Slayer is one of the best skills to train in the game. For one, leveling up your Slayer skill allows you to also gain XP for your combat stats, including Attack, Strength, Defense, Ranged, Prayer, Magic, and Hit points (or Constitution).
More importantly, the OSRS community loves doing Slayer Tasks because they are very profitable, especially if one were to do them in an efficient manner.
Now, to be able to get Slayer Tasks, you have to talk to the different Slayer Masters in the game. But, with nine of them in Old School Runescape, how do you exactly know which ones are worth your time?
If you are looking for a good resource that tells you all about the Slayer Masters that are worth your while, then you have come to the right place! This is our ultimate guide for the best Slayer Masters in OSRS!
What Are Slayer Masters?
If you are already a veteran of the game, then you can skip this part. However, if you are a complete newbie, you definitely need to read this section of the guide.
A Slayer Master is an NPC in OSRS that assigns you certain tasks. These tasks involve killing monsters in various locations, some of which are those that cannot be attacked by people who do not have the appropriate Slayer skill level.
That said, there are nine different Slayer Masters in the game, namely Turael, Spria, Krystilia, Mazchna, Vannaka, Chaeldar, Konar, Nieve, and Duradel. Several of these NPCs will be replaced by people related to them after completing certain quests. But, for the purposes of this guide, we will only refer to the original NPCs to keep things simple.
The Basics
Before we disclose the best Slayer Masters in OSRS, we will discuss some crucial things about these NPCs.
Every Slayer Master, with the exception of Turael and Spria, rewards you with Slayer Points at the completion of every task.
Krystilia, sometimes referred to as the “Wilderness Slayer Master,” will only grant you points after completing a five-task streak. After that, you’ll gain 25 points for finishing a Slayer Task henceforth.
Speaking of streaks, there are “Task Milestones” where completing a set number of Slayer Tasks grants you a lot of Slayer Points as a result. These milestones occur every 10th, 50th, 100th, 250th, and 1000th task you complete.
Now, you might be asking what the Slayer Points are for. Well, they can be used for a variety of things, such as purchasing useful items for Slayer tasks, extending/blocking tasks, crafting Slayer Equipment, and unlocking certain upgrades, among others.
Best Slayer Masters in OSRS
With all of the important stuff out of the way, it is now time to disclose which of the Slayer Masters are worth your time, points, and effort. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Best Slayer Master for Early Leveling: Vannaka
Vannaka is a Slayer Master that you can find in the Edgeville Dungeon. He is the best when it comes to leveling your Slayer skill early on. Why? The tasks that he gives you are relatively easy to do and grant a good amount of XP at lower Slayer skill levels, such as killing Kalphites and Crocodiles.
You only need to be at Combat Level 40 before he assigns you certain things to do. Take note that the points he gives you after the completion of a task are rather low, but that is not what he is known for anyway.
Best Slayer Master for Raw Points: Krystilia
Krystilia is the ideal Slayer Master to get assignments from, especially if your goal is to get the most amount of points as efficiently as possible. The reason for this is that each task she gives you (after the initial five-task streak) rewards you with 25 Slayer Points.
In addition to the points that you’ll receive, killing monsters that have been assigned to you by Krystilia has a small chance of dropping a Larran’s Key. This can be used to open Larran’s Small Chest and Big Chest, which can be found near the Chaos Temple and Pirates’ Hideout in the Wilderness, respectively. Larran’s Big Chest, in particular, allows you to get pieces of Dagon’hai gear.
It is important to note that Krystilia’s tasks will have you slay monsters that are only within the Wilderness Area. Although you can find similar enemies in other places in Old School Runescape, eliminating them will not count toward your total.
Aside from that, because you can only finish tasks in the Wilderness, you could be a prime target for PK (aka player-killing). Pay close attention when going to where Larran’s Big Chests are. That’s because they’re most likely populated by those who engage in PvP.
Other than the apparent dangers, Krystilia is definitely the one to go for if you want to accumulate points in the fastest and most efficient way!
Best Slayer Master for Skipping Tasks: Turael
The first-ever Slayer Master that you encounter in the game is much more useful than you think. Even though he gives you insanely easy Slayer Tasks to complete, probably his biggest contribution to your Slayer leveling journey is the ability to reset tasks.
