The bane of Survivors everywhere, The Nurse is one of the deadliest Killers in Dead by Daylight. She is a total game-changer, as she can completely ignore the standard rules of looping by Blinking through structures at devastating speeds. This allows her to quickly land hits on Survivors both near and far before they have a chance to react.
This guide will spotlight some of the best builds to run on one of the most dangerous Killers in Dead by Daylight. These builds have an emphasis on both teachable and non-teachable builds for new players and veterans alike, so that they can strike fear into the hearts of Survivors as they cut them down, regardless of skill level.
Updated on July 27, 2025 by Mark Sammut: The Nurse has not received any significant updates and tweaks since 2023, which just goes to show that Sally has been a near-perfect Killer for years by this point. The upcoming Nurse builds are still viable, but newcomers might be wondering if they should consider Sally if they are relatively new to the game. Is she a good Killer for beginners?
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The Nurse: Best Non-Teachable Build
As powerful as the Nurse is, her mechanics can prove difficult to master for new players. This build aims to passively slow down the game with Thanatophobia to give newer players more time to perfect the Nurse’s movement and encourage pressuring multiple Survivors at once – something that The Nurse excels at. Furthermore, Bitter Murmur, Spies from the Shadows, and A Nurse’s Calling will allow players to keep track of Survivor movements and interrupt healing actions.
- A Nurse’s Calling (The Nurse) – Survivors who heal within a 28-meter range will have their auras revealed.
- Thanatophobia (The Nurse) – For each injured Survivor, repair, sabotage, and Totem-cleansing speeds are slowed by 2%. After all 4 Survivors are injured, there is an additional 12% speed penalty.
- Bitter Murmur (General Perk) – Each time a generator is completed, the auras of Survivors within 16 meters of that generator are revealed for five seconds. Once the last generator is complete, all Survivors’ auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
- Spies from the Shadows (General Perk) – Within a 36-meter radius, cawing crows provide The Killer with a visual cue.
The Nurse: Best Build
This build focuses on using some of the best tracking and generator regression perks currently available in Dead by Daylight. By using The Nemesis’ Lethal Pursuer, The Nurse can immediately find the location of Survivors in order to quickly land a hit. Meanwhile, Pop Goes the Weasel and Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance will massively slow down generator progress upon hooking a Survivor. Finally, Nowhere to Hide allows players to find other Survivors near generators.
- Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis) – At the start of the trial, all survivor’s auras are revealed for nine seconds. This perk also increases the duration of other aura-reading abilities by an extra two seconds.
- Nowhere to Hide (The Knight) – Kicking a generator will reveal the aura of all Survivors within 24 meters for five seconds.
- Pop Goes the Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator in the next 45 seconds will remove 30% of its current progression.
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist) – The Killer starts with four tokens. For each different Survivor hooked on a white Scourge Hook, lose one token and explode the generator with the most progress, causing it to lose 25% of progress.
The Nurse: Best Add-Ons
Plaid Flannel
Useful for beginners, this simple Common Add-On shows players the target location of a Blink, allowing for more accurate positioning.
Heavy Panting
This Rare Last Breath Add-On increases The Nurse’s lunge attack by 30% after performing more than one Blink. This allows the Killer to land hits where Survivors would otherwise be out of reach.
Fragile Wheeze
Acting like Sloppy Butcher (one of the strongest Dead by Daylight Killer perks), the Fragile Wheeze Add-On inflicts the Mangled status ailment for 70 seconds on Survivors hit by Blink attacks. This can help slow down healing speeds by 25%.
Jenner’s Last Breath
Among The Nurse’s most oppressive Add-Ons, Jenner’s Last Breath enables her to warp back to her original position once all her Blinks have been used. This can be used to great effect when patrolling an area while still defending a hook or generator, preventing the anti-camping meter from filling up.
Torn Bookmark
Perhaps The Nurse’s strongest Add-On, this Ultra Rare gives her an extra Blink, at the cost of a 30% power recharge time, giving her more opportunities to land a hit on a Survivor.
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Is The Nurse A Good Killer For Beginners?
While the licensed DLC characters tend to hog the limelight because the prospect of running around as Chucky or Albert Wesker is simply exciting, Dead by Daylight beginners will likely gravitate towards the “free” Killers that are included with the base game. Due to their longevity and accessibility, you might automatically assume they are among the easiest DBD characters to master, and that is certainly the case for Killers like The Wraith or the Hillbilly. However, they all come with learning curves, and some of them are far steeper than others.
Sally Smithson happens to be one of the hardest characters in Dead by Daylight, and newcomers who are just starting might find themselves feeling very lost and unsure of how to act. As so much of her viability relies on her ability to teleport through walls, The Nurse requires you to be familiar with a map’s layout and to also gain a second sense of predicting Survivor behavior and movement, which is something that only comes with experience. Most Survivors know strategies for dealing with The Nurse’s Blink, and they will often try to loop the Killer to remain out of her way.
So, if you are just starting in Dead by Daylight, should you even consider The Nurse? Honestly, yes. Sally is worth the time and investment, even if it might take quite a while for you to become comfortable enough with her to start winning matches. The road might be long, but it can be satisfying. Early on, Plaid Flannel is a useful add-on since it lets you target your Blinks more accurately; however, I recommend removing this add-on after a while so you do not become dependent on it.
Dead by Daylight
- Released
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June 14, 2016
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4
#Builds #Nurse
