The Basics

Slayer is a members only skill which allows players to kill special monsters which have better drops than ordinary creatures and cannot be harmed by players who do not have the required slayer level. Some of these slayer monsters require special equipment to kill and will either start doing large amounts of damage or refuse to die if the player is not using it. This skill is taught by five slayer masters around the RuneScape world who give players assignments for killing certain numbers of monsters. After completing an assignment, the player must return to a slayer master who will then assign them a new task. If either ordinary or slayer monsters are killed without getting an assignment for them first, the player will not receive slayer experience for killing them.

Slayer Masters

The five slayer masters cater to players of different combat levels, when players start training, they will have to beg one of the masters to teach them. After this they are given a "slayer crystal" which allows them to contact the slayer master who is best suited for their combat skills. Slayer masters can be located by a yellow skull icon that appears on the map. These are the slayer masters from easiest to most difficult:

1. Turael, location: Burthrope - The easiest of the masters, players of any combat level may approach him. He assigns small numbers of low level monsters. Very few players ever get assignments from him as most will wait until they have a relatively high combat before starting the slayer skill.

2. Mazchna, location: The bridge between Canafis and the haunted woods - Low to medium level players favor him. He assigns larger numbers of low level monsters and occasionally small numbers of more difficult creatures. He is useful because a lot of his assignments such as crawling hands or vampires can be completed close to him, allowing players to get a new assignment very quickly. The Priest in Peril quest is needed to reach him.

3. Vannaka, location: Edgeville dungeon at the Wilderness gate (not in the Wilderness though) - He is a strong favorite among most players, he assigns large numbers of medium to hard monsters. His assignments are virtually always possible to complete with a little effort.

4. Chaeldar, location: Zanaris at the fairy queen's court - She requires players to have a combat level of 70 before she deals with them. Sometimes referred to as "the crazy master," she may give large numbers of medium-hard creatures on a regular basis. Some regular assignments from her would be around 200 trolls or blue dragons. Some higher levels who get bored with Vannaka go to her, but many don't like what they get. The Lost City quest is needed for access to Zanaris.

5. Duradel, location: Shilo Village on the top floor of one of the houses - He requires a combat level of 100, and for a very good reason. Virtually all of his assignments are dragons or metal dragons. Only a few very daring high level players ever get assignments from him. The Shilo Village quest is needed for access to the town.

Assignment Changes

If a master (probably Chaeldar or Duradel) gives a player an assignment they cannot possibly complete without dying multiple times, that player can go to Turael in Burthorpe to get a new assignment. Just walk up to him and ask for another assignment. However, this only works if the assignment was something Turael himself would never give. Also, the second assignment must be completed and it will probably be something very boring.

The Slayer Crystal

This is given to the player when a slayer master agrees to teach them and it can be used to contact the slayer master who is most appropriate for the player's combat level from anywhere on the RuneScape world. However, the contact is broken if the player is attacked. The options when activating the crystal are:

1. Who are you? - The slayer master will introduce him/herself.

2. Where are you? - The slayer master informs the player of their location, useful if the player has never seen the master before.

3. How am I doing so far? - Probably the most useful of all the crystal's features, it reminds the player of what monster they have been assigned and lets them know how many more they have to kill before they have completed the assignment.

4. Got any tips for me? - Also very useful, the slayer master will say if any special equipment is required for the particular monster, if there is none they will give a tip on the creature's weakness (could be poison, crushing weapons, magic, etc). Or they may point out a certain attack that the creature has which may be dangerous to you (this monster has a poison, magic, teleport ability).

5. Never mind - Self explanatory.

The Slayer Shop

If a player right-clicks on any slayer master they will have the "trade" option, this opens the slayer shop. All of the masters sell the exact same items for the same prices so it makes no difference who a player goes to. This shop sells the slayer crystal for 1 gp, useful if a player needs extra or they lost their original one. It also sells special slayer equipment. This equipment is necessary for fighting or killing certain slayer monsters and it can only be found in this shop. For example: earmuffs are needed to protect against a banshee's deafening screams.

Slayer Monsters

These monsters have much better drops than normal ones since they have supposedly not been hunted for centuries and have managed to hoard up loads of treasure. They all require a certain slayer level to kill and some have to be fought with special equipment. They are the only monsters that drop black and gold mystic (a type of magic armor) and armored boots which give great defense bonuses. The most wanted of all slayer monsters are the abyssal demons which require level 85 slayer to kill and which drop abyssal whips, currently the best melee weapon in the game.

This is basically pointless.

Slayer Locations

Some areas of the map are devoted entirely to the slayer skill and this is where slayer monsters can be found. There are three big ones:

1. Slayer caves: Found below Lumbridge and its swamps, these require a light source in order for players to enter them. A bullseye lantern is recommended since anything else will blow out very quickly, it is also recommended to wear a spiny helmet (buy in a slayer shop) because wall beasts house at regular intervals in the caves. They can be entered through the kitchen cellar of Lumbridge castle if players have started The Lost Tribe quest and through the dungeon entrance in the swamps (players need a rope for this). The caves contain cave slimes, cave crawlers, and several sizes of frogs as well as the popular Tears of Guthix minigame.

2. Slayer dungeon: Located east of the golden apple tree in Relekka, this area is much more organized and less dangerous than the caves. No light sources or ropes are necessary. It is basically a long winding path with big rooms at regular intervals, each room contains a different type of slayer monster. It starts with cave crawlers and gradually processes to kurasks in order of increasing slayer level needed to kill the monsters. Two agility shortcuts allow quick travel through the dungeon. Some of the slayer monsters here drop white/gold mystic robe pieces. It helps to use the bank in Keldagrim instead of the one in Seer's Village, it saves a tiny bit of time.

3. Slayer tower: This is located in Morytania for a reason, it contains the darker of the slayer creatures who, appropriately, may drop black/red mystic pieces. The Priest in Peril quest is needed to access it. It is roughly northwest of Canifis and is organized much like the slayer dungeon except of course there are floors instead of hallways separating the monsters. There are also two agility shortcuts to allow quick travel between floors. Monsters here start at crawling hands and banshees on the bottom floor and end with nechyraels and abyssal demons on the top floor.

Training

Slayer is a hard skill to raise as only kills done on assignment count for it. It is advised for players to use the slayer master the crystals contact them to for getting assignments. Slayer is a very fun skill if it is used simply as a way to train combat. Instead of practicing on the same monster over and over again, players will get to see some new creatures and areas. When training, players have to use their brains and the advice the masters give about creatures. Also, it's a bad idea for players to just go storming at a monster wielding any a regular melee weapon since most monsters can be fought using Magic, Ranged, or a halberd.

Important: when fighting slayer monsters, players should wear their best magic defense armor, not melee. While the monsters' attacks are melee fighting style and the protect from melee prayer will keep players totally safe, their attacks are in fact based in magic. Something mysterious about their origins. Believe it or not, when fighting banshees, blue dragonhide requires only about a third of the food full rune would. Most slayer monsters work this way.