Dead by Daylight Trickster Guide - Ready Games Survive

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Arron is a featured team writer and lifelong gamer. Ever since he started playing games on his old SNES, and has been hooked ever since. He has a particular love for games like Pillars of Eternity, Skyrim, a variety of beloved indie titles, and also a few online shooters to serve as a means of avoiding open-world fatigue. Outside of gaming, he enjoys watching arthouse movies, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and writing fiction.

Key Info Up Front

Name: Ji-Woon Hak
Power: Showstopper
Movement Sped: 4.4 m/s
Terror Radius: 24 meters
Perks: Hex: Crowd Control, No Way out, Starstruck

Trickster Overview

The Trickster is a ranged killer that can throw a flurry of knives that deal less damage than other ranged killers like the Huntress. However, they are much faster and come with debuffs that can help debilitate survivors caught by them.

The Trickster also comes with three unique perks that focus on targeting survivors attempting to rescue their teammates and controlling the map by blocking off areas to make chasing and finding survivors easier for him.

The Trickster story began when Ji-Woon Hak was a child growing up in South Korea. His parents owned a small restaurant, and Ji-Woon’s love for being in the spotlight led to him performing tricks with throwing knives to attract tourists and passersby into the establishment.

Since the shows worked so well, his parents invested the restaurant’s profits into more lessons for him to learn how to dance and sing.

Ji-Woon’s parents also hoped that the lessons would help their son achieve the fame they had wished for growing up but were unable to reach.

Their investment paid off, as Ji-Woon was eventually recruited by the talent agency Mightee one Entertainment, which trained him for years to be a perfect K-Pop idol.

After his training, Ji-Woon was placed in a band called NO SPIN. He elevated the band’s image and portfolio almost immediately, and he quickly began feeding on the adoration and attention it brought to him.

But over time, Ji-Woon grew frustrated that the admiration of his fans had to be shared with his four bandmates as well, who weren’t as good as him and didn’t appreciate it as he did anyway.

Eventually, luck was on Ji-Woon’s side, as after recording the band’s last album, he returned from a lunch break to find all four of his bandmates trapped behind fallen speakers in a fire at the recording studio. Ji-Woon seized the opportunity and left them to burn, relishing in their calls of his name as he turned away from them.

Of course, the reality was twisted for the public telling of what happened, painting Ji-Woon as a tragic figure who did everything he could to save his bandmates and bore an unbelievable burden all on his own.

The publicity garnered from the lie was leveraged to launch Ji-Woon’s solo career as the Trickster, a solo act defined by a wild persona with a soft, tragic underbelly. However, it was then that he first began calculating his first murder when he was in the shadows, away from the stage lights and interview cameras.

The Rise of the Trickster

For his first victim, the Trickster targeted a college student. He tied him to the bed and gagged him with a rag before taking his time slowly cutting him apart while he was still alive. But, Ji-Woon was left unsatisfied by the experience.

There was no sound, no connection with the victim through their screams, or a clear correlation between his actions and the victim’s reactions. So, he started abducting victims rather than taking his devious intentions to them. He took them to an abandoned building where he could leave them ungagged, allowing him to soak in their distress and emotions.

The Trickster then became fascinated with identifying which wounds correlated with different sounds in his victims. There is a stab here to make a low groan or a slice there to make them yell in agony.

All of his sessions were recorded, and he would spend hours just listening to them, and he even began working them into his songs with heavy effects and multiple layers on top of them to obfuscate what was there.

He enjoyed his work so much that he began leaving convoluted and flamboyant clues for the police at his crime scenes, causing his murders to be discussed all over the globe for their eccentricities.

Ji-Woon’s dedication to elaborate murders took up most of his time eventually. It took up so much that his career started taking a hit, bringing the ire of the executive board of Mightee One’s board.

The board ultimately decided that Ji-Woon could no longer produce his music as the Trickster since it wasn’t performing up to their standards.

However, his agent fought to give him one last chance, a private show in front of the board to prove his point, which the Trickster was determined to use to create his magnum opus.

