Dead by Daylight’s Tokyo Ghoul DLC has been out for a few months already, and after some nerfs and tweaks to Kaneki’s power, it seems he has finally been balanced to be a fair experience for both Killers and Survivors. That’s why I’m here to explain everything regarding Kaneki’s base power, perks, and a few tips to master The Ghoul along with the best build I’ve tested for him. And if you haven’t been playing for a while before this DLC like me, now is the perfect time to join the fog considering the Five Nights At Freddy’s DLC that includes Springtrap as a new Killer has just gone live for all platforms.
Power “One Eyed Terror”
Ken Kaneki or “The Ghoul” is Dead by Daylight’s licensed killer for Chapter 35. He originates from the “Tokyo Ghoul” manga and anime series. The Ghoul has been pushed to its limits and he’s hungry for more… His Power: “One Eyed Terror”, allows him to traverse the map quickly and hunt Survivors down more efficiently.
The Ghoul joins the fog…
Special Ability: Kagune Leap
Use the Power button to charge and launch the Kagune, tentacles that attach to any vertical surface within range and quickly pull The Ghoul forward. After completing a leap, The Ghoul has a window to perform a second consecutive Kagune Leap or put Kagune Leap into cooldown by using the Active Ability button. Kagune Leap enters cooldown once The Ghoul has consumed their leaps, if they leap over a vault or downed pallet, or if the Kagune grabs and leaps at a Survivor.
If The Ghoul’s second consecutive leap targets a Survivor, they will perform a grab-attack. Grab attacks damage Survivors if they are healthy; inflict Deep Wounds; and leave a Kagune Mark.
Performing a grab attack also triggers Enraged Mode.
Special Ability: Enraged Mode
While Enraged, The Ghoul can perform up to three consecutive Kagune Leaps and can leap over vaults more quickly if they launch their Kagune at a Survivor. Enraged Mode remains active while there are Survivors afflicted with Kagune Mark. Marked Survivors will lose their mark if they are fully mended, or if they are downed. The Ghoul cannot grab-attack marked Survivors.
Once no marked Survivors remain, a Countdown begins. When the Countdown depletes, Enraged Mode ends. A perfectly timed grab-attack will add extra time to the Countdown. The Countdown is paused while carrying Survivors.
How to Perform a Perfectly Timed Grab Attack
- Use the Power button to prepare your Kagune Leap. You’ll see a small circle in front of you. This circle represents the surface you’ll latch onto after using the Attack button. If the circle turns Red, that means your leap towards that surface will be successful.
- Remember you can use the Active Ability button to cancel the Kagune Leap at any time.
- Kaneki’s Kagune Leap can only damage and mark a Survivor during the second leap. The power can be quite clunky and awkward at first, but this is the most important thing you’ll need to learn for this mechanic.
- Aim your second Kagune Leap towards the Survivor, and perform the leap when you see the bite icon on them. Once you do, you’ll get a quick time event prompt with your Attack button. If correctly done, you’ll have performed a perfectly timed grab attack, which will extend the regular duration of your Enraged mode for 10 extra seconds.
- Make sure to not press the Attack button prompt too early or too late, otherwise, you’ll miss the 10 extra seconds of Enraged mode for doing the perfectly timed grab attack.
If you succeed at the quick time event, you’ll perform a perfectly timed grab attack.
Personal Perks
His personal perks, Hex: Nothing But Misery, Forever Entwined, and None Are Free, help him Hinder Survivors, hook Survivors more quickly, and block pallets when all generators are completed.
| Perk Name and Icon | Perk Description |
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Hex: Nothing but Misery
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You’ve been driven to the absolute depths of pain, and now you’re ready to inflict that pain on others.
After you damage Survivors 8 times with basic attacks, a Dull Totem becomes a Hex Totem, cursing all Survivors. When you damage a Survivor with a basic attack, they gain 5% Hindered for 10/12.5/15 seconds.* The effects last until the Hex Totem is cleansed. “All of the liabilities of this world are due to the inadequacies of the person involved.” – Ken Kaneki. |
|
Forever Entwined
 |
The greater the struggle, the more difficult the escape.
