Slayer

Slayer is a members-only skill that allows players to kill otherwise-immune monsters. Slayer was introduced on 26 January 2005. Players go to one of six Slayer Masters to get a slayer task, and players gain Slayer experience for killing the monsters that they are assigned. The experience gained per monster is usually equal to the monster's hitpoints. Slayer experience is granted in addition to regular combat experience.

If more than one person is slaying the same monster, the experience is divided equally among or between them; for example, if two people slay a creature, one half goes to the person who does the most damage; the other half goes to the one who gets the last hit. There are currently 5,594 players with 99 Slayer as of 14 September 2009, including one with level 3 combat.

The Slayer skill can be very profitable since many Slayer assignments produce valuable items as drops, such as abyssal whips dropped by abyssal demons, and dark bows dropped by dark beasts. Generally, the more powerful the monster being slain, the more valuable the drops with only the most elite slayer monsters dropping anything truly noteworthy on it's own. Despite this, many Slayer monsters drop grimy herbs, and other useful and valuable items giving players an opportunity to train otherwise difficult to train skills such as Herblore, summoning, and crafting.

Slayer well noted is a proficient way to collect charms, which are a primary ingredient for training Summoning. It is rumored that conventionally acquiring level 99 Slayer will result in enough charms drops to reach as high as level 96 Summoning. This rumor may well depending on how you train Slayer (which master you use, for example) and if the player takes every charm dropped. Given the vast scope of making level 99 slayer, which entails earning over 13 million experience points in the skill with monsters giving on average, much less than 500 xp each, there may well a chance that a player may even accumulate enough charms to reach 99 Summoning through Slayer. Needless to say, proof of this feat is happily invited, and eagerly awaited.

Slayer is one of three skills that are not used in the Stealing Creation minigame; the list also including Firemaking and Farming. However, Slayer is a crucial aspect in the Soul Wars minigame. Penguin Hide and Seek and the Soul Wars minigame are alternative ways to gain Slayer experience.

Introduction
Players will be assigned tasks that require them to travel to areas around the world of RuneScape to kill various monsters. Some monsters require special equipment, such as Earmuffs for Banshees. Otherwise, players will find it difficult, if not impossible, to kill certain creatures. The idea of slaying monsters that have a special quality that makes them normally impervious to damage is similar to the various abilities Hercules and Perseus employed in Greek mythology.

The tasks given out by Slayer masters are usually relevant to the player's combat level and skill level. There are currently 6 slayer masters located around RuneScape.

All Slayer masters sell enchanted gems that allow players to contact their Slayer Master to ask for tips, where the masters are located, and how many monsters are left to kill. The gems cannot be used to get a new assignment; for that, the player must see a master in person, or by casting the NPC Contact spell. An alternative to the gem is a Slayer ring, which functions in the same way as the enchanted gem (and can also tell Slayer reward points), or by wearing a Combat bracelet that contains at least 1 charge left. After the charges are gone, players will not receive any more updates that would otherwise occur every 10 kills.

Karamja gloves 3 from the Karamja Diary allow very quick access to Duradel/Lapolok, the Shilo Village Slayer Master.

''Players who have not completed the Karamja Diary can teleport to Ardougne and pay 30 coins for the ship to Brimhaven. Just south from the arrival point is a cart that teleports the player next to the Shilo Village bank for 10 coins. This method is not much slower than using Karamja gloves 3.''

If player receive an assignment they do not wish to do, Turael in Burthorpe can give players an easier assignment if the current, unwanted assignment is something that Tureal does not also assign. For example, if Vannaka assigns a player banshees, then Turael cannot change their task, as he also assigns Banshees. However, if the number given is far greater than Turael would normally give, it is possible to change the player's task. For example, if Duradel assigns 140 or more Kalphite, then Turael will change this for another task (or a lower amount of Kalphite, randomly). However, it is not advised to do so because players will lose their streak of Slayer points. Under normal circumstances, players would use their points to change their task if they did not like it. All Slayer masters can assign the same types of monsters as the masters below them. As the difficulty of Slayer masters increases, there is a higher chance of getting a more difficult assignment. The masters are shown on the world map with a yellow skull icon.

Variations of monsters count towards some Slayer assignments, e.g., if a player has been assigned to kill blue dragons, they may instead slay baby blue dragons and still receive Slayer experience. Since the amount of experience received is often based on the monster's hitpoints, there are advantages (and disadvantages) to slaying the assignment with the most Hitpoints.

Killing Summoning familiars will not count towards a player's task. If a player kills any monster which they have been assigned inside a player-owned house, they will receive the message, "Monsters inside a player-owned house do not count towards your slayer target."

An update on 9 June 2009 made it impossible to get the same Slayer task twice in a row, after players complained of getting the same Slayer assignment multiple times.

Summoning familiars that assist the player during combat in multi-combat areas do not interfere with a Slayer task. The familiars will attack monsters that the player attacks and can damage them, but the monster's death counts towards the player's assignment even if the familiar delivers the deathblow. Using a familiar also bestows an advantage in that the monster will occasionally divert its attention from a player to instead attack the familiar. This can increase an individual's "staying time." If the familiar is relatively weak in relation to the target monsters, the familiar can be killed, which can be a nuisance if a player is counting on its abilities.

