Hey fellow survivors! 👋 Have you ever felt like the killer just knows where you are, even when you're sure you're hidden? That gut-wrenching feeling when they beeline straight for your generator after a hook? Well, you're probably dealing with aura reading perks. As a long-time player who's been on both sides, let me tell you, information is everything in the fog. But guess what? Once you know what to look for, you can turn their greatest strength into a major weakness. Let's break down how to spot and counter the most common aura reading perks in 2026.

Think about it: why do the best killer builds always rely on information? It's simple. If they can see you, they can chase you. If they can chase you, they can hook you. But what if I told you that you can use their own perks against them? The key is pattern recognition. 🕵️‍♀️ Once you figure out which perk they're running, you can start feeding them false information. Head in one direction for a few seconds when you know your aura is exposed, then quickly change course. Watch them chase a ghost while you safely work on that next gen!

🚨 The Post-Gen Panic: Bitter Murmur

We all know the drill: five generators stand between us and freedom. Finishing them quickly is the goal. But beware the immediate aftermath! If you notice the killer always seems to show up right after a generator pops, they might be running Bitter Murmur. This perk reveals the auras of all survivors within 16 meters of a completed generator for 10 seconds. That's a long time for them to plan their route!

How to spot it: The killer makes incredibly accurate predictions about your next move post-gen. You finish a gen near shack, and they're already cutting you off at the main building.

How to counter it: Fake them out! As soon as that generator lights up, start running in a clear, obvious direction—maybe towards a visible hook or another gen. After 3-4 seconds, abruptly change your path. They'll waste their 10-second window chasing your initial aura trail. It's all about that mind game!

🔥 The Classic: Barbecue & Chilli

Ah, Barbecue & Chilli. The perk that has haunted survivor dreams for years. Its logic is brutally efficient: hook a survivor, see everyone else (who's more than 40 meters away) for 5 seconds. It's a killer favorite for a reason—it immediately gives them their next target and prevents camping in one move.

How to spot it: This one is almost unmistakable. The killer hooks someone, pauses for a second (they're looking at the auras!), and then beelines with purpose towards a specific survivor or generator across the map. No wandering, no checking nearby lockers—just a direct, confident path.

How to counter it: You have two main strategies:

1. The Locker Hide: Just before your teammate is about to be hooked, hop into a locker. Your aura won't be revealed if you're inside during the 5-second pulse. It's a classic, reliable move.

2. The 40-Meter Rule: If you're working on a gen and hear the hook happen, quickly assess your distance. If you're within 40 meters of that hook, your aura won't show. Sometimes, the safest place is right under their nose! If you're outside that range, just be prepared to leave your gen the moment you see them coming.

🗄️ The Locker Trapper: Darkness Revealed

Do you ever feel like the killer has a weird obsession with lockers? Randomly opening them when no one's around? That's the telltale sign of Darkness Revealed. After searching a locker, this perk reveals the auras of survivors within 8 meters of any locker for 5 seconds. With a 30-second cooldown, it's a constant threat, especially on maps with lockers clustered near generators.

How to spot it: The killer will incorporate locker checks into their patrol route, even in areas with no recent survivor activity. If they search a locker and then immediately change direction to rush a specific generator, they probably saw someone on it.

How to counter it: Be hyper-aware of locker placements! If you're working on a generator with a locker right next to it, have an escape plan ready. The moment you see them approach a nearby locker, assume your aura is compromised and start moving to a safer tile. This perk turns our safe spaces (lockers) into potential beacons, so use them more cautiously for hiding.

🏁 The Early Game Nightmare: Lethal Pursuer

The beginning of a trial can set the tone for the entire match. Lethal Pursuer is designed to crush hope early by revealing all survivor auras for the first 9 seconds of the game. Even scarier, it extends the duration of all their other aura-reading perks by 2 seconds. On a high-mobility killer like Blight or Nurse, this can mean a down before you've even finished your first generator.

How to spot it: An incredibly aggressive, targeted start. The killer doesn't wander; they spawn in and move with unerring accuracy towards a survivor. If you're the one they find first and the chase starts suspiciously fast, Lethal Pursuer is likely in play.

How to counter it: SPREAD OUT! The worst thing you can do is group up on one generator at the start. By splitting up and working on separate gens, you force the killer to choose only one target. Even if they get a fast down, the other three survivors have made significant progress elsewhere. This perk rewards killer momentum, so don't give it to them.

😱 The Scream Queen: Ultimate Weapon

Remember how we said to be careful near lockers for Darkness Revealed? Ultimate Weapon is the reason you need to be careful period after a locker is opened. When the killer opens a locker, this perk activates for 30 seconds. Any survivor who enters their terror radius during that time will scream, revealing their location, and suffer from the Blindness status effect.

How to spot it: The killer will open a locker, often in a central location, and then begin a wide patrol. If you suddenly scream for no apparent reason (and you're not injured against a Doctor), it's Ultimate Weapon. You'll also see them opening lockers more frequently than seems logical.

How to counter it: The absolute hard counter is Jake Park's Calm Spirit. This perk prevents screaming altogether, making you completely silent to Ultimate Weapon. If you don't have it, your best bet is to be acutely aware of the terror radius. If you hear a locker slam and the heartbeat starts, consider leaving your generator and hiding until you're sure the 30-second window has passed. It's better to lose a few seconds of progress than to give away your position.

🛡️ Your Best Defenses: Survivor Perks

Knowing the enemy's tools is half the battle. The other half is equipping your own. Here are two S-tier perks for dealing with aura readers in 2026:

Perk	Character	What It Does	Why It's Great Against Aura Reads
Distortion	Jeff Johansen	Starts with 3 tokens. A token is consumed whenever the killer attempts to read your aura, hiding you and your scratch marks for 10 seconds.	This is your early warning system! If you see a token vanish, you know the killer just tried to see you. It hard-counters perks like Nurse's Calling and Barbecue & Chilli. It even recharges tokens when you're in the terror radius.
Calm Spirit	Jake Park	Prevents screaming. Makes actions like opening chests or cleansing totems silent.	The definitive counter to Ultimate Weapon and The Doctor's static blast. The 30% action speed penalty on totems/chests is a small price for total scream immunity.

So, what's the takeaway? Aura reading is powerful, but it's predictable. Pay attention to the killer's behavior. Do they always know where to go after a hook? Do they check lockers oddly often? Your observations are your greatest asset. Use perks like Distortion to gather intel on what they're running, and then use that knowledge to mislead them. Sometimes, the best way to win is to let them see exactly what you want them to see. Now get out there, and may the entity be ever in your... well, you know. Good luck! 💖