Did you hear that? There it is again… An otherworldly shriek sends chills down the spines of the last few survivors of its onslaught. Learn the basics of The Demogorgon in Dead by Daylight, a supernatural killer with this Demogorgon guide. As all killers do, it comes with its very own powers and perks that all nod to its original lore. Traverse portals, pounce on your foes and send your opponent’s hearts racing when you block their only hopes of escape.
In this beginner’s guide, we’re going to be going through The Demogorgon’s powers, its perks and gameplay strategies to help you find success with this slightly more difficult and now limited killer. If you’re already familiar with the razor-toothed creature, feel free to skip to the later parts of the guide.
Load-Out:
The Demogorgon comes with a set of perks. Surge, Cruel Limits and Mindbreaker. These perks aid the Demogorgon by hindering survivors’ awareness and escape routes as well as moderating generator progress. Keep in mind that these perks were previously changed to Jolt, Cruel Limits and Fearmonger. This was due to the removal of the Stranger Things Chapter, however, now that the license is back, the perks have returned to their original names once more.
Keep in mind that this is a beginner’s Demogorgon guide. We’re going to be going through his specific perks rather than the most efficient builds for the higher-ranked players. All perk and ability descriptions are also taken directly from the game itself.
Surge
Your eerie presence charges the air and interferes with technology. When you put a Survivor into the Dying State with your Basic Attack, all Generators within 32 metres of you instantly explode and start regressing.
- Applies an immediate 8% Progression penalty.
- Surge has a cool-down of 60/50/40 seconds.
Regress generators without even touching them…
Surge is a perk that allows you to do two things at once: put a survivor into the dying state and regress a generator. This actually means that sometimes, it’s better not to snatch a survivor right off of a generator. Instead, attack them if they’re already injured using a basic attack.
You can even get bonus generator regression if you play your cards right. If you see survivors repairing a generator, you could slowly approach them so that they sneak away from it to hide nearby. Hit the generator to regress it and then give chase to any survivors in the immediate area. Knocking a survivor into the dying state will hinder the generator’s progress once again.
Cruel Limits
Your ties to The Entity manifest when your prey attempts to get away. Whenever a Generator is completed, all Window and Vault locations within 32 metres of it become blocked for all Survivors for the next 20/25/30 seconds.
- The Auras of the blocked Vault locations are revealed to you for the duration.
- This does not affect pallets.
Block your prey’s escape routes when they complete their tasks…
This perk allows you to efficiently plan out an attack to catch survivors. They’re often going to get at least two or more generators completed per game. With The Demogorgon, you can use this to your advantage. When you see that a generator has been completed, head over to it straight away if nearby. You know exactly where survivors can’t go, and they can’t attempt to loop you using windows and vaults in that immediate area.
While there are better perks for this killer in Dead by Daylight, this Demogorgon guide is primarily to help you understand the basic perks of this killer and how they work with its unique power. Being able to teleport to the other side of the map where a generator has been completed is extremely useful and puts a lot of pressure on survivors.
A great perk to use alongside this one is Bitter Murmur. This perk allows you to see survivors’ auras once they complete a generator. Using these perks together grants you a huge advantage whenever generators are completed. You can track their movements and ambush them while also minimising their escape routes.
Mindbreaker
Your distressing presence drains and weakens your prey. Whenever a Survivor is repairing a Generator, they suffer from the Blindness and Exhausted Effects.
- If the Survivor is already Exhausted, their Status Effect’s timer will be paused.
- The Status Effect lingers for 3/4/5 seconds after the Survivor stops repairing.
Instill fear into the survivors to weaken them…
While repairing generators, survivors are significantly disadvantaged in their aura-reading abilities and won’t be able to use specific perks whilst repairing and just for a few seconds after if they stop. The Demogorgon has a much easier time sneaking up on survivors and catching up to them if they run away after repairing generators as it completely disables perks such as Dead Hard or Lithe for a small amount of time.
Paired with The Demogorgon’s other perks, Mindbreaker allows you to gain the upper hand in a chase that commences just after a generator has been completed. It’s also great for countering survivors with good aura-reading skills like Nancy Wheeler or Laurie Strode.
Power: Of the Abyss
Press and hold the Power button to fully charge and activate Of the Abyss.
Special Attack: Shred
Press the Attack button while charging or holding Of the Abyss to dive forward and unleash a vicious slash.
- Shredding into Breakable Walls or Pallets will destroy them.
Shred is a brilliant tool for catching survivors, quickly destroying pallets, and even baiting your prey. I often hold the power button as if I’m going to leap at them, which will cause some survivors to suddenly swerve to dodge your incoming attack. Then I’ll simply cancel this and instead use a basic attack unexpectedly.
