more information about where Survivors are is super helpful, especially when you’re still learning a Killer. In addition to showing you where the Survivors go after they finish a gen, this perk lets you know how many Survivors were on that gen, letting you make a better decision about starting a chase vs applying pressure to other generators.
The 10 seconds of Aura reading it gives you when the final gen finishes can save you from losing a game badly — 10 seconds should be more than enough time to find a Survivor and start a chase, helping you get at least one more hook before the game ends. Additionally, if you are also running Hex: No One Escapes Death, you’re almost guaranteed to get a down thanks to the vision Bitter Murmur provides.
Pairs well with Hex: No One Escapes Death.
Hex: No One Escapes Death
Once the Exit Gates are powered, if there is still a Dull Totem on the map, this Hex activates and lights it. While this perk is active, your movement speed is increased by 2/3/4%, and all Survivors suffer from the 
Exposed status effect. Survivors can see the Aura of the Hex totem, starting at 4 meters away and expanding to 24 meters over the first 30 seconds the Hex is active.
Ah, NOED. If there ever was a perk to get people angry at you in the post-game chat, this is it. Since Wraith lacks the ability to one-hit-down without Perks, he can really struggle to get kills once the Exit Gates are powered — NOED fixes this problem.
Pairs well with Bitter Murmur and Hex: Thrill of the Hunt
Hex: Thrill of the Hunt
For each Totem remaining in the Trial, this perk gains 1 Token. Survivors suffer an 8/9/10% penalty to totem cleansing and blessing actions per token (to a maximum of 40/45/50%. You receive a 10% bonus to Bloodpoints gained in the Hunter category for each token, up to 50%.
Since this perk starts with 5 tokens, the initial cleansing and blessing of totems is significantly slowed (from 14 to 21 seconds). Every second counts in DBD, and given how popular Boon perks are in the current meta, Thrill of the Hunt will give you significant value. Still, you should only take this perk if you’re combining it with other Hex perks — otherwise, there are stronger choices.
Pairs well with other Hex perks.
Jolt
When you down a Survivor, all generators within 32 meters instantly explode, losing 6/7/8% repair progress, and then start regressing.
Kicking generators takes time — Jolt lets you regress nearby generators when you down a Survivor, with no need to interact with said generator(s). The 6/7/8% progress removal is an even bigger help! Of course, you have to down Survivors near generators, so this perk really shines when you’re guarding a 3-gen or otherwise sticking to generators you want to defend.
Pairs well with slowdown perks.
Sloppy Butcher
Basic attacks cause Survivors to suffer from the 
Hemorrhage and 
Mangled status effects. Additionally, the perk increases the Hemorrhage bleeding frequency by 50/75/100%, and increases the rate at which partial healing progress is lost by 15/20/25%. Both Status Effects are removed once the affected Survivor is fully healed.
Because the Wraith lacks a one-hit down, he needs to be able to apply pressure to as many Survivors as possible. Forcing Survivors to heal is one way to create pressure, and Sloppy Butcher allows you to inflict Mangled, slowing healing by 20%. As an added bonus, this perk also makes it easier to track Survivors, thanks to the increased frequency of blood pools the Hemorrhage status effect causes .
Pairs well with Nurse’s Calling.
Whispers
Whenever at least one Survivor is within 48/40/32 meters of your location, this perk activates, and you hear the sporadic whispers of the Entity.
This is the best basic tracking perk you can get (Spies from the Shadows is more precise, but less reliable). The audio cue is OK, but the real value comes from simply seeing the perk light up, letting you know there are survivors nearby. This makes patrolling much more efficient, as you can quickly determine whether a Survivor is present in the part of the map you’re in.
Pairs well with any non-tracking perks (You generally don’t want to equip more than one tracking perk).
Best Unique Perks for Wraith
Again, if all you want is a list of the best perks to take, here are the best unique perks for Wraith in Dead by Daylight:
- A Nurse’s Calling (Nurse)
- Bamboozle (Clown)
- Call of Brine (Onryo)
- Corrupt Intervention (Plague)
- Discordance (Legion)
- Eruption (Nemesis)
- Hex: Devour Hope (Hag)
- Make Your Choice (Pig)
- Save The Best For Last (Shape)
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (Artist)
- Thanataphobia (Nurse)
The name in parentheses is the Killer you need to unlock the perk on to make it available to all characters. Read on to find detailed explanations on how the perks work, and why they’re effective on Wraith!
A Nurse’s Calling (Nurse)
The Auras of Survivors who are healing or being healed are revealed to you within 20/24/28 meters.
