Best Trapper Builds in Dead by Daylight (January 2025)

Each Killer’s unique style and skill set are distinct in Dead by Daylight. Some Killers, like DBD’s original Killer The Trapper, can set traps to stop their prey from escaping. Below we’ve highlighted some of the best builds you can use as The Trapper.

Best Trapper builds in Dead by Daylight

DBD’s The Trapper uses bear traps to catch survivors who don’t watch where they step. His personal perks are Unnerving Presence, Brutal Strength, and Agitation, but he can use other existing perks to great effect. As one of the first Killers unlocked in the game, he’s one of the most commonly used, and with the right build, he can be unstoppable. It is always good to check out his add-ons, too, as you unlock them in the Bloodweb. These can help you hide your traps or create new issues for the Survivors as they try to escape them.

Trapper Beginner Build

If you are just learning how to play Killer or have not played with The Trapper yet, this build is a great start. These perks will help you track down survivors easier, down them quicker, and slow the Survivors’ progress.

• Whispers: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • When a survivor is within 48/40/32 meters of the Killer, you can hear voices. The louder the voices, the closer the Survivor is.
• Hex No One Escapes Death: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • When the final generator is powered and at least one Totem is still standing, NOED activates. All Survivors suffer from the Exposed status and can be downed in one hit until the Totem is cleansed.
• Sloppy Butcher: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • This perk slows the healing progress of injured Survivors. If their healing is interrupted the progress regresses very quickly.
• Brutal Strength: A unique Trapper perk.
  • With this perk you can break pallets and blocked doors quicker. This helps your speed during chases and closes loops quickly.

Strategic Trapper build

You can really make your targets feel the fear of being hunted with this build if you want to be a true trapper. Initially, when you attack a Survivor, you will leave them mangled, making them take longer to heal by 20 percent. If a Survivor is downed by one of your basic attacks, all generators within 32 meters will immediately explode and regress. Additionally, Survivors are left to fend for themselves after an eight-percent progress penalty is applied to the generators.

• Thanatophobia: A unique The Nurse perk.
  • The more Survivors are injured, the more they are slowed greatly in repairs, sabotaging, and Totem-cleansing.
• Make Your Choice: A unique The Pig perk.
  • A Survivor suffers with the Exposed effect after unhooking another Survivor, making them reconsider healing their teammate at the hook.
• Sloppy Butcher: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • This perk slows the healing progress of injured Survivors. If their healing is interrupted the progress regresses very quickly.
• Surge: A unique The Demogorgon perk.
  • When a survivor is downed by the Killer, a nearby generator explodes, loses progress, and makes Survivors working at it scream.

Meta Trapper build

This build speeds Trapper up and slows the Survivors down while giving you time to place traps before too much generator progress occurs. You should consider this build if you’re already great at hunting down survivors and just need a build that makes the Trapper powers more useful without affecting your ability to kill.

• Save The Best For Last: A unique The Shape perk.
  • You decrease your basic attack cooldown when you hit Survivors who are not the Obsession.
• Pop Goes The Weasel: A unique The Clown perk.
  • After hooking a Survivor, you can kick a generator and cause it to lose a lot of progress.
• Corrupt Intervention: A unique The Plague perk.
  • This perk blocks three generators for two minutes at the start of the game to give you time to set up traps.
• Dragon’s Grip: A unique The Blight perk.
  • Works well with Pop because it also requires you to kick a generator. When a Survivor returns to the kicked gen and starts repairs, they suffer from the exposed status.

Basement Trapper build

This is a risky build that can go either way. You will either manage to sacrifice every Survivor in the basement, or you will see no Survivor at all, and the Entity will be displeased. You should use a basement offering so you know where the basement will be and can get there quickly. Also, use the Trapper’s Sack add-on so you have all traps at the start of the match, and the Makeshift Wrap so you cannot be caught in your own traps. Your main perks will make you aware of Survivors’ locations while also keeping you undetectable so you can wait in the fully-trapped basement for curious Survivors. The icing on the cake is No One Escapes Death in case they explore the basement during end game.

• Insidious: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • You become undetectable when standing still.
• Hex No One Escapes Death: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • When the final generator is powered and at least one Totem is still standing, NOED activates. All Survivors suffer from the Exposed status and can be downed in one hit until the Totem is cleansed.
• Whispers: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • When a Survivor is within 48/40/32 meters of the Killer, you can hear voices. The louder the voices, the closer the Survivor is.
• Bitter Murmur: A general perk available to all Killers.
  • Every time a generator is completed you see the auras of Survivors for five seconds. When the final gen is done, you see them for 10 seconds.

Terrifying Trapper build

This is arguably the best Trapper build on this list because it is so devastating to even the luckiest Survivors. It plays with how the game’s Obsession feature works, constantly changing who the Obsession is, creating extra opportunities to slow the Survivors’ escape and keep them guessing. You could swap out Infectious Fright with No One Escapes Death if you want to guarantee some end-game sacrifices.

• Friends Til The End: A unique The Good Guy perk.
  • When you hook a Survivor who is not the Obsession, the aura of the Obsession is revealed and they are exposed. When the Obsession is hooked, another Survivor screams and becomes the Obsession.
• Infectious Fright: A unique The Plague perk.
  • Survivors within your terror radius scream when another is downed.
• Remember Me: A unique The Nightmare perk.
  • Every time the Obsession loses a health state, you gain a token worth six seconds. These can add up to a maximum of 24 seconds of extra time added to the opening of the exit gate.
• Furtive Chase: A unique The Ghostface perk.
  • You become undetectable when the Obsession is hooked and gain five percent haste. When a Survivor rescues the Obsession from the hook, they become the Obsession.