When a Survivor takes damage, gain 1 token, up to 6/7/8.* “You tried to devour me so you have no room to complain if I eat you, do you?” – Ken Kaneki. |
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None are Free
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You know better than anyone that the light at the end of the tunnel is only an illusion.
When you hook a Survivor for the first time, gain 1 token, up to 4. When all generators are completed, for each token, all windows and upright pallets are blocked for everyone for 12/14/16 seconds.* “I’m not wrong. What’s wrong is this messed-up world!” – Ken Kaneki. |
*For unlocking the perk on Kaneki’s Bloodweb to Tier I/Tier II/Tier III respectively.
Dead by Daylight is well known for changing the dynamics of all characters by adding perks that have interesting synergy with other perks, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t the case for Kaneki. His perks are very situational and I’ve struggled to make them fit in consistent builds with effective results, so you probably only want to use them if you’re going for Kaneki’s respective Adept trophy/achievement.
The Best Perk Build for The Ghoul
It’s common to have a pre-established perk build that you feel comfortable with most killers in the game. It usually always works with every single killer because their powers can easily adapt to your playstyle. However, once again… This wasn’t the case for Kaneki when I tried my build with him.
Being effective during chases is mandatory with Kaneki.
Compared to other Dead by Daylight Killers, Kaneki struggles to slow down gen progression, and using too many of these kinds of perks has no use either. The Ghoul is particularly effective during a chase, and that’s exactly what you want to exploit about him, while still giving him some gen regression… So make sure to try the following perks with him:
- Bamboozle (The Clown): A perk that works with any Killer, but it’s a must for Kaneki. Your Kagune Leap can help you vault windows fast, but Bamboozle is not only going to give you a sweet 15% bonus speed for that, but it also blocks the window you vault for 16 seconds. During a chase, it can be brutally punishing for Survivors.
- Dark Arrogance (The Lich): Contrary to the previous perk, this one has almost no use with any Killer. However, combined with Bamboozle and his own Kagune Leap, Kaneki can exploit his vaults to the maximum. This perk gives you an awful punishment of 25% extended blind and pallet stun duration in exchange for 25% additional vault speed. Kaneki already gets punished when breaking pallets (losing charges of Kagune Leap in the process). However, this perk will help you to vault even faster and catch Survivors easily. You’ll want to respect pallets a little more with this one though.
- Eruption (The Nemesis): Great choice for gen regression. Damaging generators mark them and highlight them in yellow. Marked generators will explode and lose 10% progress if a Survivor gets downed in any way. This allows The Ghoul to damage a generator and immediately focus on a chase, being able to quickly down a Survivor and make generators lose progress at the same time.
- Pain Resonance (The Artist): Another one that is very useful with any other killer, but it will especially help Kaneki with some more gen regression after a chase. Hook Survivors in scourge hooks (highlighted in white) to make the most advanced generator instantly lose 20% progression. This will help you to slow down gen progression while still focusing on catching and hooking Survivors, which is Kaneki’s most valuable strength.
If you surprise them and get a free hit, half of the job is done!
Tips & Strategies
- Remember you normally have two Kagune Leaps, but only the second one can mark Survivors to become Enraged.
- Leave your last Kagune Leap to mark Survivors only. The first Kagune Leap is always useful for map traversal, and the second one is as well only if you are Enraged. Your last Kagune Leap will have a terrible map traversal so always save that one to mark Survivors only or don’t use it at all. Using it for map traversal is a waste of time.
- If a Survivor is already injured, you should use your first Kagune Leap just to get close and down them with a basic attack. Remember your power can only injure them, but not down them. So look for easy hits whenever possible.
- If you aim your Kagune Leap at a window, you can quickly vault it. This is useful when far from the window. If you’re close to it, it’s better to just vault it normally considering it takes some time to prepare Kaneki’s power. This also applies to pallets.
- If you find several Survivors, you want to mark as many as you can and chase down whoever isn’t marked. Marked Survivors will have to mend for a while before being able to heal themselves, so it’s better to let them do that to get some extra time before they’re able to repair generators again.
Dead by Daylight is available for PC, PS4 & PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
