Without question the most powerful character trait in Slasher's Keep is Strength. Effecting both Damage dealt and Hit Points. With stat points in short supply, when you first start out, skills can help make the game easier and your character more powerful.

With so many skills in Slasher's Keep it can get a little overwhelming. Here are recommendations, condemnations, and the complete list of all skills to help guide your journey.

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Well you clicked on the purple skill book and there's no skills to learn. How do you learn the good skills? Access to new Skills is granted from one of the following methods:

• Attached to items you find as loot or buy at the vendor
  
• Earned at random for leveling up
  
• Quest Reward from Wall Face
  
• Drinking a potion that grants a Permalearn skill
  
• First Touch of a Demon Shrine (Only found in Game+)
  
• Added to an Item via Scroll use

The bulk of the time it's going to be from the first in the list: Items. To permalearn a skill you must be wielding/wearing an item with that skill. You can then spend a skill point on it. After that you can discard the item. Some skills are 'soft' gated and improbable to find at early/low levels.

You gain a skill point every other character level or by drinking a Brain Freeze potion.

This guide rates skills using the rarity color system of Slasher's Keep. From Rare to Common: Red, Purple, Blue, Green, Grey.

• Red: Vital Skills. If you don't have them it severely hampers game play. These should be acquired first. Bank an extra skill point or two until you permalearn them.
  
• Purple: Powerful skills. Excellent use of skill points.
  
• Blue: Good skills worth consideration.
  
• Green: Mediocre skills. They provide a benefit. Sometimes situational. Sometimes item-type specific.
  
• Grey: avoid. Skills that waste skill points providing little to no useful benefits, when compared to other skills. Also skills that make the game harder.

Skills you should get as soon as possible. Keep Skill Points in reserve until you can. Listed in order of importance:
Deflect
1 Level. Grants you the ability to block ranged damage. Changes. The. Game. Vital to get one permanent level in this skill. The ability to block Blood Spit, Fire Spit, Energy Orbs, and Wand Spam creates a new style of game play. Doesn't block Ice Beams but Ice Beams don't do damage.
Golden Tongue
1 Level. First item purchased from the Vendor is free. Needs only one skill point to get this perk. Quite often there's only one good item for sale. With this skill you no longer have to scrounge every coin. You can stop backtracking through whole levels picking up trash loot to sell to the Vendor. Allows you to start investing in Empty Bottles, where you can mix up crazy power.
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Artisan
2 Levels. Allows you to craft more components to your custom weapon. For a total of 6 slots for the first level and 8 for the second. More items used in crafting = more damage, higher stats, and more skills.
Wandslinger
1 Level. Prevents the wand you wield from breaking when using the last charge. Allows you to recharge a depleted wand. At the very least sell it to the vendor with zero charges on it. If you have an Empty Bottle you can mix up Wand Fighter's Resolve to permalearn a level.

Powerful skills. Not to be missed. Listed in order of importance:
Improved Sack Smack
1, 2, or 3 levels. Sack swings allow you one-hit all non-bosses if positioned correctly near a spike wall, bottomless pit, or trap. With Improved Sack Smack you can one-hit without having to position so precisely near the hazards. 1 to 3 skill points will do you nicely here. If you have an Empty Bottle you can mix up Nog Punch to permalearn a level.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902593328
Riposte
2, 3, or 5 levels. You parry a bunch on your journey through Slasher's Keep. You can't one-hit everything so you'll rely on parry to keep you from dying. This skill allows you to do extra damage on your next attack after a parry. 36.1% for level two, 51.1% for level three, 75.1% for level five. Why not just one level? You only have 1.9 seconds to land your attack at level one. Often too fast for Mace wielders.
Melee Life Steal
1 to 2 Levels. Maybe more. One of the few skills that don't have a logarithmic drop off. Provides exactly 0.4% of your melee attack damage as healing per skill level. Even if that hit was overkill. Land a Face, Crit, to an enemy with only 1 hitpoint? Doesn't matter. Here's the full healing. Heal yourself by hurting others. Depending on how good you are at parrying attacks determines how many levels you need.

