What the Rankings Mean
The best choice matters because a strong moveset can make dungeon clearing, boss farming, and player fights much more effective. This project slayers 2 tier list compares Breathing Styles and Blood Demon Arts using the available PVE and PVP rankings, while recognizing that balance changes can shift the meta.
The broad takeaway is simple: Thunder Breathing, Blood Manipulation, and Ice Manipulation stand out as the strongest overall options in the published comparison. After those, the better choice depends more heavily on whether you value solo PVE, group PVE, combos, mobility, or PVP pressure.
One source ranks options as an overall meta list with separate notes for PVE and PVP. Another video focuses only on the current PVE environment and argues that players are primarily progressing and optimizing builds rather than playing ranked PVP. That distinction is important: an option that excels at locking down players may not be the fastest boss-farming choice.
| Tier | Movesets listed in the overall ranking |
|---|---|
| S | Thunder Breathing, Blood Manipulation, Ice Manipulation |
| A | Sound Breathing, Snake Breathing, Dream Manipulation, Reaper, Shockwave |
| PVP-focused labels | Dream Manipulation, Reaper, Shockwave, Stone Breathing, Obi Manipulation |
| PVE-focused labels | Flame Breathing, Explosive Blood Demon Art, Arrow Manipulation |
| Also listed | Insect Breathing, Wind Breathing, Water Breathing, Temari Manipulation |
Treat tiers as a starting point, not a substitute for trying a moveset yourself. The available commentary repeatedly points to execution, combo use, team support, and the activity you are doing as factors that can change the practical result.
S-Tier Choices
Thunder Breathing is the leading Breathing Style in the overall ranking. Its instant-cast moves are described as especially difficult to react to in PVP, which creates a major advantage over slower styles. It also performs strongly in PVE, making it one of the most complete choices in the game.
Blood Manipulation is presented as the best Blood Demon Art and possibly the best moveset before a balance patch. Its moves work like barrages that provide strong damage per second. In PVE, allies can add M1 attacks while those barrages are active; in PVP and some PVE encounters, the kit can combine extensions and M1s to sustain pressure.
Ice Manipulation completes the S tier with a powerful move selection. It has a strong grab, a counter, effective combos, and ice rain that can stack with M1 attacks. Its wide-area attacks are also highlighted as valuable in PVE dungeons, where covering many enemies at once is useful.
| Moveset | Type | Why it ranks highly | Best-supported use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Breathing | Slayer Breathing Style | Instant-cast moves and strong overall performance | PVP and PVE |
| Blood Manipulation | Blood Demon Art | Barrage damage, M1 synergy, and combo pressure | Group PVE and PVP |
| Ice Manipulation | Blood Demon Art | Grab, counter, combos, ice rain, and wide AOE | PVE dungeons and general play |
For a player choosing between these three, the playstyle difference is more useful than the shared S-tier label.
- Pick Thunder Breathing if fast, hard-to-react-to moves are your main priority.
- Pick Blood Manipulation if you expect to fight alongside allies and want high barrage damage.
- Pick Ice Manipulation if you want broad AOE coverage, crowd pressure, and a strong PVE dungeon profile.
A PVE-focused video also places Ice Manipulation directly in S tier. It specifically praises the counter, hyper armor moves, freezing effect, and the way weapons can support the kit. That overlap makes Ice one of the clearest choices when your current goal is PVE progression.
Strong A-Tier and Specialized Options
Sound Breathing, Snake Breathing, Dream Manipulation, Reaper, and Shockwave appear in the A tier of the overall ranking. They are not interchangeable: each is described around a particular strength rather than simply being a weaker version of S tier.
Sound Breathing is built for combos. Nearly every move has combo-extension potential, while its projectiles are described as among the best moves available because of their massive damage. It also helps a PVE team by holding enemies in place for allies to attack.
Snake Breathing brings mobility and combo potential through teleport and knock-up moves. Its barrages deal excellent PVE damage, and it remains highly competitive in PVP. This makes Snake a flexible option for players who want an active, mobile combat rhythm.
