How to Play The Warrior Slayer Specialization in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Specializations offer players ways to build into specific playstyles in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and for Warriors who want to smash enemies to bits, the Slayer Specialization is the go-to option. What it lacks in defense is made up by incredible offensive skills that can help you take enemies out before they can put up a fight.

Slayers are bold and reckless, and compared to most other Specializations in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, they don’t have much in terms of protective abilities, which can complicate things. If you find yourself struggling as a Slayer, here’s a quick guide highlighting the best ways to use this subclass.

How to Play The Slayer Subclass

Unlike the Champion and Reaper, Slayer focuses strictly on offense. Players may have trouble surviving due to the lack of defensive skills on the Slayer tree, but this shouldn’t be a problem if they can dodge and block correctly. This lack of survivability is compensated for by the Slayer’s ability to deal extreme Stagger damage, which can briefly knock enemies out of a fight without killing them while setting them up for deadly Takedowns.

A good Slayer is one who is always pressing the attack. Lead the charge with Heroic Leap to disrupt enemies and use Driving Kick to knock them down. When enemies are lying prone, use that time to charge your attacks and deliver massive damage with your big swings. With the right passives, you’ll be able to Stagger enemies more easily, leaving them vulnerable to Takedowns.

Slayer Tips and Tricks

• When a high-health enemy is Staggered, take time to charge an attack before executing a Takedown.
• You can swap weapons while an enemy is Staggered. Useful if you have a secondary weapon that counters enemy resistances or has higher Takedown damage.
• Use Driving Kick to group enemies up before blowing them up with Heroic Leap, Whirlwind, or other AoE attacks.
• Use passives that grant the Precision buff so your Charged Attacks deal critical damage.

Best Companions for Slayers

Slayer is a selfish subclass that focuses on bringing the fight to the enemy. As such, you’ll likely find the most success with it if you bring teammates who can support the Slayer’s playstyle.

Neve is a great support character for Slayers because of her ability to passively inflict Weaken on a target without using any cooldowns. Weaken can be detonated by Driving Kick, which means you can essentially turn an enemy into a bomb that you can send flying towards other enemies. Also, Neve’s Time Slow is great for setting up big damage combos for your skills and Charged Attacks.

Lucanis is another great teammate for Slayers since he can quickly strip Barriers from enemies. Regular attacks deal less damage to Barriers, but with Lucanis’ Abominate skill, you can nuke those pesky shields down in no time. Consider recruiting him first among DA:V’s companions once given the chance.

Best Slayer Skills

The following skills should serve as a decent starting point for a Slayer build. You won’t be able to get every important skill until you reach close to max level in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, so prioritize getting these as you’re leveling up:

Heroic Leap and Whirlwind are excellent skills for any Slayer build. Driving Kick is also a fine skill to use, but feel free to replace it with something like Grappling Spear for more crowd control or Cleaving Strike and Fury of the Forge for Strike skill synergies.

Of course, Slayer builds won’t be complete without spending points into Core Warrior Skills. For this Specialization, we strongly recommend getting skills that improve Stagger damage and Takedowns. Notable examples include:

• Staggering Toss (Mourn Watcher): Shield Toss converts 25% of your current Rage into Stagger.
• Killer Instinct (Abilities): Abilities deal 20% increased Stagger.
• Flames of Victory (Lord of Fortune): Takedowns grant Flaming Weapons. Generate 25% more Stagger when Flaming Weapons is active.
• Staggering Charge (Grey Warden): Heavy Attacks inflict 20% increased Stagger.