Deathdealer Relic Explained: Best Users, Risks, and Builds

Deathdealer is one of the most polarizing relics in Raid: Shadow Legends because it solves one problem while creating another. Its core appeal is simple: it guarantees critical hits. That makes it a massive damage upgrade for champions whose kit scales hard with critical damage, but it also comes with a real survivability penalty. In practice, Deathdealer is not a universal best-in-slot relic. It is a specialist tool for champions that can afford to trade durability for explosive burst.

What Deathdealer does best

The relic’s value rises sharply on champions that need to crit every time to function at maximum output. Multi-hit nukers, arena glass cannons, and wave-clear specialists gain the most. Guaranteed crits let you push harder into offensive substats, often freeing up gearing decisions that would otherwise be spent chasing perfect crit rate. That can be especially useful for players farming endgame content where one extra nuke can decide the run.

The drawback matters just as much. Taking increased damage means Deathdealer is a poor fit for frontline bruisers, self-sustain champions, and anyone expected to soak hits in Arena or prolonged PvE encounters. If a champion already struggles to survive, this relic usually makes that problem worse.

Best use cases

Deathdealer shines on champions who either:

open fights and need immediate burst
scale primarily from raw damage rather than utility
have built-in protection, extra turns, unkillable, or strong self-peel
can be kept safe behind speed boost, control, or revive support

That makes it especially attractive for Arena attackers and some Dungeon speed teams. It is much less appealing on Clan Boss anchors, Hydra utility champs, and supports that must stay alive to preserve the team.

F2P vs P2W perspective

For free-to-play players, Deathdealer is usually a “finish the job” relic rather than a starter relic. If your account still needs balanced damage, accuracy, and survivability, safer relics often give more consistency. For spenders with deeper roster depth, Deathdealer becomes more interesting because it can turn already-built endgame nukers into true one-shot threats.

Practical build advice

Pair Deathdealer with champions that already sit near crit cap and have enough defenses elsewhere. Do not use it as a shortcut for weak gearing. The relic amplifies strong builds; it does not rescue bad ones. If a champion is dying before taking a turn, the damage boost is irrelevant.

The best test is simple: if a champion wins by deleting enemies instantly, Deathdealer can be excellent. If a champion wins by surviving and controlling the pace, skip it.