Good skills. Consideration should be given to the following skills, listed in alphabetical order:
Gourmet
3 levels. That third level in Gourmet bumps up HP gained from food by 52.8%. That includes the bugs you can eat. Like parsnips, with legs. Another source of healing. Eating spiders does something else.
Heavy Blows
1, 2, or 3 levels. Allows you to wind up a hit doing extra damage (9.5%, 18.0%, 25.5%). Takes a second, literally, but it's easy to hold down the attack button while closing the gap or climbing stairs to the next mob.
Quickstriker
1, 2, or 3 levels If you can't one-hit kill an enemy you're going to be doing the parry - light swing -light swing rhythm game. Quickstriker makes those attacks more powerful (9.9%, 18.7%, 26.2%). If you have an Empty Bottle you can mix up Quivering Quail to a permalearn a level.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902593328

Mediocre skills. They're okay, and provide a benefit. Often situational. If a skill is not listed as a Red, Purple, Blue, or Grey, it's Green.
Everything Else
Provides positive benefits.






Note: Be wary of all the various wand skills:

• Arcanist (Arcane, i.e. stars pew pew)
  
• Assault Wands Expert (Piercing)
  
• Cryomancer (Ice)
  
• Force Knight (Kinetic)
  
• Pyromancer (Fire)
  
• Stormtamer (Lightning)

They're not bad. You'll often change wand types escaping Slasher's Keep. It'd be a shame to burn skill points on a wand type you have out leveled and can't find a replacement. FYI, As you move into Game+ and Infinite modes you'll start to gravitate toward Lighting Wands.

Skills you should avoid. Complete wastes of skill points. In alphabetical order:
Arachnophile
There are so many other ways to recharge a wand that spending valuable skill points here wastes them. Also, as you move up to the Keep and Library Biomes there are a lot less spiders. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Arachnophile.
Bomberperson
As new character, grenades are great. But that's exactly when you don't have a lot of skill points to spare. By the time you have points to spend on Bomberperson you're to the point where you don't use grenades anymore. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Bomberperson.
Exothermic Shrinomancy
Explodes shrines a second after activating them. Sometimes it'll kill you. Sometimes it'll hurt you. Sometimes it'll kill your enemies. A skill you have to deal with when wielding powerful items. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Exothermic Shrinomancy.
Kinetic Parry
Waste of Points. Not because knocking back enemies isn't great. It is. It's that if you're trying to kill enemies with knock back you should be using the Sack and the Improved Sack Smack skill. Not pushing back melee close enemies with a parry. Put points in Riposte or Improved Sack Smack instead. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Kinetic Parry.

Irony: If you follow my Bottle guide and boost your Strength to insane levels in an Infinite Dungeon, you'll need Kinetic Parry to complete the Wall Face quest: spike two enemies at once 3 times. Your sack smack will hit so hard that it'll kill both mobs before they touch the spikes. This skill'll do it without adding a Strength Bonus.
Mace Knockback
Waste of Points. Not because knocking back enemies is useless, far from it. Knockback can one-hit all non-bosses in the game when used correctly. It's because knocking back enemies should be done with the Sack and the Improved Sack Smack skill. Not the tiny bumps Mace Knockback gives. Put points in Improved Sack Smack or Riposte instead. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Mace Knockback.
Master Disassembler
Yes, I realize other guides highly recommend this skill. Either they've never used this skill and think it works just like it reads in the description, or they're recommending it based on a misunderstanding. You can have 0 levels in this skill and still disassemble custom crafted weapons getting all components back. At low levels 1-5 it turns weapons into components that you'd normally just leave on the ground if dropped from other loot sources. Example: Turns a blue sword into a single grey hilt. At moderate levels 6-10 provides the same components as before just more of them. At extremely high levels, like 333, turns a red weapon into 3 blue blade components and 4 or so blue miscs. Total waste of points. Better results come from throwing your scrap weapons on to the Altar Chair of Sacrifice. ALL HAIL THE CHAIR! Plus, the Altar accepts all kinds of items, not just weapons and doesn't take any skill point to work better. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Master Disassembler.
Mind Blast
The damage done is just a flat number that doesn't scale as you become more powerful and the enemies harder. By the time you have spare points to spent on this skill, your enemies scaled beyond this doing any meaningful damage. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Mind Blast.
Scrap Collector
Once again, other guides seem to love this skill. I think they just read the description and liked the idea, but never actually used the skill. Forces you to "E" bodies for a small chance to get a grey item. Rarely, it'll be green. You'll get a blue about as often as you get struck by lightning. Most often, you get nothing. Higher levels aren't any better. At skill level 370, you get a 94.0% chance to find a grey/green item and a 6% chance to get nothing. Do NOT spend skill points leveling Scrap Collector.

