Their rule is built on a mountain of bones. Dead by daylight‘s newest killer is The Skull Merchant, a ruthless apex hunter bent on hunting prey worthy of her talents.
After years of experimentation, she has finally perfected her deadliest tool: drones designed to monitor and track any survivor in her vicinity. Meticulously handcrafted from the skulls of their many victims, these grotesque combinations of bone and metal cast an oppressive shadow.
To master this killer effectively, you must be prepared to set traps, analyze key points of interest, and capitalize on emboldened survivors. While The Skull Merchant comes with three character perks – Game Afoot, blow!,and leverage – This guide focuses on their power and how to use it.
The Drone Zone
the power of the skull trader, eyes to the sky, allows her to position multiple drones in locations of her choosing. Some potential locations could be near generators, hex totems, or areas that might have a lot of travel. You will also have a radar that can be used to track the whereabouts of survivors under certain circumstances.
Once a drone has been placed, it enters Active mode and detects survivors in its radius. Note that you are undetectable within this radius and any survivor who enters it will show up on your radar. While in the active zone, the drone will gradually lock onto these survivors and reveal their precise location through Killer Instinct. You will also be exposed.
If several seconds pass and no survivor enters the radius while the drone is in active mode, the drone will switch to scouting mode
Once you’ve placed your drones, you can recall them or manually put them into active mode, although you can’t force a drone back into scouting mode. Consider using this when predicting a survivor will attempt to approach and disable a drone, although you’ll need to trust your instincts first and foremost. Remember, the more survivors actively stressing about drones, the better.
key placements
One of The Skull Merchant’s greatest strengths is her ability to keep track of survivor locations. When spawning into a Trial for the first time, keep in mind that Survivors generally spawn at a considerable distance. Since the Skull Merchant doesn’t have cross-map mobility to effectively disrupt its early game plans, try to predict its future actions.
As you get closer, you’ll notice several generators that still need to be touched – the closer they are to each other, the better. These are ideal areas to base a drone as survivors will eventually find their way to these generators. From there, they must choose between ignoring the drone and committing to the generator, progressing to be unmasked and revealed by Killer Instinct, or attempting to disable the drone and gain a claw trap.
Claw Trap: Whenever a Survivor successfully hacks and disables one of your drones, they receive a Claw Trap. When a Survivor gains a Claw Trap, their location can be tracked on your Radar until the Trap’s battery dies.
Because drones create such a dangerous zone for survivors, it’s effective to expand the perimeter of your web by placing several. This way you maximize the possibility of a favorable outcome. You end up either targeting an exposed survivor or gaining the ability to track a clawed survivor on your radar. There may be times when a claw-trap survivor tries to lure you into an inconvenient place – in this case, it’s up to you to decide if the hunt is worth it.
Ultimately, The Skull Merchant is a killer who specializes in setting traps. So don’t get discouraged if you lose some generators in the early game.
drones and radar
Handling all of these drones can feel overwhelming – especially when your initial placements prove ineffective and you have to improvise on the fly. Drones can be of significant value in a chase, especially when tracking a survivor in a complex loop with limited line of sight.
Killer Instinct not only reveals their exact location when they are within the drone’s active zone, but you also get the instant benefit of being undetectable. That means you don’t have to worry about hiding your red spot, and it makes it harder for survivors to gauge your location.
As for your radar – remember that you have it for a reason, so use it to get important information about the whereabouts of survivors. The leftmost light lets you know where to place a drone, while the rightmost light lets you know when a survivor is in a drone’s active zone. The radar remains unlit when your power is on cooldown. Keep an eye on these visual signals!
The Skull Merchant is all about control, and you’ll soon find that an effective setup can lead to truly unforgiving results. The Skull Trader is now available in Dead by Daylight’s Tools of Torment chapter on Xbox.
Dead by daylight
Behavior Interactive Inc.
$29.99
$14.99
Have you always wanted to play as one of the characters from your favorite horror movies? Dead by Daylight is a 1v4 multiplayer game that draws from all corners of the horror world from a powerful slasher to a terrifying paranormal entity. Choose between an unstoppable killer and one of 4 survivors trying to avoid a gruesome death. Each character has their own comprehensive progression system and many unlockables that can be customized to suit your personal strategy. Work together to escape, or pursue and sacrifice each survivor. This installment of Dead by Daylight gives you access to a roster of 7 Killers (The Trapper, The Hillbilly, The Wraith, The Nurse, The Hag, The Huntress and The Doctor) and 9 Survivors (Meg Thomas, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Dwight Fairfield, Ace Visconti, Nea Karlsson, Bill Overbeck, Feng Min and David King). It also includes two cosmetic add-ons with outfits for different characters.