Ever since the Skull Merchant came toDead by Daylight, she has struggled to gain much admiration from the fan base. Even though she is just as lethal as the game’s other killers, she has not managed to reach the level of respect enjoyed by characters such as Wesker and The Oni. While a lot ofDead by Daylightkillers tend to taper off in use following their release, Skull Merchant seemingly never even got to enjoy that initial boom period. There are a few reasons for Skull Merchant’s unpopularity, but more importantly, there are moves that could repair her reputation.
Adriana Imai, better known asDead by Daylight’s Skull Merchant, is a unique entry among the game’s killers. The daughter of a manga writer, she would become a millionaire after creating a website that featured manga drawn by her peers. As an adult, she could become a ruthless corporate figure, gutting companies and selling them for a profit. She also moonlighted as a serial killer, styling herself after her father’s darkest work. In-game, Skull Merchant can deploy her customized drones to patrol areas of the map. This lets her more easily track down survivors to slash them with her lethal claw.
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Unfortunately, even in the days directly following the launch ofDead by Daylight’s Tools of Torment chapter, Skull Merchant was never very popular. For one, her design was seen as disappointing after the trailer left many players expecting a robotic killer. Second, her power of using drones for surveillance can easily be used for camping generators, as well as the dreaded three-gen tactic that can slow endgames to a crawl, causing many to dislike playing against her. Finally, Skull Merchant’s lore itself isn’t taken seriously. Rather than building her up as a killer, her backstory has instead been subject to fandom memes, making her much less menacing.
If Behavior intends to address the character in the future, one of the best places to start would behow Skull Merchant plays inDead by Daylight. As it stands, Skull Merchant’s power is largely passive, with the player’s input mostly being placing drones and reactivating them when their timers run out. One possible solution would be for players to gain the ability to momentarily control their drones, either to quickly move them to a new location or place a claw trap on a survivor manually rather than waiting for them to hack a drone. That would make Skull Merchant’s gameplay feel more dynamic on both sides.
In terms of Skull Merchant’s characterization, as strange as it may sound, it may be a good move to play into her existing reputation. WhileDead by Daylightis afun horror game to play with friends, its lore is quite serious. However, Skull Merchant has a few too many silly aspects to ignore. With a tome challenge called “I’m The Skull Merchant!” and a perk called “THWACK!”, it’s easy to see Adriana as more of a cartoon than a serious threat. By playing up more amusing, parodic traits, the Skull Merchant could occupy a niche inDead by Daylightthat only Ghost Face has touched upon previously.
The Skull Merchant will almost definitely need to see some changes in order to restore her already-damaged reputation. While her power does provide a lot of control over generators, Skull Merchant hasnot been embraced byDead by Daylightplayersfor the most part. By changing some of her more disliked qualities and trying something new with her, there might still be a chance to salvage her reputation. However, as it stands now, the Skull Merchant remains in the unfortunate position of being one ofDead by Daylight’s least respected killers.
Dead by Daylightis available now for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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