Great ways to spend skill point in Game+ mode. Listed in alphabetical order:

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Artisan
Up to level 10, if you can. Allows you to craft more components to your custom weapon. Frees you from relying on items to boost Artisan.

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Gemstone Fury
Takes a bit of planning to get. So worth that extra damage added to crafted weaponry. You don't spend a skill point on this. You have to earn it another way.

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Melee Life Steal Up to Level 5. Heal by hurting others. Great way to keep topped up.

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Liked Slasher's Keep so much you don't want to leave. Okay Stockholm. Skills to prioritize on your climb up the infinite. In alphabetical order:

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Bloodlust
21 levels. Not for the extra damage; for the additional time added to killstreaks. Allows you to rack up XP faster. The time extension caps at skill level 21.

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Cryomancer
1 level, only. Gives Cryomastery additional powers. But you must have one level in Cryomancer to quality.

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Iron Skin
20, 30, or 98 levels. As you get to dungeon floors over 400, you'll require this skill to continue. Almost everything will be able to 2-hit you. Being invulnerable keeps you vertical when locked in a room with 12 baddies. At level 98 Iron Skin will proc 100%; you can't be damaged.

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Melee Life Steal
10 levels. At high dungeon floors you'll have so much Health that HP potions won't heal you. Example: At character level 193, almost every enemy will be able to 2-shot you, Red Potions heal for ~5027 and you have 10,578,270,000 health. If you drink 10 potions per second it would take you 29 hours 15 minutes to heal half your health. 1,052,150 potions. Only this skill can heal you.

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Pyromancer
1 level, only. Gives Pyromastery additional powers. But you must have one level in Pyromancer to quality.

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Spectral Blades
5, 10, 25 levels. The higher the level the more often you'll Proc doing 33% damage to all enemies around you. Great skill for infinite. High numbered levels have rooms with many enemies.

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Sword Speed
15 levels. Once you commit to the transition to Cryomastery and Pyromastery you'll swap out to a short sword. Level 15 is where the skill caps out at letting you swing faster.

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There are a several great skills for Infinite Dungeons that I love, but don't recommend spending skill points on. Reason: loot will drop loaded with high levels of these skills. So don't spend valuable skill points when you get 'em for 'free'. As examples, I've included what skill levels my 193 level character, Gwen, has when she reached floor 639. In random order:

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Mastersmith
Great skill. High damage.

• Gwen's equipment gave her 328 levels of Mastersmith for a 70.2% boost

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Improved Lunge
Lovely power adder for short swords.

• Gwen's equipment gave her 364 levels of Improved Lunge for 211.6% bonus fire damage.

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Golden Tongue
Everything's on sale!

• Gwen's equipment gave her 355 levels of Golden Tongue making the vendors items 1775.0% cheaper.

You'll end up buying everything that isn't grey in order to toss it on the Altar Chair of Sacrifice. ALL HAIL THE CHAIR!

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Cryomastery
Crazy Elemental Damage Boost

• Gwen's equipment gave her 389 levels of Cryomastery increasing Ice Damage by 39600.0% That's not a typo.

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Pyromastery
Crazy Elemental Damage Boost

• Gwen's equipment gave her 347 levels of Pyromastery increasing Fire Damage by 35300.0% That's not a typo.

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Fiery Shots
Pairs really well with a Lighting Wand. More damage than Melee.

• Gwen's equipment gave her 368 levels of Fiery Shots; dealing 299.7% more damage.

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Spectral Mastery
Hadouken! Great skill with a short-sword. Spam, high damage, ranged shots, all over.

• Gwen's equipment gave her 331 levels of Spectral Mastery; 175.7% of melee damage.

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Skills you can only get by starting a specific character origin. You get one randomly assigned when you start a new character.

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Backstabber

Your sneak attacks do 25% more damage.

Crafty

You are able to add 2 more components when crafting.

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Charger

Your sprint-attacks do 25% more damage.

Exotic Martial Arts

Melee attack speed increased by 5.0%
SPOILERS BELOW. SPOILERS BELOW. SPOILERS BELOW. SPOILERS BELOW.

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Demon

Vampiroid

Each melee hits heals you for 5% damage dealt. Playing as Demon you will 100% start with this skill.

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Undead

Carnivore

Allows you to devour the corpses of fallen enemies to restore 2% of your maximum health

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Jellyman

Cold Fusion Metabolism

Your wands have their capacity increased by 10%.

