Slayer

Slayer is a members-only skill that allows players to kill normally immune monsters. Players must go to a slayer master and get an assignment. Players will only gain experience for killing the assigned monsters. The slayer experience gained per monster is equal to the monster's hitpoints. Combat experience is also given, so some players use slayer as their major form of combat training. It can be very, very profitable when in the high levels, as full mystic robes, granite armour, abyssal whips, and many other slayer monster-dropped items can sell for a lot of money.

Variations of monsters count towards the slayer assignment. For example, if a player is assigned blue dragons, then they can kill baby blue dragons as well. If a player is assigned crawling hands, he can kill the level 8 or 12. However, the amount of experience received is purely based on the monster's hitpoints. For example, level 8 crawling hands have 16 hitpoints, and thus reward 16 slayer experience to kill. Level 12 crawling hands have 19 hitpoints, and can therefore be slightly more effective to kill, rewarding 3 more slayer experience.

Introduction
Slayer is a more complicated skill in terms of having to trek around the world to see special people (known as Slayer Masters), but potentially a fun way to be able to kill a lot of more off-beat monsters somewhat different from the normal ones. Many of these are very innovative methods sometimes requiring special equipment such as earmuffs. The idea is that, for a normally equipped player, the monster has a special ability that stops said player from being able to attack and kill it normally, similar to the various tricks Hercules and Perseus employed in Greek mythology. Slayer can lead to making a lot of money, because when you are level 85 you are able to kill Abyssal Demons that drop the extremely expensive and very powerful Abyssal Whips. There are a wide variety of other things dropped such as Armoured Boots and valuable white/gold and black/red Mystic Armour for mages which can only be obtained from these monsters, not to mention dropping better items and larger amounts of cash than most non-slayer monsters.

There are currently 5 slayer masters located around RuneScape. They will give you assignments to increase your slayer level. These can vary from level 2 goblins to the fearsome level 246 Steel Dragon. The monsters assigned are not necessarily slayer monsters. Slayer monsters or normal monsters killed while you have not been assigned to kill them by a master will not increase your slayer level.

All slayer masters sell the same batch of slayer equipment which is necessary to kill certain slayer monsters. When you get your task, you can ask the master for advice on killing the assigned monsters, they will tell you if special equipment is required. If there is no equipment necessary they will give you some other tip such as: this monster is weak to poison/magic. However, it is agreed by many slayers that asking for information isn't very useful.

One of the things the masters sell is an enchanted gem, once you start training (this involves some begging from your chosen master) you get one for free, afterwards you buy them for 1 coin each. These allow you to contact your slayer master, ask for tips, ask who the master is and where they are located, and most importantly see how many monsters you still have to kill. The gems cannot be used to get a new assignment, for that you must see a master in person. An alternative to the gem is a worn bracelet of combat, which will update the player every 10 kills.

Players who have unlocked the Lunar Spells can also use the spell NPC Contact in order to receive a new assignment from a slayer master of their choosing. The slayer gems automatically put you through to the slayer master who will be best for training you, this may not be the one who gave you the assignment. It is advised to use the master the slayer gems contact you to.

The masters vary in the level of difficulty of their assignments, two of them require certain combat levels before you may get assignments from them. If you go to a slayer master that is too hard for you, the master in Burthorpe may consider giving you an easier assignment if you talk to him. However, this only works if the assignment is something that he doesn't assign. For example, if Duradel assigns you Desert Lizards, then the Burthorpe slayer master cannot change your task, as he too assigns Desert Lizards. All slayer masters can assign the same monsters as the masters below them, however as their difficulty increases there is a substantially higher chance of getting a more difficult monster. The masters are shown on the map with a yellow skull icon.

Slayer masters
A handful of slayer masters dot the map; each master gives assignments oriented towards a general range of combat levels.

Turael

 * Southeast Burthorpe - Games Necklace teleport or Hot-air balloon

His assignments are simple, small, and easy to find. These assignments are excellent for the slayer with a low combat level such as 3, but his assignments yield such low experience that most players will find him unsatisfactory. However, Turael is willing to replace an assignment given by another slayer master if the task wouldn't normally be given him (for example he won't give another task instead of killing crawling hands). This ability results in more players using his services than normally would.

