The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: [OUTDATED] Legacy Victim Builds

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3205606550

Legacy Family Builds: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3266024804
This is a compilation of strong or just interesting builds that I’ve found over time. The point of this guide is more to provide recommended paths and build skeletons for Victim, so feel free to modify whatever to your preference. The effects of every perk will not be described in this guide. They can be found here:
https://texaschainsaw-massacre-the-game.fandom.com/wiki/Perks#Victim_Perks

Check the “Favorite Builds” section at the bottom if you just want to copy a build!

• Skill tree and Ability tree paths are marked with either L, M, or R. L indicates to go left. M indicates to go down the middle. R indicates to go right.
• Recommended paths for each Victim’s ability are listed right at the top of their respective pages, right below their portrait and above their builds.
• Noteworthy random perks for each Victim are also listed at the top of their respective pages, right below their recommended ability path.
• The number of random perks that a Victim gets from a certain path is located in the Perks section right below the noteworthy guaranteed perks that they get.
• A * symbol next to a perk indicates that it’s random.
• Perk selections for builds are just general recommendations, and can be modified as you like.
• Irrelevant perks are ignored for perk pools. These are generally weak and/or situational perks, like Bar Room Hero or Full Hearts. Feel free to use them, but they will be ignored for the purpose of this guide. All of the default perks are also ignored, since they are unexceptional and guaranteed with every skill tree path. See my “Victim Perk Ratings” guide below for my thoughts on all the perks.
• Jump Start and Fast Hands are recommended for any serious build assuming there is access to them, due to how strong they currently are. Fast Hands is still very strong despite its recent nerf.
• Extra Drip has been recently nerfed, halving its benefit. It’s no longer as wildly overtuned, but it is still a strong healing perk that is recommended for most builds, and still outclasses Bounce Back Better.
• Intuition, Knock Knock, and Tool Tracks are all decent perks for new players or for learning new maps. They should be replaced once properly acclimated, however. Exit Strategy is decent in solo queue for communicating exits to teammates. All of these perks will be ignored in this guide since they are guaranteed default perks.

• 40 is a good spot for Toughness to be around. Of course you can invest more points for extra tankiness but that is a generally good number to go for if you want to invest points elsewhere.
• It is recommended to have at least 30 Endurance. 35 can be taken if not using Jump Start or just out of preference. Going any higher tends to be redundant.
• Strength isn’t the best attribute compared to Toughness/Endurance/Proficiency and should only be used if committing to a full distraction build with leftover points, or just for fun.
• Proficiency is an excellent attribute. You can never go wrong with maxing it out on anyone. The only reasons not to do so are to invest those points into Toughness/Endurance for survival or if committing to a distraction build.
• Stealth is currently a weak attribute and should just be outright ignored. If you want to invest in it, you should only do so after maxing out Proficiency. You generally want to use at least one attribute perk if doing this. Recommended characters for this are Connie, Danny, then Julie in that order.
• To avoid having to list them for each build, there are three general attribute setups that I recommend. They are…
  • Objectives: Max out Proficiency. Put the rest of the points into Toughness or Endurance. Optionally, Endurance can be raised to 30 or 35 before dumping into Proficiency.
  • All-Rounder: Get Endurance to 30 or 35. Distribute the rest of the points among Toughness and Proficiency evenly. I prefer to have the extra point in Proficiency if there is an uneven amount of points. I also prefer to just put the rest of my points into Proficiency first if Toughness is already high enough (around 40).
  • Distraction: Get Endurance to 30 or 35. Dump the rest of the points into Toughness. If there’s any left, put the rest of the points into Strength or Proficiency. Alternatively, Toughness and Strength can be invested into more evenly, with Toughness being favored.

• Victim Perk Ratings: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3239658365
• Toughness & Savagery Explained: https://youtu.be/5tubaeFjRBk?si=AUq43L99eclsCpcc
• Endurance Explained: https://youtu.be/OPQlDg-pigc?si=Y2Y2SDvCoBviyJJB
• Close Encounters Explained: https://youtu.be/cOk9A9KOVXk?si=rJjj7IHgj4WtISMz

• Bomb Squad
• Bounce Back Better
• Choose Fight
• Radar Detector

• Ana is pretty versatile, and can be played however. She is obviously great as a distraction character with high Toughness and an ability that lets her survive pretty much anything, but she can also be good as an objective rusher, using her ability and high Toughness to help her survive if she’s found.

R, L, R, L, L/R

• Jump Start
• No Sell
• Stunt Double
• Tougher Stuff
• What Doesn’t Kill You / Random Perk

3-4 Random Perks

• Jump Start
• *Bounce Back Better / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Any

• Jump Start
• Stunt Double
• Any

31 Points Total

• Family House path with Stunt Double. Notably loses access to Conditioned, Empowered, Extra Drip, and Grappler.
• With access to Jump Start and an ability that generates stamina, Ana doesn’t really need other stamina perks like Conditioned or Empowered. Combined with Extra Drip’s nerf, this is probably Ana’s best path now.
• Going right at the second fork will get 2 attribute points but lose Stunt Double, Tougher Stuff, and 1 random perk. Not recommended, since Ana with Stunt Double is very powerful on Family House.
• Going left at the last fork will get 1 random perk but lose What Doesn’t Kill You. Not recommended, since WDKY is a good perk and this path already gives 3 random perks.