Consume Corpse

Allows you to consume the corpses of fallen enemies for a chance to restore a small amount of ammunition to your equipped wand.

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Sasquatch

Brutish Vigor

Adds 15.0 knockback to every melee swing.

Omnivore

Increases the effect of potions by 35%

Special Strength

Melee critical strike damage bonus increased by 50.0%

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SPOILERS ABOVE. SPOILERS ABOVE. SPOILERS ABOVE. SPOILERS ABOVE.

Sorry about all the sections below. Steam guides limit the number of characters per section (8000?). Table formatting uses a lot of characters to get things looking good. </excuses> Here is the list of all skills in Slasher's Keep:

You've discovered the arcane secret of the spiders living in these halls. Their acidic blood holds magical power which can be harnessed through oral consumption. They still taste terrible though.

Eating a spider will restore a small amount of ammunition to your wand. Higher skill levels increase the amount gained.

The art of the arcane has always been an interest of yours. Now you are finally finding ways to unlock its secrets.




Allows you to charge your arcane shots. This is done by pressing and holding the attack button while using an arcane wand. Charged shots deal up to XDamage% more damage. Increases arcane magic damage by YDamage%.

Countless hours of studious practice have awarded you the proficiency to hammer even more things together.




Allows you to attach XExtraSlots extra component(s) when crafting, boosting total components allowed to craft together up to YTotalSlots. Leveling this skill beyond 10 does nothing.

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Days of meditation have revealed to you an important insight: You have a deep-seated passion for riddling people and things with holes.

Increases accuracy by XAccurate% when firing piercing projectiles. Increases piercing magic damage by YDamage%.

Hacking and slashing your way through the depths has honed your axe combat skills. Your attacks become more lethal.




Increases chance to crit with axes by XProc%. Increases axe damage by YDamage%.

Your weapon once cursed has now been cleansed by the gods and given a divine duty to spread well-being among all creatures of the land.



Parrying heals you for 3.0% of your maximum HP and all nearby enemies for 50.0% of their maximum HP. (Diminishing returns per enemy)

Note: You read that correct. It heals your enemies.

Note: Only seen on Swords (not short)

Unusual Skill Acquiring this skill requires you to toss a weapon with the Cursed Weapon skill onto the Altar Chair of Sacrifice. ALL HAIL THE CHAIR! The chair'll kick it back to you with the Blessed Weapon skill. You can NOT spend skill points to permalearn Blessed Weapon.

After initial difficulties accepting the cruelty of your actions you are now beginning to accept their necessity. Every kill seems a bit easier than the last.



Killstreaks now increase your melee and ranged damage by XDamage% per kill. Slows down the killstreak timer by YTime%. Bonus lost when killstreak ends.

Note: YTime% caps out at skill level 21.

The blood of the great magi flows through your veins. You don't know how it got there but you know it extends your magic wand's charge capacity.



Your wand's maximum capacity is increased by XMagic%.

Note: Levels beyond 10 provide no additional benefit.

Some men are said to be such skilled bombers, they can fill entire corridors with fire from bombs they conjure in their hands. You're not quite there yet but your bombs do seem to get more and more powerful.

Grenade splash radius is increased by XRadius%. Grenade damage increased by YDamage%.

Your weapon has been enchanted with the power of the Oolian tempest. Every blow you deal will electrify the air around you, striking arcs from one foe to the next.


Each swing has a 100% chance to deal 30.0% melee damage to up to 4.0 nearby enemies. Melee speed is reduced by 40.0%

Unusual Skill Acquiring this skill requires you to loot or buy a weapon with the Charged Weapon skill. It can not be found on weapon components, thus you can not craft a Charged Weapon. You can NOT spend skill points to permalearn Charged Weapon.

Note: Only seen on Axes

Note: Spectral Blades has a similar effect. It Proc's less often, does more damage, and no reduction in melee speed.

You wield an ancient weapon of great power. In ages past heroes of legend would wield it, vanquishing formidable foes. Unfortunately it nears the end of its life.


Your weapon will crumble with each hit until it eventually falls apart.

Unusual Skill: Acquiring this skill requires you to find a weapon with the Crumbling Weapon skill on it. You might even find one at the vendor. If it's a mace and you want to keep it, mix up some Oil of Mending with an Empty Bottle before it breaks.

Note: Only seen on Maces
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You've grown accustomed to the radiant cold of your magic wand. The freezing power within now seems to draw strength from your very being.



