Following our exclusive in-depth Slayer reveal, we went straight to TERA Senior Producer Brian Knox to get even more information on the class. He discusses balance, skills, and more!

ZAM: With skills like backstab, which allows the Slayer to rush up to 20 yards forward to stab opponents in the back while also stunning them for future attacks, it appears that in PvP, if you don't see the Slayer coming, you could be in for a lot of trouble. Against more attentive opponents, however, will the Slayer need to utilize his abilities in a more creative fashion, or will he have a different set of options when fighting his opponents head on in PvP?

Brian: The Backstab skill does add an interesting twist to the slayer's PvP arsenal, and it's instant, so it's impossible to predict. Fortunately for the other guy, that's balanced with a relatively long cooldown period, so the slayer will definitely need to have more than one trick up his sleeve. PvP skills haven't been finalized yet, so we can't really comment on specifics there.

ZAM: Another of the Slayer's abilities, Overhand Strike, sacrifices the Slayer's health to deal extra damage. Will there be other Slayer abilities that utilize the Slayer's health instead of his mana pool?

Brian: Overhand Strike is the only health-sacrificing skill in the slayer's skillset at this time, but change is part of the fun, so who knows what'll happen in the future?

ZAM: In June, there was a TERA dev blog that noted that, while the team wants to allow every race to play every class, sometimes, from a balance or lore perspective, that might not always be the case. Of the races that can play as Slayers, however, are there plans to make each Race of Slayer unique in its own right?

Brian: Feedback around racial benefits has been mixed. The original intention was not to give any benefits for playing certain class and race combinations. After a few focus group tests, it became apparent that the majority of the community wanted races to feel different. We're working on implementing racial benefits right now. There may be some combinations that have a slight benefit, but the goal is to make every combination a viable spec.

ZAM: To follow on that note, the Slayer will be a master of the great sword, but will there ever be the potential to play as a Slayer with a different weapon or style than your average Slayer class?

Brian: Not at this time. Our focus is on balancing each class for each weapon. But the future of an MMO is wrought with more content and changes, so never say never!

ZAM: Well, that pretty much wraps up all of our questions for the TERA's Slayer class! We can bet that, with so many iconic figures with giant swords in both games and anime, there will definitely be no shortage of Slayers in TERA! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us about the Slayer class!

Brian: Thanks for letting us talk about slayers. It's been fun to showcase them for our future players.