In order to do that, simply head to Burthorpe, talk to Turael, and then select “I need another assignment.” Keep in mind that doing this resets Krystilia’s task streak, so you’ll need to finish tasks in the Wilderness all over again.
Resetting tasks from Turael allows you to forego those that you deem either too tedious to complete or just not worth the time investment.
Best Slayer Master for Points Overall: Konar
Although Krystilia rewards you with a lot of Slayer Points per task, Konar is the best when it comes to gaining points from task streaks.
What other players usually do is complete nine assignments from Turael since they’re quite easy. Once they’re done, take the 10th task from Konar to fulfill the milestone and get bonus points in the process.
Similar to Krystilia, eliminating monsters that are assigned to you by Konar has a small chance of dropping Brimstone Keys. These keys are used to open the Brimstone Chests that are found near the said Slayer Master.
The Brimstone Chests may give you some rare items, such as Rune and Mystic Equipment, as well as common stuff you can sell for profit.
It should also be said that Konar is the only Slayer Master who assigns tasks that involve killing Hydras. These monsters, particularly the Alchemical Hydra boss, are some of the most profitable to kill in the entire game!
Best Slayer Master for AFK Tasks: Nieve
If you want a pretty chill and laid-back approach to leveling your Slayer skill, then you better talk to Nieve because she offers plenty of tasks that allow you to AFK. Some of the best ones are the Kurasks and the Bloodvelds in the Iorwerth Dungeon.
On top of that, Nieve is great when it comes to getting a ton of Melee EXP. In fact, you can easily get more than 80,000 XP/hr if you are fast enough.
Nieve assigns you tasks that involve killing Nechryaels as well. These demonic creatures are best known for providing a good amount of Slayer EXP, especially if you slay the Greater Nechryaels in the Catacombs of Kourend. They are also amazing for profit due to the items that they drop, including various seeds, runes, and gems.
During the events of the Monkey Madness II quest, Nieve will be replaced by her cousin, Steve. Do not worry because you will get the same tasks from the new Slayer Master regardless.
We recommend that you do whatever Nieve/Steve assigns to you starting at Combat Level 85 until you can interact with the last Slayer Master in the game.
Best Slayer Master: Duradel
The best Slayer Master overall is, of course, the last one that you can interact with. Duradel is the highest-level Slayer Master in OSRS. In order to get tasks from him, you have to train your Combat and Slayer skills to 100 and 50, respectively. Besides that, you should complete the Shilo Village quest since he is found in this particular area in the game.
Even though the Slayer tasks he gives do not grant the most amount of points, Duradel does assign you monsters that are incredible to kill in terms of profit.
In addition, he offers tasks that are “burstable” or those assignments that include monsters you can kill in one fell swoop. Some examples of this are the Smoke/Dust Devils and the previously mentioned Nechryaels.
Whether you are looking to train your Slayer skill in the most effective way or you want to earn a profit, Duradel has got you covered!
Slayer Master Tips
Armed with the knowledge of who the best Slayer Masters are in OSRS, it is now time to impart some tips on how you can best utilize their services. We actually have a ton of useful information for you, so strap yourselves in! Here are some handy tips that you should know about:
Skip or Block Tasks You Don’t Like
Completing Slayer tasks in Old School Runescape is all about efficiency. The faster you’re able to finish one assignment, the more you can get per hour.
Having said that, if you have accumulated enough points, do not forget to skip (cancel) or block the tasks that you don’t want to do.
In order to skip or block a task, you have to first get the assignment from the Slayer Master. Once you have it, talk to the NPC again and select “Tasks” from the “Slayer Rewards” section.
Skip (Cancel) Task
From there, you will see the appropriate buttons for skipping and blocking. The former costs 30 Slayer Points, while the latter requires you to spend 100 points.
Take note that skipping a task only lets you cancel your current assignment, meaning, Slayer Masters might offer it again in the future. It is only through blocking that you won’t be assigned that task anymore unless you change your mind and unblock it.
Block Task
Another thing that you need to remember is that you can only block seven tasks at a time. The first six can be unlocked by having enough Quest Points (QP) and the last slot requires you to complete the Elite Lumbridge & Draynor Diary achievement.
Blocked Tasks
Set Up Your Blocked Tasks Accordingly
In line with what was said above, you have to block certain assignments that you do not want to do. Since most assignments in the endgame come from Duradel, we recommend that you go to Duradel’s page on the wiki and sort his tasks based on weight. After that, block those that you do not want to do (that have the highest weighting) and leave the rest.