Ice damage has a WProc% chance to slow your target's movement and attack speed by XSlow% for YTime seconds. Ice damage increased by ZDamage%.

You've been gripping your icy weapon so long you've gotten over the pain and even the numbness. You've conquered the cold and now you can bend it to your will.


Your melee ice damage has a random proc chance of 0%. Instead every fifth hit is a guaranteed proc with a ice damage increase of XDamage%. If you're a Cryomancer your opponent will also be frozen.

Your weapon has been cursed by the God of Blood. It holds great power, the kind that come with a blood price. Your strikes will readily cut down your foes but at the same time they will drain your own life force.

Each melee hit will deal 10.0% of the damage dealt back to you.

Unusual Skill Acquiring this skill requires you to find a weapon with the Cursed Weapon skill on it. You might even find one at the vendor. If it's a longsword you can wipe some Purifying Rub you've mixed up with an Empty Bottle removing the curse. Or consider tossing it onto the Altar Chair of Sacrifice. ALL HAIL THE CHAIR! The chair'll kick it back to you with the Blessed Weapon skill. You can NOT spend skill points to permalearn Cursed Weapon.

Note: Only seen on Swords (not short)
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A keen eye for incoming projectiles and a quick weapon hand allow you to block ranged attacks and eventually even to bat them back.



Level 1: Allows you to deflect projectiles with your melee weapon. (Use Block)
Level 2: Allows you to bat (Use Attack) projectiles in the direction you're facing. Accuracy increases with skill level.
Level 3: Redirected projectiles deal XDamage% more damage.
Level 5: Parrying projectiles now deflects them into the direction you're facing. Accuracy increases with skill level.

*help needed to fill out this table.

In the woods of Ool there lived a wildman named Ruprecht. Once a year, when night was at its darkest, he would emerge from his hovel and creep through neighboring villages, giving gifts to well-behaved youths. The naughty ones however he would beat half to death with his rod. That divine duty is now yours.

XGift% chance on hit to spawn a gift.

Note: Each mob will only drop a limited number of gifts. So you can't just poke at one with a rusty spear and get 250 "gifts". You can spend skill point upgrading this skill.

Obscure Skill You must find the mace named Ruprecht's Righteous Rod. Drops only around December Solstice. Cheese this by changing your system clock. I was able to get Ruprecht's Righteous Rod to drop from Ava about 25% of the time. Other's have had it drop from the Spider Queen and Chests in Bindrick's Study Arena.


*XGift% values calculated. Verification needed.

Hardships such as the ones you endure have reduced many an adventurer to a whimpering mess. You on the other hand take each blow you're dealt as a challenge to fight harder.


When your HP are below 33.3% your melee damage is increased by XDamage%, the lower your HP the higher the damage.

Born during a thunderstorm you've always felt the quickening power of lighting in your bones. In times as desperate as these it tends to come out to aid you in your struggle.


Each swing has XProc% chance to deal an additional YDamage% in lightning damage.


*XProc% and YDamage% values calculated. Verification needed.

You've become so ravenous in your consumption of magical replenishments that you rip a void into the fabric of magicity whenever you absorb a large amount of magicka.

Shrines explode upon use. Leveling this skill provides no additional effect.

During the great spider infestation of the fifteenth cycle of the second age of king Oodic had himself a weapon made that would cleanse the capital. Infused with the enteral fire of Gno'fethul the Exterminator makes short works of creepy crawlies, and most other creatures as well.

Each melee hit causes a wall of flames engulfing enemies in an arc in front of you dealing fire damage equal to 30% of your melee damage. Melee speed reduced by 20%

Unusual Skill Acquiring this skill requires you to find The Exterminator mace. It only drops from the Spider Queen. So if you really want this skill, get ready to save-scum. You can NOT spend skill points to permalearn Exterminate! and therefore must wield The Exterminator to retain it.

The crystals that power your wand have made connection with the fires of the beyond. Some of your discharges will be enveloped in flame.



Your shots will be enhanced with fire in regular intervals, dealing XDamage% more damage.

Note: Wand charges in the lower right corner of the GUI indicate which shots will be fiery.

Magical flames envelop your weapon. Sometimes your swings will have them lashing out at your foes causing additional fire damage.



XProc% chance to inflict YDamageMin - ZDamageMax fire damage with each melee attack.

