The Trapper has the ability to pick up and place bear traps found throughout the map. When set, these traps will immediately capture, immobilize, and injure a survivor that steps in them. These traps can be disarmed, though it takes a few seconds and alerts the Trapper to the disarmed trap's location. These traps can be sabotaged and rendered unusable with a toolbox or the perk "Saboteur." When facing a Trapper, keep yourself on the lookout for orange objects on the ground (these traps can also be painted brown and black depending on add-ons). Traps are also difficult to see in tall grass, so walk in areas like those while watching for the "Disarm Trap" prompt. Avoid areas that are well-known by all players of the game, as a Trapper is likely to have a trap placed there.
You are very unlikely to see a Wraith, as he is widely regarded as the weakest killer in the game. Though he may be difficult to see initially, and has no heartbeat radius when invisible, he is slightly visible (think active camouflage) when he is close. Watch for a slight shimmer, and listen for a Wraith's snarls. The Wraith has to ring his bell in order to hurt survivors, so take this as your time to run away. The Wraith can also be burnt and stunned by flashlights when cloaked. The Wraith may raise his bell to fake you out into dropping a pallet, as it makes the same noise and has a similar look to him preparing to lunge.
The Hillbilly is a very strong killer, as he has fantastic map control and mobility. The Hillbilly can walk like a normal killer, but his main method of travel will most likely be his chainsaw. After charging his chainsaw, he will break into a sprint and run with his chainsaw out until he hits a survivor, obstacle, pallet, or ends it himself by letting go of the button to use his chainsaw. When charging his chainsaw, The Hillbilly moves slowly until he sprints. At the start of the chainsaw sprint, the Hillbilly has very sensitive turning, but is slightly slower. However, as the chainsaw sprint continues, he grows faster and faster, but is also limited in turn speed. Any survivor hit by the chainsaw will instantly be put into the crawling state. When facing the Hillbilly, run behind obstacles or around corners, as the Hillbilly cannot turn very well after the start of his chainsaw sprint. When he uses his chainsaw, the Hillbilly gives his position away in terms of audio, so listen to his chainsaw.
The Nurse is most definitely accepted as the strongest killer in the entire game, as she has the same properties as The Hillbilly, but can also end chases very quickly. She has the ability to teleport, and when doing so will go through all obstacles except for outer walls and exits (though she can still go through exit gates). When teleporting, she gains a very long lunge that automatically aims for survivors. After teleporting, the Nurse will be stunned temporarily, and is forced to look downwards. Take this as your chance to run away! The Nurse also cannot cancel her blink, so if she has it charged, run towards her. This will force her to either blink, or just stare at you. If there is a locker nearby when she is teleporting, hide in it. The Nurse cannot hurt you while inside a locker if she is teleporting or is stunned.
The Shape can be a very difficult killer to play against if you do not have very good situational awareness. He has practically no terror radius at the beginning of the game, and must watch survivors to gain power. At his first level, The Shape has an eight-meter terror radius, is slower than an average killer, and has a very short lunge. When in his second level, The Shape has a sixteen-meter terror radius, normal killer speed, and a slightly longer than normal lunge. When at his final level, level three, The Shape has a normal terror radius (32 meters), very fast window vault speed, a very extended lunge range, and the ability to instantly incapacitate survivors. When facing the Shape, look around you, specifically for a bright white mask. There are also audio cues associated with the Shape. When he is close to another level and stalking you, you will hear a repeating piano. When advancing to level two, you will hear a short, quiet version of the Halloween theme. Finally, when the Shape reaches level 3, you will hear a very loud, extended version of the Halloween theme. Make sure to break from the Shape's line of sight in a chase, as he must watch a survivor to advance a level.
