Jonathan Byers Dead By Daylight Survivor Guide: The Leader

Are you looking to learn how to play Jonathan Byers like a pro? Then, take a look at our Jonathan Byers Dead by Daylight Survivor Guide.

There are a total of 39 Survivors in Dead by Daylight, yet none have ever come close to the leader and mentor, Jonathan Byers. He is a fearless leader who puts himself in harm’s way to protect his teammates, no matter what the circumstances are. He was introduced in the thirteenth DLC in Dead by Daylight’s history of DLCs as a legendary outfit for Steve Harrington. The DLC was titled “CHAPTER 13: Stranger Things” and released on 17 September 2019.

 It became a very popular DLC release because the Stranger Things franchise was at its peak as one of the most-watched Netflix horror TV shows. The DLC has now been removed after being available for purchase till 17 November 2021, only being available in limited quantities of game codes. Players fell in love with the newly added Survivors and of course, Jonathan Byers became a favorite. However, the main Survivor has a completely new set of mechanics, so take a look at this Jonathan Byers Dead by Daylight Survivor guide.

Jonathan Byers Ultimate Dead by Daylight Survivor Guide

Jonathan Byers is a fearless and anti-social person who cares about no one but his family and friends. He is always ready to put himself in between danger and his loved ones to protect them. He values friendship and kinship more than anything else, which is why he can overcome all obstacles with ease. He is a leader who stops at nothing to do what he needs to save his allies, even if it means losing his life in the process. 

As he is a legendary outfit addition to the main Survivor, Steve Harrington, you have to study his perks to play. It is essential to know what perks a Survivor comes with before attempting to play with them. This is because utilizing the load out of a Survivor is necessary to fully understand their mechanics and play accurately. 

Hence, it is important to have as much knowledge as possible about the Survivor before choosing to play with them. For this reason, here is everything you need to know about Jonathan Byers' mechanics:

Unique Perks

Here is a list of the 3 unique perks that he comes with:

• Babysitter (Survivor-specific name) / Guardian: This perk allows you to grant a Survivor you rescue from the hook with a +7% Haste status effect along with their Scratch Marks and Pools of Blood being suppressed for 4, 6 or 8 seconds. It also reveals the Killer’s aura to you for 8 seconds. 
• Camaraderie (Survivor-specific name) / Kinship: This perk pauses your Struggle Phase timer when you’re on the hook for 26, 30 or 34 seconds when a Survivor is within 16 meters of you.

• Second Wind (Survivor-specific name) / Renewal: This perk allows you to be automatically healed for 1 full Health State after you heal a Survivor for the same amount. This perk activates after you are rescued from the hook or unhook yourself by giving you the Broken status effect and after 28, 24 or 20 seconds, you are healed. 

Best Builds

Here is a list of the 3 best builds for Jonathan Byers:

The Protector

Here are the perks for the “The Protector” build:

• Babysitter (Survivor-specific name) / Guardian: This perk allows you to grant a Survivor you rescue from the hook with a +7% Haste status effect along with their Scratch Marks and Pools of Blood being suppressed for 4, 6 or 8 seconds. It also reveals the Killer’s aura to you for 8 seconds.

• Second Wind (Survivor-specific name) / Renewal: This perk allows you to be automatically healed for 1 full Health State after you heal a Survivor for the same amount. This perk activates after you are rescued from the hook or unhook yourself by giving you the Broken status effect and after 28, 24 or 20 seconds, you are healed.
  

• Bond: This perk reveals the aura of all Survivors within a 20, 28 or 36-meter radius. It highlights the Survivors in yellow.
  

• Vigil: This perk allows you to increase your Recovery Rate when struck by status effects such as Broken, Exhaustion, Hindered, Exposed, Haemorrhage, Blindness and Oblivious by 20, 25 or 30% and it also applies to Survivors within 8 meters of you, lingering for 15 seconds. 

Stunner

Here are the perks for the Stunner build:

• • Second Wind (Survivor-specific name) / Renewal: This perk allows you to be automatically healed for 1 full Health State after you heal a Survivor for the same amount. This perk activates after you are rescued from the hook or unhook yourself by giving you the Broken status effect and after 28, 24 or 20 seconds, you are healed.

  • Adrenaline: This perk allows you to instantly heal 1 full Health State and run at 150% of your normal running speed when the Exit Gates are opened.

  • Lithe: This perk allows you to run at 150% of your normal running speed after you perform a Rush Vault action. You are hit by the Exhausted status effect for 60, 50 or 40 seconds after the perk deactivates.

• Iron Will: This perk reduces the sound of your grunts of pain when you are injured by 25, 50 or 75% 

Tips for playing Jonathan Byers as a Survivor

Here are some of the best tips for playing as him in the game: 

• Lean into the aggressive playstyle and focus on stealth-ing only when you get the opportunity to do so.

• Use your perks to their fullest potential and make sure to activate them as necessary.

• Leave the Generators to your allies and distract the Killer because that’s what the movement speed is best for.

• Choose the perfect build for your style and focus on only one thing rather than choosing to do multiple things.

• The more speed-boosting perks you add, the better distraction you can provide for your teammates. Use perks like Lithe, Dead Hard, Balanced Landing and Adrenaline to be the perfect looper.

Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of playing with him: 

Pros

• Versatile builds
• Good movement speed
• Great base perks
• Co-operative playstyle

Cons

• Cannot be loud or stealth-focused individually
• Mandatory aggressive playstyle
• Not good for Generator repairs
• Hard to maneuver

Countering Jonathan Byers

Here are some perks you can use to counter Jonathan Byers easily:

• • Barbecue & Chili: This perk reveals the aura of all Survivors 40, 50 or 60 meters away for 5 seconds when you hook a victim. With this, you can catch him red-handed as he tries to save his hooked ally.

  • Awakened Awareness: This perk reveals the aura of all Survivors 16, 18 or 20 meters away while you’re carrying a victim. With this, you can easily catch Mr. Leader red-handed as he tries to stun you.

• Enduring: This perk reduces the duration of your being stunned by a Pallet Stun by 40, 45 or 50% each time.

Conclusion

Check out our Nemesis Killer guide and stay tuned out for other guides in the future.