Mazchna

 * Northeast Canifis on the bridge - Ectophial, fairy ring CKS or Kharyll Teleport (can be via house)

Mazchna gives fairly easy assignments too, but sometimes he may give a very small amount of more difficult monsters. Mazchna also has the habit of giving assignments which can be completed very close to him, making it convenient to get new assignments once completed. He requires a combat level of 20 and Priest in Peril complete.

Vannaka

 * Edgeville Dungeon, east of the Wilderness gate - Padewwa Teleport or Amulet of Glory

Vannaka is one of the most popular slayer masters. His assignments are usually suitable for slayers with medium and even high combat skills with a starting combat level of 40 for him to assign you a task. He can also be found on tutorial island where he teaches players how to use melee and ranged combat. He is the only slayer master to assign Terror Dogs.

Chaeldar

 * Zanaris fairy queen's court - fairy ring hub

Chaeldar will only give assignments to players over a combat level of 70. She gives out the second toughest slayer assignments in the game. It is recommended that a person over a combat level of 70 should use Chaeldar as their slayer master.

She is infamous for sometimes handing out annoying tasks, such as Turoths and Kurasks, which many players choose to skip.

Duradel

 * Shilo Village, top floor of the fishing store - fairy ring CKR, gnome glider, or wheelbarrow cart

Duradel is the most difficult slayer master. He refuses to give assignments to players until they have 100 Combat and 50 Slayer. His assignments are generally high-leveled demons, dragons, and slayer monsters such as abyssal demons.

Slayer-exclusive monsters
Some monsters can ONLY be killed once players have reached a certain level in Slayer. Not all of them require special equipment.

Beginner Training
Note: This beginner's training guide assumes that you either are a low-level player or a player who cannot afford Guthan's. This guide assumes that you have the best equipment you can afford. Upon completion of the Varrock quiz from level 1 Slayer, you can get to level 9 with the 1000 XP it offers.

Quests
Essential

The following quests are essential to do, mainly because they give access to either more slayer monsters or make slaying easier. Some of these may be taken out, depending on your combat level.


 * Cabin Fever- Access to Mos Le'Harmless to fight Jungle and Cave Horrors.
 * Death to the Dorgeshuun- Access to Molanisks.
 * Desert Treasure- Access to Dust Devils, and Ancient Magicks for getting around.
 * Dwarf Cannon- Allowed to use Dwarf Multicannon.
 * Ernest the Chicken- Access to Killerwatts
 * A Fairy Tale Part II- Access to Fairy Ring teleportation system and Goraks.
 * Ghosts Ahoy- Ectophial, which gives a quick teleport to the Slayer Tower.
 * Horror from the Deep- Access to Dagannoths and prayer books.
 * Lost City- Access to Chaeldar.
 * Lunar Diplomacy- Access to Suqahs.
 * Mourning's Ends Part I- Tiny Elf Crystal allows you fast access to Elves and Bears.
 * Olaf's Quest- Access to Brine rats.
 * Rum Deal- Access to Fever Spiders.
 * Shilo Village Quest- Access to Duradel.

Recommended

These quests are recommended as they only make slaying easier. Like the essential quests, some of these may be taken out if you have a low combat level.


 * Dragon Slayer- Access to Melzar's Maze's Ghosts.
 * Dream Mentor- Access to level 96 Spell Book Swap and efficient use of lunars for Slayer.
 * Elemental Workshop- Allowed to use Elemental shield, required against Skeletal Wyverns.
 * Enakhra's Lament- Camulet allows easy access to switching between Ancient and Regular Magics.
 * The Fremennik Trials- You make the Enchanted Lyre which gives you a faster route to the Slayer Dungeon.
 * Garden of Tranquility- Ring of Charos (a) allows you cheap travel and lets you enchant Lyres for a raw bass.
 * The Grand Tree- Access to Gnome Glider.
 * The Lost Tribe- Quicker access to Lumbridge swamp caves for Cave Bugs, Cave Slime, and Wall Beasts. Also unlocks quick route to Juna from Tears of Guthix.
 * One Small Favor- Key ring makes finding your keys without hassle.
 * Roving Elves- Needed for Mournings End, but specifically allows you access to the Crystal bow. Essential when ranging Abyssal Demons.
 * Rune Mysteries and Abyssal Runecrafting Mini Game- Quick access to nature altar outside of which has many monkeys to kill.
 * Tears of Guthix- Free experience once a week if Slayer is your lowest skill.
 * Watchtower- Fast access to Blue Dragons and caged Greater Demons.

