Are the Devs Ever Going to Fix Slayer?

[GamboJack]

I would like to see buffs on the slayer for me ID nerf make no sense also that RNG with the duration is also feels realy bad why cannot i always get 8s while i am on red 6s on yellow and 4s on green and the devs should remove the damage penatly from the main target. I also have a huge issue with SL/Choppal moral 2-3 are terrible and on SL you rarely reach M4 maybe if the unlockable M4 would be M2 it will be worth the investment. The rampage i think that skill has to go there is no way a skill like this can be ever balanced right now its wortless and the old rampage was beyond broken and i would take a leap instead of rampage anyday. The lack of CC is also an issue as a slayer you are nothing more then an angry ball of damage that can walk up to you.

[nocturnalguest]

Yes the class used to be strong once, but that doesn’t justify it sucking now.

As others have said, what does Slayer bring now compared to other classes? That is the definition of balance.

You say that it has “raw killing power,” but at this point what killing power does Slayer have that the Choppa doesn’t, and Choppa has pull on top of it.

What is it about current Slayer that is so great that it doesn’t get to have a pull/leap/AoE KD/ranged snare etc like all other MDPS?

It brings raw killing power and shatterlimbs (and numbing (=minus guarding tank), st crit decrease, 2h huge wounds debuff and strong spellbreaker overally speaking), just that. Well, balance is not only who brings what, its mostly data supported class performance, its role and how it fills a spot. Slayer is DPS, it kills stuff, so it performs. Previously numbers of damage that Slayers produce were an outliner, they were way too high then rest of DPS classes (while it was not a really big issue at all, numbers on scoreboard were insane yeah, but it didnt burst so much to overlap HPS curve to be real problem like BWs were on live at launch). So this is balance.

Slayer and Choppa are now pretty much unified in terms of what they bring and numbers, just a little bit different mechanic gameplay due to FS/ID/SL. No big change, fundamentally they are same and yeah, you may have some fun with pull on choppa and its pretty cool feeling while orvring, this unga bunga ability is pretty nice. Not anyhow a gamechanger, folks who say free immunity are correct, no doubt, but gameplay wise its more entertaining then what slayer has lol.

I dont see anything "great" about current slayer so i dont mind it get leap and like its surely a bit of joke and very old meme, but slayer getting leap would be most f***ing fun stuff that i dont mind it even if damage will stay as is hahahaha.
mara mirror aoe kd i dunno balance wise, dont think it will break something too big so why not, ranged snare is crap, cant see any fun getting it. st mara mirror pull with chains done by slayer is fun haha, destro will love it lmao

[CountTalabecland]

Spoiler:

Yes the class used to be strong once, but that doesn’t justify it sucking now.

As others have said, what does Slayer bring now compared to other classes? That is the definition of balance.

You say that it has “raw killing power,” but at this point what killing power does Slayer have that the Choppa doesn’t, and Choppa has pull on top of it.

What is it about current Slayer that is so great that it doesn’t get to have a pull/leap/AoE KD/ranged snare etc like all other MDPS?

It brings raw killing power and shatterlimbs (and numbing (=minus guarding tank), st crit decrease, 2h huge wounds debuff and strong spellbreaker overally speaking), just that. Well, balance is not only who brings what, its mostly data supported class performance, its role and how it fills a spot. Slayer is DPS, it kills stuff, so it performs. Previously numbers of damage that Slayers produce were an outliner, they were way too high then rest of DPS classes (while it was not a really big issue at all, numbers on scoreboard were insane yeah, but it didnt burst so much to overlap HPS curve to be real problem like BWs were on live at launch). So this is balance.

Slayer and Choppa are now pretty much unified in terms of what they bring and numbers, just a little bit different mechanic gameplay due to FS/ID/SL. No big change, fundamentally they are same and yeah, you may have some fun with pull on choppa and its pretty cool feeling while orvring, this unga bunga ability is pretty nice. Not anyhow a gamechanger, folks who say free immunity are correct, no doubt, but gameplay wise its more entertaining then what slayer has lol.

