Slayer (Guilty Gears)

Personality

{{Personality: Slayer is often portrayed as a character who understands a great deal more than other members of the cast. Having lived much longer, he possesses a strengthened sense of perspective, and as such, he generally remains calm and dignified regardless of the situation in which he finds himself. He also often openly shows his practice in dandyism, an old-fashioned lifestyle of high importance and upmost respect to class. In fact, several of his special moves are named after this practice. Despite this, he is not without passion. Slayer is a lover of refined things; poetry, romance, and often stops to admire the beauty he sees in the world of Guilty Gear, and in those younger than himself. In combat, his blood boils, and although he is occasionally frustrated by the lack of challenge others are capable of presenting him with, he is ever graceful to those with whom he fights, offering them congratulations for a good performance. As a result of the sentiment he gained from being in the human realm for so long and his unlikely relationships with various characters, he usually assists them with a warning or a bit of advice, despite how he feels someone of his standing shouldn't be focused on such affairs. Slayer as a character often fits the ideal image of the classic vampire persona inspired most especially by that of Count Dracula, yet he mainly acts kind and chivalrous, almost like a mentor to his enemies despite being out to end them as he rarely tries to antagonize people.}}

Story: Background part one.

Slayer founded the Assassin's Guild, but disappeared shortly thereafter. His original intentions, like many notable founders of Assassin's Guilds in fiction, were altruistic. Unfortunately, he finds, upon returning, that his syndicate is far from his original idealistic view of it, and decides to dismantle it. He seems to be connected to Gabriel in some significant way, and seems to know quite a lot about various political affairs, most notably the Post-War Administration Bureau (P.W.A.B). After soon taking notice of his old organization being cast into chaos, a result of Zato-1's absence, Slayer emerges from retirement to "tidy" things up. Slayer is dedicated to a loving marriage with his loyal wife, Sharon, who appears by his side in several of his poses, as well as his endings, often seen drinking tea or writing and reading with him. She's seen delivering tea and letters to Slayer throughout the series, possibly doubling as a servant on occasion, this of which also extends to being a source of blood for her husband as seen in many of his intros. Slayer is also a descendant of the well-known vampire Nosferatu, using his vampiric powers to boost unyielding attacks and many ever anticipated blood-sucking techniques, he makes quick work of his mortal foes. Despite being a Romanian or otherwise European fighter, he seems to be quite well-versed in Asian martial arts. In Night of Knives, Slayer first appears at the party where Millia Rage and Zato arrive on a mission to assassinate the General, who is resting upstairs at the Venue. After Zato leaves Millia alone to mingle and discuss logistics with Venom, Slayer approaches her, and the two begin to lightly converse. Slayer invites Millia out onto the balcony to enjoy the beauty of the night sky, to which she gladly agrees. The two continue to talk, with Slayer making a few accurate reads concerning Millia's current predicament, causing her to note he is very perceptive.

Story:Background part two.

The two then toast to the night sky, per Slayer's request. He then comments that he takes great pleasure in observing the wonders of human life, including the eyes of a woman like her. She is flattered but unsure how to react. Slayer goes on to note that her eyes are young, and as she no doubt knows, the young must fight and struggle, and that even though her eyes have lost life, they still possess a radiant beauty. She comments that she is not interested in life, only death, a comment which Slayer finds quite curious and a bit morbid. He assures her that she will find significance and meaning her life, before taking his leave to dance with Sharon. After Millia succeeds in assassinating the General, Slayer again shows up. She attempts to fight against him, but Slayer succeeds in rendering her unable to fight before commencing to ask her questions out of concern as her Elder. He asks her if she is aware the man she just killed was a good man, and then quotes a bit of pre-text from the original Assassin's Code, outlining its former purpose: To maintain order by taking care of corrupt leaders in the interest of preserving a good social order. She dismisses it as silly, saying that the purpose of the order now is profit and survival. Slayer declares that such an organization which kills only for money and causes pain and sorrow to its own members does not have the right to exist, before leaving her with the question "Are you truly happy with being a murderer?" This question begins to fester within her. Millia is then captured by Leon. Slayer appears again at the Assassin's Guild head-quarters, where he delivers the news that the Elder founders are not happy with the direction Zato has taken the Guild, and Slayer makes a few rare personal comments on the matter, finding their choice of target and their shady practices "cowardly", and far removed from his original vision for the organization.

Story:Background part three.

Zato engages Slayer, but is thoroughly crushed, and Slayer taunts Zato by asking him if he fights for anything important, like Millia. Slayer then leaves, and Zato blacks out. Slayer then appears and speaks to Millia in her cell, proclaiming that he is concerned for her future. Millia is unsure how to feel about this strange man, as he continues to explain his various concerns to her. He takes out a dagger, an Outrage powerful enough to cut even her hair, and offers to free Millia if it is what she wishes for herself. Millia thinks about the consequences of freedom compared to death, and this time she chooses life, declaring that her fight is not over. Slayer warns her the dangers of continuing to use a forbidden power to fight, and of being thrust back into the world which was cruel to her. Millia says that this time it will be different, the way she lives will be her decision, a critical point in her own personal journey towards freedom from her life as an assassin, and her feelings towards Zato. Slayer cuts the hair binding her to her chains, praises her and encourages her to stand alone, defiant against any difficulties she might face. As she departs, she addresses Slayer as “Fuuga ri na Dandy”/“Dandy Elegance”, a sign of respect for the help he has given her.