Note: There is no set formula or table lookup for how this skill adds up XProc% and YDamageMin - ZDamageMax. Each item, potion, and skill point, spent on this skill seems to add varying amounts of chance and damage. Higher level and Rarer components tend to have greater number values but still only add one level to the skill. The XProc% chance maxes out at 20%. Does less damage than the Ice Damage skill at the same Level/Rarity.

The netherfires follow you wherever you go, silently observing your combat prowess from the void. Every so often when your swings excite them, they mark the ground you tread with flaming footprints.

Your every step sets the ground on fire. (Lava Treaders)

or

XProc% chance on hit; Flamewalk for YTime seconds. (not Lava Treaders)

Unusual Skill Acquired two ways. First by wearing Lava Treaders boots which gives you Permanent Flamewalking. Second, from other high level items with the skill. You can invest skill points in this skill, but it will not give you Permanent Flamewalking unless you wear the boots.

The mysterious force enveloping all things in this world begins to reveal its secrets to you. Meditation and rigorous training equip you with a heightened sense of control over it.


Using kinetic wands you may now lift and throw objects that are XWeight% heavier and push with YForce% greater force. Thrown objects and kinetic pushes deal ZDamage% more damage.

"Each one of us alone may be weak but together we can bring any foe to heel.", so say the Amazons. Some say the jewel on your weapon is their collective resolve made manifest.


A weapon crafted with the Jewel of the East has its damage increased by 3.0% for each gem on it.

Note: The crafted item must be of the the type Component: Gem to earn the bonus. This includes itself, Jewel of the East, and if you run through a second time, Jewel of the West. Component: Misc, Hilt, Crossguard, Blade, etc. do NOT add to the bonus. With 10 levels in Artisan and 14 Gems, your weapon will do an extra 42.0% damage on top of the extra damage Mastersmith gives you.

Note: It is possible to have Jewel of the East and Jewel of the West on the same weapon.

Unusual Skill Requires you to find Jewel of the East component: gem. It only appears in Game+ mode afterdefeating Bindrick and exiting Slasher's Keep with Ava's unconscious body in your inventory. Not dead. Unconscious. (Hint: break the two columns) She's thick so you won't be looting much from Bindrick's Lair. Start a new run with the same character in Game+ mode and the Gem'll be in your inventory when you wake in your cell.

A good king inspires and empowers his subjects, helping each one reach his or her potential. Such were the words King Onderic I lived by. Some say his spirit was bound to a gemstone so that even in death he might continue to elevate his people.

Gems on the same weapon as the Jewel of the West have their elemental damage proc chance increased by 100%. Also raises the proc chance cap to 40%. Pyromastery and Cryomastery have their proc interval shortened by 1 hit.

Note: The crafted item must be of the the type Component: Gem to earn the bonus. This includes itself, Jewel of the West, and if you run through a second time, Jewel of the East. Component: Misc, Hilt, Crossguard, Blade, etc. do NOT get the bonus. The "proc chance increased by 100%" means that if a Gem proc's Fire 7.0% it'll be boosted to 14.0%.

Note: It is possible to have Jewel of the East and Jewel of the West on the same weapon.

Unusual Skill Requires you to find Jewel of the West component: gem. It only appears in Game+ mode afterdefeating Bindrick and exiting Slasher's Keep with Ava's dead body in your inventory. Not unconscious. Dead. (Hint: knock her on to the spikes when she loses both swords) She's thick so you won't be looting much from Bindrick's Lair. Start a new run with the same character in Game+ mode and the Gem'll be in your inventory when you wake in your cell.

You've mastered the art of the deal. Wicked wit and ruthless conversational strategies allow you to dominate transactions and reap huge benefits.



The first item at each vendor location is free. All other vendor items are XDiscount% cheaper.

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Feeding on the jailers' leftovers has given you a greater appreciation for their nuanced flavors and a hardened stomach that can better extract their nutrients.


Eating restores XHeal% more HP. Drinking has a YDrink% higher chance of restoring a small amount of ammunition to your wand.

Note: you can eat bugs. Like a parsnip, with legs. Another source of healing. Eating spiders does something else, see Arachnophile.

Aside from the monsters that swell in Slasher's Keep the dungeon holds many dangers of its own. Sadistic traps line its wall. Liquid fire fills its veins. With nimble feet and an iron will you have learned to avoid and withstand such torment.
Reduces environmental damage by XReduce%.

Your combat experience provides you with the calm to aim your blows with supreme precision and mortal might even in the face of great danger.



