Killer versus civilian games has always had an element of strategy attached to them. It does not matter if you’re the innocent running away from the maddened hunter or if you’re the one doing the hunting, there are always steps while playing characters like Oni – that you must adhere to in order to win.
As an Oni, you just need to hit the survivors as hard as possible and you’re good to go. A maddened beast does not need any specific strategy. You just need to follow the blood trail while triggering your skills whenever possible.
Oni is best played as the developers have intended him to. There are no secret builds and whatnot when it comes to Oni. You simply need to chase your opponent until their legs give out.
Despite his kit being this simple, there are still hundreds of areas that can be improved.
How Does The Chase Work?
The basic premise of Dead By Daylight is quite simple. Five people play a game, and one of them becomes the killer. Therefore, the four survivors have to stay alive and fix the generators in order to open the exit gates to win.
Meanwhile, the killer’s job is to catch these survivors to sacrifice their souls to the Entity. This is generally done by impaling the target onto hooks.
Fortunately, the game allows you to choose between multiple preset characters for the killer, and Oni is one of them.
Building Oni: Perk Loadout
By default, Oni (Kazan Yamaoka) comes with 3 perks that belong solely to him. Together, they form the core of Oni while giving an identity to his playstyle. Having said that, here’s how Oni’s perks work:
Blood Echo
Whenever you hook a survivor, all the other survivors on the map (regardless of their locations) suffer from a hemorrhage debuff that chips off at their health for the duration of the debuff.
During this state, they will also have to face an Exhausted status that limits their movements, thereby making chase easier.
The cooldown on this ability ranges from 60-80 seconds (depending on the rank). Consequently, the mentioned status effects last for 45 seconds. This ability is unlockable once you reach Level 35 on Oni.
Zanshin Tactics
You can sense the auras of the following within a range of 24-32 meters (depending on the rank):
- Breakable Walls
- Pallets
- Windows
It is unlocked in the Shrine of Secrets once you’re level 30. Consequently, you can also unlock it through Oni’s Bloodweb.
Nemesis
Oni can become obsessed with a survivor if the survivor blinds or stuns you. This obsession can juggle among survivors if the mentioned criteria are fulfilled.
With each juggle, the new survivor is inflicted with the Oblivious status for 40-60 seconds (depending on the rank).
Plus, the survivor’s aura is also revealed to the Oni for 4 seconds. With that said, it’s quite easy for the obsessions to switch.
Therefore, the ability can act as a double-edged sword, since rapid switching can make you lose track of your target.
You will be unlocking Nemesis at Level 40. The best way to obtain them is through Oni’s Bloodweb. Therefore, we recommend you invest in it.
These perks are generally considered Teachable since they’re a part of Oni’s kit. Unlocking them will allow you to have them spawn in bloodwebs of every other killer in your arsenal.
Weaponizing Oni: Primary Weapon
Oni’s main weapon is known as the Yamaoka Blade. It contains a series of abilities and skills that have been passed down from generation.
While the weapon does have flat base stats assigned to it. Its main strength lies in its abilities instead.
Having said that, here’s a generic breakdown of Yamaoka’s Wrath:
Special Skills
Yamaoka’s Wrath comprises a main attack and ability that works as a cornerstone for Oni’s kit. While they’re generally suited for berserk and chase, you can use them to optimize your pathing as well.
That being said, here’s how that works:
Ability: Demon Dash
As the name suggests, this ability allows the Oni to stride forward in a short span of time, thereby covering longer distances in a smaller-than-usual amount of time.
Activation: You need to be in the Blood Fury state in order to use this ability. Simply hold the Power Button till the Oni performs the dash.
Stats: This ability has a total charge time of two seconds and can be used continuously in the enraged state. While it’s technically not spammable due to the 1-second cooldown timer, you can still use it as aggressively as possible.
During the ability, your movement speed will experience a 95.5% boost, with the horizontal scale reaching 44%.
