Soul Guard was added to Dead by Daylight in the Silent Hill Chapter (patch 4.0.0) on 16 June 2020. Though it grants 8 seconds of invincibility after being picked up, it remains underused. With only 1.58% of survivors equipping it in the last 14 days, according to NightLight, making it the 64th most popular perk. A nerf in patch 4.7.0, which added a 30-second cooldown between activations, may explain its low usage. In this post, we’ll highlight 3 variations of the Soul Guard build in Dead by Daylight that maximize its potential. From team rescues to extended chases, each designed to keep you and your teammates alive longer.
Best Soul Guard Build 2024
The idea of this build is to use For the People to pick up a slugged teammate. Allowing them to take a hit with Soul Guard, while Dead Hard and Empathy help you stay safe and locate teammates.
- For the People (Zarina Kassir): While healthy, you can trade one health state with another survivor by instantly healing them if they’re injured or dying. After using this perk, you become injured and Broken for 60 seconds, meaning you cannot heal yourself during that time. You also become the Obsession if you aren’t already.
- Soul Guard (Cheryl Mason): After being picked up or recovering from the Dying state, you gain 8 seconds of the Endurance effect, allowing you to take a hit without going down. Additionally, if you’re under the Cursed status effect, you can fully recover yourself from the Dying state.
- Dead Hard (David King): After being unhooked or unhooking yourself, while injured and running, you can activate Dead Hard to avoid taking damage for 0.5 seconds. This action causes the Exhausted status for 40 seconds, making Dead Hard unavailable until exhaustion wears off.
- Empathy (Claudette Morel): Reveals the auras of injured survivors within 128 meters, allowing you to quickly find them and get in position to use For the People.
This build focuses on saving teammates and keeping them in the game with For the People and Soul Guard. Dead Hard provides personal protection after a save. While Empathy ensures you can quickly locate injured teammates to set up rescues effectively.
Team Support Soul Guard Build
This build focuses on For the People and Soul Guard, with the added support of Aftercare for team coordination and Boon: Circle of Healing for healing speed and safety.
- For the People (Zarina Kassir): Instantly pick up a slugged teammate by transferring one of your health states. You become injured and Broken for 80/70/60 seconds, and you also become the Obsession if not already.
- Soul Guard (Cheryl Mason): After being picked up from the Dying state, gain 8 seconds of Endurance. Allowing you to take a hit without going down. If Cursed, you can fully recover yourself from the Dying state.
- Aftercare (Jeff Johansen): The auras of up to 3 of survivors are permanently revealed to you. Right after you unhook or heal them, or they unhook or heal you. These survivors can also see your aura, which keeps everyone connected for better teamwork and coordination.
- Boon: Circle of Healing (Mikaela Reid): Bless a dull or hex totem to create a healing zone with a 24-meter radius. Survivors inside the zone heal at 100% increased speed without a Med-Kit. And injured survivors’ auras are revealed to all other teammates.
This version of the Soul Guard build focuses on healing and team visibility. Aftercare ensures that you and your healed teammates can stay connected for future saves. While Boon: Circle of Healing provides a safe space to reset after clutch plays.
Unstoppable Survivor Build
This build focuses on giving you multiple chances to avoid being downed with Decisive Strike, Soul Guard, and Unbreakable while using Botany Knowledge for fast healing.
- Decisive Strike (Laurie Strode): After being unhooked or unhooking yourself, Decisive Strike activates for the next 60 seconds. When grabbed by the killer, succeed on a skill check to escape from their grasp and stun them for 4 seconds. This perk also causes you to become the Obsession after use.
- Soul Guard (Cheryl Mason): After being picked up from the Dying state, gain 8 seconds of Endurance. Allowing you to take a hit without going down. If Cursed, you can fully recover yourself from the Dying state.
- Unbreakable (Bill Overbeck): Once per trial, you can fully recover from the Dying state. Additionally, your recovery speed is increased by 25/30/35%, helping you get back up faster.
- Botany Knowledge (Claudette Morel): Increases your healing speed by 30/40/50% but reduces the efficiency of Med-Kits by 20%. However, with a purple med-kit and the right add-ons (like Gel Dressings and Medical Scissors), you can still perform four quick heals.
With Decisive Strike, Soul Guard, and Unbreakable, you have over a minute of protection where the killer can’t keep you down. Botany Knowledge combined with a purple med-kit lets you heal quickly and get back into action. You can also swap in Dead Hard, Sprint Burst or another exhaustion perk for more mobility and escape options.