Hold the attack-button to charge your next swing. Charged swings deal XDamage% more damage.

Note: Takes one second to charge up a Heavy Blow. Stacks with Improved Lunge and Whirlwind Strike.

Your weapon is coated in a thin layer of freezing energy, painful to the touch. Some of your swings will cause additional ice damage.




XProc% chance to inflict YDamageMin - ZDamageMax ice damage with each melee attack.

Note: There is no set formula or table lookup for how this skill adds up XProc% and YDamageMin - ZDamageMax. Each item, potion, and skill point, spent on this skill seems to add varying amounts of chance and damage. Higher level and Rarer components tend to have greater number values but still only add one level to the skill. The XProc% chance maxes out at 20%. Does more damage than the Fire Damage skill at the same Level/Rarity.

Your sword no longer is a mere tool to you. It's become a paintbrush, making you an artist of death. You are now able to perform a more powerful lunging stab imbued with elemental magic. (hold attack + backwards)

Deal weapon damage by XFireDmg% as fire damage to all enemies struck. YKnock knockback.

You are getting good at swinging your sack in peoples faces. Having carried it around for a while you have developed an excellent sense of how to best make use of its weight to a point where it will even hurt your foes instead of just inconveniencing them.

Deals XDamage damage per occupied inventory slot (improved by Strength). Causes 25 knockback + a maximum of YKnock additional knockback depending on inventory load.

Note: Unlisted ability to interrupt an enemy's melee attack.

A benevolent being has taken an interest in you. From the void it watches you fight your way to freedom. Whenever its power allows it will ward off any damage you might take for a time.


XProc% chance to become invulnerable for YTime seconds when taking damage.

Note: Once activated, Iron Skin will not reactivate or turn off until the time expires. That is, you can't stand in a fire and get hours of invulnerability. Nevertheless, at high levels of infinite dungeon you'll come to rely on this skill to survive.

Note: Items worn and wielded vary their values added to XProc% and YTime, while only increasing the skill level by one.

Note: At level 98 you'll never take damage. XProc% > 100.0 and the damage that triggers Iron Skin is also negated. The only ways to die would be: jumping down a bottomless pit, drinking A Whole Jug of Wine potion, or touching the Demon Shrine too many times.

You are getting good at swinging your sack in peoples faces. Having carried it around for a while you have developed an excellent sense of how to best make use of its weight to a point where it will even hurt your foes instead of just inconveniencing them.

Parrying a melee attack has XChance% chance to generate a kinetic blast with a knockback of YKnock.

You've become an experienced wielder of blunt weapons, capable of maintaining balance while still taking advantage of their weight.




Adds XKnock knockback to every mace swing. Increases mace damage by YDamage%.

Only the most adept craftsmen possess the deftness to pry apart the creations of other artisans without breaking their components. You can now count yourself among those luminaries.

Allows you to disassemble melee weapons at the smithy to get random components. Each successive level increases your chances to get more and better components.

Note: You can have 0 levels in this skill and still disassemble custom crafted weapons, getting all components back.

You've grown accustomed to the swings and blows thrown at you. Parrying them is becoming effortless. You've come to make the most of even glancing parries.



Imperfect parries block XBlock% more damage.

You are able to define the balance of a weapon without even thinking about it. Your blades are sharp and your mallets weighty, which is reflected in their combat effectiveness.


Weapons you craft deal XDamage% more damage.

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A demonic presence has taken up residence within your bones. Hungry for life, it will tap into the energy of every being you strike, siphoning vitality and sharing it with you.


Each melee hit restores health equal to XHeal% of your attack damage.

Note: Spending a Skill Point adds 0.4% to XHeal%. However, items worn and wielded can vary from 0.4% - 7.2%, while only adding one level to Melee Life Steal. Higher level and Rarer items generally add more to XHeal%.

Some thoughts are of such profundity that only the most resilient minds can stand to think them. You have developed the ability to convey such thoughts to others, not with words but rather with your blade.

Severed heads explode for XFireDmg fire damage with a splash radius of YRadius.

Note: Doesn't work with Maces. Unlike many other skills this is not a percent of your melee damage. It's just a flat number that doesn't scale as you become more powerful and your enemies tougher.

Your attunement to the magic of chromatic crystals has grown to a point where you never let any of it go to waste. You're able to channel excess crystal energy into already loaded shots to increase their stopping power.

Ammunition added to a fully charged wand will enhance the following shots. Enhanced shots deal XDamage% damage.