Wraith struggles to get Survivors into the 
Dying State, due to his aforementioned lack of a one-hit down (sans perks). With A Nurse’s Calling, you can move around the map, injuring multiple Survivors, and then find them a short time later with this perk. Using this perk plays into Wraith’s strengths — his stealth and speed — letting you surprise Survivors while they’re healing (and hopefully downing them).
This perk is best utilized in a build that focuses on applying pressure to multiple Survivors.
Pairs well with Sloppy Butcher.
Bamboozle (Clown)
After vaulting a window, the Entity will block that window for 8/12/16 seconds, making it impossible for Survivors to vault. Additionally, your Vaulting speed is increased by 5/10/15%. Can only affect one window at a time — does not work on Pallet vaults.
As a “mouse 1” Killer that relies on basic attacks to injure Survivors, Wraith needs to be able to end chases as quickly as possible. Being able to block a window with Bamboozle can make it possible to catch Survivors at strong loops like the Killer Shack, where Wraith would otherwise struggle. Since Wraith can vault while cloaked, you can also block a nearby window, then reveal yourself and chase a Survivor towards it for an easier second hit.
This perk is best utilized in a build that focuses on committing to chases.
Pairs well with Save The Best For Last and Corrupt Intervention, or Perks/Add-ons that also increase vault speed, like Fire Up, Superior Anatomy, and the “Shadow Dance” add-ons.
Call of Brine (Onryo)
After damaging a generator (by kicking it), Call of Brine activates for 60 seconds on that gen. The damaged generator regresses at 150/175/200% of normal regression speed, and its Aura is revealed to you. Each time a Survivor succeeds at a Good Skill Check on a generator affected by Call of Brine, you receive a loud noise notification.
This is one of those Perks that’s basically good on every Killer, and Wraith is no exception. It lets you more effectively defend key generators, and gives you valuable information about when Survivors are working on said gen. It works on multiple gens, and since Wraith can move around the map quickly (and kick gens without decloaking) it’s easy to apply Call of Brine to multiple generators — even easier if you bring one of the “Shadow Dance” add-ons that significantly increases the speed at which you kick gens.
Pairs well with perks that activate upon kicking generators, such as Eruption and Nowhere to Hide. Also pairs well with the Wraith Add-ons “Shadow Dance” – White and “Shadow Dance” – Blood.
Corrupt Intervention (Plague)
At the start of the trial, the 3 generators furthest from your spawn point are blocked by the Entity for 80/100/120 seconds. This perk deactivates as soon as the first Survivor is put into the Dying State.
We’ve already mentioned that Wraith doesn’t have a one-hit down — but it’s one of the defining characteristics of the Killer, so we’re gonna keep bringing it up. Once again, his inability to quickly end chases is why you’d want to pick this perk. Corrupt Intervention means there are only 4 generators available to Survivors for the first 2 minutes of the game. This allows you to commit to chases more easily, since it’s much more possible to keep track of all the generators and their current progress.
This perk is best utilized in builds that focus on committing to chases.
Pairs well with Bamboozle and Save The Best For Last.
Discordance (Legion)
Generators being repaired by 2 or more Survivors will be marked with a yellow aura, up to 64/96/128 meters. When a generator is first repaired by multiple Survivors, you will receive a Loud Noise Notification on the generator. The Aura will linger for 4 seconds after only being repaired by 1 Survivor.
Wraith’s move speed makes it easy to take advantage of the information provided by Discordance. Knowing that there are two (or more) Survivors on a generator means that you can go and apply pressure to at least two Survivors at once, which is an incredibly valuable use of your time.
Pairs well with slowdown perks like Thanataphobia, and the “Wind Storm” Add-ons.
Eruption (Nemesis)
Kicking a generator will highlight it in yellow. The next time a Survivor enters the Dying State, all generators affected by Eruption will explode — removing 10% of generator progression — and then start regressing, removing the highlighted aura. Any Survivor repairing a generator when it explodes screams and suffers from the 
Incapacitated Status Effect for 15/20/25 seconds.
Like Call of Brine, this is one of those perks that’s just straight up good on every Killer. The 10% progression removal is great, but even better is the fact that any Survivor working on a gen when it explodes via Eruption won’t be able to do gens for 25 seconds. This is a significant length of time to deny Survivors their main objective. This allows you to commit to chases away from generators you want to protect, since you can effectively “defend” generators you’ve marked with Eruption simply by getting a down.
Pairs well with perks that activate upon kicking generators, such as Call of Brine and Nowhere to Hide. Also pairs well with “Shadow Dance” add-ons.
