Pinhead is the next licensed Killer making an appearance in Dead by Daylight. The Cenobite Priest brings players a new Killer power and three unique Killer perks. In this guide I will be focusing on Pinhead’s power, Summons of Pain. If you want to check out Pinhead’s perks, I have a separate article going over them.
Summons of Pain
Press the power button to create a gateway and release the button to open it. Once opened, tap the ability button to take control of a possessed chain. Pinhead can direct the chain into a Survivor to bind them.
A Survivor bound to a chain is unable to sprint or perform rushed actions. Their movement speed will decrease further as they’re hit with a second and third chain. Survivors can perform the Break Free action to escape chains, or use the objects and walls around them. Pinhead will also break chains on a Survivor if he walks through the chain, so he must be careful when pursuing Survivors.
The second part of Pinhead’s power is the infamous Lament Configuration, an object players would be familiar with from the Hellraiser franchise. Survivors can see the aura of the Lament Configuration, but Pinhead cannot. If the Lament Configuration is left alone for too long, it initiates a Chain Hunt by summoning chains to pursue Survivors.
The Chain Hunt ends when a Survivor picks up the Lament Configuration. You can tell how close you are to the beginning or a Chain Hunt by looking at the Survivor frames. There is a blue chain that slowly fills up, and when filled up all the way a Chain Hunt will begin.
Picking up the Lament Configuration comes at a price. The Survivor carrying it will be afflicted with the Oblivious status effect, and chains will occasionally be summoned to bind them. The Survivor must solve the Lament Configuration to remove it from their possession. While doing this, Pinhead will see their location and be able to teleport to them.
A Survivor cannot drop the Lament Configuration once they pick it up, and cannot pick up any items either. If a Survivor is holding an item when they pick up the Lament Configuration, they drop their item.
When Pinhead picks up the Lament Configuration, a Chain Hunt is activated. Additionally, all Survivors are instantly bound by chains, causing them to scream and reveal their location. If the Cenobite downs a survivor holding the Lament Configuration, he will instantly use the Lament Configuration. The Lament Configuration will spawn in a new location after the Cenobite or a Survivor has used it.
How to use Summons of Pain
Pinhead is another Killer with high skill potential. His possessed chain can be hard to control at first. But with enough practice these chains can bind Survivors through windows, and across corners, putting them in the perfect position for Pinhead to strike.
Just remember that possessed chains only excel at controlling Survivors close to Pinhead. Sure, Pinhead can technically chain Survivors that are quite far from him, but doing this is useless, as Survivors break free from his chains too quickly to allow a hit.
Pinhead’s Lament Configuration also has a lot of uses. I think the biggest upside to the Lament Configuration is that it wastes the Survivor’s time. Every second a Survivor spends traveling to the Lament Configuration or solving it is a second they are not working on a generator. This helps slow the game in Pinhead’s favor.
If the Survivors choose to ignore the Lament Configuration, then Pinhead gets his Chain Hunt for free. Plus generators will still get slowed down because of the random chains targeting Survivors. Each time a chain hits a Survivor it interrupts any action they are doing. Then the Survivor must remove the chain before resuming their action.
The passive effect of the Lament Configuration becomes more powerful as Survivors are sacrificed. The remaining Survivors must make a choice between healing and getting chained, or put themselves in danger by solving the Lament Configuration.
As for teleporting to the Lament Configuration, this is not always the best option. Survivors could easily try and trick Pinhead into teleporting away from their team, or from nearly completed generators. Remember that it is always better to chase a Survivor off a generator than it is to chase a Survivor doing nothing. Survivors solving the Lament Configuration are not progressing the game, and are a low priority.
Of course there are some situations where teleporting to the Lament Configuration is a good idea. An example would be when there are two Survivors left and you just downed one of them. If the last Survivor starts solving the Lament Configuration, you can immediately teleport to win the game. Players will have to decide on the spot whether teleporting will be beneficial or not.
As for seeking the Lament Configuration as Pinhead, this is not what you want to do. Pinhead cannot see the aura of the Lament Configuration, so it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. If you happen to come across it though, always activate the Lament Configuration.
Perks to use
Pinhead is a basic attack Killer, which means the primary way he deals damage is through his basic attack. That means perks that trigger off basic attacks work well with Pinhead, specifically Save the Best for Last, which can allow Pinhead to recover from hitting Survivors quickly. Sloppy Butcher is another great option, as it applies Mangled to Survivors and increases healing time.
Franklin’s Demise will be a must have for Pinhead, at least if it continues to work as it does on the PTB. Currently Survivors cannot drop the Lament Configuration. However, Franklin’s Demise can force any Survivor to drop it, allowing Pinhead to pick it up right after. Keep in mind this might be fixed once Pinhead hits the Dead by Daylight live servers.
Many perks work well with Pinhead, so feel free to try out all your favorite builds. You can go for a chasing and pallet breaking build, or a generator delay one. Pinhead’s only weakness is that he cannot reliably travel across the map quickly. In effect, any perks that require fast travel – such as Tinkerer or Make Your Choice – are not good on him.
That is Pinhead explained in Dead by Daylight. To see his power in action check out my video above, showcasing Pinhead on the PTB.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more Dead by Daylight guides and news, and good luck out there in the fog!
