The Trapper is Dead by Daylight’s most iconic killer - the guy on the cover, the face of the game. He’s a straightforward killer with a simple but effective power: bear traps. Drop traps in smart locations, catch survivors off guard, and snowball into wins.
He’s one of the best killers for learning the game because his power teaches you map awareness, survivor pathing, and pressure management. Let’s break down how to play him effectively.
The Trapper’s Power: Bear Traps
Ability: The Trapper starts with one bear trap and can carry up to two at a time (without add-ons). He has 6 total traps scattered around the map that he must collect.
How it works:
- Press M2 to set a trap at your feet (takes about 2 seconds)
- Survivors who step in traps are caught and injured (if healthy) or downed (if already injured)
- Trapped survivors must escape (takes 6 seconds) or wait for a teammate to free them (1.5 seconds)
- You can pick up and reset traps, or leave them in place
The goal: Control high-traffic areas by trapping loops, windows, and pathways. Force survivors into bad positions or catch them during chases.
Trap Placement Strategy
Trap placement is everything with Trapper. Bad traps get disarmed and waste your time. Good traps win you the match.
Best Trap Locations
1. Grass and Dark Areas Traps are harder to see in tall grass, corn, and shadows. Survivors have to slow down and look carefully, which gives you time to catch up.
Example spots:
- Coldwind Farm corn fields
- Yamaoka Estate bamboo
- Swamp reeds and tall grass
2. Strong Loops (Jungle Gyms, Shack) Trap the strongest survivor loops to shut them down. Once a survivor knows there’s a trap at shack window, they can’t use that loop safely anymore.
Key loops to trap:
- Killer shack window (inside or outside)
- Jungle gym windows
- Long wall loops with a single window
3. Pallets Place traps right in front of or behind dropped pallets. Survivors often don’t expect traps at pallets they’ve already dropped.
Pro tip: After a survivor drops a pallet, don’t break it immediately. Set a trap in front of it, walk away, and come back later. Survivors often vault back over thinking it’s safe.
4. Exit Gates Once gens are done, trap both exit gate switches. Survivors have to disarm or step in them to open gates. This buys you precious time in endgame.
5. Around Hooked Survivors (Carefully) Trapping around hooks can secure kills, but be careful - it’s a fine line between strategy and camping. Place traps 8-12 meters away from the hook in common approach paths, not directly under the hook.
Bad Trap Locations
- Open areas with no cover - Survivors will see and disarm them easily
- Random spots with no purpose - Every trap should control a loop or pathway
- Too close together - Spread traps out to cover more of the map
- In obvious spots survivors expect - Mix up your placements
Early Game Strategy
First 60 seconds are critical. Here’s your opening sequence:
- Collect 2-3 nearby traps - Don’t waste time crossing the map for traps early
- Find and trap the shack - This is the strongest loop on most maps. Trap it ASAP.
- Trap 1-2 nearby strong loops - Jungle gyms, main building windows
- Start patrolling and chasing - Don’t spend 3 minutes setting every trap perfectly. Get into chases.
Common mistake: Spending too long collecting and setting all 6 traps. By the time you’re done, 2-3 gens are finished. Get 3-4 key traps down, then apply pressure.
Mid-Game Strategy
Once you have your web of traps set up, you’re in your strongest phase.
Chase survivors toward your traps. When you’re in a chase, try to herd survivors toward trapped areas. If they’re heading to an untrapped loop, break off and pressure gens instead.
Reset sprung traps. After a survivor escapes a trap (or you down someone caught in one), reset it immediately if it’s in a good spot. Don’t leave valuable traps lying on the ground.
Adapt trap placements. If survivors are avoiding certain areas, move those traps to where they’re actually running. Traps are only useful if survivors interact with them.
Snowball pressure. Once you get one survivor hooked and trapped nearby, other survivors have to choose: disarm traps and risk getting caught, or leave their teammate. This is when Trapper becomes oppressive.
Endgame Strategy
Trapper is one of the best killers in endgame if you plan ahead.
Trap exit gates early. Once 4 gens are done (or even at 3 gens if you’re struggling), put traps at both exit gate switches. Survivors will have to disarm them or get caught trying to open gates.
Don’t commit to long chases. If there’s 1 gen left, don’t chase a survivor across the map. Protect your trapped gates and hooked survivors.
Force survivors into trapped areas. Injured survivors trying to escape will panic and run into traps they’d normally avoid.
Best Perks for Trapper
Trapper wants perks that help him set up early and maintain pressure.
Top Tier Perks
Corrupt Intervention - Blocks the 3 farthest gens for 120 seconds. Gives you time to collect traps and set up your web without losing gens immediately. Essential on Trapper.
Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance - Hooking survivors on scourge hooks regresses the gen with the most progress. Helps slow the game down while you’re setting traps.
Deadlock - Blocks the gen with the most progress for 30 seconds whenever a gen is completed. Buys you extra time to set up and secure kills.
Lethal Pursuer - See all survivors at the start of the match. Helps you plan trap placements and find your first chase quickly.
Strong Perks
Agitation - Move faster while carrying survivors and increases wiggle time. Makes it easier to carry survivors to basement (where you can trap the stairs).
Brutal Strength - Break pallets 20% faster. Speeds up chases since you’ll be breaking a lot of pallets.
