Dead by Daylight Hillbilly Best Builds Guide (July 2026)

Updated on July 12, 2026, by Mark Sammut: Added alternate perk options for each slot, plus a section on how Dead by Daylight’s 2026 patches affected Hillbilly.

Even after a run of nerfs and repeated map layout changes, Max Thompson Jr.—better known as The Hillbilly—remains one of Dead by Daylight’s most lethal Killers. His Chainsaw lets him surge across huge distances, and his ability to quickly put Survivors down after a hit creates intense pressure. With the right setup, Hillbilly can turn a Trial into a constant threat cycle that forces Survivors to make risky decisions.

This guide walks through some of the strongest perks to equip on The Hillbilly, starting with a beginner-friendly option and then moving to a veteran-ready loadout. You’ll also find a short list of Max’s best add-ons to help his playstyle land harder.

The 2026 Meta Changes And Why They Still Matter For Hillbilly

Behaviour Interactive keeps reshaping Dead by Daylight with patches that either shift a specific character’s standing or deliver broad changes that affect everyone. In 2026, the game’s evolution felt more pronounced than usual, with patch 9.6.0 standing out as a major driver of systemic change. While these adjustments didn’t meaningfully harm Hillbilly, they’re still important context for understanding what the meta looks like now.

Stacking the same category of modifiers now provides diminishing returns. Among the 2026 changes, this was one of the most impactful, because it immediately reduced the value of builds that depended on piling the same passive slowdown effects, for example. Hillbilly typically leans on fast movement and aggressive tempo, so he wasn’t hit hard by the specific mechanic—but if your loadout doubles down on redundant copies of the same idea, it may be worth rethinking.
During the opening of a Trial, Killer identity is hidden; it only becomes visible once the Killer begins a chase or injures a Survivor. This applies to all Killers, and it helps Hillbilly by delaying the moment Survivors realize they’re facing a top-tier threat.
Hillbilly’s Terror Radius increased to 40 meters from 32 meters. This change originally arrived in the 2025 8.6.0 patch, so it’s not new, but it’s still the largest adjustment Hillbilly has received in recent years.
Patch 10.0.0 and the arrival of Jason didn’t affect Hillbilly directly, since none of Hillbilly’s perks were considered strong enough to warrant a mention.

The Hillbilly: Best Non-Teachable Build

Good Starting Place For Beginners

If you don’t yet have access to many DLC options, it’s still possible to build a Hillbilly loadout that supports his core strengths using base perks. Hillbilly’s own Tinkerer and Enduring help track generator progress and resist pallet stuns. Meanwhile, Hex: No One Escapes Death adds endgame danger, while Bitter Murmur reveals Survivor positions via generator completions.

Tinkerer (The Hillbilly) – When a generator reaches 70% completion, The Killer gets a sound cue and gains Undetectable for 16 seconds. Note: While Undetectable is active, Hillbilly’s Chainsaw rev is still extremely loud, which can tip Survivors off that he’s on the way. Because of that, Tinkerer is usually better for tight local situations—setting up ambushes—rather than for long-range attempts across the whole map. If you’re far away, the perk mainly helps you learn which generator is about to finish.
Enduring (The Hillbilly) – Pallet stun time is reduced by 50%.
Bitter Murmur (General Perk) – Each time a generator is completed, the auras of Survivors within 16 meters of that generator are revealed for 5 seconds. After the final generator finishes, all Survivors’ auras are shown for 10 seconds.
Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – Once the last generator is completed, Survivors suffer Exposed, and the attacking side gains 4% Haste until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
Alternative 1: Whispers (General Perk) – If a Survivor is within 48 meters (or 40/32 depending on tier), you hear the Entity’s whispers. At higher tiers, Whispers works as a tracking tool, especially when there’s only a single Survivor left.
Alternative 2: Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic Attack damage applies Mangled and Hemorrhage for 70 seconds (or 80/90 on higher tiers). Mangled is particularly valuable for Hillbilly because it slows healing speed.
Alternative 3: Spies from the Shadows (General Perk) – If you are within 20 meters of a Crow, you get an alert when that bird reacts to a Survivor. The trigger range increases to 28 meters and 36 meters at later tiers.

