Breathing styles are the slayer half of Project Slayers 2, and the one you commit to shapes how every duel and every dungeon run feels. Some kits win on raw speed, some win on hyper armor, and a couple simply take too long to start up to keep pace. Below is where each style sits right now for both player-versus-player fights and player-versus-environment content.
Quick answer: Thunder Breathing is the strongest style for PVP and PVE alike. Sound, Snake and Insect follow closely, while Wind and Water lag behind until they get balance changes.
Project Slayers 2 breathing style tier list
| Tier | Breathing styles | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| S | Thunder Breathing | PVP and PVE |
| A | Sound, Snake, Insect | PVP and PVE |
| B | Stone Breathing | PVP |
| B | Flame Breathing | PVE |
| C | Wind, Water | Neither, without heavy practice |
Placements are based on three things: how fast a move starts up, how well moves chain into each other and into basic M1 attacks, and how much area damage the kit covers for group content. This ranking reflects the game as it plays in September 2026, ahead of a balance pass that has no confirmed date.
Breathing styles are exclusive to the slayer side of the game. Demons build their kits out of Blood Demon Arts instead, so this ranking only applies if you stay human.
Why Thunder Breathing sits alone in S tier
Thunder Breathing carries the same reputation it had in the original game, and for the same reason: its moves are effectively instant-cast. There is almost nothing to read and almost nothing to dodge, which is a nightmare for the person on the receiving end of it in a duel.
That speed does not fall off against enemies either. Thunder puts out strong numbers in PVE and remains one of the most complete movesets in the game overall, so it is the safe pick if you only want to grind one style to the top.
A tier: the combo-heavy styles
These three are only a step behind Thunder and are genuinely competitive in both modes. Each one is built around stringing attacks together rather than landing one big hit.
Insect Breathing
Insect plays a lot like Thunder in that most of its moves come out quickly and link into one another with little effort. The barrages are the payoff, letting you pile on combo damage against both players and bosses.
Sound Breathing
Nearly every move in the Sound kit can be extended into another one, which makes it one of the best styles for long combo strings. Its projectile move also hits for a huge chunk on its own.
In group PVE it doubles as a support style, since some moves lock enemies in place long enough for teammates to pile in freely.
Snake Breathing
Also written as Serpent Breathing, this style leans on a teleport and a knock-up to open fights and keep them going. That mobility makes it a real threat in duels, and its barrages handle PVE damage without any trouble.
B tier: strong, but only in one lane
Stone Breathing is the aggressive duelist option. Almost every attack comes with hyper armor, so you cannot be interrupted mid-swing, which lets you simply walk through pressure and keep hitting. It works in PVE too, but the A-tier styles land their combos faster, which is what keeps Stone out of that group.
Flame Breathing is the mirror image. Paired with the Rengoku clan it becomes a serious PVE kit with wide area damage, long reach and burn effects that clear packs quickly. The slow start-up animations are what hold it back in duels, where opponents have time to react.
C tier: Wind and Water Breathing
Wind Breathing has a few decent moves, but the signature ones, including the tornado, are too slow to land consistently in either mode. It also has an awkward habit of shoving enemies around in PVE, which stretches fights out longer than they need to be. It is playable, just far more demanding than anything above it.
Water Breathing is the weaker of the two. Damage output is low, animations are sluggish, and in duels several moves can be walked or dashed out of entirely. It has clear upside if the balance pass tightens up those start-ups, but as it stands it is the hardest style to get results with.
Best breathing style by mode
- Best for PVP: Thunder Breathing, with Stone as the hyper-armor alternative.
- Best for PVE: Thunder, Sound or Snake, depending on whether you want speed, support or mobility.
- Best for dungeons and group runs: Sound for holding enemies still, Flame with Rengoku for area clear.
- Avoid for now: Water and Wind, unless you enjoy the extra execution requirement.
Once you have picked a style, your clan choice matters almost as much, since some pairings change how a kit performs outright. And because a balance pass is still pending, treat the bottom of this list as temporary rather than permanent, especially Water.
