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%.
Rin’s Broken Watch
Need a shorter power cooldown? As a Killer that moves 0.2m/s slower than average, The Spirit’s strength relies on the speed of Yamaoka’s Haunting – the best Spirit players know how to manage their 15-second cooldown. Rin’s Broken Watch reduces this cooldown by 30%.
Muddy Sports Day Cap
Speed is everything to The Spirit as her Haunting makes her one of the fastest Killers in Dead by Daylight. The Muddy Sports Day Cap Add-On increases her movement speed during power by 10%.
Uchiwa
Simple, but effective. This Rare Spirit Add-On instantly recharges your power when hit with a pallet stun. This addon is great for Dead by Daylight beginners who often get stunned.
Rusty Flute
A stronger version of Rin’s Broken Watch, the Rusty Flute increases The Spirit’s power recharge rate by 40%.
Dried Cherry Blossom
The Spirit’s best Add-Ons match The Blight’s in terms of transformative strength. The Dried Cherry Blossom reveals Survivors within 3 meters during power. This comes at the cost of no longer being able to see scratch marks from Survivor footsteps, so you should only run this if you’re already familiar with listening out for Survivors’ breaths and injured noises.
Mother-Daughter Ring
Like the Dried Cherry Blossom, this Ultra Rare Add-On removes The Spirit’s ability to see scratch marks in power; however, she can move at a massive 25% extra speed as she phases. With this addon, you can catch up to Survivors incredibly quickly, provided you can hear them well enough.
Dead By Daylight: Best Survivor Builds
These are some of the best builds players can have on survivors in Dead by Daylight as of 2025’s gameplay meta.
How To Unlock The Spirit In Dead by Daylight
Dead by Daylight only has a couple of free killers, and this lineup has remained relatively stable throughout the game’s run. Consequently, if you are interested in playing as Rin Yamaoka, you will need to buy her first. Now, fortunately, as she has been around for quite a long time (since 2018, to be exact), she qualifies for the cheapest bracket of DLC characters, costing 2,250 Iridescent Shards or 125 Auric Cells in the In-Game Store. Her original DLC, Shattered Bloodline, is available on the PC version, but it can be more expensive than buying the character individually since Rin often goes on sale.
If you just want The Spirit, the best option is to just buy her solo. Iridescent Shards can be earned by just playing the game and leveling up; yes, the process is quite slow, but you will eventually be able to pick up Rin. Auric Cells require investing real money, with the cheapest being $4.99 for 500.
The Spirit is also one of the Killers included in Dead by Daylight: Gold Edition, so you don’t need to do anything else if you picked up that version.
The Spirit As Part Of DBD Packs
On PC, there is the Maddening Darkness Pack, which includes The Spirit along with The Hag, The Doctor, and The Clown. The package also has four Survivors (Ace Visconti, Feng Min, Kate Denson, and Adam Francis), along with a bunch of cosmetics (but none for Rin).
Please note that Maddening Darkness Pack is not available on consoles since a few of the characters are part of the base game, although The Spirit is not one of them.
Rin is also part of the Terror Expansion Pack, which comes with 11 Killers on PC and 9 Killers on console.
Is The Spirit A Good DBD Killer For Beginners?
The Spirit is a weird case that has a bit of a complex answer when it comes to deciding whether she is a newcomer-appropriate Killer, as the question can be answered in two ways.
Firstly, is Rin a difficult Dead by Daylight Killer to learn? Honestly, no. While not as beginner-friendly as someone like The Wraith, The Spirit is one of the simpler Killers in Dead by Daylight, especially since her typical strategy involves listening to Survivors and phasing, making her a great mind-games Killer. Put on some solid headphones, and you will already be at a strong advantage. Look out for scratch marks and use your phasing as freely as possible. Like with any Killer, you will need a few rounds to come to grips with Rin’s moveset and strengths, but she is among the easiest characters to grasp.
So, in a vacuum, The Spirit is a good Killer for beginners. However, Dead by Daylight should not be played in a vacuum, and beginners should prioritize characters who can teach them the basics that hold true for most Killers (or Survivors). The Spirit functions differently from most other Killers, so her strategies do not really translate since she relies so heavily on her phase-walking. Consequently, once you master The Spirit, your expertise will not go far beyond this one Killer, making it difficult to transition to another character.
Dead By Daylight: The Best Killer Perks, Ranked
Dead by Daylight is a 4v1 multiplayer horror experience where killers kill and survivors survive. Here are the best killer perks in the game.
Is The Spirit A Worthwhile Killer In 2026? Are There Better Options?
OK, so Rin is not a great Killer for people looking to learn Dead by Daylight‘s basics, but does that actually matter if you plan to use her as your main? If The Spirit were free out of the gate, I would 100% recommend trying her out, just because she plays differently enough from other characters that you might end up falling in love with her routine. As long as her user has a good pair of headphones that help them pinpoint a Survivor’s position, Rin can be deadly in experienced hands; however, the “experienced” part is crucial. The Spirit is simply not a Killer that you should pick lightly, as her learning curve will cause growing pains that can take a while to subside.
Unfortunately, Rin is not free, and you will need to decide whether she is worth the shards (and I definitely advise against wasting Auric Cells on her). For the same price, you could pick up The Clown, who has better perks than The Spirit while also doing a far better job of preparing you for other Killers. If you are willing to wait until you collect 4,500 Iridescent Shards, you can purchase Legion, Plague, or Artist, all of whom are great Killers with fantastic perks that benefit other characters. In comparison, The Spirit requires full investment, both in terms of perks and just time.
The Spirit is a tough one, as she can be a downright incredible Killer. However, in 2026, there are just better options.