The Hillbilly: Best Build with Teachable Perks

Best Pro Build For Hillbilly

Hillbilly thrives when his perks help him understand where multiple Survivors are. That’s why Discordance is such a strong pick: it makes it easier to close distance and start the next chase. Because Hillbilly’s kit already supports speed and initiative, Pop Goes the Weasel also pairs extremely well with how he pressures the map.

Bamboozle is essentially required in most loadouts, since windows can be a major problem for Hillbilly’s approach. Finally, No Way Out is a dependable endgame tool—either giving you a strong Trial finish or helping salvage a match that otherwise looks doomed.

Discordance (The Legion) – Generators being worked on by two or more Survivors within 128 meters are highlighted in yellow. The highlight triggers a notification, and the yellow aura persists for an additional 4 seconds if the generator leaves range or if only one Survivor remains on it.
Bamboozle (The Clown) – Vaulting speed increases by 15%, and after you vault, the window is blocked for 16 seconds.
Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator within the next 45 seconds removes 30% of its current progress. Note: While it’s undeniably useful, it can disrupt your momentum—since you may not be able to immediately transition into the next chase.
No Way Out (The Trickster) – Gain 1 token for each Survivor hooked, up to 4. Once the exit gates are powered, both gates will be blocked the first time a Survivor interacts with either one. A notification is triggered, and the block duration depends on how many tokens you have, up to a maximum of 60 seconds.
Alternative 1 (For Pop Goes The Weasel): Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – At the start of a match, 4 Hooks become Scourge Hooks, visible by their white glow. When a Survivor is hooked on one of these, Hillbilly gains a Token and several effects follow: first, the generator with the most progress erupts, losing up to 20% of progress (then returning to normal regression). Any Survivor currently repairing a generator will scream, though their positions aren’t revealed. This perk can only activate 4 times in a Trial—once per Scourge Hook.
Alternative 2 (Pair With Scourge Hook, Discordance, and Bamboozle): Grim Embrace (The Artist) – Hook a Survivor to gain a Token. Once you are within 16 meters of that hook, Grim Embrace triggers. With 1–3 Tokens, generators are blocked for up to 10 seconds. With 4 Tokens, all generators are blocked for 40 seconds and the Obsession’s aura is revealed.

Dead by Daylight features a huge roster of Killers drawn from iconic horror franchises, but there’s still plenty of room for more characters to be added over time.

The Hillbilly: Best Add-Ons

Greased Throttle

Greased Throttle is a straightforward add-on with no downsides: it reduces Chainsaw recovery time by 5%. It isn’t game-breaking, but it can matter in specific situations, especially when paired with Lo Pro Chains.

The Thompsons’ Mix

The Thompsons’ Mix lowers recovery time by 10% while you are not in Overdrive. Combining it with Greased Throttle might sound appealing—since you’d be stacking recovery reductions—but 15% less recovery time is generally not worth it. There are typically stronger add-ons available for Hillbilly. Still, it can be a workable option alongside Lo Pro Chains and Iridescent Engravings.

Dad’s Boots and Spiked Boots

Dad’s Boots and Spiked Boots both aim to improve the same Chainsaw behavior, with Spiked Boots offering a slightly larger benefit. They raise the Chainsaw turn rate, which helps you steer through tight loops and punish Survivors who think they’ve got safe angles. Running both together is likely overkill, but using either one with Lo Pro Chains or Iridescent Engravings can make Hillbilly feel much faster and more dangerous.

Iridescent Engravings

Iridescent Engravings is another strong option for Hillbilly. It increases Chainsaw Sprint speed by 20% at the cost of a 12% increase in Chainsaw charge time. In practice, this lets Hillbilly cover long distances almost instantly, giving Survivors even less time to react to the threat of his speed.

Is The Hillbilly Good For Dead By Daylight Beginners?