Get ‘Bigger and Badder’
As mentioned earlier in the guide, you can purchase suitable upgrades from the Slayer Masters. One such upgrade that you need to get as soon as possible is “Bigger and Badder” for 150 Slayer Points.
What Bigger and Badder does is it gives you a small chance for a “superior” monster to spawn while you’re on a Slayer task. Initially, you have a 1 in 200 chance to spawn a superior monster, though this increases when you have claimed the elite-tier rewards from the Combat Achievements system in OSRS.
Additionally, you’ll gain a 10% more chance for a superior slayer monster to appear when you’re on a Wilderness Slayer task.
It goes without saying that these creatures are tougher to beat than their normal counterparts. However, this comes with the promise of better EXP and rewards.
An example of a “Superior” Monster – Nechryarch
Use the NPC Contact Spell Often
When you finish the Lunar Diplomacy quest in Old School Runescape, you’ll be awarded with a nifty item called the Lunar Spellbook. This spellbook grants you the ability to cast spells by using astral runes.
One spell, in particular, that you should definitely use often is NPC Contact. As you can tell by its name, NPC Contact lets you interact with any non-playable character in the game wherever you are. This is quite helpful considering that some Slayer Masters are not easily accessible through normal means.
You will need 2x Air Runes, 1x Cosmic Rune, and 1x Astral Rune to cast NPC Contact.
Purchase ‘Convenience Items’ from the Slayer Masters
Although most of your Slayer Points will be spent skipping or blocking tasks, you must reserve some to buy items that provide you with a lot of convenience in the long run. The items in question are the Rune Pouch and the Herb Sack.
Why are they useful, you ask? Well, most of the monsters assigned to you will drop seeds and runes that can easily populate your inventory. The Rune Pouch and Herb Sack give you extra storage for these items, thus alleviating the need to go back to your player-owned house (PoH) or the Grand Exchange just to store them.
Do ‘Point Boosting’
You may have heard of the term before but are not exactly sure what it is. If that is the case, “point boosting” in OSRS is where you take the easiest Slayer tasks to accomplish until you only need to finish one to reach the next milestone.
In most instances, you finish nine tasks from Turael since they are quite easy to do. For the 10th task, get it from Konar.
Keep in mind that you cannot do this strategy with Krystilia because she assigns Slayer tasks that should only be done in the Wilderness and, therefore, has a different streak compared to other places in the game.
Finish ‘Burstable’ Tasks
There are certain Slayer monsters in the game that you can pile up on top of each other and burst them down with magic spells. The Dust Devils and Nechryaels are quite popular when it comes to this.
In order to line these enemies up properly, you must aggro them first by attacking with a ranged weapon. We recommend the Venator Bow for this because it has a passive effect where the arrow it fires can hit nearby enemies, assuming that you’re in a multicombat area.
Venator Bow
Once you have enough monsters chasing you, go to a corner and proceed to walk in an L-shaped pattern (up-left, right-down). Do this until the monsters are bunched up in a single tile, making them ripe for the picking!
Magic spells are the preferred method of killing them because they do a lot of damage and can hit multiple targets at once. We recommend the Ice Barrage for the reasons just stated, though any “burst” or “barrage” spell works. Furthermore, Ice Barrage can potentially freeze those that are hit with it.
Equip Magic Gear for Bursting
If you are going to “Burst” some tasks, make sure that you have the proper gear equipped. By this, we mean that you wear equipment that improves your magic damage and accuracy to make every spell count.
The pieces of gear from the Virtus or Ancestral sets are quite good. If they are too expensive for you, prayer-boosting gear can be used in the meantime, such as the Monk’s Robes or Proselyte Armour.
Complete Tasks Faster
Did you know that there is an item in Old School Runescape that allows you to kill a single monster but would sometimes count as killing two? Well, that item is called the Expeditious Bracelet. Wear this if you want to be done with a Slayer task that you do not like very much, all without spending Slayer Points to skip it.
Expeditious Bracelet
Make AFK Tasks Last Longer
If the Expeditious Bracelet allows you to finish Slayer tasks more quickly, then this next item does the exact opposite. That item is the Bracelet of Slaughter.
The Bracelet of Slaughter has a 25% chance for a kill to not count towards the total number of monsters that you were assigned to eliminate.
