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A predatory Killer with eyes all over, The Skull Merchant arrived in the Fog with the Tools of Torment DLC forDead by Daylight. With the ability to place lethal dronesacross the maps, The Skull Merchant can prove to be a deadly territorial Killer, capable of tracking Survivors at a distance and injuring them should they linger too long within a drone’s radius. As such, to truly thrive in the Entity’s trials, players should bring perks that complement The Skull Merchant’s playstyle inDead by Daylight.
This guide will tackle the best builds to run withThe Skull Merchant inDead by Daylight, featuring teachable and non-teachable perks to accommodate newcomers and adept players alike.
Updated on May 30, 2025, by Lewis Smyth:The divisive Skull Merchant is due yet another rework in the coming months. Until then, this updated guide showcases the most powerful perks to run with her, as well as her best add-ons.
The Skull Merchant: Best Beginner Build (2024)
Though The Skull Merchant’s base kit perks pose some interesting gameplay possibilities, they are quite situational and playstyle-specific. As such, the base perks that synergize best with her power involvekeeping Survivors injuredby inflicting punishing healing speeds with each hooked Survivor. Using Whispers will allow you to track nearby Survivors and potentiallyget the drop on them with your drones. Meanwhile,Hex: No One Escapes Deathwill shake things up during the End Game Collapse.
The Skull Merchant: Best Build (2024)
The Skull Merchant’s power revolves around setting up drones at loops to ensure Survivors cannot make distance without sustaining injury. Thus, the most complimentary builds revolve around powerful Scourge Hooks andaggressive slowdown. The Skull Merchant is also a powerful user of The Dredge’s perk Dissolution, as her ability to remotely injure Survivors with her drones can be used todeny resource use.
The Skull Merchant: Best Add-Ons
The Skull Merchant’s add-ons all provide some interesting gameplay utility, but only the strongest can turn the tides of a trial. This section of the guide listsThe Skull Merchant’s best add-ons, in order of their rarity on the Bloodweb.
Ultrasonic Speaker
Perhaps The Skull Merchant’s best-in-slot add-on, this Common Ultrasonic Speaker decreases Survivors’immunity to drone scan lines by 25%. This effectively means that you can more quickly injure them from afar, better enabling the popular Laser tag playstyle that sees players rapidly toggle the rotation of drones to tag Survivors.
Supercharge
Claw Trapped Survivors areprevented from healing, are slowed when scanned by drones, and can be tracked by The Skull Merchant’s Radar. With the Supercharge add-on, Survivors are stuck with theseClaw Traps for 15% longer, making it a neat little upgrade.
Stereo Remote Mic
Survivors can disable The Skull Merchant’s drones by approaching them and performing a QTE minigame. While it’s generally better to recall disabled drones to re-establish pressure in an area, when you aren’t nearby, it helps to havedrones reactivate a little fasterto waste Survivors’ time and endanger them when chase begins.
Adaptive Lighting
The Skull Merchant’s base kit, Undetectable, is an enormously impactful aspect of her abilities and can be used to get the jump on unaware Survivors. The Adaptive Lighting add-onincreases the duration of her Undetectable effectwhen she places a drone by 20%, making her amore effective stealth Killer.
Vital Targeting Processor
When Claw Trapped Survivors are scanned by a drone, their movement speed is slowed, and you gain Killer Instinct on their location. The Vital Targeting Processorincreases this Hindered effect by 3%, giving you greater time to catch up.
Infrared Upgrade
Knowing a Survivor’s location is half the battle inDead by Daylight, andaura-reading abilitiesare the key to finding them. With the Infrared Upgrade, whenever a Claw Trap is removed, yousee the Survivor’s aura for 4 seconds.
Brown Noise Generator
The Brown Noise Generatormakes Claw Trapped Survivors Obliviousuntil the Trap is removed. This add-on pairs well with the Adaptive Lighting add-on and other stealthy perks toscare Survivors into mistakes.
Randomized Strobes
Like the Vital Targeting Processor, the Randomized Strobes strengthen The Skull Merchant’s power to slow Claw Trapped Survivors by extending theduration of the drones’ Hindered effect by 1 second.
Geographical Readout
Pairing well with The Trapper’s Brutal Strength, the Geographical Readoutincreases the speed of break actions by 20%for 8 seconds after deploying a drone. A not inconsiderable effect, but remember to recall those out-of-the-way drones after you’ve used this power.
Advanced Movement Prediction
For those who haven’t mastered The Skull Merchant’s tracking ability yet, the Advanced Movement Prediction add-onreveals the location of Survivors who receive a Claw Trapfor 6 seconds. With this andThe Nemesis’ Lethal Pursuer, you can more accurately out-mind game Survivors by reading their movements through walls.
Iridescent Unpublished Manuscript
Disabling drones is Survivors’ one means of messing with The Skull Merchant’s web of traps. Using the Iridescent Unpublished Manuscript, adisabled drone gains a 32-meter Terror Radiusfor 15 seconds, during which timeyou become Undetectable. This power can thoroughly disorientate Survivors and works wonders onDead by Daylight’s smaller indoor maps.