He did so by flooding the room with the board with nitrous oxide before he arrived, putting them all in a delirious half-conscious state. The board members were then tied together, with the Trickster’s agent tied up in front of the stage as his only audience member.

With the group on the stage, the Trickster’s applied crude makeup to them and then turned on the stage lights and music. He orchestrated a symphony of pouring blood, yells, and moans of incredible pain as he slowly cut and dismembered each of them in turn.

After his performance met its crescendo and the last board member slumped forward lifelessly, the Fog of the Entity appeared and surrounded the Trickster.

The Fog showed him a new stage, one with an infinity of onlookers that wanted him to show them the truest expression of humanity.

He envisioned a show where he didn’t have to obscure his true art for the common folk that wasn’t equipped to handle it. He saw what would be the best tour of his career and excepted the Entity’s offer.

Trickster Perks

Like all killers, the Trickster comes with three personal perks that help define his playstyle. The perks can also be unlocked by progressing through his Blood Web, allowing players to equip them with other killers in the game for unique combinations. His perks are:

Hex: Crowd Control

Places a Hex Totem on the map. As long as that Hex Totem hasn’t been blessed or cleansed, Windows that survivors perform rushed vaults on are blocked by the Entity for 14/17/20 seconds depending on perk rank.

No Way Out

This perk gets one new token on it whenever the Trickster hooks a survivor for the first time during the match. The perk then activates when the Exit Gate has been powered. It gives the Trickster a loud noise notification and blocks both Exit Gate Switches for 12 seconds.

Depending on the perk’s rank, the Exit Gate Switches are blocked for an additional 6/9/12 seconds for each of the perk tokens.

Starstruck

This perk is all about punishing survivors that try to help any survivors that the Trickster is carrying. While he carries a survivor, other survivors in his Terror Radius are afflicted with the Exposed status effect, which stays for 26/28/30 seconds after they leave your terror radius.

The effect also stays for 26/28/30 seconds on any survivors in your Terror Radius when the Trickster hooks that survivor. The perk also has a 60-second cooldown before it can be activated again.

Trickster Abilities

The Trickster’s iconic weapon is known as the Polished Head-Smasher. It is an aluminum baseball bat modified with a large blade on end and a grip with attached brass knuckles.

His unique power is Showstopper, which gives him 44 blades that he can throw during the game. If the Trickster runs out of knives, he can get more from any of the Lockers on the map.

Players can decide to throw only one knife or can hold down the attack button to throw multiple. If the player throws a flurry of knives, their movement speed decreases further, but the knives benefit from greater control and throw rate.

As survivors are hit with the Trickster’s knives, they build a Laceration Meter. Once the meter is filled by being hit with six knives, they lose a Health State. If the survivor has managed to avoid any knives for a short while, their Laceration Meter will decrease, while it also decreases when they are hit with a basic attack.

When the Trickster hits a survivor with a blade, he also has an Event Meter. Once the meter is filled, the killer can activate his ability, The Main Event.

While the ability is active, the Trickster can throw an infinite number of knives, his throw rate is boosted, and his movement speed does not go down from throwing the knives.

The mode can also be ended early to reset the Trickster’s Event Meter and start the Showstopper ability’s cooldown. The Trickster has the follow attributes:

Throw State Walk Speed: 3.86 m/s
Main Event Walk Speed: 3.86 m/s
Showstopper Charge Time: 0.35 seconds
Main Event Throw Rate Multiplier: x1.6667
Knife Projectile Speed: 55 m/s
Laceration Meter Decay Delay: 15 seconds

The Trickster’s ability can also be customized with these unique add-ons:

Rarity	Add-On	Description
Common	Trick Pouch	Raises the Trickster’s knife-carrying capacity by four and gives him four more knives at the start of the game.
	Memento Blades	Boosts the Bloodpoints Trickster gains from Showstopper score events by 100% and gives each survivor’s Laceration meter one more charge.
	Killing Part Chords	Increases the Trickster’s movement speed while in Throw State by 1%.
	Inferno Wires	Boosts the duration of Main Event by 25%.
Uncommon	Tequila Moonrock	Boosts the duration of Main Event by 50%.
	On Target Single	It keeps the Laceration Meter from starting to decay for an additional 2 seconds.
	Lucky Blade	Boosts the duration of Main Event by 0.2 seconds for each successful hit with a knife.
	Ji-Woon’s Autograph	Boosts the throw rate of the Trickster’s knives by 1 stack.
	Caged Heart Shoes	Increases the Trickster’s movement speed while in throw state by 2.5%.
Rare	Melodius Murder	Decreases the time it takes to reload your knives at Lockers by 20%.
	Waiting For You Watch	Boosts the duration of Main Event by 0.3 seconds for each successful hit with a knife.
	Ripper Brace	Keeps the Laceration meter from starting to decay for an additional 3 seconds.
	Fizz-Spin Soda	Boosts the throw rate of the Trickster’s knives by 2 stacks.
	Bloody Boa	Increases the Trickster’s maximum knife-carrying capacity by 8 and gives him 8 more knives at the start of the game.
Very Rare	Trick Blades	Gives the Trickster’s knives the ability to ricochet off the environment twice.
	Edge of Revival Album	Makes the Trickster’s knives shatter when they hit the environment, increasing nearby survivors’ Laceration Meters by 50% of the normal amount.
	Diamond Cufflinks	Reveals the aura of survivors for six seconds when their Laceration Meter will be full after one more hit with a knife.
	Cut Thru U Single	Allows the Trickster’s knives to pierce through survivors, dealing each subsequent survivor 50% Laceration.
Ultra Rare	Iridescent Photocard	Afflicts survivors with the Exposed status effect when their Laceration Meter will be filled with just one or two more knife hits.
Ultra Rare	Death Throes Compilation	Refills the Trickster’s blades when he exits Main Event.

Trickster Builds

So, if you’re planning on learning the Trickster, here are some builds that are strong options for you to try it. However, to cover the Trickster’s weaknesses, these builds use a lot of perks from other killers, so you’ll need to level them up beforehand.

Late Game Trickster

This build is a great starting point for Trickster players because it boosts your late-game power to help you recover if the survivors get far enough to power up the Exit Gates.

This will help you learn how to play to the Trickster’s fundamentals and strengths while helping cover his late-game weakness. For this build, use add-ons that increase his movement speed or help you use Main Event as much as possible to give you time to get comfortable with using it. For this build, you’ll also need these perks:

No Way Out (Trickster): This perk gets one new token on it whenever the Trickster hooks a survivor for the first time during the match that blocks the Exit Gate Switches for 12 seconds and an additional 12 seconds for each token when the Exit Gate is powered.
Remember Me (Nightmare): This perk gives you an Obsession. Whenever the Obsession drops a Health State, this perk gets a token. For each token, the opening time of the Exit Gates by four seconds for all survivors that aren’t the Obsession.
Blood Warden (Nightmare): This perk activates when the Exit Gate opens and reveals the Auras of survivors within its area. This perk also blocks the exits for all survivors for up to 60 seconds once per game when a survivor is hooked while the perk is active.
Hex: No One Escapes Death: As long as one Dull Totem is left on the map when the Exit Gate opens, this perk activates. When it does, the killer’s movement speed is raised by up to 4% and afflicts all survivors with the Exposed status effect.

Hunting Trickster

This build focuses on buffing the Trickster’s throwing knives to make him as efficient of a hunter as possible.

This build requires players to be confident with the Trickster’s abilities to effectively hunt down survivors and apply pressure to the players to keep them from finishing the generators and progress the game to its later stages.

