Dead By Daylight best Artist build (April 2023)

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Image of the Artist in Dead By Daylight.

Probably the Killer with the most interesting background, Carmina Mora aka "The Artist" was added to Dead by Daylight with the release of Chapter 22. Featuring a unique crow power, the Artist quickly became one of the most interesting Killers to play.

She is a tricky Killer to use, however, if you master her powers she can prove to be one of the best in the game. With that said, here is a collection of the best perks, add-ons, and tips and tricks to have those Survivors quaking in their boots.

For even more on Dead by Daylight, check out our killers tier list to see where each villain ranks. We've also got the best survivor perks ranked, on top of the latest Dead by Daylight codes to redeem.

The Artist lore in Dead by Daylight

Who doesn't love learning about the backstory of these killers? So here it is:

The new Killer is The Artist: gifted but tormented Chilean painter Carmina Mora. Carmina was on the verge of taking her own life just before she was saved by an eerie murder of crows. The unreal experience transformed her jet-black ink surrealist art form into a bolder, larger and more colorful expression.
She started painting large-scale militant murals on street corners, exposing local corruption. Everywhere she performed, crows followed. As she soared in the public eye and shed more light on corruption, she started receiving death threats. The fateful moment arrived, and Carmina was abducted with her friends and taken to an abandoned graveyard in the middle of the desert.
Her wrists were severed, and her tongue chopped off. At the same moment, a torrent of crows erupted from the clouds once again, this time to assault her assailants as well as her friends. After this brutal encounter left her maimed, Carmina was taken by the Entity. Twisted into a grotesque vessel of vengeance, she would turn anyone in her path into carrion for the flock. 

What are the Artist's perks in Dead by Daylight?

Grim Embrace

Each time a Survivor is hooked for the first time, Grim Embrace gains a token.

Upon reaching four tokens Grim Embrace activates:

  • The Entity blocks all generators for 30/35/40 seconds.
  • The aura of the Obsession is revealed to you for four seconds.

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance

At the start of the trial, four random hooks are changed into scourge hooks:

  • The auras of scourge hooks are revealed to you in white.
  • Any time a Survivor is hooked on a scourge hook the generator with the most progression explodes, and instantly regresses for 15/20/25%.
  • Survivors repairing that generator will scream, revealing their location.

Hex: Pentimento

You see the auras of destroyed totems. You can perform a ritual on a destroyed totem to resurrect it as a rekindled totem. The more rekindled totems you create, the greater their effects:

  • One totem: Reduces the repair speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %.
  • Two totems: Reduces the healing speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %.
  • Three totems: Reduces the recovery speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30 %.
  • Four totems: Reduces the gate opening speed of all Survivors by 20/25/30%.
  • Five totems: All totems are blocked by The Entity.
  • When a rekindled totem is removed, its remains are consumed by the Entity.
Image of the Artist's Killer Power in Dead By Daylight
click to enlarge

What is the Artist's killer power? Birds of Torment

The Artist's killer power is called Birds of Torment

With this power, the Artist is able to summon three dire crows at her command through the use of the power button. These crows can only be summoned one at a time, and each crow stays idle for a short amount of time, with the length of their summoning time extending with each crow the Artist summons.

When dire crows are summoned, the Artist is able to use her power to send them flying forwards, where they turn into a swarm of crows that can go through objects like walls and buildings.

Summoned dire crows' flight paths can only go in a straight line, but do not stop until they either hit a Survivor or reach the end of the map.

If a Survivor is hit by a swarm of crows, a murder of crows will circle the Survivor - which they will need to repel. The Artist is able to see these crows through a highlighted, white aura until the crows are repelled.

If a Survivor runs into idle crows, they will also get swarmed. Once swarmed, being hit by another swarm of crows will injure them.

A swarm of crows that go past a nearby Survivor - but do not collide with them - will trigger killer instinct.

Image of the Artist sat on a throne in Dead By Daylight.
click to enlarge

Dead by Daylight the Artist killer - best add-ons

Each Killer comes with a number of different add-ons that'll either improve the Killer's base kit or change it entirely for more fun and engaging gameplay. We’ll be honest though, The Artist's add-ons aren't that great and could use some improvement, but we've still managed to narrow down the add-ons that are more effective than most.

Festering Carrion

Reduces the cooldown of the Artist's Birds of Torment power after releasing a dire crow by 0.5 seconds. While good by itself, it is even better when paired up with add-on thick tar for a shotgun effect that can hit Survivors through walls at a much faster rate.

O Grief O Lover

Survivors who are hit with a swarm of crows while using this add-on also suffer the oblivious status effect, making it easy for the Artist to sneak up and give survivors a cheeky smack of her ink-like claw.

Ink Egg

This add-on adds another dire crow to the Artist's arsenal -never a bad thing - but at the cost of reducing the idle time before the crows disintegrate by four seconds. Still, effective for players who like to play the Artist's power like a wild shotgun.

Severed Hands

An add-on that's perfect for tracking due to its ability to cause swarmed Survivors who go near other players in the match to "infect" others with crows too. Works particularly well when the Artist is shooting crows at generators.

Image of the Artist by a gravestone in Dead By Daylight.
click to enlarge

What are the best perks and build for the Artist in Dead by Daylight?

We would go with the following perks for the best possible Artist build:

Corrupt Intervention (Plague perk)

At the start of the trial, the three generators furthest from you are blocked by the Entity for 80/100/120 seconds.

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (Artist perk)

Each time a Survivor is placed on a scourge hook, the generator with the most progress will explode and instantly regress for 15/20/25%. Survivors working on the generator will scream and reveal their location.

I'm All Ears (Ghost Face perk)

Survivors who perform a rushed action within 48 meters of the Artist's location will be revealed for six seconds.

Pop Goes The Weasel (Clown perk)

When a Survivor is hooked, Pop Goes the Weasel will activate for 35/40/45 seconds. After that, performing a damage action on a generator will instantly regress it by 20% of its current progression.

Image of the Artist chasing a survivor in Dead By Daylight.
click to enlarge

Dead By Daylight Artist tips and tricks

  • The Artist is a Killer that's great for pushing Survivors exactly where you want them to be by locking down loops with their dire crows. Survivors will have no choice but to run into them and get injured, or leave the loop entirely, allowing you to down them.
  • Birds of Torment aren't just useful for injuring survivors, they are incredible for tracking Survivors' movements. Use it to your advantage by either firing another swarm of crows and injuring/downing Survivors, or use it to let you know the general direction they are going in, so you can intercept them.
  • Use The Artist's Dire Crows at the beginning to shoot at various generators to see whether Survivors are on them. Even if you don't hit any Survivors directly, there's a big chance you'll trigger Killer Instinct letting you know the general whereabouts of your prey.
  • You don't need to use all three dire crows at once when in a chase. It can be helpful for zoning at loops, but using all three crows leaves you with a longer cooldown than it would if you only used one or two crows (at the very maximum), effectively leaving you powerless.
  • Dire crows are very useful for map information. If you're running perks that involve hex totems, you can push Survivors off them if they are hit with a swarm while cleansing or otherwise messing with a totem.
  • The Artist's power is more effective when you try to predict survivor's movements. So, when you hit them with a swarm, and you can see their aura, try to predict where you think they’ll move next. You can then launch your crows at them and injure/down them.

That's all you need to know about mastering this Killer. Be sure to check back regularly to see how your build could be improved.

In the meantime, check out the killers we wish to see in Dead by Daylight soon, or some games like DBD for when you need a break.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Dead by Daylight and Guides page.