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Until 2v8, playing killer was a solitary affair in Dead by Daylight. Only The Knight, Twins, and Nemesis brought friends. The Houndmaster and her loyal dog are a different breed (a Cane Corso, in the latter’s case). Snug can sniff out survivors, race across the map, and haul victims closer. Unfortunately, Snug’s AI has missed a few of Behaviour’s obedience lessons. Still, the right loadout can bring any team to heel. Here are some of the best Houndmaster builds to take a bite out of survivors in Dead by Daylight.
Scourge Hook Build
| Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance | The Artist |
| Scourge Hook: Jagged Compass | The Houndmaster |
| Scourge Hook: Floods of Rage | The Onryo |
| Scourge Hook: Gift of Pain | The Cenobite |
Although it’s fallen out of favor with some, Pain Res still dominates the meta. This loadout goes all-in on Scourge Hooks, providing a balance of info, slowdown, anti-heal, and regression. It’s a dominating stall build, but it all depends on you getting that first Scourge Hook. If you suffer from a bad early chase, sabo squad, or unruly dog AI, it can all come crashing down. Well, they never said being a pirate was low risk.
Pain Resonance damages the generator with the most progress when you hook a unique survivor. Jagged Compass turns a normal hook into a Scourge Hook when a survivor is unhooked. It also reveals the Aura of the gen with the most progress (turning it yellow) upon hooking a survivor. Floods of Rage reveals the Auras of all survivors when a survivor is unhooked from a Scourge. Gift of Pain temporarily inflicts Scourge-Hooked survivors with Hemorrhage and Mangled. The first time that survivor is healed, they suffer a 16% penalty to healing and repairing until injured again.
For add-ons, we recommend Torn Novel and Gunpowder Tin. Torn Novel reveals nearby survivor Auras when aiming and shortly after the Chase Redirect ability. Gunpowder Tin increases the speed at which you break pallets, walls, and generators when at least one survivor is affected by Houndsense.
Hex Build
| Hex: Devour Hope | The Hag |
| Hex: Blood Favor | The Blight |
| Hex: Ruin | The Hag |
| Hex: Pentimento | The Artist |
Hex builds are some of the most lethal they’ve ever been thanks to Thrill of the Hunt. That said, one of the best Houndmaster builds thrives even without Thrill. Ruin and Blood Favor offer potent regression and chase powers, while Devour Hope is a win condition by itself. Even if survivors embrace “If It Glows, It Goes” and cleanse every Hex, you have Pentimento. There’s nothing like rekindling a Totem to watch the hope drain away.
Devour Hope grants stacking buffs with each survivor that you hook, including Haste, the ability to insta-down, and the ability to Mori. Blood Favor prevents survivors from pulling down nearby pallets when a survivor is injured. Ruin causes regenerators to regress at an accelerated speed when not being repaired. Pentimento allows you to rekindle destroyed totems to inflict a series of debuffs, including penalties to repair and healing speed.
For add-ons, we recommend Gunpowder Tin and Fatty Meat. Gunpowder Tin increases the speed at which you break pallets, walls, and generators when at least one survivor is affected by Houndsense. Fatty Meat causes survivors afflicted with Houndsense to periodically scream without notifying The Houndmaster.
Beginner / Basic Build
| Scourge Hook: Jagged Compass | The Houndmaster |
| Sloppy Butcher | Generic |
| Bitter Murmur | Generic |
| Hex: No One Escapes Death | Generic |
Many of the best Houndmaster builds depend upon Prestiging a variety of difficult killers (or paying dearly at the Shrine of Secrets). You can compose a fearsome build from even basic ingredients, however. Jagged Compass and Sloppy help you control the early game, while Bitter Murmur and No One Escapes Death (NOED) guarantee a crushing finale. It doesn’t hurt that you can send Snug to check exit gate switches.
Jagged Compass turns a normal hook into a Scourge Hook when a survivor is unhooked. It also reveals the Aura of the gen with the most progress (turning it yellow) upon hooking a survivor. Sloppy Butcher causes your Basic Attacks to inflict Hemorrhage and Mangled and increases the regression rate of Hemorrhage by 25%. When a generator is completed, Bitter Murmur reveals the Auras of survivors nearby survivors. It also reveals all survivors when the final generator is completed. NOED grants you Haste and the ability to insta-down survivors when the last generator is completed.
For add-ons, we recommend Gunpowder Tin and Leather Harness. Gunpowder Tin increases the speed at which you break pallets, walls, and generators when at least one survivor is affected by Houndsense. Leather Harness temporarily increases the Dog’s Chase speed by 20% after a generator is repaired and permanently when the last gen is completed. Together, they’ll bring you the scent of blood before long.