Attack: Demon Strike
This attack allows Oni to perform a long-range directional lunge that transitions into a hit. Since this attack has the potential to put enemies into the Dying State, it is advised that you sue it in the Blood Fury state as much as possible.
Activation: This attack is the basic form of offense available in the Blood Fury state. You simply need to press the Attack button till the Oni starts hitting the enemy.
Stats: Since it is essentially just a boosted version of the base auto attack, you can expect to spam it without any additional costs.
While there’s a 0.35 seconds’ worth of charge threshold, it will still take you around 3 seconds during the entire interaction – given that the attack actually lands on the target.
If not, then the interaction can be shortened to 2 seconds, which is still an insanely long time. Since the survivors don’t have that many means to fight back, you can still expect it to be pretty penalty-less.
During an auto attack, you’re allowed to twist your body up to 90 degrees in order to redirect your punch towards the correct angle.
While the mechanic can be pretty frustrating at times, its number of possible use cases ranks it pretty high on the priority list.
Activating Blood Fury State
Whenever a survivor is wounded, he/she begins to leave Blood Orbs along the way that can later be absorbed by Oni in order to fill the Blood Meter (Power Gauge).
Once the meter has been filled, you just need to press an active ability in order to transition into the Blood Fury State.
In Blood Fury, Oni will gain a significant amount of lethality and will gain access to its set of Blood Fury abilities.
How Does Oni’s Power Gauge Work?
Just like every other killer, Oni’s power gauge is capped at 100 charges. A single charge is passively loaded in the span of 5 seconds.
However, the passive gain is locked at 98 charges, so you won’t be able to fill the meter unless and until you use alternate means of gaining charges.
This can work as a double-edged sword that prevents you from gaining and wasting Blood Fury before an interaction.
Plus, it gives you the option of actively timing your Blood Fury to go off during certain interactions.
Having said that, there is a multitude of methods for actively obtaining charges. The most prominent ones are mentioned below:
- Blood Orbs: Absorbing a single Blood Orb gives you 2.5 charges. Therefore, a single blood orb is enough to initiate Blood Fury if your power meter is full otherwise.
- Attacking Healthy Survivors: Whenever you basic attack a Survivor that hasn’t been harmed previously, you will be gaining a total of 40 charges. Any downing survivor won’t be giving this bonus to you.
Once the Power Gauge is full, simply use the activation method to unleash yourself on your enemies. Since this ability can continue until the power meter is empty, we recommend using it as sparingly as possible.
Oni Absorption Mode: How Does It Work?
As mentioned, Oni’s power stems from the number of blood orbs he consumes. The more you allow him to rampage, the bigger threat he becomes.
Therefore, it’s recommended to make him starve from the very start – given that you want to win as a survivor.
On that note, Blood Orbs are the most essential portion of your kit. They last for an eternity and can display an easy-to-follow kill path at your behest.
If you’re having trouble tracking enemies, then it’s advisable that you keep following these Blood Orbs in order to sniff out the survivor from his/her hiding.
During the absorption, you will be moving at 3.45 m/s. Whereas, the Demon dash can boost this to 7.62 m/s. Therefore, it’s generally recommended you mix in any dashes you can if you’re intending on chasing survivors.
Best Perks For Oni
Aside from the basic perks, Oni can still unlock a bunch of extra ones that essentially allow you to build him according to your preferences.
While the choice contains an awful lot of abilities that have little to no link with Oni, there are also those that slot in like bread and butter.
The said abilities have been mentioned below:
Infectious Fright – Plague
Whenever an enemy is put into the Dying State, any survivor in the killing radius is forced to scream. This allows the killer to track their location in order to hunt them down.
Luckily, Oni happens to have abilities in his Blood Fury form that can instantly put survivors into Dying State.
Therefore, it’s essentially an all-for-one fiesta where you can leverage the scope of your passive as hard as possible.
Barbecue & Chilli – Cannibal
Once you hook a survivor, enemies near that hook will have their aura revealed in a range of 40-60 meters (depending on the level).
