Idle Slayer is a one developer project by Pablo Leban that entered Early Access on 27 July 2020 and released on 21 December 2020, and it now carries more than 650 Steam achievements. Your slayer runs left to right on his own, jumps over gaps and kills whatever walks into him, and everything on top of that is a layer of reset. Souls buy the Skill Tree, Ascension turns progress into Slayer Points for the Ascension Tree, Ultra Ascension converts that into Ultra Slayer Points that power Stones of Time, and Astral upgrades survive the resets once you buy Astral Slayer for 500 million SP. Saves move between PC and mobile.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Coins are the currency you see and Souls are the currency that matters
Coins are the currency you see and Souls are the currency that matters. The Souls Flask and Soul Gatherer upgrades are what make enemies drop Souls at all, so buying them late slows the entire game down.
2. Soul Reaper is the main multiplier on soul rewards, while the Ascension CpS bonus is the main multiplier on coin rewards
Soul Reaper is the main multiplier on soul rewards, while the Ascension CpS bonus is the main multiplier on coin rewards. Knowing which one a given upgrade feeds saves a lot of wasted spending.
3. The Skill Tree unlocks mechanics rather than only raising numbers, which is why it deserves priority over coin upgrades that vanish on the next reset
The Skill Tree unlocks mechanics rather than only raising numbers, which is why it deserves priority over coin upgrades that vanish on the next reset.
4. Ascend earlier than instinct suggests
Ascend earlier than instinct suggests. Slayer Points compound through the Ascension Tree and a run held too long produces less than two shorter runs would have.
5. Chest Hunt is pure luck and the Bonus Stage is pure skill
Chest Hunt is pure luck and the Bonus Stage is pure skill. Clearing the Chest Hunt board, by picking every Random Box or by killing every Mimic, presents Perfect Chests that can hold a Permanent Upgrade or a Mega Multiplier.
6. Divinity Points come from prestiging Minions, so minion levels are a resource to spend rather than a total to protect
Divinity Points come from prestiging Minions, so minion levels are a resource to spend rather than a total to protect. There are seven Minions and four of them also feed Ascension Tree coin per second bonuses.
7. Keep Mental Calculator, Buckshot, Dark Projectiles, Hard Mode, Silver Death and Special Promise running once you can afford to
Keep Mental Calculator, Buckshot, Dark Projectiles, Hard Mode, Silver Death and Special Promise running once you can afford to. That set is the one most long term players never turn off.
8. An Excellent item multiplies all of its stats by 1
An Excellent item multiplies all of its stats by 1.25, so one Excellent piece is usually worth more than several ordinary ones at the same level. Check the tag before spending levels on anything.
9. Elemental options only pay where the matching enemies live
Elemental options only pay where the matching enemies live. The Boreas Longsword's Fire type Souls bonus and the Adranos Blade's Electric type option are both dead stats in the wrong dimension.
10. Astral Slayer costs 500 million Slayer Points and makes ASTRAL tagged upgrades survive Ultra Ascensions
Astral Slayer costs 500 million Slayer Points and makes ASTRAL tagged upgrades survive Ultra Ascensions. Some upgrades are ASTRAL LOCKED and stay inactive until you have completed an Ultra Ascension, so check the tags before planning a reset.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For White Knight (A-Tier):
- Focus on Auto running, jumping and Coins combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Adranos Blade
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Dark Wizard (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Kishar Greatsword
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Idle Slayer's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Auto running, jumping and Coins + Souls and the Skill Tree: The base loop is a side scrolling auto runner. Combined with Souls and the Skill Tree, every enemy drops coins, and once you buy the souls flask and soul gatherer upgrades they drop souls too.
Ascension and Ultra Ascension + Minions and Divinities: Ascension resets progress and converts it into Slayer Points spent in the Ascension Tree, which includes the Ascension CpS bonus that lifts your coin income permanently. When paired with Minions and Divinities, there are seven minions, unlocked roughly in the order white knight, dark wizard, stone golem, skeleton, slime monster, ninja and cyclops.