I dont see anything "great" about current slayer so i dont mind it get leap and like its surely a bit of joke and very old meme, but slayer getting leap would be most f***ing fun stuff that i dont mind it even if damage will stay as is hahahaha.
mara mirror aoe kd i dunno balance wise, dont think it will break something too big so why not, ranged snare is crap, cant see any fun getting it. st mara mirror pull with chains done by slayer is fun haha, destro will love it lmao

Yeah Choppa having pull is a massive advantage, just like how having Rampage used to be the advantage of playing Slayer. Order having to account for Choppa pull in all levels of gameplay is huge. I don't understand the constant minimizing of the strength of that ability. Destro says it sucks but somehow Slayer having it would be too strong?

[Magusar]

Slayer is fine in a vacuum. But they exist in a game where there are other DPS besides Slayers. And in this context, slayer is not fine. They're not even fine compared to Choppa, which also is not fine.

- Converted a tunnel damage dealer into a primarily burst damage dealer, forgetting that the -50% defense mechanic doesn't work well for such things.Somehow forgot to adapt slayer sufficiently to compete successfully with other burst damage dealers. Too slow, too mortal, have too few opportunities to catch/escape—and, as a result, too unsuitable.

- Did I mention competition? Slayer has high damage, but there's a catch—all MDPs from the patch have it. All MDPs received a damage boost, and under these conditions, reducing slayer survivability (which is exactly what happened in the patch) was a far below-average decision. I don't even know who could have decided that a save with a cooldown of one minute and a duration of 5 seconds could justify -25% (later only physical) defense in the yellow zone. In a game with "cool" WEs, Marauders, DPS Doks, and ranged SHs with insane damage for an archetype like a "kiting archer with high utility" (which, by the way, has always been a straightforward counterpick for a slayer). If you're being shot at with a shotgun, cover yourself with cardboard—that's pretty much what this save looks like, which also has a drawback lol.
I understand that the idea was to allow the slayer to effectively manage their rage through a series of finishers and to prevent the slayer from ignoring their main "double edge" mechanic, was added this debuff, but come on, it doesn't look good in the real world. DPS and utility are comparable to others, but survivability and all the associated risks are not. Where are the corresponding benefits? Against this background, it was still more profitable to take a WH/WL/DPS WP in a party—it's easier and more effective to play with them. A good "group" character is in the same room as a BW.

- The "carrot and stick, but no carrot" method. Regarding dual sl If you use a 2h weapon, you get effect X. If you use a dual-wielding weapon, you get "nothing"—we'll even nerf you. Nerfs of Spinecrusher, Pulverize, Relentless Strike for Path of the Giantslayer instead of Trollslayer, ID with 50% damage on the main target... So, we can't/don't want to make a 2h spec competitive, but you shouldn't use a duals one for smallscale either. Less variety, less variability, and all this against the backdrop of other DPS characters not being forced into such a framework, with the exception of Choppa (the latest fix with the GTDS and FS 10/10 swap).


Solutions:
- Revert the nerf to Spinecrusher. Bring Relentless Strike back to Trollslayer. Make ID deal 100% damage on the main target. You can also swap Shatter Limbs with ID – it will open up more options and reduce AoE pressure from an incomplete AoE slayer.
- Remove the debuff in the yellow zone.
- Spellbreaker – Spellbreaker now always deals full damage as if the target had the three necessary buffs. The purge effect only works in Berserker, purge doesn't do any damage ofc. Personally, I don't think slayer need deal more damage, but the damage stable of this is lack. And that's a good decision to fix it.
- Even the odds - 5s activity cd 40-50-60 sec, no drawback. If berserk - 40s, furious- 50s, no rage - 60s
- Overall, shift the focus to rewarding berserker behavior. See the spellbreaker and Even the odds example above. This is also management of the rage mechanics, just from a different angle—more appropriate, I think, for the current situation.
From now on, just test it.
Too strong? Just add ID to the exeptions for cd reducers like ap st heal for wp/dok for dual sl, or slight reduce spellbreaker dps component for 2h.
Too weak? Add more stuff for rage mechanic like "Deathblow has +25% crit chance damage if target 50% or lower,when berserk", or "when berserk, your speed is up on 20%-30% for 3-5 seconds after Break loose" etc

[nocturnalguest]

Yeah Choppa having pull is a massive advantage, just like how having Rampage used to be the advantage of playing Slayer. Order having to account for Choppa pull in all levels of gameplay is huge. I don't understand the constant minimizing of the strength of that ability. Destro says it sucks but somehow Slayer having it would be too strong?