Overview in battle

Slayer is a close combat, boxer character with slippery movement and explosive damage. He has below-average mobility and his range is limited to his fists and legs, but he is difficult to challenge once he gets in. Many of his attacks specialize in invulnerability, mixup, and counter hits, spreading doubt and confusion in the opponent's mind. Make the wrong guess and Slayer will have a feast. Neutral can give Slayer a tough time since he is forced to commit to forward advancing attacks or jumps, and he also does not have any kind of projectile. However, Slayer has some tricky movement to close the distance; Mappa Hunch is a good tool for counterhit-fishing and approaching, and Footloose Journey can also be used to give Slayer unexpected mobility. Once he's up close, he gets to make use of his strong mixup tools, forcing extremely oppresive pressure with Bloodsucking Universe - a command grab, and Dandy Step - an evasive step backwards with several follow ups. Dandy Step in particular has unique, powerful tools such as a potent anti-air, a whiff punisher, an overhead, and a cross-up- all very hard to defend against. When successful, Slayer takes the opportunity and converts into big damage. Slayer is also capable of jumping out of his backdash to retain special-move invulnerabilty, a technique known as BDC (Backdash Canceling). This allows Slayer to remain invincible during jump startup or tag enemies with invincible counterhits. Overall, Slayer runs a straightforward up-close gameplan, and has the tools for any player seeking strong pressure and huge damage. Slayer is a brawler who baits opponents with elusive ground movement and blows them up with explosive punishes.

Pros in battle

-Obscene Damage Potential: Slayer's damage increases exponentially when he has the right counterhit starter or amount of Tension. One good hit with Slayer, and the round might just be over. -Close-range Offense: Numerous mixup options, plenty of good pressure tools and a unique teleport dash make Slayer a menace once he's gotten close. -Defensive Options: Slayer's unique Backdash Cancelling allows him to zip out of dangerous situations other characters have no options against, gaining invulnerability on powerful specials that otherwise have none. -Solid Normals: Slayer has a selection of great normals, such as 5K, 2H and 6P. His selection of strong, partially invulnerable moves also make him very effective in close-range scrambles. -Evasive: Slayer has several disjointed attacks which can be hard for the opponent to hit. Paired with the very fast back-and-forth motions of Dandy Step, this makes him excellent at forcing whiffs for rewarding punishes.

Cons in battle

-Mobility: Slayer's teleport dash is useful for mixups and defense, but is not suitable for navigating neutral, making zoning and runaway tactics particularily effective against him. -Safety: Several attacks are unsafe and can be punished by the opponent for high return, especially when instant blocked. -Damage without Resources: While the right combo can be devastating with Slayer, his basic combo routes are very limited, and lead to mediocre damage.

Character design

{{Character design: Slayer has the appearance of an older man, to whom the class is very important. Slayer suit reflects his refined nature: he wears a white T-shirt under a fairly professional gray suit. The sleeves of his coat have emblems in the shape of a red cross, a reference to his vampire nature. Slayer has brown hair, usually polished to one side, complemented by a short and well-preserved beard and a thin mustache. He wears a monocle, and is often found to smoke a pipe. In combat, he doesn't use a weapon, depending on his own physical strength.}}

Leveling

Slayer was a first-level character in XX, and remained solid in everything ♯R and Slash, with Slash being his lowest point (a good mid-level character.) Starting with Accent Core, Slayer is considered one of the best characters in the game, largely due to his incredible exit damage, regardless of whether he is without tension or not. Starting with Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Slayer is considered a mid-level character.

Powers and Skills: part one.

Slayer is highly suggested to be one of the most powerful characters in the world of Guilty Gear, although he never sees himself with all his power, as suggested by his interactions in the story mode with other characters. Slayer, being a vampire, is immortal, being thousands of years old. As a vampire, he is also able to suck the blood of others to heal his wounds, although he finds it quite unpleasant. He can even draw his blood or life force by mere touch, as his EX form reveals. He can instantly regenerate himself from impaling and regenerate a cut limb in seconds. He also has telekinetic abilities as seen when he mentally controlled his cut arm to attack Bedman. He is also extremely physically capable, since some of his most powerful movements in the game are simple blows and kicks. Slayer also wears a kind of animated, red, cape-style clothing that is usually worn on his shoulder in battle. It is very versatile, as Slayer can voluntarily change its size, and he uses it for many different things, such as keeping himself (as seen in his aerial block), or to sit (as seen in his crouching animation). He is also able to use it as a pair of "wings", or to teleport, although he does not necessarily need the cape for the latter. In the past, he was able to destroy the dark space of Zato-1, which is a pocket dimension that allows Zato to create and manipulate shadows, simply by exercising his own aura (which took the form of a demonic crimson shadow) and it is shown that his own ability to control the Darkness exceeded that of Zato-1. He can also project his aura to 'hit' his opponents at a long distance as he did when he fought Zato in Night of Knives and Bedman in his revenge in Revelator. Slayer is also, apparently, very difficult to defeat, since he is always aware when he "loses" a battle in both the Story mode and in the real game mode, where his knocked down spree is him resting on the ground, instead of knocking out.

Powers and Skills: part two.

Although he is not known for using weapons, Slayer has a particular dagger, which is one of the eight OutRage. He has used it to cut Millia Rage's hair.

Weight

70 kg (154 lbs.)

Race

Nightwalker

Gender

Male

Age

Unknown

Height

185 cm (6'1")

Blood type

Unanalyzable

Origin

Transylvania

Birthday

October 31

Hobbies

Haiku, poetry, observing humans

Likes

His wife, romance, dandyism

Dislikes

Unromantic humans