M, L, R, L, L/R

• Conditioned
• Empowered
• Jump Start
• Last Ditch Effort
• No Sell
• What Doesn’t Kill You / Random Perk

2-3 Random Perks

• *Bounce Back Better / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Jump Start
• Any

• *Choose Fight
• Empowered
• Last Ditch Effort

• Conditioned
• Empowered
• Jump Start

32 Points Total

• Modification of Path 1-1 which gets Conditioned, Empowered, Last Ditch Effort, and 1 attribute point, but loses Stunt Double, Tougher Stuff, and 1 random perk.
• Empowered no longer heals, meaning that this path has lost a decent amount of value. This is still not a bad path, but there’s probably better paths to go with now.
• Going left at the last fork will get 1 random perk but lose What Doesn’t Kill You. Not a bad idea if you don’t like WDKY or need a lot of random perks.

L, L, L, R, L/R

• Extra Drip
• Grappler
• No Sell
• Ran Track
• What Doesn’t Kill You / Random Perk

2-3 Random Perks

• Extra Drip
• Ran Track
• Any

• Extra Drip
• What Doesn’t Kill You
• *Bounce Back Better / No Sell

33 Points Total

• Path for Extra Drip and Grappler, but notably loses access to Jump Start and Stunt Double.
• Extra Drip and Grappler have just been recently nerfed, making this path not as great, but Extra Drip is still fairly strong can be used in conjunction with other healing perks for a tank build, and Grappler is still decent. This is probably Ana’s best path for playing aggressively and tanking hits, now that Empowered has been nerfed.
• Going left at the last fork will get 1 random perk but lose What Doesn’t Kill You. Not a bad idea if you don’t like WDKY or need a lot of random perks.

M, L, L, R, L/R

• Choose Flight
• Conditioned
• Extra Drip
• Grappler
• Last Ditch Effort
• No Sell
• What Doesn’t Kill You / Random Perk

2-3 Random Perks

• Extra Drip
• Choose Flight / Conditioned
• Any

• Extra Drip
• What Doesn’t Kill You
• *Bounce Back Better / No Sell

• *Choose Fight
• Grappler
• Last Ditch Effort

32 Points Total

• Modification of Path 2-1 which gets Choose Flight, Conditioned, and Last Ditch Effort, but loses Ran Track and an extra attribute point.
• Ran Track is probably more consistent and the extra attribute point is nice, so I recommend avoiding this path. However, this can be used for a close encounter build with Grappler and Last Ditch Effort.
• Going left at the last fork will get 1 random perk but lose What Doesn’t Kill You. Not a bad idea if you don’t like WDKY or need a lot of random perks.

L, L, L, L, R

• Grappler
• Highly Skilled
• Ran Track

3 Random Perks

• *Bounce Back Better
• Highly Skilled
• Any

• Highly Skilled
• Ran Track
• Any

32 Points Total

• Ana’s highest attribute path, assuming both Highly Skilled and Ran Track are used. Also gets access to Grappler. Notably loses access to Extra Drip, Jump Start, No Sell,Stunt Double, and What Doesn’t Kill You, so not really worth using.

M, L, L, L, R

• Choose Flight
• Conditioned
• Grappler
• Highly Skilled
• Last Ditch Effort

3 Random Perks

• *Bounce Back Better
• Highly Skilled
• Any

• *Choose Fight
• Grappler
• Last Ditch Effort

31 Points Total

• Modification of Path 3-1 which gets Choose Flight, Conditioned, and Last Ditch Effort, but loses Ran Track and an extra attribute point.
• Ran Track is probably more consistent and the extra attribute point is nice, so I recommend avoiding this path. However, this can be used for a close encounter build with Grappler and Last Ditch Effort.

• Jack In The Box
• Jump Start
• Last Ditch Effort
• Slippery
• Tae Kwon Door

• Connie is obviously an objective-oriented character, but it isn’t a bad idea to use perks and attributes that help her survive. Since Connie is so strong at doing objectives but weak in survival, Family members will generally try to tunnel her out of a match whenever possible. It’s probably best to commit your build mostly toward survival, and rely on your ability and naturally high Proficiency for doing objectives. Maxing out Proficiency is still an idea, though – Connie only needs to devote 15 attribute points toward it to max it out.
• It doesn’t matter which level 1 upgrade you choose for the ability if going L/M, L, M, since both of the level 1 upgrades are overwritten by the later upgrades.

M, L, L, R

• Bomb Squad
• Choose Flight
• Efficient Locksmith
• Extra Drip
• Saboteur
• Sneaky Pete

3 Random Perks

• *Jump Start
• Bomb Squad / Efficient Locksmith / Saboteur

• Extra Drip
• *Jump Start
• Choose Flight / *Slippery

28 Points Total

• Path for getting Bomb Squad, Choose Flight, Efficient Locksmith, and Saboteur, but notably loses out on a few attributes compared to Connie’s other paths.
• Probably Connie’s best path, since Bomb Squad is important to have when facing a Hitchhiker, and Efficient Locksmith and Saboteur are also very strong perks.
• Remember to use Bomb Squad, Choose Flight, Efficient Locksmith, or Saboteur with this path, otherwise you’re better off using another path.
• Going L, R, R instead will get 1 extra attribute point but lose Bomb Squad. Not recommended, since Bomb Squad is a great perk that counters a meta Family member. Go for it if you refuse to use Bomb Squad out of principle or just don’t like having to change your build whenever a Hitchhiker loads in.
• Going right at the last fork will get Jump Scare and 1 attribute point but lose Efficient Locksmith and Extra Drip. Not recommended, since Jump Scare is somewhat situational and Efficient Locksmith and Extra Drip are great perks. It can be used for a runner build with Jump Start and Slippery, though.

