With the latest Sugofest, Killer has recently been released for Global. Many have been wondering, how does he fare against the other captains in the game like Shanks, Law, Gear 3 and Whitebeard. With his 3.5x ATK boost to all units, he should be pretty powerful right?

Captain Skill

Despite what the effect reads in the Global version of the game, the captain skill can be more accurately translated as :

"After hitting 3 "Less than GOOD", all other units gain 3.5x ATK"

This essentially makes Killer the opposite of Gear Third. Thus many dub Killer as the "Lazy man's Gear Third" due the lack of skill or attention required in a Killer team.

Let's compare Killer's Captain skill to the other types of Captain skills in the game - Gear Third, the 2.5x captains and Whitebeard (3x ATK Captain).

Please remember this table doesn't represent actual in-game damage/total multipliers. This table only means to serve as comparing the Captain Skills ONLY!!

Unfortunately despite the high multiplier, Killer teams just lack the total damage that other teams can dish out. The fault comes from the Combo Multiplier due to the "Less than GOOD". Due to that condition, Killer cannot ramp up enough damage like Gear Third can which will cause his team's total damage to drop below 2.5x Captains.

That being said, it is important to note that Killer team's last hit does significantly more damage than a 2.5x ATK team (and even come close to Whitebeard's standard). If properly paired with Orb Manipulation and ATK buffs - this last hit may sky-rocket in damage and may make up for the lack in power.

But while the damage isn't perfect, Killer teams can use and boost anybody (like Gear 3). This means that you can use anybody in your team regardless of Colour and Type. This is also one of the driving force behind Gear Third and Whitebeard's success and popularity. As such, some people are willing to sacrifice that damage for versatility as sometimes that could potentially win you a level.

So overall, Killer has a unique Captain Ability. It has lower total damage than 2.5x Captains but has the added factor of versatility and no skill required. It's up to players if they are willing to sacrifice a little bit of damage for the higher versatility.

Special

His special is one of the most devastating specials around in Global. In-game, Killer's Special reads:

"Deals massive damage to one enemy, at the cost of reducing your crew's HP to 1"

Which unfortunately doesn't specify how much "massive damage" is. However after testing, Killer's "massive damage" was found to be exactly 100x his ATK. Thus his special can be translated to:

"Deals 100x this Character's ATK to one enemy, at the cost of reducing your crew's HP to 1"

With Killer's maximum ATK being 1,449, Killer can nuke a single enemy for a nice 144,490 damage. With double Killer, this damage doubles to a hefty 288,980 damage. (Which is more than half of Mihawk 30-Stamina's Health). However please note that you cannot use 2 Killer specials on the same turn - you will need to heal above 1 HP before you can activate your second one.

So unfortunately while Killer's special does do amazing damage, it does have 2 drawbacks.

The drop to 1 HP can be managed without too much problems since you can control when it occurs. However, the cooldown is the biggest issue. It begins at a whopping 35 turns, which is simply way too long to charge in a normal setting. While it can drop to 25 turns, it's still a massive cooldown that simply isn't practical in most scenarios.

That being said - if you do get it up, it will work wonders (for the most part).

So Killer's Special is a strong devastating nuke (crazy damage) but 2 drawbacks that keep it from being practical (and keeping him from being a must-include in all impact/speed teams).

Stats

His numbers!! Killer comes in swinging with 2,570 HP, 1,449 ATK and -200 RCV (5-Star: Level 99). Killer is  thus the first global unit with negative RCV (since he came out pre-Monster Chopper).

To briefly explain the RCV mechanic, every unit in your crew has their RCVs added together. The total amount of RCV is the amount you heal from [Meat] orbs. In the case of negative RCV, it will reduce the amount of recovery to your team (thus healing less) however cannot make your crew's total RCV lower than 0.

So... having a negative RCV isn't a positive note (for the most part) unless you plan on healing nothing/little with [Meat] orbs. However, Killer's other 2 stats are decent and impressive. He has good chunk of health and ATK that should be considered in any team that will take him. A solid unit.

Overall

Well, Killer is a unique unit. While people regard him as "Lazy man's Gear Third", he will take actually some skill to master properly. He is filled with potential for tons of damage but at the same time riddled with drawbacks. If properly mastered and used, Killer teams will definitely out damage many teams out there currently.