Dead by Daylight has over 40 Killers at the moment, and The Spirit has been around longer than the vast majority of them. While seemingly inspired by Japanese horror movies, Rin Yamaoka is an original character, which means she is more accessible than the licensed Killers. Just to be clear, I’m talking about her purchase options rather than usage, as the latter is another thing entirely. Debuting in 2018’s Chapter 9, The Spirit is somewhat a staple of DBD‘s gameplay scene, and she is relatively popular and tends to show up in a decent number of matches. Considering she has not received an update since 2023, this shows that Rin is just an all-around consistent Killer who has carved out a niche for herself, one that does not need to be tweaked to make her a viable option.
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Dead By Daylight: Best Builds for The Onryo
This guide will walk players through the best teachable and non-teachable perks to run on The Onryo in Dead By Daylight.
The Spirit can vanish and throw the Survivors off their tracking game, forcing them to rely on a different sense than usual. If you are a fairly new DBD player and are interested in giving Rin a try, you might need a crash course in her non-teachable perks to get you going with a beginner-friendly build. Once you spend time with the character and unlock further options, you will need to switch to more advanced The Spirit builds.
Updated January 1, 2026 by Mark Sammut: A new year has arrived, but will 2026 be kind to Rin? In fact, is The Spirit even worth playing in 2026? We have added a section discussing that very point.
The Spirit: Best Non-Teachable Build (2025)
Beginner Build For The Spirit
Though a strong Killer, The Spirit comes with a few impressive base kit perks, forcing her to rely on more tried and tested means of killing Survivors, interrupting healing, and stalling the game until the Exposed status hits everyone in the trial.
- Rancor (The Spirit) – Whenever a generator is completed, the Obsession sees the killer’s aura for a short time while the latter sees the location of all Survivors briefly. Once the exit gates are powered, this perk permanently inflicts Exposed on the Obsession and allows the killer to kill them with their hands.
- Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk) – After the final generator is completed, all Survivors suffer from the Exposed status ailment, and you gain a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
- Sloppy Butcher (General Perk) – Basic attacks cause the Mangled and Hemorrhage status ailments for 90 seconds, slowing down healing by 25% and regressing healing progress when left unfinished.
- Hex: Haunted Ground (The Spirit) – Two Hex Totems spawn in the match. When either Hex Totem is cleansed or blessed, all Survivors are Exposed for a certain period, up to a maximum of a minute, at the highest rank. The other Hex Totem immediately becomes a Dull Totem.
The Spirit: Best Build (2025)
Advanced The Spirit Build
With The Spirit’s powerful mobility, perks such as Pop Goes The Weasel, Discordance, and Friends ’til The End synergize exceptionally well with her kit. When everything might look bleak, opt for No Way Out to reliably secure a victory.
- Friends ’til The End (The Good Guy) – After hooking a Survivor that is not the Obsession, the latter is Exposed, and their aura is revealed for a brief period. When the Obsession is hooked, a random Survivor becomes the new Obsession, screaming and revealing their location.
- Discordance (The Legion) – Generators being repaired by two or more Survivors within a large radius are highlighted in yellow. The first highlight triggers a notification, and the aura persists for another four seconds if the generator is no longer in range, or if only one Survivor is working on it.
- Pop Goes The Weasel (The Clown) – After hooking a Survivor, kicking a generator within a set amount of time regresses the generator by a hefty amount.
- No Way Out (The Trickster) – Hooking a Survivor accumulates a token, up to a maximum of four. Once the exit gates are powered, both of them will be blocked when a Survivor interacts with an exit gate. This will trigger a notification and the duration of the block is dependent on the number of tokens, up to a maximum of one minute.
Dead by Daylight: Best Builds for The Xenomorph
This guide will help players master the perfect organism with these builds for The Xenomorph in Dead by Daylight.
The Spirit Best Add-Ons
Gifted Bamboo Comb
While all The Spirit’s Common Add-Ons offer decent buffs to her base kit, perhaps the most effective is the Gifted Bamboo Comb. This power modifier speeds up the rate at which you charge Yamaoka’s Haunting by 15%, allowing you to enter phase faster in a chase.
White Hair Ribbon
Pairing well with the aforementioned Gifted Bamboo Comb, the White Haor Ribbon increases Yamaoka’s Haunting charge speed by 20%.
