Dead by Daylight: Top Shape Builds (2025)

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• The Shape: Best Non-Teachable Build (2025)

• The Shape: Best Build (2025)

• The Shape: Best Add-Ons (2025)

The Shape, also known as Michael Myers, is Dead by Daylight's first licensed Killer. His terrifying gameplay revolves around stalking Survivors, building ferocity to ultimately secure a kill. This relentless pursuit makes him a truly frightening opponent.

This Dead by Daylight guide details the best builds for The Shape, including both teachable and non-teachable perks to cater to players of all skill levels.

Updated January 13, 2025, by Siddarth Narasimman: Despite remaining one of the weaker Killers, Michael Myers remains a popular choice, especially for newer players. Recent buffs in Patch 8.4.0 have significantly improved his viability, making this an ideal time to explore optimal builds and add-ons for this iconic horror character.

The Shape: Best Non-Teachable Build (2025)

Playing The Shape without access to other Killers' perks presents a challenge, but it's certainly conquerable. This build utilizes Save the Best for Last to significantly reduce chase times, while Sloppy Butcher passively slows the game down. Bitter Murmur and Hex: No One Escapes Death dominate the endgame, eliminating Survivors without relying solely on stalking for instant downs.

• Save the Best for Last (The Shape): Hitting a Survivor who isn't the Obsession grants a token (up to eight). Each token reduces basic attack cooldown by 4%, up to 32%. Hitting the Obsession costs two tokens.
• Hex: No One Escapes Death (General Perk): After the final generator is completed, all Survivors are Exposed, and the Killer gains a 4% Haste effect until the Hex Totem is cleansed.
• Bitter Murmur (General Perk): Completed generators reveal nearby Survivor auras for 5 seconds. After the last generator, all Survivor auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
• Sloppy Butcher (General Perk): Basic attacks inflict Mangled and Hemorrhage, slowing healing by 25% and regressing unfinished healing.

The Shape: Best Build (2025)

This build prioritizes slowing generator progress while providing a strong early-game boost, compensating for The Shape's limited mobility and weakness in the game's initial stages. The strategy focuses on controlling a generator cluster, tracking progress, and disrupting it with Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance and Deadlock.

Lethal Pursuer quickly locates Survivors, ensuring a strong start. Coup de Grâce enhances performance around loops, addressing a common weakness.

• Lethal Pursuer (The Nemesis): Reveals all Survivor auras for nine seconds at the match start. All aura-reading instances are increased by two seconds.
• Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance (The Artist): Starts with four tokens. Hooking different Survivors on white Scourge Hooks consumes a token and regresses the most progressed generator by 25%.
• Deadlock (The Cenobite): Completing a generator blocks the most progressed generator for 25 seconds (revealed by a white aura).
• Coup de Grâce (The Twins): Gains two tokens per completed generator. Use one token to increase lunge attack distance by 80%.

The Shape: Best Add-Ons (2025)

Memorial Flower

At common rarity, Memorial Flower is The Shape's best add-on. The 11% increased stalking rate is a valuable boost to his inherently slow stalking speed.

Dead Rabbit

While seemingly detrimental, Dead Rabbit's 25% Terror Radius reduction in Evil Within II is significant. However, its increased Terror Radius in Evil Within III necessitates pairing it with perks like Monitor and Abuse to manage Survivor awareness.

J. Myers Memorial

This add-on provides a flat 25% bonus to stalking gain rate, often paired with Tombstone Piece to mitigate the extended time to reach Evil Within III.

Hair Bow

The Hair Bow enhances The Shape's threat level in Evil Within III. Combining it with J. Myers Memorial consistently applies map pressure through multiple Evil Within III activations.

Tombstone Piece

Arguably The Shape's strongest add-on, Tombstone Piece allows an instant kill on any Survivor upon reaching Evil Within III, regardless of hook state—functioning similarly to the old Memento Mori. This powerful ability can drastically shift game momentum and surpasses even the Ultra Rare Judith’s Tombstone due to its lack of speed debuff.

Lock Of Hair

Lock of Hair adds 40 seconds to Evil Within III (10 more than Hair Bow) while increasing the stalk rate for Evil Within III. While Hair Bow is generally preferred, Lock of Hair remains viable, particularly with Lethal Pursuer and J. Myers Memorial.

Fragrant Tuft of Hair

Despite a 200% reduction in stalking rate, this add-on grants infinite Evil Within III. This eliminates power management concerns, allowing instant downs without prior stalking.