Hex: Devour Hope (Hag)
Each time a Survivor is rescued from a Hook while you are at least 24 meters away, Hex: Devour Hope receives 1 Token. Gaining more tokens grants the following effects:
- 2 Tokens: 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, gain a 3/4/5%
Haste Status Effect for 10 seconds. - 3 Tokens: Survivors permanently suffer from the Exposed Status Effect.
- 5 Tokens: You are granted the ability to kill all Survivors by your own hand (i.e. you can Mori them when they’re in the Dying State, regardless of hook states).
Devour is another one of those Perks that’s generally strong, but Wraith is also pretty good at utilizing it for a couple of reasons. First, it’s easy for him to get away from the hook quickly, and he can make good use of the Haste effect to either turn around and defend the hook, or to more quickly reach the next gen on the patrol route. And, as we keep harping on, Wraith needs help downing Survivors — at 3 tokens, Survivors are Exposed, meaning Wraith can sneak up in cloak, then uncloak and get a surprise attack off for an insta-down. Being able to kill Survivors in the Dying State after reaching 5 tokens is just icing on the cake, really.
Pairs well with Make Your Choice, Hex: Undying, and Hex: Thrill of the Hunt.
Make Your Choice (Pig)
When a Survivor is rescued from a hook and you are at least 32 meters away, Make Your Choice Activates. Upon activation, the Rescuer screams and suffers from the Exposed Status Effect for the next 40/50/60 seconds.
This is yet another perk that helps Wraith insta-down Survivors. Since he can leave and return to a hook very quickly with his increased movement speed while cloaked, it’s easy to get this perk to activate, and to take full advantage of it. Running Devour Hope will give you even more movement speed to return to the hook, assuming they unhook within that 10 seconds, you’ll benefit from Devour’s Haste effect. Combining this with the “All Seeing” – Blood add-on will make it easier to find the Exposed Survivor after they unhook.
Pairs well with Hex: Devour Hope and the “All Seeing” – Blood add-on.
Save The Best For Last (Shape)
You become obsessed with one Survivor. Each time you hit a survivor other than your Obsession with a Basic Attack, Save the Best for Last gains 1 Token, to a maximum up 8. For each Token, gain 5% cooldown reduction on sucessful Basic Attacks, to a maximum of 40%. Each time you hit the Obsession with a Basic Attack, this perk loses 4/3/2 Tokens. If the Obsession is killed, this perk can neither gain nor lose additional Tokens.
As a mouse 1 killer, being able to more quickly recover from the first hit lets Wraith end chases a lot faster. Assuming you manage to fully stack it fast enough, this perk can have a dramatic impact on your ability to get that all-important second hit. However, it requires paying attention to who you’re chasing, and making sure you only Basic Attack the Obsession if it’s absolutely necessary.
This perk is best utilized in a build that focuses on committing to chases.
Pairs well with Sloppy Butcher, Bamboozle
Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (Artist)
At the start of the Trial, 4 hooks are turned into Scourge Hooks, the Auras of which will become white. When a Survivor is hooked on a Scourge Hook, the generator with the most progress will explode — it loses 9/12/15% of its repair progression and starts regressing. Any Survivor repairing the affected gen when it explodes will scream, but not reveal their location.
Like Eruption and CoB, this is a gen-protection Perk that is strong on most Killers. Being able to take 15% progress from the gen closest to being finished is obviously strong, but you need to make sure you’re trying to chase Survivors near your Scourge Hooks to take full advantage of this perk. Because it can sometimes be tough to get to a Scourge Hook fast enough, it can be a good idea to take Agitation, a Trapper perk that increases your movement speed while carrying a Survivor.
Pairs well with Agitation.
Thanataphobia (Nurse)
For every injured, dying, or hooked Survivor, all Survivors suffer a 1/1.5/2% Action Speed penalty to Repairing, Sabatoging, and Cleansing, to a maximum of 4/6/8%
Wraith may struggle to end chases, but he’s very good at sneaking up on Survivors and getting them injured. Therefore, Thanataphobia can be a good choice, as it isn’t that difficult to get 3-4 Survivors injured. When combined with Sloppy Butcher, you can force Survivors to either waste a lot of time healing, or else significantly slow down their ability to repair generators.
This perk is best utilized in a build that focuses on applying pressure to multiple Survivors.
Pairs well with Sloppy Butcher, Hex: Ruin, and A Nurse’s Calling.
We hope this guide on which perks to choose for Wraith was helpful! If left out a perk you think deserves to be on the list, or if you have any questions or suggestions, let us know in the comments.