Slayer Masters
Six Slayer masters live in RuneScape; each master gives assignments oriented towards a general range of combat levels. Slayer Masters have now been given a right-click ‘Get-task’ option to speed things up a bit. You can also find out how many more kills you need with a right-click option on enchanted gems, which will even work if you are currently in combat. Kalphites are the only monster that can be given out by every Slayer master. Black Demons are a common Slayer task for the higher Slayer Masters, but they can be annoying to kill, and players may like to block them permanently for 100 Slayer Points.

During the quest While Guthix Sleeps, Turael and Duradel are killed by Lucien. Because of that, two new Slayer masters appear as substitutes, Spria and Lapalok. Between the recruiting and return of Mazchna, there is also another Slayer master to replace Mazchna.

End of spoilers. 

Additionally, those who have completed Lunar Diplomacy can use the spell NPC Contact (67 Magic required), which allows players to instantly contact any Slayer master and request a new assignment, assuming they have the prerequisite combat level to use that master.

After the release of While Guthix Sleeps, if a player would talk to Turael (for those who had not completed the quest) and ask for tips, his name in the chat box would appear as "slayer_master_1_multi". This has since been fixed by Jagex.

Slayer Equipment
All Slayer masters operate a Slayer equipment shop that sells various tools and weapons for use against certain monsters they assign. All Slayer masters offer the same shop as well as the same prices.

Slayer monsters
On 5 June 2008, many Slayer monsters had an unannounced graphical update. Players with an already assigned task on this date would receive the message, "We seem to have lost your records in our recent reshuffle", from their Slayer master when contacted through the Slayer gem. The Abyssal demons, Cave Horrors, and Dark beasts did not receive a graphical update; however, they had previously been updated. Gargoyles have a new ‘Smash’ option when they're near death to allow you to more easily finish them off with a rock hammer.

Boosts
Potions and food Equipment
 * A Slayer's respite will boost Slayer by 1 level. It can be brewed using the Cooking skill beginning at level 59.
 * A Mature Slayer's respite will boost Slayer by 2 levels. It can be brewed using the Cooking skill beginning at level 59.
 * A Wild pie will boost Slayer by 5 levels. This can be made at level 85 Cooking.
 * A Black mask will boost both Attack and Strength by 15% while fighting monsters that have been assigned by a Slayer Master. They can be obtained by fighting Cave Horrors in a cave on Mos Le'Harmless, or by buying them from other players. When meleeing Cave Horrors, a Witchwood Icon and light source is required. The masks have a number of charges, represented by a number following the item title, (eg; black mask(10), black mask(3), ranging from 1-10). When the player still has charges, he or she will sometimes have his or her opponent's Defence decreased. Each time this effect randomly takes place, the player will lose one charge. When Black masks lose all their charges, they have no number. There is no known way to recharge them at this time. Black masks with no charges retain their Attack and Strength boosts.
 * The Salve amulet is a reward from the Haunted Mine quest, which boosts Attack and Strength by 15% when fighting any undead monster, such as Aberrant Spectres, Banshees, and Shades. The player can enchant it by defeating Tarn Razorlor and using the book obtained on the amulet. A Salve amulet (e) gives a 20% bonus to Attack and Strength. The bonuses of the amulets do not stack with the effect of a Black mask.
 * Dragon slayer gloves can be purchased for 200 Fist of Guthix tokens from Reggie (the owner of Fist of Guthix Rewards Shop), giving 15% more Slayer experience and a 10% Attack bonus when worn while slaying dragons as part of an assigned slayer task. These boosts stack with the Black mask and Slayer helm. They will crumble to dust after killing 1,000 assigned dragons while wearing the gloves.

Slayer reward points
On 6 June 2008, Jagex released Smoking Kills, which released many new rewards that can be bought with Slayer reward points. Slayer reward points are earned by completing 5 or more tasks in a row without having a task changed by Turael, however a player is allowed to cancel a task by using 30 points. Every 10th and 50th task, a special bonus is given to the player's slayer reward points, the bonuses also differ in points to each Slayer master. Duradel for example, tasks 1-4 earn no points, tasks 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 70, 80 and 90 earns 75 points, task 50 and 100 earns 225 points and all other tasks earn 15 points. Slayer reward points are only accessed after smoking kills.

The rewards that can be bought with these points include Slayer experience, a Slayer ring, the ability to combine all Slayer headgear into one item, the Slayer helmet, and even the ability to buy monsters off a player's task list forever.

Since getting good tasks worth keeping isn't guaranteed, it is suggested that players get their first four kills on the Slayer master Mazchna, and then get any other kills from there on higher masters like Duradel.

After getting 4 or more tasks in a row, Slayer masters will hand out points when players finish their tasks. The number of points varies as the difficulty of the Slayer master increases.

After earning enough points, players will be able to buy rewards with them.

The Slayer helmet combines the stat boosting qualities of the Black mask with the protective slayer headgear facemask, nosepeg, earmuffs, and Spiny helmet, with the defence bonuses of a Rune full helm; making it the best melee helmet option for slayers. This allows for monsters like aberrent spectres and dust devils to be killed while having the bonuses of the 15% attack and strength increase.