The Hag is a very mediocre killer to play against, but is still formidable. The Hag places triangle symbols on the ground in mud as her power. When these symbols are walked next to by a survivor, a fake copy of the Hag will jump out of the ground and scream at the survivor. The survivor will scream and have their camera forcibly turned towards the fake Hag. If the Hag is within a certain range of the trap, she can then teleport to the trap's position and be able to attack. The Hag's traps will have a fake heartbeat, and the fake Hag will turn towards the survivor's general direction, giving the Hag an idea of where the survivor has gone. The Hag has a few weaknesses that a survivor can exploit, however. The Hag is very, very short, with her camera being placed low to the ground. Though this allows for the Hag to be mistaken as a survivor, or potentially mindgame in chases with her height, a survivor can use her height to their advantage by hiding in certain areas. Some areas include any second floor of buildings, hills, or corn fields. These spots take advantage of the Hag's height, as she must actively search to find survivors in these areas. Her traps are also countered by crouching. When crouching, the Hag's traps cannot be tripped. With the perk "Urban Evasion," (When crouching, you move at 90%/95%/100% speed) you can pretty much just crouch walk around the entire map and avoid tripping them entirely. The Hag's traps can also be destroyed by flashlights. The Hag is slightly slower than other killers, but has a larger lunge to compensate. She also has a terror radius of only 28 meters.
The Doctor used to be a very weak killer, with almost no utility to his ability. However, due to a recent change to his mechanics, he can be easily viewed as one of the strongest killers in the game. The Doctor has two modes to his power: Punishment and Treatment. In Punishment mode, the Doctor is a standard killer (standard lunge, 32 meter terror radius [unless he has add-ons], standard speed). However, the Doctor's true power comes with his alternate mode, Treatment. In Treatment mode, the Doctor takes on a different pose, raising his fist in front of him. He has slower speed, and cannot attack. In this mode, any survivor in his terror radius will start to gain a debuff specific to the Doctor, called Madness. I will cover the effects of Madness later, but the basic idea is that it causes the survivor to go insane. When in Treatment mode, the Doctor can shock survivors, with range and charge time dependent on add-ons. Shocking survivors has two effects. The first effect is that the surivor's Madness level substantially increases (This can be affected by the "Discipline" add-on). When shocked, the next effect is that the survivor cannot interact with anything for about 2.5 seconds. Switching between the two modes (Punishment and Treatment) takes about .5 seconds, leaving a recently-shocked survivor with 2 seconds of not being able to interact with anything. Now, for Madness. Madness is one of the most complicated mechanics in the game, with many elements to it. There are three tiers to it, and they can be affected by add-ons. Right now, I will talk about normal Madness (no add-ons). At tier one, the only effects induced is that the survivor screams, revealing their position to everybody, and another, more debilitating effect. At Madness 1, skill checks have a 33% chance to appear in a random position on the screen. When this happens, the screen will shake and be shortly obscured by static. At Madness 2, this effect will be strengthened, with a 66% chance for this randomly positioned skill check. At Madness 2, effects are much more noticeable, though not as debilitating as Madness 3. In Madness 2, the survivor will scream as usual, and a new effect is added. The survivor will begin to hallucinate, and see fake images of the Doctor. The Doctor can see these as well, allowing him to locate surivors more easily. Madness 3 is absolutely awful for a survivor to go into, and should be removed immediately by a survivor. There are 5 effects a survivor goes through when in Madness 3. The first effect causes to survivor to scream, though it is much more pronounced. The second effect makes the Doctor hallucinations a huge threat, as the Doctor can see auras of the hallucinations through walls. The third effect is a very strong improvement of the skill check debuff, raising the chance of this occurring to 100%. The fourth effect is almost as debilitating as the final effect. Survivors will scream frequently, revealing their position to everyone. The final effect is the most affecting of all. When in Madness 3, a survivor has all actions besides throwing pallets down, vaulting through windows, and hiding in lockers removed. The only way to get rid of Madness 3 is to Snap Out of It. When doing this, the survivor curls into a ball, covering their head with their hands. They will have to remain this way for about ten seconds, and will randomly receive skill checks. Failing any of these skill checks will reset the Snap Out of It bar to the beginning, and cause the survivor to automatically scream. When in Madness 3, survivors will tuck in their arms close to them, and will have a full circle of static around their icon. I will cover interesting add-ons later, but this is about it for the Doctor otherwise. When playing against him, stealth will get you killed. Though lockers prevent you from gaining Madness, the Doctor may know this as well, and could check nearby lockers. A better idea is just to get out of the Doctor's terror radius as fast as possible, to avoid gaining Madness. When the Doctor is charging up his shock, try to avoid it by running up to him or by running the other direction from his shock.
