Best The Nurse Builds in Dead by Daylight (October 2023)

The Nurse is one of Dead By Daylight‘s most notorious Killers, able to tackle survivors from any distance. She is a popular and an exceptionally difficult pick, requiring a ton of time and dedication to master. To help alleviate your troubles, here are our best Nurse builds in DBD.

Best early-game The Nurse build in DBD

Overview of the Nurse's add-ons in Dead by Daylight. — The Nurse is exceptionally difficult, but can be mastered with time. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The Nurse is one of the most challenging Killers to play in Dead by Daylight due to her power requiring lots of precision and muscle memory. For this early build, I’ve chosen readily available Perks and add-ons you don’t need to acquire through prestige levels. This will be true for the mid-game build, too, since The Nurse is difficult as is, and your start should at least be easier. Here are The Nurse’s starting Perks:

Perk	Description
Stridor	Wounded Survivors breathing is louder. At tier three, regular breathing volume is also boosted.
Thanatophobia	For each wounded, dying, or hooked Survivor, the Survivors gain penalties to their repairing, sabotaging, and totem-cleansing activities.
A Nurse’s Calling	Survivors healing themselves or others are revealed to the Nurse if she is within range.

Each of these three Perks is fantastic to use even within builds on other Killers or high-level Nurse loadouts. Thanatophobia and A Nurse’s Calling will especially be helpful to you during the early stages as they hinder Survivors in numerous ways, allowing you to chase them down and quickly subdue them. As for add-ons in the early game, you may want to use the Pocket Watch and the Plaid Flannel since the former increases the time it takes for the fatigue to hit you, and the latter gives you a visual cue of where your teleport will land. Don’t get used to the second one, however, as you will need to remove it in high-level play and require all the muscle memory and intuition you can get.

Best mid-game The Nurse build in DBD

The Nurse looking at a downed survivor in Dead by Daylight. — The Nurse is capable of taking down all four Survivors very quickly. Screenshot by Dot Esports

When you progress through the Bloodweb a bit, you’ll unlock a couple of other Perks that can work very well with the Nurse. Once again, as with the early-game build, we will focus on those Perks that everyone has access to with enough Bloodpoints spent, and we’ll relegate the prestigious builds for the late-game stuff when you get the hang of the Nurse as a Killer, which is a challenge in and of itself. Here are our picks for the best mid-game Nurse Perks:

Perk	Description
Scourge Hook: Monstrous Shrine	Four random Scourge Hooks spawn on the map and grant faster entity progression if The Nurse is far away. Basement Hooks are also turned into Scourge Hooks.
Hex: No One Escapes Death	When all Generators are fixed, all Survivors suffer from Exposed and The Nurse’s movement speed is increased.
Bitter Murmur (Optional)	When a Generator is fixed, nearby Survivors are revealed. When the last Generator is fixed, all Survivors on the map are revealed.
Whispers (Optional)	The Nurse hears whispers when she is in range of a Survivor.

Thanatophobia and The Nurse’s Calling should both be part of your mid-game build. For the sake of providing alternatives, Bitter Murmur and Whispers can be great options to gain more information, especially regarding seeing or hearing Survivors through walls and obstacles because your teleport can phase right through. This can let you catch Survivors by surprise, which is all you’ll ever need. Monstrous Shrine and No One Escapes Death are great to have in the mid-game because you’re still learning, and Generators are bound to be fixed at an accelerated rate until you can master the Nurse fully.

In terms of add-ons, your best bet would be the Wooded Horse and Ataxic Respiration to help you learn how to manage the post-Blink fatigue and landing Blink attacks.

Best late-game The Nurse build in DBD

The Nurse choking Meg Thomas in Dead by Daylight. — When the Nurse catches you, it’s practically game over. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Now, assuming you have progressed through The Nurse’s Bloodweb and perhaps her prestige (alongside the prestige levels of other Killers) you can craft the ultimate late-game build. The Nurse can benefit from several Killers’ unique Perks which, alongside her own, can turn her from a good to an outright fantastic Killer known to all. Here are our picks for the best Nurse late-game Perks:

Perk	Description
Hex: Ruin (The Hag)	When a Generator is not being repaired, it instantly begins regressing at nearly twice the speed, depending on the Perk tier.
Barbecue and Chilli (The Cannibal)	When the Nurse hooks a Survivor, all other Survivors that are far away from them are revealed. Required minimum distance is reduced by the Perk tier.
Infectious Fright (The Plague)	When a Survivor is downed, all other Survivors nearby scream and are revealed for a duration.
Discordance (The Legion)	Generators worked on by two or more Survivors are marked with a Yellow Aura and the Nurse is notified with a loud noise. The Aura briefly remains if there is only one Survivor left fixing the generator.

As you’ll notice, most of these Perks focus on giving the Nurse as much information as possible, which is essentially all she needs. When you know where Survivors are, you can preemptively strike and teleport in front of them for a quick and easy hit. Rinse and repeat until you win the game. Thanatophobia may be also a good choice to combine with Ruin, instead of the Infectious Fright, since Generators will be incredibly difficult to fix if you injure all Survivors.

In terms of add-ons, all you need is to have your Blink up as frequently as possible. Therefore, the Fragile Wheeze and Dark Cincture are your best bets, and if your playstyle focuses on different approaches, you can pick any add-on suited for you.

How to play The Nurse effectively in DBD

The Nurse's bio in Dead by Daylight. — She’s tough to get a hang of, but mighty when you do. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To play The Nurse effectively is simple, albeit challenging. You have to learn how to use the Blink, and the rest is just general Killer gameplay. The Blink can go through walls, and you will rely on preemptive strikes and muscle memory to effectively chase down Survivors. You can phase through multiple walls or even entire buildings if you charge the Blink correctly, and combined with Aura-revealing Perks, this allows you to basically strike at anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Learn how to use the Blink without the Flannel add-on, and you’ll be set for the rest of your time with The Nurse. Keep in mind that the Fatigue is worse if you chain Blinks and is also higher when you hit or miss a target with a Blink attack.

Once you get the hang of the Blink, your Nurse gameplay will improve tenfold, and you’ll likely not want to return to any other Killer ever again.