Save the Best for Last (STBFL) - Recover faster after basic attacks (stacks up to 8 times). Makes you lethal in chases, but you lose stacks when hitting your obsession.
Nowhere to Hide - After kicking a gen, see survivors’ auras within 24 meters for 5 seconds. Helps you find survivors hiding nearby.
Sample Builds
Setup Build (Beginner-Friendly):
- Corrupt Intervention
- Deadlock
- Lethal Pursuer
- Brutal Strength
Pressure Build (Advanced):
- Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance
- Save the Best for Last
- Corrupt Intervention
- Agitation
Endgame Build:
- No Way Out
- Terminus
- NOED (Hex: No One Escapes Death)
- Remember Me
Best Add-Ons
Trapper’s add-ons range from essential to situational. Here are the best:
Top Tier Add-Ons
Bloody Coil (Purple - Very Rare) - Survivors who disarm traps are injured and inflicted with Mangled. Makes disarming traps risky and slows healing. One of Trapper’s best add-ons.
Iridescent Stone (Pink - Ultra Rare) - Traps become invisible until a survivor gets close. Extremely strong, but makes traps harder for you to see too.
Honing Stone (Purple - Very Rare) - Traps inflict Hemorrhage and Mangled when escaped. Survivors heal slower and leave more blood trails.
Strong Add-Ons
Trapper Bag (Purple - Very Rare) - Carry 1 extra trap (total of 3). More traps = more map control.
Trapper Sack (Green - Rare) - Carry 1 extra trap (total of 3). Cheaper version of Trapper Bag.
Makeshift Wrap (Green - Rare) - Setting traps is moderately faster. Helps you set up quicker in early game.
Lengthened Jaws (Yellow - Uncommon) - Increases time to escape traps by 25%. Gives you more time to reach trapped survivors.
Avoid These Add-Ons
Tar Bottle - Makes traps darker. Sounds good, but the effect is minimal. Better add-ons exist.
Trapper Gloves - Slightly reduces setting time. The effect is too small to matter.
Playing Against Good Survivors
Good survivors will make Trapper’s life difficult. Here’s how to adapt:
They disarm your traps: Don’t get tilted. Reset them or move them. If they’re spending time disarming, they’re not doing gens.
They avoid trapped areas: Move your traps to where they ARE going. Traps are useless if survivors never interact with them.
They have Saboteur or Breakout: These perks destroy or disable traps. Counter by spreading traps out and not relying on one specific area.
They use Object of Obsession or Windows of Opportunity: These perks reveal your traps. Counter with Iridescent Stone (invisible traps) or by chasing them away from trapped areas.
They’re in a SWF (Survive With Friends): Comms make it easy to call out trap locations. Focus on snowballing - if you down one person, trap around them and capitalize on altruism.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Spending too long setting traps early - 3 traps in good spots > 6 traps set perfectly while gens fly.
Putting all traps in one area - Spread them out. Control multiple loops, not just one corner of the map.
Trapping right under hooks - This is borderline camping. Place traps 8-12 meters away in approach paths instead.
Not resetting sprung traps - A trap on the ground is a wasted trap. Reset them immediately.
Forgetting to collect traps - You start with 1 trap. Walk around and grab the other 5 as you patrol gens.
Chasing away from your traps - If a survivor is leading you to an untrapped area, break off and pressure gens instead.
Map-Specific Tips
Coldwind Farm (Corn Maps) - Amazing for Trapper. Traps are nearly invisible in corn. Trap every jungle gym and the shack.
MacMillan Estate - Solid maps for Trapper. Lots of grass and dark corners. Trap the main building and key loops.
Autohaven Wreckers - Decent for Trapper. Trap around cars and structures. Watch out for the wide-open areas.
Red Forest (Mother’s Dwelling) - Huge map, rough for Trapper. Focus on trapping a 3-gen setup and defending that area.
The Game (Saw Map) - Indoor map with limited trap spots. Trap pallets and doorways. Difficult map for Trapper overall.
Midwich Elementary - Two floors make trap management tough. Focus on trapping the most used stairwells and strong pallets.
Swamp Maps - Great for Trapper. Dark and full of reeds. Traps blend in well. Trap the shack and main building.
Why Play Trapper?
Pros:
- Simple power, easy to learn
- Satisfying when survivors step in traps
- Strong map control once set up
- Great for learning survivor pathing and map awareness
- Fun mind games (survivors paranoid about traps)
Cons:
- Weak early game (setup time)
- Survivors can disarm traps
- Large maps are rough (too much ground to cover)
- Requires good map knowledge to place traps effectively
- Can be hard-countered by good SWF teams
Final Thoughts
Trapper is DBD’s most iconic killer for a reason. He’s simple, fun, and teaches you core killer skills. You’ll learn map layouts, survivor behavior, and pressure management just by playing him.
Don’t get discouraged if survivors disarm your traps or avoid them. Every trap they disarm is time not spent on gens. Every loop they avoid is a loop you’ve successfully controlled.
Start by trapping the shack and 2-3 strong loops, then adapt based on where survivors are running. Over time, you’ll develop an instinct for where survivors will path and where traps will get value.
Good luck, and may your traps always catch survivors off guard.
Last Updated: Patch 9.3.0 - November 2025