Skills
These skills are aimed at lower levels. Higher levels, please see the skill chart on the Advanced Training section.

Items
Essential


 * At least 1,000 lobster, swordfish, and/or monkfish. You can use sharks, although monkfish is highly suggested, being easy to purchase and healing a hefty 16 health.
 * Full rune or better
 * Full blue dragonhide or better
 * Amulet of glories, one for you, others for teleports.
 * Games necklaces for a quick teleport to Turael.
 * At least a rune scimitar. A dragon scimitar would be better, as expected. An Abyssal whip would be even better, assuming you have the money and stats.
 * A lot of teleport runes. Since you don't have Guthan's to heal you, you'll have to bank on a lot of trips. You can use one-click teleports as well, such as the Ectophial or the Tiny elf crystal.

Recommended


 * Dwarf Multicannon. It'll make tasks easier, although a lot more expensive. You'll plow through about 300,000 cannonballs getting 99 Slayer.
 * 300-400 Prayer potions
 * Black Mask. Charges aren't necessary. The Black Mask will greatly help you in slaying, as it gives a 15% increase to strength and attack during your task.
 * Amulet of fury, assuming you can afford one of course.
 * Any melee barrows set. This is assuming that you can afford Torag's, but cannot afford Guthan's.
 * Fighter torso
 * Rune defender. This is assuming, yet again, that you have the proper levels to gain entrance to the Warrior's Guild.
 * Full black dragonhide
 * Crystal bow with recharge cost down to 180k. This is assuming that you have completed Roving Elves.
 * Holy book (Saradomin book)
 * Bones to Peaches, obtained from the Mage Training Arena
 * Full Initiate or Proselyte for their prayer boost.

Strategy
Since you do not have Guthan's to heal, your priority will be to kill as many of your assigned monsters as possible before having to bank for food. There are a few ways you can kill more monsters per trip.


 * Use the cannon when necessary. Do not use it in single-combat areas where there are no safespots and the monsters are spaced out. You should save your cannonballs for tasks that are in multi-combat areas, such as Kalphites and Dagannoths. You cannot use your cannon in the Slayer Tower nor in the Slayer Dungeon.
 * Use Vannaka under Edgeville. If you feel that you are up to it and have completed Lost City, you can try Chaeldar. If you're a high level without Guthan's, you can try Duradel, but expect a lot more bank runs during your tasks.
 * To easily reach Vannaka, use your Amulet of glory to teleport to Edgeville. The dungeon where he is located is easily reachable from there.
 * Accept the tasks that are given to you, unless you feel that you can't do it. In that case, change tasks.

Equipment and set-up
Generally, you'll be using melee for a lot of your tasks. This chart will give you a general idea for what to wear. Any cape and gloves may be used. It is suggested to wear an obsidian cape and any gloves from Recipe for Disaster.

Your inventory should include the Slayer gem and a teleport to the closest bank. It is recommended to bring a few alching runes as well as bones to peaches runes. You should then fill the rest of your inventory with food, leaving 2 to 4 spaces open for drops.

Leveling slayer when you are a low level or without guthan's is tedious work. However, there are slayers who achieved 99 without using guthan's at all. Yes, it is possible to get level 99 using only food. It may be expensive, but it is still possible. However, many high level slayers agree that guthan's makes slayer a lot easier to level.

Advanced Training
Note:This advanced training guide assumes that you are an above average player with decent skills, have plenty of cash (or the ability to make plenty of cash), and don't mind training slayer with little profit.

Quests
Essential

The following quests are essential to do, mainly because they give access to either more slayer monsters or make slaying easier.