This item essentially lets you extend AFK tasks by up to 33%. Since you are reading our guide, we are going to let you in on a little secret.
The effect of the Bracelet of Slaughter only occurs the moment the Slayer XP appears. Hence, you can actually wear a different pair of gloves and only switch to the Bracelet of Slaughter at the exact server tick when you land the last hit.
Bracelet of Slaughter
The Multicannon is Your Best Friend
Another way to efficiently finish Slayer tasks in OSRS is by utilizing the Dwarf Multicannon. This unique ranged weapon can only be yours after completing the Dwarf Cannon quest.
The Dwarf Multicannon has a steep upfront cost of 750,000 coins, which includes several pieces needed to have this thing up and running.
Dwarf Multicannon
When you have the cannon’s base, stand, furnace, and barrels, all that’s left for you to do is to place it somewhere it can hit monsters without a hitch.
If you are using RuneLite, enable the aptly named “Cannon” plugin. This shows an icon on the tile that signifies the optimal placement for the multicannon.
Cannon Plugin UI
Useful Slayer Gear
In every battle, you should always come prepared. There are several Slayer Gear that you can bring with you in order to make your life easier. Chief among them is the Slayer Helmet, which is a headgear that grants the effects of six different items combined.
The main reason why you should use the Slayer Helmet is that it provides a melee boost of 16.67% similar to a regular Black Mask. This is the perfect headgear to wear when getting tasks from Nieve/Steve.
Slayer Helmet
Another piece of gear that you should consider bringing with you in your Slayer tasks is the Imbued Black Mask (or Black Mask (i)). This is essentially the upgraded version of the regular Black Mask. So, how is this version different from the original?
For starters, the Black Mask (i) grants a 15% bonus to both Ranged and Magic accuracy. These bonuses are in addition to the melee boost provided by the regular Black Mask (16.67%).
Moreover, the upgraded variant gets rid of the Magic and Ranged attack penalties that were inherent in the regular version, making it the ideal choice if you are going to wear this over the aforementioned Slayer Helmet.
Black Mask (i)
The Karuulm Slayer Dungeon is home to some of the most ferocious creatures in OSRS, including Wyrms, and the big boss, the Alchemical Hydra. This area is perilous and can easily kill those who are not prepared. Fortunately for you, this guide gives you the knowledge that you need to survive!
Anyway, to protect yourself from the extremely hot ground within the dungeon, you should wear the Boots of Brimstone. These are a pair of Slayer equipment that is created by using a Drake’s Claw on the Boots of Stone. You must have a Slayer skill level of at least 44, along with level 70 Ranged, Defense, and Magic to equip this particular footwear.
Boots of Brimstone
Lastly, you need to get your hands on leaf-bladed weaponry. This class of weapons enables you to deal damage to Kurasks, which is one of the most popular Slayer monsters in Old School Runescape.
After killing Kurasks enough times, you will be able to obtain the Leaf-bladed Battleaxe. This is hailed as the second strongest battleaxe in the game and one that is potent against the said enemy.
Final Thoughts
Slayer Masters are NPCs in OSRS that assign you certain tasks for points, EXP, and rewards. Training Slayer is one of the best things that you can do in the game, given that it offers so much for such a relatively low effort.
The best overall Slayer Master is, of course, Duradel since he can give you not only the Slayer tasks that provide the most EXP, but those that are quite profitable as well.
If you are into point boosting, Turael and Konar are the most ideal. Turael gives you the easiest Slayer tasks in the game, while Konar rewards you with huge bonuses per task milestone.
Additionally, Turael allows you to completely reset your tasks, though you have to be mindful when using this feature because it erases your current Wilderness Slayer task streak.
Speaking of which, when it comes to the biggest points awarded per assignment, no one can beat Krystilia. This is understandable, especially considering that her tasks are only doable in the Wilderness, where PKing is possible.
If you decide to do some chill gaming for a while, then Nieve/Steve are your best friends. They often have AFK Slayer tasks on offer. Just make sure to wear the appropriate gear when you are trying to accomplish the “burstable” assignments.
With all of that said, we hope that you have found our best Slayer Masters in OSRS guide very useful. Do not forget to bookmark this page for future reference. While you’re at it, pay a visit to our dedicated OSRS shop for all of your Old School Runescape needs!