This aura effect lasts for a total of four seconds and can be extremely useful as it allows you to have ranged sight.
In addition, this ability will only be unlocked once you’ve reached level 35.
Monitor & Abuse – Doctor
This ability allows you to have an increased range of view as long as you’re out of a chase. However, your Terror Radius will be reduced accordingly as a penalty.
Luckily, this trade is almost always favored towards Oni, since you just need to spot the enemy.
His heightened movement speed is enough to complete the chase.
Corrupt Intervention – Plague
The three generators closest to you are blocked for a couple of seconds. Since the Oni is a late scaling character, your early game will be secured.
Once the first Survivor has been put into a near-death state, the effects of Corrupt Intervention will dampen for a few seconds.
This ability can be unlocked once you reach level 30 and beyond.
Best Add-Ons For Oni In Dead By Daylight
Tracking is the most important ability you can have on Oni. You don’t need more movement speed since much of it is already present in Oni’s kit.
It’s all about snowballing your lead in the early portion of the game.
Once you’ve taken over as Oni, the rest is smooth sailing. Therefore, you need add-ons that synergize with his kit as well as possible. Having said that, here are such abilities:
Lion Fang
Lion Fang is an add-on that essentially adds 10 more seconds to the active time of your Blood Fury. However, this add-on is pretty rare to obtain. Therefore, you might have to do some grinding in order to obtain it.
Scalped Topknot
Questioning Kazan’s (Oni’s) honor is a sin that’s punishable by death. This topknot belongs to a samurai that committed one such crime. This ability essentially decreases the already-negligible cooldown of Demon Dash by 0.5 seconds.
This is a rare Topknot that’s worth the investment since it essentially makes the Dash spammable, thereby making the ability perfect for chase.
Renjiro’s Bloody Glove
Upon equipping this add-on, the Blood Orbs will become visible to all the Survivors on the map. However, if they still manage to come in contact with them, then their Aura will be revealed to you for 2 seconds with the orb being absorbed in return.
Since this is a stacking effect, you can corner your enemies into choosing the path with the Blood Orbs. Unfortunately, this is an ultra-rare Add-on.
Therefore, it’ll take a considerable amount of time and luck before you can obtain it.
Tear Soaked Tenugui
This Add-on reduces the penalty that incurs while taking down survivors. While the reduction negation is capped at 4, you will still get a decent value out of it since the main goal is to continue the snowball.
This Add-on belongs to the Very Rare category and costs around 6000 bloodpoints.
Add-Ons For Yamaoka’s Wrath In DBD
This category contains Add-ons that are generally not recommended as a final build but still belong to Yamaoka’s Wrath. They tend to be good placeholders. However, you can also use them to create a more customized build for the Oni.
Having said that, here are the remaining Add-ons for Yamaoka’s Wrath:
Rarity: Common
Here are all the Add-ons belonging to the common rarity:
- Rotting Rope: Blood Orbs have a higher Aura Detection range (by 2m approx).
- Paper Lantern: Blood Orbs have a higher Movement Speed in the direction of The Oni (by 4 m/s approx).
- Cracked Sakazuki: Blood Fury has a lower Activation and Deactivation time (by 0.5s approx).
- Blackened Toenail: Absorbing Blood Orbs grants an increase in movement speed for the duration of the absorption process (approx 0.3 m/s)
Rarity: Uncommon
Here are all the Add-ons belonging to the uncommon rarity:
- Polished Maedate: The rate of Power Charge is increased by 0.1c/s.
- Ink Lion: The Activation and Deactivation time of Blood Fury is reduced by 0.5 seconds. Consequently, the penalty time for downing a survivor is reduced by 2 seconds.
- Chipped Salhai: Blood Fury meter depletes 6 seconds slower.
- Child’s Wooden Sword: Blood Orb’s aura detection range is increased by 3m.