 * Cabin Fever- Access to Mos Le'Harmless to fight Jungle and Cave Horrors.
 * Death to the Dorgeshuun- Access to Molanisks.
 * Desert Treasure- Access to Dust Devils, and Ancient Magicks for getting around.
 * Dwarf Cannon- Allowed to use Dwarf Multicannon.
 * Ernest the Chicken- Access to Killerwatts
 * A Fairy Tale Part II- Access to Fairy Ring teleportation system and Goraks.
 * Ghosts Ahoy- Ectophial, which gives a quick teleport to the Slayer Tower.
 * Horror from the Deep- Access to Dagannoths and prayer books.
 * Lost City- Access to Chaeldar.
 * Lunar Diplomacy- Access to Suqahs.
 * Mourning's Ends Part I- Tiny Elf Crystal allows you fast access to Elves and Bears.
 * Olaf's Quest- Access to Brine rats.
 * Rum Deal- Access to Fever Spiders.
 * Shilo Village Quest- Access to Duradel.

Recommended

These quests are recommended as they only make slaying easier.


 * Dragon Slayer- Access to Melzar's Maze's Ghosts.
 * Dream Mentor- Access to level 96 Spell Book Swap and efficient use of lunars for Slayer.
 * Elemental Workshop- Allowed to use Elemental shield, required against Skeletal Wyverns.
 * Enakhra's Lament- Camulet allows easy access to switching between Ancient and Regular Magics.
 * The Fremennik Trials- You make the Enchanted Lyre which gives you a faster route to the Slayer Dungeon.
 * Garden of Tranquility- Ring of Charos (a) allows you cheap travel and lets you enchant Lyres for a raw bass.
 * The Grand Tree- Access to Gnome Glider.
 * The Lost Tribe- Quicker access to Lumbridge swamp caves for Cave Bugs, Cave Slime, and Wall Beasts. Also unlocks quick route to Juna from Tears of Guthix.
 * One Small Favor- Key ring makes finding your keys without hassle.
 * Roving Elves- Needed for Mournings End, but specifically allows you access to the Crystal bow. Essential when ranging Abyssal Demons.
 * Rune Mysteries and Abyssal Runecrafting Mini Game- Quick access to nature altar outside of which has many monkeys to kill.
 * Tears of Guthix- Free experience once a week if Slayer is your lowest skill.
 * Watchtower- Fast access to Blue Dragons and caged Greater Demons.
 * Slug Menace- Access to Prosylte Armor

Items
Essential:
 * Full Guthans
 * Dramen staff or Lunar staff.
 * Plenty of Amulets of glory
 * Plenty of Games necklaces.
 * Super sets 1
 * Ranging potions
 * Plenty of good food, at least lobsters or better. Suggested: monkfish, because they're easy to fish or buy, and sharks for the hard tasks.
 * Dwarf multicannon and PLENTY of cannonballs or the money to buy lots of them. Cannonballs will be your most major expense whilst training Slayer. You'll plow through about 300,000 cannonballs getting 99 Slayer.
 * 300-400 Prayer potions
 * Full proselyte armour
 * Full rune or better
 * Full black dragonhide armour (or the best you can wear)
 * Good melee weapon such as an abyssal whip, or if you can't afford a whip then a dragon scimitar is almost as useful.
 * Plenty of starting cash, at least 1 million is suggested.
 * Black mask (charges are irrelevant).

1: It is possible to substitute super defence with Excalibur which has a +10% defence bonus as its special.

Recommended:
 * Dharok's if you have prayer potions to burn
 * Fighter torso
 * Amulet of Fury
 * Fire cape
 * Clue hunting apparatus - spade, watch, sextant, chart, anti-poison potions, and food.
 * Energy potions or Super energy potions.
 * Crystal bow with recharge cost at 180k. May be substituted with a Dark bow, if you have the cash for arrows and the bow itself.
 * Item merchants that will take drops off your hands cheaply and quickly to resell.
 * Bones to Peaches spell.
 * Saradomin book
 * Barrows gloves, available after completing Recipe for Disaster
 * Rune defender
 * a Ring of Wealth is entirely optional, but if you are only training slayer for the drops, then it is highly suggested that you wear one. Using a Berserker ring or a Warrior ring is a lot better for those who are slaying to level.

