The Plague is Dead by Daylight’s infection-based killer who vomits on survivors to make them sick, forcing them to choose between staying injured or cleansing (which powers up The Plague). She uses Vile Purge to infect survivors and objects, then drinks from corrupted fountains to gain Corrupt Purge - a ranged instant-down attack. The Plague excels at keeping everyone injured and punishing survivors who cleanse.
Plague rewards understanding infection spread, fountain management, and knowing when to use Corrupt Purge. Let’s break down how to master her.
The Plague’s Power: Vile Purge
Ability: The Plague vomits on survivors and objects to infect them with sickness.
Vile Purge (M2)
How it works:
- Hold M2 to vomit continuously
- Vomit sprays in front of you (cone shape, ~8 meters range)
- Hitting survivors with vomit infects them
- Hitting objects (gens, pallets, walls) infects them
- You can vomit for ~5 seconds before the meter depletes
- Meter recharges automatically after a brief cooldown
Infection mechanics:
- Survivors have an infection meter
- Being hit by vomit fills the meter
- Once the meter is full, survivor becomes INJURED (Broken status - one health state)
- Infected survivors periodically vomit and cough (reveals their location)
- Infection spreads to objects survivors interact with
Key concept: Vile Purge INJURES survivors without needing to M1 them. Everyone becomes injured through infection.
Sickness and Broken Status
When survivors are fully infected, they become sick.
Effects of being sick:
- Broken status - Survivors are stuck at injured (one health state)
- Can’t heal - Healing is impossible while Broken
- Periodic vomiting - Survivors cough and vomit (makes noise, reveals location)
- Infection spreads - Touching objects spreads infection
How to cleanse:
- Survivors use Pools of Devotion (fountains) to cleanse
- Cleansing takes ~6 seconds
- Removes infection and Broken status
- Corrupts the fountain (turns red)
Corrupted fountains:
- When survivors cleanse, the fountain becomes corrupted
- The Plague can drink from corrupted fountains
- Drinking gives her Corrupt Purge (powerful upgrade)
Key concept: Survivors must choose - stay injured (sick) OR cleanse and give Plague her power-up.
Corrupt Purge (Power-Up)
When survivors cleanse, The Plague can drink from corrupted fountains to activate Corrupt Purge.
How Corrupt Purge works:
- Drink from a corrupted fountain (press M2 near it)
- Your vomit becomes Corrupt Purge for 60 seconds
- Corrupt Purge is RED instead of green
- Hitting survivors with Corrupt Purge damages them (injures or downs)
- Acts like a ranged attack
Corrupt Purge details:
- Lasts 60 seconds
- Damages survivors (not just infects)
- Can down healthy survivors with enough hits (~3-4 hits)
- Can down injured survivors with 1-2 hits
- Extremely powerful
Key concept: Corrupt Purge is The Plague’s power spike. It’s a ranged damaging attack.
Infection Spread Strategy
The Plague’s strength is spreading infection.
How Infection Spreads
Direct vomit:
- Vomit on survivors directly
- Fills their infection meter
Object infection:
- Vomit on gens, pallets, windows, walls
- Survivors who interact with infected objects get infected
- Infection spreads passively
Survivor-to-survivor:
- Sick survivors spread infection when healing others
- Infected survivors make nearby survivors sick over time
Where to Vomit
Generators:
- Vomit on gens survivors are working on
- They get infected while repairing
- Infection spreads passively
Pallets and windows:
- Vomit on pallets and windows at loops
- Survivors who vault them get infected
Hook areas:
- Vomit around hooks
- Rescuers get infected when unhooking
High-traffic areas:
- Vomit on pathways between gens
- Survivors walking through get infected
Key concept: Infect OBJECTS to spread sickness passively. Survivors can’t avoid infected objects.
Playing Plague: The Strategy
Plague’s gameplay loop is:
- Vomit on survivors and objects to spread infection
- Everyone becomes sick (Broken status)
- Survivors choose: stay sick OR cleanse
- If they cleanse, drink from fountains for Corrupt Purge
- Use Corrupt Purge to down survivors quickly
- Repeat
Key concept: You WANT survivors to cleanse. It gives you Corrupt Purge (which is very strong).
Should Survivors Cleanse?
This is the question survivors face against Plague.
If survivors DON’T cleanse:
- They stay sick (Broken status - one health state)
- Easy to down with M1
- No Corrupt Purge for Plague
If survivors DO cleanse:
- They become healthy (two health states)
- Plague gets Corrupt Purge (powerful ranged attack)
What most survivors do:
- Some survivors never cleanse (stay sick all match)
- Some survivors cleanse immediately (give Plague power)
- Coordinated teams cleanse strategically (all at once, late game)
How Plague adapts:
- If survivors don’t cleanse: Chase and M1 them (they’re injured)
- If survivors cleanse: Drink fountains and use Corrupt Purge (down them with ranged attacks)
Key concept: Plague wins either way. Stay sick = easy M1 downs. Cleanse = Corrupt Purge downs.