R, R, L

• Clear Eyes
• Extra Drip
• Highly Skilled
• Radar Detector
• Ran Track
• Safety In Numbers
• Tougher Stuff

3 Random Perks

• *Jump Start
• Extra Drip / Highly Skilled / Radar Detector / *Slippery / Tougher Stuff

• *Jump Start
• *Slippery
• Ran Track / Safety In Numbers

• Extra Drip / *Jack In The Box / *Jump Start / Safety In Numbers / Tougher Stuff

• Extra Drip / *Jack In The Box / *Jump Start / *Last Ditch Effort / *Slippery / *Tae Kwon Door / Tougher Stuff

31 Points Total

• Connie’s attribute path, with both the highest base attributes along with access to Highly Skilled, Ran Track, Tougher Stuff, Clear Eyes, Radar Detector, and Safety In Numbers.
• Pretty good, but doesn’t have access to Bomb Squad, Choose Flight, Efficient Locksmith, or Saboteur. Outright better than Path 1 if ignoring those perks since this path gets 3 more attribute points.

• Agitator
• Choose Flight
• Clear Eyes
• Extra Drip
• Radar Detector
• Sanguine Shadow
• Slippery
• Tae Kwon Door

• Like Connie, Danny is obviously an objective-oriented character, but it isn’t a bad idea to use perks and attributes that help him survive. Since Danny is so strong at doing objectives but weak in survival, Family members will generally try to tunnel him out of a match whenever possible. It’s probably best to commit your build mostly toward survival, and rely on your ability and naturally high Proficiency for doing objectives. Maxing out Proficiency on Danny isn’t as useful as with Connie, since he has access to Fast Hands and is best suited to doing Fuse or Valve, neither of which need much Proficiency to be done. It still only costs 15 attribute points, though, so it isn’t a bad idea.
• All of the “When under 5% health, receive 15 points toward X.” perks that Danny gets are trash, and should be ignored. The health requirement is way too strict, meaning that it’s unlikely for them to even trigger, let alone for you to get value from them. The Toughness and Strength ones are especially bad, since both attributes are mostly only useful when at higher health.
• Danny, despite his high Toughness, is possibly the most vulnerable character in the game, with no access to Jump Start, poor Endurance/Strength values, and an ability that does nothing in chases. Carrying a bone scrap, despite Danny’s low Strength, is a good idea for getting out of deadzones. Perks like Choose Flight and Slippery can help with this, too.

M, L/R, L

• Fast Hands
• Headstart / Sneaky Pete
• Highly Skilled
• Ran Track
• Safety in Numbers

5 Random Perks

• *Extra Drip
• Fast Hands
• *Choose Flight / Highly Skilled / *Radar Detector / Ran Track / *Slippery / Any

• Fast Hands
• *Radar Detector
• Headstart / Highly Skilled / Any

• Highly Skilled
• Sneaky Pete
• Fast Hands / *Radar Detector / Ran Track / Any

• *Choose Flight
• Fast Hands
• *Extra Drip / *Slippery / *Tae Kwon Door

32 Points Total

• Easily Danny’s best path. Fast Hands is a busted perk that only received a minor nerf, allowing you to force open doors with minimal commitment. It’s especially good on Family House or after a stun, although even that isn’t necessary sometimes.
• Going right at the second fork will get Headstart but lose Sneaky Pete. Headstart is nice for new players or for rushing, while Sneaky Pete also helps with rushing with a max Proficiency & Stealth build with Highly Skilled. Both choices here are decent.
• Going right at the last fork will get I Know Engines and Quick Exit but lose Highly Skilled, Ran Track, Safety in Numbers, and 3 attribute points. I don’t recommend this, but it isn’t the worst idea.

R, R, L, R, L

• Been Workin’ Out
• I Know Engines
• Immunity
• No Stopping
• Out Of My Head
• Quick Exit
• Speed Search
• Tougher Stuff
• What Doesn’t Kill You

2 Random Perks

• *Extra Drip
• *Choose Flight / I Know Engines / Quick Exit / *Slippery / Speed Search / Tougher Stuff / What Doesn’t Kill You

• *Choose Flight
• No Stopping
• *Slippery

• I Know Engines
• What Doesn’t Kill You
• *Choose Flight / *Extra Drip / Quick Exit / *Slippery / *Tae Kwon Door

• *Clear Eyes
• Immunity
• Out Of My Head

32 Points Total

• Path for getting What Doesn’t Kill You along with some other decent perks. Loses access to Fast Hands, so it’s not worth it. I Know Engines, Immunity, Quick Exit, and Speed Search are the other notable perks, but they all aren’t worth losing access to Fast Hands.
• Going R, L, R, L will get 1 random perk but lose No Stopping, Speed Search, and Tougher Stuff. It’s not the worst idea, since this path only gets 2 random perks otherwise.
• Going left at the fourth fork will lose 2 attribute points, Bar Room Hero, and Out Of My Head and get absolutely NOTHING in return. Great stuff, devs.

