Capable of throwing hatchets from great distances, Dead by Daylight’s Huntress is a master of controlling the map and zoning Survivors into her lethal line of sight. Slightly slower than the average Killer, she must make up for her movement speed with carefully aimed hatchets that can take out even the most experienced Survivors. Due to her longevity, great moveset, and (frankly) awesome design, Anna has persevered as one of DBD‘s most recognizable and beloved Killers.
This Dead by Daylight guide will highlight two of the best builds that players can use with The Huntress to complement her abilities. There is also a tier list for The Huntress’s add-ons, ranking them from best to worst.
Updated on March 14, 2026, by Mark Sammut: We have updated the final section of the article to be relevant for 2026. Is the Huntress worth consideration nowadays?
The Huntress: Best Beginner Build
Without access to many slowdowns, the power of this build comes with cutting off Survivor resources as the game progresses. With Bitter Murmur, The Huntress can see Survivors’ auras after a generator is finished, and track them nearby with Spies from the Shadows. Meanwhile, Hex: Huntress Lullaby builds in strength, punishing Survivors who don’t pay close attention to Skill Checks. By slowing down the game with hexes, players can build pressure until Hex: No One Escapes Death triggers in the Endgame Collapse.
- Hex: Huntress Lullaby (The Huntress) – For as long as the Hex Totem stands, Survivors who miss a Skill Check receive a 6% regression penalty. Each time a Survivor is hooked, gain up to five tokens. Each token reduces the time between the Skill Check warning sound and the Skill Check. At five tokens, Survivors receive no warning sound.
- Bitter Murmur (General Perk) – Each time a generator is completed, the auras of Survivors within 16 meters of that generator are revealed for 5 seconds. Once the last generator is complete, all Survivors’ auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
- Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment, and users gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
- Spies from the Shadows (General Perk) – When within 36 meters of a crow startled by a Survivor, you gain a loud noise notification.
Dead By Daylight: Best Builds for The Spirit (2026)
With these builds for The Spirit, Dead by Daylight players can make the Killer even more soul-crushing than before.
The Huntress: Best Build
As a slower-moving Killer, The Huntress may require a number of perks that slow generator progress and keep track of Survivor movements. Perks like Corrupt Intervention will stall the early game and create pressure on Survivors to stay close to one another, while The Deathslinger’s Dead Man’s Switch and Grim Embrace will further slow generator progress.
- Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis) – At the start of the trial, all Survivor’s auras are revealed for 9 seconds. This perk also increases the duration of other aura–reading abilities by an extra 2 seconds.
- No Way Out (The Trickster) – When a Survivor interacts with an exit gate at the end of the trial, the Killer will receive a noise notification and the exit gates will be blocked for 12 seconds, plus another 12 seconds for each new Survivor hooked.
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, the Killer will lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
- Barbecue & Chili (The Cannibal) – After hooking a Survivor, this perk will reveal the aura of all other Survivors’ further than 40 meters from the hook for 5 seconds.
Dead By Daylight: Best Builds For The Wraith (2026)
Easy to learn and difficult to master, The Wraith in Dead by Daylight can use these powerful perks to complement his power.
The Huntress: Best Add-On Tierlist and Combos
The Huntress’ add-ons are all rather well-rounded, offering unique buffs to a number of her basekit abilities. This section of the best builds guide is devoted to ranking her add-ons, with detailed descriptions of their usage and reliability, as well as listing some highly synergistic combinations.
|
Tier |
Name |
Description |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
S |
|
Glowing Concoction |
Reveals the auras of Survivors hit with Hatchets |
|
Flower Babushka |
Decreases Hatchet wind-up time |
|
|
A |
|
Iridescent Head |
Puts Survivors hit with Hatchets into the dying state |
|
Oak Haft |
Decreases Hatchet throw cooldown |
|
|
Manna Grass Braid |
Decreases Hatchet wind-up time |
|
|
Shiny Pin |
Increases movement speed with an upheld Hatchet |
|
|
B |
|
Bandaged Haft |
Decreases Hatchet throw cooldown |
|
Wooden Fox |
Grants Undetectable after reloading |
|
|
Begrimed Head |
Inflicts Mangled and Hemorrhage on Survivors hit with Hatchets |
|
|
Rusty Head |
Inflicts Mangled on Survivors hit with Hatchets |
|
|
C |
|
Deerskin Gloves |
Decreases locker reload time |
|
Venomous Concoction |
Inflicts Exhaustion on Survivors hit with Hatchets |
|
|
Coarse Stone |
Increases volume of grunts of pain on Survivors injured with Hatchets |
|
|
Amanita Toxin |
Inflicts Blindness on Survivors hit with Hatchets |
|
|
D |
|
Soldier’s Puttee |
Increases movement speed when carrying no Hatchets |
|
Rose Root |
Increases thrown Hatchet speed |
|
|
Yellowed Cloth |
Increases thrown Hatchet speed |
|
|
Infantry Belt |
Grants Haste upon hitting a Survivor with a Hatchet |
|
|
Leather Loop |
Grants Haste upon hitting a Survivor with a Hatchet |
|
|
Weighted Head |
Inflicts Incapacitated on Survivors hit with Hatchets |
|
20. Weighted Head (D Tier)
The Huntress’ worst in slot add-on, the Weighted Head’s Incapacitation means absolutely nothing in chase, aside from perhaps briefly preventing the use of some of Dead by Daylight‘s most useful items.