Until now your experience with fire magic only ever amounted to party tricks. Fighting for your life has awakened a hidden affinity for setting things ablaze.



Enables impact fireballs. All fire damage has a WProc% chance to set your target on fire dealing XDamage% ranged/melee damage over 5 seconds. Increases the fireball splash radius by YRadius% and fire damage by ZFireDmg%.

Note: Aim-down-sights to get impact fireballs, otherwise you get hip-fired bouncy ones.

Hours of whacking burning cutlery over the heads of monsters have proven fruitful. You have become a master fire dancer. You've learned to focus the flames of the beyond and to unleash them in predictable intervals.

Your melee fire damage has a random proc chance of 0%. Instead every fifth hit is a guaranteed proc with a fire damage increase of XDamage%. If you're a Pyromancer your opponent will also be set on fire.

You're a man/woman/other on a mission. When someone blocks your path you don't waste time on lengthy backswings. You flail them dead before they know what happened. Such an advanced fighting technique can only be mastered through years of disciplined training and maybe a bit of magical gear.

Your light swings deal XDamage% more damage.

Note: Double-click and hold Attack to do a continuous barrage of light attacks.

Your growing combat experience provides you with enhanced ability to exploit your foes' weaknesses.




Parrying an attack increases the damage of your next blow by XDamage%. Effect lasts YTime seconds.

Years of lonesome imprisonment have bereft you of any scruples about disturbing the dead. You have a keen eye for valuables and you take what you need.



Allows you to sometimes retrieve crafting components from slain enemies. (XLoot% chance per corpse)

Note: High levels of Scrap Collector do NOT increase rarity of loot. You get mostly grey items.

Long-dead souls linger in these halls. Some of them see the injustice of your imprisonment and aid you in battle whenever they can muster the energy.



XProc% chance on melee hit: Deal 33.0% melee damage to all enemies around you.

Note: Increasing Spectral Blades beyond level 73 would be a waste of skill points.

A healthy body makes a healthy mind; so healthy in fact that it may transcend its mortal coil and commune with the spirits around it, drawing upon their power.



Full swings shoot a spectral projectile when at maximum HP, causing XDamage% of melee damage.

Your melee weapon is animated with arcane energy. A hefty smack from the hands of evildoers may sometimes unleash it.




XProc% chance on parry: Starburst for YDamage damage.

Note: Using a skill point adds 15% to XProc% and 317 to YDamage, however Items worn and wielded vary the values depending on Level and Rarity. Higher and Rarer items add a bit more chance and huge increases in damage. Therefore use skill points to get this to proc more often but rely on Items for the bulk of the damage. Leveling this skill beyond 7 would be a waste of skill points with XProc% over 100%

You're wearing the battle gear of a fabled hero of legend. In his adventuring days he amazed many peasants with his extraordinary heroism and with his sticky white discharge his body occasionally excreted.

Melee hits against you have an XProc% chance to root the enemy in place for YTime seconds.

Unusual Skill Acquiring this skill requires you to find Cuirass of the Arachnoid Humanoid chest armor. It only drops from the Spider Queen. So if you really want this skill, get ready to save-scum. Once you get it to drop, you can spend skill points to permalearn Sticky Excretions and even level it.

Although you haven't seen a thunderstorm in ages you still feel lightning rushing through your veins. Growing in experience you're now finding ways to let it out.


Grants a WProc% chance for the lightning strike to jump to the closest enemy dealing XDamage% of the initial damage. Lightning can chain to YOther more target(s). Increases lightning magic damage by ZLightingDmg%.

Your growing proficiency with swords of all sizes grants you superior swiftness when fencing. More and more your moves resemble those of a water dancer from the southern isles.


Increases attack speed by XSpeed% when using swords (or short-swords). Increases sword damage by YDamage%.

Note: XSpeed% maxs out at Level 15

A shroud of magical energy envelops your body. It emanates from your very soul and is tied to your emotions. Whenever you experience physical pain the shroud condenses into prickly barbs that protrude outward in retaliation.
XDamage% of all melee taken is dealt to the attacker.

Your target practice seems to pay off. Foes tremble at the thought of your precise and carefully aimed magic.




Overall wand accuracy is increased by XAccurate%. Wands no longer break when depleted.

I hope you found this guide helpful. If you found any errors or lapses in logic please do leave a comment.

Enjoy your journey to the top of Slasher's Keep.