Dead By Daylighthas a wide variety of Killers to choose from, ranging from science-fiction creatures likeThe Xenomorphto creepypasta-inspired monsters likeThe Unknown. But when it comes to classic horror archetypes, it wasn’t until the launch of Chapter 33: Castlevania that DBD got its first vampire.

Descending from his mighty castle in the sky, Dracula, otherwise known as The Dark Lord, has arrived in the Entity’s realm – and he’s bringing a whole new bag of tricks to help you sacrifice unsuspecting Survivors.

Dracula flying around in Bat Form in Dead by Daylight.

How Does The Dark Lord’s Power Work

Every Killer has a special ability to help them catch the Survivors,but Dracula’s Power – Vampiric Shift – is effectively three powers in one.

Pressing the Secondary Action button followed by either your Attack or Power button, allows you to switch betweenThe Dark Lord’s three Forms: Vampire, Wolf, and Bat.Each Form has its own strengths and cooldowns, so you’ll need to learn how they all work together to make the most out of this Killer.

Dracula performs his Memento Mori on William “Bill” Overbeck in Dead by Daylight.

Vampire

In Vampire Form, you are atall Killer with normal movement.

Holding your Power button allows you to charge theHellfire Spell, a ranged attack that creates sevenPillarsofFlamein a straight line, injuring Survivors in its path.

Wolf

In Wolf Form, you are ashort Killer with (mostly) normal movementand athird-person camera.

Holding your Power button allows you to charge a Pounce, which sends you darting forward once, and then a second time after a short delay if the first doesn’t connect.Hitting a Survivor with your Pounce will injure them, and hitting a Breakable Wall or Pallet will break it.

Dracula holding a glass of blood while standing beside his three unique perks.

Your ability to see Scratch Marks and pools of blood is increased, and any Survivor that performs a Rushed action near you is revealed by Killer Instinct.

While you are in Wolf Form,Survivors will drop Scent Orbs. Collecting these Scent Orbsgives you Haste and lowers the cooldown of your next Pounce.

Dracula choosing his perk loadout in Dead by Daylight.

Bat

In Bat Form, you are afast-moving, Undetectable Killer with a Lullaby and a third-person camera. While in Bat Form, you can move over Windows and dropped Pallets,cannot attack, and cannot see Survivors. Instead, you will need to track them by sound and Scratch Marks.

Holding your Power button allows you toTeleportto a nearby Window or dropped Pallet.

Dracula’s perk Dominance with a gothic background.

Tips For Playing The Dark Lord

Dracula’s many forms and independent cooldownscan be hard to keep track of, but learning to master every part of his kit will make you feel like the final boss of Dead by Daylight.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you play The Dark Lord:

Dracula’s perk Hex: Wretched Fate with a gothic background.

Using Vampiric Shift to swap between Forms will slow you down temporarily, so make sure to plan accordingly. If you find this slowdown to be too punishing, consider bringing the Traveller’s Hat add-on.

Best Add-Ons for The Dark Lord

As you might imagine, Dracula has quite a collection of baubles and trinkets from his unnaturally long life.These add-ons improve his Power, offering many ways to upgrade eachForm’sunique strengths:

Warg’s Fang

Very Rare

Reveals the Aura of SurvivorswhoseScent Orbyou have collected whenPouncebecomes available for four seconds.

Alucard’s Shield

Ultra Rare

When an Exit Gate is opened, Pillars of Flame appear at randomwithin the Exit Gate area.

The Dark Lord’s Unique Perks

As if a shapeshifting, fire-spewing vampire wasn’t scary enough, Dracula brings three new Perks into the fog with him. Each one opens upnew build optionsfor The Dark Lord –as well as your other Killers, if you prestige him– and can make playing against you a real pain in the neck.

Dominance

The power you wield over the land strikes terror in the hearts of all who cross your path.

When a Survivor touches a Totem or Chest for the first time, Dominance activates,blocking that Totem or Chestfor a few seconds.

Dracula’s perk Human Greed with a gothic background.

You can see the Aurasof blocked Totems or Chests.

Hex: Wretched Fate

You see your victim from afar and resolve to prolong their suffering.

Once the first Generator is completed, Hex: Wretched Fate activates, turning arandom Dull Totem into a Hex TotemthatCursestheObsession.

TheObsession’s repair speedisheavily reduced, and they cansee the Aura of this Hex Totemif they are close enough.

Human Greed

One can always rely on the avarice of the living and use it to one’s advantage.

