Skul: The Hero Slayer is SouthPAW Games' action roguelite, out of Early Access on 21 January 2021. You play the lowest-ranking skeleton left standing after the Imperial Army and the Adventurers Guild sack the Demon King's castle, and your entire moveset lives in the skull on your shoulders. Carry two at a time, swap between them on a cooldown, and each swap completely changes how you attack. A run climbs five stages, from the Forest of Harmony up through the Grand Hall, the Black Lab and the Fortress of Fate to the Sanctuary, where the First Hero of Carleon is waiting.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Forest of Harmony | Two skull slots and swapping basics | Grim Reaper | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Grand Hall | Skull grades and awakening mastery | Grim Reaper | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Black Lab | Items, inscriptions and Quintessence + gear | Little Bone or Grim Reaper | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Fortress of Fate | Build optimization | Little Bone | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Sanctuary | Min-max | Little Bone or Living Armor | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Forest of Harmony)
The first stage, ending at Yggdrasil the Elder Ent. It is the gentlest stage and the one you will see most often, so it is where you should be experimenting with unfamiliar skulls rather than playing safe.
Level/Difficulty: Stage 1 of 5 Key Rewards: First skull swaps, early items, Dark Quartz for the Witch
What to Do in Forest of Harmony
- Learn Two skull slots and swapping. You hold two skulls and switch between them with one button on a short cooldown. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Grim Reaper as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- The swap is an attack. It deals damage and moves you, so weaving it into a combo rather than treating it as a menu action roughly doubles your effective damage in the early stages.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Rare items or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Two skull slots and swapping fundamentals
- Grim Reaper selected and functional
- Forest of Harmony main content cleared
- Ready for Grand Hall
Phase 2: Early Game (Grand Hall)
The second stage, guarded by the Leiana Sisters of the Gold Mane Knights. The fight runs in two phases, with the surviving sister awakening after the first goes down, and it is the first real filter on a run.
Level/Difficulty: Stage 2 of 5 Key Rewards: Mid-run item upgrades, bone fragments, the first difficulty spike
What to Do in Grand Hall
- Work on Skull grades and awakening. Skulls come in four grades, Common, Rare, Unique and Legendary, and the higher grade does more than raise numbers. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Rare items if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Destroy skulls you have no intention of using. Common skulls give 5 bone fragments, Rare 11, Unique 23 and Legendary 44, and fragments are the only currency Arachne accepts for awakening.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Black Lab.
- Consider whether Little Bone might suit your playstyle better than Grim Reaper.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Skull grades and awakening integrated into gameplay
- Rare items acquired
- Grand Hall fully cleared
- Ready for Black Lab
Phase 3: Mid Game (Black Lab)
The third stage, full of test subjects and ending at the Chimera, the Distorted Goddess. Crowds get dense here, which is where ranged skulls such as the Grim Reaper and Archlich start to pull clearly ahead.
Level/Difficulty: Stage 3 of 5 Key Rewards: Unique tier items, Quintessence upgrades, heavy Dark Quartz income
What to Do in Black Lab
- Master Items, inscriptions and Quintessence. Equipment items share the same four grades and stack effects called Inscriptions, so three items pushing the same Inscription is usually stronger than three unrelated items of higher rarity. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Common items. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Awakening a skull to Unique unlocks a second skill, which is a bigger jump than the grade name suggests. The cost ladder is 10 fragments to Rare, 30 to Unique and 100 to Legendary.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Dark Quartz traits for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Items, inscriptions and Quintessence mastered
- Common items acquired or in progress
- Black Lab fully cleared
- Ready for Fortress of Fate
Phase 4: Late Game (Fortress of Fate)
The fourth stage, ending at Saint Johanna II, Archbishop of the Order of Leonia. By this point a run either has a clear Inscription stack or it does not, and the fortress punishes the difference immediately.
Level/Difficulty: Stage 4 of 5 Key Rewards: Legendary drops, the last chance to fix a build before the Sanctuary
What to Do in Fortress of Fate
- Finalize your build. You should be running Little Bone or Grim Reaper with optimized gear.
- Common items should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Inscriptions stack. Three items feeding the same Inscription outperform three higher-rarity items pointing in different directions, so read the Inscription line before the rarity colour.
- Adventurers and stage bosses optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Sanctuary.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Common items upgraded to max
- Fortress of Fate fully cleared
- Ready for Sanctuary
Phase 5: Endgame (Sanctuary)
The fifth and final stage, ending at the First Hero, wielder of the Sword of Carleon. It is a pure test of whether your two skulls cover each other, because there is no safe distance the fight does not eventually close.
Level/Difficulty: Stage 5 of 5 Key Rewards: Run completion, the largest Dark Quartz payout, access to harder modes
What to Do in Sanctuary
- Sanctuary tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- You can only carry one Quintessence at a time. Choose it to cover what your skull pairing lacks rather than for raw power, which usually means an escape or a crowd reset.
- The endgame loop: run Sanctuary, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Living Armor for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Adventurers and stage bosses mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Sanctuary fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Carrying two skulls of the same kind. The swap cooldown exists to make you use both, and a pairing that covers two different problems clears far more than double the same idea.
- Hoarding unwanted skulls instead of destroying them. Bone fragments only come from breaking skulls, and Arachne cannot awaken anything without them.
- Buying Traits in all three categories at once. Costs rise with every purchase, so spreading Dark Quartz thin leaves you weak in the category you actually play.
- Picking up a Legendary item on sight. Several of the status-effect Legendaries do very little unless the run is already built around that status.
- Using the swap only to change skulls. It deals damage and repositions, and players who ignore that are leaving a free attack out of every combo.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- The swap is an attack. It deals damage and moves you, so weaving it into a combo rather than treating it as a menu action roughly doubles your effective damage in the early stages.
- Destroy skulls you have no intention of using. Common skulls give 5 bone fragments, Rare 11, Unique 23 and Legendary 44, and fragments are the only currency Arachne accepts for awakening.
- Awakening a skull to Unique unlocks a second skill, which is a bigger jump than the grade name suggests. The cost ladder is 10 fragments to Rare, 30 to Unique and 100 to Legendary.
- Inscriptions stack. Three items feeding the same Inscription outperform three higher-rarity items pointing in different directions, so read the Inscription line before the rarity colour.
- You can only carry one Quintessence at a time. Choose it to cover what your skull pairing lacks rather than for raw power, which usually means an escape or a crowd reset.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Skul: The Hero Slayer Guides
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Skul: The Hero Slayer Overview
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Best Builds
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Tier List
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Beginner's Guide
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Tips & Tricks
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Weapons Guide
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Combat Guide
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Boss Guide
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Maps & Locations
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Crafting Guide
- Skul: The Hero Slayer Classes & Characters
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