After roughly a decade on the market, you might expect that anyone interested in Dead by Daylight would already be deeply familiar with its systems. But the game’s continuing popularity—boosted by availability on services like PS Plus Extra and Game Pass—means new players still join constantly.

Once a newcomer finishes the Killer tutorial after picking up the base game, they face a big decision: who to play. The vanilla edition includes a set of free original characters, and Hillbilly is one of them. Based purely on cost and access, he seems like a perfect starter choice because you don’t need extra spending or grinding in-game currency.

However, that assumption doesn’t hold up in terms of gameplay difficulty. The Killers included with the vanilla package aren’t specifically designed to ease players in. Yes, The Wraith is probably the most beginner-friendly Killer in Dead by Daylight, but his fellow starter options are notably harder.

In short, Hillbilly is among the toughest Killers in Dead by Daylight—whether the character is original or licensed. Most Killers require learning, but Max Thompson Jr.’s curve is especially harsh and can punish inexperience directly. If you don’t know maps well, don’t understand Survivor behavior, and aren’t comfortable with chase fundamentals, Hillbilly can quickly become frustrating. That frustration can even push new players away from the game entirely. He’s absolutely worth mastering eventually, but beginners shouldn’t begin with him.

Death arrives in the blink of an eye when The Nurse comes out to play in Dead by Daylight, and this guide highlights the strongest builds to run on her.

Is The Hillbilly A Viable DBD Killer In 2026?

We covered whether Hillbilly is a good starting point, but there’s an even more important question to address: is Max Thompson Jr. actually worth the effort in 2026? Once someone understands the basics and is ready to graduate to a more demanding Killer, Hillbilly is already available to them—so price isn’t the limiting factor. The real cost is time: mastering his skillset can take days, and you don’t want that investment to turn into a disappointing, mediocre performance.

The answer is straightforward: Hillbilly is a great Killer in 2026. Honestly, he’s probably sitting in the top five—an impressive claim given that DBD has accumulated more than 40 characters over the years.

Exceptional Map Mobility

The biggest advantage for Max is how quickly he moves. Chainsaw Spring gives him an extremely fast method of traversing maps, letting him patrol generators, react to Survivor behavior, and maintain pressure more consistently than most Killers. He plays as pure aggression—a constant threat that keeps Survivors uneasy and on the back foot.

Instant Down Potential

Many Killers typically need two hits to down a Survivor, which gives the defending side some room to recover from mistakes. Hillbilly stands out because his one-hit down pressure lets him instantly punish errors. While this won’t always matter as much against expert Survivors who know the matchup and the timings, Hillbilly reliably targets players who panic or misread situations.

Strong Survivor Counterplay

This strength leads directly into his main weakness. Hillbilly’s mechanics are challenging to master but reward players long-term. Still, his overall gameplan follows a fairly established formula across most maps. As a result, experienced Survivors are likely to know how to manage his advantages and counter his pressure. Tight loops and line-of-sight blockers reduce his ability to land Chainsaw hits, and he tends to perform best on larger maps with long sightlines rather than on cluttered layouts.

Alternative Killers To Play Instead of Hillbilly

Even though the recommendation here is Hillbilly over nearly all of the following options, they’re still worth testing if you want something similar in feel—just with different strengths.

The Blight – The only Killer placed above Hillbilly for this comparison. Blight shares the high-mobility identity and heavy chase pressure, but he also comes with a steep learning curve.
The Oni – Oni needs additional setup to reach full potential, but he’s another powerful one-hit threat who can move across maps quickly.
The Nurse – Another top-tier choice. The Nurse’s blink system makes her play differently than almost every other Killer, including Hillbilly. She is extremely hard to learn and master, but her skill ceiling is higher.
The Cannibal (also known as Leatherface) – Since Hillbilly is based on Leatherface, it’s important to mention Bubba. Despite the obvious similarities, their mechanics differ: Leatherface leans more into area control. In this comparison, Hillbilly is the stronger Killer.

Dead by Daylight Hillbilly Builds: Best Perks After 2026 Patch Updates

The 2026 Meta Changes And Why They Still Matter For Hillbilly