This is one supernatural force you don’t want to mess with…
If you notice a survivor heading towards a pallet, it’s most likely that they’re going to attempt to stun you or block your path. Hold the Power button and make sure you stay far enough away from it so that you do not get stunned. Use your shred attack to quickly destroy a pallet and then carry on the chase.
This ability also unexpectedly travels very quickly upstairs and covers a long distance off of ledges. Use leap in this way where you can as it’s a very good tool for surprise hits.
Special Ability: Portals
Press the Active Ability button to place an inactive Portal on the ground in front of you.
- Inactive Portals are invisible to Survivors and cannot be sealed by them.
Traversing the Upside Down
When standing on a placed Portal while viewing a highlighted Portal, press the Active Ability button to travel through the Upside Down, emerging from the highlighted Portal.
- After emerging from a Portal, The Demogorgon is cloaked by the Undetectable Status Effect for 3 seconds.
Patrol the map by making it your domain…
Use the rare Eleven’s Soda add-on to see the yellow auras of generators that are being repaired while traversing the upside down. This will help you to seek out survivors should you find it harder to locate them. The ultra-rare Leprose Lichen add-on reveals the aura of all survivors while traversing the upside down and for a few seconds afterwards. These are incredibly strong add-ons. With time, however, these are ones that you will not need when you learn to better patrol the generators.
Activated Portals
Portals become activated when they are first traversed to or from.
- Activated Portals are visible to Survivors and can be sealed by them.
- Survivors walking atop or sealing an activated Portal suffer from the Oblivious Status Effect.
- All Survivors within close proximity to any activated Portals will be indicated by Killer Instinct while holding the Power button.
Surprise your prey when they least expect it…
While this can be a lot to digest at first and is even more difficult to use efficiently, it certainly gets easier with time. You have, in total, six portals to use. It’s best to spread these out far and wide across the map and to hide them behind objects like trees or in tall grass so that survivors cannot find them as easily.
This gives The Demogorgon rather amazing map coverage as he can basically teleport to whichever corner of the map he desires, so long as a portal has been placed there. The portals’ primary use is to allow you to teleport around, but they can also indicate survivors’ locations if they happen to be standing near one. Press the Power button every now and then to check if any are nearby.
Gameplay Strategies
In Dead by Daylight, The Demogorgon is brilliant at patrolling generators using the portals and his starting perks. Try to get good coverage and don’t place portals too close together. Sometimes, I find myself hoping that survivors clear one or two up if I’ve placed some that are in close proximity. You can also chase survivors more effectively with the Shred ability that has quite a nice hitbox. It also prevents survivors from attempting to loop certain windows or pallets as you can pounce on them quickly.
Early Games
At the very beginning of the game, I like to place my first portal between the two nearest generators. Find a nice spot between them and hide it behind a tree, in a corner or behind a wall if you can. Don’t spend too long finding this spot, though. Place it and then make your next move.
After this, you’ll want to begin your hunt to find survivors. Head towards generators that are further out and listen for any whirring or metal clanking. If survivors are spread out, it shouldn’t take you long to find one. If they’re all together, however, that first generator will be activated rather quickly.
You’ll want to find and hook at least one survivor at this stage. If there are no more nearby, quickly tunnel back to your first portal between the two generators to check them. From here, you can begin placing portals in important areas of the map, chase survivors and use your perks to put pressure on your prey that could be performing tasks.
A truly ruthless killer with no remorse…
Mid-Game
I highly recommend placing a portal in the main building on whatever map you’re playing on. Better yet, place it on the second floor of this building. This gives you quick high-ground access. If you want to be really sneaky, you can chase a survivor and then stop when you see them heading towards the main building. Quickly travel to your portal set in that building and imagine their hearts dropping when they see you emerge from the ground before them.
End-Game
Before the late game phase, if there are only a few survivors left, place a portal close to each end gate. This is especially useful when the end-game collapse is in action. As you only usually have six portals, you should aim to put one near each gate at some point during the game. You could also do this when you’ve shut the hatch, or when one or two survivors are attempting to escape after completing their tasks.
This will provide full exit coverage. This strategy can make it nearly impossible for a survivor to escape as you can teleport to either gate in a matter of seconds. Channelling your power also highlights any survivors near those exit gate portals.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. I encourage all players who enjoy the original show to give him a go; or even if you haven’t! It’s somewhat even more fun since this killer has been so rare after the removal of the license as if the Stranger Things lore is really coming into play. Also, if you’re new to playing as The Killer then just be prepared; your first few matches will likely not be a very enjoyable experience.
I hope this Dead by Daylight Demogorgon guide was useful. If you have any more tips for The Demogorgon, please let me know below in the comments.