You cansee the Auras of unopened Chestsacross the map. Whenevera Survivor gets close to an unopened Chest, you cansee their Aurafor a few seconds.

You alsogain the abilitytoclose an opened chest by kicking it. A kicked Chestprovides Aura-reading just like an unopened Chestbut can be opened much faster by Survivors.

After kicking a Chest closed, youare unable to kick another Chest for a while.

When a Survivor is affected by Human Greed, they can see the Perk icon in the lower left part of their screen. A Survivor who recognizes the Perk will know that you can see them and may turn this to their advantage, baiting you into unproductive chases.

Best Build For The Dark Lord And Perk Synergies

Dracula is a versatile Killer, able to make use of many different Perks. Figuring out which Form(s) you prefer, which add-ons you bring, and your own personal playstyle will allow you to discover your own specialized builds. Here is a list ofrecommended Perksto help further your reign of terror:

Spies from the Shadows:When a Survivor startles a nearby Crow, you get a loud sound notificationas well as a visual marker of where the Crow was. This is a handy way to track Survivors mid-chase, and is even better in Bat Form, as you cannot see Survivor Auras from other info perks.

Tinkerer:When a generator is nearly complete, you get a loud sound notification and becomeUndetectablefor a while. This works while in Bat Form, but is potentially even stronger inWolf Form – your small stature and quiet footsteps allow you to ambush an unsuspecting Survivor, even in the middle of a chase.

I’m All Ears:When a Survivor performs a Rushed Vault near you,you cansee their Aurafor a few seconds. This Perk works best while inVampire Form: if a Survivor manages to get to a Window or Pallet before you’re able to charge the Hellfire Spell, you can simply follow their Aura and catch them at the next corner. Even better, if the obstacle they are hiding behind is low enough, you might be able tolaunch your Pillars of Flame right over it!

Hex: Ruin:When the Trial starts, one Dull Totem becomes aHex Totem. While that Hex Totem is standing,any Generators not actively being worked on will start to regress. Given Dracula’s mobility and other Hex-related Perks, you should have no problem driving Survivors off Generators and letting Hex: Ruin damage them for you.

Keep in mind that if you want the Adept Dark Lord achievement, you will need to kill all four Survivors in a trial while using only Dracula’s three teachable Perks.

Dominance Perk Synergies

Dominancecan easily waste a Survivor’s time, but only if theyactivate it in the first place. To make the most of this Perk, you need togive the Survivors a reason to touch Totems and/or Chests, preferably multiple times.

To that end, I suggest the following Perks alongside Dominance:

Hex: Plaything

The first time you hook each Survivor,a random Dull Totem becomes aHex Totem, and that Survivor is Oblivious until it is destroyed.

Hex: Face the Darkness

Once a Survivor becomes Injured, a randomDull Totem becomes a Hex Totemand that Survivor becomes Cursed.

Until the Cursed Survivor is healed or put into the Dying State, Survivors outside of your Terror Radius will occasionally scream,revealing their locations and interrupting their actions.Once the Curse ends, the Hex Totem disappears and will reappear when the trigger condition is met.

Hex: Wretched Fate Perk Synergies

While Hex Totems areinherently vulnerable and risky to use, the heavy repair speed penalty fromHex: Wretched Fatecan lead to the Obsessiongiving up on Generators entirelyuntil they find and cleanse the Totem, which will buy you plenty of time.

Here are some Perks that pair well with Hex: Wretched Fate:

Hex: Undying

When a Survivor gets close to a Dull or Hex Totem, you can see their Aura. In addition,when another Hex Totem would be destroyed, its effects are transferred to Hex: Undying’s Hex Totem, and Hex: Undying is destroyed instead.

Hex: Pentimento

You can see the Auras of cleansed Totems. In addition, you can Rekindle cleansed Totems, with each Rekindled Totem givingstacking penalties to Survivor action speeds.

Human Greed Perk Synergies

This Perk takes something many Survivors take for granted – Chests – andturns them into tools you can leveragein chase(or out of it) to surprise Survivors who thought they were safe.

Here are a couple of Perks that will help you leverage Human Greed:

Lethal Pursuer

At the start of the game,see theAuras of all Survivorsfor several seconds. In addition, any other Aura-reading effects you possess have their durations extended slightly.

Hoarder

Whenever a Survivor opens a Chest or picks up an Itemin your general area,you get aloud sound notification.This Perk also spawns two extra Chests in a Trial.