Strategy
Ideally, you want to get to your set task, and stay there until the task is complete. If you wish to break-even (or better) whilst training slayer, do the clue scrolls that you get dropped. It is recommended that you use high alchemy on most of the dropped items, alching anything above a steel battleaxe. Generally, you get as many nature runes as you need whilst training slayer for you to be able to alch comfortably.


 * Use cannon on every task where it reasonable to do so. This means that not only multi-combat area monsters should be targeted, but if there is a safe spot, you can also set up a cannon there, and just pop out to refill the cannon whilst it's doing its work. Examples of monsters that may be cannoned that aren't in a multi-combat area are hellhounds and fire giants.
 * Cannons cannot be used in the Slayer Tower nor in the Slayer Dungeon
 * Don't make your own cannonballs, they're bad smithing exp, and very slow. Buy them.
 * Use Chaeldar in Zanaris. Once you hit 50 slayer and 100 combat, you can use Duradel in Shilo Village, although it is recommended that you do not use Duradel until you hit 70 slayer, as then he can assign some of the better tasks to you, such as Dust Devils and Jellies.
 * Having lunar spells set may be a reasonable strategy if you don't mind not alching some of the drops and are able to complete a task in one go, you should have plenty of bank space to alch drops later, and plenty of teleport tablets. It allows you to contact the slayer masters without having to visit them in person.
 * To get a new task, glory to Edgeville, go east across the river with your dramen or lunar staff to the fairy ring, and run north to Chaeldar.
 * You should be permanently potted (super set, range pot) whilst training slayer.
 * Slayer Tower tasks - bank at edgeville as necessary, then use the fairy ring code CKS to get there
 * Slayer Dungeon tasks - bank at edgeville as necessary, use fairy ring code AJR to get there, use a super energy potion when your tasks is deep in the dungeon, unless you have 78+ agility for the shortcut.
 * In general, accept the task you're given, except in the cases noted below.
 * Always take some cash to the slayer master (100k recommended), so you can buy stuff as necessary.
 * For the truly advanced: If you really want to spend a LOT of money on it, then you could do the following:
 * Have lunar spells set, use NPC Contact, and only do cannon tasks, changing all ones where you can't.
 * Using prayer potions and Dharok's would be extremely fast experience too, but expensive.
 * Hire fellow players that you can kill-steal from. In theory, you could get stunning amount of slayer exp if other players reduce monsters of your task to a small amount of hitpoints, then run away so you can get the kill - you only get half slayer experience when doing this, but this wouldn't really matter as the experience would be extremely fast.

Equipment and attack-styles
Your choice of equipment should be based on the monsters attack style. By keeping the customary "sets" that you will need together in the bank, it will speed up moving from one task to the next. Of course, this may involve buying 2 sets of the required items, which can be expensive. For the vast majority of players, melee is the best option for most tasks, though there are a few notable exceptions.

Temporary boosts
The Salve amulet is a reward from the Haunted Mine quest. You can make it (e) by defeating Tarn Razorlor and using the book on the amulet. Black Masks are available by fighting Cave Horrors in a cave on Mos Le'Harmless. When meleeing Cave Horrors, a Witchwood Icon is required.
 * A Slayer's respite will boost slayer by 1. This can be made brewed using the cooking skill.
 * A mature Slayer's respite will boost slayer by 2. This can also be brewed using the cooking skill.
 * A Wild pie will boost slayer by 5.
 * A Black mask will boost both Attack and Strength by 15% while fighting monsters that have been assigned to you by a Slayer Master. The Masks have a number of charges, represented by a number behind them from 10 to 1. When you still have a charges, you will sometimes have your opponent's defence decreased. Each time this effect takes place, you lose one charge. When Black Masks lose all their charges, they have no number. There is no known way to recharge them at this time.
 * Salve amulet (e) is useful when fighting any undead monster (Aberrant Specters, Banshees, Shades, etc. The bonuses do not stack with the effect of a Black Mask.

Quests

 * Royal Trouble - 5000 experience
 * Wanted! - 5000 experience
 * Animal Magnetism - 1000 experience
 * Recipe for Disaster - 1000 experience
 * Shadow sword miniquest - 5000 experience
 * Killing Tarn Razorlor - 5000 experience
 * Natural History miniquest - 1000 experience