How to Play Vecna the First: Solving and Completing in Dead by Daylight

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The second chapter of Stranger Things has been added to Dead By Daylight, bringing along a new Killer and two Survivors, just like the first chapter. Dustin Henderson, Eleven, and The First each have three unique perks that you can eventually incorporate into your own perk setups.

The First, known as Vecna by the kids in Stranger Things, has special abilities that involve the Upside Down. He can weaken and eventually sacrifice Survivors using his powers. Here’s everything you need to understand about how to use his abilities and the best perk combinations to maximize his effectiveness.

The First’s Unique Power and Perks

The First’s main ability is a Vine Attack, which uses the power of the twisting vines from the Upside Down. This attack appears as a red portal on the ground that can be moved to hit Survivors. The secondary ability is the Undergate, a large red portal that activates when The First enters the Upside Down, traveling just below the surface of the ground.

Tip: Aim the Vine Attack where the Survivor is about to go, not where they are now.

When the Vine Attack or Undergate hits a Survivor, they gain a Worldbreaker token. Accumulating four tokens (which is the starting amount) activates Worldbreaker mode. At this point, all players are transported to a spooky, red-tinted version of the map called the Upside Down.

While in Worldbreaker mode, The First can hit Survivors with his vine attack to injure them instead of gaining tokens. Once a Survivor has all the Worldbreaker tokens and is hooked twice, you can perform a mini-mori called the Mind Break after catching them in a Vine Attack again.

His perks are generator-focused, slowing down repair progress in different ways. These perks complement his attack style, giving him extra time to trap Survivors with his powers. Though Vecna is relatively slow moving at 4.4 m/s, his ability to hit from a distance and apply tokens or injuries makes him a threat. He’s also faster when moving through the Undergate.

Tip: While traveling in the Undergate, he can pass through the ground under pallets and vaults.

His speed is a weakness for closing loops on foot, so it’s important to use his special abilities to apply Worldbreaker tokens and disrupt Survivors during their loops in the Upside Down.

Locked for all players at Prestige 3, all of The First’s perks unlock for everyone. These perks are designed to monitor generator progress, block or explode generators, and hinder Survivor progress. The key perks include:

Perk	Description	Guide
Turn Back The Clock	After hooking a Survivor, you have 60 seconds to target a nearby generator and cause it to regress by 10%.	Use Power button to explode a generator within 20 meters after hooking a survivor.
Secret Project	When a totem is cleansed or blessed, it blocks a generator for 30 seconds and grants undetectable status for 30 seconds.	Pair with perks that block generators to stay undetectable.
Hex: Hive Mind	After hooking your first Survivor, a dull totem becomes a Hex totem. All generators are highlighted, and when only one remains, all explode and regress.	Use with other Hex perks for maximum effect.

Best perk setups for The First:

Turn Back The Clock Perk Build
Begin with perks like Lethal Pursuer to find your first victim quickly. Focus on damaging generators and controlling others to slow the game.

Perk	Description	Guide
Hex: Hive Mind	Shows generator progress for all generators, useful for applying Turn Back The Clock.	Track generator status visually.
Lethal Pursuer	Reveals all survivors’ auras for 9 seconds at the start.	Catch survivors early and hook quickly to activate your perks.
Oppression	Damages a generator and causes four others to regress, while making repairing survivors face difficult skill checks.	Use to slow down repairs and gather info on their location.

Secret Project Build
This build makes use of generator-blocking perks like Deadlock, Grim Embrace, or Corrupt Intervention, which complement Secret Project’s ability to stay undetectable after totem cleansing.

Perk	Description	Guide
Deadlock / No Holds Barred	Blocks the generator with most progress when another is completed, and grants undetectable from Secret Project.	Use to stall multiple generator progress.
Grim Embrace	Blocks generators for 10 seconds after hooking a survivor, increasing to 40 seconds when all survivors are hooked once, and shows the Obsession.	Use to keep generators from advancing.
Corrupt Intervention	Blocks the 3 furthest generators at trial start, giving you time to set up.	Pair with Secret Project to stay undetectable from the start.

Hex: Hive Mind Build
Sometimes, a full Hex build is enough to spice up matches. Hex: Hive Mind grants good information on generator progress; when its totem is cleansed, the perk disappears, so backup perks like Thrill Of The Hunt, Hex: Pentimento, and Hex: The Third Seal add more layers of disruption.

Perk	Description	Guide
Hex: Thrill Of The Hunt	Produces tokens for each remaining Hex totem, decreasing Survivor totem cleansing rates.	Use to slow down their healing and cleansing.
Hex: Pentimento	Allows relighting of cleansed totems; relit totems slow healing and repairing, and become unrecoverable if all are re-lit.	Keep totems re-lit for control.
Hex: The Third Seal	After injuring a Survivor, they are blinded and their aura becomes hidden, preventing them from seeing other Hex totems.	Block their awareness of your positioning.

Using these perks and strategies, The First can efficiently control generators, limit Survivor progress, and enforce his command over the map, especially when combined with his unique powers.