Early Game Strategy
Plague’s early game is about spreading infection.
Opening sequence:
- Patrol gens - Check 3-4 gens
- Vomit on gens - Infect generators
- Vomit on survivors - Infect anyone you find
- Spread infection everywhere - Vomit on objects constantly
- Wait for everyone to become sick
Goal: Get everyone sick within the first 2-3 minutes. Once everyone is Broken, you have massive pressure.
Mid-Game Strategy
Mid-game is where Plague dominates.
Everyone is sick:
- All survivors are Broken (one health state)
- Easy M1 downs
- Survivors are forced to cleanse OR stay injured
Fountain management:
- If survivors cleanse, drink from corrupted fountains
- Use Corrupt Purge to down survivors quickly
- Corrupt Purge is very strong at loops
Object infection maintenance:
- Keep vomiting on gens and objects
- Survivors can’t avoid infection
- Constant pressure
Endgame Strategy
Plague is strong endgame with Corrupt Purge.
Corrupt Purge at exit gates:
- If you have Corrupt Purge, spray survivors at gates
- Ranged attacks down them before they escape
Sick survivors endgame:
- If survivors are sick, they’re one health state
- Easy downs
Fountain usage:
- Save corrupted fountains for endgame
- Drink and use Corrupt Purge when gates are open
Best Perks for Plague
Plague wants perks that capitalize on everyone being injured.
Top Tier Perks
Thanatophobia - Survivors repair, heal, and sabotage 6% slower for each injured, dying, or hooked survivor (up to 24% slower). Plague keeps EVERYONE injured, so Thanatophobia is EXTREMELY strong. Top-tier perk for Plague.
Corrupt Intervention - Blocks the 3 farthest gens for 120 seconds. Gives you time to spread infection.
Hex: Ruin - Gens not being repaired regress at 200% speed. Plague applies pressure by keeping everyone injured, so Ruin gets value.
Infectious Fright - Survivors within 32 meters scream when you down someone, revealing their location. Plague gets frequent downs, so this triggers often.
Strong Perks
Pop Goes the Weasel - After hooking, kick a gen to regress it by 30%. Reliable slowdown.
Deadlock - Blocks the gen with most progress for 30 seconds when a gen completes. Buys you time.
Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance - Hooking on scourge hooks regresses the gen with most progress.
Dark Devotion - Your obsession becomes Oblivious and you become Undetectable for 30 seconds after hitting them. Plague can sneak up on survivors with no Terror Radius. This is Plague’s teachable perk.
Sloppy Butcher - Survivors heal slower. Not as useful on Plague (survivors can’t heal while Broken), but still decent.
Sample Builds
Slowdown Build (Best for Plague):
- Thanatophobia
- Corrupt Intervention
- Hex: Ruin
- Deadlock
Gen Defense Build:
- Thanatophobia
- Pop Goes the Weasel
- Deadlock
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance
Information Build:
- Thanatophobia
- Infectious Fright
- Corrupt Intervention
- Hex: Ruin
Beginner Build:
- Thanatophobia
- Corrupt Intervention
- Sloppy Butcher
- NOED
Best Add-Ons
Plague’s add-ons modify her infection speed, Corrupt Purge duration, and vomit effects.
Top Tier Add-Ons
Iridescent Seal (Pink - Ultra Rare) - Survivors who cleanse at fountains are immediately put into the Dying state if they’re injured. Punishes cleansing HARD. Very strong.
Black Incense (Purple - Very Rare) - Considerably increases Corrupt Purge duration (from 60 seconds to ~90 seconds). Corrupt Purge lasts much longer.
Infected Emetic (Purple - Very Rare) - Considerably increases infection rate from Vile Purge. Survivors get sick MUCH faster.
Iridescent Seal is considered one of the best Plague add-ons because it HEAVILY punishes cleansing.
Strong Add-Ons
Rubbing Oil (Green - Rare) - Moderately increases Corrupt Purge duration. Budget version of Black Incense.
Emetic Potion (Green - Rare) - Moderately increases infection rate from Vile Purge. Budget version of Infected Emetic.
Limestone Seal (Yellow - Uncommon) - Slightly increases infection rate from infected objects. Spreads infection passively faster.
Potent Emetic (Yellow - Uncommon) - Slightly increases infection rate from Vile Purge.
Avoid These Add-Ons
Prayer Tablet Fragment - Slightly increases vomit range. Effect is too minor.