Well, because context! No, you don't have to account current version of choppa pull in all levels of gameplay. Times of jumping while gtdc are long gone for good, that was incredibly great, completely unbalanced feature (bug) which was pretty awesome and great to have on choppa, so much bursting, ooofff

Its a former shade of what it was in all possible terms. At the moment choppa pull is just general pug stomping thingy, it has absolutely 0 scenarios of effective usage in organised none blob gameplay. Shines in pug play, sure, decent for 200v200 back and forth braindead push and pulls. Same will be if such thing gets mirrored for slayer hence i personally wont be excited if slayer gets this.
ST mara pull for slayer gotta be really refreshing hahaha, i would love that, i can clearly see amount of salt and toxicity it will bring. Daaamn, imagine how forums will explode lol
Prolly most toxic will be leap. It wont be super synergistic with stuff, on large scale but small-scale groups you may build if this happens gonna be beyond any sanity. Deepest salt mines, equal of opening the gates of hell haha

[gisborne]

Break out the popcorn for the monthly slayer whining session that they cant hit rampage to auto win every fight anymore. If you take more then a minute to look at both slayer and Choppa kits they are nearly identical with the only differences coming down to id trading damage on the target you apply it to for not needing to be in red bar the entire time to use it, and rampage vs a second channel with a nearly useless pull. Yet you dont see Choppa players whining every day because unlike slayer Choppa lost its press me to auto win button years ago and adapted.

The flaw in all your rationalization is you think GTDC is nearly useless lol.

[CountTalabecland]

Still no one has answered my core question:

How is Slayer balanced in light of the following?

Choppa: Pull/speed boost, FS, weak aoe snare, and charge.

Witch Elf: Ranged snare, speed boost, self punt, and pounce.

Marauder: Pull, AoE knockdown, charge, and disarm.

Melee Squig Herder: Pounce, self-punt, and two knockbacks, one of which has a speed boost.

Witch Hunter: Ranged snare and speed boost.

White Lion: Pounce and charge.

Melee Shadow Warrior: shadowstep, self-punt, and ranged snare.

Slayer: Charge, poor version of FS, and weak aoe snare.

Slayer literally has the least CC or mobility options of any melee dps in the game, even compared to its mirror.

Why is this? Can a dev answer me? What is it about Slayer’s kit that makes this disparity balanced?

[JohnnyWayne]

Still no one has answered my core question:

How is Slayer balanced in light of the following?

Marauder: Pull, AoE knockdown, charge, and disarm.

You forgot an important piece here. AoE Interrupt. Rampage should also protect against interrupts. Even a punt should not interrupt retribution when rampage is up. WL has the same, but Slayer does not have a backup channel.

[Bozzax]

Still no one has answered my core question:

How is Slayer balanced in light of the following?

Choppa: Pull/speed boost, FS, weak aoe snare, and charge.

Witch Elf: Ranged snare, speed boost, self punt, and pounce.

Marauder: Pull, AoE knockdown, charge, and disarm.

Melee Squig Herder: Pounce, self-punt, and two knockbacks, one of which has a speed boost.

Witch Hunter: Ranged snare and speed boost.

White Lion: Pounce and charge.

Melee Shadow Warrior: shadowstep, self-punt, and ranged snare.

Slayer: Charge, poor version of FS, and weak aoe snare.

Slayer literally has the least CC or mobility options of any melee dps in the game, even compared to its mirror.

Why is this? Can a dev answer me? What is it about Slayer’s kit that makes this disparity balanced?

The comparison seems to focus very narrowly on mobility and crowd-control tools while leaving out other aspects of each class’s overall kit. Simply listing abilities in isolation doesn’t necessarily demonstrate that one class is underpowered or unbalanced.

That may be why you’re not getting a direct answer from others—the question’s framing assumes that fewer mobility or CC tools automatically means poorer balance, which isn’t necessarily the case. Balance is usually determined by the entire package, including damage profile, utility, survivability, group synergy, and role within different game modes.