The Huntress is most likely the second best killer in the game, as she can end chases very quickly. The Huntress starts the game with five hatchets. When using her ability, the Huntress will raise her hatchet. This hatchet will then be thrown towards the center of the screen in an arc. The longer the hatchet is held, the faster the hatchet will travel through the air. When held for the maximum amount of time, the hatchet will make a noise as if it is sharpened. The Huntress has reduced speed when winding up to throw her hatchet. Hatchets can be grabbed at lockers. In this animation, the Huntress will grab a hatchet, inspect it, and put it on her belt. Though it may defy logic, she will now have all five hatchets again. Though it has nothing to do with her base ability, add-ons for the Huntress give debuffs to survivors hit with hatchets. The Huntress constantly hums a Russian lullaby, getting more and more deranged as time passes without a chase. The lullaby has a range of 40 meters, and is directional, meaning it is possible to determine where the Huntress is coming from. When playing against the Huntress, use this to your advantage, and hide according to the lullaby. Watch the Huntress while she is chasing you! If you hear her grunt or see her raise up a hatchet, run in a zigzag pattern. This will make it difficult for the Huntress to hit you with a hatchet. If she attempts to throw a hatchet over obstacles at you, duck. Though the hatchet can cross over obstacles, it cannot hit crouched survivors. Be careful to not vault over a pallet or window or throw down a pallet when the Huntress has a hatchet raised. It locks you into a position, and makes you incredibly easy to hit. The Huntress moves slightly slower than an average killer, and has a terror radius of 20 meters.
The Cannibal is one of the more simple killers. He has normal killer statistics, and his ability is very similar to the Hillbilly's, both involving chainsaws. There are a few key differences, however. When the Cannibal charges up his chainsaw, he must let go of the ability button to use it. The Cannibal will then start to swing his chainsaw rapidly. He will move slightly faster than normal, but does not sprint like the Hillbilly. If he bumps into something while using his ability, he will break into a tantrum. Though he will be stuck in place, the Cannibal will swing his chainsaw around him, downing close survivors. When playing against the Cannibal, try to avoid areas without obstacles, as it lets the Cannibal effectively get a free chainsaw hit. Try to either break direct contact with pallets or windows, as the Cannibal can still go around objects with ease. Jumping in a locker comes with large risk, as the Cannibal can wait for his chainsaw swings to end or bump into the locker to prevent you from leaving. With proper timing however, this could work. Keep in mind that the Cannibal moves very slowly when charging his chainsaw, and can break pallets with his chainsaw.
The Nightmare is a decent to sub-par killer, but can still pose some threat. The Nightmare is invisible at all times, and is always in the dream world. The Nightmare cannot harm survivors normally, with his glove knife passing through normal surivors. The Nightmare has the ability to make people fall asleep. When falling asleep, a survivor's head will lean on their shoulder, the edges of the screen will turn blue, and the survivor will see the Nightmare, gradually disappearing. After about 7 seconds (this can be changed with add-ons) the survivor will enter the dream world. In the dream world, the map is much more foggy, and is rather bright. In the dream world, the survivor can fully see the Nightmare, hear him, and be injured by him. Survivors also have two additional effects. The first is that a survivor will have incredibly reduced repair speed. The second is that when outside of the Nighmare's terror radius (24 meters), survivors can be seen by the Nightmare. When asleep, survivors have three ways to wake up. The first is to have somebody else wake the surivor up. This takes about 8 seconds, in which the other person will snap their fingers twice, clap twice, and snap once more. The second way to wake up is to fail a repair or heal skill check. If a person being healed is in the dream world when a skill check is failed on them, they will wake up instead. If a generator skill check is failed, all people working on the generator will wake up. The final method of waking up is usually not preferable. If a survivor is hooked, they will instantly leave the dream world. When awake, a survivor near the Nightmare will hear the infamous lullaby. Though it may sometimes sound like it, the lullaby is not directional, so do not be decieved by this. Though the Nightmare is incredibly strong when pitted against stealth, he has no abilities to help him in chases. Because of this, one being chased with the proper skills can keep the Nightmare occupied.