The Nurse is one of the hardest killers to play in Dead by Daylight. She’s ranked as such, and new players should probably avoid user her until they’ve got a bit of experience in the game.
However, if you’re eager to learn how to play Nurse in Dead by Daylight, you’re in the right place.
We’re going to walk you through some tips and tricks for playing as this killer, which should help you dominate your next match as her.
First things first, it’s important to know what you’re getting into with Nurse. She’s one of the slowest killers in the game, and her Blink ability is almost a requirement for catching any survivors.
However, that ability is also extremely harmful to you if you miss. On top of all of that, her perks and add-ons are mostly positives with negatives to balance them out, with very few that are purely positive.
How to Play Nurse in Dead by Daylight
The Nurse’s power is her ability to teleport herself directly forwards across a great distance. This ability can be charged to allow for maximum distance, or used quickly in conjunction with two or three other ‘Blinks’ for a chain.
This Blink ability is what makes Nurse so hard to play as, since players need to predict where a survivor is going to be before they initiate the Blink. Whilst practise will help, it’s always going to be difficult to understand exactly how a survivor will move.
Chain Blinks
Charge your first Blink for as long as possible. This is important because it will see you fly across the map, and hopefully very close to a survivor.
Once you’re out of the Blink, you’ll have a second or so in which you can charge the Blink again for a Chain Blink.
This is how the Nurse can outmanoeuvre survivors, especially if you can get a hit in on them after a Blink
The timing of Chain Blinks is something that just takes practise to learn. Once you’ve got the pattern nailed down though, you’ll find it really easy to hunt down a survivor.
You can chain three Blinks together, but after that you will have to take the stagger. You’ll also suffer from the stagger if you don’t Blink again within the second or so of time that you have once you’ve landed a Blink.
If you manage to get a hit on a survivor though, it’s better to take the stagger.
Blink Then Hit
If you get a hit on a survivor after a blink, allow the stagger to hit you. It takes a few seconds, in which the survivor will escape.
However, you can then charge up another Blink, and begin the next Chain Blink.
If you land a second hit within that chain, then you’ll be able to pick up the survivor and sacrifice them. This really is the crux of how to play as Nurse in Dead by Daylight.
Be warned though, the more Blinks that you chain together, the longer the stun will be once you’ve stopped.
This is crucial, because it will really slow you down. If you don’t get a hit on the second Blink, consider how much you really want to chase the survivor before you commit to a third one.
Don’t be Afraid of Pallets
Most killers will need to break a pallet if they want to get past it. Whilst the Nurse can still be stunned by a pallet, she doesn’t need to break them.
With a Blink, the Nurse can move through the pallet, and be on the same side as a survivor within a second.
If you then charge up your Blink again, you can be closer to the survivor, and get a hit on them before they’ve even realised that you’re much closer than they thought.
Walls Mean Nothing
The Nurse’s Blink ability really is quite special. If you have a perk or add-on that allows you to see survivors, or your Obsession, through the map, then you can get to them much faster with it.
If, for example, you see a survivor on the other side of a wall, you can Blink straight to them, and hit them before they’ve registered that you’re there. In fact, you could probably attack them before they can stop working on a generator.
Perks
The Nurse has three core perks.
Stridor – The grunts of pain that a survivor makes are louder, as is their regular breathing. This allows you to detect nearby survivors, even if you can’t see them.
Thanatophobia – All survivors receive a stackable penalty for every survivor that has been hooked, or is in the Injured or Dying states. The penalty affects their ability to heal, repair, or sabotage.
A Nurse’s Calling – You can see the auras of survivors who are healing someone, or being healed, within certain ranges.
Add-Ons
The following is every add-on you can get with the Nurse. We’ve covered our recommended ones further down.
Common
Wooden Horse – Your post-Blink fatigue is moderately decreased when you miss an attack.
White Nit Comb – Bloodpoints from Blink attack Score Events are increased by 100%. The post-Blink lunge range is also moderately decreased though.
Plaid Flannel – This allows you to see where you will appear once you’ve Blinked.
Metal Spoon – The grunts of pain from survivors are louder after a successful post-Blink attack for 60 seconds.
Rare
Pocket Watch – The window of time in which you can Chain Blink is moderately increased.
Dull Bracelet – Bloodpoints from a precise Blink are increased by 100%. Your maximum Blink range is moderately decreased though.
Dark Cincture – Your Blink recovery time is moderately reduced.
Catatonic Boy’s Treasure – The added stagger from Chain Blinks is considerably decreased.
Bad Man Keepsake – Once you’ve hit a survivor with a successful post-Blink attack, their aura will be revealed within 28 metres of you if they are ever healed within 60 seconds.
Uncommon
Spasmodic Breath – Temporarily increases the Nurse’s base movement speed after a successful post-Blink attack for 60 seconds.
Heavy Panting – Maximum Blink range and charge time are both significantly increased.
Fragile Wheeze – Blink recovery time is significantly reduced.
Ataxic Respiration – Post-Blink stagger is moderately decreased.
Anxious Gasp – You’ll cause a survivor to scream, and earn 200 Bloodpoints, if you Blink pas a survivor.
Very Rare
Kavanagh’s Last Breath – Maximum Blink range and charge time are tremendously increased.
Jenner’s Last Breath – You can Blink straight back to your original position by using the ability button right after a Blink. This is only possible in the second before a Blink stagger hits.
Campbells’ Last Breath – After a fully charged Blink, you’ll Blink at half charge in the direction you’re facing immediately and automatically.
Bad Man’s Last Breath – After a successful hit on a survivor after a Blink, the Nurse is given the Undetectable status for 16 seconds.
Extremely Rare
Torn Bookmark – Grants an additional Chain Blink, but you can no longer Blink through solid objects.
Matchbox – Removes a Chain Blink, but increases your base movement speed.
Things to Avoid
Nurse is generally quite a versatile killer, she’s pretty hard to play as in all circumstances. However, there are some things that will make your life much harder while playing as her.
These are things that you should avoid if you can, but some are just unavoidable.
Trees are the biggest issue that you will face as Nurse in a map. Her Blink ability is blocked by them, and since she’s really slow, it will take you much longer to get around them whilst chasing a survivor.
There’s nothing you can do about the trees, so keep your Blink charged and look for survivors to teleport to when you can.
Recommended Add-ons
It will take you a while to pick up all of these add-ons through the Bloodweb, but once you have one or two, they will dramatically increase your chances of getting more sacrifices with Nurse.
- Pocket Watch
- Wooden Horse
- Dark Cincture
Other than these add-ons, you should try to only equip ones that provide purely positive perks to Nurse.
That’s all there is to know about how to play Nurse in Dead by Daylight. We hope that you’ve found these tips useful, and they you go on to be a very successful killer in the game. Let us know if there are any tips you think we missed.