That said, it’s fair to point out that, at present, both White Lion and Witch Hunter appear to be performing very strongly in the meta, while Slayer’s popularity seems closer to that of Bright Wizards and Engineers than to those top-performing melee DPS classes. Whether that reflects an actual balance issue or simply player perception is a separate discussion.

[eigner93]

Slayer is fine in a vacuum. But they exist in a game where there are other DPS besides Slayers. And in this context, slayer is not fine. They're not even fine compared to Choppa, which also is not fine.

- Converted a tunnel damage dealer into a primarily burst damage dealer, forgetting that the -50% defense mechanic doesn't work well for such things.Somehow forgot to adapt slayer sufficiently to compete successfully with other burst damage dealers. Too slow, too mortal, have too few opportunities to catch/escape—and, as a result, too unsuitable.

- Did I mention competition? Slayer has high damage, but there's a catch—all MDPs from the patch have it. All MDPs received a damage boost, and under these conditions, reducing slayer survivability (which is exactly what happened in the patch) was a far below-average decision. I don't even know who could have decided that a save with a cooldown of one minute and a duration of 5 seconds could justify -25% (later only physical) defense in the yellow zone. In a game with "cool" WEs, Marauders, DPS Doks, and ranged SHs with insane damage for an archetype like a "kiting archer with high utility" (which, by the way, has always been a straightforward counterpick for a slayer). If you're being shot at with a shotgun, cover yourself with cardboard—that's pretty much what this save looks like, which also has a drawback lol.
I understand that the idea was to allow the slayer to effectively manage their rage through a series of finishers and to prevent the slayer from ignoring their main "double edge" mechanic, was added this debuff, but come on, it doesn't look good in the real world. DPS and utility are comparable to others, but survivability and all the associated risks are not. Where are the corresponding benefits? Against this background, it was still more profitable to take a WH/WL/DPS WP in a party—it's easier and more effective to play with them. A good "group" character is in the same room as a BW.

- The "carrot and stick, but no carrot" method. Regarding dual sl If you use a 2h weapon, you get effect X. If you use a dual-wielding weapon, you get "nothing"—we'll even nerf you. Nerfs of Spinecrusher, Pulverize, Relentless Strike for Path of the Giantslayer instead of Trollslayer, ID with 50% damage on the main target... So, we can't/don't want to make a 2h spec competitive, but you shouldn't use a duals one for smallscale either. Less variety, less variability, and all this against the backdrop of other DPS characters not being forced into such a framework, with the exception of Choppa (the latest fix with the GTDS and FS 10/10 swap).


Solutions:
- Revert the nerf to Spinecrusher. Bring Relentless Strike back to Trollslayer. Make ID deal 100% damage on the main target. You can also swap Shatter Limbs with ID – it will open up more options and reduce AoE pressure from an incomplete AoE slayer.
- Remove the debuff in the yellow zone.
- Spellbreaker – Spellbreaker now always deals full damage as if the target had the three necessary buffs. The purge effect only works in Berserker, purge doesn't do any damage ofc. Personally, I don't think slayer need deal more damage, but the damage stable of this is lack. And that's a good decision to fix it.
- Even the odds - 5s activity cd 40-50-60 sec, no drawback. If berserk - 40s, furious- 50s, no rage - 60s
- Overall, shift the focus to rewarding berserker behavior. See the spellbreaker and Even the odds example above. This is also management of the rage mechanics, just from a different angle—more appropriate, I think, for the current situation.
From now on, just test it.
Too strong? Just add ID to the exeptions for cd reducers like ap st heal for wp/dok for dual sl, or slight reduce spellbreaker dps component for 2h.
Too weak? Add more stuff for rage mechanic like "Deathblow has +25% crit chance damage if target 50% or lower,when berserk", or "when berserk, your speed is up on 20%-30% for 3-5 seconds after Break loose" etc

I would mark this comment on this post. Its like you read my mind. Unfortunately these changes would never happen. One thing i would add is to be able to KD in yellow. Slayers only good cc is tied to red and you have to detaunt and exhaust aswell which resets the whole thing. While every other MDPS class has instant access to pull or kd. Make it make sense pls.