Lost Ark’s Slayer Class Is a Welcome Addition

The Slayer arrived in Lost Ark. A variation of an already available class, it manages to distinguish itself through the sheer amounts of damage it is capable of putting out, but it is also a more technical version of the Berserker. The Slayer is the very definition of a class that is easy to pick up, but hard to master given that players will need to make the most of positionals to truly reach the class’ damage potential.

In Lost Ark, I generally stick to support roles. Since launch I’ve played as the Paladin, which is something of a hybrid class mostly used for shielding and damage amplification for harder content. I also dabbled in Sharpshooter, but mostly to little effect. The build I ran wasn’t exactly ideal for the content that was released at the time, and I had all but given up on playing a pure DPS class. However with Slayer, I was interested enough to jump into the saddle.

The Slayer’s ultimate skill allows for her to empower her attacks in Burst Mode. This greatly increases her DPS while active, and you want to time your skills around this particular window. Maximizing damage in Lost Ark is essential to basically clearing any tier of content, and any loss of DPS can be keenly felt in Guardian Raids and Abyss Dungeons. Slayer relies on players to make the most of this window, which is what makes this specific class hard to master. Despite her general agility, you will always want to be behind an enemy while using your Burst Mode in order to deal enormous amounts of damage.

Image via Amazon Games

This specific class feels as though it is easy to pick up, but hard to master, since you will be relying on burst windows to be an effective member of your team. While playing new content as a Slayer is entirely possible, it is best to go into content with previous knowledge to best utilize what tools you have at your disposal to truly make a difference in the thick of combat.

However, visually, the Slayer is a gorgeous class. Having come off of the back of playing Diablo IV, Lost Ark features some of the best animation for an ARPG and the Slayer is no exception to this. Each hit feels particularly impactful, especially as the earth fractures and breaks between her greatsword slamming into swaths of enemies. While it would be nice to see the character model have a bit more musculature, or at least some general body variation since she is lugging around a greatsword as big as she is, the animations are great as always and makes combat exciting.

The Slayer adds a nice bit of variety in terms of melee DPS, even if she follows the same template as the Berserker, she is able to stand on her own. As a returning player, Slayer is extremely fun, albeit the learning curve is a bit high. But I’ll chalk that up to my experience as a support player. Those more in-tune with Lost Ark’s burst damage windows and other DPS classes will more than likely feel at home, and even pleased with the high skill ceiling cap for the Slayer.

Lost Ark is available on PC.