- Bloody Sash: Oni’s movement speed is increased by 0.6 m/s while absorbing Blood Orbs.
Rarity: Rare
Here are all the Add-ons belonging to the rare rarity:
- Yamaoka Sashimono: Blood Fury meter reduces 8 seconds slower.
- Wooden Oni Mask: Survivors have a 14% chance of dropping Blood Orbs. Consequently, they will also drop Blood Orbs when they perform the following actions:
- Vaulting
- Pallet Throwing
- Exiting Lockers
- Crouching
- Failing Skill Checks
- Shattered Wakizashi: The passive power charge is doubled.
- Kanai-Anzen Talisman: While using a Demon Dash, Oni’s movement speed is increased by 0.64 m/s.
Rarity: Very Rare
Here are all the Add-ons belonging to the very rare rarity:
- Splintered Hull: Survivors have a 33% more chance of dropping a Blood Orb. Consequently, they will drop an orb on the following activities:
- Vaulting
- Pallet Throwing
- Exiting Lockers
- Crouching
- Failing Skill Checks
- Akito’s Crutch: During the Demon Dash, the Oni can move at higher speeds (+1.0 m/s).
Rarity: Ultra Rare
Here are all the Add-ons belonging to the final and most prized rarity in Dead By Daylight:
- Iridescent Family Crest: If you miss a Demon Strike, all survivors within a 24-meter range will scream and reveal their locations.
Playing Oni In Dead By Daylight : Tips & Tricks
While Oni is one of the simplest characters in Dead By Deadlight, it can be extremely hard to play him correctly. Since his playstyle punishes so little, you begin to feel like the character is tailor-made for that incorrect way of play.
Luckily, there are only a few commandments that one must adhere to in order to find success with Oni. The universal ones are mentioned below:
- Go On A Rampage: You’re playing Oni, so you will be rewarded for every act of chase you perform. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about effective pathing or anything of that sort, since his kit is designed to help you chase enemies like a bloodhound.
Most of your abilities allow you to track survivors. Now pair that with his heightened movement and you will begin to see where the key lies. - Blood Fury Is The Way: This is an ability that dictates how you’re supposed to play the game. Every Blood Fury transition is a big powerspike for your kit. Therefore, make sure to leverage that to your advantage as much as possible.
You won’t be getting many chances, so it’s better to make them all count rather than bidding for the most opportune ones to come on a silver platter. - Hiding? No Hiding: Picture this, you’re finally unleashed on the battlefield filled with the smell of blood and tears. You can slaughter to your heart’s content. The chickens are laid through the map. Now instead of running and catching them, you hide in a bush.
While it might seem like a good play, the harsh reality is that you will only be rewarded for moving constantly. There’s no room for catching your breath. Therefore, try to work in harmony with your kit instead of going against it. - Go At It, But Not Mindlessly: Blood Fury has its limitations. You cannot expect it to work properly in certain terrains and more often than not, it can backfire as well. Therefore, you need to know when to initiate a dash and when to hold back.
Since the main goal is to optimize your chase, you need to be systematic about how you want to leverage Oni’s madness to your advantage. - Don’t Tinker Too Much: Oni is meant to be a vanilla experience. Therefore, forcing him to be something else won’t yield good results. He’s supposed to be this bloodthirsty rampaging beast that has a human element that’s been driven to insanity.
In simpler terms, play him as he’s supposed to be played. You would be seriously underclocking him otherwise.
Conclusion
All in all, Oni is a pretty basic killer that can be picked up. While his kit is only really unlocked after level 40, you will have a lot of fun learning him. And since his learning curve is quite linear, there’s only success awaiting you at the end of the tunnel – given that you play him as intended.
While you could try a bunch of builds, he’s supposed to be this berserker that only gets his energy in short bursts.
Therefore, extended chase is not his forte. so wear your opponent down and go at it in order to win as many games as possible!
I hope you enjoyed reading this Dead by Daylight Complete Oni Guide.