L, L, L/R, L, L/R

• Empowered
• Get It Off Me + 1 Attribute / Random Perk
• Hare Or Meat
• Stunt Double

3-5 Random Perks

• Empowered
• *Agitator / *Choose Flight / *Extra Drip / *Slippery / Stunt Double / *Tae Kwon Door

• *Choose Flight
• Stunt Double
• *Extra Drip / Get It Off Me / *Slippery / *Tae Kwon Door

• *Clear Eyes
• Get It Off Me
• Any

26-28 Points Total

• Stunt Double path. I would normally call this the Family House path, but Fast Hands already counters that map, so there’s probably not much of a reason to go with this route unless you refuse to use Fast Hands out of principle. Even then, the Fast Hands path gives more attribute points. This path can be used for a distraction build with Empowered, but there are better characters to choose for that and Empowered just received a sizeable nerf.
• Going right at the third fork will gain a random perk but lose an attribute point. Going right at the final fork will gain a random perk but lose Get It Off Me and an attribute point. Neither are really worth it, since Danny already gets 3 random perks with this path.
• Going left at the fourth fork for a random perk will not lose an attribute point compared to going right then left, despite how the skill tree might appear. Thus, it is recommended to just go left for a free extra random perk.

• Agitator
• Empowered
• Fuse Lights
• No Sell
• Radar Detector
• Stunt Double

• Julie is a bit scattered in terms of her design. She has decent Toughness and Endurance values for chases, but her ability isn’t as good for distracting – it’s better for just getting away. Combined with her low Strength value, Julie doesn’t quite do as well as a distraction character like Ana or Leland. Julie has the highest base Stealth stat at 35 along with an ability that can help stealth against Cook/Johnny, but her Proficiency is among the worst at 20, meaning that she isn’t exactly an objective-oriented character either. It’s probably best to dump all of your points into Proficiency with the rest into Toughness and play her as an objective rusher, using your ability to make distance and end chases if found, or to stealth past Cook/Johnny.
• It doesn’t matter which level 1 upgrade you choose for the ability if going L/M, L, M, since both of the level 1 upgrades are overwritten by the later upgrades.

R, L/R, L, L/R

• Bomb Squad
• Choose Fight / Overlooked
• Deadbolt / Fight Back
• Efficient Locksmith
• Ran Track
• Second Wind
• Slippery

3 Random Perks

• Ran Track / Slippery
• Bomb Squad / Efficient Locksmith / *Fuse Lights / Overlooked / *Radar Detector
• Any

• Slippery
• *Empowered / *No Sell / Ran Track / Second Wind / *Stunt Double

• Overlooked
• *Radar Detector
• Any

• Choose Fight
• *Empowered
• Fight Back

• Ran Track
• *Stunt Double
• Any

34 Points Total

• Julie’s most versatile path and probably her best. Gets a ridiculous amount of attribute points along with some solid perks.
• Going right at the second fork will get Fight Back but lose Deadbolt. Both perks are somewhat situational but can be okay. Deadbolt can help with rushing a lock after latching a door behind you, and Fight Back can get some value if committing to a close encounter build.
• Going right at the third fork will get Conditioned but lose Slippery, 1 random perk, 1 attribute point, and will be forced to take Choose Fight instead of Overlooked. Not recommended.
• Going right at the last fork will get Choose Fight but lose Overlooked. Overlooked fits Julie’s playstyle better, but Choose Fight helps compensate for Julie’s poor Strength.

M, R, L, L/R

• Bomb Squad
• Choose Fight / Overlooked
• Choose Flight
• Fight And Flight
• Highly Skilled
• Slippery
• Sneaky Pete

3 Random Perks

• Highly Skilled
• Slippery
• Bomb Squad / *Fuse Lights / Overlooked / *Radar Detector / Any

• Highly Skilled
• Sneaky Pete
• Overlooked / *Radar Detector / Any

• Choose Fight
• *Empowered
• Fight and Flight

• Choose Flight
• *Stunt Double
• Any

29 Points Total

• Modification of Path 1-1 which gets Choose Flight, Fight and Flight, and Highly Skilled but loses Efficient Locksmith, Fight Back, Second Wind, and 5 attribute points.
• This path is decent if committing to a full Proficiency build with Highly Skilled, but you’re really only gaining 2 attribute points and losing a perk slot compared to Path 1-1. Make sure to use either Choose Flight, Fight And Flight, or Highly Skilled with this route or just stick to the above path.
• Don’t go left at the second fork for Tougher Stuff – you lose 4 attribute points, leaving you with a total of 25, making it outright worse than Path 1-1.
• Going right at the last fork will get Choose Fight but lose Overlooked. Overlooked fits Julie’s playstyle better, but Choose Fight helps compensate for Julie’s poor Strength.

L, R, L, L/R

• Bounce Back Better
• Choose Fight / Overlooked
• Fish Hooks
• Sanguine Shadow

3 Random Perks

• Bounce Back Better
• *Fuse Lights / Overlooked / *Radar Detector / Any

• Bounce Back Better
• *Empowered / *No Sell / Sanguine Shadow / *Stunt Double

• Choose Fight
• Fish Hooks
• Any

27 Points Total

• Path for Bounce Back Better and Sanguine Shadow, which are Julie’s only healing perks other than Empowered. Loses a lot of notable perks and 2-7 attribute points compared to Path 1 so not the best route.