The Armory and Excellent gear scaling: The Armory holds equipment across several types including Swords, Shields, Staves, Bows and Armor, and each item can roll additional bonus options on top of its base stat. An item marked Excellent multiplies all of its stats by 1.25. Staves come from Armory Chests built by combining Astral Keys with Scrap, Spirit Boosts and Reptile Eyes, and Shields drop from treasure hunts once the matching Skill Tree node is unlocked.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Adranos Blade | Slayer Point farming, long offline sessions, and dimensions that actually contain Electric type enemies. | A sword whose base stat is Souls Bonus, giving a flat percentage improvement to soul gain. |
| Kishar Greatsword | Coin focused runs, Chest Hunt heavy play, and anyone chasing Emerald spawns. | A sword built around coin income rather than souls, granting coin per second scaled to Coin Potential. |
| Boreas Longsword | Dimensions with Fire type enemies, elemental focused farming, and as a swap in item rather than a permanent equip. | A sword whose base stat is a Fire type Souls bonus, with additional options for coin per second, general Souls bonus and more Fire type Souls. |
| Bow | Raising kills per second once collision damage alone stops keeping up, and any dimension where enemies are spread out. | An Armory weapon type that changes the loop rather than the numbers. |
| Staff | Mid and late game power, players sitting on crafting materials, and anyone told to level Shields and Staves before touching swords. | One of the higher value Armory types, generally levelled before swords. |
Location Efficiency
Mystic Valley (Early to mid Ascensions): One of the early portal destinations and a reliable soul farming spot once the Village is unlocked. Soul gains here sit roughly level with the Factory and Hot Desert at that stage, so the choice between them usually comes down to which quests you are trying to complete.
Hot Desert (Early to mid Ascensions): Another of the mid tier dimensions that becomes comparable to Mystic Valley and the Factory once the Village opens up. Its value comes from the specific enemies and materials it holds rather than from raw throughput.
Factory (Mid game, revisited later): A dimension you visit, outgrow and then come back to. Once your Armory and enemy unlocks have progressed far enough, the Factory becomes worth revisiting rather than being a stepping stone, and fully evolving its enemies is a long term goal.
Frozen Fields (Late game after enemy evolutions): Paired with the Factory as the dimension worth returning to after your unlocks catch up. Once every enemy there is fully evolved it becomes the most rewarding place to farm from that point onward, which is why long term players end up parked here.
Funky Space (Late game, high damage required): A late unlock and the dimension with the most rewarding enemies in the game, offset by how much health those enemies carry. It is a poor choice before your damage catches up and a strong one afterwards, which makes it a reasonable benchmark for whether your Armory is actually keeping pace.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Pouring everything into coin upgrades and neglecting the Souls Flask and Soul Gatherer, which leaves the Skill Tree unfunded and every later system locked.
- Holding a single run for far too long instead of ascending, so Slayer Points arrive in one lump rather than compounding across several resets.
- Performing the first Ultra Ascension with a thin Ascension Tree, which resets the layer that was doing the work and makes the rebuild take much longer than it needed to.
- Levelling swords before Shields and Staves, then discovering that an Adranos Blade past +9 was the wrong place for those resources.
- Farming Funky Space before your damage can handle its enemy health pools, where the high per enemy rewards are cancelled out by how slowly anything dies.
Pro Quick Tips
- Coins are the currency you see and Souls are the currency that matters. The Souls Flask and Soul Gatherer upgrades are what make enemies drop Souls at all, so buying them late slows the entire game down.
- Soul Reaper is the main multiplier on soul rewards, while the Ascension CpS bonus is the main multiplier on coin rewards. Knowing which one a given upgrade feeds saves a lot of wasted spending.
- The Skill Tree unlocks mechanics rather than only raising numbers, which is why it deserves priority over coin upgrades that vanish on the next reset.
- Start with Dark Wizard, switch to White Knight when ready
- Invest in Adranos Blade above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Mystic Valley → Hot Desert → Factory → Frozen Fields → Funky Space. See our maps guide
- Auto running, jumping and Coins + Souls and the Skill Tree together are stronger than either alone
More Idle Slayer Guides
- Idle Slayer Idle Slayer Overview
- Idle Slayer Best Builds
- Idle Slayer Tier List
- Idle Slayer Walkthrough
- Idle Slayer Beginner's Guide
- Idle Slayer Weapons Guide
- Idle Slayer Combat Guide
- Idle Slayer Boss Guide
- Idle Slayer Maps & Locations
- Idle Slayer Crafting Guide
- Idle Slayer Classes & Characters
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