19. Leather Loop (D Tier)
Unless stacked with other Haste status effect perks, the Leather Loop is unlikely to provide much value.
18. Infantry Belt (D Tier)
Best paired with Haste perks like The Shape’s Play with Your Food, the Infantry Belt offers little in the way of securing kills with its speed bonus.
17. Yellowed Cloth (D Tier)
While an increased hatchet throw speed can make hits land a little quicker, the Yellowed Cloth add-on fundamentally changes the arc of the hatchet. This can mess with ambitious players’ ability to aim and hit distant, cross-map shots.
16. Rose Root (D Tier)
Just like the Yellowed Cloth, the Rose Root add-on alters The Huntress’ throwing pattern and can change throw timings.
15. Soldier’s Puttee (D Tier)
Slightly gaining speed upon using the last of your hatchets can result in some basic attacks otherwise unobtainable with The Huntress’ base 4.4m/s movement speed. However, reloading should always take priority in these circumstances instead of committing to a chase without a power.
14. Amanita Toxin (C Tier)
Inflicting Blindness isn’t always useful – especially for such a short duration – though it can disorientate Survivors and deny Windows of Opportunity users the chance to benefit from one of the best Survivor perks in Dead by Daylight.
13. Coarse Stone (C Tier)
This humble add-on can be somewhat useful in finding injured Survivors, though the effect isn’t hugely impactful on a chase-orientated Killer like The Huntress.
12. Venomous Concoction (C Tier)
Most Survivors will use their Exhaustion perks at the very start of a chase to gain maximum distance. Nevertheless, a well-timed hatchet hit with the Venomous Concoction can prevent Survivors from utilizing them.
11. Deerskin Gloves (C Tier)
The Deerskin Gloves offer a rather rudimentary effect, but one that is appreciated in situations where you must reload mid-chase or while playing territorially. These Gloves work well in tandem with The Legion’s Iron Maiden perk.
Dead by Daylight: Best Nemesis Builds (2026)
Nemesis is a pretty famous Killer in Dead by Daylight, and players looking to figure out his best build combinations can do so with this guide.
10. Rusty Head (B Tier)
Slowing Survivors’ healing speeds, even for only 70 seconds, can provide a massive amount of slowdown throughout the trial.
9. Begrimed Head (B Tier)
The Begrimed Head can further help deny Survivors’ healing. Despite not stacking with the Rusty Head add-on, the slowdown works with perks like The Skull Merchant’s Leverage.
8. Wooden Fox (B Tier)
Though The Huntress has a 45m Lullaby to signify her presence, removing her 20m Terror Radius can catch inattentive Survivors off guard surprisingly consistently, especially on Dead by Daylight‘s indoor maps.
7. Bandaged Haft (B Tier)
By being able to throw hatchets with increased frequency, the Bandaged Haft makes zoning easier and decreases the penalty for missing throws.
6. Shiny Pin (A Tier)
The Shiny Pin is great for walking down Survivors as you zone them with an upheld hatchet.
5. Manna Grass Braid (A Tier)
The Manna Grass Braid allows you to pull up hatchets slightly faster, giving you greater leeway when readying an attack so you don’t have to wind up early.
4. Oak Haft (A Tier)
A stronger version of the Bandaged Haft, this add-on is great for denying unhooks and quickly recovering after a hatchet throw.
3. Iridescent Head (A Tier)
High risk, high reward, the Iridescent Head limits your ability to zone Survivors while massively increasing your lethality. This add-on is only recommended to the more adept Huntress players.
