The Clown or Jeffery Hawk was introduced in the Chapter 8 DLC in Dead by Daylight. He invokes coulrophobia with his menacing looks but there isn’t anything supernatural about him. What does his kit consist of? Are there any perks worth looking into? What peculiar ability does he boast? All will be answered and more in this ultimate guide to The Clown.
The Clown has a purple bottle that slows down survivors and a golden bottle that gives him a speed boost. The perfect use of these bottles will make him a formidable force or it will be his downfall. He is easy to play with and his ability isn’t that hard to comprehend. He makes chases trivial and render loops useless in a giffy.
Here is a detailed guide that covers everything there is to know about The Clown in Dead by Daylight to make it easier for you to decide whether to pick him or not.
Is The Clown (Jeffrey Hawk) good for beginners?
The Clown is very much a standard killer. His simplicity is quite welcoming for beginners. New players can quickly get a hang of this killer. However, mastering him comes down to the effective use of his Afterpeice Bottles.
As a beginner, you will have to invest some time to understand the bottles’ effects and how to strategically use them. The effects themselves aren’t that confusing and very straightforward. It all boils down to when to throw the right bottle in order to capitalize on their effects.
Are The Clown Perks worth upgrading?
The Bamboozled perk is a great addition for other killers and for that reason alone it must be upgraded. It essentially blocks a window and makes it a dead-end. It allows the killer to get a free hit/down on some unassuming survivors thinking they can get out of dodge by vaulting over the window.
Another nice perk to upgrade in his arsenal is Pop Goes the Weasel. It is perfect for slowing down Generator progression by damaging them and causing a massive amount of regression at a glimpse.
What are The Clown Perks?
The Clown has 3 unique perks with three tier levels in Dead by Daylight:
Bamboozle
After vaulting a Window, Bamboozle calls upon The Entity to block that Window for the next 8/12/16 seconds.
- Blocked Windows cannot be vaulted by Survivors.
- Increases your general Vaulting speed by 5/10/15 %.
- Bamboozle only blocks one Window at a time and does not apply either of its effects to vaulting Pallets.
Coulrophobia
For all Survivors within your Terror Radius, the following effects apply:
- Reduces their Healing speed by 30/40/50 %.
- Increases the Rotation speed of Healing Skill Checks by +50%.
Pop Goes the Weasel
After hooking a Survivor, Pop Goes the Weasel activates for the next 35/40/45 seconds:
- Performing the Damage Generator Action on a Generator instantly regresses it by -30 % of its current Progression.
- Normal Generator Regression applies afterward.
What Weapon does The Clown have?
The Clown carries around the Madame Butterfly as his primary weapon. I don’t know why the devs didn’t give him a comically large blood-stained inflatable hammer to bonk his prey. Oh well, whatchu gonna do!
What Powers does The Clown have?
The Clown’s main power comes from two types of bottles, Afterpiece Tonic and Afterpiece Antidote. Each of these bottles has its respective effects, discussed below. They can be thrown to inflict said effects.
The killer starts out with 4 bottles in total shared stock. You can cycle between these bottles on the fly. Holding the Active Ability button will restore/reload thrown bottles.
Afterpiece Tonic is a purple bottle that releases an intoxicating purple gas on impact. Upon impact or if the survivor walks through the gas they will suffer from impaired vision, coughing, inability to fast vault, and Hindered Status Effect which lowers their movement speed.
The gas’s debuff lingers on for 2 seconds. However, the gas itself and the effect of the gas will be canceled if the Antidote bottle is thrown where the purple gas was previously. This means that if a survivor walks through the golden Antidote gas, the Tonic’s debuff will wear off and they will be buffed by the other bottle.
Afterpiece Antidote is the gold bottle that releases an inactive white gas upon landing. After 2.5 seconds, the white gas activates and turns gold. Walking through the gold gas buffs both the Clown and/or any survivor with Haste, granting them increased movement speed for 5 seconds.
As with the last bottle, the Antidote’s effect can be canceled with a Tonic bottle.
Is The Clown fun to play?
The Clown is very fun to play. He is easy to pick up and his ability doesn’t require much mental exercise to grasp. His prowess lies in one-on-one chases and disrupting loops. Skilled players can have a field day as well with this killer.
Nevertheless, overcoming a veteran team of survivors will be difficult. His simplicity can be outplayed and he doesn’t have anything else that gives him an edge.
A good build with solid perks and add-ons does make a lot of difference. And the right use of his bottles can reap a lot of kills. Hence, practice this funny dude and you will surely have the last laugh!
What are some tips and tricks to get better with The Clown?
Here are some tips that you can employ when playing as this killer:
- Stay clear of any add-ons that might look tempting with increased throwing speed accompanied by a decrease in throwing angle. It will mess with your throwing muscle memory.
- The Thick Cork Stopper add-on will lower the reload time of the bottles.
- Decreasing the bottle-throwing cooldown through add-ons like Robin Feather is another worthy addition to your kit.
- Add-ons like Sticky Soda Bottle that increase the number of bottles you can carry are very handy.
- Party Bottle add-on will add a non-lethal confetti explosion that can interrupt any survivor action. Thrown at the right time, you can thwart any survivor’s escape tactics.
- Do not spam the bottles. Use them intelligently otherwise, you will be canceling their effects without reaping any benefits. Plus the unnecessary reload animation will only slow things down further.
- Throwing the bottles in an arc over walls, especially on generators is a great strategy to catch multiple survivors completing the task.
- The longer you hold the throw button, the farther the bottle will land so practice bottle throws to understand their trajectory.
- Do not go crazy with the golden bottles and boost your speed every chance you get. Use them at opportune times in loops to catch up to your targets. Or once while there are no survivors in sight and you have to reach the other end of the map.
- Since the golden gas takes time to trigger, you should throw the bottle in front of you and immediately start the reloading animation while you walk into the white smoke. Once done reloading, the gas will turn golden, buffing you without any wasted downtime.
- You must have the purple bottle selected most of the time. Hurling them directly onto the pursuing survivor will slow them down and you can finish the job.
- While looping around a pallet, stand under the pallet and throw the purple bottle at a corner where the survivor is waiting for your next move. This will force them to either walk to the other side which you cover easily or walk through the gas, debuffing them.
The Clown isn’t the most impressive killer in the Dead by Daylight roster but one who can hold his ground if played right. Practice the art of throwing the bottles and no survivor can outrun you.