Slayers 2 tier list: breathing styles and demon arts
Three outlets rank the 8 breathing styles and 9 demon arts (counting Reaper), and they only fully agree on Sound, Serpent, Shockwave and Dream Manipulation. Where the letters differ, the reasons each list gives are further down.
Looking for clans? They have their own three-way comparison on the clan tier list.
It lists Fixed and buffed tamari, Buffed Water Breathing, Buffed Arrow, Increased all boss skill drop rates by 5%, Nerfed thunder a bit, Fixed more bugs and Removed all spikes in parkour dungeon for mobile and console.
Why these lists keep moving
The v.09 patch buffed Water, Arrow and Tamari and nerfed Thunder, and a second round, V0.145, followed. All three lists were revised after v.09, and Pro Game Guides has since updated its list for V0.182.
The full list of changes is in the update log.
Breathing styles
Each style name links to its trainer and costs. Every style needs level 25 and a trainer; the breathing styles page shows which ones you can unlock now.
Blood demon arts
Destructoid ranks styles and arts together in one list; the other two keep them apart. Reaper is here because all three rank it; it is an art you can roll, not to be confused with the Reaping Blades fighting style. How to roll an art is on the blood demon arts page.
| Art | Beebom | Destructoid | Pro Game Guides | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shockwave | S | S | S | all agree |
| Ice Manipulation | S | S | A | one tier |
| Blood Manipulation | A | S | B | 2 tiers |
| Dream Manipulation | A | A | A | all agree |
| Pyrokinesis Destructoid: Explosive Blood | A | C | S | 3 tiers |
| Obi Manipulation | A | C | S | 3 tiers |
| Reaper | A | B | A | one tier |
| Arrow | B | B | A | one tier |
| Tamari Destructoid: Temari | C | C | B | one tier |
The widest splits, and why
WindS / C / S
Beebom and Pro Game Guides both point to its faster start-ups and combo routes. Destructoid says the start-ups were fixed but other styles got better buffs, and its moves knock enemies about awkwardly in PvE.
PyrokinesisA / C / S
Beebom credits improved tracking and steering, and Pro Game Guides has it in S. Destructoid says some moves can simply be blocked and dashed out of, and the infinite combo is gone.
Obi ManipulationA / C / S
Beebom counts its buffs: 10% more damage, armour on Z and a V guardbreak, and Pro Game Guides moved it into S with its V0.182 update. Destructoid notes the same buffs but calls it a niche PvP kit that is poor for group PvE.
FlameS / B / S
Beebom calls it the strongest all-round style. Destructoid puts it in B on its own, citing slow start-up, and says it climbs to A or S with the Rengoku clan.
Blood ManipulationA / S / B
Destructoid still calls it the best art even after the nerfs. Beebom lists what it lost: 35% of V damage, V strict stun, the X guardbreak. Pro Game Guides dropped it to B, keeping it only as the pairing for Nightfall Sickles.
Letters read Beebom / Destructoid / Pro Game Guides.
One-tier splits, and the reasons given
- Water (A / S / A): Beebom and Destructoid both describe its buffs as one of the biggest jumps. Destructoid keeps it in S; Beebom stops at A because it still relies on timing, and Pro Game Guides moved it down to A in its V0.182 update.
- Thunder (A / S / A): Destructoid prizes its near-instant moves. Beebom says its slower Z and blockable X give opponents room to punish; Pro Game Guides notes Godspeed is slower than at launch and Rice Spirit lost its strict stun.
- Stone (A / B / A): Destructoid says it is strong for PvP pressure but its moves are slow. The other two value the second-hit guardbreak and armoured ultimate.
- Insect (B / A / B): Destructoid likes its fast, chainable moves. Beebom and Pro Game Guides say it lost i-frame safety and a strict-stun confirm.
- Ice Manipulation (S / S / A): Beebom and Destructoid keep it in S. Pro Game Guides moved it to A in its V0.182 update.
- Reaper (A / B / A): Destructoid ranks it as a blood demon art in B. Beebom and Pro Game Guides include it for comparison but place it apart; the fighting style in the balance notes is Reaping Blades, a different thing.
- Arrow (B / B / A): Pro Game Guides moved it up to A for better catch range and tracking; Beebom and Destructoid keep it at B.
- Tamari (C / C / B): Pro Game Guides moved it up to B after homing fixes; the other two leave it at C.
What the win rates say
The lists above are opinions. The developer’s own Discord bot posts something harder: the share of fights each power won over the last seven days. One snapshot of it, 117,114 ranked fights and 221,728 casual ones, set against the tiers:
Breathing styles
- Water56.3%29k54.7%44k
- Thunder52.4%21k54.4%38k
- Serpent46.5%28k50.5%55k
- Stone46.3%6.1k46.6%15k
- Sound46.0%15k48.1%30k
- Flame45.8%18k48.3%40k
- Wind44.7%6.7k45.1%14k
- Insect44.3%12k47.5%25k
Blood Demon Arts
- Cryokinesis (Ice)55.7%20k51.7%37k
- Tamari53.7%4.5k55.1%8.1k
- Dream Manipulation53.2%2.2k48.7%4.7k
- Arrow51.5%2.1k56.4%4.4k
- Blood Manipulation51.1%18k49.6%35k
- Reaper50.8%5.1k47.9%9.8k
- Shockwave50.3%36k51.7%72k
- Pyrokinesis48.4%3.2k46.9%5.8k
- Obi Manipulation41.4%45937.3%1.5k
- Water and Thunder win most among the styles in both modes, which fits the lists. Wind, S at Beebom and Pro Game Guides, sits near the bottom in both.
- Tamari, last or joint last on all three lists, wins more than half its fights in both modes; so does Arrow. Obi Manipulation wins the fewest in both, though with the fewest games behind it.
- A win rate mixes the power with who plays it, and a small sample swings easily. The bot refreshes every five minutes, so treat this as a picture of one week, not a ranking.
Ranked Win Rates, 117,114 fights: Water 56.3% strongest, Obi Manipulation 41.4% weakest; Cryokinesis 55.7% leads the arts.
The developer's win-rate bot, casual fights over the last seven days: Water 54.7%, Thunder 54.4% at the top, Wind 45.1% at the bottom, and a last row Beast 0.0% with 1 game.
Thunder: nerfed, then partly restored
Thunder took the v.09 nerf, then reportedly got part of it back in V0.110: faster casts on Thunder Clap and Flash and on Rice Spirit, and longer finishing stuns. Destructoid still puts it in S; Beebom and Pro Game Guides have it in A.
The video walks through the v.09 announcement and tests the moves after the change. The move-by-move detail is on the Thunder breathing page.
THUNDER IS NOW THE WORST BREATHING IN PROJECT SLAYERS 2...
The Discord post that nerfed Thunder, then the slower casts in play.