2. Flower Babushka (S Tier)
The Flower Babushka is an upgrade to the Manna Grass Braid, allowing you to pull your hatchets up even sooner for a quicker strike.
1. Glowing Concoction (S Tier)
Beloved by plenty of Huntress mains, the Glowing Concoction can enable you to double-tap your victims by revealing Survivors’ auras through walls and from afar when you hit them.
Dead By Daylight: The Best DBD Survivor Builds in 2026
These are some of the best builds players can have on survivors in Dead by Daylight as of 2025’s gameplay meta.
How To Play As The Huntress?
You need to drop cash to unlock most Dead by Daylight Killers, particularly the ones based on other properties. That said, the base game comes with a few free characters, although the lineup varies a bit depending on the chosen platform. Fortunately, when it comes to Anna, all you need to do is pick up the vanilla version, and you will have access to her. The Huntress should be included with any iteration of Dead by Daylight, and she should be automatically unlocked.
Here are all the free DBD Killers, split by platforms:
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PS5, Switch, & Xbox |
PC (Steam) |
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Anna was added as part of 2017’s “A Lullaby for the Dark” DLC, with the chapter being the last freebie released for the game. She was included alongside David King, a Survivor who can be absolutely frustrating to play against if the user knows what they are doing. The Huntress’s status as a free base character has played a significant role in expanding her viability and relevance, and she will likely remain popular enough for DBD‘s entire run.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Is Huntress A Good Killer For New Players?
Or Will She Break Their Spirit?
As one of Dead by Daylight‘s handful of free Killers, most newcomers will likely gravitate towards The Huntress, especially since Anna has an extremely cool design. Because she debuted close to the game’s start and is still reasonably popular by the standards of original characters, she might seem great for beginners who are looking to specialize in a Killer without investing in any of the premium options.
The thing is, The Huntress is a fairly difficult Killer to master, although she can be absolutely deadly in the right hands and has remained a constant force over the years. While she did not receive any major tweaks in 2025, 2024 brought some almost unnecessary improvements that firmly established The Huntress as one of the better ranged Killers in Dead by Daylight (or re-established, to be exact).
If you are a newcomer who is looking to come to grips with Anna, the above Huntress builds will help, but you should primarily spend your first few games just trying to get a feel for her moveset and core weapon. She is a potentially good chase Killer, although you will want to throw as many hatchets as possible. Honestly, ignore accuracy and just focus on volume. If you don’t throw a hatchet, you will definitely not hit any Survivor.
Is The Huntress Viable in 2026?
Should You Even Bother With Anna Nowadays?
Dead by Daylight is constantly evolving, both in terms of new add-ons and also the general meta. Although still early days, 2026 has already seen the arrival of one major new Killer, The First, courtesy of the “Stranger Things Chapter 2” pack. The First as a new Killer. March’s “All-Kill: Comeback” might not contain a fresh murderer, but Behaviour Interactive will definitely release a few more add-ons by the end of the year.
Due to the game’s ever-evolving nature, no character is guaranteed to be forever deadly or useless. For instance, an update towards the end of 2025 completely changed the meta by elevating Michael Myers (aka, The Shape) to a top-tier Killer, giving the legendary slasher a final great run before the Halloween DLC was delisted in January 2026 (the characters can still be used, they just cannot be purchased anymore). Currently, Albert Wesker (aka The Mastermind) is the most popular DBD Killer, followed by Ghoul, Blight, and First.
So, that brings us to Anna. As previously mentioned, the Huntress is and will seemingly always be one of the most reliable Killers in Dead by Daylight. Her ability to hurt Survivors from a distance ensures that she can maintain pressure loops and end chases quickly, provided the player knows what they are doing. Unlike so many Killers that need optimized perks to be threats at moderate or higher levels, the Huntress can get the job done with a fairly wide variety of builds, just because Hunting Hatchets is such a strong base power. As long as players manage to regularly land hits, they will be dangerous.
In terms of weaknesses, the Huntress has a few, which is the case with almost all Killers. She is slow, both in movement and recovery. If she misses a throw, Survivors will have plenty of time to get distance between them. As she is a ranged killer, she needs clear sightlines to really shine, something that isn’t afforded by a few of the interior maps.
The Huntress is a high-skill, high-reward Killer in 2026. She rarely, if ever, sits at the very top of the meta as the best DBD Killer, but she is nearly always in the top 10.
Killers like The Blight, Spirit, and even Nurse can be better than Huntress, but they excel in different areas. Blight has great mobility, Spirit controls loops, and Nurse’s Blink is incredibly OP.
