A Best Slayer Build
Melee Burst / Lifesteal (DLC) · Paid DLC · Slayer + Priest + Ranger
Paid DLC melee burst with lifesteal. Skill data pending.
Paid DLC. A strong melee DPS with lifesteal sustain and high burst, but he is very expensive to run and cannot be protected, since his auto-attack range is the shortest in the game. Most community guides say he needs Arcana-level investment and is not recommended for normal players.
Base Stats
- HP: 115
- Armor: 40
- Attack: 70
- Crit Chance %: 2.5
- Crit Damage %: 180
- Attack Speed/s: 0.7
Priority Stats
Skills
- Slam Jump — every 5 attacks
- Crushing Blow — every 9 attacks
- Ground Slam — 25s
- Bloodlust
Overview
Slayer is the second paid DLC class, a strong melee DPS built around burst damage and Lifesteal sustain. He rates A or B on most tier lists, and the recurring verdict is that he is expensive and hard to recommend. The problem is range. He has the shortest auto-attack range in the game, so he always pushes to the front and takes hits even when a Knight or Priest is on the team. You cannot protect him. To make him work you have to stack offense and survival at the same time, which is why community guides often say he needs Arcana-level investment and is not for normal players. Unless you specifically enjoy an aggressive Lifesteal melee playstyle and are willing to pay for it, he rarely earns a slot over the free roster.
Stat Priority
Go pure Attack Damage. His base crit is very low, around 2.5, and his skill tree has no Critical Chance, so do not stack Critical Damage on him. Lifesteal lets him heal off his own hits, and Attack Speed backs up his burst. Use Physical Damage decorations for raw damage, but it has diminishing returns, so do not full-stack it. Because he fights in melee and cannot be shielded, survival matters as much as damage. Community testing suggests about 5,000 HP as a minimum to survive 3-9 Torment (community, unverified), with elemental and chaos resistance both pushed to the 75% cap. Get him enough Max HP and Armor to hold the front, but do not overspend Armor past the 75% damage reduction cap.
Skills & Leveling
His kit is Slam Jump and Crushing Blow for melee burst, Ground Slam for Area of Effect, and Bloodlust, which fuels his Lifesteal sustain loop. With that combination he can brawl in front for short runs without a dedicated healer, though he is far safer with Priest support behind him. Use the second skill slot (50,000 gold) to pair a burst hit with Bloodlust so his self-healing is always running. There are two ways to spec him. Crushing Blow with Bloodlust stacks Attack Speed and Physical Damage for the simplest, highest burst. The Axe Spin build, the spin to win route, stacks Cast Speed so the spin ticks faster and Area of Effect so it hits wider, and it wants skill-duration gear to keep the spin up. Commander's Cry gives a crit-chance multiplier plus a stun, but it is niche, so most builds skip it.
Gear & Materials
He runs an Axe and Hatchet. Stack Lifesteal and Physical Damage decorations through the Hero-dric Cube and use Synthesis to climb rarities, recycling leftovers through Alchemy for gold. Because he fights up close and cannot be protected, pair offense with enough HP and resistance to survive. Capping elemental and chaos resistance at 75% and getting his HP up is the costly part. Community testing puts that around $200 of materials, and it needs several chaos diamonds (community, unverified). Browse the item database for high-rarity axes, and remember the best bases come from stage-boss chests during active play.
Team & Positioning
Slayer fills a front melee slot and pairs best with a Priest backline for healing, in the niche Lifesteal Melee line of Slayer, Priest, and Ranger. The catch is that he has the shortest range in the game, so he always ends up in front and takes hits no matter who else is on the team. Even with a Knight or Priest there, you cannot keep him out of the line of fire. That is why his survival stats matter so much. Accessories should fix his other problem, which is that he is slow. Prioritize 4 to 6 lines of Movement Speed first, with a community target of about 3,000 to 4,000 Movement Speed (community, unverified). Add some Cast Speed next, then Area of Effect if you are running the Axe Spin build.
Runes & Progression
The standard path is to open the third hero slot (150,000 gold) through Rune of Command and grab the second skill slot (50,000 gold). The Rune Tree opens at level 3. Take Rune of War, then Rune of Growth, then Rune of Command. As a DLC pick he is one of the most expensive heroes to gear, since you pay for offense and survival at once. Stacking the resistances and HP alone can run around $200 of materials and several chaos diamonds (community, unverified), so he is only worth that heavy investment if you really prefer his Lifesteal melee style over the safer free frontline.
Farming vs Boss
For farming, his Lifesteal keeps him topped up on short active runs on gold stages like 2-7 Hell, and the Axe Spin build with its Cast Speed and Area of Effect clears a wider area faster than the Crushing Blow setup. Even so his clear speed trails the dedicated Area of Effect classes, so he is not the efficient farmer. For bosses, Crushing Blow with Bloodlust gives strong, simple burst windows, though he leans heavily on Priest healing against the high-HP X-10 Soul Stone act bosses and tougher fights like 3-9 Torment. Remember he always stands in front and cannot be protected, so his HP and capped resistances are what carry him through the long fights.
Common Mistakes
Do not stack Critical Damage on him. His base crit is around 2.5 and his tree has no Critical Chance, so it is wasted. Do not full-stack Physical Damage either, since it has diminishing returns. Do not skimp on survival, because you cannot protect a hero with the shortest range in the game, so he needs the HP and the capped resistances to live. Do not run him slow either. He is one of the slowest heroes, so put 4 to 6 lines of Movement Speed on his accessories first. And like all melee, keep a Priest behind him so his Lifesteal is not his only source of sustain when a fight runs long.
Rune Priority Order
- Rune of War
- Rune of Growth
- Rune of Command
- Rune of Awakening
- Rune of Wealth
- Rune of Expansion
- Rune of Repose
- Far North
Recommended Teams
- Lifesteal Melee (DLC): Slayer + Priest + Ranger
Related
Data updated 2026-06-22