Dream Manipulation is more specialized. The overall ranking calls it strong for PVP because of its stuns, grab, and high-value combos, though less effective in PVE. The PVE-focused video still rates Dream in A tier, saying its tracking attacks can support boss farming from a distance and enable effective move stacking.
| Moveset | Main strengths described | Main limitation described |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Breathing | Combo extensions, damaging projectiles, team setup | Later balance commentary says it was heavily nerfed |
| Snake Breathing | Teleport mobility, knock-ups, barrages, PVP competitiveness | No specific weakness stated |
| Dream Manipulation | Stuns, grab, PVP combos, tracking attacks | Less powerful for PVE in the overall ranking |
| Reaper | Fast moves, combos, group-PVE barrage value | Less powerful for solo PVE |
| Shockwave | Listed in A tier and PVP-focused | No detailed notes provided in the source excerpt |
Reaper is another PVP-oriented Blood Demon Art. Its fast moves and many combo options are its defining benefits. In group PVE, its barrage can let other players add M1 attacks to a boss. The source is clear, however, that solo PVE is a less favorable setting for Reaper.
Shockwave is included in A tier and marked PVP-focused, but the provided material does not include its detailed ranking notes. That is enough to identify its broad placement, but not enough to make a reliable recommendation about its exact move interactions.
Balance Changes and PVE Context
Balance changes complicate any tier list. One post-release discussion says that Flame and Water received meaningful buffs, while Sound was heavily nerfed. These changes can affect how closely a player’s current experience matches an earlier overall ranking.
Flame’s counter was changed so it can answer skills rather than only M1 attacks. Its X range increased significantly, and the V hold variant received a reduced startup that is described as nearly instant cast. The commentator considers these changes large improvements for Flame.
Water also received several notable buffs. Its hold variant gained hyper armor, its Water Wheel tap variant increased in speed from 35 to 60, and its X hold variant activates immediately. The tap variant now applies a brief stun, which can create combo extensions for both PVE and PVP.
| Moveset | Change discussed | Practical implication stated |
|---|---|---|
| Flame Breathing | Counter can answer skills; X range increased; V hold startup reduced | Considered significantly improved |
| Water Breathing | Hyper armor, faster tap variant, immediate hold activation, brief stun | Better kit for PVE and PVP combos |
| Insect Breathing | Z cooldown reduced; hyper armor replaced i-frames; other adjustments | Mixed buffs and nerfs |
| Sound Breathing | Damage reductions, cooldown increases, guard-break change | Expected to drop in tier |
| Stone Breathing | Ultimate gained hyper armor; counter cooldown reduced | Discussed as receiving buffs |
Insect Breathing also changed. The Z move had its cooldown reduced, while its i-frames were replaced with hyper armor. The final-hit strict stun was removed, the dash variant gained a windup, running speed increased from 50 to 65, and the V move drains 8% of maximum stamina per second while held. Its ultimate range increased as well.
The video commentary does not give a definitive new Insect tier. It characterizes the patch as containing both buffs and nerfs, with uncertainty about the full impact. That is a useful reason not to overstate its current position.
Sound’s situation is clearer in the balance discussion: damage output was reduced, cooldowns increased, and an X move that had been a guaranteed guard break was changed to increased guard damage instead. The commentator expects Sound to move down a tier after these nerfs.
FAQ
What is the best overall option in this project slayers 2 tier list?
Thunder Breathing, Blood Manipulation, and Ice Manipulation are the S-tier overall choices in the provided ranking. Thunder is especially strong in PVP, Blood has exceptional barrage and group-PVE potential, and Ice has strong AOE value for PVE dungeons.
Which option is best for PVE?
Ice Manipulation has the clearest PVE-focused support because of its wide AOE, freezing, counter, and dungeon coverage. Blood Manipulation is also especially strong with allies, while Thunder Breathing remains a powerful overall PVE choice.
Which movesets favor PVP?
Thunder Breathing is praised for hard-to-react-to instant casts. Dream Manipulation, Reaper, Shockwave, Stone Breathing, and Obi Manipulation are labeled PVP-focused in the overall list.
Did recent balance changes affect the rankings?
Yes. Flame and Water received buffs, while Sound received substantial nerfs according to the post-release balance discussion. Use the tier placements as guidance, then account for the latest changes before committing to a moveset.