L, R, R, R

• Been Workin’ Out
• Bounce Back Better
• Choose Fight (See Notes)
• Sanguine Shadow
• Tae Kwon Door

4 Random Perks

• Been Workin’ Out
• *Agitator / Bounce Back Better / Choose Fight / *Empowered / *No Sell / *Stunt Double / Tae Kwon Door

25 Points Total

• Variation for Been Workin’ Out, Tae Kwon Door, and an extra random perk, but loses 2 attribute points compared to Path 2-1. Neat path if you want to play as a budget Leland, but not worth it overall. Make sure that you’re using either Been Workin’ Out or Tae Kwon Door or this route isn’t worth it over Path 2-1.
• Going left at the last fork will get Overlooked but lose Choose Fight. This isn’t worth it with this path, since this path is for playing as a bully.

L, L, L

• Jump Scare
• Overlooked
• Sanguine Shadow
• What Doesn’t Kill You

4 Random Perks

• What Doesn’t Kill You
• *Empowered / Jump Scare / *No Sell / Sanguine Shadow / *Stunt Double

• *Stunt Double
• What Doesn’t Kill You
• *No Sell / Sanguine Shadow

26 Points Total

• Path for Jump Scare and What Doesn’t Kill You. Loses a lot of notable perks and 3-8 attribute points compared to Path 1 so not the best route. Good for a tank build, however, especially with tanking Leatherface overheads before going down a well with Stunt Double.

• Bomb Squad
• Bounce Back Better
• Choose Flight
• Conditioned
• Saboteur
• Stunt Double

• Leland is pretty versatile, and can be played however. He is obviously great as a distraction character with high Strength and a stun ability, but he can also be good as an objective rusher, using his ability and high Strength to help him survive if he’s found.
• A lack of Jump Start combined with a high cooldown ability and a high Strength value means that you should generally always carry a bone scrap for self-defense, and use a perk like Empowered or Grappler to get additional value out of it.

L, L/R, R, L/R, L/R

• Agitator / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Been Workin’ Out
• Choose Fight / Highly Skilled
• Empowered
• Fish Hooks
• No Sell
• Radar Detector (See Notes)

2-4 Random Perks

• Highly Skilled
• *Bounce Back Better / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Any

• Been Workin’ Out
• Choose Fight
• Any

• Choose Fight
• Empowered
• Been Workin’ Out / What Doesn’t Kill You / Any

• Choose Fight
• Fish Hooks
• Been Workin’ Out / Any

• *Stunt Double
• *Bomb Squad / *Choose Flight / *Conditioned / Any

27-31 Points Total

• Overall, this is an excellent and versatile path for Leland with a lot of viable perk and build options. Contender for Leland’s best route.
• Empowered did get nerfed, but it still works on Leland decently to help with his stamina, since he doesn’t have access to Jump Start.
• Going right at the second fork will get Choose Fight but lose Highly Skilled, 1 random perk, and 1 attribute point.
• Going left at the fourth fork will get Radar Detector and 1 random perk but lose 2 attribute points.
• Going right at the last fork will get Agitator but lose What Doesn’t Kill You and 1 attribute point.

L, L/R, L, L/R

• Agitator / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Been Workin’ Out
• Choose Fight / Highly Skilled
• Clear Eyes
• Empowered
• Fight and Flight
• Fish Hooks
• No Sell
• Tae Kwon Door

2-3 Random Perks

• Tae Kwon Door
• Been Workin’ Out / Choose Fight / Highly Skilled

• Choose Fight
• Empowered
• Fight and Flight

• Choose Fight
• Tae Kwon Door
• Been Workin’ Out / What Doesn’t Kill You / Any

• *Stunt Double
• *Bomb Squad / *Choose Flight / *Conditioned / Tae Kwon Door / Any

• *Bomb Squad
• Clear Eyes
• Any

28-30 Points Total

• Variation for getting Clear Eyes, Fight and Flight, and Tae Kwon Door but loses 1 attribute point compared to Path 1-1 (unless you went left at the fourth fork for Radar Detector, in which case this path gains 1 point relative to that). The best use this path has is in pairing Tae Kwon Door with maxed Proficiency to be able to pick a door in front of a Family Member after a door stun.
• Going right at the second fork will get Choose Fight but lose Highly Skilled, 1 random perk, and 1 attribute point.
• Going right at the last fork will get Agitator but lose What Doesn’t Kill You and 1 attribute point.

R, L, L, L/R, L/R

• Agitator / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Bad Blood
• Fish Hooks
• Grappler
• Parting Gift
• Radar Detector (See Notes)
• Tougher Stuff

2-3 Random Perks

• *Bounce Back Better / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Tougher Stuff
• Grappler / Any

• *Stunt Double
• *Bomb Squad / *Choose Flight / *Conditioned / Any

31-34 Points Total

• This path gets a lot of attribute points along with Tougher Stuff and some other good options. Empowered receiving a bigger nerf than Grappler means that this path and Path 1 are more equal now. Solid generalist route and contender for Leland’s best, but more limited in build options.
• Going right at the third fork will get High Tolerance and Ran Track but lose Tougher Stuff, 1-3 attribute points, and all random perks. Not recommended.
• Going left at the fourth fork will get Radar Detector and 1 random perk but lose 2 attribute points.
• Going right at the last fork will get Agitator but lose What Doesn’t Kill You and 1 attribute point.