For this build, you’ll want the add-ons Iridescent Photocard to help you find survivors with a Laceration Meter almost full and the Bloody Boa to keep you stocked up on throwing knives. You’ll also need these perks:

Corrupt Intervention (Plague): This perk blocks survivors from working on the three generators furthest from the killer at the start of the match for up to 120 seconds.
No Way Out (Trickster): This perk gets one new token on it whenever the Trickster hooks a survivor for the first time during the match that blocks the Exit Gate Switches for 12 seconds and an additional 12 seconds for each token when the Exit Gate is powered.
Pop Goes the Weasel (Clown): This perk activates when a survivor is hooked. For up to 45 seconds, the next generator the killer damages loses 25% progression and puts the generator into regular generator regression afterward.
Hex: Ruin (Hag): As long as the totem has not been blessed or cleansed, all generators regress at up to 200% of the normal rate when they aren’t being worked on.

Area Control Trickster

This Trickster build is for controlling where survivors can go to make chasing them down easier. It helps prevent them from looping the Trickster, which can be a problem because of his lower movement speed.

This build works very well with add-ons that boost your movement speed or allow you to throw knives faster. If you’re going for this build, use these perks:

Hex: Crowd Control (Trickster): Places a Hex Totem on the map that makes Windows that survivors perform rushed vaults blocked by the Entity for up to 20 seconds.
Bamboozle (Clown): Allows the killer to perform vaults up to 15% quicker and blocks those vault spots for survivors up to 16 seconds later.
Claustrophobia: Blocks all Windows and Vault locations within 32 meters of a completed generator for 30 seconds.
Zanshin Tactics (Oni): Makes the auras of Pallets, Windows, and Breakable Walls within 32 meters of you visible.

Trickster Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s

Get close to survivors even when using your throwing knives. This will help you score successful hits much more consistently.
Learn the hitboxes of environment objects so that they don’t get in the way of a critical knife throw that could have won you the match.
Take advantage of the Obsession mechanic using perks.
Buff his movement speed as much as possible with add-ons to help him get around the map and make up for his slower movement speed.
Learn the maps and identify which areas work well for your knives and chases so that you can push survivors into those areas and take advantage of it.

Don’ts

Hoard knives. You can always get more from Lockers, and it doesn’t take long to grab them, so throw them whenever a good opportunity arises.
Let chases go on for too long. The Trickster doesn’t have as many late-game options as other killers, so getting too distracted or letting a survivor loop you for too long can easily put you into an unwinnable position.
Waste Main Event on survivors that are already weak or in a poor situation.
Overcommit to chasing one survivor. Trickster’s low movement speed makes it pretty easy for him to get looped by more agile survivors.

Trickster Trivia

The Trickster hums the English nursery rhyme “Ring a Ring o’ Roses.”
The blade capacity of 44 is a reference to Tetraphobia. Tetraphobia is a superstition common in East Asia because the number four sounds similar to the word death in some Asian languages.
The Trickster was the first killer added to Dead by Daylight to speak a modern language.
The Trickster was the first killer that allows players to turn on subtitles to see what he says in Korean.

FAQs

Question: Is the Trickster Hard to Play in Dead by Daylight?

Answer: The Trickster is a medium-difficulty killer. He uses some of the same fundamentals common among all killers but still requires players to learn his new mechanics and strategies.

Question: What Maps is the Trickster Good On in Dead by Daylight?

Answer: The best maps for Trickster players to hope for are The MacMillan Estate, Crotus Prenn Asylum, Backwater Swamp, Grave of Glenvale, Midwich Elementary School, and Lery’s Memorial Institute.

Question: Is the Trickster Good in Dead by Daylight?

Answer: Any killer in Dead by Daylight can be strong if played well enough, and the Trickster is no different.

He has some weaknesses that survivors can exploit if they are skilled enough, but there are ways for Trickster players to stop them. So, he can be a strong killer, but it takes some time and effort to learn to play him effectively.

Conclusion

The Trickster offers players a fun and unique way to approach hunting down survivors in Dead by Daylight.

His medium-range approach to being a ranged killer may not be to every player’s liking, but it is a great introduction to that style of play and comes with some unique aspects that can be a blast to explore and tailor to one’s preferences.

His unique personality and charm make him a lot of fun to play, so any killer players looking for an unforgettable experience don’t have to look any further than the Trickster.