Sample Add-On Combos
Anti-Cleanse Build: Iridescent Seal + Black Incense (punish cleansing + long Corrupt Purge)
Fast Infection Build: Infected Emetic + Emetic Potion (extremely fast infection)
Long Corrupt Build: Black Incense + Rubbing Oil (very long Corrupt Purge duration)
Budget Build: Emetic Potion + Limestone Seal (decent infection rate + passive spread)
Playing Against Good Survivors
Good survivors make Plague work, but she’s still strong.
They don’t cleanse: If survivors never cleanse, you don’t get Corrupt Purge. Counter by M1 chasing them (they’re injured and easy to down).
They cleanse strategically: Coordinated teams cleanse all at once (late game). Counter by drinking fountains immediately and using Corrupt Purge efficiently.
They split on gens: Plague has decent map pressure with infection spread. Keep vomiting on gens.
They’re in a SWF: Comms let them coordinate cleansing. Counter by keeping everyone infected and using Corrupt Purge aggressively.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Not vomiting on objects: Vomit on EVERYTHING. Gens, pallets, windows. Passive infection is powerful.
Wasting Corrupt Purge: Don’t use Corrupt Purge randomly. Use it when you can down survivors.
Not running Thanatophobia: Thanatophobia is ESSENTIAL on Plague. Always run it.
Chasing healthy survivors when others are sick: Prioritize sick survivors (they’re one health state). Don’t waste time on healthy survivors.
Not tracking corrupted fountains: Know where corrupted fountains are. Drink from them ASAP.
Vomiting too much in one spot: Spread vomit across multiple objects. Don’t over-vomit one gen.
Map-Specific Tips
Indoor Maps (The Game, Lery’s, Midwich, RPD) - VERY strong for Plague. Tight corridors make vomit unavoidable. Infection spreads quickly in tight spaces.
Open Maps (Coldwind, MacMillan, Autohaven) - Decent for Plague. Vomit on gens and objects. Survivors can’t avoid infection.
Large Maps (Mother’s Dwelling, Red Forest) - Rough for Plague. Huge maps mean more ground to cover. Focus on infecting central gens.
Multi-Level Maps (The Game, Midwich) - Good for Plague. Vomit works on all floors. Infection spreads everywhere.
Why Play Plague?
Pros:
- Keeps everyone injured (Broken status)
- Strong slowdown (Thanatophobia)
- Corrupt Purge is powerful (ranged instant-downs)
- Infection spreads passively
- Wins regardless of survivor choice (cleanse or don’t cleanse)
- Strong on most maps
Cons:
- If survivors never cleanse, no Corrupt Purge
- Vomit can be difficult to aim
- Countered by perks like Solidarity and Inner Healing
- Some survivors find her boring to play against
- Loud (vomiting is noisy)
Advanced Tips
Vomit on everything: Infect gens, pallets, windows, walls. Passive infection is powerful.
Thanatophobia is mandatory: Always run Thanatophobia. It’s THE Plague perk.
Drink fountains immediately: If survivors cleanse, drink ASAP. Don’t let Corrupt Purge sit unused.
Corrupt Purge at loops: Use Corrupt Purge to hit survivors over pallets and walls. It’s a ranged attack.
Infected objects last 40 seconds: Objects stay infected for 40 seconds. Re-infect them as needed.
Iridescent Seal dominance: With Iridescent Seal, cleansing is suicide. Survivors are forced to stay sick.
Track sick survivors: Sick survivors cough and vomit periodically. Listen for these sounds to track them.
Vomit on hook areas: Infect around hooks. Rescuers get sick when unhooking.
Corrupt Purge mind games: Activate Corrupt Purge at key moments (endgame, multiple survivors nearby). Maximum value.
Learning Curve and Practice
Plague has a low to moderate learning curve.
Hours 0-10: Learning infection mechanics. Understanding Corrupt Purge. Spreading infection.
Hours 10-30: Infection spread improving. Using Corrupt Purge effectively. Winning matches.
Hours 30-60: Comfortable with Plague. Everyone stays sick. Dominating most matches.
Hours 60+: Plague main. Perfect infection management. Unstoppable slowdown.
Practice tips:
- Vomit on EVERYTHING (objects spread infection passively)
- Always run Thanatophobia (essential perk)
- Drink corrupted fountains immediately
- Practice Corrupt Purge aim (ranged attack)
- Watch Plague streamers (Otzdarva)
Final Thoughts
The Plague is one of Dead by Daylight’s most unique and oppressive killers. She rewards infection management, object contamination, and capitalizing on Corrupt Purge.
Plague keeps everyone injured through infection, forcing survivors into a lose-lose situation (stay sick OR give her Corrupt Purge). Master infection spread, use Thanatophobia for maximum slowdown, and dominate with sickness.
Practice your vomit aim, infect everything, and embrace the plague.
Good luck, and may your infection spread far and wide.
Last Updated: Patch 9.3.0 - November 2025