R, R, L, L/R

• Agitator / What Doesn’t Kill You
• Fight Back (See Notes)
• Fish Hooks
• Grappler
• Jack in the Box
• Last Ditch Effort
• Ran Track
• Second Wind

1 Random Perk

• *Bounce Back Better / What Doesn’t Kill You
• *Conditioned / Ran Track
• Grappler / Any

• Grappler
• Last Ditch Effort
• Fight Back / Any

• *Stunt Double
• *Bomb Squad / *Choose Flight / *Conditioned / Ran Track / Second Wind / Any

34-35 Points Total

• This path gets a ridiculous amount of base attribute points – maybe the highest in the game. There aren’t too many amazing perks to choose from and you only get 1 random perk, though.
• Going right at the third fork will get Fight Back and a whopping 3 extra random perks but lose Agitator / What Doesn’t Kill You, Fish Hooks, Ran Track, Second Wind, and 4-5 attribute points.
• Going right at the last fork will get Agitator but lose What Doesn’t Kill You and 1 attribute point.

• Bounce Back Better
• Choose Flight
• Efficient Locksmith
• Fish Hooks
• Overlooked
• Sanguine Shadow

• Sonny’s design is unfortunately all over the place. He has a (mostly) stealthy ability, but his base Stealth stat is among the worst, and his Proficiency stat isn’t great either, meaning that he isn’t particularly good as an objectives character. He also has high Endurance and Strength, but a pitiful amount of Toughness and an ability that only has limited use in chases, meaning that he isn’t great as a distraction character either. Like Julie, I think it’s best to just dump all of your points into Proficiency with the rest into Toughness and play him as a frail objective rusher, using your ability for stealth, chase mindgames/positioning, or for knowing when to ditch a chase.
• Radar Detector is somewhat redundant with Sonny, since his ability already tracks Family members. It is still a solid perk, however, and helps with a stealth/rushing playstyle.

M, R, R, L/M

• Been Workin’ Out
• Clear Eyes
• Fuse Lights
• High Tolerance
• Jump Start
• Radar Detector / Random Perk
• Stunt Double

3-4 Random Perks

• Jump Start
• *Bounce Back Better / *Sanguine Shadow
• Any

• Jump Start
• *Efficient Locksmith / Fuse Lights / *Overlooked / Radar Detector

• Jump Start
• Been Workin’ Out / *Bounce Back Better / *Sanguine Shadow / Stunt Double

• *Choose Flight
• Jump Start
• Stunt Double

• Clear Eyes
• High Tolerance
• Jump Start / Any

23 Points Total

• Sonny’s Jump Start path. Unfortunately suffers from a pitiful amount of attribute points, possibly the worst in the game.
• With Choose Flight’s nerf, Jump Start has become the new meta stamina perk, meaning that this is probably Sonny’s best build. This build is still generally outclassed by Ana and Connie though, unfortunately.
• Going left at the final fork will get Radar Detector but lose a random perk. Radar Detector is slightly redundant with Sonny as previously mentioned, but it is still a good perk and this path already gets 3 random perks, so both choices are valid.

L, L/R, L, L/M

• Agitator / Safety In Numbers
• Highly Skilled
• Radar Detector (See Notes)
• Ran Track
• Stunt Double

3-4 Random Perks

• *Bounce Back Better
• Highly Skilled
• Any

• *Efficient Locksmith
• Highly Skilled / *Overlooked / Pick on Me / Radar Detector

• *Overlooked
• Radar Detector
• Any

• *Bounce Back Better
• Agitator / Ran Track / Safety In Numbers / Stunt Double

• *Choose Flight
• Stunt Double
• *Bounce Back Better / Highly Skilled / Any

31 Points Total

• Sonny’s maximum attribute path, which gives him 31 points plus access to Highly Skilled and Ran Track.
• Useful since Sonny’s Toughness/Proficiency stat total is lacking (only 40, compared to other Victims who have 45+) and Sonny doesn’t have the best selection of perks to choose from.
• Choose Flight’s nerf combined with no access to Jump Start with this path means that this is probably not worthwhile, unfortunately.
• Going right at the second fork will get Agitator but lose Safety In Numbers. Both perks are decent but somewhat situational. Safety In Numbers is a bit more consistent, but has a mild effect and relies on a decent team that doesn’t die quickly. Agitator is strong when it works, but it’s not common for Family to spend much time on Grandpa. When they do, Hitchhiker is usually trapping him (and Sonny doesn’t have Bomb Squad!) or Victims will just rush out before Grandpa matters.
• Going left at the final fork will get Radar Detector but lose a random perk. Radar Detector is slightly redundant with Sonny as previously mentioned, but it is still a good perk and this path already gets 3 random perks, so both choices are valid.

