Slayin: Top 5 tips, tricks, and cheats

Between its charming 8-bit look, thankless challenge curve, and pared-down controls, Slayin has found a sweet spot in iOS gaming. Players only have one life to make their way through as many waves of enemies and bosses as possible, while collecting treasure along the way. Your hero is constantly moving forward, weapon drawn - all you have to do is steer them left or right, and jump when appropriate. The gold coins gathered can be spent on equipment which, with any luck, will buy you another minute or two, but ultimately everybody falls to the unrelenting hordes of fantasy monsters. Over time, your heroics earn you fame points which can be spent on unlocking new heroes and new game modes.

That’s Slayin in a nutshell, but if you need some help getting into it, we’ve got some tips to make sure you’re hacking and slashing your way to level 100.

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1: Get the dragon scale first

You may be tempted to spend your hard-earned Fame Points on a new hero right out of the gate, but hold that thought. The Dragon Scale, costing 5000 FP, will grant you an extra life, which will in turn increase how much fame your bring back with every round, and also stem the monotony of having to start over from scratch again.

2: Always buy armor

Survivability is your biggest challenge, so don’t skimp on armor when the opportunity arises. Meat is also available to replenish health, and though its cost increases with every serving, it’s often worth topping up. If your armor is depleted and the vendor pops up, it’s worth your while to work your way to him to get more armor.

4. Command one side of the battlefield

It’s hard to get by when you’re surrounded on all sides, so pick one edge of the screen and stay close to it. Clear out enemies as soon as they get close, and only venture across to the other half periodically. This might mean that levels take a little while longer to clear, but you’ll certainly be playing it safe. Get in the habit of a circular attack pattern: jump forwards to clear airborne enemies or avoid incoming ground obstacles, plow through a few on the ground, then head back to pick up loot and clear out any fresh spawns.

5. Know when to leave loot alone

Don’t ruin a great score multiplier and lose a bunch of health just for a few gold coins. Treasure disappears quickly, and it’s hard not to charge towards it whenever something drops, but resist temptation. The gold only really helps you to stay alive, but can only do so much in the hands of a ~~brave~~ suicidal adventurer. The only real exception to this would be to go after treasure chests, but even then, it’s best to err on the side of caution.

Cheat: Get 500 Fame Points for free

After playing for awhile, you’ll get a pop-up suggesting that you rate the game and get 500 Fame Points. The thing is (and this goes for any game that tries to entice you to rate and earn in-game currency), there’s no way for them to confirm you actually rated their game. Tap “Yes, rate it”, it’ll boot you out to the App Store, but you can switch right back without having written a thing. Now, Slayin is a great game and you should leave it a nice review, but strictly speaking, it’s not required.

Finally, here’s a list of the bosses you’ll encounter and a quick look at their attacks and how to approach them.

Boss list for Slayin

Minotaur: Leap over as he charges, then attack from behind.
Royal Slime: Splits in two and speeds up with every attack. Clear smaller spawns before attacking larger one again.
Imp: Teleports to either side. Fires linear fireballs at ground level, wave-path fireballs from higher.
Peloria: Avoid sprouts and attack main body before she attacks and goes back underground.
Death Worm: Avoid disturbed ground, attack sides after it erupts.
Harpy: Makes diagonal, burst feather attacks, and occasional dive bomb attacks. Strike from below.
Spectral rider: Teleports to either side while steed stomps and unleashes ground flame attack, then dismounts, flies, and flings energy attacks.
Dragon: Breathes fireballs at ground- and mid- level, unleashes volleys of four fireballs from above. Attack when head is highest.

Your top tips, tricks, and cheats?

That's about all we've got for Slayin, but be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on classes and general strategies for Slayin! If you haven't given it a shot, be sure to download Slayin from the App Store.