R, L/R, L/R, L/M

• Fight And Flight (See Notes)
• Radar Detector (See Notes)
• Stunt Double
• Tae Kwon Door (See Notes)
• Tougher Stuff
• What Doesn’t Kill You (See Notes)

2-4 Random Perks

• *Bounce Back Better
• Tougher Stuff
• What Doesn’t Kill You

• Fight And Flight / *Fish Hooks / Tae Kwon Door / Tougher Stuff / What Doesn’t Kill You

• *Choose Flight
• Stunt Double
• Tae Kwon Door / Tougher Stuff / What Doesn’t Kill You

29 Points Total

• Sonny’s distraction path with access to Tae Kwon Door and What Doesn’t Kill You or Fight And Flight. Notably loses access to Jump Start, though.
• Choose Flight’s nerf combined with no access to Jump Start with this path means that this is probably not worthwhile, unfortunately.
• Tae Kwon Door is pretty good with Sonny due to his ability helping to secure door stuns. Tae Kwon Door can also be good for forcing doors open after a stun with max proficiency.
• There’s no point in going for an all-rounder setup with Tougher Stuff and without using WDKY – Path 2 does this better by getting 2 more attribute points and using Highly Skilled instead of Tougher Stuff.
• The choice at the second fork doesn’t really matter, since both perks are bad and both paths give the same amount of attribute points. I recommend going right, since Meter Reader is slightly more likely to get value.
• Going right at the third fork will get Fight And Flight and 1 random perk but lose Tae Kwon Door and What Doesn’t Kill You. Not recommended since TKD synergizes with Sonny’s ability greatly and WDKY is a good perk.
• Going left at the final fork will get Radar Detector but lose a random perk. Radar Detector is slightly redundant with Sonny as previously mentioned, but it is still a good perk and this path already gets 2 random perks, so both choices are valid.

• Efficient Locksmith
• Extra Drip
• Fast Hands
• High Tolerance
• Speed Search
• Stunt Double
• What Doesn’t Kill You

• Like Ana and Leland, Virginia is pretty versatile, and can be played however. She is obviously great as a distraction character with high Toughness/Endurance and an ability that lets her drop chase or just stall if used correctly, but she can also be good as an objective rusher, using Fast Hands to force open doors combined with her ability and high Toughness/Endurance to help her survive if she’s found.
• All of Virginia’s level 3 ability upgrades are pretty good.
  • Cloud Consumes Family Stamina (Left) is good for rushing a door in a Family member’s face with Fast Hands – the stamina drain is somewhat slow, so they need to be sitting in the cloud for a bit. This is also good for contesting valve, for use before initiating a close encounter, or just out in the open if you’re out of stamina. This is a solid choice overall, but requires smart usage.
  • Powder Cloud Heals Victims (Middle) is good just for extra heals, especially if teammates notice it. This can also be used right before initiating a close encounter for healing, which is pretty handy. It is somewhat slow, however. This upgrade also works with Medical Benefits and Rescue Medic, meaning faster heals for everyone, assuming your teammates actually notice your cloud and use it. This one is the most consistent, but probably the least impactful of the three effects (albeit still fairly impactful).
  • Reduce Family Blood Vial (Right) is good against anyone, but especially the harvesters like Cook, Nancy, and Sissy. It can be used as a Family member is feeding Grandpa to deny it completely too, which is a little dumb. This one is very obnoxious all around, requiring any Family member even carrying blood to respect your cloud. However, Family tends to ignore Grandpa more often than not due to how strong rushing currently is, meaning that this choice is inconsistent at best.

  The stamina and healing upgrades can be stacked with multiple cloud usages, which can help compensate for how slow they are.

• M, R, R can be taken for the ability if committing to an anti-blood meme build.
• Virginia’s ability can be used to prevent Leatherface from revving his chainsaw and doing his overhead.

L, R, L, L/R

• Back For Blood
• Bad Blood
• Been Workin’ Out
• Conditioned / Clear Eyes
• Parting Gift
• Rescue Medic
• Tougher Stuff

2 Random Perks

• *Extra Drip
• *Fast Hands
• Back For Blood / Conditioned / Tougher Stuff / Any

29(?) Points Total

• Build for Tougher Stuff and a good amount of base attribute points at 29(?). Only has access to 2 random perks though, meaning no third random perk if using a meta build with Extra Drip and Fast Hands.
• Going M, L, L, L/R instead will get Protective Aura but lose 1 attribute point.
• Going L, R, R, R instead will get Safety In Numbers but lose Back For Blood, Conditioned, Clear Eyes, and 3(?) attribute points. Only worthwhile for a tank build with Extra Drip and/or WDKY.
• I recommend going left at the last fork for Conditioned instead of Clear Eyes.

L, L, L/R

• Back For Blood
• Bad Blood
• Conditioned / Clear Eyes
• Highly Skilled
• Tougher Stuff

2 Random Perks

• *Extra Drip
• *Fast Hands
• Highly Skilled

• Highly Skilled
• Tougher Stuff
• *Extra Drip / *Fast Hands / Any

28(?) Points Total

• Variant for Highly Skilled, at the cost of Been Workin’ Out, Parting Gift, and an attribute point. Probably not worth it, since Highly Skilled and Tougher Stuff are generally interchangeable with Virginia having a high amount in both Toughness and Proficiency, and any meta build should be using Extra Drip and Fast Hands which means no extra slot to stack Highly Skilled and Tougher Stuff.
• Only use this path if using Highly Skilled, or just go with Path 1-1 instead for the extra attribute point.

M, R, R, L/R

• Bad Blood
• Coagulant
• Jump Scare / Second Wind
• Medical Benefits
• Protective Aura
• Ran Track

3 Random Perks

• *Extra Drip
• *Fast Hands
• Coagulant / *Efficient Locksmith / Ran Track / Any

• *Fast Hands / *Stunt Double
• *Extra Drip / *Fast Hands / Ran Track / *Stunt Double

27 Points Total

• Coagulant path with access to Virginia’s maximum random perks at 3.
• Coagulant is nice for freeing up the level 3 ability to go either left or middle instead of right. It has a similar threat to the blood upgrade for the ability as well, forcing Family members with a considerable amount of blood to respect your cloud. This effect is definitely less severe than the ability upgrade, however.
• This path happens to be pretty versatile too, since Virginia has access to some excellent random perks and this path grants 3 of them.
• Make sure to use Coagulant or 3 random perks with this path, otherwise it’s better to go with Path 1 for the attribute points.

R, L/R, R, L/R

• Artful Dodger / Forward Thinking
• Bad Blood
• Choose Flight
• Coagulant
• Jump Scare / Second Wind
• Medical Benefits
• Ran Track

3 Random Perks

• *Extra Drip
• *Fast Hands
• Artful Dodger / Choose Flight / Coagulant / *Efficient Locksmith / Forward Thinking / Ran Track / Any

• Choose Flight
• *Fast Hands / *Stunt Double
• *Extra Drip / *Fast Hands / Ran Track / *Stunt Double

25 Points Total

• Variant for Choose Flight and Artful Dodger / Forward Thinking, but loses 2 attribute points and Protective Aura compared to Path 1-1. This path also gets Bloodar, but it’s not a good perk, even ignoring the fact that Virginia shouldn’t be wasting her powder to contaminate buckets. Make sure to use Artful Dodger / Choose Flight / Forward Thinking or just go with Path 2-1.

Here’s my favorite builds, if you wish to try them out for yourself or just don’t feel like reading through the whole guide and want to copy something. For context, I like focusing my attributes on Proficiency and using my perks for survival to compensate. I don’t like stealth perks or perks that only work against certain Family members (Bomb Squad, Immunity, etc.). I ignore Strength and Stealth attributes entirely. Consistency is also key to me – if a perk outright relies on RNG or isn’t getting value in most matches, then it has no place in my builds. I do like winning, so I don’t run anything too weird or off-meta unless it’s good. The attributes listed are only the ones that I modified, everything else is default.

• Ability Path: M, M, L
• Skill Tree Path: R, L, R, L, R
• Perks:
  • *Bounce Back Better
  • Jump Start
  • Tougher Stuff / Stunt Double
• Attributes: 30 Endurance, 46 Proficiency or (Family House) 40 Toughness, 30 Endurance, 41 Proficiency
• Notes: Empowered got nerfed, and it felt inconsistent to me even in its previous state. I also like having coverage with Stunt Double for when I get Family House, since Ana is the best candidate for jumping out of the front window.

• Ability Path: R, M, L
• Skill Tree Path: R, R, L
• Perks:
  • Extra Drip
  • *Jump Start
  • *Slippery
• Attributes: 31 Toughness, 30 Endurance, 50 Proficiency
• Notes: Survival heavy build for a character that Family members love tunneling out of the game.

• Ability Path: R, M, L
• Skill Tree Path: M, R, L
• Perks:
  • *Extra Drip
  • Fast Hands
  • *Slippery / *Choose Flight
• Attributes: 37 Toughness, 35 Endurance, 50 Proficiency
• Notes: Another survival heavy build for a character that Family members love tunneling out of the game. Danny is so versatile with this build – he can pick doors with ease, loop fairly well, and is great at doing Fuse and Valve. He’s probably my favorite Victim, even if he is overpowered. I swap in Choose Flight for Family House.

• Ability Path: R, M, L
• Skill Tree Path: R, L, L, L
• Perks:
  • Ran Track
  • Slippery
  • *Stunt Double
• Attributes: 29 Toughness, 50 Proficiency
• Notes: Julie, like Sonny, suffers from awkward perk options and base attributes, so I don’t care for her that much. I always found it weird that she can’t get Jump Start – it wouldn’t really be overpowered, just redundant. It would solidify her as the character that is actually best at running away, too.

• Ability Path: R, M, L
• Skill Tree Path: R, L, L, R, L
• Perks:
  • *Bounce Back Better
  • Grappler / *Stunt Double
  • Tougher Stuff
• Attributes: 36 Toughness, 50 Proficiency or (Family House) 40 Toughness, 35 Endurance, 41 Proficiency
• Notes: Empowered got nerfed, and it felt inconsistent to me even in its previous state. I swap in Stunt Double for Family House. I would swap in Choose Flight over Bounce Back Better or Tougher Stuff for Family House, but Leland only gets 2 random perks with this path, which I use for Bounce Back Better and Stunt Double.

• Ability Path: M, L, M
• Skill Tree Path: M, R, R, M
• Perks:
  • *Choose Flight
  • Jump Start
  • Stunt Double
• Attributes: 48 Proficiency
• Notes: Sonny’s skill tree, perk options, and base attributes are bad, unfortunately. It ruins my ability to enjoy a character that I’d otherwise really like. I used to use the attribute path before Choose Flight’s nerf, but now Sonny needs Jump Start to keep up with other characters. There’s little point in using Bounce Back Better with this setup, since 15 Toughness means that health bottles will fill more health than you have. It can be useful for healing from low health with small bottles, though.

• Ability Path: R, M, M
• Skill Tree Path: L, R, L, L
• Perks:
  • *Extra Drip
  • *Fast Hands
  • Tougher Stuff
• Attributes: 43 Toughness, 35 Endurance, 50 Proficiency
• Notes: I don’t actually own Virginia, but this is what I would use if I did. I would swap in Stunt Double over Tougher Stuff for Family House, but Virginia only gets 2 random perks with this path, and gets Fast Hands to compensate anyway.